Wednesday

Decorative Suitcase Thrift Store Decor

Summer is here and so is Thrift Store Decor for June.

The once a month get together of jazzed up thrifted items brought to you by the Thrift Store Decor team of bloggers.

Now grab your travel brochure, because I'm packing your stuff for a quick trip.

Painted Suitcase, Bliss-Ranch.com

There is this chick from Minnesota who knows her way around a paint brush.


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Monday

Gentleman's Dresser For Baby

The thing about birthing six kids is that inevitably, one by one, they grow up.

Blink, and a couple are feathering their own nests with a mister or missus.

Blink again and you are converting a vintage gentleman's dresser into a diaper station for the new little man that one is preparing to welcome.

I'm pretty tickled about this, just not tickled pink.

I'm tickled Little Gray Lamb.

Gentleman's Dresser Converted to Baby Changer, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Saturday

Cement and Concrete Projects

A couple weeks ago I did a post about This That and The Other Thing, which basically was a stall because I didn't have time to write a new post while we were working on outside projects.

Well guess what?  This is another stall, but with some photos of project progress.

Summer season doesn't really get started in Minnesota till June anyhow, and now that the wet leaves are cleaned up and winter washed away from everything, we can have at projects that seem to move from the to-do list year after year.

Hand shaping concrete steps, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Tuesday

New Kitchen Hardware

Once upon a time there was this IKEA Rast hack contest.

Instructions; Hack a plain, unfinished pine IKEA dresser into something that could win votes, and if you placed in the top three you would receive a hardware makeover prize  for a room of your choice from Hickory Hardware.

Hickory Hardware Cabinet Hardware, Bliss-Ranch.com

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Life's Ruff Dog Bed

It's a dogs life isn't it? 

Sleep when you want, someone brings you your food, and it's ok not to shave your legs.

Now I'm not claiming for one second I came up with the idea of turning a headboard into a dog bed.  If you look on Pinterest you can find a gazillion of 'em to use as inspiration.

Not only do I not claim stake to the idea, I didn't make this one either.

My ever increasingly talented #2 daughter got out the saws and used her skillz.

She trekked out for a day of garage sales with me and came home with this five dollar twin headboard, which was exactly what she was on the hunt for.

Headboard turned into dog bed Ruff Life, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

The Dirt On The Potting Bench Sign

If you go through our gate with the watch out for dog-doo sign hanging on it, walk straight toward a shed with a barn cupola on top, take a left, go past the patio with the rock pond, the play ground and the deck, across from the pool, on the far side of the yard at the edge of the woods, wedged between the empty squirrel feeder and some wood for the fire pit ....... you will arrive at the final resting place of my potting bench.

I can get dirty there and it doesn't matter.

Reclaimed Potting Bench Dirty Hoe Sign, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Tuesday

This, That, and The Other Thing...

Inevitably when I don't have a DIY project to post for a week, emails start to arrive asking if everything is ok.

I happen to think it's really sweet that my readers, who don't even know me, take time out of their day to drop a note to check in on me.

Just so you know, if I have died, I won't answer the emails.

And I'm fine, but thanks for asking.

I could write a rambling post about nothing, but I've chosen to discuss this that and the other thing.  But really it's a rambling post about nothing.

This time of year we are just so happy for no snow and sunshine, we spend a lot of time doing yard work and removing the snow scum from everything.  Project #2. 

Hostas Yard Border, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Wednesday

Smith-Victor Light Bar Box Thrift Store Decor May

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Painted Smith Victor Light Bar Box, Bliss-Ranch.com

These days with technology the computer holds the majority of photographs that have been downloaded to it, so are the days of sitting around the kitchen table thumbing through a shoe box filled with photos gone?

Not at my house.

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How I Found My Style Sundays

Have you ever visited Pamela at the blog From My Front Porch To Yours?  Pamela is quite the popular gal, probably because she has quite the popular style sense, so if you have never stopped in to see what she is decorating in the Southern way, you should.

