Meet Ashley at A Forty Year-Old Ranch

It's time to "meet" another one of the followers here at The Hand Me Down House!  YAY!  I have just loved visiting all your blogs and sharing your projects and stories with everyone!  I'm slowly but surely getting through all your submissions -- so don't worry -- you'll all be introduced soon! :)

Today I'd like you to meet to Ashley at A Forty Year-Old Ranch.

Ashley and her hubby bought a ...... can you guess!?  A forty year-old ranch three years ago and have been fixing it up ever since.  And right from Ashley's blog -- here's her story:

"My husband and I set out to look for a home with "character" that we could fix up three years ago. We were living in a newer house that was hard to infuse ourselves into. And truth be told, it just never felt like home to us.

We saw the forty year-old ranch the day it came on the market. We had always loved the subdivision and when it came available our realtor called us immediately. I walked out of the house and swore to my husband that we would never own it. It was cluttered and dirty. It needed more updating than I thought we could ever possibly do. But it had everything we wanted in a home. As hard as I tried to fight it, I was always pulled back to this house. We prayed about it long and hard and both knew that was where we were supposed to be. We decided this on a Friday evening. The next Saturday morning, our house sold and that evening we put an offer in.

Less than two weeks later, we pulled the moving truck into the driveway of our new home. We cleaned our butts off, and started the renovations the day after we moved in by ripping out some old carpet. We haven't stopped since. It's our home, the only home our children have ever known. Its the place where, hopefully, all of their memories will be. And the safe place we can all come to, when life gets a little too scary. Home. This is OUR home."

I LOVE stories like this!  Wonderful homeowners that come in and save a house and make it beautiful again.  And here is their forty year-old ranch:

Adorable, right!?!  Wait 'til you see some of the things they've done to it!

This is one of my favorites on Ashley's blog -- I thought it was an amazing transformation the second I saw it!  Here's their playroom before:

And ohmygosh the AFTER (absolutely gorgeous!)  It doesn't even look like the same room, right!?!

The best part of it is, they have a very discretely sectioned off play area behind the sofa:

Genius!  You can read more about their living room redo by clicking here.

Another area they recently redid was the laundry room -- this laundry room almost makes me want to actually do laundry :)

Here's their before (which looks like mine currently ...... ):

And look at their awesome redo!

And get this -- they spent $59.00! YES -- that's it for an amazing makeover! 

You can catch up on their laundry redo here.

Ashley also does lots of decorating with vintage finds and crafting with them too -- such as this awesome door they put in for their office -- LOVE this door!  It reminds me of my great-grandma's farm house when I was little:

And check out these cute pears she made with vintage sheet music -- adorable!

Thank you SO much, Ashley for sharing your blog and your Forty Year-Old Ranch with us!  I'm just in love with your house -- don't be surprised if you find me at your door with my suitcases soon! :)

Be sure to stop by A Forty Year Old Ranch and say "hi" to Ashley! :)

Do you want to introduce YOUR blog to us?  Get the details, here.

Meet Mel at Junin' Junky

 I'm so excited to get to "meet" ANOTHER wonderful blogger around here!  So today I'd like to introduce you all to Mel at Junkin' Junky!

I love what she says on her blog -- transforming your home need not be cheap.  SO true -- and I love a thrifty, diy-ing gal at heart.  She's been working 'round the clock updating her townhouse in Toronto with projects big and small!  Take a look:

She completely updated her bedroom to be oh-so-cute:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Absolutely ADORABLE, right?!?  I love the color scheme......unfortunately I don't think my hubby would like a pink room as much as me. :(  I'll just sit and admire Mel's for now. :)

She's got the crafty bug too -- look at these books she covered:

Is that not the cutest, simplest, most inexpensive home decor idea!?!

She even made this sad little dresser one adorable piece of furniture:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Didn't she do an AMAZING job transforming that?!? LOVE those birdies -- and the hardware. Gorge!!

And you guys all know how much I just L-O-V-E a good light fixture makeover -- so check out this little drum shade light Mel whipped up for her sitting area:

That light adds some AWESOME ambiance to her little nook.  I'm in love with the whole space, actually! :)

This is just a TASTE of what Mel has to offer.  She's got tons of ideas and projects for you guys to check out. 

So stop over and say "hello" to Mel at Junkin' Junky!!

I'd love to meet YOU, too!  Get the details here.

Blog Swap with Decorchick!

Hi Everyone!  I'm not here today -- but I'm SO excited because Emily from Decorchick! is swapping blogs with me!  I'm absolutely in love with her blog -- and I'm SO sure you will love it too!  I can't wait for her to share all kinds of awesome creations she has with you! 

