MidSouth Stagers

Featured on Finding Fabulous!

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

While I was out of town last week, Jane from Finding Fabulous featured my thrift store tray makeover! If you missed the original before and after post, you can catch it HERE.

Before:

After:

Jane has an awesome blog where she features all kinds of fabulous things that were DIY-ed on a budget. Check it out when you have some time!
And check out her feature of MidSouth Stagers HERE!
Thanks Jane!!

Tribute To My DIY Hero

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

I have been absent from my blog over the past week because I have been home for an unexpected trip. My grandfather passed away Tuesday, and thankfully I was able to spend his 2 final days with him. He was 97 years old, and until 2 weeks ago, was still driving, growing his own greens, and living independently. He was an inspiration to many, but I feel priviledged to have been his grandaughter, and also to be able to carry on both his and my grandmother's knack for DIY-ing. They were DIY-ers mostly out of necessity, but also because having expensive material posessions was not what mattered most to them. Family and friends were their top priorities, and I think we all need to take a page from their book to make sure that these are our priorities as well.

My brother, me, and Opa

My Opa (He was dutch, and this is what we called him...it is what many Europeans use as the word for grandfather) kept a giant garden for many years, built his own work-shop behind his house, and added on an entire bathroom (while in his 70's!!). He could build just about anything, and fished for and grew most of the food that he (and we) ate.

My cousin Cathy, Opa, and me on one of his birthdays.

He made many of the furniture pieces in my grandparent's house, and I am so glad to have one of the pieces he made in my home. He was always checking on others and was more than generous with the food that he grew in his garden and the fish that he caught. He took me on long walks (in the stroller) through the neighborhood when I was little and pushed me on the swing (teaching me dutch songs) until the sun went down. He always let me "help" in the garden and in the shop, and even sometimes let me mow the lawn!

Opa's grandkids on his 96th birthday. The last pic of all of us together.

He loved his family and my Oma, and I am grateful for the time that we had with him. There will never be another one like him.

Why I Shouldn't Have Nice Things

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

Do you see this sweet ball of fur?

Look how playful and innocent he is...

Oh look how sweet and content...

So carefree and happy...

Such a cutie. You just want to squeeze him...

Until he runs around your house like he has become temporarily possessed and knocks over/shatters your soon-to-be-hung MIRROR that you just blogged about finding and that you had already picked out a place for...

Yes...those are pieces of it on the floor.

Cut to me with the saddest face you've ever seen.(Yes that was a Karen Walker/Madonna reference)

So yes, this...

is why I shouldn't have nice things (note the crazy eyes...)

I may or may not be ordering this shirt for him shortly. It's a toddler shirt, and he acts like one so I find it appropriate.

Alternate title: Why I shouldn't leave nice things in destroying-distance of the Murphy Monster. Either way my mirror is in a bad state. I'm checking out mirror repair options today, but I'm pretty sure it's going to cost me a pretty penny either way. The original glass was super thick. I'll keep you updated.

Estate Sale Deals!

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am SO excited about what I snatched up at an estate sale this week (Ok, not exactly snatched up, but I couldn't believe that on the last day of the sale it was still there!

This is a Carver's Guild mirror that had a price tag of $125. I saw it on Sunday, the second day of the sale when it was marked down to $80. But I still couldn't bring myself to spend that much (I'm cheap). But I went back on Monday, thinking for sure that it was gone, and it was STILL THERE! It was marked at $67.50, and after talking them down to $50 and trying not to show how excited I was, I loaded it up!
HERE is one on ebay to show you just how insane $50 for this mirror is!!
I have an idea of where it's going, and I'll post once I make that decision. I also found a few other great things. If you can see what looks like a pile of fabric to the right, that is 4 custom drapery panels that I got for $20 total. I love the print on them and the colors are right on trend.

A tip about estate sales:
Go the first day and scope it out. They usually run 2-3 days. If there is something that you know is an awesome price and will go fast, go ahead and snatch it up. If you have to think on it then wait. Go back on the last day when everything is priced much lower and see if your piece is still there. You would be suprised, like I was!!

A Few Blog Updates!

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is having a happy January! I thought with the new year I should spend a little time updating the blog. So, a few things that you should check out:
There are several new options in the column to the right. You can now "like" us on facebook, get every new post emailed to you by simply entering your email address, and check out our Pinterest page by clicking the button!
We also have a new header showcasing some recent projects and a new background.

Also, I bought THIS today! Which hopefully means better pictures on the blog!
In keeping with the theme of new year, new updates, I have made several personal "resolutions", or whatever you want to call them. Here are a few, because I feel like if I make them public, I will be more likely to follow them!
1. Start wearing eye cream at night. Apparently the rest of you started doing this years ago, and no one told me. Now my eyes are all wrinkly and it's going to take me years to catch up. Thanks a lot for keeping me out of the loop, guys! I guess better late than never.
2. Start only getting on Facebook to update my business page or occasionally post pictures. I feel like the "friend" side of it has become a little negative lately, and I am not even seeing updates from the only people that I would like to keep up with. So if you need to get in touch with me, it's probably not the best place to do that. So far I am 3 days and counting with no Facebook, and it's pretty great!
3. Get over my body issues. This is my big one, and it's the hardest. I don't know if I'll ever be completely able to embrace things like cellulite, hair turning grey, or flabby arms, but I'm going to do better not to dwell on it. That brings me to my new blog venture on the side:

www.sensiblychicshopper.blogspot.com

I get asked about my clothes a lot, and I decided to do this to help people shop for fashionable things on a budget. I am not an expert, not even close, so this is just informative and for fun. The catch is that I would have to be OK with posting pictures of myself (which I don't know if you've noticed, is a thing that doesn't happen on this blog!). This will be the big challenge for me, so please check it out and give me some encouragement! I hope you'll follow along with the new blog as well as this one. And spread the word to anyone you think might enjoy it! I'm really excited about it!

Did any of you commit to resolutions this year? Have you already broken them? I'm curious to see what others think about them, so let me know!

Before and After: A Quick Look At A Client's Living Room

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

When my clients moved into their beautiful new house, they didn't exactly have furniture that worked in the space. Truthfully, no furniture would work in this space without it being found specifically for it. This living room has a wall of french doors to the right, an empty wall to the left, a wall-to-wall opening in the back to the kitchen, and a fireplace/built-ins in the front. So basically any furniture placement was going to block something.

The deep red formal drapes were very dark and just for show...not actually functioning. And they weren't really their style. Also the dark painting to the right was competing with the TV. The current arrangement was blocking the great french doors, and there was lots of wasted space behind the couch.

So without changing the wall color, we were able to lighten/casual things up quite a bit. This is only half of the room (there's an awesome sectional behind me...but my phone only does so much). Placing a sectional against the left blank wall really freed up the space. There is actually a recliner to the right behind me as well.

We wanted to go with soothing colors so lots of greens, blues, browns, and beiges. I made the drapes with this amazing fabric that I'm pretty sure I bought the remaining lot of on the entire planet. The custom pinstriped side chairs are meant to flank the fireplace and be functional: They have rolling castors and can move around quite easily to face the fireplace if needed.

The pillows are a sea-foamish color, similar to the medallion print rug though it's hard to tell here. They are velvet with satin ends and add a little sophistication. The built-in's are filled with almost entirely items they already had...just staged to showcase each piece.

I promise to have real pics at some point! I am looking at cameras as we speak...there's a good deal going on with THIS one right now. Any input on cameras before I swipe my card?? Suggestions welcome!

Design Work Sneak Peek

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to give you a little look at the office that I am working on. I am hoping to get several before/afters of this house posted soon. I showed you a little bit of the den HERE.

This is a side wall in the office. We needed file storage but also needed a nice furniture piece since this is the first room that you see when you walk in the front door. So I chose this double file cabinet from Ballard. We also needed something to sit over the file storage, and this cotton canvas painting by Hillary Butler was perfect. She tweaked the colors a little to fit our scheme. You can see more of her beautiful pieces HERE. The accessories are all from different places around town, but look great paired together!

A few New Year's changes

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

I promised that I would tell you more about my coffee table that is now an ottoman in THIS post about my DIY moss vase fillers. I have also made a few other changes to the den, so I thought I would show you all in one post. I thought it would be fun to take a look at the den and all of the changes it has been through.

The first pic is how it looked when we bought it, middle is in-progess painting...yes that's me painting. Such a flattering pic. And on the right is after new paint on all of the trim, walls, and refinished floors...they were still wet.

On the left is what it looked like a month or so after moving in...pretty much using what I had. And the right is the den today. I'm sure it will change again before too long!

One change was getting new prints for these frames. I also wanted to paint them...I was tired of the dark. Those ~~ugly~~ comfortable and not-going-anywhere-anytime-soon couches were enough dark.

So I used a little gold spray paint and ordered new prints from THIS etsy shop. They have so many more prints that I want to order! So fun and different!

I love the new look of them and think it brightens up that wall a bit. I also have a few new pillows. The color splotch pillow was on super clearance at West Elm outlet. The bee medallion pillow (it's kind of hidden) was literally like 2 bucks at Dillard's the day after Thanksgiving. I'm trying to not be so ~~OCD~~ symmetrical with everything. Can you tell?

I also like how the frames contrast with the big print over the side chair. Not quite so matchy-matchy. You may also notice a bigger change...a new rug, and my ottoman.

Oh, and those shades in the windows...mini-blinds with fabric glued to them. No joke. Look on Pinterist for a good tutorial. It is SO easy and inexpensive.

This rug was such a steal! It is actually two seagrass 5x7 rugs from TJ Maxx that were $49.99 each! I had some heavy-duty thread in the same color, so I literally just stitched two sides of it together. Because of the pattern of the rug, you really can't tell! You can't beat $100 for a 7x10 rug.

And as for the ottoman, I apologize for not taking pics of the process, but I got carried away. But all I used were 3 large foam squares that I placed on top, wrapped it in batting that I stapled to the bottom, and then wrapped it again in a fabric I picked up a few weeks ago. I am probably going to get new, sturdier legs...maybe a spindle leg painted gold...we'll see.

DIY Decorative Moss Vase Filler.

2012-01-06T18:59:00.000-06:00

I don't know if that's the technical term for them, but Moss Balls was the only other name I could come up with...sorry if that sounds a little awkward :)
I needed something to fill the glass cake dome that is currently in my built-ins, and I didn't want to pay $2-$3 a piece for Mossy balls (OK that just sounds weird, I'm now calling them spheres).
I already had some moss from THIS project and THIS project, but you could pick up a sheet (mine was actually an entire table runner) at Hobby Lobby when they are 50% off or with a coupon from Michaels...it will probably cost you about $5.

I picked up some floral spheres at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. So they were about $2.50 for a package of 6.

Oops...blurry pic. Sorry!
Next I cut the moss into lots of pieces. I wanted each one to fit on the spheres without wrinkling up.

One thing to remember when working with this moss is to have something under your workspace (mine happens to be the floor). This stuff gets everywhere!
I used my hot glue gun to attach the pieces all over the floral foam. It was kind of fun...like putting together a puzzle.

Sorry again for the blurry pic...not sure what was going on there. Maybe too much caffeine for the photographer.
Once all of the pieces are on, you can't even see where any of them match up.

Here they are all happy on top of my ottoman that used to be my coffee table...more on that in another post.

And here they are in their new home! I still have a couple left that I am going to use somewhere else. I'm just not sure where that is yet!

So my cost breakdown:
6 foam spheres: about $2.50 (hobby lobby at 50% off)
Sheet of moss: already had, but used about 1/4 of it so let's say $1.25 ($5 for total sheet at hobby lobby)
Hot glue: already had
So I spent around $3.75 total for 6 moss spheres. As opposed to $16.50 HERE. Anyone notice that PB calls them spheres too.
I think that's a pretty good deal for an hour spent DIY-ing!

