Blogging made me do it! Featuring Cassie from Hi Sugarplum!

I've really been looking forward to this post, friends. I'm pretty sure today's guest doesn't need an introduction, but just in case you've been living under a rock...break out your thesaurus look up 'Cassie' and I guarantee it'll say 'hilarious!'

Cassie's sense of humor is just as fabulous as her DIY projects, frugal travel tips and her recent pool bathroom makeover. This chica is not afraid of color!

Check out what she has to say...

Hi guys, I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! I've enjoyed reading this series, and am excited to take part today. It's funny because when Dana asked me what blogging has made me do, I went in a totally different direction than the others! I thought of the head-shaking, running around like a crazed chicken, forced occasion.

Let's back up to March, and the exciting email I received from Katie of Bower Power and Sherry of Young House Love to join their next Pinterest Project. After recovering from the excitement, I went into sheer panic. I mean, I post about projects as they come to me, not create them on the fly. And certainly not for an audience as big as theirs!

I had been toying with the idea of DIY Faux Painted Antlers, so decided to give them a whirl. I tried modeling clay, plaster and paper mache....and it seemed each method was worse than the last.

But what could I do? Not post a project on Pinterest Challenge day, one that I was co-hosting with Katie and Sherry?! Uh, no! Which is how I ended up spending an entire weekend forcing a project that I'd normally have just ditched. I might have eventually posted this project, after ironing out some of the kinks, but blogging made me do it sooner than that. And actually, they aren't the worst-looking things ever to come out of my Project Gallery, but I did get a few scathing comments.

On the bright side, blogging has also given me more confidence in myself to create a home I love. It's not meant for a magazine, but to make me and my family happy when living in it. And while I stumble trying to find my way and my style, so far it's true to me.

Thanks, Cassie, for sharing your wonderful project and home with us! Make sure you stop by Hi Sugarplum! and tell her how much you enjoyed it, friends.

I hope you all have a happy weekend!

Blogging Made Me Do It! Featuring Janell Beals

As a blogger I often find myself looking for things that are "post worthy" or try to think of projects that would be fun and unique. With this perspective in mind, I began wondering what other bloggers have done simply because of their blog. Did they tackle a huge project because of an expectant audience? Did they find a new hobby or even a  new career perhaps? Did they make a gutsy purchase? Or did they do something that ended up terribly wrong?!

I threw out these questions to a handful of bloggers and I can't wait to see (and share with you) their interpretations of...

What better way to kick off this series than to take a peek into the projects of Janell Beals, House of Fifty founding editor?! 

Here's what Janell had to share:

Thank goodness "Blogging Made Me Do It!" As I look around my home and see the results of projects shared on my blog, I sometimes can't believe I went to all the trouble and worked so hard to see results I could be proud of and enjoy. Having an audience and knowing people would scrutinize the outcome had me trying just that much harder! Thank goodness, because I now get to enjoy the benefits.

Here are a couple of the projects that have me shaking my head however, wondering if I would attempt them again.

First up, the Upholstered Wall Becomes a Headboard in the Master Bedroom. This was a beast made a lot more challenging by the fabric I selected. It was time consuming and tricky to get the pattern to run exactly straight across the width and up the height of the frame. And then to get the fabric taunt enough so it wouldn't sag over time! I called in a friend to help build the frame and install it on the wall. Cumbersome and very heavy, the plan was to glue it to the wall with industrial strength glue and it worked perfectly...though some did raise their eyebrows about that! It was the only way to get it flush up to the tray ceiling and be completely secure. I figure if the day ever comes that I get tired of it, I'll simply have to do a little drywall repair (or call back the friend to help!) But after all the work, it's probably here until the day I sell the house a long time from now.

Click here to read all the posts on this project.

The second project is small in comparison, but it was quite time consuming and again tricky with the need to run a stencil pattern flush up to the inside corners of a tray - to get the project looking fab rather than bad. After stenciling up to the edges as closely as possible I then completed the pattern with a small paint brush by hand. I did the project over a few days as it was a tedious job and I suspect I won't be doing this project again anytime soon. Unless I were to select one large motif stencil pattern that would fit in the center of a tray, that wouldn't require running the pattern up to the edges. Now that would have been smarter. But again, now I have a beautiful tray I get to enjoy!

Click here for the tutorial written for HGTV.

The last project I'd seriously have to think long and hard before trying again was the recovering of a pair of chairs when working on my son's room. The initial plan was to simply make slipcovers, but I didn't like the "sloppy" look and ended up doing a "hybrid" of a slipcover and reupholsery job. It took days and days and hours and hours. However, I adore the outcome of the chairs, and my son loves the room, so in the end the project was worth it. It also provided content for a lot of posts...always a good thing when looking for what to post on one's blog!

Lots of posts written about this one, click here to read them all.

Is it safe to say when Janell tackles a project she does it in a BIG way?! These are only a few of her amazing projects. You could spend hours devouring her blog. And just in case you've been living under a rock and haven't read the Anniversary edition of House of Fifty, then you're in luck because it's full of goodness and inspiration.

Janell's husband, John, shares the story of how the publication came to be (pg.90). It's a must read!

I'm very humbled that Janell shared her time with me and contributed to this series. She's a very classy lady and I can honestly say I spoke the words, to my John, "That's the type of person I want to be like."

I hope you all have a great weekend, friends. It our last free Saturday before swim meets begin. We plan to take full advantage of our sleeping in...those 6am warm-ups are brutal!