A couple of years ago when she asked me if I would like to share my style on her feature 'How I Found My Style Sundays', my first thought was "me... style"?. 

Then I thought about how it takes all sorts of tastes to make the decorating world go round and that somewhere there is probably someone who thinks this mismatched collage of stuff I've put together in my home, is stylish, and maybe I could inspire them. 

So I agreed to do a post about my style and today for Throw Back Thursday, while the grass is green and the trees start to bloom for Spring, I'm re-posting it here on my own blog.

Brick House in the woods, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Monday

Family Contributions to Filling #1 Sons Walls

I wasn't sure what to title this post.

First I had "My Art At #1 Sons House".  But I just make stuff, I wouldn't call it art.

So I changed the title to Stuff I've Made.  But I didn't like that either, it's not all about me.

So as I type this, I'm not sure what the post title will end up being.  Maybe I'll call it Purple Monkey Dishwasher.

It's a thing.  I didn't know that till writing this post.  I thought purple monkey dishwasher was just something my kids said when they were young, wrong again mom.

Green Wood Coffee Table With Wood Top, Bliss-Ranch.com

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Wednesday

Ebook Review, Furniture Flipper

Recently I was offered the opportunity to review an ebook on starting a furniture flipping business written by Melanie Alexander from Lost & Found, titled Furniture Flipper.

Since I know many of my readers are curious about what it takes to dip their brush into the furniture flipping bucket I signed up to receive a copy for review.

It's an easy read, forty pages that focuses on the basics of what is needed to take on the task of flipping furniture for anyone who has painted a few pieces of furniture and would like to earn some cash from that hobby.



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Tuesday

Dollhouse Move In Day

It's move in day, or what is suppose to be room reveal #1 of Dollhouse Therapy with Cassie from Primitive & Proper.

But just like in real life, moving into a new house doesn't always go as planned, and the dollhouse closing date got delayed.

Dollhouse Bedroom Cardboard Boxes, Bliss-Ranch.com

That's code for the radio house conversion is having some trouble with contractors.


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Monday

Concrete Sinks In A Slurry

What's shaking in my world of concrete sinks?

Well let me just tell you in this here 'Jack & Jill bathroom redo update #number# I don't know what anymore'......

We've had some exceptionally nice April weather so both sinks moved from the garage to the front yard where they were slurried and washed and left to dry in the sun, even though on the day I took these photos it wasn't sunny.

Clementine the Crapping Quacker supervised.  Seriously, she is a nosy duck.

Concrete Bathroom Vanity, BLiss-Ranch.com


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Wednesday

Purse Door Wreath From Found Items

This is how the story goes ....

Spring Purse Wreath, Bliss-Ranch.com

I was vacuuming up dead bugs in our three season porch, now that the snow has melted, and a round galvanized chalkboard thing I made from a broken clock fell off the wall.


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Monday

Dollhouse Practice Chandelier

#5 in the dollhouse journal is something I never would have considered making had I not seen photos on line.

Dollhouse chandelier's are a thing, and the ones I saw on Pinterest were made out of bead supplies.

If it's one thing we have around here, it's beading supplies, so I thought I'd make a couple practice ones.

My samples are not so amazing as the ones I saw online.

Practice Dollhouse Chandelier, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

Bathroom Plank Floor Tile, Petrified Coast

I think I have mentioned a hundred times or so by now, we are in the midst of a bathroom redo, but it's really two bathrooms so takes twice as long.

It's a Jack and Jill bath, but not the typical kind where two doors enter one main area.

South Cypress Petrified Coast Bathroom Floor Tile Bliss-Ranch.com

Ours has two bedroom doors that enter two bathroom areas; the toilet and a vanity in one and a tub and vanity in the other.  So two Jills could get ready for school in the mornings by staggering their shower time by just a couple minutes.

One could do hair in one room, the other makeup, without getting in each others way.


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Wednesday

Vintage Shoe Lasts Thrift Store Decor April

April showers bring May flowers, or at my house April brought shoe lasts.