DIY Mason Jar Candle sticks

2012-01-02T22:31:00.001-06:00

For Christmas, I like to give a lot of homemade gifts to family and friends...I do this because it saves money but also because I feel that it is a lot more thoughtful than some random gift that I found for them last-minute. Christmas is more about the thought than about the commercialized holiday that it has become. I love getting homemade gifts and I think most other people do as well.

This year I wanted to make my mom a couple of those cute "redneck" wine glasses that I have seen at several gift shops. They are a little pricey if you buy them retail, so I decided to make them myself.
Here is a pic of what I'm talking about:

via Stylemepretty.com

It pretty much involves a Mason Jar and a glass candle stick. So I went to the thrift store and picked up a couple of pretty candle sticks. I already had Mason Jars. I also picked up some glass glue.
But, when I got home, I realized the sticks were TOO big for glasses...they ended up being more appropriate for a rapper. This is all I could picture:

Not what I was going for...my mom looks nothing like this and defnitely doesn't need a "Crunk cup".
So I decided to turn them into candle holders instead. They are much more appropriately-sized for candle holding, and now no one will get my mom confused with Lil'-John.

These are the candle sticks that I chose for the project...for the wine glasses, they would need to be 4-5 inches shorter.

First, I picked up this glue that works on glass...it is fairly inexpensive compared to the other glass glues, and worked great!

I applied the glue to the tops of the candle sticks and then centered the jars on top. It dried very quickly and it is super-sturdy.

I took a pic of them after they were dry, and my phone ate it.
But luckily, my mom sent me a couple of pics of what she has done with them so far. They are phone pics so they aren't super-clear, but you get the idea!

She added some glass rocks and a tea light for some color to each one. Cute, huh?

Now do you see how big they would have been as glasses?!
She says she is thinking about tying some twine around the top of each one, which I think will look great! And after looking through Pinterest, I thought I would share some more ideas for these Candle sticks (apparently I'm not the only one that has made them into candle holders as opposed to wine glasses...)

Used as a seasonal decor/candle holder:

Find the post about the two above HERE.

How cute would this be for a kid's party? I love the painted lids and bases:

Find the full post for those HERE.

And another seasonal Idea...this one added knobs to the lids and also painted the bases:

Found HERE
I love using Mason jars in unexpected ways!

Thrift Store Tray Makeover

2011-12-28T15:15:00.000-06:00

I found a great little wooden tray at the new Goodwill here in Memphis a couple of weeks ago. The wood wasn't in the best shape but I loved the brassy gold handles and thought it had lots of potential.

Here is it after I picked it up for only $2.99.

I decided that I wanted to turn it into a chic piece to sit on an ottoman, and I wanted to accent the gold in the handles. I decided on a herringbone-type pattern and got to work. I gathered some black, white, and gold spray paint from the garage, some painter's tape, and some scrap paper and envelopes.

First, I taped off the center and handles, and gave the sides (both inside and out) a couple of coats of glossy black spray paint.

Next, I taped off the sides that I painted black, and used some acrylic white paint for the inside. I started with spray paint, but with the bad shape the wood was in, I wasn't getting enough coverage. Two coats of this acrylic did the trick!

I then decided to do one row at a time. I taped off each line with painters tape, and used a piece of painters tape in between each to get the spacing right. You could also used a ruler, but this worked just fine! I then went to work with my gold spray paint to create the herringbone detail.

After spraying the first row and letting it dry, I taped off the second row, going in the opposite direction. The main thing to remember is to make sure the gold is only getting on the taped off areas and nowhere else.

Here is what it looked like after painting the last row. I used Rust-oleum metallic finish in gold.

And here is my tray after! Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how I taped it off. Everywhere in white is where the painters tape was. I used one long strip down the side of each row to get a nice straight line in between each. It took about 2 hours total.

Here is another view from the top. It is not 100% perfect, but I think that adds to the charm.

I threw a few accessories on top to give you an idea of how cute it looks all accessorized-up! Before really using it, I plan to spray a protective coat or two on top to keep the paint from chipping or getting damaged by glasses or whatever else it might end up holding.

Not bad for $2.99 + paint and supplies that I already had! It turned out exactly how I had hoped and I can't wait to use it!!

DIY Easy and Personalized Name Banner

2011-12-14T00:10:00.000-06:00

I created this banner for a friend's baby shower this Summer, and began a post on it, but for some reason never finished it. I thought I would share it now. Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean I have to post about a Christmas DIY, right?

First, I picked up several scrapbook sheets from Hobby Lobby. These are usually between 25-50 cents a piece, and are regularly 40-50% off. I just stuck with a certain color scheme.

Next I used some brown construction paper I had in my craft bin and used a plastic cup to trace circles. I wanted to use these on each triangle of the banner to be a background for the letters for the baby's name.

I then cut out enough triangles for each letter of the name, plus a couple of extra to make sure that the banner was long enough. If the baby has a fairly long name, you wouldn't have to cut extras.

I had these left-over blue letters also in my craft bin from a project a couple of years back. I also used them for another decoration for the same shower. You can see the scrap fabric wreath I made HERE.

I then laid everything out to make sure it was turning out how I wanted. I had picked up a couple of painted wood characters at Hobby Lobby while I was there since I knew that 4 triangles weren't going to be enough. I thought the little alien and space ship were cute but not too cheesy or "baby". Once I had it looking how I wanted, I used craft glue to glue each layer of the banner. So simple!!

I also picked up some jute string at Hobby Lobby and some mini clothespins. I can't tell you how many other projects I have used that string for since. Totally worth the couple of bucks!

I measured out the string the length that I needed it, and then used 2 pins on each triangle, securing them to the string. I then just used painters tape which I hid under my lamps to secure the banner.

I think I probably spent a total of 7 dollars for this project. And I had so many left-overs of the supplies, that I have been able to use it all for other projects here and there. I loved how it turned out and it helped personalize the shower in a cute way!!

Easy Bench Makeover

2011-12-11T22:43:00.001-06:00

My guest bedroom is constantly changing. I feel like my style is always evolving, and so I am always looking for easy and inexpensive ways to make changes to fit my style. The bench at the foot of the guest bed was looking a little tired, and I wanted more of a contrast. I had used left over silk fabric from the drapes to cover it originally. This bench used to be a square, brown, country-tastic coffee table with a glass middle. We cut the middle out to make it thinner and I used plywood, foam, batting, and material to make a cushion. We fused it back together in the middle. It was also painted and distressed a little.

Here is it before.

And after. I picked up a yard of this premier fabric a few weeks earlier, and decided to use it in here. I just laid out the fabric and put the cushion on top to measure out how much I needed. Then I cut and stapled it to the the plywood all around. I did this right over the previous fabric. I am really digging coral right now and this was an easy way to put it in the room.

I had also loved this navy floral fabric on super-clearance at a local fabric store, so I got a couple of yards and just held onto it until I had the right project. I decided to turn it into pillow covers and I love how the coral in them is brought out by the bench fabric!

Here they are on the bed. They also have that silvery-blue that is throughout the room, so they go well with the Chevron covers that I sewed earlier this year. I decided to ditch the printed duvet (It is actually in the other guest bedroom now), and stick with the white on white. There have been a lot of changes in this room over the year, so I thought it would be fun to do one of those look at how much it has changed posts...

Here it is before we moved in. This pic never gets old!!! The wheel is out of control.

Here is is soon after moving in...floors needed re-finishing, and the brown and blue was cute but now looks SO dated!

Here is the bed earlier in the Spring. Those lamps ended up in my den and the shades are in a closet somewhere...pretty sure they still have plastic on them too. This is the duvet cover that is now in the other bedroom.

Here it is now! Some new artwork that I took from my bedroom at my parents, really nice black and gold lamps that someone was throwing out...so of course I took them (I added some Target shades), the floors have been re-finished (it's a little hard to tell), and a chenille rug that a friend was getting rid of. Oh, and the dog. He is such a camera hog. The funny thing is that I'm so used to him just following me around that I didn't even realize he was in the pic until I uploaded it! What a creeper.

The next change will probably involve new drapes. These were used in the apartment and weren't really purchased for the room, but they serve their purpose for now.

I hope you are inspired by how little changes can totally transform a room, and how you don't have to break the bank to do it!

We're Back! Just In Time for Some Christmas Updates!

2011-12-06T20:55:00.007-06:00

I have no good excuse for being gone so long...just lots going on and nothing too interesting on the DIY front. But I have been working on a few things that I'll show you soon! And an entire house that I will post before and afters of as soon as I get some "afters". You will be blown away by the transformation!
But for now, I wanted to show you some of my Christmas cheer that I have spread around the house. I decided to only do one tree this year (lots of construction in the master bedroom/bathroom going on and there's not a lot of extra space). So I combined my 2 normal schemes and threw in a lot of natural/rustic touches for good measure. I decided to use a lot of what I already had and incorporate a couple of new touches. Think rustic-glam.

In our den we have a pretty ugly fireplace, but i just decided to embrace it this year. So I made a wreath with just a basic hobby lobby vine wreath and made some felt flowers with hot glue to add a soft touch. I used the nail above the mirror and hung it there. Then I used some of my thrift store collection of milk glass and used some branches to make a "natural" arrangement. I think these basic pieces look great with our nativity, which is hand carved wood from Israel (I think...or something close to that :)

Here is another view. And I have no idea why it's crooked...apparently I should never go into photography as a profession. Thinking of spray-painting some more branches gold and adding them to the mix... (side note: you will see gold and siver mixed all over my house...I have no problem mixing these two shinies...I think it's chic.)

Also in my den on the coffee table are these kind of rustic-silver reindeer from Target a few years back. I paired them with a McCarty Bowl from my collection (if you are a girl and you are from Mississippi, you have McCarty! You can read more about them HERE). I filled the bowl with heavy glass ornaments that I have collected over the years. I'm too afraid to actually hang them on the tree!!
I also used a table runner from Target from maybe 2 seasons ago, and I think it gives it just enough flair.

In my living room on my piano, I used these Target trees that I know are SO 3 years ago...but I still love them. I used some more of my McCarty bowls and filled them with extra red ornaments.

I also used a burlap runner that I had on my table for fall to add a natural touch.

This small nativity was the only one that I had until last year, but I love it. It was made by a close family friend, and when a candle is placed in the top, the whole thing glows. It is really cool!!

I used my white tree this year, and I combined my super-glam blue and red ornaments. One of the ways I added a natural touch, was by using branches as the topper. My ceiling really isn't tall enough for one, so I improvised with these. I really like how it turned out.

Here is the best view I can give you of both the tree and piano top. I am the worst Christmas-tree-picture-taker! I can never do them justice!! Anyone have any tips?
To bring in more of the natural/rustic feel, I used burlap instead of tulle or garland. I literally cut a few yards into thinner strips, and bunched it every few branches. SO easy!

A closer shot of some of my ornaments. I love this glass owl I found at Target last year.

Here is another room shot...I don't have a wide angle lense so this is all I got :)

My dining room, which is off the living room, got a fun and easy centerpiece...

I found a long tin, footed planter at Goodwill and 3 tall white dollar store candles. I used a dab of hot glue to secure each candle, and cut 4 small squares of floral foam to place in between each one. Then I went into my yard and found Christmas-looking plants and went to cutting.

I just stuck the cuttings in the foam, added a few extra ornaments I had left over after decorating the tree, and called it a day. I love how simple it is and how it only cost around $5.

Last view...promise! I'm really proud of it if you can't tell! And more on the cart behind it in the next post...

