Monday, December 09, 2019

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We are going to be foster parents! | On The Creek Blog

We have a special announcement!

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

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A Christmas scene made with items found at Goodwill! | On The Creek
Some Christmas thrift finds!

Monday, December 02, 2019

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Small metal Christmas tree | On The Creek Blog

The links I was loving in November 2019!

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

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A small shelf gets a white chippy makeover with chalk paint! | On The Creek Blog
 A small shelf gets a super cute chippy makeover!

Monday, November 18, 2019

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White chipppy/distressed cabinet perfect for coffee supply storage! | On The Creek Blog
A cute cabinet gets a white chippy & distressed makeover!

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

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Halloween Links | On The Creek Blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
A collection of some fun Halloween links!


Halloween is just days away!

I’ve gathered together a few fun Halloween links to make this spooky holiday even better!

There are crafts, drinks & plenty of yummy recipes to keep you busy for Halloween!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, October 14, 2019

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pumpkins grown in our garden | On The Creek Blog

Here are the pumpkins we grew in our garden this year!

This is the first year we intentionally tried to grow our own pumpkins.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll remember the fiasco that was our accidental pumpkin patch (If you missed it, you can catch up here!)!

After the enormous success of that pumpkin patch, we were pretty confident we could grow an awesome pumpkin patch on our land.  After buying pumpkins last year, we decided to go for it & grow our own this year.  We headed off to a local greenhouse & purchased 3 small pumpkin plants.  That would be enough to grow a successful patch, right?



Wednesday, September 25, 2019

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A simple fall centerpiece made with an old crate, mason jars, & Dollar Tree flowers! | On The Creek Blog

A simple fall centerpiece made with an old crate, mason jars, & Dollar Tree flowers!

Friday, September 20, 2019

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Handmade bench transformed with Aldi's Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint. | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com

Hey, Besties!

Guess what? I stumbled upon a bit of treasure during my latest Aldi escapade. Nestled between the avocados and the almond milk was this darling can of Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint, priced at just $7.99! Naturally, I had to snag it.


Not a Paint Snob, Just a Thrifty Queen 

Let's get one thing straight: I'm no paint elitist. My basement is a kaleidoscope of mismatched paint cans, each with its own story to tell. Why? Because I'm a thrifty shopper at heart. I'm all in, whether it's a clearance sale at the local hardware store or a hidden gem at the Habitat ReStore.


The Thrill of the Paint Hunt 

You see, part of the fun is the unpredictability. Sometimes, you score big with a can of pristine paint; other times, let's say it's a "character-building" experience. But hey, that's the thrill of the hunt!

Handmade bench transformed with Aldi's Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint. | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com

First Impressions: Thick & Dreamy 

I've already taken this Aldi chalk paint for a spin on a couple of projects, and let me tell you, it's like spreading frosting on a cake—thick and dreamy.



Vintage Gray: A Moody Love Affair 

Initially, the Vintage Gray shade had me skeptical. It looked like a gloomy day in a can. But oh, how it's grown on me! It's got this vintage, moody vibe that I'm totally vibing with now.



The Sealing Deal 

I even jazzed up our handmade bench with this Aldi wonder. A little wax to seal the deal, and voila! Pure magic. I'm also experimenting with water-based sealers, and so far, so good.


Handmade bench transformed with Aldi's Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint. | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com

The Verdict: A Steal of a Deal 

Bottom line? This Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint is a keeper. Quality and affordability in one cute can? Yes, please!



Final Thoughts

And there you have it, my take on Aldi's Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint. Have you tried it? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 

Handmade bench transformed with Aldi's Deco Style Furniture Chalk Paint. | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
Happy Painting! 🎨💕


Here is the brush I used to paint everything!  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

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Building A Simple Handmade Bench | On The Creek Blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
Building a handmade bench!

After searching for the perfect set of dining benches & coming up empty handed, I had an idea…


Why don’t we make them ourselves?!

My husband was completely against this idea!

Here’s the thing about my husband…He can be a bit of a perfectionist.  When he does something, he wants to do it well.  He likes to be extremely knowledgeable about something before he even attempts it.

