The Great-Wall Transformation

February 22, 2016 by Jules Leave a Comment

If you're like me, you know what you want but can't exactly explain it to anyone else. If you're like me then you might also scour Pinterest hoping someone smarter and a few steps a head of you already did what you have in your head. Here are some of the things I loved.

Soooooo, yeah. Didn't find anyone who combined what I was going for. I mean sure, slapping a mudroom-like wall on a giant wall in your living room right next to the front door with an entertainment center in the middle of it doesn't appeal to everyone...or maybe anyone. But, my hubs and I decided a long time ago that we would LIVE in our home. We want it to be comfortable, functional, fun, and inviting.

After looking at tons of pins, thinking through the thousands of things I wanted this is the list of thing I needed from this wall and the simple sketch of what I came up with for my hubs to work with.

Mudroom

Lots of hooks for winter gear
Space for each individual's shoes
Washable baskets to collect shoe grime
Kid-friendly usability
Classy enough look for adults
Ledge for my picture frame obsession
Bench for more seating
Ability to walk from front to back door with shoes on
Decorative board and batten
Bright White wall to lighten up the entire room

Entertainment Center

Wall-mounted TV
Lots of DVD and some video game storage
Easily reachable DVD player, sound system, and Wii
Storage for all small electronics from around the house
Charging station for camera and iPad
Decorative "ship lap" to hide wiring

Process of Building the Wall

Move all furniture
Clean wall and flooring
Build structure of the entertainment center
Install chair rail and ledge pieces {horizontal boards}
Hang TV mount
Remove baseboards
Pull up carpet
Tear up tack-strip
Cut off excess carpet and padding
Cut tack-strip to appropriate length
Reinstall tack-strip
Staple padding in place
Tuck carpet around tack-strip
Complete entertainment center
Attach drawer faces and tracks on drawers boxes
Push entertainment center in place {don't install}
Measure 8000 times
Build benches
Moved outlets up {above bench tops}
Patch drywall/add wall texture
Attach wire spacers on the wall
Attach ship lap to spacers
Spray paint primer coat on 3 loose pieces
Install entertainment center and benches
Install trim pieces {vertical boards} on wall
Install baseboards and quarter round
Fill all cracks with caulking
Paint...everything
Sand rough wood
Install hooks and hardware

Entertainment Center before and after

I could write a gazillion posts on my thought process behind each logistical reason I wanted things a certain way but not too many on the construction steps- maybe I'll tak my sweet hubs into writing more on that. Sorry I don't have more process pictures. Thanks for coming by to see our new Great-Wall! Weeks later and it's still making me smile.

Filed Under: as Jules is DIYing, Homemaker, Organizing, Projects, The ones about the Rothacher Home

Outdoor Toy Storage {Thoughtful Thursday}

February 5, 2015 by Jules Leave a Comment

We've tried lots of different things to hold the kids toys. Laundry baskets. Shelf made from old drawers. And the most recent attempt, an old bakers rack that was left in our shed by the former owner we were using for tools.

After wiping it down I used my favorite kind of paint for furniture {or just about anything}: Spray Paint. After getting the entire thing coated with the blue, I used some cardboard and tape to block off the wooden top and sprayed it with black chalkboard paint then added simple white knobs I had in my pile of "leftover" parts from projects.

I pulled it up on the deck and added toys. We'll see how long this lasts and if it makes the kids wanna put their things away any more than the other tries.

Filed Under: as Jules is DIYing, Decorating, Homemaker, Organizing, Projects

Surviving a Sudden Side Job

August 19, 2014 by Jules Leave a Comment

I'm excited to announce that the Homemaker's Challenge is switching things up from now on! Rather than themes for each month, we are moving to a "collum" based contributor site where each writer will share out their wheel-base. I bet none of you will ever guess what my collunm will be about! {sarcasm} Life with Lots of Littles! So, for all my mamma friends with a load of lots of littles, the 3rd Tuesday of every month, I'm hear to talk straight to YOU! This months:

When you are raising lots of littles, finding "spare time" to have an extra side job to meet financial goals can be tough. Today I am sharing from my failed attempt at this. Here are my 7 tips for Surviving a Sudden Side Job with Lots of Littles.