I'll leave you for today with my view from the den couch, which is where I spend a lot of time because that's where the fireplace is. It will give you a better idea of how everything ties together. And yes, that's my dog. More than likely if I'm on the couch, so is he. So I just embrace the fact that he might make it into a picture or two...just keepin' it real!

I'll be back soon to show you the living room and hopefully a fun and easy outdoor decor idea!

Fabric Scrap Wreath!

2011-08-24T11:50:00.001-05:00

I have been saving links to fabric scrap wreaths as an idea for a holiday party or a shower, so when I finally got to make this myself, I was really excited!

The links that gave me the idea for this can be found HERE or HERE.

I decided that I wanted my wreath to be pretty full, so one coat hanger folded into a circle wasn't going to be enough. I went to Hobby Lobby and found a wire wreath form. None of them were super-wide, so I decided to get two sizes and find a way to connect them. These are only a couple of dollars a piece.

Here they are together. This was exactly the width that I wanted.

I also picked up this inexpensive floral wire which was right beside the wire forms. And it's amazing. It has a cutter so no pliers needed! I'm sure everyone else already knew about this nifty invention. Anyway, I just wired the wreaths together at 4 points and it seemed pretty secure, so I left it at that.

Next, I went through my fabric scrap pile and pulled out all of the colors that we were using for the shower. The great thing about this is that these are the colors that I have used all over my house!

Next, I cut TONS of fabric strips around 6-8 inches long and about an inch wide. I didn't measure or anything, so none of them are exactly the same, but it doesn't matter once you attach them. The cutting and the tying take a little while, but just do it while you're watching your favorite show, and it will go by fast! To attach the fabric, I just tied each piece to a place on the wire form in a knot, with equal parts of fabric on each side of the knot.

This is what it looked like about half-way through. There was really no pattern to how I tied them, just tried to fill in gaps where I saw them.

Here is the wreath after a couple of hours of tying lots of knots!! I wanted to personalize it so I dug around in my craft supply and found some blue letters that I had from another project.

I used tacky glue to glue the letters directly to the wreath. I just pressed each one down for about a minute, and after about half an hour, they weren't going anywhere!

I knew we would be opening gifts in front of my TV, but I didn't want a big ugly TV to be our background, so I thought the wreath did a nice job of distracting! I was so busy that day that I completely forgot to get a closer picture of it!

Here's a little closer look of how it was displayed. I just used a white ribbon that I already had and looped it around the wreath. Then I used a thumb tack to pin it to the top of the shelf. I left a little ribbon on top to tie a bow to cover the tack.

This is something they can re-use as well either at the hospital or in his room!

DIY Tissue Paper Puffs

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Tissue paper puffs are an easy way to add lots of color to a space for a shower or party. They are pretty easy to make, all you need is tissue paper in whatever colors you're planning on using, floral wire, scissors, and something to hang them with (I used fishing line).

You need 8-10 sheets of paper per puff.

First you lay out the papers on a flat surface, all stacked on top of one another.

Yes, that's a dog bone...I block these things out.

Next, you fold the paper back and forth, in about one inch folds like an accordian. Kind of like how you would make a fan when you were a kid.

Once you have folded the paper all the way up, find the middle, and cut a piece of floral wire. Wrap the wire around the middle and make sure it is pretty tight. If you want a smaller puff, you can cut your tissue paper in half long-ways. This will make the puff half the size.

After you have secured the wire, use your scissors to shape the edges. You can cut them to a point or leave them rounded. Just make sure that the ends are symmetrical.

I was doing this by myself, so I didn't get a picture of the last step, but HERE is one from Marthastewart.com, along with a tutorial (that I found after I made mine!).

At this point, before you pull the sheets apart, go ahead and tie your fishing line around the center (this will make it easier to find once the puff is full).

Pull each sheet of paper apart from the others, separating them one at a time. Be careful not to rip the paper when you do this!

Once you are finished, trim your fishing line to whatever length you need it, and hang it from the ceiling, a light fixture, etc...
Here is the finished product:

I used several colors and made both large and small ones to add layers.

This took care of the space in front of the window without having a large floral arrangement to get in the way! I secured these to the curtain rod. They are really light so I didn't have to worry about them weighing anything down.

Here's a closer look

These are really fun to make and I love how inexpensive they were!

DIY cupcake stand

2011-08-17T06:00:00.002-05:00

I mentioned on Monday that I would be posting soon about the baby shower that I recently hosted at my house. I am actually going to make it several posts because there were lots DIY projects involved there and I was asked how several things were created, so I thought I would showcase them one at a time.
But first, I wanted to show you my solution to displaying 40 cupcakes on a small table. I knew I needed some kind of tiered stand, but I didn't want to buy anything new just for one night. So I went through my collection of serving pieces and found 3 that I thought might work.

This is a cake stand that I found at a garage sale, an awesome cake stand that flips over and becomes a dip tray that I received as a gift years ago, and a serving plate that I found on final sale at Pottery Barn outlet!

I tried this arrangement of stacking them and then tested it out to make sure my cupcakes would fit on each tier. It worked perfectly!

And here it is with all of the cupcakes! I was so happy that everything worked perfectly!

Here's a closer look.
So if you don't think you have the perfect serving piece, take a quick look through what you have on hand and see it you can make it work!
Next up, how to create those cute tissue paper puffs! They are such an easy way to add lots of color!

Wainscoting

2011-08-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

I tried to think of a creative title but I gave up. But this post really is all about wainscoting. Just as a reminder, this is what our dining room looked like in between the removal of wallpaper layer 1 and 2 not long after we bought it.

And here it was when I posted about it HERE. You know, when I said the wainscoting would be completed soon. And I believe that was February or 2010. Yes, a year and a half ago.

And until last week, still no wainscoting. This was as close as it got. Painting the wood that was covering the gross teturing on the bottom half. But after completing the table and chairs HERE, I realized that the room needed to be finished so that you could start seeing pictures of other rooms each week!

So here it is, finally, after several coats of paint. I don't have any pictures of the process, but you can pretty out this post HERE at Thrifty Decor Chick; the concept is the same. She used different wood and we actually removed all of the baseboards and re-installed them over the new wainscoting, where she just left hers.

It's weird how now the room feels a lot bigger, which is awesome because it is so small. This pic even has the leaf in the table because I needed it for a shower I hosted (fun pics of that to come soon!). But it still doesn't feel cramped, which is great.

Here is another shot. And yes, I have re-arranged pictures again. It's a sickness. Like my need to have massive amounts of pillows everywhere. And I didn't notice the creepy shadow my light was making on the walls until after I took the pics. But you get the idea.

One last shot. I also think the new picture arrangement helps the room to feel longer. I am so happy that this project is finally complete! It looks so finished now and hopefully you won't have to see pics of my dining room for a while (until I move some more pictures around).

Anyone else have projects that have taken an unnecessarily long time? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

My first attempt at a Pinterest inspired project.

2011-08-10T23:16:00.001-05:00

Like I mentioned a little while back, I am loving to use Pinterest as my scrapbook for ideas and inspiration. One thing I didn't want to do was pin all kinds of things and never actually DO any of them. So when a need arose this week, I put one of my "pins" to the test.
The TV in the den was recently mounted on the wall. This meant the ~~really awesome~~ cheap and ugly TV stand under neath it was no longer needed. Luckily, there is a closet behind the wall that the TV is on, so it was easy to drill a couple of holes and route all of the cords to the closet. It also comes in handy for storing the cable box and anything else that the TV might need to hook up to.
For a reminder, here's the room before the TV was mounted:

You can see it over to the left sitting up against the wall.

Here is the TV mounted. You can see I needed something there to cover up where we routed the wires back into the room so that we didn't have to relocate the outlet. I didn't want anything too intrusive, and I couldn't find a piece at a thrift store that I wanted to tackle. That is where Pinterest comes in. A couple of weeks ago I had pinned this idea about staining crates and turning them into a furniture piece. You can see the original blog with a crate tutorial HERE. I decided to do my own simpler variation.

I stopped by Joanne Fabric and amazingly they had these crates for $10.99 a piece with 30% off! So I picked up 4.

I used the can of stain that I had left over from my house shutters and a sponge brush to stain the crates.

It is a Minwax dark walnut finish.

Here are my crates after one coat of stain. They took the stain really well and I decided that was all they needed. I could have done some kind of creative glaze/finish to make them look more "antiqued", but I decided not to.

Here they are stacked under the TV and covering up those ugly wires! They are the perfect height and are not too deep for the space.

And I went ahead and threw some accessories up there to see how I liked it. I can't believe how easy it was and how great it looks!

I love the new TV space and I think it is a HUGE upgrade from where it started! And the total cost was a little over $30 dollars because I had everything else but the crates. I'm excited about a successful first Pinterest project, and hopefully this will inspire me (and you) to take on another one soon!

Bringing My Stairs From Drab To Fab

2011-07-22T08:37:00.000-05:00

My great room has two sets of stairs leading into it because it is not on the same level with the rest of my house. The stairs have always been pretty ugly. They were stained when the rest of the floors were put in, but they only stained the tops, not the sides. They also have these really ugly granny rails that are kind of a dirty white color. Sounds fabulous, right?
Well I decided to do something about them (after two years of ignoring them), but I need my DIYer card taken away because I forgot to take before pictures!! What was I thinking? Sometimes I just start something on a whim and get caught up in the moment :)
I did, however, find this picture of the stairs. Ok, so really it's my cat being really cute but it also captured part of the stairs so you can see how they looked. Please ignore the in-progress chairs in the background. Oh, and the lazy cat.

Yes, this is how he sleeps...and if he is in your way, just step over...he won't move.

Here is a pic I snapped after I attacked them with some paint.

I used left over trim paint to take care of the fronts, and black paint for the granny rail, which was left over from painting my back door black (which I haven't showed you yet). I was afraid the black might make the rail stand out, but it actually kind of blends and brings a new sophistication to the stairs.

This is the best pic I could find of the other set of stairs...you might remember them from THIS Christmas post.

Here they are now (from a different angle). I gave them the same treatment, and they look SO MUCH BETTER. Why didn't I do this sooner?? I also finally painted the door, which was just the off-white stock color before.

Ok, I know stairs aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but I wanted to show you how such a small change can really help out a space. And the best part about the whole project: it was FREE! Everything I used I had already. I love it when that happens!!

Here is one last pic of my happy stairs. Aaaand, I just realized there's a load of laundry on the couch. Sorry about that. Keepin' it real with this post.
Anyway, like I said, if you walked in the house, you would probably just assume they had always been that way, which is the point! Everyone have a happy Friday!

Dining Table and Chairs Before and After!

2011-07-13T16:29:00.002-05:00

My dining room table and chairs are finally finished! It took me a long time to decide on a fabric, and at first I thought I was going to actually sew all of the cushions. I pretty quickly realized that I was going to take the easy way out...staple gun+fabric=easy way to cover cushions. And I am SO glad that I did! It was really easy and looks great!
Just to remind you of where I started, here is my old table and chair combo (from college):

And here is my new table when I started($10 from a garage sale):

Here is my dining room now!!

Here is another view. I decided to go with a print for the fabric but something neutral since the chairs will probably be used in different rooms for parties or when a lot of people are over.

Here is what the chairs looked like when I got them. I used a spray paint primer followed by a coat of white spray paint (you can see them in-progess HERE). It worked perfectly and I didn't have to worry about brush strokes!

Here is the after. I love them!

And yes, there is a lot of stuff in my living room that's not normally there...having floors re-finished will kind of turn your house upside-down.

I literally just used our heavy-duty staple gun and stapled the new fabric right over the old. I was worried that you could see through it, but you can't at all. This made my life so much easier! If you do this with a print, just make sure that your fabric lines up so that it's not crooked!

These pillows probably won't stay, but they needed a temporary home, and I like them with the green hydrangeas from my yard!

