The DIY Handy Mom - DIY Projects and Homemade Costumes, Crafts, and Food!
  • Meet the DIY Handy Mom
  • Halloween Costumes
    • For Kids
      • Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume
      • Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume
      • Audrey 2 Little Shop of Horrors Kid’s Halloween Costume
      • Jack Skellington Face Mask
      • Kids Curious George Halloween Costume
      • DIY Jack Skellington Kids Costume
      • Baby Banana Costume
    • For Dogs
      • Zero Dog Halloween Costume
  • How-To
    • DIY Kitchen Remodel
    • How to Refinish Old Furniture
    • How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself
    • How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
      • Garden Greens, Ham & Cheese Omelette
      • Warm Quick Oats Recipe with Summer Berries Toasted Pecans & Maple Syrup
    • Lunch
      • Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles
      • Mediterranean Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Citrus Vinaigrette
    • Dinner
      • Garlic White Wine Seafood Pasta
      • Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Radishes, & Cilantro
      • Canning Tomatoes for Beginners – Quick and Easy!
      • Homemade Italian Pasta Sauce
      • Butter Garlic Mushroom Quinoa
      • Hearty Lentils and Rice
      • DIY Small Holiday Dinner Ideas: Perfectly Roasted Chicken in 40 minutes.
      • Honey Roasted Acorn Squash
      • Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
    • Dessert
      • Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe
  • Beauty
    • DIY Acrylic Nails Alternative – Quick and Easy At Home Manicure
    • DIY Festive Holiday Manicure
    • DIY Remedy for Split Nails Gel Strip Solutions
Meet the DIY Handy Mom
Halloween Costumes
    For Kids
    Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume
    Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume
    Audrey 2 Little Shop of Horrors Kid’s Halloween Costume
    Jack Skellington Face Mask
    Kids Curious George Halloween Costume
    DIY Jack Skellington Kids Costume
    Baby Banana Costume
    For Dogs
    Zero Dog Halloween Costume
How-To
    DIY Kitchen Remodel
    How to Refinish Old Furniture
    How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself
    How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub
Recipes
    Breakfast
    Garden Greens, Ham & Cheese Omelette
    Warm Quick Oats Recipe with Summer Berries Toasted Pecans & Maple Syrup
    Lunch
    Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles
    Mediterranean Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Citrus Vinaigrette
    Dinner
    Garlic White Wine Seafood Pasta
    Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Radishes, & Cilantro
    Canning Tomatoes for Beginners – Quick and Easy!
    Homemade Italian Pasta Sauce
    Butter Garlic Mushroom Quinoa
    Hearty Lentils and Rice
    DIY Small Holiday Dinner Ideas: Perfectly Roasted Chicken in 40 minutes.
    Honey Roasted Acorn Squash
    Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
    Dessert
    Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe
Beauty
    DIY Acrylic Nails Alternative – Quick and Easy At Home Manicure
    DIY Festive Holiday Manicure
    DIY Remedy for Split Nails Gel Strip Solutions
The DIY Handy Mom - DIY Projects and Homemade Costumes, Crafts, and Food!
  • Meet the DIY Handy Mom
  • Halloween Costumes
    • For Kids
      • Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume
      • Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume
      • Audrey 2 Little Shop of Horrors Kid’s Halloween Costume
      • Jack Skellington Face Mask
      • Kids Curious George Halloween Costume
      • DIY Jack Skellington Kids Costume
      • Baby Banana Costume
    • For Dogs
      • Zero Dog Halloween Costume
  • How-To
    • DIY Kitchen Remodel
    • How to Refinish Old Furniture
    • How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself
    • How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
      • Garden Greens, Ham & Cheese Omelette
      • Warm Quick Oats Recipe with Summer Berries Toasted Pecans & Maple Syrup
    • Lunch
      • Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles
      • Mediterranean Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Citrus Vinaigrette
    • Dinner
      • Garlic White Wine Seafood Pasta
      • Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Radishes, & Cilantro
      • Canning Tomatoes for Beginners – Quick and Easy!
      • Homemade Italian Pasta Sauce
      • Butter Garlic Mushroom Quinoa
      • Hearty Lentils and Rice
      • DIY Small Holiday Dinner Ideas: Perfectly Roasted Chicken in 40 minutes.
      • Honey Roasted Acorn Squash
      • Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
    • Dessert
      • Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe
  • Beauty
    • DIY Acrylic Nails Alternative – Quick and Easy At Home Manicure
    • DIY Festive Holiday Manicure
    • DIY Remedy for Split Nails Gel Strip Solutions
Browsing Category
Archive
For Kids Halloween Costumes How-To Uncategorized