Vintage Shoe Lasts Towel Holder, Bliss-Ranch.com

A gloomy day seemed like a good time for a project to rain down, so I made something I could use for the Thrift Store Decor Challenge this month.

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Monday

Dollhouse Furniture #4 Clock Upcycle

This week in the dollhouse renovation project I'm going to share the redo of this ugly Goodwill clock.

What caught my eye was the fact that the bottom of the clock had little drawers, so I took it outside and cut it's top off with the saw.

Dollhouse Upcycle, Clock to Dresser, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

Beware Of Dog Sign With A Surprise Ending

At the beginning of the week I told you what happens in early spring with the winter thaw, but you might have missed that tidbit of information because it was hidden in a post about #1 son's awesome guest bathroom vanity.

However the tidbit from that post ties in with this one, so click the link above if you didn't catch the info about the "thaw".

We live rural.

That means we're not on a natural gas line and our gas is delivered via truck to a tank in our back yard that looks like a grounded Goodyear blimp.

The gas is called LP - liquid propane.

Beware of Dog Sign, Bliss-ranch.com

The LP guy arrives, pulls the long hose through our backyard, fills the tank, and we are able to cook and stay warm - two things we like.


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Wednesday

Quityerbellyaching Sign, Reader Copy

Last month I wrote a post on a wash stand that I made-over from orange oak to a combination of dark wood with some painted white areas.

A pretty cute little combo if I do say so myself.

But what seemed to have caught peoples attention was the little sign I hung above it.

QUITYERBELLYACHING

Quityerbellyaching Sign, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Monday

Rustic and Calm Guest Bathroom

For those of you in sunny early spring locations, I remember well what that means.

In warm Southern California it meant beach weather would soon be heating up and a wardrobe change will take place away from fashionable sweaters that we didn't really need to wear due to cold weather anyway.

But in the Midwest the arrival of spring means different things.

Purple Iris, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Wednesday

Subway Shower Tile

My fingers are pretty excited as I pound out this post.

Why?  Because the pace has picked up on the bathroom remodel, thanks to the arrival of the shower tile and flooring tile from South Cypress.

{To refresh your memory; this is a redo of a Jack & Jill bath, {here} & {here} which was really a Jill & Jill bath, and is now becoming a Jack & Jack bath while disposing of all the pink and updating the 20 year old fixtures. 

South Cypress Shower Subway Tile, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

Cat Photos Turned Wall Art

A certain five year old princess has moved into her new bedroom and it's full of things that hold memories.

Her bedroom set was given to her by her maternal grandmother, furniture that had stood in her own daughters room.

Above the princesses bed is a positive message sign painted for her and signed on the back by her paternal grandmother with the hope that as she grows up she will take those words to heart.

And then there is the life of the party that lives in her new home..... the orange tiger kitten she named Whiskers.

Framed Cat Art, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Wednesday

Dollhouse Duck Shelf Week 3

I'm putting numbers on these dollhouse titles so I can keep track of what week I am at in the vintage radio-to-dollhouse conversion, so here I am at week 3.

For the past couple weeks I have been making mini furniture and wall art, and some of it is so darn cute I can't stand it!

I'll probably save many of the furniture redo's for the room reveals as I participate in the Dollhouse Therapy Challenge, but from time to time as I move through the weeks I'll show you a few of the makeovers on the Goodwill junk I picked up.

Like this little duck sided display shelf.......

Dollhouse Goodwill Furniture, Bliss-Ranch.com
Dollhouse Duck Shelf Before


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Monday

Zuppa Toscana Soup

So you know those time lapse videos of food that are everywhere online?

It can be a video of a speedy dessert, an appetizer, full 8 course meal, doesn't matter - the time lapse videos not only make it look fast and easy, but of course it always looks delish.

And I'm a sucker for them.

I've lost count how many of those videos I have prepared after seeing them on Facebook, no doubt posted by someone purposely tempting me.

I'll just say Hummingbird cake right here and now.

