DIY Board & Batten Shutters-Look for Less!

Hey guys!

I am so STINKING excited to show you this project! It’s been something we’ve been dying to do since we bought our house.

Hey! We built those! Jake and I got our hands dirty a few weeks ago to whip these up, and I still find
myself stopping in the middle of the road to stare.

I’m even more excited to announce that building these shutters was part of the “Look for Less
Challenge” I’m participating in with 6 other incredible bloggers!

Ya’ll. I’m CHEAP. As in, spending more than I have to on just about anything won’t fly with me, so when I was asked to participate you bet your buttered biscuit I jumped in faster than Kim K jumped out of her second marriage. (PS…did you see that ROCK Kanye put on it? That’s a paperweight where I come from…let’s hope the 3rd times a charm)

Okay, okay onto the tutorial

I’m not going to lie, this project had hurdles we had to jump over, and it definitely wasn’t as easy as we expected but in the end it was SO worth it…let’s see:

If we were to buy these pre-made we’d be spending a whopping $620.00 on WOOD. No thanks, Franks! I knew with a little elbow grease we could whip ‘em up ourselves…try this price breakdown on for size!

You will need
• Pine Boards (we used 8 10 foot 2x4’s…$6.00 each) $48.00
• Wood Glue (already owned)
• Black Paint (already owned)
• Big Daddy Nails $6.00
• Big Daddy Screws $6.00
• A deep drill bit $4.50
• Electric Drill w/ Hammer Function (Owned)
• An electric sander (or sand paper if you don’t mind doing it by hand)

A whopping $64.50 for FOUR shutters! I’ll take it! Start by picking up the above items at your local Lowes. (You’d think Lowes sponsors me based on how much I mention them…but nope…Lowes has no idea who little old me is) For the Pine Boards, you’re going to have to go back to your high school math days, and break out some measurements. Our windows are 66 inches long. I wanted them to be about a half inch larger on both sides, so I needed 67 inch boards. I did some calculations to figure the best board height to purchase, based on what was the most cost effective, and required the fewest cuts. (Poor Lowes man)

Once you’ve figured what cuts you’ll need, take it to the big saw & bat your eyelashes in hopes the
operator won’t hate you for asking him to cut 20 boards.Once home, we worked out a pretty handy, yet time consuming system to get our boards prepped and painted. Jacob sanded any serious knots, or rough patches, and I wiped em down and painted with our black weather proof paint. It took 2 coats to get the right amount of coverage.

Yes, we used trash cans. Don't judge :)...& yes our garage lacks MAJOR organization

To dry we stacked our little boards on leftover pieces of 2x4 & stacked the rest around the garage. This took most of Saturday. So naturally, we took a beer break. (This was the weekend of my Mom & Dads Chili & Brewfest)

The next day we put our shutters together and glued the horizontal pieces on with wood glue.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT trust this stuff to keep your shutters together. It helps as a first step, but to keep this project fresh for the long-haul, you’re going to need some hardware.

Flip your shutters over once the glue is dry (yes, I was lazy and only painted the front side) and nail your boards together in the places you see an arrow. We actually screwed in some of the boards, but we both agree that nailing is easier. Take note from our mistake :) This part really is crucial. (We didn’t try to get away with only glue just to have our project come crashing down or anything…)

Once you’re done with this step, give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back because guess what, you made a shutter!

Now comes the fun part. We get to hang them. This is where we ran into the most trouble.
Hanging these puppies was not easy!

To start, you’re going to need to put the giant drill bit on your drill, and hold up the shutter where you
would like it on your house. Drill through the shutter, aiming for the mortar, and drill just enough that it makes a mark. Take your shutter down, and drill to the end of your bit into the mortar.

Once this is done, add your Big Daddy screw and drill that puppy into the wall! Repeat on the bottom of the shutter, as well as on all the following shutters.

Once this part is done, you’ll inevitably need a paint touch up or two, so quickly whip that out, then step back to admire your handy work!

Yeah! You built AND hung a shutter! Go you!

How about a little before & after action, eh?

The shutters (& the green grass) make this look like a completely different house, and I am smitten! For some labor & a cost savings of over 500 buckaroos…I call this puppy a major win!

If you’re cheap frugal like me, go check out my awesome bloggy friends below for some incredible
DIY on a dime inspiration.

Kayla made this incredible West Elm Inspired Mirror

Check out the rest at her blog Home Coming

Sarah blew me away with her gorgeous Wood Bead Chandelier

Make your own by checking her out at Life on Virgina Street

Rachael made this fun drink station inspired by Pottery Barn…I love!

