Top projects of 2012

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We had a good Christmas.  A quiet, simple Christmas with my husband’s family on Christmas Eve and then Christmas with my family (three kids age 5 and under) which was a little bit more crazy.  And as for presents we got – well, there may have been a big tool gotten as a present this year and you might be surprised who out of my husband and me gave and received it.   (I will share it later today on my facebook page.)

Before we jump into 2013 next week, I thought it would be fun to recap and review the last year.  Rhoda has a “Top Projects of 2012” party going on which is fun to link up to.

So here’s the best projects of 2012!  You can see 2011 top projects recap post here.  But I had only been blogging for 3 months at that point.  So this year was a full year of blogging projects and wow, has it been fun to look back at all that I did and blogged about this past year.

My simple Coffee Filter wreath that I published back in February remains my highest viewed post to date!  That one post combined with the power of Pinterest has brought tons of visitors to my blog.  And I still love my wreath!

The other most popular reader post was my Mason Jar soap dispensers.

They were one of the first projects I blogged about during my 31 days of Pinterest series that I did in October of this year.  You can visit all the projects in this series here.

Here’s a quick snapshot of all 31 projects.  Links to projects 1-16 here.

Links to projects 17-31 here.

Here’s some other smaller projects I did:

I updated my vent covers with spray paint.

Made some simple plate hangars with paper clips.

I gave my mailbox a makeover. No, that is not a new mailbox and pole – it is the SAME pole and mailbox after a stain and paint job! Came out looking brand new!

Made a DIY sunburst mirror with paint stirrer sticks.

Spray painted some brass lamps.

And I even painted some curtains!

I love wreaths and here’s a quick recap of the ones I made in 2012.

1. Winter wreath
2. Spring green wreath
3. Yellow and white summer wreath
4. Clothespin wreath
5. Coffee filter wreath
6. Hydrangea wreath
7. Fall leaf wreath
8. Fall wreath

And I did some bigger projects and room re-dos this year too!

Here is my guest bathroom before…

It got a new paint job and lots of updates including board and batten, a framed in mirror, and a red painted chandelier.    Read all the details in this post.

And I revealed my dining room (which also led to me getting published in my first newspaper article!)

Here’s the before

The during

And the final after!  You can view lots more pictures, get paint colors, and curtain information in this post.

I redid a $20 flea market dresser.  Here’s the before…

And here’s the after!  I love this little chest in my hallway upstairs.

I showed you final pictures of our new deck we had built 2 years ago and I finally got accessorized this spring.

And I did a mini makeover on front porch too.  I am SOO glad I added that bench out there.  It has gotten a TON of use and has been fun to decorate too.

And I shared my yard sale, flea market, and thrift store finds with you almost every Friday throughout the year.  You can read quick recaps of those posts here.  My favorite find this year?  Probably the set of furniture – chest, dresser, nightstand and mirror that I got for $40 that is on the list to redo in 2013.

I did a whole series on how to shop yard sales.

And I attended Haven Conference, my first big blog conference, in June and it was amazing!  I made some wonderful blogging friends, met some of my favorite bloggers, and learned a ton about blogging!

And I did a ton of Christmas projects which I will recap in my December monthly recap post.

Whew… it was a busy year!  And fun too.  Can’t wait to get started on some new projects and room redos in 2013.  I will recap December, I think I will do a “year of mantels” post, and then share some of my goals and home goals for 2013 in the next week or two.

Thank you to all of my wonderful readers who joined me and read along during 2012!  Blogging wouldn’t be any fun if no one came to read, comment, and pin all the fun stuff I share.

What was your favorite memory, project, or yard sale find of 2012?