He had never built a dining bench before & I think he was content with it staying that way!  He had no desire whatsoever to build a dining bench.  He encouraged me to keep searching & searching for the perfect set of dining benches that someone else has made!

I was not having it.  I did the searches.  I came up empty handed.  Let’s make one!

After dodging me for quite some time, I finally sat him down & showed him a bench I loved.  He loved it too.




Wednesday, September 18, 2019

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Country/Shabby Chic Dining Room | On The Creek Blog
My search for the perfect dining bench!

Monday, September 09, 2019

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fresh flowers in our home | On The Creek Blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
My thoughts on deciding to stay in our current home for the foreseeable future.

This November will mark 4 years at our home!

It’s difficult to believe it has been that long!

Of course, it took 7 months of extensive rehab before we could even move in, but we’ve owned this home for 4 years!

A couple months ago, I mentioned that we were staying in our house for a while & I wanted to finally elaborate on that a little bit today!

When we bought this house, we weren’t really thinking about the long term.  We just really wanted out of the small trailer we were living in!  With 500 more square feet (& a basement!), this house was perfect for us at the time!  It has served us well during the time we’ve lived here.







Friday, September 06, 2019

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A little wood school desk! | On The Creek Blog
A little school desk in our kitchen!

Thursday, September 05, 2019

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Sunflower in the garden | On The Creek Blog

All the shows I’m looking forward to watching this fall!

Wednesday, September 04, 2019

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tomatoes growing in the garden | On The Creek Blog

Take a look at the garden in August 2019!

As I looked back on my garden at this time last year, I can see quite the difference!  I was so disappointed in the garden last year & I hate to say it, but it looks way better than the garden this year!

The difference in last year's garden is that it looked beautiful at this time, but it lacked the actual veggies. The veggies it did produce were super small. This year, there has been a decent yield. Not as much as I was hoping for, but enough to make a few things.






Tuesday, September 03, 2019

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A bright & cheery chippy yellow chair! | On The Creek Blog

A bright & chippy makeover for a cute little chair!

Thursday, August 15, 2019

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Blueberry picking at a local orchard! | On The Creek Blog

Blueberry picking at a local orchard!

Monday, August 05, 2019

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DIY Stained 'Thankful' Sign | On The Creek Blog

A stained DIY of a bare wood sign!

Thursday, August 01, 2019

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Garden update for July 2020 | On The Creek Blog

Here's the garden in July 2019!

The garden is taking off!

Lots of little veggies are starting to take shape!

There are quite a few little tomatoes!  Both the Healthy Kick tomatoes & San Marzano are doing okay.  All my tomatoes plants have a lot of dead leaves this summer, so the leaves aren’t there to produce a ton of tomatoes.  But they’re doing great for what I’m working with!  There are definitely a lot more tomatoes than last summer, though!  I’ve been working hard to keep up on the garden & remove the dead stuff before it ruins the entire plant!




Wednesday, July 31, 2019

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Link Love // All the links I was loving in July 2019! | On The Creek Blog

The links I loved in July 2019!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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Christmas in July happened for me when I got these free Christmas decorations! | On The Creek Blog

Some free decorations sparked an interest in Christmas in July for me!

Monday, July 29, 2019

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Life Lately -- a peek into my life | On The Creek Blog

Here’s a peek into my life in July 2019!

Friday, July 26, 2019

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Thrifting Finds! | On The Creek Blog
Here are some things I found while I was thrifting recently!

Thursday, July 25, 2019

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Outdoor chair makeover using Behr Deck Over paint in Slate! | On The Creek Blog
A cute old outdoor chair gets a painted makeover!

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

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Rustic Headboard Inspiration! I want to turn my old headboard into something rustic! | On The Creek Blog

I’m gathering some rustic headboard inspiration!

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

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Super easy DIY bulletin/cork board using cork board roll! | On The Creek Blog

A super easy DIY framed bulletin board using cork board roll!

Monday, July 22, 2019

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An old bench picked up at a yard sale gets a new painted makeover! | On The Creek Blog

An old bench gets a painted makeover!