She shares the details over at Like a Saturday

Andrea is in the Christmas Spirit! She DIY’ed her own CB2 knock-off peace wreath

Start feeling festive by heading over to Life.Love.Larson

I’m in love with this Pie Safe that Gracie DIY’ed!

Get the gorgeous details over at Kitchen Table Art

I just love these Anthropology inspired coasters that Shannon made!

Her skills are amazing over at Sewing Barefoot

I sure hope you’re inspired, friends! I sure couldn’t believe the incredible creativity my bloggy friends have! We certainly had fun making our shutters, and I hope you’ll attempt to bring some DIY Look for Less to your home soon. :)

Until Next Time,
Kylie

Linking up to:
Skip to my Lou/Keeping It Simple Crafts/DIY Showoff/Home Stories A to Z / Uncommon Designs /Sugar and Dots / The Winthrop Chronicles
The Girl Creative / House of Hepworths / The Shabby Creek Cottage
Liz Marie Blog / Tater Tots & Jello / Shabby Nest / Whipper Berry /Funky Junk Interiors / Serenity Now /Classy Clutter / Someday Crafts
Reasons to Skip the Housework / Six Sisters Stuff / Be Different Act Normal/ Life with the Crust cut off/ The Turquoise Home /  Ginger Snap Crafts

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GoodBye Weekend...

Happy Tuesday to you!

How was your weekend? I have to be honest with you, I had planned today to show you how beautiful the guest bathroom wainscoting looks. To give you an in-depth tutorial on how to frame a builder grade mirror, and show you all of our new, fun bathroom accessories. Bad news though, guys…the guest bath still look exactly like this. I haven’t even cleaned the paint up on the wall by the cabinet yet…we needed a relaxing weekend!

You see, my almost husband is a cop. Therefore, a weekend together is a rare occurrence, and we usually spend them knee-deep in projects. So we made the decision to go see (2!) movies, go out to dinner AND go out to lunch, spend some money on new jump ropes (Crossfit…don’t ask) , and watch football. And that’s all we did, and it was so lovely.

Speaking of Crossfit...our weekend started with our first ever FRAN workout. 98 percent of you will have no idea what i'm talking about. That other 2 percent will know that it is the worst pain you will ever feel from a workout. My only word to describe it is ouch.

Ryan used to be who got me through my work outs...until I learned about Rich Froning , the fittest man in the world.

He is INCREDIBLE! If you want to take some time to look all that he is online...I highly suggest it :)

Jake dragged me to a pet adoption event on Saturday…and I was clear that we were ONLY looking…

Until we met this little guy, who was already potty trained, and had the cutest little stubby legs. I almost changed my mind…but I really wanted to go to the Flying Burrito & I didn’t know where we would put him…so we left without a new addition to the family. (Sorry, Honey!)

Speaking of Flying Burrito…

They have the best fish tacos I’ve had in Arkansas so far, and I scarfed down 3 like it was my job. Also, that's our realtor, & friend Marcus on the Billboard behind me. (Lets see if you really read this as much as you say you do, Marcus :) )

On Sunday, we spent some time on our back patio, which I’ve literally done NOTHING to. We pulled our cushions out of our storage room, and sat down to soak in the gorgeous 70 degree temperature.

The coolest thing about these amazing, comfy cushions that I adore is that all Summer I held out buying them, because at 60 bucks a pop, I just wasn’t willing to spend nearly 300 dollars on cushions, no matter how gorgeous they were. Well, as soon as Lowes started breaking out their Halloween Décor, I hopped online, and BAM on sale for 13.99 EACH! Can you believe it? For the price of one
cushion we bought 4 and I laughed all the way to the bank. :) (Well actually my Grandma did,because she bought them for us as a housewarming gift...thanks Gram!)

We tried really hard to get a instagram worthy photo of our Sunday laziness...the sun was in our eyes and it didn't happen...clearly :)

Remember how I said they were comfy though? I wasn’t lying…

I got up to put one load of laundry away, and by the time I came back out that happened.

Sunday Evening, we went up to my parents’ house for dinner, and I was lucky to snag a solid 20
minutes of “I just woke up” baby cuddles. (One happy me!)

Fuzzy Iphone Picture...poop!

We wrapped up the weekend by discussing our half-asleep plans to buy a vintage trailer, and fix it up and make like gypsies visiting the best campsites around the world.

Maybe one day….

Until Next Time,
Kylie

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You're so Vain...you probably think this post is about you..

