Ummm, is it really the last day of 2014?  I truly cannot believe it.  WHEW!  What a year it has been.  I started my “little” blog at the end of October, 2013, mostly as a way to chronicle our home renovations.  I thought it would be read by friends, family and few random people out in cyberspace.  And then I started writing, and photographing, and POSTING.  I was addicted.  I had never really stopped to think before that blogging allows me to combine some of my absolute favorite things: writing, photography and DIY/crafting.  I wish I had started blogging sooner.  It is so cliche to say it, but blogging truly does feed my creative soul.  It makes me feel alive.  And even though it takes a tremendous amount of time and dedication {more than I could have ever imagined}, I genuinely love every minute of it and it never feels like “work.”

Now, just over a year later my “little” blog has grown beyond my wildest expectations and I have YOU–my lovely readers–to thank for it.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for reading my blog and supporting me.  You will never know how humbled and grateful I am.

I am also SUPER excited to have “met” {through cyberspace} some of the most amazingly talented and sweet people I could have ever dreamed of.  It’s so rewarding to know there are so many people out there that I can relate to.  That’s something I have NEVER had before.  I have just never had friends who enjoy DIYing and crafting.  And now I do…YAY!

It's been fun to reflect on the last year and to look back on what my most popular posts have been.  I can tell you that some of the posts I thought no one would read have been my most popular, and others that I thought would be a huge hit just weren't.  It's been eye-opening, that's for sure.  Now, enough rambling, let's recap my top 10 posts from 2014.

1) Easy, Dotted Sharpie Mugs

I never thought such an inexpensive and easy craft would get so much attention!  According to Google Analytics, this post has been viewed over 130,000 times so far and it has been pinned over 20,000 times.  WOW!  The mugs really are adorable and make fabulous gifts, so if you haven't checked out this project already, you may want to head over and see what all the fuss is about.

 2) Ikea Hack– Customize Ikea Furniture with Paint

Not in a million years would I have guessed this would be so popular.  In fact, I came very, very close to NOT blogging about it.  I am so glad I did.  As it turns out, people love how I took inexpensive, basic Ikea pieces and turned them into custom “built-ins” using paint and some imagination.  You can check out the full post here.

3) DIY Photo Canvases with REAL Texture

The popularity of this post also surprised me because there are already TONS of DIY photo canvas tutorials out there.  I think my trick for “stamping” canvas texture on must be one of the reasons for why this project is so popular.  Who knew my little stamping idea would be so well-received?  I certainly did not!  You can check out all the details for creating real texture on DIY photo canvases here.

4) Amazing Ikea Hacks

Oh my goodness.  Turns out lots of people love Ikea Hacks just as much as I do.  This round-up of Ikea Hacks that I put together has received tons of traffic (115,000+ visits so far this year, and the post went live at the end of July).  There are some amazing projects featured, so if you haven't checked out the details already, you should.  You may just find an Ikea Hack to tackled in 2015!

5) DIY Vanity Makeover with Concrete Overlay

This post about how I updated our outdated, cultured marble vanity with a concrete overlay for around $20 got you people EXCITED!  I totally understand why.  But I have to tell you that I didn't even know if it was going to work when I tried it!  I figured if it was a total disaster, we would just replace the vanity, but it worked fabulously and I am so happy that it did and that I could share the tutorial with you all.  So many people have emailed me to tell me they are going to do it in their own home which makes me SO HAPPY!  After all, inspiring my readers is the best part of blogging!

6) DIY Baby Monitor

Number 6 brings us to another post that I ALMOST didn't write and share.  After all, who would be interested in learning about our baby monitor?  Ummmmm, a whole, whole, whole lot of you, that's who!  It is a pretty fantastic and affordable video monitor solution, so I am glad I shared it after all.  Even if you have no need for a baby monitor, you might want to check out the post to amuse yourself with the video of my twin girls' playing around during “nap time” one day.  I love the videos we have captured with this monitor.  So funny!

7) No-Sew Bed Skirt Tutorial

Turns out I am not the only person who was too lazy/scared/intimidated to sew a bed skirt!  You all love this quick and super easy solution that I came up with and I am SO glad!  It makes me feel a little bit better about myself for taking the easy way out :)  So thanks for that!

8) $700 Kitchen Makeover

Thank for loving our thrifty DIY kitchen makeover so much!  We had so much to do in our kitchen on such a tight budget, like loads of people out there.  I think we inspired lots of people to improve their own kitchens by thinking creatively and using lots of paint :)  You do not have to spend a fortune to have a kitchen that you will love!

9) Powder Room Reveal

I never thought a powder room reveal could be so exciting :)  This is another room we totally transformed on a budget, and we were thrilled by how many of you enjoyed it!

10) How to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets Without Losing Your Mind

Much like the no-sew bed skirt, this tutorial was born out of necessity.  We simply had to find the most time-efficient way to paint our kitchen cabinets.  That meant finding a product that would allow us to paint with no sanding or priming.  We also elected not to paint the inside of the cabinets {though we did paint the inside of the doors} so that we didn't even have to take the dishes out of the cabinets.  WIN!  Turns out, lots of you wanted an efficient method, too, so this post has been hugely popular.  And for the record, the paint is still holding up PERFECTLY.  No chipping, peeling, etc.  Just beautifully painted cabinets!

And as a bonus, I am going to share with you my top viewed post to date!  I didn't include it in the top 10 of 2014 because I actually published it in 2013, but it was STILL the number 1 viewed post this year!  It was also featured on Bob Vila's website AND Real Simple's website.  Crazy!  You may have guessed it already…

How to Paint Vinyl Floors

Wow!  There you have it–a look back at 2014.  I can't wait to share tons of new projects with you in 2015.  And from the bottom of my heart…

Thank you for your support and for coming with me on this journey!  Happy new year!

Before you head out, I hope you will visit 4 of my favorite bloggers who are also recapping their top posts of 2014.  I am sure you will find some inspiration, and maybe even some new blogs to follow.  Happy browsing!

DESIGNER TRAPPED IN LAWYERS BODY

TINY SIDEKICK

UPCYCLED TREASURES

HOME MADE BY CARMONA

PLACE OF MY TASTE

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