Oops! The page you’re looking for isn’t here!
You might like these posts!
Our Categories
Not quite right? Click on any of the categories we have on Lemon Thistle to find more!
Instantly update your door wreath for Saint Patrick’s Day with this set of 3 free printable welcome banners. Brush lettered welcome sign with shamrock for the O, this free printable banner is perfect modern decor for Saint Patrick’s day- in one free printable file!
Saint Patrick’s Day is one of those ‘in between’ holidays. It’s after winter, but really before spring or Easter and if you do decorate for smaller holidays it does come *right* after valentines day it feels like.
I do like to change up my decor a little bit for each of these different holidays but I don’t like to be storing a ton of decor or adding much to surfaces which makes me feel cluttered. I talk a lot about seasonal decorating without the clutter here on Lemon Thistle and one of my favorite ways to do that is with printables!
If you’re looking for fun Saint Patrick’s Day decorations or printables, this is a great one for you!
Today I’m sharing a set of free printable St Patricks themed welcome banners. These printable banners say welcome in hand lettering but with a four-leaf clover for the ‘o’ which makes them perfectly festive for Saint Pattys Day!
I hand lettered these banners on my iPad and went with my usual black and white combo (of course!)… but then decided to add a little green watercolor for those of you that appreciate some color in your decor!
The one has green watercolor just behind the shamrock and the other has a green watercolor wash behind the entire background. This gives you not just one but three options for these printable Saint Patrick’s day banners.
I’ve designed these printable banners to work perfectly on a wreath you already have but you could also use them around your home on doors, above a little vignette or on a saint patricks day party table for decor.
When I was brainstorming some easy saint patrick’s day decor ideas, wreaths are the number one thing that kept coming to mind. Instead of making a DIY saint patrick’s day wreath, I decided I’d customize a wreath I already keep on my door most of the year with some saint patrick’s day details.
This means I can skip storing another big wreath in that storage room of mine. I wanted it to look kind of like this wooden welcome banner I made a few years back but I wanted it to be printable so I could easily share it with all of you!
This printable is part of a collaboration that I’m doing with some of my favourite printable designer friends, so you can scroll to the bottom of this post and find even more Saint Patrick’s themed printables from some very talented ladies!
But first… lets get you these free printable welcome banners for Saint Patrick’s Day!
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Learn how to easily create a digital design board to help you visualize your room makeover ideas and confidently make decisions as you take on your interior home makeover! A step-by-step design board tutorial for even the most beginners.
A digital design board is so helpful in the interior design process. It helps you to decide on furniture or finishes as well as inform any smaller decor choices as you go about your shopping.
I love the tactile process of making physical design boards (see my tutorial for that here), but when it comes to getting a visual representation of ideas you have for a space? And getting exact furniture represented in that? A digital design board is the way to go.
This is all part of having a solid plan for your room makeover. This is something I talk about a ton here on Lemon Thistle. Like… I harp on it.
But for good reason!
Digital design mood boards are just one part of that plan. They will help you get from your before to the after you’re dreaming of without too many mis-steps.
There’s also a budget (steal my room makeover budget spreadsheet here!) and timeline and alll that good stuff, but today?
Today I’m going to show you how to create your own design board in Canva so you can get designing your room and making decisions with a working digital design board for your room makeover.
I’ve shared this entire process in a video if that’s easier for you- I’ve included that down near the bottom of that post and here on YouTube.
Consider this blog post your step-by-step guide to creating your own virtual design board for your room makeover planning- without any fancy software or design training.
Yeah, this is totally doable for YOU, for a beginner, and for… well, anyone. It’s totally doable.
So let’s get that inspiration off of your pinterest board and to some actual plans with your own interior design mood board to help you make decisions for your home projects with confidence.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
If you’re looking for some wall decor for those cold winter months after the holidays have passed- here’s a bundle of 5 free printable quotes I’ve hand lettered about winter!