I like how you can see the fabric from the back too. I think this room has so much character now! The fabric was $9 a yard from Premier and I used 2 yards. So $18 for the cushions. Not bad!

What does your front door say about you?

2011-07-01T13:41:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity to take a quick trip to NYC last weekend for a friend's wedding, and also to see my fabulous friend Alexis, who has recently become a New Yorker(and is worse at consistent blogging than I am :). While walking around the West Village on Saturday, I realized that everyone had amazing front doors! Then I realized why...because every town house looks almost identical, and the door is really the only way to make a statement. I should have been snapping pictures of all of them, but I felt a little stalker-ish, so I just got a few. I think after my 100th "look how cute that door is!", Alexis was ready to strangle me:

I love this beautiful wood color and the round knocker! I noticed that a lot of the doors are very skinny and tall, but all of them had beautiful frames.

The blue adds so much character! There were so many great colors!!

This is not a picture that I took, but is another West Village door. How awesome is the detailed moulding on the door! And I must say these doors are definitely bringin' brassy back (feel free to sing that like Justin Timberlake).

This one takes the details from the red door ones step further with a floral carving. Look how much character it has! I would love to see inside all of these homes because I'm sure there is just as much character on the inside!! Making your front door a statement piece is definitely an easy and inexpensive way to spruce up your home. Even if you don't live in the "big city", that doesn't mean you house's exterior can't have big city charm!!

Some Pinterest Love

2011-06-21T12:29:00.000-05:00

Have you tried Pinterest yet? If not, you need to take a couple of minutes to sign up!
I don't know if anyone else is like me, but when I find a website that I like, I keep that tab open on my computer for days, until I have literally 10 tabs open at once. Until one day I open up my computer, and it has RE-STARTED on its own because of some ~~completely pointless~~ really important update. And all of my beloved tabs are now gone forever, never to be seen again. I guess you could call me a tab-hoarder (is there a show for that on TLC yet?). And so I never have any recipes or DIY tutorials and I can't ever find that one picture that I wanted to use as inspiration for something.

OK. Maybe I'm the only one that does this. But regardless, Pinterest lets you immediately save all of these sites/pictures/ideas/whatever you want to one spot. And you can categorize until your heart's content. It's pretty great. I am still getting started, but am already loving it. You can also see what everyone else is pinning and can follow friends or whoever you would like.
Take a minute to check it out!
http://pinterest.com/perkylauren/
Like I said, I am still new to this, but am already loving it!
If you are already on Pinterest, let me know and I will follow you!

DIY Gone Very Wrong

2011-06-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

I always like to share my thrift store finds with you, and that's usually because I get really excited about things that might need a little work but have lots of potential. But sometimes, I just have to share the unexplainable. Like this lamp:

Apparently someone gave their daughter a Tinkerbell themed room...and while I'm sure that was cute in theory, this may be one of the scariest lamps I've ever seen. If you look closely, you can tell that they took an already unattractive 80's-ish lamp and painted the metal base. It's hard to see in the pic, but they actually used glitter paint to draw designs in the glass. Click on the picture to make it bigger and you will see...
The only thing I can say is kudos to them for getting this monstrosity out of their house!
I did find some great things yesterday too! So I will share them soon!!

A mini-den makeover: part two of creative drapes

2011-06-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted about thinking out-of-the-box to make drapes. You can read about it HERE. I wanted to lighten the look of my den, and make it less cave-like. I also sewed some new pillow covers in greys and whites in keeping with the light and airy theme. I can easily add some bright pops of color in accessories, but I think these light fabrics make a world of difference against the dark leather!

As a reminder, above was the den not long after we moved in.

Here is pretty much the same view now. It's amazing how much lighter everything feels!

Here's another view of the couch and chair. I am loving the grays. A couple of the fabrics I used I have used in other jobs, and I loved them so much, I ordered some for myself!

I like to sometimes mix fabrics, and I used a striped velvet gray as the backer for the pillow on the chair.

I also used a different fabric for these backs as well, just in case I want to add a little color I can just flip them around! This is also a great way to stretch out expensive fabric over several projects!

Here is a view looking into the kitchen. I know, the fireplace is pretty terrible. I will probably paint that mirror white soon to brighten up that side of the room.

Here is the couch again in its darker days.

Last shot of the room all bright and cheery. I love how it turned out!

Creative Drapes...who says sheets are for sleeping?

2011-06-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

My original intention for this post was to show you some of the pretty flowers that have come from my yard over the past couple of weeks. As much work as our yard is, I love having an endless supply of fresh flowers in the Summer! The post ended up taking a different turn, but I thought you might still like to see some of them!

These are some of my day lillies and hydrangeas. I love how bright the colors are!

Here are some more hydrangeas that I have in my den. These cute cups were a couple of dollars a piece at Tuesday Morning. I love using things other than vases to hold flowers! (PS, can you spot the lazy dog on the couch? I didn't even realize he was there until after I took the picture!)

These ended up on my mantle. Anything to make it not look so...ugly. And this is where my post changed...I realized that in the previous two pictures you might have seen that my den drapes are no longer dark brown...so let me take a couple of steps back...

This was our den a few months after we moved in...these drapes were left over from our previous home, and I wasn't about to buy new ones if I already had some...they were too short, so I fixed that HERE. I didn't mind them, its just that our floors are dark, our furniture is dark, and so the room was kind of cave-like.

Last year, not to help the dark situation, I got a new rug...which is dark. I did refinish my table HERE which helped, and DIY'd some pillows HERE and HERE, but it was still SO dark. So after seeing some inspiration a few months back from Jenny at Little Green Notebook, I finally decided to try what had been in my head for a while.

I headed to Wal-Mart, and picked up 6 packs of rings for about $5 a piece. I already had the rods.

I then picked up 6 single flat sheets for $10 a piece. I probably wouldn't sleep on these, but they were perfect for my project. A flat sheet is 96 inches so that makes for a perfectly sized curtain panel. No sewing necessary. I did want the top of the "drapes" to be a little more enforced though, so I used some universal tempo tape and watched THIS tutorial to figure out what I was doing. There are 4 easy parts to the tutorial.

You can see in this picture how the tape helps give the top some structure. The mirror picture is a good example of what it looks like without the tape. Since I have only gotten around to doing this on one set of windows, I don't have a complete AFTER picture yet, but I should finish that up soon and will post about it. There might even be some new pillows to debut!

This is a great and inexpensive way to create a certain look. My total cost was around $90 for 6 panels I think. And that includes the rings! It gives me the exact light and airy look I was going for. Have you ever used something outside-the-box to create window panels? I would love to hear other ideas!

Before and After: Our house's exterior has entered the 21st century

2011-05-01T15:53:00.001-05:00

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the outside of our house getting a paint job. I wanted to wait until my new shutters were up before I posted some pics. Well, the shutters are finished! My husband made and stained them, and we installed them yesterday.

But first, a look at what the house looked like when we moved in. Now, please keep in mind that the before picture was early Spring when my azaleas bloom, and it was sunny. So the afters are a little dark. But based on the fact that it is going to rain here until the rest of eternity, I thought I would go ahead and snap some pics.

Before: The house was so dark and 70's-80's or whatever decade you want to pick when everything was unnatractive. You can see the massive amounts of ivy on the left side of the house. I literally spent an entire Summer pulling that mess up. You may not be able to tell, but it was at least 2 feet deep on the ground. What a nightmare! I had great arms that Summer though.

Here is the house now: New paint with white trim! Like I said, it is rainy here and tornados may be taking us out at any time, so I wanted to go ahead and take some pictures. Everything is drenched in a week's worth of rain, but you get the idea. Notice there is no more ivy on the house!! I am going to chop those bushes blocking the two right columns. They have GOT to go!! We have already cleared out several bushes on the right that were overgrown and out of control, as you can see in the top pic.

Here is another angle. I love how the white trim frames everything and how our landscaping really stands out against the fresh paint color.

This is a closer look at the side of the house that used to be consumed in ivy. We mulched the entire flower bed once I cleared it out and lined it in flag stone. We also planted some small azaleas so that in a couple of years, there will be color over there to match the color to the right. You can also see my new house numbers and our swing that was painted white to match the trim. It is so charming now!

These two picture I shared on earlier posts HERE and HERE, but I wanted to show again what our door color looks like and give a little closer look at our porch areas.

Finally, here is a closer shot of the shutters that my husband made. I think he took pictures of the process, so I will try to get a how-to posted soon. I think we spent around $50 total for four custom stained wood shutters. And they are exactly what I wanted!

Let's hope that they stay for a while and don't get blown/swept away by the tornados and floods! Everyone stay safe!!

DIY Wreath Project! Warning: I am putting more moss on things!!

2011-04-28T08:00:00.002-05:00

I am happy to announce that my Moss Letter Door Hanger made it through several days of tornados, wind, rain, etc! It looks as good as new!

After that project, I realized that my side door needed some love. I thought that since the moss project was so easy, I would try it again! I have wanted a rectangular wreath for a while now, but couldn't find one. This prompted me to make one myself...which is usually what I end up doing for every specific thing that I want.

First, I cut out a one day 50% off coupon to Michaels, and picked up a moss table runner. It was $15, but only $7.50 with the coupon! I then picked up a large sheet of floral foam from Hobby Lobby.

I cut the piece of foam in half (you can do this with a knife), and then traced out a wreath and cut out the middle. I apologize for not having pictures of this, but sometimes when I get going, I forget that you might want to know how I did it! This step was really easy though so you shouldn't have a problem.
I then covered it in the moss using the same technique that I used HERE. So easy!
Next, I stole a scrap piece of wood from our work shop, whipped out my acrylic paint, and gave it a good coat of hot pink. I waited for that to dry, and went over it with thin coats of white, for a more antiqued look.

Next, I used a stencil that I already had, and some white acrylic paint, and stenciled that onto the center of the wood. Once again, there are no pics of the actual process, but it's pretty self explanatory.

Below is what the wood piece looked like once complete! You could use any style of stencil, and I usually go for something a little less ornate, but this is what I had on-hand from THIS glass etching project.

I know the picture is not great, but I tried to show how I attached the wood to the wreath. I had two holes drilled in the wood, one on top and one on the bottom. I then went back to my box of ribbon, and looped a thick, white ribbon through the whole.

I knotted the bottom one right behind the wood, and the top ribbon right where the wreath would hang on a nail, since I am using the ribbon as the hanger as well.

Here is a view of what it looks like all put together from the back...it should give you a better idea of how I attached the ribbon. I also added a fun striped ribbon bow on the top to tie in the pink color on the wooden plate.

I just stuck a nail in the wood portion of my door, and stuck it through the ribbon knot! Here is my door, all spiffed up and not feeling left out now that it has its own personalized hanger!

PS, I went inside half-way through this photo shoot when I realized there was stuff all over my kitchen counters and you could see it through the pics. Ha!

Here is a full-door view. This little area is so welcoming now and I love how it turned out! I just kind of planned the design as I went, and this is what I came up with. You wouldn't have to use a letter, you could mix it up with a bird/cross/anything you want really! This would also be great for baby showers with a rattle and some cute pink or blue ribbon, and for the holidays with red or gold with an ornament print!

I love how it turned out, but promise that I am done covering things in moss...for now! Hope you all have stayed safe during all of this scary weather!

Bright and Airy Living Room Curtains!