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

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My grandfather passed away 13 years ago & I'm sharing a few thoughts on his life.

Monday, July 15, 2019

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planting sweet corn late in the season

We snuck in some late season corn planting!

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

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rustic wood pathway made from rough cut lumber | On The Creek Blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
Constructing a rustic wood pathway to go through our new mulch area!

My husband, James, & I added a brand new mulch area to the side of our home this spring (you can read all about that here).  We made sure to make the new area a little bit bigger to accommodate a pathway.

Then, like most things at our home, the area sat empty for a couple months while deliberations were happening!

I wanted to use wood from pallets to create the pathway.  I've seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest & I wanted to recreate them for our pathway.  Also it would be practically free because we already have several pallets laying around.

But...here's the thing:

James hates repurposing stuff, especially wood.  He worked in the construction/carpentry field for many years & has an extreme hatred for reusing old materials.  He would much rather use things that aren't all twisted & beat up with nail holes everywhere, which is totally understandable.  New materials are easier to work with.



Monday, July 01, 2019

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Garden update | June 2019


Here’s the garden update for June 2019!

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

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Photos from our nature walks!

Here are my favorite pictures from our June nature walks!

Thursday, June 20, 2019

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DIY Rustic fence with climbing roses | On The Creek Blog
By using items I already had, I made a rustic looking fence panel!

As I mentioned in my spring yard walk, we finally planted our 10 cent roses & I couldn't wait to see what would happen with them!

I intentionally planted the climbing roses in the back & planned to put up a fence panel for them to climb on.

So I had the roses but not the fence panel.

Because I always want to do things on an extreme budget, I was putting off buying a fence panel.  I couldn't see spending a ton of money on something that would eventually be covered up by roses!




Tuesday, June 18, 2019

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Thrifting Finds | Rustic/Primitive finds from Goodwill!

Here are some recent thrifting finds!

Monday, June 17, 2019

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Planting tomatoes in the garden | On The Creek Blog







Some thoughts on the 2019 garden.

I was super disappointed going into the garden this year.

Last year, I made plans to construct a more permanent garden area.  I was going for perfect raised beds & a cute shed/greenhouse area.

By the time this year rolled around, I was pretty much over the entire gardening thing.  After watching my garden turn into a complete disaster last year, it was up in the air if I was even going to attempt a garden, let alone perfect raised beds!

I finally made up my mind at the last minute to continue with a garden this year.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

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Planting tomatoes in the garden | On The Creek Blog


Planting the 2019 garden!

For the garden this year, I stuck to my favorites:  tomatoes & peppers!

This year we returned to the local greenhouse to buy all of our plants. 

For tomatoes, I got the San Marzano variety.  I tried them last year & am trying them again this year.  I got a different variety of Roma tomatoes this year.  The ones last year were very seedy & I wasn't a big fan.  I'm hoping to avoid that this year!












Tuesday, June 11, 2019

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I picked up a table & bench when I went thrifting over the weekend!


See what I picked up when I went thrifting over the weekend!

Monday, June 10, 2019

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Rustic wood headboards from the Habitat For Humanity ReStore!
Check out these amazing rustic wooden headboards I picked up from the Habitat For Humanity ReStore!

Thursday, June 06, 2019

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A chippy/rustic/distressed heart candle holder!

A heart candle holder gets a chippy & rustic makeover using chalk paint!

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

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An old frame gets a chippy white transformation!

A super easy chippy white paint makeover for an old picture frame!

Monday, June 03, 2019

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I love taking nature walks!  Here are pictures from my first nature walk of summer 2019!

See pictures from my first nature walk of 2019!

Sunday, June 02, 2019

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Link Love | Links I've been loving lately!

Here were a few links I was loving in May!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

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fresh mulch in our yard | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
We finally got mulch for our landscaping!  Take a peek at some of our fresh mulch!

My husband & I took on a considerable project last weekend…

I always forget how much work it is to mulch our property.  I think that it will just take half a day at most & it will be done!  Spoiler:  it never happens that way!  It also doesn’t help that we add a new mulch feature to our land every year!