I know not everyone wants to decorate for the holidays but might still be looking to change up their decor this winter. And let’s be honest… even if we do decorate for the holidays, once we clear it all out in January, things can feel a bit… empty. So having a bit of fresh decor is always welcome… plus, sometimes we need a little encouragement to get through those cold winter months!
Today I’m sharing 5 quotes about winter all hand lettered up for you to print off and use as home decor. Combining two of my favorite things- home decor and hand lettering, I had so much fun creating these for you!
This printable word art is neutral and wintery, subtle enough to coordinate with any home decor style.
I love printables for easily changing up home decor for the seasons. You don’t add any clutter, just switch out the printable within a frame. It’s really easy, affordable, and can be suited for any holiday or season.
I’ve shared this tip so many times before- in fact, I wrote an entire post on how to decorate seasonally without added clutter that has lots of ideas, but this is maybe the best way to get a little bit of seasonal decor without buying anything new (assuming you have a picture frame and a printer already!).
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Sharing how to download and print a free printable calendar as well as how to use them digitally. Plus several ways to use free printable calendars to organize your life, budget, content plan, meal plan and more!
Every year I create a set of free printable calendars for readers to download. And guess what? It’s my most popular printable every single year. I get questions about how to use them or how to use them for specific things like meal planning, an editorial calendar and mostly? For budgeting. When I first shared calendars back in 2014, that was what I’d created them as… a visual budget calendar! So if that’s what you’re interested in, there’s a section that covers that below.
Today I’ll share how to download and print free printable calendars as well as how to use them digitally with the Good Notes App if that’s your preference. Then I’ll share some different ways that I like to use them including to visually plan your budget which is SO helpful for me.
I used to be a paper calendar only girlie. By this post… you’d probably think I’m still 100% physical calendar only.
But as our family has grown and our schedule has gotten bonkers, I’ve found I need to also keep a digital calendar. I do like how Google calendar has real time updates of calendar events so that as I make changes in our shared family calendar, Shane can see the new times or details of an event.
I like that I can open our calendar app and see the birthday party details and address when I pick the kids up from school and can’t remember where that friend actually lives. I like that when I’m at physio and they’re rebooking an appointment I can open the calendar and pick a date… and not having to call back to change it once I’m home and open my paper planner.
BUT I also find that a paper calendar is my preferred way to actually plan- it’s the easiest way for me to wrap my head around our upcoming schedule or to plan out vacations or meals or anything really. And as our kids grow, they want to see what’s going on too and they don’t have phones or google calendars.
So no matter if you have other calendar types or digital calendar apps… sometimes, you just want a paper calendar for one specific purpose, and that’s where printable blank calendar templates come in so darn handy.
I’ve put this post together as an easy reference for you to pop back to when you’re needing to print some paper calendars and get your life organized into specific calendars.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
This basement DIY bathroom remodel was completed in a tight timeframe on a super tight budget. The whole bathroom went from unusable to DIY skills and creative design.
We moved into this 1980s home two years ago and started renovating immediately. We’ve taken on big projects and like most renovations, they have taken more time and money than we often planned.
We decided to take on a small bathroom remodel for a quick win- and on a budget!
I say small, but that’s only talking square foot, every single piece of this bathroom had to be addressed. From new plumbing fixtures to electrical work and even shower walls… the only thing that stayed in here was the floor plan.
I gave myself a VERY tight timeframe and *hired* my Dad to help me get this DIY bathroom makeover done in a hurry. I’ve shared one of his bathroom remodels here before, he’s done more than I can count! It’s been such a boost to knock something off our list so quickly (one week!) and it turned out better than we’d even dreamed.
We wanted to use materials we had on hand and had been saving from previous projects to make this project as affordable as possible. We’ve been working on DIY home improvements for several years, so stashing some of those materials that are leftover from other projects is an affordable way to make significant changes without breaking the bank.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
A complete gift guide for the creative in your life. These are perfect gifts for all budgets including hand lettering supplies, hand lettering adjacent items and where to find them to make shopping easy for the brush lettering lover in your life!