2011-04-22T14:28:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted about the awesome fabric I found for my living room curtains. The curtains that I was using were pieces of fabric that I had new-sew hemmed. They were really dark and had been used in our previous home.
This room has NO overhead lights (I guess in the 50's everyone wanted to be in the dark??) and it is impossible to get good light in there. Since I can't afford to have all new lighting wired into that room right now, I went for an easier solution: use bright fabric to help lighten up the space!
Here is what the room looked like soon after we moved in:

A little scary, I know... ~~I'm really regretting getting rid of that blue carpet.~~ That blue carpet was the FIRST thing to go!!
The next two pics show the house a few months later with furniture/drapes/rug and new paint and floors. Much better, but pretty dark. This is sadly the room with all of the furniture that we didn't have a place for anywhere else in the house (I think we all have a room like this)!

Below is the room with my new drapes! You'll also notice it is missing something...ok, everything. All of the seating is now used in other spots in the house. The smaller chair got a makeover HERE, and the leather chair is in the great room for watching TV. I have a blank slate in there now. There is a rug on the way (on back order until June but I'm being patient) and the piano that weighs about 100 tons is not going anywhere any time soon!

These are IPhone pics so I know they are still kind of dark, but you get the idea of how these drapes are letting the natural light into the room much better than the previous ones.

And what's really crazy is how our new white trim paint on the front porch makes our room brighter! Who knew!
Here is a close-up of the fabric. I LOVE it.

Here is a view from the other side of the room. And the dog staring at his frisbee in the yard. Such a one-track mind. I usually move him out of pictures but I gave up today.

Hopefully I will have updates soon with actual furniture pieces in the room! I like the idea of "building" and "layering" a room though, so it will probably be one piece at a time.
Everyone have a great Friday and enjoy the little patches of sunshine in between the rain!

"I'm MOSSY": A Super-Easy DIY door hanger

2011-04-15T15:24:00.001-05:00

(Am I the only one singing that title to the tune of "I'm Bossy" by Kelis?). If so, it probably doesn't make sense to the rest of you. I would link to the video but I don't think it's safe for my blog. But enough about that. I saw THIS post on Thriftydecorchick and I thought, "hey, I can do that!" I had this big "H" that I bought at Joann's last year that I have been using in my bedroom. But since that room will be getting a makeover, the "H" needed a new place to live. So, I give her total credit for this simple project. Be sure to check out her blog HERE.

I bought this sheet of moss at Hobby Lobby for a few bucks, and I went to work.

I peeled the back off and got out my glue gun. Be sure to put something down wherever you are doing this...it gets kind of messy.

I laid the letter out and cut the moss around it. I started gluing and wrapping the moss around the back of the letter.

I just trimmed off the extra and used it to fill in anywhere that the moss wouldn't completely cover. I wanted to make sure that the front and back were covered, but you probably wouldn't have to.

This seriously took about 15 minutes. So easy! Next, I found some ribbon that I had in my random box of ribbon (don't we all have one of those?), and I hot glued it to the back. I then re-inforced it with staples.

When I put it on the door, it hung a little longer than I wanted, so I just stapled an extra loop in the ribbon, and hung it on the nail! And here it is complete! This also gives you another peek at my newly-painted house! I am not going to show the entire thing yet because my husband is making the shutters for our windows over the weekend, and I want to make sure those are up before I take the final pics. I LOVE the color of our door now! It's like a gunmetal gray and looks great with the house color!

Like I normally do, I took way too many picture of my mossy "H". But I am SO happy with how it turned out, and how easy it was!

Here is a view of it on the porch. It's a little dark but you get the idea. I have resorted to using my IPhone for all of my pictures until I invest in a new camera...I think it does a pretty good job though! We will soon be getting a new front porch light. And just ignore the awesome red tile. Hopefully that won't be with us for too much longer.

Last picture, I promise. I'm so happy with my new front door. Now I want to cover everything with moss!

The total cost for this was about $10. The Pottery Barn version? $79!! Plus shipping! Craziness. You can see it HERE. Everyone have a great weekend and check back next week for some more completed projects!

Before and After: My side chair

2011-04-13T13:27:00.002-05:00

I couldn't come up with a clever title so that's it...kind of boring. It doesn't really reflect how giddy I am about the fact that my boring side chair had it's work done, spent a couple of weeks at a "spa somewhere in Arizona" (place where all of those celebs go after their plastic surgery so no one sees them with all of the bruises and bandages), and is now back with me looking 20 years younger!!
If you remember THIS previous post, my chair was showing its age and wasn't exactly the life of the party.

And here he is now!

I may have taken a little too many pictures because of how excited I was...sorry about that.

Doesn't he look fab?? I am trying out different pillows for him, but he even looks good without one!

The print is perfect for the rest of the room, and I'm glad I decided not to paint the pretty wood white. Up against the white built-ins, it would have been too much.
I also have a couple of sneak peeks for you...
Remember THIS post about my dining curtains and having trouble deciding on fabric? Well, I never decided on any and have been patiently waiting for some to fall into my lap. Like that was going to happen. I have also been eyeing THIS fabric online for quite some time now.

Do you see that price? $24.99. No thank you. But today, as I walked in the fabric store to pick up my cushions, what did I see, but a roll of this amazing fabric. And the price? $14!!!! I literally picked up the roll before someone else snatched it from me and ran straight to the counter.

Now it's safely at home with me, waiting to be my living room curtains. I can't wait!
And one more BIG suprise...

Yes, this is a picture of the side of my house from the front porch. And my trim is now white and my bricks are now grey. We are getting our house painted!!! It was kind of on a whim, and we just decided to go for it. It already looks 1,000 times better. I will be sure to share the before and afters when the job is complete. It's like a new house!

Ok, I think that's enough excitement for today. More to come soon!

My Photo wall is coming along...after a couple of minor detours

2011-04-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

Once I get an idea about something, I like to do it. This usually means staying up later than normal and making my husband drill or screw or nail something into the wall. But I like to see immediate results.
My wall is almost complete but there were a couple of casualties in the process. Like this:

Picture me making a sad face when I saw this all over the couch/floor. On its way down it took out a couple of other frames which now no longer have their glass. I was pretty devastated. But as you can see, I am determined to glue this guy back together. I'm going to try to spackle the cracks and then spray paint it. We'll see.

So after a few minor adjustments to my plan after the "jumper" took himself out, this is what I came up with. I will say that the incident caused me to use a few screws for the heavier frames, and stick with my plan for the velcro strips for the rest. I just don't trust those suckers to stay stuck up there, and the brick makes the sticky stuff a little less adhesive.

I used a mix of old and new photos of both family and friends to fill up the frames. You'll notice that the two largest frames are still empty. That's not some kind of abtract art. I just don't have anything for them yet. It's a large frame and I haven't decided what (if any) pictures I have that deserve to be that big and in your face. Maybe this guy:

I know everyone always thinks their kid is the cutest, but I'm convinced mine really is...

I'll leave you with that adorable face today and I'll be sure to update you once I figure out what is worthy of the large frames!

Photo Wall: Making the most of an awkward space

2011-04-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

In our great room that we have been slowling re-vamping to make it our own, there are some pretty awkward spaces. I have tried to fix them and make them as un-awkward (is that a word?) as possible. For instance, a random wall with a huget closet sticking out that we turned into a fully functional wall of built-ins.
This brings me to my next hard-to-deal with wall, the brick one. When we moved in, I painted it the same color as the other walls because it was already painted a ~~gross~~ lovely cream color and there was no way to showcase the actual brick. The main problem with this wall is the small and awkwardly placed window into the kitchen. This room was an add-on and used to be the backyard, so at the time, a window from the kitchen to the backyard made sense. Now, not so much. Here is the wall:

What promted me to address this was:
a: I thought my dining room needed this tree picture more than the great room
b: I have wanted to do a picture wall for a while
c: THIS post at Younghouselove.com put me over the edge and gave me the inspiration that I needed

So, I am tackling my awkward wall with a large picture grouping and I thought I would show you the process.

I still have a few frames to purchase to sit under the window, but you get the idea. I really think this will help balance this space and the weird window will make more sense.

I used whatever papers/magazines I had laying around to test the size of the frames that I had for the space. I just taped them up with painters tape and moved them around a bunch. These are all frames that I have at home. I wanted all of the frames to be white, so any that weren't, I just hit with a round of spray paint.
I am also throwing in a few thrift store finds that I have been holding on to for a while like some cameo-like profiles that I scored a few months ago.

This is what my entire room looks like right now. Frames everywhere. And yes, my cats managed to make it into just about all of these pictures. I get tired of moving them out of the way so hopefully you can look past them.
As to how I am attaching them to the brick, don't worry, I'm not planning on drilling dozens of holes and screws into the wall. I am using these:

I can get about 4 strips for around 4 dollars. They stick to the wall and the frame and can be adjusted because they velcro the 2 surfaces together!! It's perfect! And one strip holds about 4 lbs so it should work just fine. I'll be sure to post pics of the final results once I'm finished!

Before and After Staging

2011-03-21T09:16:00.000-05:00

I realized that I haven't posted any staging pics lately, so I am going to try to do better about that. The truth is that sometimes I forget to take "before" pics when I am performing my staging magic, so I don't always have any to share. I am trying to do better about that as well.

I had the opportunity to recently help with a true bachelor pad. It was a small but charming house that just had some really quirky aspects, the biggest being the master bath. Take a look...who puts a tub in the middle of the room?? And a mirror with no vanity underneath? Throw in some really old light fixtures and random shelves/towel racks everywhere, and this is what you get:

And here is the after:

Moving the white cabinet under the awkwardly placed mirror really helped balance the room. Matching bath mats also helped. Taking away the old towel rack and putting in an updated ring version along with new, updated lighting really helped as well! But the biggest impact was the simplest...just opening up that shower curtain to get rid of the big white blob in the middle of the room!

Another awkward feature of the room was the front 2 rooms. One seemed to be a dining room but was being used as an office, and the front living room was being used as a dining room. No one wants to walk in to an office, so we switched things up a bit.

Here is the after...we made it a true dining room to eliminate questions of what to do with the room.

To the right was the living room being used as a dining room. We needed to try to at least give the idea that it could be used as a living space.

Here is the after. Even adding a couple of chairs and a rug automatically changes the purpose and feel of the room. You don't always need a full room of furniture to get the effect that you are looking for.

The guest bedroom was also challenging because of its small size and the fact that it was also being used to store a drum set.

After moving the set out and getting some bedding on the bed instead of clothes, the room looks 100 times better!! With no drums it is easy to see the true size of the room. Also notice throughout all of the pics how simply opening blinds makes a huge difference in the mood of the room.

You can see the entire listing for this home HERE or click on any of the after pics to take you to the source.

Spring makes everything better!

2011-03-17T13:38:00.000-05:00

It really does...as soon as it gets warm and sunny, you immediately get pulled out of that post-Christmas funk. March Madness, NASCAR is in full swing (I might be the only one getting excited about this), Daylight Savings, flowers blooming, ~~pollen;~~ OK almost everything about it is great. Spring is just what you need after a long, dreary winter, even though we only get about 2 weeks of it here in the South before it is full-blown summer weather. So I like to begin the Spring season at my home as early as possible because it is always gone way too fast!
I thought I would share a few snippets of where Spring has made its way into our home. I am hoping to add some bright flowers from our yard to my Spring decor as soon as they decide to start blooming!

Here is my new Spring addition this year, a cute bunny from Pottery Barn (I think he's all sold out online, but I just saw a bunch at the outlet here in Memphis) that can hold anything from candy, dip, or in this case, a few eggs that I picked up last year at Hobby Lobby. I love how he's all lounged out. He's in my kitchen right now. Please ignore the awesome couter tops. Who puts pink countertops in a house??? The people before us apparently.

Here is my favorite bunny from some of my McCarty collection. He's sitting on my den coffee table with a bowl of candy. Side note: Andes are the most amazing candy ever made.

This is a happy yellow bird that I picked up at TJ Maxx for super cheap. He's on my built-ins because I thought they needed a little cheering up.

