DIY – Page 2 – the MAD creative

BASEMENT BUILDOUT : FRAME OF REFERENCE

Post author:Derek
Post published:March 22, 2015
Post category:HOME LEARN PROJECTS
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With every home project, we’re learning that having the right tools makes things a lot easier. Ashley jokingly claims that I married her for her power tools because she owned more than me. (I guess that’s what you get when you end up with an Interior Architect — bonus!) And we basically have the best neighbors ever — who not only lent us a ton of framing tools, but spent an entire day helping us in the basement. So with the compilation of our tools and their tools, we really had no excuse to not tackle the basement framing plans. And since half of any project is prep time, hopefully the following will save you some time with your framing project. Here are some lists of tools and building materials needed to frame a wall:

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BASEMENT BUILDOUT : THE PLAN

Post author:Derek
Post published:March 17, 2015
Post category:DESIGN HOME LEARN PROJECTS
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Teaming up for a home construction project probably isn’t the way most couples envision celebrating an anniversary together, but we have never been too concerned about doing things the conventional way. Life is pretty sweet with Ashley, and seeing her excitement to break out the power tools and learn some construction basics together is just another item in the long list of reasons why. To get things started, and especially since we’re rookies in this business, we wanted to get a good plan in place before we tackled this project. After some quick reading on the right way to build a wall, it was back to SketchUp to design our closet. On top of giving us a visual of what our completed project would look like, it helped get an accurate materials list together.

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“TAG ME”

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 13, 2015
Post category:KIDS LEARN LOVE PROJECTS
Post comments:1 Comment

Today marks five years for us as a husband and wife team (8 years as an item). I can’t believe how lucky I am to have met the man they call Derek. And what better way to commemorate this than a pet tag! Ohmygoodness, as I typed that last sentence, I realize how lame it sounds. But if I say Mya helped make it, then he’ll cherish it forever, right?

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PAINT SWATCH ART

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 8, 2015
Post category:DESIGN LEARN PROJECTS
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Before all the paint companies come after me for hoarding their swatches, let me just say this is an accumulation of supplies over at least 5 years. Why do I have so many? Well, I looooove color and playing with multiple variations in paintings and other projects. Anything that has to do with pantone is super swanky in my book. I think using magazine cut-outs with alternative patterns could be equally as cool too!

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PERLER BEAD BOWLS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 1, 2015
Post category:PROJECTS
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I love art glass. My favorite artists are Lino Tagliapietra and Steven Main… and Mya, of course. But since she’s not getting near a 2000 degree kiln anytime soon, we went a safer, way less expensive direction. I call this little activity “Chihuly on the Cheap” because this is the closest craft to resemble art glass that you can do with a toddler.

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GLOW JAR

Post author:Ashley
Post published:February 23, 2015
Post category:KIDS PLAY
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This is by far the easiest little activity you will ever do in your life. Mya loves a good glow stick dance party, so we added a few more ingredients to make a glow jar.

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CREATE ART FROM PHONE PHOTOS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:February 20, 2015
Post category:DESIGN KIDS LEARN
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After living in our home for almost four years, I’m finally getting our master bedroom put together. It’s not complete (not that I ever will think it will be!), but one of the items on the to-do list was printing and framing some pictures. After browsing through old phone pics, printing at Costco, and some at-home framing tactics, it turned out pretty shnazy. Here’s how we did it!

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SALAD SPINNER PAINTINGS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:February 5, 2015
Post category:KIDS PLAY
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Am I the only one that wants it to snow a boatload? I just want to get out and play in some snow! But I digress… “Salad spinner paintings” are exactly what you think. We put paint in a salad spinner and let it do its magic. Yup, we’re getting pretty ~~desperate~~ creative over here. Some of it turned into finger painting, but still fun!

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THE CHRISTMAS STAR

Post author:Derek
Post published:December 21, 2014
Post category:DESIGN PROJECTS
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When I hung our Christmas lights a few weeks ago it was missing the finishing touch to complete the festive feel we were looking for, so we decided to go for a decorative Christmas star to finish the job. After a quick trip to Home Depot to see if there was anything that caught our eye, we quickly decided this was going to be a DIY project. We found a couple of 7-foot lengths of 3/4″ oak squares to build our own star. At just $0.67 per foot, the total cost for this project (since we already owned the rest of the supplies) was less than $10.

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HOLIDAY DECOR TIPS + TRICKS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:December 10, 2014
Post category:DESIGN HOME LEARN
Post comments:3 Comments

As Derek’s mentioned, I thoroughly enjoy decorating for the holidays. But what I don’t enjoy is having a bunch of stuff in storage that is only used for one month out of the year. So, our look for the holidays leans towards the minimalist side of style. Here are two tricks we used this year… and some gingerbread house ~~eating~~ building fun.

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MYA’S 2nd BIRTHDAY

Post author:Ashley
Post published:November 19, 2014
Post category:KIDS LOVE PLAY
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For Mya’s flower-themed 2nd Birthday party, it was a day full of love and light (and a little bit of snow!) We hope you enjoy a look into Mya’s fun day! It all started with the invites:

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PAPER BAG FLOWER WALL

Post author:Ashley
Post published:November 16, 2014
Post category:KIDS LEARN PROJECTS
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Mya’s party was yesterday and it was a blast. I just have to filter through the 502 photos (no, I’m surprisingly not exaggerating) and we’ll share the highlights soon! But until then, we have one of our favorite crafty things from her birthday bash: a flower wall!

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