When I decided I wanted to learn how to brush letter years ago, I quickly became obsessed. Enamoured. All of the above. I put supplies on my list every birthday and Christmas and honestly… my loved ones didn’t know what the heck that meant.
So if you have someone in your life who is a creative who has suggested they’re interested in brush lettering or even hand lettering in general… this gift guide is here to help!
We have something on here for every budget and every skill level- plus links to easily order them. Happy shopping!
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
If you are hoping to replace your kids’ advent calendar full of chocolate with meaningful activities, this backyard s’mores winter activity is perfect for you. Easy to pull together last minute with snacks and holiday treats that you might already have on hand, your little ones will love this dose of holiday magic!
This post was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with more helpful tips and content in 2023.
One of my favourite traditions we started with our kiddos is doing an activity advent calendar each year. Every year it looks a little different but the idea is that on each card, envelope, or with a note inside a box every day an activity is written. It’s completely customizable and you can leave the activity note until the night before to make sure you have the time/energy/stuff to make it happen.
For example… last year Aubrey broke her collarbone. So we had virtually NO outdoor activities. This year, we had a baby- so the first week of December is pretty low-key (Christmas story, anyone?!).
And if there’s no snow, then don’t write down ‘build a snowman’ and save it for the day you get a big dump. Kind of awesome to have that flexibility, right?
BUT coming up with ideas in the moment… at 10pm, standing there staring at your kids’ advent calendar questioning why you started one in the first place? We don’t want that. I shared a giant list of advent activity ideas in case this has ever been you.
One of my kids’ favourite activities that is on there is this fun backyard s’mores winter activity. The best thing about it is you might already have everything you need for it on hand. We always have tealights, always have giant marshmallows and often have some kind of cookie and candy during the holiday season. So you can pull this together on super short notice.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Sharing the full box moulding wall tutorial (with the math!) and full time lapse video of the picture frame moulding wall coming together! This tutorial is perfect for a beginner DIYer looking to add a decorative moulding wall to their space.
I’m so excited to share this DIY wall moulding treatment with you all! This turned out better than I’d imagined… and I’d imagined it would look pretty darn good. I’m so excited for where this room is headed and can’t wait to get to the decorating it!
This DIY feature wall is so beautiful. Whether you call it box moulding, panel moulding, picture frame moulding, or just a decorative moulding wall… it’s a great beginner DIY project as it uses the basic power tools (miter saw and brad nailer) and can be accomplished in just a weekend (or one day if you plan ahead like I did here!).
POST UPDATE: Since writing this tutorial in 2019, I’ve installed picture frame mouldings in four spaces and have some more tips to add!
This post was originally created in partnership with Home Depot Canada and Alexandria Moulding in 2019. It has since been updated and revised to answer frequently asked questions, this post includes paid and affiliate links. You can find all my policies here.
Since the 2019 post, I’ve since finished the reveal of this black bedroom space!
If you didn’t catch it, last week I shared the design board for our dark and moody primary bedroom makeover and this moulding wall is the first tutorial I’m sharing from the space.
We’ve done a lot in here since the ‘before’ when we bought the house and it’s time to finish the space up. The first things we took on were floors, baseboards and doors… and now the paint, mouldings and lights. But there’s oh so much more to go!
Besides decorating (what am I going to put on the other wall? And what about window coverings?! All the fun stuff!)… We have to pop the trim off the two old windows and order new ones (the seal is broken), I’m hoping to get a chair for our bay window (now that we have no dresser, there’s so much space!) aaaand would love to refresh our pillows- I can’t believe how beaten up they’re looking after just one year.
But before I get to any of that… let’s talk about this DIY moulding feature wall!
We loved having a dark and moody bedroom at our last house and the added dimension of the moulding wall in that room was something we wanted to do again… but different. And this? It’s everything I hoped it would be! We went with a black paint that I love so much and then added this modern but classic picture frame moulding with a minimalist trim profile.
We decided just to do the headboard wall of the master bedroom as a feature but to do the entire room would look amazing as well!
