December 28, 2012

{ Christmas }

I know Christmas is over, but before I take down the decor I thought I'd post a few pictures.
They are totally unedited so please forgive the sloppy photography.
Our little tree, covered in my kids' ornaments.

Love my Christmas quilt on the back of the couch.

I copied the chalkboard art from this website which I found on Pinterest.

I know, I know, I should have taken that cheap gold foil off the poinsettia.
I was in such a hurry the day I got it that I stuck in there and never looked back.

I got new shutters in the dining room.
It was a perfect place for Christmas cards.

My beloved hutch.
I love using natural elements in my Christmas decor.


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Now, on to the new year!

September 21, 2012

{ Miss Sassy's Bedroom Redo }

Miss Sassy really wanted to redo her room.
She's a teenager now and she wanted it to reflect her style.
I was excited to help her do that.
We took a trip to IKEA and she picked out colors, furniture & other stuff she liked.
We bought a few things, reused a few things she already had & this is what we came up with...
She really needed a place to do her make up & hair so we got a desk, chair & mirror at IKEA.
She loves art & wanted to keep her art collage wall.
She has her own art pieces that she's mixed in with other favorite pieces.

And then there is her 1 Direction wall.
Hung all on her own to her much joy!
She loves it...I love that she loves it.
I think the kids bedrooms should be reflect who they are.
 
While walking around IKEA, Sassy found a bedroom layout that she really liked.
They had used a cube bookshelf to separate the bed area.
The one at IKEA was larger, but we had this one already in her closet {from Target} so we decided to try it.
It turned out that we both really like this layout!
 
I added a few tiny shelfs & a basket {all from Target} under the window between her bed & the bookshelf for her clock, phone, the all important retainer & her scriptures.

The b&w floral bedding we already had {Target a while ago}.
We purchased the turquoise polka dot sheets, turguoise bed pillow, red velvet pillow & white faux fur pillow all at Target.
The red printed curtains are from IKEA.
 
All in all I think it turned out cute.
I sure wish it was this clean all the time.

{ Pinterest Inspired Halloween Luncheon }

Ah, Pinterest...don't you love Pinterest?
So many pins...so little time.
Here is a real party inspired by Pinterest at my home, hosted by me & some fun friends {thanks, Monica & Kate}.
 
click on titles below pics to go to the links on Pinterest... 
 
{battery operated candle inside}
 
{used medical tape instead of duct tape}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
{We found out the caramel doesn't stick to the flesh of the apple}
 
 
  
 
Other Pins used:

June 4, 2012

{ New Basket }

Two more weeks of school for us!
We are really looking forward to summer & we have started making our Summer List. Yay!

I wanted to show you the new basket I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby a few months ago.
I thought about hanging it on the blank wall in the dining room, but after putting it on my coffee table, I think it is going to stay put.
I had the lantern & plants there already, but the basket added a bit more dimension & warmth.

I really love it.

And here's a small view into the dining area...I added curtains!

Hope you have a great week!

May 19, 2012

{$20 Patio Table Redo}

 I am on a really tight budget right now, but I desperately wanted a patio table for my backyard. My solution, of course, was to go garage selling! I found this beauty for a whopping $5. Can you say score? I will admit, at first I didn't see the potential. But desperate times call for thinking outside the box, right? Here's what I did...
 After getting rid of the hideous, I mean dated, glass tabletop, I made a trip to Lowes and picked up some fencing. I got the board for under $2 each. I then placed the table base on top of the base to get it centered and added the bracing boards from scrap wood in my garage (I added two braces in the center as well, but they aren't shown here). This gave the tabletop stability and nestle it on the table base so it wouldn't shift.
 See the tops of the fencing? I chopped them off one the tabletop was assembled. I wasn't lovin' the red hue of the wood, so I sanded it down and gave the tabletop a wash.
 I mixed some black and white craft paint until I got a medium grey color. Then I watered it down 50-70% so that it was really watery. This part was all trial and error until I got the consistency I wanted.
 You can see here how the wash got rid of any remaining "too new" looking wood, but the finish looked a little bit flat. Sooo...
 I got some white craft paint, and using a really dry brush with just a touch of paint on it, I gave the table a quick once over.
 Close up again, you can see how the white paint added some depth to the boards. Next I did some hand painting using the same process I used on my sign. I got the graphic from The Graphic Fairy. Love her stuff! I finished it off with a couple coats of polyurethane to give some protection from the elements.
 
Here's the after.
LOVE IT!
 Here is the close up of the graphics. I was going for a old french crate feel.
Pay no attention to the old peeling deck, its on the list.

Who'd a thunk... a $5 garage sale patio table...

May 16, 2012

{ I Did It! }

I painted our piano!
I have wanted to do it for such a long time, but was so nervous.
I'm so glad I finally did it...I love it!
Boo kept running through my pictures...silly girl.

This is where we started.
It was {yay, past tense} an oak player piano with funky 70's tulip stained glass windows...

I took it apart... 

and while my husband was gone for the weekend {so he wouldn't freak out that I was painting in the house} I got started... 

I sanded & painted 3 beautiful coats of antique white paint...

sanded it again & applied a wax polish to finish it aaannnddd... 
I LOOOOVE IT!

Why didn't I do this years ago?

The only thing I'm not sure about is the N monogram where the glass windows were.
I have some thoughts, but I'm very open to suggestions, or do you like it the way it is?
I would love to know what you think. :)

Linking up to:

May 8, 2012

{ Working on this... }

Yikes!

May 2, 2012

{ ABC Shower }

I got to host another baby shower.
This time it was for my nieces, who are sisters.
One is having a boy & one is having a girl so I needed to come up with a theme that would work for both of them.
There were lots of ideas out there, but I found this one on this cute blog and had to do it!
Here's my version...
It was held at my sister-in-law's beautiful home.
I didn't get a picture, but in the blue pot are bookmarks that the guests got to take home.
They have a Dr. Seuss quote on them & I found them here .

I found the abc wall cards at The Land of Nod

These big blocks were from Home Goods.

The food display on the island.
It's kind of hard to see with the stuff going on behind it.

Lunch menu:
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Pear & Cucumber Salad w/Poppy Seed dressing
Strawberries & Grapes with fruit dip
Vegetable platter
Cupcakes

The scrabble tile holders I already had & I got the mini chalkboards from Michaels in their wood section.

The cupcake flags were from Target. Love them!

I made the little pendant banner & hung it with the flashcards on the poles that I made.

Pretty flowers.

My cute nieces.
I am so happy for them & was glad I had the opportunity to host their shower!