The First Annual NEAT-O!!! Awards

Since I am my own blog, I can have my own awards right?? Henceforth, somewhere around Earth Day (except for all the times I will forget) I shall look at DIY ideas and the ones that make me yell NEATO!!!! will get awards (hence the name).  Mine are mostly in the remodel theme, as that is what interests me most at the moment, with some other decorative DIYs thrown in.

So here we go, for the First Annual NEAT-O!!! Awards, the DIYs and where you can go to find them (outside of pinterest, I will save you the trouble...you're welcome).

In no particular order because that would require forethought:

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2009-01/home/flooring

NEAT-O!!! What you see here looks like a lovely and interesting stone floor..WRONG-O! This delightful faux stone floor is made from...

Get this.

PAPER! Brown contractor's paper in well planned shapes and copious amounts of polyurethane turned an ugly floor, into an AWESOME FLOOR. 

I tip my NEAT-O hat to that any day.  Other people have done this method with floors without making it look like a stone pattern, but this is hands down the coolest look to any paper floor I have seen.  And with the poly coats on it, it actually has a reasonable lifespan in almost all cases.

Other patterns I think would be cool: Puzzle pieces, varied colors for the "stones", square pieces sponged to look like stone tiles, a basketweave pattern of various colors.

http://www.merrypad.com/2012/04/04/a-diy-free-stone-tile-floor-part-2/#comment-6461

NEAT-O!!! Not only did this blogger make this floor, but collected the stones off the beach, making this project nearly free. Neato to you blogger, neato to YOU!

 This floor is gorgeous! It inspires me to think about what other stone options would be available locally...

Other ideas this gives me: a stone floor with fossils mixed in (how cool would that be!?!), cutting various sized tree pieces into 1/2 inch or so sections and making a floor out of that after drying or sealing them.

Painted Plywood Floors...NEATO!!! I never knew plywood could look so good...ok well I personally hate the yellow choice but I think the idea of it looks good.  This would be an interesting solution for wood floors that you did not have the money to refinish or replace, but were in severe need of an update. 

And really any floor for that matter that just needed an update.  The pattern is pretty cute, and allows the rest of the room decor to be understated.  It's a very interesting idea!

The link to this one is no longer working, but from the pictures you get plenty of an idea of how it works.







Not doing floors? No worries, I have more NEATO!! Awards to share!

Look! In the garage! It's a chair...it's a bench...it's...

NEAT-O!! Two chairs made in to a bench.

Now, how many times have we had chairs with worn out seats on them?  Don't toss them, make them in to a bench! This was done using 2 chairs and some old wood from a headboard.

Find this and other ideas at: http://dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com/2012/01/upcycled-new-uses-for-old-chairs.html

A lot of you probably will not find this new as I have heard some kids even do it in school and youth group but cut a girl some slack here! I still find these...

NEATO!!! All it requires is wrapping some yarn or twine or whatever around these jars and spray painting them.

To which I say: Why stop at one color? Some painters tape and enough time to dry and you could do anything!

Patterns I would like to try: zebra (clearly), argyle, varied width horizontal stripes.

GREAT REUSE FOR OLD JELLY AND SPAGHETTI SAUCE JARS!
Find it at: http://theforgestyle.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/diy-yarn-wrapped-painted-jars.html

I know this will probably load up small, and pinterest has gone on the blink (of course) but I am sure you could google this and find it.  But seriously..

MAKE YOUR OWN GUMMY WORMS?!?!?!?

THAT QUALIFIES FOR SUPER DUPER NEATO!!!!

Haha I love gummy candy of all sorts, so when I found this it basically made my day.  And I will certainly be trying this over the summer...after I run out of Easter candy haha (thanks "easter bunny").

I mean the flavor possibilities here are endless.  You could even have pina colada flavored ones in the summer.  Right now, after reading this, one of you is probably wondering whether you can make jello gummy worm shots.

I assure you, I cannot, nor will I be able, to answer that question.

And stop considering ruining gummy worms with alcohol ya twerp.

A long time favorite of mine, the vertical garden deserves one big ole NEATO!!!  I have saved it for last as it is everything that Earth Day is about.

People doing these often reuse stuff like gutters that they punched holes in, pots they already had, those small wooden shipping crates, pallets, etc.  I love the fact that people are growing green plants in green planters! I think these are especially useful in this day and age where so many live in houses on small lots.  If you can't go out, go UP! mount these on a porch or a deck or a fence or your house or wherever you can, because it is a great way to grow vegetables and herbs in a confined space. 

I have a feeling I will have a lot more DIY posts to come, but this is just the start of what interests me right now (as I feel like I should probably not make this 27 miles long).

Honorable mentions that you should look up yourself:

• Rain barrels- No one should pay to water their garden, assemble or buy one of these and let mother nature supply you with proper irrigation
• Alternative shelving- I have seen things where people put some lumber or shelf tops across old ladders to make interesting shelving, think outside the box!
• Upcycled Pallet Furniture- I hope to have my own pallet coffee table here in the next few weeks, and I am really looking forward to it! People have made everything from tables to floors out of pallets, and many got their pallets free.
• DIY jewelry- I have made jewelry out of normal things like beads and wire all the way to off the wall things like Mountain Dew Bottles...and it is very unlikely I will ever buy jewelry again from stores (exception being real gold jewelry as I can't really do that myself)

Right now is a great time for DIY-ers.  We live in a world, or country at least, that is very ok with tossing things out without a second thought as how to reuse them.  If someone were to fire up a company to buy pallets and make tables out of them, they would be a lot harder to find.  So strike while the proverbial iron is hot, and get your DIY brain in gear.  Get inspired to solve solutions on the cheap, and be a kind soul and spread your findings to the rest of the DIY culture. 

I'll be on the lookout for more things that make me yell...

NEATO!!!!