Today I’m sharing the full box moulding wall tutorial (with the math!) and full time lapse video of the picture frame moulding wall coming together!
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
This free printable christmas countdown is so easy to print off and have your kids color each day as they count down the days left until Christmas day! With festive illustrations, this simple christmas countdown is perfect for busy families or impatient little ones.
We have always done an activity advent calendar and I’m such a fan of that as we count down to the days to Christmas, but my kiddos have commented that seeing the envelopes disappear off the tree isn’t as satisfying as seeing a page fill up or doors disappear off of a house.
So this year I made a simple free printable christmas countdown for them to color each day as we get excited for santa’s visit!
Years ago I had a special request to make a coloring sheet placemat with custom names. I loved illustrating all of these holiday doodles for that project and am excited I get to share them with you here today in this christmas countdown printable!
We have santa’s hat, rudolph, some cute christmas trees and christmas ornaments… the most adorable penguin and even a candy cane and gingerbread man.
I really love this printable countdown! In the past, we’d had a chalkboard one but would forget to change it, or two kids would change it by accident. This way, each of the kids can have their own countdown to christmas activity sheet and you can take that added pressure to remember right off your plate.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Merry Chrismukkah! If you celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah this holiday season, download this free Chrismukkah SVG file for your holiday crafting or gifting!
H
Last year we were excited to be able to make it to a friends Chrismukkah tradition. We packed up the kids and headed to stay with them for the weekend, enjoying some of our favourite people and learning a bit more about Jewish traditions while feasting on delicious food. We’re excited to head back again this year and do the same.
When the SVG designers I partner with each month landed on Hanukkah for the theme this month, I knew I wanted to make a Chrismukkah design! I hand lettered a ‘Merry Chrismukkah’ and ‘I celebrate Chrismukkah’ for you to download and use in your holiday crafting for free!
I’ve shown them here on a sweater and on a serving board, but they’d make really lovely tree ornaments as well!
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Sharing 8 things we do consistently that help our home feel more peaceful even with full schedules and a family of 6. These are simple strategies that can be adapted to your own life and family!
Earlier this year I was asked to speak at the Get Organized HQ Virtual Summit. It was my second time sharing at the event and I talked all about the power of hidden organization which is one of my favourite topics to share (it’s also one of the tips in this post!). But we also had a challenge as speakers for a YouTube collaboration, all about life hacks for a stress free home. So today I’m going to share 8 ‘life hacks’ for a stress free home.
I want to be honest before I get to these though… the challenge title talks about ‘stress free homes’ and I can’t say that we’re there yet. We have an incredibly full schedule with four kids in school and activities and friends. But these really do help us manage that schedule and enjoy time in our home as well. I hope they will help you to feel the same!
I blog a lot about home decor, but we also live here with all of our games and crafts and books and snacks so in addition to having a house that looks beautiful, it’s so important to me that we also have a home that feels really, really good to live in.
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!
Sharing affordable DIY home decorating ideas from a giant pinboard I created for the Calgary Home Show! From ways to upcycle, how to make a space instantly cozy and more!
Last month I was invited to speak at the Calgary Fall Home Show. I shared a bit of a recap right here, but one of the things I was able to do while I was there was create this giant pinboard of affordable DIY home decorating ideas.
I’ve been blogging here for more than 10 years now and over that time I’ve shared a TON of ideas and room makeovers and I’ve definitely found a few strategies to be my favourites when it comes to home decorating and renovating.
It was so much fun to pull those and put them into this pinboard feature for attendees of the home show to walk by and take a peek at. Today I’m excited to share those tips here for you! Each tip is backed with more than one example of what this could look like in your home.
Before I get into the tips though… Let’s take a look at this 20 foot pinboard!
It’s actually the back of my DIY Room Features that I designed for the home show. I painted the simple graphic mural with neutral tones and when it was dry I added printed photos and hand wrote the tips and arrows using a paint marker.
I LOVE creating murals and this one was a fun combination of mural and DIY ideas… really, two of my favourite things!
Alright… on to the DIY home decorating tips!
…Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!