Let’s Roll Out the Welcome Wagon!

Hi friend!  Welcome, welcome, welcome!  I’m so happy that you’ve found your way to Home Beautifully, this cozy little nook on the great big ol’ internet.

Allow me to introduce myself while we kick off our shoes and have a glass of wine (or a triple decaf vanilla skinny soy latte, extra foam, whatever you please.)  My name is Cynthia, and I’m over-the-moon delighted that you’re here!

On this website, you’ll find all kinds of beautiful DIY inspiration for your home.  And for reals, we’re all about affordable here.  Most of my projects, I make with sawdust and persistence.  I pinky promise you will never see a $250 throw pillow on this site, like *ever*. 

My name’s Cynthia. It’s nice to meet you.

Lemme tell you a little bit about myself so you don’t think I’m just this strange girl you met on the internet.  Who am I?  I’m a joyful sawdust maker, avid DIYer, and happy momma.  When I’m not at work, I’m usually found with a messy bun and stretchy pants, covered in sawdust, sketching up ideas, or chasing after my wild monkeys (I mean, children.)

Who’re those good looking boys?  My sweet son and handsome husband make their appearances throughout this blog.  They live right inside the sweet spot deep in my heart and provide motivation and joy with each heartbeat.

I met my husband when we both worked at the same university in northern California.  After secretly crushing on him for weeks, he asked me to go hiking with him.  After our first date, we became inseparable. He’s the kindest, strongest man I know, and I cannot imagine my life without him.  I love him to pieces.  We got married on a beautiful, sunshiny day at an old ranch in the California mountains.  

That was (sheesh) almost ten years ago now, and our lives and family have grown immeasurably since then.

I met the second love of my life, my silly and curious son, in late 2015.  Becoming a mama has been the greatest adventure of my life.  Gone are the days of freshly washed hair and well-rested eyes, you guys.  I’m living on lots of love, a heavy dose of caffeine, and some extra stretchy yoga pants.

Update (A Big One!!)

See that sweet girl??  She’s mine, all mine, freshly baked!  We had a baby girl, our little newborn love, in the fall of 2017.  Life got oh-so-much busier, and my heart’s overflowing with love (and exhaustion, so so much exhaustion.)  She’s such an angel.  I’m SO SO in love.

A Super Important (Can’t Be Missed) Tidbit

Before we go much further, lemme take a quick pause to say something super important.  The internet can do an almost alarming job showing the best of the best of the best of our lives. We scroll through pages online, in awe highlight reels filled with glossy photos and shiny moments. 

YOU GUYS.

That is NOT what this website’s about.  While there’s joy creating beauty from sawdust, perfection doesn’t exist here.  We’re not going for perfect.

Let me repeat that again ’cause it’s so important: we’re not going for perfect.

I hope your DIY adventures bring joy to your life and beauty to your home, knowing that we’re all doing our best every day to make it work. 

Over the past several years, as my family and this blog have grown, I’ve forced myself to come back again and again to this grounding question: does what I’m doing help me love myself more?  And, if the answer was no, I stopped.  I let it go.  I moved on.  I’ve taken big pauses in this blogging journey to give myself space to struggle, to feel imperfect, and to honor my whole experience.

Over time, I’ve found that I always return to DIY projects.  Why?  Creativity brings me joy.  When I allow myself to play, to have fun, to mess up, and to learn, I feel nourished.  Please know that between the snapshots on my highlight reel, there’s a whole lot of tenacity and imperfection and self-reflection and, ultimately, grace.  And since we’re now internet best friends, I wish nothing but the best for your DIY journey, too.

Let’s Get You Started

What now?  Let’s get you started with some of the most popular content on this site.  From free SVG files to DIY projects, I’m hoping you get plenty of inspiration and resources to keep your crafty hands busy for a long, long time to come.

Popular DIY Projects

Looking to get creative?  Check out these DIY projects for lots of fun ideas to try!

Free SVG Files

Looking for pretty cut files for your projects?  Turns out that drawing SVGs while drinking wine on the couch is like my #1 sport.  Be sure to visit the free SVG gallery to see all the cut files.  Or jump to some of my favorites linked below.

Alright, phew!  This was a long one.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at Cynthia@HomeBeautifully.com.  Know I’d love to hear from you.  And in the meantime, know that I’m cheering you on.

As always, lots of love from my house to yours, 
Cynthia