Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Before                                                               After We all know I like to take on home improvement projects that are just too big for me sometimes. That’s just my personality. A few weeks ago, I decided that I was sick and tired of our living room and having it feel like a cave. I wanted to brighten up the room, so I decided I would paint, especially before we replace the flooring. Using the Points I had accumulated, I redeemed them for a $50 gift card to Home Depot. I went there, picked out my primer and paint, and went home and got started. I spent many, many days off working on priming, taping, sanding, trimming, and finally painting. It took me a few weeks with me working off and on, but I love the [...]

At our house, I’m the handywoman and I take care of most home renovation projects.  I’ve learned many things, from how to paint to how to install hardwood flooring.  A month and a half ago, I decided that our master bedroom needed to be painted and updated.  I primed the room, painted the walls, and stopped.  The trim in the bedroom includes crown molding, trim around the windows and doors, and a large bay window that extends the length of one wall.  My project has stalled, and I’m tired of sleeping in the guest room. photo credit: formatbrain Today at work I ran into two painters.  I got one painter’s number but I’m not sure I’m going to call him.  I just can’t justify paying someone to do something I can do.  It’s just something I don’t want to do.  I’d rather spend my time on things that are more fun! I’ve thought about calling to see if he’ll give me a free quote and then going from there.  If it’s not too expensive, it probably would be worth it!  [...]

One of my favorite things about owning a house is being able to make it into my own. I’ve spent the last three years painting, replacing flooring, tiling, and doing all the other fun stuff that’s necessary when you own a house. I’ve just now been able to start decorating and making it feel more like home. The only problem that I’ve run into is that a lot of home goods are expensive!  Wall art is probably the biggest piece of the puzzle as far as bringing a room together.  It’s just not in me to spend $50 or $60 on a piece of wall art.  I try to make do with what I have and come up with creative ways to make my house look good without raiding my bank account. This weekend I went through my fabric stash and decided I was going to use some of it to make embroidery wall hoops.  I did have to go buy the embroidery hoops (they were $1.00 each). I took the fabric, stretched it over the embroidery hoops, trimmed it [...]