This post was most recently updated on January 1st, 2020

One of the fun things about having a diy decorating blog is that it holds you to task on projects that might otherwise get half-finished (or not done at all). Rhoda, at Southern Hospitality holds a link-up every year at this time to look back at bloggers’ favorite DIY decorating projects of the year. I thought I’d join in and take a look back at some of the ones I managed to accomplish amid the daily circus that is 3 kids and a dog!

 Winter…

This DIY wall art with the inspirational quote, “Love Conquers All”, was one of my most visited posts in 2012, which came as a surprise because it was an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment project.  The interest in this decorating project was one of the reasons I later  decided to do a whole series on DIY Wall Art in October 2012.

See: DIY Wall Art: “Love Conquers All” Painted Canvas

Much to our kids’ delight, I also finished decorating our renovated basement. I was thrilled when this DIY decorating projects was later featured at Apartment Therapy (Family), as well as on RemodelAholic and Home Stories A 2 Z .

For more, see:

• Colorful Basement Family Room: House Peeping #2 (Room Tour)
• Featured at Apartment Therapy: Our Colorful, Play-Inspired Basement Family Room!
•  Our ‘Alphabet-Inspired’ Basement Stairway Gallery Wall

With my dad’s help (thanks dad!), we also re-painted our entire main floor in a new color scheme of blue, gray/grey, and cream – using Benjamin Moore Woodlwan Blue, Navajo White, Silver Fox and Revere Pewter. It provided great entertainment for our 2-year old boys!

I was really happy with how it all turned out, and showed the results in a couple of posts about the living room and the kitchen.

This was the Living Room “BEFORE”…

and “AFTER”…

And, here’s how the kitchen now looks in a shade of grey / gray (Benjamin Moore Silver Fox)…

For more, see:

• Woodlawn Blue: I’ve got the blues…and I’m loving it!
• The Evolution of a Living Room (Modern Cottage / Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue)
• White Kitchen + Gray Walls: Reveal (Benjamin Moore Navajo White & Silver Fox)

I also had fun with some seasonal DIY decorating projects last winter for both Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.   I made a new Valentine’s Day wreath from tulle and burlap, and decorated the mantel in a whimsical style with pink and aqua. For St. Patrick’s Day, I put together a shamrock wreath with some simple dollar store materials. 

For more, see:

•  Irish Door Decor: St. Patrick’s Day Wreath
• Whimsical Valentine’s Day Mantel
• Valentine Wreath Tutorial: Pink Ribbon & Burlap Rag Wreath
• Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables

 Spring…

I was thrilled to be able to put the house back together again in time for Easter and Spring decorating.  I implemented two different mantel decorating ideas during the Easter period.  The first Spring mantel was inspired by the song “Singing in the Rain” which my daughter sang for a local music festival.

A few weeks later, I decided to simplify things and decorate a simple Easter mantel in a more muted color scheme.  I also made a DIY Easter wreath for my front door using, of all things, a pool noodle, drop cloth and torn dish towels!

For more, see:

• Pretty Hydrangea Globes: A Simple Spring Craft!
•  My Spring/Easter Mantel: I’m “Singing in the Rain”!
• A DIY Shabby Chic Easter Wreath
• My Simplified Easter Mantel

 After all the tear-up during the winter, I was happy to tackle just a couple of easy, low-key DIY decorating projects in the spring months!  I made a sign for my newly painted laundry room (which was painted in Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter).

I thought that the words I came up with for my sign were kinda cute: “This home has endless love and laundry”.  So I decided to share a free printable with you so that you could have your very own laundry room sign.

For more, see:

• See: Giant Laundry Room Sign Tutorial: “Endless Love & Laundry”(+ Free Printables)
• Free Printable Artwork, “Endless Love & Laundry”: Now in more color choices!

And, I also …

…painted a console table…

…and spray-painted some artwork frames from brown to cream…

For more, see:

• Love the Art, but Hate the Frame?  How to change it: in 2 easy steps!
• Blue, painted console table makeover: It all started with a leaning mirror!

Summer…

When summer arrived, I was craving a little sunshine! I created a Sunshine-Inspired Gallery Wall for our newly painted front porch (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter).

 

I also changed the color of our front door from red to light aqua (Martha Stewart’s Artesian Well), and changed my door decor more than a few times (lol) – including a DIY starfish wreath.

For more, see:

• How I painted my front door in under an hour: “The Harried Mom’s Guide to Painting a Front Door”
• Sisal & Starfish Summer Wreath – A Tutorial (Summer Decorating/Summer Door Decor)
• Here comes the sun: Our Sunshine-Inspired, Front Entrance Gallery Wall!

In June, I also went to my first ever decorating / blogging conference in Atlanta, where I learned a tonne, and got to hang with a couple hundred other home decor bloggers! (For more see: Haven 2012: Group Therapy for the Decorating-Addicted and Life’s an Adventure! (Attending Haven 2012!)

Fall…

I started Fall with a big bunch of bright and happy sunflowers.  In September, my 3 little sweeties went off to school – including the very first day of pre-school for my ‘baby’ boys (boohoo!)

In true me-fashion, I also changed my Fall door decor a few times!  I decorated a simple Fall mantel using mostly neutral colors, rather than using deep saturated Fall colors like the year before.

 For more, see:

• My Two Tries at Fall Door Decor (Fall Wreaths)
• My ‘Un-Fall’ Fall Mantel (Cool-toned Fall Decor)

My biggest DIY decorating project for the Fall was re-decorating our twin boys’ bedroom from a nursery to a toddler room. This was a super-fun project! I painted horizontal wall stripes (for the first time!), and added some fun new fabrics to their elephant bedding.

For more, see:

Room Makeover: Twin Boy Nursery to Toddler Room (without changing everything!)

A little later in the Fall, I decorated the front porch for Halloween using giant, glittery “BOO” letters on the front door, and created a kid-friendly (gore-free) Halloween mantel.

For more, see:

• Our Halloween Front Porch {Giant Glittery “Boo” Letters & Ghostly Urns}
• Kid-Friendly Halloween Mantel / Mantle (Halloween Decorating)

Next up was Christmas!  In keeping with my more pared-down approach to seasonal decorating in 2012, I decorated a simple Christmas mantel with branches and bulbs, and a neutral Christmas tree for the first time.

See: Simple Christmas Mantel Decor (Branches & Bulbs)

For more, see:

• Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas: How to Change Your Color Scheme Affordably
• Christmas Decorating Tip: How to Add Ribbon to Your Tree
• Our Newly, ‘Bleu-tral’ Christmas Tree (Neutral + Blue)

You can check out all my Christmas decorating by visiting my Holiday Home Tour post.

And, that’s my diy decorating projects for 2012 in a nutshell!

Oh, and mixed in there for good measure was a whole lotta Thomas the Train, dance and music recitals, juice box disasters, homework, and chicken nuggets.

Thank you so much for coming by in 2012!  I appreciate each and every one of your visits. I hope you’ll join me again in 2013 as I continue with sharing my diy decorating adventures, while facing new challenges and opportunities here at home.

Sweet wishes for 2013,

 

I’m linking up to Southern Hospitality!

 

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