What I wore Wednesday- (Not a night of drunk Karaoke)


 What is it that makes me feel so vain when I have a post with several pictures of myself? When it comes to this blog, I’d much rather spend my time behind the camera, rather than smack dab in the middle of it.

Remember this post? When I went on and on about how I couldn’t wait to go shopping for some
new fall staples? I was super stoaked because it was FINALLY cold enough to wear some of my warm-comfies, and we even got to let our fireplace rip for the first time this season :)

I love this scarf! So comfy and leopard totally has my heart. My absolute perfect fall outfit is some tights, a tunic/sweater, some boots and you’re done. Cozy and comfy and happy clothes :)
My hubs-to-be gets soo annoyed, he says “It’s seriously not fair that you get to wear those as pants”. As far as I’m concerned, if you get me out of yoga pants for the weekend, I’m in fancy clothes. This entire oufit was all purchased on the cheap! Details below sista!

Pea Coat: F21 (Last season)
Studded Tights: F21
Grey Tunic: Target
Scarf: TJ Max
Boots: TJ Max

I’m a firm believer in cheap clothes. I will forever shop at Forever 21, TJ Max, & Marshalls and wear my non-brand names proud!


What are your favorite fall staples? Anything in your closet you couldn’t make it through the Fallidays without?


Until Next Time,
Kylie

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The only soup base you’ll ever need:

You guys, I hate to admit it…but I’m a lazy cook. I make 88% of all our meals at home, but I only do this because of food prep.<-----That post on making food ahead of time is an OLD one…(pre taking blogging seriously) and I plan to give ya a new one soon.

During the work week, if I can make it ahead of time, I will! I try to plan all our meals over the weekend for the whole week, and prep what I can to make dinner easy peasy. What’s better than warm soup during these cold months? Answer: nothing! I love soup. And after numerous attempts, I’ve found the all-time best soup base ever. Go grab yourself some-

• Carrots (if you like them…you can omit)
• 1 white onion
• ½ stick of butter (I didn’t say it was the healthiest of all recipes
• Crushed Garlic
• S & P
• Bay Leaves
• Cumin
• Thyme
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Onion + Garlic Poultry seasoning (I just love this and throw it in everything)
• 2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• If you like celery…throw it in…I hate it…but it would work here too

It might be the last one you ever need. What is a soup base, you ask? It’s simply what you use to start
a soup. I made chicken noodle with this one, however with a few additions, you could make creamy
potato, or white bean and spinach, or add a can of tomato’s and turn it into minestrone. The best
part is, you can make a HUGE batch ahead of time, throw it in your freezer, and just add it to your
ingredients when you want to use it. Bam. Perfect soup every time!

You can make the entire thing in 15 minutes I bet…

1) Chop your onion, Garlic, & Carrot
2) Melt your ½ stick in a heavy bottom frying pan
3) Add your onions and begin to let them sweat. The kitchen will be smelling MM MM good at this
point
4) Toss in you carrots to let them get a little familiar with the party
5) After about 5 minutes, throw in your garlic. I use about a tablespoon (I love Garlic!) but you
should do this to taste
6) Help the party get started by stirring the mixture around
7) In a small bowl, add your spices. Again, I do this to taste, but it’s usually around a teaspoon of
each, except the salt
8) Throw your spices in the mixture with a ½ cup of water
9) Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes, and let everything marry for about 5 more minutes
10) Turn off the heat, transfer to some Tupperware…and be proud! You just made soup!

I turned this base into Chicken Noodle. All I did was throw the base in the crockpot, with 2 full bowls of water. I put in 4 chicken breasts that I let cook through the day.
When they’re done, shred ‘em up, and add some uncooked egg noodles to the soup. Put the lid on, and by the time you’re done setting the table (about 10 minutes) your noodles will be cooked, and your soup is ready for action!

I hope you try this simple recipe for all your future soupy endeavors. :)

Xo Kylie

Skip to my Lou/Keeping It Simple Crafts/DIY Showoff/Home Stories A to Z / Uncommon Designs /Sugar and Dots / The Winthrop Chronicles
The Girl Creative / House of Hepworths / The Shabby Creek Cottage
Liz Marie Blog / Tater Tots & Jello / Shabby Nest / Whipper Berry /Funky Junk Interiors / Serenity Now /Classy Clutter / Someday Crafts
Reasons to Skip the Housework / Six Sisters Stuff / Be Different Act Normal/ Life with the Crust cut off/ The Turquoise Home /  Ginger Snap Crafts

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