Hi there! I'm Emily from Decorchick, and it's such an honor to be blog swapping over on the Hand Me Down House today! I have loved Amanda and her blog since I first came across it, and we really hit it off in blogland. :) I don't know how Amanda comes up with the projects she does, but I'm very jealous that I don't think like her. :) In case you aren't familiar with me and my site Decorchick, here's a little bit of info...

That's me, and I started my blog Decorchick, in May of this year. It has quickly taken over my life, but I love it! I love blogging and love meeting all of these talented ladies and stealing their ideas. :) Really, I just love to decorate so I finally took the plunge and started writing about it all. On my site you will find DIY projects, makeovers, crafts, and just decorating ideas in general. You will also find plenty of painting fiascos as well. :) Here are a few of my favorite projects that I've done so far. 

Master Bedroom Redo

  

Old Drawer Candle Holder  

 Fake Wainscoting

   Pantry Makeover  

 DIY Fall Topiaries

  

And here is my latest love from the Pottery Barn Outlet...My fake mantel that's all decked out for Fall. 

There are plenty more projects on my site, and I would love it if you came by and said hello. I love meeting new people! :) Thanks again for the swap Amanda, and thank you to all of your lovely readers! Y'all ROCK! xxoo, Decorchick!

Thanks so much, Emily!  I'm SO glad everyone got to see some of your mad decorating skills!

Now be sure to stop by Emily's blog and say "Hi!!" :)

Meet Kathie at A Few Good Pieces

It's time to "meet" another one of the followers here at The Hand Me Down House!  YAY!  I'm so excited to be getting to know you gals even more!

Today I'd like to introduce you to Kathie at A Few Good Pieces.

 Kathie is a furniture refinishing maniac!  She's been transforming sad pieces into gorgeous decor ever since she was a teenager.  And I just LOVE the story of how she got started!  After her grandmother passed away she wanted her antique furniture so bad that she convinced her parents to ship them from Memphis to their own home in Atlanta for over a thousand dollars.  And from there it's turned into a few good pieces.  So while she's new to blogging -- she's definitely not new to furniture restoration.   (You can read more about Kathie and her story here).  Let me show you some of her gorgeous redos:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

After Kathie gets her hands on them, they are JUST perfect, aren't they?!

And in case you're wondering HOW she does her magic, she's got a nice spot on on her blog where she gives you the "how-to" run down.  You can check out all her furniture tips here.

Aaand....if you LOVE Kathie's "Good Pieces" -- take a look at the furniture she has available for purchase! It's just beautiful!

Thank you SO much, Kathie for sharing your blog with us!  I'm just in love with the furniture you makeover -- it's just perfect!

Be sure to stop by A Few Good Pieces and say "hi" to Kathie too! :)

Do you want to introduce YOUR blog to us?  Get the details, here.

Meet Lisa at The Pursuit of Happiness

Today I'd like you all to meet Lisa at The Pursuit of Happiness!

Lisa was one of my very first bloggy friends. :)  And are you curious about the title of her blog?  She says, "The Pursuit of Happiness is my daily reminder that I need to learn to appreciate the little things in life and not stress so much."  I know I could use a daily reminder like that!

Lisa has lots of crafty projects up her sleeves AND she's always sharing DELICIOUS recipes -- yum! (I know this isn't really a food blog -- but oh my GOSH, you have to check out some of her favorite recipes here.) 

One of my favorite projects of hers is her "new" bathroom -- she did an amazing job -- see for yourself! (And be sure to check out her painting tips
that she used while painting her bathroom)

Here are some before pictures of her bathroom:

  

And here is her AFTER:

AMAZING, right??!?

Did you see the little rug peaking out of those pictures?  She made it!  Aaand, she gives you a tutorial on how to make your own!

She made this cute towel rug too (the same way as the t-shirt rug, but with towels!):

I am SO making one of these for my bathroom (I can never find the right size rug for our tiny Master Bath).

She's chalked full of AWESOME ideas -- here are a few more of my favorites:

Dresser Redo

Coffee Cup of Flowers

Adorable Scarf

Isn't she SO talented?!?  I LOVE all her ideas, recipes and makeovers -- they are awesome!  Plus I have to tell you that she just ran her first 5K and completely inspired me :)

Be sure to visit her blog, The Pursuit of Happiness and check out all the awesome things she shows you and shares with you.

Thanks so much Lisa, for sharing all your ideas and recipes with us and "introducing" yourself! :)

Would you like to share your blog, home improvement projects or crafts with us?  Get the info here.

This post is sponsored by Stella & Dot