Tour of the DIY Blogosphere

Pretty much anything my friend Beth (my blogging bestie from Unskinny Boppy) asks of me I’ll do, so when she invited me to be a part of a “best of DIY blogs” tour around the interwebs, I said, “Sure thing, girl!”

There were rules and timelines associated with this – all of which I had the best intentions of keeping.

And then I didn’t.

Instead I did a bunch of traveling, celebrated my birthday, did more traveling, shared the story of how Beth and I met about a dozen times at a recent blogger event…and barely opened my laptop.

Sometimes I like to keep you all on your toes to make you wonder if I’ve been checked into rehab.

(I haven’t.)

Back to the blog tour!  Rules are simple.  All I have to do is answer the following questions to keep my Blog Card and continue my access to spray paint, craft glue, and burlap.

Q1.  What am I working on?

A1.  Some no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas, Halloween DIY crafts, a fall wreath for the front door, a Thanksgiving DIY craft, giving the exterior of our house a facelift before we sell, our never-ending upstairs bathroom remodel, trying to find a damn Elsa dress that looks EXACTLY like her dress in the movie (no detail goes unnoticed by my 4 year old), planning for our next house, and starting Whole 30 today to try to lose 10 pounds to offset those 10 pounds I’ll gain over the holidays.

Q2:  How does my work differ from others of its genre?

A2:  Well, OBVIOUSLY, I’m on my game whereas everyone else is a total slacker.  Following the blog tour rules?  Doing things on time?  Psh.  Anyone can pull that off.  It takes real talent to go rogue.

Q3:   Why do I write/create what I do?

A3:  Truthfully – for posterity’s sake.  I have a terrible memory and it’s important to me to keep a record of my life and my family for Kate to read when she’s older and for me to read when I have Alzheimer’s.  I also have this strange and matter-of-fact, “what if I die tomorrow?” thing that rattles around in my head sometimes.  Just in case, I want my daughter to know me.

Q4: How does your writing/creative process work?

A4:  I truly don’t know.  All I can say is, sometimes writing (and creating) comes very easily for me, and sometimes I’ve got nothing.  Luckily for me, it’s usually the former versus the latter, and when its the latter I know I need to take a brain break.  And open a bottle of wine.

Now for the fun part!  I get to introduce you to three DIY bloggers that I’ve been enjoying lately.  Up first?  The incredibly talented and equally gorgeous Jen Woodhouse:

A Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and musician by trade, Jen Woodhouse has toured the world, released three albums that are available on iTunes, and licensed her music to national television shows, commercials, and films. When Jen’s not writing, recording, or touring, you’ll find her out in the garage, building furniture. Jen runs The House of Wood, a blog about life and design where she documents her adventures as an Army wife, mother of two young children, indie musician, and enthusiastic DIYer.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jen at this year’s Haven Conference and adored her instantly.  My adoration turned into love when I discovered this amazing table she DIY’d based on an uber-expensive ZGallerie piece.  I love what she did so much that I’m now convinced I can become a woodworking expert and DIY this table for our next house.

Blogger #2 that I’d like to introduce you to is someone I was so excited to “meet” on Instagram.  Her name is Ashley from Cherished Bliss, and she’s a fellow Wisconsin blogger!  (We’re a rare breed.)

Ashley is a DIYing mom to 3 little ones, blogging with her sister, Audra, in their little corner of the bloggy world. She loves making anything with wood and the color white. Some (her husband and kids) might even go as far as to say that she paints EVERYTHING white. Don’t let them fool you – she loves a good dark wood stain too! Over at her blog, Cherished Bliss, you will find DIY tutorials, crafts, and delicious recipes.

Here’s just a sample of the gorgeousness that comes from Ashley’s white obsession:

Next up? Jenna from Rain on a Tin Roof. I first met Jenna at this year’s Haven Conference (we took a selfie) and there was just something about her that whispered into my ear, “she’s your people.”  When I contacted her about featuring her on my blog it pretty much went down like this:

I called her a hooker.

She decided she liked me.

Meet Jenna:

For the record, I also love most of those things.

Here’s a little bit about Jenna straight from her keyboard:  “I blog about decorating ideas, DIY projects and crafts – all on the cheap so I can have extra beer money. I’m pretty much an open book and share tales from my former life as a southern belle. The title was revoked – and we are all the better for it. I’m a freak and think that everyone should embrace their own freakish tendencies – what fun would it be if we were all the same?” 

I’m new to Jenna World but am also loving this recent ceiling DIY she pulled off.  Seriously – who thinks to paint their bathroom ceiling pink??  This hooker, that’s who.

Bottom line? Check out and follow all of these incredibly talented and creative DIY’ing women!