Be confident, be creative, Be Jane

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Eden Jarrin dove into remodeling her home to cope with the price of housing.

But Jarrin is building more than a better place to live. The skills and knowledge she has developed helped her co-found, with Heidi Baker, a 10,000-member nationwide do-it-yourself group called Be Jane, inspiring women to tackle home-improvement projects.

"Women can achieve a lot more than they think they can," said Jarrin. "Even if they don't have a background in home improvement, even if they don't know anything about tools, the biggest thing they lack is confidence in themselves. All it takes to get them started is someone believing in them."

Jarrin should know. She and husband Ed bought what she calls a "real fixer-upper" in Laguna Niguel, Calif., in 2002. When she moved into the new house, she brought a determination to do most of the remodeling herself.

"I learned mostly by trial and error," she said, "but the point is, I wasn't afraid to try."

Jarrin did most of the hands-on work, changing out faucets, painting and tearing out kitchen appliances and cabinets. She even did some basic electrical work.

When it came to jobs such as putting in a new granite countertop or the more complex electrical work, Jarrin hired professionals.

"Then I would watch closely to see what they were doing," she said.

She remodeled the kitchen; refinished her dining-room cabinets; and decorated, adding a chandelier lamp as well as new curtains.

Jarrin and her husband are now busy making over the garage.

Her work ethic comes from her childhood in Vancouver, B.C. When she was 10, she wanted a four-poster bed. When her parents said they couldn't buy one, she found four tree branches and attached them to her bed as "posts."

These days, she is passionate about getting other women involved in do-it-yourself projects.

"There's a tremendous number of women out there we're trying to reach and help," Jarrin said. "For some it's a matter of necessity that they do the work themselves; doing your own home-improvement projects is a great way to save money. For others, doing projects around their homes is very self-satisfying."