Filed Under: Homemaker, Parenting, Projects, The Ones about Homemaker's Challenge, The ones about the Rothacher Home

Easter Neighbor Gifts {Thoughtful Thursday}

April 17, 2014 by Jules 2 Comments

If you've been here any time at all, you know we LOVE a good excuse to do something fun for our neighbors.

This week, my kids were wanting to make "Easter baskets". I'd already been considering making something to celebrate summer for the neighbor kids around us who are almost out for break. With summer for school-aged kids still over a month away, we thought we'd try to do both mixed together.

Contents we used:

from the Dollar Tree

bucket and shovel
germX {pack of 3 Christmas themed- I pulled off the winter-esk sticker}
jump rope
sunglasses

from home {originally mostly from Wal-Mart}

sidewalk chalk in a large box
little bubbles that came in a pack of 8
assorted Easter grass
See Jane Work labels {on wicked sale at Office Depot}
blank note cards
post card invites to your Church's Easter service
pipe cleaners and rubber bands {we used the rubber bands to told the 7 pieces of chalk together in the shape of a flower and then made lil leaves around it}

How-to Make:

collect bucket and gift items
add grass to the bottom making it about 1/2 full
place larger items in 1st
mix in smaller items {dividing like colors from one another}
*we color coordinated each bucket using ~2 colors for fun
green and pink and purple and yellow for the neighbor girls and orange/red and blue for the boy
create label {print our FREE LABEL here} using Avery Label Template 5450 in Word
color in lettering for extra fun {sharpies worked the best without smearing the print}
cover original cheap sticker on the bucket that wouldn't com off with new label
write a cute little note about Easter linking items in the bucket {or print our cheesy FREE NOTE here}

I wrote out the note in yellow marker in a card and let my almost 6-year-old trace it {so it would all fit in the little cards we had}
throw in a postcard invite to your church's Easter service hand-deliver with smiles 😀

Happy Easter!!!

Filed Under: Holidays, Homemaker, Parenting, Projects, The ones about the Rothacher Home, Thoughtful Thursdays

Easter Crafts with Littles {Thoughtful Thursdays}

March 6, 2014 by Jules Leave a Comment

This week I want to feature a guest post from Olivia Glendale, a a 20-something year old mother of two, both under 2 years. When she’s not busy soothing tantrums and changing diapers, you can find her blogging about home décor, organizing, and DIY projects at www.DIYMother.org. Today, she has super cute ideas for Easter crafts you can easily do with your littles!

My family has a tendency to get caught up in spring fever. My husband is a DIY addict like me, so springtime means outdoor projects every weekend: staining the deck! Cleaning the gutters! Yay!

I, on the other hand, prefer to garden and host gatherings with the extended family. And Easter is one of my favorite holidays to fill with family and fellowship. Because, really, what better way is there to celebrate a season of new life and growth than with the resurrection of our Lord?

This year will be the first year I can involve my 18-month old in Easter crafts. Naturally, I’ve been looking around for fun crafts to do with her, as well as all of her cousins on Easter Sunday. Here are a few of my favorite Easter crafts I’ve found. The links to the tutorials are listed below each photo.

Egg Carton Cross

From Housing A Forest

This is a great craft for the kids after church on Easter Sunday-especially if you have some cooking to do. It’s pretty simple: cut out 5 cups in a row and then 3 cups in a row from an empty egg carton, preferably the cardboard kind.

Glue the inside of the middle cup in the row of three and glue the cross together. Let the kids paint it, add glitter, beads, or cover them with fabric.

Rice Krispie Eggs

From HTYM.com

I absolutely love this idea and cannot believe I’ve never done it. Prepare the Rice Krispie treats as your normally would; no need to go through the steps, we’re all parents here…we should be pro’s by now. Then wash and dry some plastic eggs and spray the insides with non-stick spray.

Push the Rice Krispies into each half of the plastic egg, working it up the sides. You want to create a cavity, so leave enough room to fit candy inside. Let the Rice Krispie mix set and gently slide them out of the plastic egg. Put a few pieces of candy inside (jelly beans, robin’s eggs, whatever you prefer) and press the egg halves together using a little bit of pressure. You can even decorate the Rice Krispie eggs with sprinkles or icing.