Outside I planted pansies in my two big flower pots on the front porch this weekend. I mixed colors because I couldn't decide which I liked best! These always remind me of college and the Tri Delta house because there were always lots of them planted along the front walk way. OK, no more being sentimental before I bust out with some song about Pearls,Pansies and Pines.

One of my most favorite things about Spring is the opportunity to use my outdoor furniture/cushions! I bought these at Pottery Barn about four years ago for regular price. I hardly ever buy things not on sale and in season, but I splurged. And I will say they have held up great and I still get a lot of use out of them! So I think my investment definitely payed off.
Another side note: All of these pics were taken with my IPhone. I must say that it has become my favorite camera lately, and I think it does a pretty good job!
I'll post some more pics once I get some fresh flowers going inside, but thought everyone could use a quick, Springy pick-me-up today!
Hope y'all are taking advantage of the wonderful weather out there!!

Sneak Peek

2011-03-14T13:27:00.002-05:00

I am slowly crawling out of a week-long cave of being sick and got a little work done on my chairs this weekend. I am going in the next couple of days to pick out some fabric for when I attempt to re-cover them. But, they are already looking a-mazing.
Here is one of the chairs getting a shiny, new paint job. I'll post how I did it when I do a before/after of the entire dining set. I am so happy with them so far though that I had to share!

Stay tuned for the final product (hopefully I win the battle with re-covering the seats) as well as a Spring-inspired post!

My side chair is having a little work done

2011-03-11T10:04:00.000-06:00

This is my side chair. He has floated from home to home, room to room since we have been married. He has always just been there. More of a pillow holder than anything else.

You can see him here in my living room:

Or here on the other side of my living room:

Let's just say he gets shoved around. And this time it's to the great room for extra seating. A couple of years ago we sanded and stained him since the wood was pretty worn out. That helped, but what he really needs is a facelift. So I have decided that his cushions are getting re-covered! I know he's excited.
Here is the current color situation in the great room where he will soon live:

I don't have a good picture of my drapes, but you get the idea...this is actually the corner that the chair will sit in (this picture is from Christmas, I don't always have ornaments on display). I really want this chair to finally have a place and purpose, so I am thinking I might go a little bold! I absolutely love the Premier Prints chevron that I used in my guest bedroom HERE, and since it looks like chevron might be around for a while, I am thinking something like this:

Or this, if the first one scares me too much:

This ash color would tie in the grey in my walls. Lucky for me, there is a premier prints store here in Memphis, so I will be making a stop in there pronto to see if they have either one of these beauties in stock. I can't wait to show you the finished product!!

My Dining Room Table Won't Be Lonely For Long!

2011-03-10T08:58:00.000-06:00

Great news! After ~~checking out~~ stalking Craigslist for the past month or so, I finally found chairs for my dining room! You can read my original post about my dining dilemna (After googling when my spell check popped up, I am told that this is now spelled dilemma, but I will continue to use the mn version as the mm version just looks weird. Was anyone else taught to spell it dilemna??). Ok, back on track. I had picked out some new chairs online, they were even in my shopping cart, but the DIYer in me just couldn't click the buy button. I kept saying, I'll check one more day and if I can't find any, I'll order these. Now, this means more work for me, but that's part of the fun!

This is the picture of them on Craigslist. First of all, it is 6 chairs which is awesome, and second, we now have a table that we aren't quite sure what we are going to do with yet! Back to the chairs though, I loved how they weren't too tall since my dining room is kind of a pass through and I didn't want to clutter the eye's view to the other rooms too much. Also, the backs have a really cute detail and I think with some white paint they are going to be fab! It was love at first site for my table once I placed one of the chairs underneath it. He's so glad he's not going to be all alone anymore.

Here is one of them once I got it home. The fabric reminds me of when I was a kid (the 80's), I think it's actually closer to the 60's or 70's. It's some sort of laser cut velvet. It's actually not terrible if you picture the new color of the chairs as a soft white. We'll see.

Here is a closer look. It's in pretty good shape for how old it is. I will keep you updated on the makeover of these chairs and how the finished product turns out! I'm sure there will be a little bit of a learning curve on these, but I'm ready to have a place to sit again!
Stay tuned...

Some recent finds/fabric decisions

2011-03-03T10:22:00.001-06:00

So I took a few days off from blogging because I went out of town and it takes me a little while to get back on track. This also means I haven't DIY'd anything lately but I have some potential projects on deck. I just wanted to share with you a couple of them.
First, I found this great old sewing table at a thrift store and I just couldn't pass it up!

It is missing a middle piece I think. I am planning on re-finishing or maybe even painting the top to give it some new life! I'm thinking that it might sit in between the chairs that I don't have yet for my living room:

Ugh...SO dark in there right now! The leather chair is gone so that helps (and it was night time in this pic)...but still...
I also found these great pieces for super cheap a few weeks ago. I think they were originally lamp shades, but I'm thinking they could be decorative bowls/holders-of-some-sort-of-accessory.

I just loved the design and since I am all about gold these days, I couldn't pass them up either.

Speaking of my living room, I have been trying for months to decide what fabric I wanted to use in there for my curtains. Currently, the curtains are literally silk fabric that I hemmed using no-sew hem tape. That involved hours of ironing folks, so I am quite proud of them. But, now that I actually know how to use a sewing maching, I think I should step it up. And I might as well do a print to liven up the space a tad. I was fabric shopping yesterday and came across a couple of options:

Sorry, it's a little blurry. This one has a white background with grays, greens, browns, and tans. I like it, but I'm thinking it might be a little too mono-chromatic for me. I feel like I need more color!

This option I like better because of ALL of the colors to pull from, but I'm afraid it might be a little dark once up on the wall. I have samples of these options along with some others hanging around my living room right now trying to see them in different lights.
I have to take into consideration my rug, which is a floral-type print already. So I might have to ditch these altogether and go with a non-floral print. We will see!
I will post updates once I make a decision!

DIY Valentines Dinner

2011-02-21T11:21:00.000-06:00

Last week, I was asked to help stage/decorate a table for a Valentines dinner for 12. The host wanted a party that was elegant but kind of whimsical at the same time...just not taking the holiday TOO seriously. So we went to work on some ideas and I wanted to share a few of them with you as well as the final result. We were really just focusing on the table area as the rest of the house sort of speaks for itself.
For place cards, we bought blank folded cards and scrapbooking letters in a pink sparkle finish. These were only a couple of dollars a set at Michaels, and worked perfectly.

Here is one of the placecards...so easy! For the flowers, we used simple inexpensive glass vases and lined 3 of them up along the table. The roses came in bunches of a dozen, and I used two dozen for each arrangement. I simply cut the stems to size and added filler where needed. Much less expensive than ordering them from a florist (and belive me, I am NOT a florist!). Here is a better shot of one of my arrangements:

For napkin rings, we wanted to bring in the whimsical idea, so at Michaes we found sparkly heart "ornaments" (I guess for someone decorating their Valentines tree?? I have no idea). I just cut the string off and had instant napkin rings for 50c a piece!

I placed inexpensive red and clear votive holders around the table to add some color and mood lighting. I scattered some fun XOXO confetti around the table as well to make sure we weren't getting too serious.
The host had red dining chairs to start with, so that was great for the occasion, but her dining table did not fit 12 (who's does?). So, four folding tables and four plain white table cloths did the trick! Who would know?! We had to use four folding chairs to accomodate for the crowd, and I tied red sashes on those chairs so they wouldn't be such sore thumbs...I think it turned out pretty well.

The final touches were the host's own beautiful china and silver pieces as well as two amazing silver candelabras to sit in between the arrangements of roses. The final result was stunning!

This just goes to show that a little creativity and some DIY skills go a long way!
I also even found a use for the left-over greenery from the rose bouqets. We turned it into a simple but elegant arrangement on a side table.

The party was a huge success and everyone loved how great the house looked! Hopefully this will inspire you to throw some fun DIY parties of your own!

Ikea Frame makeover/Accessorizing my linen press

2011-02-18T17:18:00.000-06:00

During my last trip to the thrift store, I found these 3 Ikea frames. They had never been used and were still in the packaging. They were a little scratched up but nothing that couldn't be fixed! I was so excited about these because I had been looking for frames exactly like these but in gold and I knew I had some gold spray paint at home, so I snatched them up!

I knew I wanted something to sit on my linen press under my new mirror that I DIY'ed HERE to add some color, and these frames are just simple enough to not take away from the mirror. So I took the frame apart and removed the plexi-glass, spray painted it, and put it back together with just a little watercolor I whipped up to test out color in that spot.

Here is the frame with its new gold finish. I used some of my white accessories that didn't really show up enough in the built-ins. I took the covers off of some of my books that all had similar color schemes and stuck them up there too.
So far I really like the color that it is adding in that space and how the orange complements the blue shades.

(Sorry, I forgot the flash) I think I hung my mirror a little too high, so I will probably be lowering it soon. And honestly, I will probably change these accessories out several times, but it is definitely a start!

An easy way to customize your bedding

2011-02-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

In the Fall, I purchased some new bedding for one of my guest rooms. It originally had just a white down comforter with a white quilt and some cute pillows that I threw on there to spruce it up a bit. This is what it looked like fairly soon after we moved in:

Not bad, but I was totally over blue and brown, and was ready for a change. So when I was browsing the Pottery Barn outlet here, I found this Olive Branch bedding for 75% off...seriously, it was a steal. I thought it would be the perfect way to warm up the bedroom a bit and introduce some new colors. The grey/blue that I have on the walls is in the print, so it was perfect!

I'm usually not one for matchy-matchy bedding, but I had some ideas for incorporating other prints into the room, so I snatched it up!
After looking at fabrics for a while, I found this great chevron print by Premier Fabrics that I LOVE. It is close to the wall color and is large enough not to over-do the whole print-on-print thing.

We have a store here in town, so I picked up a yard. I made 2 Euro Sham type pillow covers, and kept the backs solid white. This way I got the most bang for my buck by only buying a yard of the prints. I used the same method for making the covers that I used HERE.

I think that they add TONS of character to the current bedding, and I love the print!

Please ignore the way-too-large lamp shades and the plastic that is on them!! They will be replaced soon, they were just there for practical purposes. And speaking of the lamps, I got them at LOWES! I know, right? But they are white glass and I love them. They will have appropriately sized shades on them soon enough!
I also have plans for new drapes in the near future...maybe something crisp, white, and airy. The current ones are the color of the walls and they make me go into grey/blue overload when I walk in there. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Here is a close up for you of the pillows. I think they add a lot to the bedding and keep it from looking so bed-in-a-bag. And the down inserts were $12 a piece so $24 plus $9 for fabric is pretty great for 2 huge pillows!

Dining Table Progress!

2011-02-11T07:00:00.001-06:00

I posted recently about my dining room doing a little "growing up" and my plan for that. You can read about that HERE, as well as get some tips to follow when selecting your own table. Well, we now have one piece of the puzzle completed!!

Here is my table, all stained and pretty!

I LOVE the claw feet and how great they look with the dark stain.

It does have red undertones, but is not quite as red in person as it is in the picture. I love how rich the wood looks with the stain. And for around $10 for stain, the table comes to a grand total of $20! Not bad considering my inspiration HERE!
I am now moving on to chairs, and am thinking something along these lines, no arms though:

I like the lines on the chair backs and I am thinking something in a white finish to contrast with the table. I'm not sure i want an upholstered seat. So maybe something more like this:

Since I didn't spend much on my table, I don't want to spend a fortune on my chairs either...if anyone has suggestions I am open to where to get the best deal on dining chairs! And I am practically stalking Craigslist hoping that some will jump out at me!

