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Becky Alexander-Conrad

Popular DIY Projects For Any Homeowner

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The following is my last article for HomeSpot. It consists of five of my most popular articles. The title on each page is a link to the full article.   

Purging Your Closet in Four Easy Steps Purging closet photos 013r

Many of the women I polled before writing this article found that a major closet purge woke them up to the fact that they buy too many clothes. Now, before they purchase something new, they find they ask themselves questions like; “Where and how often will I wear it?, Do I already have something like it or something to wear it with?”. Most of the time the garment winds up back on the rack and they walk away empty handed.

If it passes those questions, try it on in front of a full length mirror to make sure fits properly and that you like it on you. If it doesn’t pass this final test, then don’t buy it. It’s as simple as that.

Building a Home Office Part 3: What to do with Old Electronics

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If you’re like us, you have old electronics lying around collecting  dust because you don’t know what to do with them. Read on to find out what options are available.

The ProblemOld printers 640

In my article Building a Home Office Part 1, I told of moving books from our home library to the ladies’ Parlor. While doing so, I was confronted by the two old printers setting on the filing cabinets that we no longer used. They didn’t work as well as they once did, so we  replaced them with new models. Not knowing what to do with them, they just sat there.

Even if they had worked perfectly, our local thrift stores no longer take printers. I could sell them via an online for sale site if I was lucky enough to find someone that could fix them. But I didn’t want to. 

Building a Home Office Part 2: Turning a Bookcase into a Computer Desk

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Whether or not you have two computers, turning a bookcase into a computer desk can come in pretty handy. For me, it was the perfect solution as it not only allowed me to keep my old computer within reach, but it does triple duty by storing both my digital and printed pictures, my printer/scanner and a few decorative items.

 

Solving a Problem1 changing bracket location

As it turned out the shortest shelf  just happened to be the one my old desktop monitor needed to sit on. Though it did fit, my fear was that it would eventually bow the shelf it sat on. This weekend, while my hubby was home, I asked him to help me change the brackets from the bottom of the shelf to the top.

To make sure the brackets were in the same place, I had hubby drill, using a very small drill bit, clear through the outside holes for each bracket. The middle holes were not centered so we did a quick predrill after the two outside screws were in place from the top side of the shelf.  

Building a Home Office, Part 1

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Until recently I used our daughter’s old bedroom suite as my, pretty much everything room. Our Ladies’ Parlor was rarely used, so I decided to turn it into my own home office. I left all but my desk, computers, TV and photo storage boxes upstairs.

Choosing the Right Bookshelves

The three styles pictured represent the basics found in most online or brick and mortar stores.

  1. The budget friendly flat packed particle board units found in department stores. Take note that these do not hold much weight. Watch for an upcoming article on how to dress them up.
  2. Real wood bookcases. Most are constructed of a combination of solid and real wood veneer over plywood. The quarter inch thick plywood can hold the most weight per shelf. You can also find this style unfinished.
  3. Modern Industrial. These have a combination of metal and wood or wood products. Most shelves are real wood veneer over MDF, so they will not hold as much per shelf as the plywood, but more than particle board units.

Bookshelf possibilities

Using Anaglypta Wallpaper to Transform Furniture

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When our daughter was moving into her first apartment she asked me to help her transform the little dresser my folks bought her when she was born.  Today I’m sharing that transformation. Next time we visit her Hawaii, she and I will transform it again since it’s now being used in her baby daughter’s bedroom.

 

Beforedresser like Katies P

It is one of the less often seen French Provincial styles that were so popular from the sixties through the eighties. They have made a comeback as many adults are getting rid of their childhood bedroom sets after their own children have grown out of them.  The photo on the right shows how it originally looked.  

DIY Father's Day Plaque with Free Printable Poem

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With Father’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would be the right time to share a gift idea that your children can help make for their Daddy. It’s that easy.

Whether you use the free printable poem I did for the plaque I made for a client, or something of your own, the process is so simple even preschool children can help you do this. There’s only one part that the children can’t help with and it’s optional.

Supplies:Plaque supplies

  1. Large unfinished wood plaque.
  2. Water based stain. It dries faster and is easier to work with.
  3. Sand paper or sanding block.
  4. An old cotton rag for applying stain.
  5. Computer,  printer and plain paper.
  6. Poem.
  7. Left over coffee or tea.
  8. Spray bottle.
  9. Mod Podge, any finish.
  10. Paint brush.
  11. Grill lighter, optional. (This part is the only part done solely by the adult.)