Kids DIY Pikachu Costume

September 29, 2022 No Comments
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Written by: Steph
For Kids Halloween Costumes

Baby Banana Costume

September 17, 2022 No Comments
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Written by: Steph
For Kids

Kids Curious George Halloween Costume

August 2, 2021 No Comments
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This year my son decided to pick his own Halloween costume and he chose Curious George. He had been watching the Curious George Halloween movie on Netflix and it was all he wanted to watch over and over again! I was on board since I had the material leftover from a previous year where I thought I could take on 2 costumes.

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Reading time: 3 min
Written by: Steph
Dinner Everyday Recipes

Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

July 30, 2021 No Comments
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One of our favorite weeknight dinners is shrimp tacos. I usually make the tortillas from scratch and freeze the leftover balls of dough for the next time so I have them on hand. This recipe is our favorite for many reasons. It’s bright, sweet, savory, and spicy. It’s also very quick and easy to make since the shrimp only take a few minutes to thaw. I typically make this recipe after I’ve sliced up a pineapple for the kids to eat and they’ve had their fill of it. I forgot to mention that if you have fresh corn it elevates the salsa to another level but you can also use canned corn in a bind.

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Written by: Steph
Everyday Garden Recipes

Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles

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This year has been a tough year for my garden! I planted cucumbers but no such luck! Everything I’ve planted was either eaten by bugs or suffered from drought. Some years are just like that I guess! However, a friend of mine gave me a massive pickling cucumber from her garden that I didn’t wan to go to waste. I came up with this very simple single jar pickle recipe and in a few days, there were ready to eat and simply delicious!

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Written by: Steph
Breakfast Garden Recipes

Garden Greens, Ham & Cheese Omelette

July 7, 2021 No Comments
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Summer is one of my favorite times of the year because I can reap the rewards of my garden I start in spring. I grew many things this year mostly from seed because I purchased a collection of 50 variety pack of veggie seeds on Amazon. Collard Greens was one of the most abundant crops that grew and they’ve been doing great since I planted them. They are hearty even through the droughts of the summer and keep making leaves.

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Written by: Steph
Home Improvement How-To Kitchen

DIY Kitchen Remodel

July 6, 2021 No Comments
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When we bought our house I was pregnant with my first son. Our house was built in the 90’s and the previous owner’s didn’t do a lot of updating. Our kitchen countertops were    PINK!

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Written by: Steph
Dinner Everyday Lunch Recipes

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Radishes, & Cilantro

March 16, 2021 No Comments
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One of our ultimate favorite meals is fish tacos. Fish tacos are usually a summer meal but we truly enjoy them all year round. There’s nothing better than making some margaritas and delicious fish tacos and treating any day like it’s Cinco de Mayo!  Every time I make fish tacos I do something different but this one is definitely a keeper! The chipotle crema and quick-pickled radishes and jalapenos add a “zing” to this recipe that makes these fish tacos absolutely delectable!

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Written by: Steph
Home Improvement How-To

How to Refinish Old Furniture

February 10, 2021 No Comments
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One of my favorite things to do is refinish old furniture. A lot of things I’ve bought in the past were from consignment stores and were decent quality but over time became out dated. This particular desk I found when we were out on a family walk during trash day. Yes, I am not above trash picking!  Especially when it’s an Ethan Allen writing desk that’s probably around $2,000.

This is seriously one of my greatest finds. It had a little bit of wear in the front from where a chair or something seemed to be rubbing but other than than it was in great shape! I couldn’t believe our neighbors were throwing it out!

I forgot to take a picture of the condition it was in when I first found it, but here’s a photo after my first pass at sanding it.

  1. The first thing I like to do is use some liquid sandpaper or de-glosser just to take the clear finish off especially in those nooks and crannies where you can’t get to it well with sandpaper or a sander. I let it sit for a while to really penetrate the finish and then wipe it off with a damp rag.