And since my table has a leaf to accomodate 6 people if needed, I am also going to purchase 2 side chairs to sit at the head of the table when it's at its full size. When they are not at the table, they will live in my living room in front of my front window, so I want them to be soft and comfy as well as functional.

This is an old picture...the leather chair is gone and my table accessories have changed, but you get the idea of where they will sit, flanking the window. I am looking for something along the lines of these:

Or these:

I can already tell I'm going to have trouble deciding!! Help!
Once the chairs are selected, the final piece would be a new rug, since the one currently there is a little small and dark. It will probably end up in a spare bedroom.
Anyone have an opinion/suggestions on chairs? I would love your input!

It's a snow day here so you get a quick tutorial in Picture Hanging 101

2011-02-09T15:24:00.002-06:00

This is what it looks like outside of my house as I sit here in my comfy chair and do a little blogging:

Yes, I live in Memphis, TN and this is the 6th time this year that it has snowed! Crazy!

In about 2 and 1/2 hours there are already about 2 inches on the ground.

So, since I know I'm not the only one snowed-in for the rest of the afternoon, I thought we could have a quick lesson in picture/mirror/etc... hanging.

Lately, many of the homes that I have been in (and by been in, I mean for work) have had a common theme, bad picture placement. Whether it is a large pic in a small space, or the picture is too high/low, it always seems to be something.
There are a few simple rules to remember when hanging things on your walls.
First, a picture needs to be (if at all possible), hung with the center at around average eye level (around 57 inches). For me, this means a little above eye-level since I'm a shorty, but you get the idea. This will help you when you have different sizes and shapes of frames and mirrors in your room. Keep their centers the same and you will "have harmony among your hangings" (there's a little alliteration for you).
If you have a picture grouping, the same applies. Keep the center of your grouping around eye level.
Here is an example:

This is the art that sits over my couch. The center is at about 60 inches, which is perfect for the space. Now, if you have very tall ceilings, you might need to adjust this a little, but if it seems awkward, it might be the size of your picture, not its placement.
This also brings up another point. My couch is very low, so the picture sits higher than normal in relation to the back. However, you want to try to keep art between 6-12 inches above the top of whatever furniture piece it is hanging over. Again, this can vary if you have a very long piece of art, or a lower-than-usual furniture piece, which is the case here.
Now that you know the correct height for your pictures, you need to know where they go in relation to your wall. It is always best to center pictures on whatever wall you are hanging them on. Or, if it is a strange space, center them on your furniture piece, like your couch or buffet. As for size, it is best to leave at least a foot on each side of your couch. You don't want a piece that overpowers the furniture you are placing it over.
Here is an example of correct size/centering of a piece over furniture:

The mirror is not too large and is centered over the furniture, which is centered on the wall.
Here is a straight-on look:

Like I have said before, I have been told that I have a problem with having everything symmetrical to the point of being a smidge OCD, but I don't think that's such a bad thing...
Regardless, hopefully this helped those of you who might not have been sure exactly where to hang that new piece of art or mirror! Stay safe if you are in one of the snowy areas of the country and enjoy your bread and milk sandwiches!! Ha!

Before and After party Link-up!

2011-02-07T21:47:00.002-06:00

Today is the First-Monday Before-and-After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick! Click on the button below to see LOTS of links to other DIYers and their projects. A few of mine are linked up as well!! Enjoy!

Curtain panel to pillows!

2011-02-07T08:48:00.002-06:00

I have been looking for blue fabric or blue pillows to go in my great room for a while now. I wanted to bring in the same blue on my couch that I have in my lamp shades and in my art. I also wanted the fabric to be richer than the cotton fabric on the rest of my pillows. I was having trouble finding exactly what I wanted though. When walking by the sale shelf at target recently, I found these curtain panels on clearance.

They are lined with thinsulate and are very fluffy. The color was perfect and the price was right for me, so I picked up a panel.

You can see the 2 layers of lining here. They make the pillows so comfy! Excuse the un-manicured fingers! I just measured out what I needed and made basic pillow covers. I used old throw pillows that I wasn't using anymore for the stuffing. I also have enough fabric left for 2 more pillows if I need some elsewhere!

Here is the finished product. I spent $20 on the curtain panel and used about half of it. The pillows I already had, so that comes out to about $5 a pillow. Not bad!

I love how they are pulling the blue from the picture and the bold color that they add to the couch.

They also help tie-in my lamps to the rest of the room. I love how searching for the right color paid off! And yes, I know that's a lot of pillows...I love throw pillows and I'm not ashamed.

Sunburst Mirror makeover...yes, another mirror.

2011-02-01T09:18:00.000-06:00

Another thrift store find that was hanging out in my garage was a sunburst mirror that I found for $3. Now it definitely needed some imagination, but I was willing to give it a try. It was just a plastic framed mirror with 80's-ish southweastern coloring. Pretty hideous. But I saw potential.

This is the mirror in its original form. Note the awesome blue/mauve/cream coloring.

Here is a close-up picture of how ugly it really was. I really can't believe I even paid $3 for it.

But I have been keeping my eye out for something similar to the mirror in this picture that I saw in the Decorpad post HERE.

I used the same antique-gold painting technique that I used for the large mirror in my previous post, and it gave it new life!

Here is my mirror after! Of course it is a far cry from the one in the picture, but for $3 and for a similar effect, it was hard to pass up! I would like to have several of these eventually including one in my bedroom, but for now, this one is hanging out in the formal living room.

I love giving sad, outdated things a new life! And fun mirrors can liven up any room in a second!

Accessory tray makeover!

2011-01-28T10:28:00.000-06:00

I know it sounds like all I ever do is shop at thrift stores, but I really only spend about one hour every couple of weeks stopping by to see what's new. I just don't always do all of my projects at once, so I post them as I get around to each one!

This is an adorable little tray that I found recently for a couple of dollars that I thought had lots of potential!

It has really great details but was a little rusted and needed some TLC. It is metal that I believe had been painted black. I decided to go white with this one. One day I might get brave and paint it a color, but for what I was planning to use it for right now, white will work perfectly!

Here it is all spiffed up on my new night stand that I painted HERE. I am really excited about it because now I will have a place for my phone (which I use as an alarm clock), carmex, and whatever else usually clutters up a nightstand! I REALLY don't like clutter. Really.

This is a better view of the cut-out detail. It's a perfect size and I can't wait to use it!

Inspiration for my master bedroom

2011-01-26T18:42:00.000-06:00

We are in the process of making some major changes in our master bedroom. Eventually our room will become smaller (I know, most people don't make rooms smaller). But our master is huge and has some major wasted space. And our master bath/closet is on the small side. So we are expanding both of those and taking up some of the bedroom. Since this is going to involve moving walls and other complicated things like that, I am taking this as an opportunity to make some major decorative changes as well. I am all over the place trying to decide what direction I want to go, but I made one purchase this week that will hopefully give me some direction.
I frequently check the site Decorpad and I love their Look for Less section. That's where I found THIS duvet cover. I love it in the cream and white, and the reviews say that the cream actually reads a little yellow, which is fine with me since yellow is definitely going to be one of the colors in the room; see THIS post about my new nightstand.
I have started looking through the photo galleries on Decorpad to see some color combos using yellow, and it is giving me a better idea of what I want and what I don't.
I have also been using Sherwin Williams color visualizer. It is great at suggesting color combinations. It is giving me a plumb color and a grey-ish color which is great since I LOVE grey and I happen to have a great plumb colored pillow from THIS DIY pillow makeover that I blogged about last year!
Here are some of the rooms that I have book marked so far:

This is a little dramatic for me but it's nice to see how the yellow and grey work together.

I really like this room and I like that orange is used since I already have quite a bit of orange in the room. I also LOVE the bright blue that they used in the chair and art.

This is a completely different direction but this green is so beautiful and the headboard is amazing. I want to steal this room and put it in my house!

I will keep updating as I make more selections for the room!

My future dining room table...and some tips for selecting your own

2011-01-24T11:32:00.000-06:00

My current dining room table is what I like to call something that I have completely gotten my money's worth out of. I bought it in 2003 for my apartment in grad school, and it has moved all around the Southeast with me only to settle in my moderately sized dining room in Memphis. I paid a whopping $150 for it and have recovered the seats about 4 times. It only seats 4 and is not convenient when we try to feed more than 4 people. My dining room is never going to be large, and eventually one wall will open up into the kitchen and include a bar, but until that glorious day, I need a grown up table that doesn't scream "I'm in college!"

Here she is in my dining room about a year ago. Alot has changed in this room...the lion print is now on the far right back wall, my plate rack on the right. I have a rug under the table as well. But you get the idea. So I need something round again but with a leaf, and more sturdy/solid looking than this. I love THIS table from Pottery Barn, but I don't love the price. So when garage sale shopping with my mom this summer, she spotted a table with LOTS of potential and we immediately ran to claim it. Better yet, it was only $10!! Yes, you read that right. $10. I couldn't believe it. The finish wasn't what I was looking for, but that can be fixed. So we took it home and it has been patiently waiting in my garage.

I didn't get an original "before" pic, but this is after sanding. You can kind of see the original finish still on the side of the middle leaf. It will sit in the dining room without the leaf, but this shows it at its full size.

Check out those amazing feet!!! This piece is pretty old and the wood is solid. I still can't believe the price!! We are going to stain it in a deep, rich brown and then I am going to find some chairs once I see the final color. I can't wait! As soon as it is complete, I will share the pics with you.

In the mean time, I thought I would share a few quick tips to remember when you are selecting a dining table for your space.

First, MEASURE. It is so important to know the size of your room and the size of any other pieces (buffets, side boards) that might cut into the size of the room.

Next, use those measurements to figure your table size. You need to give each guest 3 feet of space in between the table and wall or another piece of furniture. This means 3 feet of clear space all the way around the table.

Example: If your room is 14 feet long, your table does not need to be any longer than 8 feet long.

Next, decide how many people you would like to seat. Each guest should have approx. 24 in. of space. If you need more than the standard 72", think about getting a table with a leaf.

Finally, if your chairs don't come with the table, be sure that there is 12 feet of leg room between the bottom of the table top and the top of the chair seat. A typical chair seat height is 18 in from the floor. This would make the table top 30 in. from the floor.

These should help you find the perfect fit for a table in your space! It will assure that you won't have a table too large or too small for your room, and for your guests!!

Hallelujah! I have a night stand!!

2011-01-21T07:30:00.000-06:00

During the Spring/Summer, I am a devoted yard sale shopper. I get up every Saturday and map my way from one to another. I never spend much money, but occasionally I find a really great piece. That is how I came across a perfect night stand candidate. Since we purchased our ginormous bed in 2006, I have been using the teeniest table in the world that was about 2 feet too short and was beyond ugly. I have been propping my lamp up on so many books that it was probably a fire hazard. When I saw $10 on the top of this table, I snatched it up!

This is the table how I found it. Half original finish, half red spray paint. Obviously this was the middle of summer based on the badly-needing-a-good-mow lawn.

And suprise, when we tried to pick it up and it was super heavy, we found a sewing machine inside! Isn't that cute? And the front opens up and has a tray to hold sewing accessories I guess. We removed the really old sewing machine, since I didn't have a need for it, and decided to paint it.

It is a pretty old piece. The stamp underneath says Sept 1, 1967.

We used my Sherwin Williams color wheel and picked a color a little out of our comfort zone. After numerous color mistakes made in our first home which called for numerous hours re-painting, we were a little gun-shy about painting an actual color (as opposed to my go-to colors of black, brown, gold, and white). But I wanted to bring in a color from other places in the house, and yellow is something that I am starting to put everywhere. So my husband picked the color, and we bought a quart. It is called "Quilt Gold" and we used oil based to get a more finished look.

Two coats later it is hanging out next to my bed finally happy to be out of the cold garage! It is the PERFECT height and after paint was about $15 start to finish! That's hard to find.