Of course I must also mention my disclaimer now before I go any further, which I write on.every.food.post....... I'm not a food blogger, (recite it with me) I'm a food eater.

Zuppa Toscana Soup from 12 Tomatoes, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

Barn Wood Entry Way Shelves

We're busy around here waiting for cement to cure.

That's the equivalent of watching paint dry, only it takes longer.

So while we wait for the cement to cure and the new bathroom flooring to arrive, I decided it was a good time to actually paint a wall and have Brawn make some shelves that he's been meaning to make for the last 20 years.

barnwood shelves, Bliss-Ranch.com

I can't say for sure its shelves he's been meaning to make for 20 years, but I know he's been meaning to make something for an awkward entry way corner.


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Wednesday

Walnut And Painted Oak Washstand

This is one of those posts that might enrage the folks who never ever paint wood and don't like that look.

To them I say.... that's why paint stripper was invented.

I also say quityerbellyaching.


entry way painted vintage wash stand, Bliss-Ranch.com

My house has plenty of wood....... of all grains, all species of trees, all colors of stains, natural or otherwise, so if I want to paint one of the gazillion pieces of real wood I have around here by golly I'm gonna do it.


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Monday

Dollhouse Mini's, Week 2

Last week I introduced you to the vintage radio that I am turning into a dollhouse for a certain five year old, and from now on I'll be looking differently at every little thing.

And when I say little, I mean little.

I'll be eyeing up bits and pieces of this and that, anything that can be turned into a miniature "something" for the dollhouse.

Dollhouse Miniature Finds, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Friday

Crochet Bunny With A Wardrobe

Hippity hoppity Easter's on it's way, and I've got a little somebunny to share with you.

Last December #2 daughter decided she wanted to make a crocheted bunny for a certain five year old.

I don't sew.  I don't crochet, and I don't knit.

#2 daughter however picked up some needles one day a couple years ago and just started doing it.  No pattern, no instruction, no nothing.

Hand Made Crochet Bunny with Clothes, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Wednesday

Thrift Store Decor Lettered Sock Bin

March has arrived and with it brings this months Thrift Store Decor, where 10 bloggers breath new life into a castoff item from the thrift store.
Thrift Store Decor Team, Bliss-Ranch.com

My project was fun and pretty fast, unless you count the hours it took me to sort through socks so I could implement my new sock mating system.

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Monday

Poured Concrete Bathroom Vanity Top

One down, one to go.

I'm not going to bore you with all the details of tedious DIY, so I won't be giving you complete step by step instructions on how to pour concrete bathroom vanity tops.

I wouldn't want you to build and pour your own tops based solely on what I say anyhow, what if I forgot to include some important instruction and your project turned out like crap?

I'll just give you the basics and what *we* do that gives us the results we want.  There is plenty of expert advice on the web, you don't need mine, mostly because I'm not really into writing a 'how to' cement book and the fact that I believe experts often tend to over complicate things.

Concrete bathroom Counter Top, Bliss-Ranch.com

Even with a condensed version, there is still lots of steps to include.

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Friday

A Vintage Radio Dollhouse Begins

Soon after a certain five year old was born, I started to think about the dollhouse I would craft for her in a few years.

Vintage Radio Project Dollhouse, Bliss-Ranch.com
Before - front of the dollhouse

And it didn't look anything like this dirty dusty vintage radio.


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Wednesday

Pink Play Kitchen Featured At Bob Vila


When I was just a young pup - so long ago now I don't even remember when that was - Brawn and I would tune in to channel 13 and watch This Old House.

That was long before DISH, Direct TV, cable, the internet, and the plethora of home improvement shows.


Norm and Bob showed folks the tips and tricks to do DIY the right way.  Their show was how I learned what dovetailing drawers was, and how tedious renovating an old house could be.

Upcycled Pink Play Kitchen From Nightstand, Bliss-Ranch.com
Painted Pinstripe Wall

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Friday

Choosing South Cypress For Tile

One of the hardest things for me in decorating has always been picking colors.