This year we added a massive area to the side of our house!  I could never figure out exactly what I wanted to do with that side of the house, so it was bare over there!  Last fall, my husband put more topsoil around that side & after walking on it with the dogs all winter, it became a muddy mess, so it was the perfect time to do something with it!  It’s getting mulched out for now & then, we’ll decide if/when we add any plants!  We get our house sprayed for bugs (#loghomeproblems), so I want to keep it as neat & clear over there as possible.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

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A review of all natural cleaners, plant based cleaning products. Products tested are the Method brand cleaners. | On The Creek Blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
An honest review of all natural cleaning products! I’ll tell you if they actually work as well as their toxic alternatives!


Note:  Method products are not included on the EPA-registered disinfectant list to use against COVID-19.

I want to start off by saying that this post is not sponsored in any way.  I was just super curious about more natural cleaning products & wanted to give them a try!

Natural cleaning products first came onto my radar after I started seeing other bloggers promoting a cleaning supply subscription service. I took a look around the website & became aware of a more natural alternative to cleaning products. 








Wednesday, May 15, 2019

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White lilac // spring yard walk | On The Creek Blog
Come with me as I look over the various plants in our yard & see how they're doing after the winter!

Does anyone else hold an annual address for the state of their yard plants?

Like intentionally walking around their yard, looking at all of their trees/plants to see how they've held up after the winter?

I think it's my new favorite yearly activity!  It's so cool to see all the perennial goodness!

Today, I'll be taking you along for the walk!




Wednesday, May 08, 2019

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7 blog designs that are currently inspiring me at the moment!

7 blog designs that I’m loving right now!

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

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Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com


Hey there, Besties! 🌟 


Dive into the cozy farmhouse vibes with our latest transformation tale at the Kay House Reno. 🏡✨


Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com


A Chic Beadboard Backsplash Transformation at the Kay House

So, we aimed for simplicity with the Kay House backsplash. But who am I kidding? "Simple" isn't in my vocabulary! 🙈


Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com

🌼 Beadboard Kitchen Backsplash Extravaganza 🌼

Originally, my heart was set on an enchanting German schmear backdrop inspired by Amy's kitchen magic. I mean, totally swoon-worthy. But, given our time crunch (because, let's face it, we're all eager to wrap up and dive into our own home sanctuaries), we opted for something a tad simpler yet equally enchanting.


Enter the timeless elegance of beadboard. Oh, how it whispers "farmhouse chic" in perfect harmony with our freshly painted cabinets. 🎨


Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com


Why Beadboard? Here's the Scoop!

Opting for smaller beadboard panels was a game-changer—major kudos to my parents for this genius move! Less hassle, more charm. And, of course, we matched the paint to the cabinets for that seamless look.


Installation was a family affair, with my parents masterfully securing the panels with finishing nails and staples. A touch-up here and there, and voila—a backsplash to behold!


And the trim? A surplus warehouse gem that tied everything together, echoing the kitchen's grey floors and adding that final touch of unity.


Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.com
Beadboard: A Beginner's Dream for Kitchen Backsplashes

Truly, beadboard paneling is a DIY newbie's dream come true. And guess what? It's got me dreaming of bringing this farmhouse flair to my own kitchen, which, as of now, is a blank canvas craving some love.


Living in a log home adds a twist—our drywall space is limited, but that just spices up the challenge, right? Perhaps it's time for that German schmear after all... or maybe stick with the beadboard charm? 🤔


Completed beadboard kitchen backsplash with farmhouse charm! | on the creek blog // www.onthecreekblog.comBeadboard Paneling: Simple, Charming, Unmistakably Farmhouse

So, there you have it, lovelies! Beadboard paneling not only elevates the kitchen aesthetic with its simple elegance but also serves as a testament to the beauty of DIY. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, it's a fabulously farmhouse way to sprinkle a little extra charm into your kitchen.


Stay tuned because who knows? My own kitchen might just be the next beadboard showcase! 🌿✨

On the Creek blog is proud to be a part of the T&J Maintenance family - turning houses into homes.