  2. Next, I use my orbital sander to go over the flat surfaces. I start with some 80 grit sandpaper and move to 220 grit sandpaper to create a smooth finish. I don’t ever use the orbital sander on any edges or places that have detail. It will make marks and deform the shape of the wood. I hand sand all of those areas. You can fold the sandpaper and run it in the creases. This part requires a ton of elbow grease but is an important step in having your new finish adhere properly.
  3. Once I’ve finished sanding. I wipe down the surface with a dry rag. You can also use a leaf blower to clear out the sanding debris from all of the cracks. This step is very important because you don’t want shavings mixing in with your stain or paint. It will make the finish gritty.
  4. Now comes the fun part: staining or painting! For stains I like to use a cotton or cloth rag to really push the stain into the wood grain. I chose a stain called Carbon Grey by Varathane. If you’ve chosen paint, a nice soft paint brush will do. Be careful not to use to much paint especially when painting vertical areas or areas with detail in order to avoid drips and paint blobs. Once you’ve laid down your first coat it’s very important to let it dry completely. If you try to add stain or paint too soon you’ll end up taking off the first coat and ruining the finish. (Trust me I’ve done it!) There’s no sense in rushing and having to start from scratch!

    Here it is after a first coat.

     

  5. Once it is fully dried from the first coat it’s time for a second. You may even need to go back a third time and cover any spots that are still showing.

    Second coat!

     

  6. The next step is to add a protective clear coat. I usually choose a satin polyurethane because I don’t like it to be too glossy or too matte. It’s really a matter of preference. This step will make your furniture easier to clean and wipe down from spills and dust.
  7. Last step is to replace the old hardware. You’d be surprised how much new hardware can make an old piece of furniture look completely updated. I kept the hardware on this desk because I liked it but I could have bought some new knobs or drawer pulls to change the style. You can also spray paint old hardware to different colors to create a unique look.

 

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Written by: Steph
Beauty

DIY Remedy for Split Nails Gel Strip Solutions

February 5, 2021 No Comments
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I love Dashing Diva’s gel nail strips so much that I used them back to back (all through the holidays) and didn’t give my nails much of a chance to breathe. After about 4 or 5 different sets of strips, my nails started thinning out and splitting. Oops! It makes sense, but I just didn’t think about it. I’d slowly been suffocating my nails and they were suffering for it. I was very bummed out because I bought A LOT of gel strips and I was really sad I had to take a break from them. 🙁 It made me start to wonder if there was a remedy for split nails that would work for me.

It’s been about a month or two and my nails are mostly back to normal. However, it seems as though more people than just me were having the same issue because I received an e-mail from Dashing Diva advertising their new nail care products and remedies for split nails. Of course, I had to order them to try them out and see if they really work!

Continue reading
Reading time: 2 min
Written by: Steph
Page 1 of 3123»
  • Meet the DIY Handy Mom
  • Halloween Costumes
    • For Kids
      • Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume
      • Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume
      • Audrey 2 Little Shop of Horrors Kid’s Halloween Costume
      • Jack Skellington Face Mask
      • Kids Curious George Halloween Costume
      • DIY Jack Skellington Kids Costume
      • Baby Banana Costume
    • For Dogs
      • Zero Dog Halloween Costume
  • How-To
    • DIY Kitchen Remodel
    • How to Refinish Old Furniture
    • How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself
    • How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
      • Garden Greens, Ham & Cheese Omelette
      • Warm Quick Oats Recipe with Summer Berries Toasted Pecans & Maple Syrup
    • Lunch
      • Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles
      • Mediterranean Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Citrus Vinaigrette
    • Dinner
      • Garlic White Wine Seafood Pasta
      • Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema, Pickled Radishes, & Cilantro
      • Canning Tomatoes for Beginners – Quick and Easy!
      • Homemade Italian Pasta Sauce
      • Butter Garlic Mushroom Quinoa
      • Hearty Lentils and Rice
      • DIY Small Holiday Dinner Ideas: Perfectly Roasted Chicken in 40 minutes.
      • Honey Roasted Acorn Squash
      • Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
    • Dessert
      • Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe
  • Beauty
    • DIY Acrylic Nails Alternative – Quick and Easy At Home Manicure
    • DIY Festive Holiday Manicure
    • DIY Remedy for Split Nails Gel Strip Solutions
How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub

How to Remove Rust Stains from Porcelain Sink or Tub

August 24, 2015
How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself

How to Clean Dryer Vents Yourself

Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume

Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume

September 17, 2018
Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume

Gizmo the Mogwai Gremlins Toddler Halloween Costume

September 12, 2020
Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe

Bourbon Flambéed Summer Peaches with Homemade Ricotta, Toasted Pecans & Honey Recipe

October 2, 2020

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Recent Posts

  • Kids DIY Pikachu Costume
  • Baby Banana Costume
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  • Easy Single Jar Spicy Dill Pickles

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