You too?  Well I've done the legwork for 'ya on choosing a tile place. 

It doesn't matter what it is - carpet, wood, tile, walls, counter - the color selection agony doesn't change for me.

Putting patterns and colors together does not come naturally to me.

I've gotten it wrong as many times as I've gotten it right, and it is not a wonderful thing when you choose the wrong tile only to make that observation after it's glued and grouted.

South Cypress Subway Tile
Or painting dining room walls four times in three days because you are SURE the color is perfect.... each time.

Yes that really happened, I'm surprised my husband even lets me pick paint anymore.


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Tuesday

Stuffed Dog House

Last weekend a certain nine year old wanted to build his little sister a dog house for her stuffed dog.

He rounded up some 'additional help' and they discovered he didn't have enough raw product.

At least that's the way the 'additional help' - also known as #3 son, told the story.

So #3 son rounded up #1 dad, who located scraps of wood to make the toy dog house that the certain nine year old wanted to make for his little sister.  Got that?

A dog house is a pretty straight forward design, and I was not consulted in the least on this.  Probably for the best as I would have over complicated the job.

The completed dog house showed up on the dining room table with the instruction, "you can paint this if you want".

Well I wanted.

Stuffed Toy Dog House, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Thursday

DIY Sink Forms for Poured Concrete Counters

If you are following along you might recall that we are redoing a Jack & Jill bathroom,
{here} & {here}, which was really a Jill & Jill set up that we are now making into a Jack & Jack bathroom.

Confused?

Don't be.  All you need to know is that we are taking the mid 1990's out of the bathrooms and putting in a bit of the new millennium.

One of the updates will be poured concrete counters. 

Brawn has done these many times before; we have a concrete topped small entertainment center, two other concrete bath vanities, and he poured kitchen counters for a friend.

Foam Shaped Sinks For Poured Conctete


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Tuesday

How I Clean Old Furniture Hardware

Have you ever bought a vintage or antique piece of furniture and the knobs and handles look like they have been around since the dawn of time?

Me too.

The thought of scrubbing all those doo-dads used to turn me off to making the purchase or if I did buy, I wouldn't reuse the knobs it came with -  I'd just buy new hardware or search in the garage for old hardware that was less cruddy looking.
Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

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Sunday

Perfect Linens Perfect Sheet Set Winner

Someone is getting a Valentines Day gift and
it won't melt or add inches to the thighs.

Cupid shot his arrow through number 42 for a win on a
set of Perfect Linens Second Skin Sheets.

 Congratularions to Gail, #42.

Didn't win?  You can still order a set for yourself with a 15% discount 
at Perfect Linens by using the code in red below.


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Friday

Being Married To A Blogger, A Valentine Q&A

Last year Cassie from Primitive and Proper and myself decided to host a bunch of bloggers and do something fun where we had our significant others answer questions about us titled "So I Married A Creative _______".


It was a hit and this year the torch was passed on to a new group of ladies who interviewed their Valentine to see what they think of being married to a blogger.

Those ladies graciously invited me to participate in this man torture with them, thank you Claire for including me.

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Wednesday

Upcycled Birthday Calendar

Welcome to Thrift Store Decor for February, where every month a group of talented bloggers turn a cast off item into a treasure.

Thrift Store Decor Wood Birthday Calendar, Bliss-Ranch.com

This month's project is one of my favorites, I tend to like personalized ones.

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Sunday

A Sweet Perfect Linens Perfect Sheet Giveaway

Last summer I was given the opportunity to review a sweet sheet set from Perfect Linens.

I loved my sheet set then, and I love it now.

And my best-friend-forever Thomas - who is the big Kahuna at Perfect Linens - wants to give one of the Bliss Ranch readers the chance to get between a set of his sheets.


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Wednesday

Valentine Chocolate Box Door Decoration

A funny thing happened on the way to the trash......

Do you ever save something you don't really want to keep just because you don't want to throw it away?

