The Saratoga House: What I Did on My Summer Vacation…5 Fun Home Dec Projects to Try

So those of us who teach for a living know there’s one simple truth when it comes to work and time management: when in doubt, do it over the summer. There is a sense of renewed purpose when the last school bell rings and every creative project you come up with that is non-school related isn’t overshadowed by progress reports, classroom prep, and the assortment of other odds and ends that are always waiting for us at the end of a busy school day/week/month/semester. We can dream big with our redos and makeovers, stay up late flexing those creative muscles without having to worry about yawning during storytime the next morning, and check off all of those fabulous to-dos we either came up with or started months before when we were being unrealistic about our time. It’s summer, and quite frankly, the possibilities are endless.

 

While I love being able to complete a major makeover during
the summer months, some of my favorite summer accomplishments are the smaller
projects that make a room move from fine to finished and fabulous. These are the touches that make your space
personal and fine-tuned. It’s almost
like the difference between a stylish hotel room and a stylish room in your
home…the hotel space can fit anyone, but your home space is all your own, and
someone can know you just by walking
inside. And along with my time being
just a bit more my own in the summer months, it doesn’t hurt to have my crack
team of pint-size personal design assistants in tow, as well as a host of
creative friends and family popping in for a visit/consultation. So, without further adieu, here are five
summer projects I felt were blog-worthy this season:

1.
Custom Magnetic Poetry. I have always been fascinated with the
magnetic poetry sets you see on everyone’s fridges, but after doing some
research, I found that the sets available for purchase are a little limited on
options, particularly when it comes to size, font, and color. A whitewashed frame I put together a few
years ago for my kids to use as a magnet board made from galvanized metal and
some scraps of molding finally found a home over the computer desk in our
family room, and I came up with the notion that a little poetic license needed
to be taken. White cardstock, a roll of
self-adhesive magnetic stripping, and our printer were all we needed to make a
custom display that can be changed with the season or whenever a member of our
household might feel moved to express themselves. And the rhymes pictured? Created by our kids and their friends one August
afternoon!

1.
House
Guest Book. Ever since we have moved
into our Saratoga house I have fantasized about having a guest book for our
visitors to sign. This one is a simple
one-stop craft store creation: a fabric-covered photo album, an assortment of
scrapbook paper, leftover ribbon from holiday gift wrapping, and a set of
chipboard numbers that reflect our house number, all purchased at the local AC
Moore. They even had a design of lined scrapbook
paper that could be sliced into four pieces and used as notecards for
inscriptions…and our guests are already putting it to good use.

1.
Custom
Picket Fence Signs. I love vintage
signs of all shapes and sizes, but if they are aged and authentic, they can be
quite expensive, and finding some that say something meaningful to you and your
family can be quite challenging. These
wood plaques were also found at AC Moore for under $3.00 each, and the process
I used to paint them was really simple.
First I painted the wood pieces black, then dry-brushed the cream paint
on so you could still see the black showing through. Then I found some signs in a catalog that had
the font I liked and I used a pencil to draw out my lettering–first simply
writing the capital letters, then adding the tiny flourishes and curves that
gave it character, and finally painting over what I had drawn. Once this part was
complete, I lightly sanded everything, wiped away any dust, then used a clear
coat spray finish to protect it from the elements since these were going
outside on our fence. The result is
exactly what I was hoping for…and yes, the arrows do point in the right directions!

Felted Wine Cover. I can’t
take credit for this lovely project, but I definitely want to brag about
it! My good friend and kitting guru Lori
made this beautiful felted wine bottle cover as a housewarming gift for her
visit in July, and I love it so much that I have it displayed on my kitchen
counter with a Saratoga water bottle inside it because I can’t imagine putting
it away. Felted knitting projects are a
great way to learn how to knit (that’s what Lori and my friend Colleen had me
try when they first taught me) because they are very forgiving–after you are
finished knitting, you wash your project and the wool yarn tightens and turns
to felt, covering up any mistakes you might have made along the way. A variety of felted patterns are available
online as well as in local stores like Common Thread and the Stitchin’ Post, so
definitely give it a try.

1.
Memory
Boxes. You know all of those little
trinkets and ticket stubs your children like to hoard and collect? It’s time to give them a home of their own in
a meaningful and creative way, and a memory box is the perfect container for
all of your collected treasures. Our
children and our adopted nieces who came for a visit each made one of these
special boxes detailing a week’s worth of Adirondack adventures, and I guess
the educator in me always likes a project where the summering students can be
artistic in their own right. And how do
you know that a project like this is a success with your subjects? Everyone’s already asking if they can make
one next year too. J

So there you have it…a summer’s worth of home design
projects to make a house a home. Feel
inspired? A weekend is a great time to
tackle one of these, so good luck and get to it!