Every time you open the closet door, you see it hanging out in there and think, man I've gotta toss that thing out.

But you don't.

Then several years go by, and the damm thing is still in your closet..... right?

So you finally decide, that's it - to the trash it goes, but then pause because you remember seeing something creative made from the trash you are about to dispose of.

Maybe you could make something out of it then throw it away in a week or two after it had lived out it's usefulness?

Chocolate Valentines Box Free Door Wreath


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Sunday

Selia Faucet Combo

We're working on a Jack and Jill bathroom makeover with Pfister Faucets, and right now the bathroom  looks like this.....

Pfister Faucet Bathroom Redo Bliss-Ranch.com
It might not look like much to you, but new copper pipe has been plumbed and checked for leaks.

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Thursday

Tree Branch Wall Art

While I'm busy helping work on our Jack and Jill bathroom makeover - which really means since we are at the plumbing stage I'm sitting and watching - I decided to repost this cheap, simple, basically free project I made a couple years ago from a tree branch.


I regularly pin things to the Bliss Ranch Pinterest Boards that I intend on doing.

I'll be busy making stuff till the year 2050, which when I first typed that year it sounded so far away, but for a baby born today they would only be 34 years old.  Wow.

Tree Branch Alphabet Art Bliss-Ranch.com


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Sunday

Beauty Of A Beast Step Stool

OK BFF in California.... if you are reading this say good-bye to the step stool your husband painted for Beth all those years ago.

Actually you're just saying good-bye to the paint, not the whole stool - I'd never get rid of that.

Beth's pretty tall now and probably hasn't used it herself in a long time, but the stool has been stepped upon constantly by someone around here since it was gifted to her.

Step stool Short People Bliss-Ranch.com


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Thursday

Out With The Old.... Bathroom

There's no turning back now on our Jack & Jill bathroom redo.

Thank goodness!!!!  

Because I don't want any of that stuff back. 

Ever.

Jack & Jill Bathroom Redo Bliss-Ranch.com


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Monday

Metallic Coat Tree and Fusion Paint Giveaway

Today I have something special for you.

Fusion Paint Collage Bliss-Ranch.com
Melanie at Lost and Found
Susan from Homeroad
And from the Frozen State of Minnesota,
Special because you will be able to visit some of my friends and see what they have painted, as well as have the chance to enter a giveaway for some of the Fusion Mineral Paint that we all use on many of our projects.


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Wednesday

Thrift Store Decor Tiered Tin Stand

Welcome to the first Thrift Store Decor of 2016.

Old Tins Tiered Stand, Bliss-Ranch.com #ThriftStoreDecor

Thrift Store Decor is a makeover challenge that gives something thrifted a new lease on life.


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Monday

On The Agenda - Redo of Dated Jack & Jill Bathroom

A new year brings new projects around here.

The first one on my agenda won't be just a 'paint a table' type thing.

I'm not fluffing any pillows, or hanging a new picture and calling it good.

It won't be happening in the wink of an eye either.

On the chopping block is a 23 year old bathroom that has been neglected and it's time for it to move on from the metallic-y pink shower tiles and girly touches.

Old Tile, Jack & Jill Bathroom Redo Bliss-Ranch.com


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Sunday

Products & Projects, Where Are They Now?


Where are they now?

Where are what Bliss?

I'm referring to some of the products and projects that came to live with me in 2015.

I often get emails from readers asking how certain things have held up, or if I would buy or recommend a product, and often they wonder what I ended up doing with something I've painted or made.

To kick off 2016 I'm gonna answer some of those questions here and now.

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BB
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From time to time there might be a written review of services or products on this blog for which Bliss Ranch may or may not have received that service or product for free. Receiving a product or service for free or at a discount will never dictate what is written on this blog or guarantee a favorable review. All opinions here belong to Bliss Ranch and Bliss Ranch alone. Bliss Ranch is not monetarily compensated to write anything on this blog... period! For the complete privacy policy please see the tab at the top of the blog.