There is major construction going on in our master bedroom right now (closing up doors, opening new doors, creating hallways, expanding bathrooms, etc...) so when that is all done we will have new bedding, a new wall color, and new window treatments. But for now i am making it work.

You can see me already bringing in my left over drapery fabric to maybe create some throw pillows for the bed. I will have to wait though until I know what the rest of the changes in the room will be. I can't wait to go to bed tonight and read from a lamp that isn't sitting on five books and a mini night stand!!

"Creative" Staging

2011-01-19T11:09:00.000-06:00

Warning: the following link leads to more links that will take up hours of your time but are hilarious. This post from Hookedonhouses.net is hilarious...definitely not how to stage a house. Check it out when you have some time!

Every room can use a touch of Tudor

2011-01-18T10:04:00.000-06:00

So... this post really has nothing to do with staging, but I have been catching up on the final season of "The Tudors", and first I must say if you have not watched the series, may I provide you with the number one reason why you should:

Mr. Henry Cavill, who plays Charles, The Duke of Suffolk. Ok, maybe not the only reason, but a very good reason.

Now, compose yourself and lets get back to things that actually relate to this blog in some fashion. Every episode has the most amazing and detailed backdrops. The ornate fabrics, the huge wooden furniture pieces, the candle light. It is all so beautiful (I just try not to imagine how bad it probably smelled seeing as how there wasn't alot of showering/laundry services going on). Those are things you don't have to worry about when watching it on TV.

I think it would be so fun to be a set designer and get to play with all of the amazing textiles and natural elements. I think there are definitely elements from that period that could be worked into a more contemporary home. Here is a mood board that I found on Apartment Therapy that shows some pieces that reflect the "Tudor" look.

Showtime also got together with Metropolitan Home to create some rooms inspired by the series!

I absolutely love this couch and the stencilled walls.

This is a 17th century chair that has been brought back to life and looks beautiful up against the light walls.

Here is the full view of the room. It just makes you feel like you are a part of that period (minus the beheadings and diseases). You can read about the designer and see more pictures HERE. I love pulling ideas from period decor. Just one unique piece can be a total standout in a home!

Mirror Re-vamp

2011-01-15T15:40:00.000-06:00

I like to check out the HUGE local Goodwill every couple of weeks to see if there are any pieces with potential. I usually find at least one thing and for the past few weeks I had been eyeing a large mirror that was the perfect size/shape that I had been looking for to go over the linen press in my great room. I mentioned looking for one HERE. I finally decided to break down and spend the $29.99 that it was going to cost. At first glance it is definitely not pretty, but had potential to be awesome.

Here it is after sitting in my garage for a few weeks. I think it originally sat long-ways above a dresser. I am using it vertically.

My plan was to re-paint it the same way that I painted the picture frame above my couch that I showed you HERE. I stuck paper in all of the edges to protect the mirror, and then I sprayed a layer of black paint. When that was dry, I came back and lightly sprayed gold paint over the black section by section, using a small brush to spread the gold as I went along.

Here is the mirror all spruced up and at home above the linen press! I still need a couple of accessories to go in between the lamps, but I will figure those out later. I am so happy with the size and shape! For a more casual look I could have kept it black or painted it a clean white, but I wanted it to look a little more formal and sophisticated in this space.

I also love how it reflects our built-ins and adds some color and light to that wall. For a total of $30 (because I already had the spray paint), I got a huge mirror that would have cost hundreds had I bought it from a retailer. I think that's a steal!

Stay tuned for some more of my DIY projects. The weather is finally above freezing so I am starting to trudge through my "to do" pile in the garage!

Before and After picture magic

2011-01-14T17:14:00.001-06:00

When staging a home, I always tell the homeowner that one of the most important parts of having your house on the market is how it looks online. It can be staged to perfection, but with bad lighting/angles, it can look terrible as an online listing. I wanted to share a few examples of how important these are.

Here is a before picture of a living room I recently staged. The angle is OK but without a wide angle lense, it is really hard to see the true size of the room. Also, the rug and other items in the room are pretty dated and the buyers in this area are young couples looking for their first home.

Here is an after shot with a wide angle lense by a professional photographer. It is from the other corner of the room, but you get the idea. We added some easy updates (new rug and side chair from Overstock.com, coffee table from Target, and art from Garden Ridge) and it's like a new room! We also opened the curtains to bring in the natural light, as well as removed the door to the den off of the dining room. This helps give the house a more open floor plan and better flow, which is what buyers are looking for these days. The house was listed using the first picture and was on the market for quite some time without selling. After staging and new pics, it sold in a couple of months in a terrible market!

These next sets of pics are from an empty house that I recently staged. They show how important furniture is when selling a home. It gives buyers ideas and helps them picture their own things in the space.

This is a before shot with a regular camera of a den area. It is really hard to tell how much furniture can really fit in the room. You would easily pass it up when browsing listings online.

Here is the after with the professional wide angle. We didn't over-do the furniture, but gave it enough to show how much room there really is. We also covered up the ugly wires from a previous TV setup with a mirror from the bedroom dresser! It was the perfect size.

This is a before of the master. Boring. And hard to tell how large it really is.

Here is the after. With just a king sized bed, side table, and dresser it is a whole new room!

Here is the main living room. It is a huge space and we just wanted to showcase its potential with a few key pieces.

Here is the after with furniture. Doesn't it feel so much cozier and inviting than before!

This is a before of that room from another angle.

And here is the view when you walk in the home now. We didn't over-saturate the room with furniture and accessories, but filled it with enough to make it feel like a home.

If you are selling a home and you have already moved, investing a little in renting some furniture pieces can make all the difference in the world. If you are still in the house, investing in a few pieces to update the space is well worth it. These before and afters really show how important staging along with quality pictures help a home stand out among all of the listings online!

A DIY Christmas

2010-12-03T10:06:00.000-06:00

Decorating for Christmas can sometimes be stressful, but it shouldn't be! For me it is a fun time to unwrap all of my fun ornaments and to come up with easy ways to fill in the gaps in my holiday decor. I wanted to share with you a few easy things that you can do yourself that would cost much more if you bought similar items in the store!
I do need to start with a disclaimer: I know that I have the worst camera/lighting on the planet, so please forgive the not-so-perfect pictures. One day I will decide to invest in a new camera!

This is my "traditional" tree in my formal living room. I call it traditional because my house is a little bi-polar when it comes to Christmas decor. About half of my house is the normal red and green, but I also have lots of blue and silver, which you will see in a bit.

Just one of my favorite ornaments on this tree :)

Now, on to the DIY part...I wanted a wreath to coordinate with my tree that could sit over my mantel in the fireplace room, but I didn't want to pay a fortune. So, I went to...Wal-Mart (which will probably be my only trip there this year), and bought a bare wreath for $10! I then bought an 8 pack of ornaments for $5 and some little sparklies for $1 a piece. I got the tulle at Merry Marketplace which I mentioned in my previous post, for only $5 a roll!

Here is a close up of my wreath! It probably totalled around $20 when all was said and done. Not bad! I wired the ornaments to the wreath and I threaded the tulle through gaps and then used wire to secure them to the metal back of the wreath.

I used some of the same tulle/ornaments for a quick spruce-up of the mantle. I just used wire hooks to attach the ornaments to the tulle. Very easy and cheap!

All of this DIY decor is really helping my dated fireplace/mantel. I love how easy it all was! I was finished in about 30 minutes!! The stockings were an after Christmas clearance buy at Dillards a few years back...I think I got both for a total of $5. That's hard to beat!

Now, on to my other color scheme. I have a white tree with teal/silver ornaments in our Great room, and believe it or not, my house doesn't feel quite as disconnected as you might think...

This is my tree (with my newly made drapes, which will be another post!). Last year, I needed a wreath to go along with this color scheme, and it is nearly impossible to find one. So that is where the idea to make one came from. I did the same thing for this wreath that I did for the one on the mantel.

I decided to bunch up several of my ornaments and then used a couple of different wire ribbons. I already had the ornaments, and the ribbon was super-inexpensive, so I think the total for this one was around $15!

Here is my wreath hanging where I have yet to hang a mirror that I have yet to find :) It definitely fits there perfectly for now!

Now, on to my built-ins. They are new, so this was their first year to be decorated! I just used some white/silver tulle and added a few ornaments I already had to spruce up this top shelf. I found the ornament trees at Target for 75% off a few years ago, and the mirror was a $5 thrift store find.

I took out an additional shelf on each side and used these hurricane vases that I have had for years. I borrowed some more ornaments from the tree and filled it up. Last, and this was so easy, I took branches that had fallen in my yard, and used some silver spray paint to turn them into Christmas decor! They look like little art displays!

This is one side of my built-ins. I didn't want to go overboard and do Christmas on every shelf, so I kept it simple. And yes, I have 2 sets of stocking...these were from Pottery Barn a couple of years ago and I actually bought them at full price, but they were specially priced at $19.99 and I couldn't pass it up! I knew I would use them for years.

Here is the entire built-in, all ready for Christmas! The lights at the top really help to showcase all of the shimmery, sparkly Christmas things! I hope this will inspire you to take on some simple DIY projects that are easy and won't cost you a fortune!

FOLLOW US!

2010-11-11T09:43:00.000-06:00

If you frequent our blog but have not already signed up to follow publicly, please take a couple of minutes to do it! I would like to do a few give-aways in the future for my followers, but I need to know who you are!! Thanks everybody and have a great day!

My house...built-in project.

2010-11-07T15:17:00.000-06:00

Last Spring, I posted about a built-in project that we had been working on for a few months. Over the Summer, it was pretty much completed, but we have just now put the finishing touches on it. My husband built the entire thing from scratch! And no, this is not what he does for a living. He's an accountant. In case you missed it, you can see the post with before and during pictures HERE.
Below is a picture of the finished product!!

I am still trying to fill my shelves. There are alot! Some people tell me I have a problem with having to have everything symmetrical, but I don't see it...

He also installed lights in the shelving to showcase whatever we are displaying. We have actually been using these lights more to light the room than anything else.

Here is a view of one of the lights that he installed. I helped paint the shelves, and we used several coats of primer followed by several coats of oil-based white in the same color as our trim. We used oil-based for easy clean-up.

I am starting to aquire things for the shelves. This is a little guy that I picked up for $10 after my Junior League shift at Merry Marketplace, a Christmas/Gift show here in Memphis. I love him!

I love the color of this vase on the left. I got it at a thrift shop for $2! I am going with mostly golds, muted blues, and oranges in the room.

I have also started working on the rest of the space. This is a VERY awkward room with an annoying brick wall that has an opening to the kitchen...a sectional was really the only way to go in here, and I found one at the Pottery Barn outlet. I made a HUGE mistake buying any variation of white, and keep fur removers everywhere...you can see one of the fur culprits in the window.

The pillows I made myself from fabric I have been collecting and the funky yellow lamp was a $4 thrift store find! The shade is from West Elm but I found it still in the box at a yard sale for $1. The art I did myself, and my husband made the frame for me out of peices of wood that I painted to look like a gold-finished frame. The total for the art was about $28...not bad.

I am still working on side tables, as well as the other half of the room!

We have come a long way...this is what the room looked like when we bought the house.

And this is it so far...I am so excited about how useable this room is now. I will post more on it once I have new drapes and other things that I am working on...

This is just a close-up of my pillows. The far left was a discontinued print from Laurie Smith. She is one of my favorites and I had to hunt for a remnant on ebay! I only had enough to do the fronts of those pillows so the backs are just cream.

I look forward to sharing more improvements to the room as we make them!!

Sneak Peek...the den

2010-10-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

Last week, I shared some pictures/ideas from a project that I am working on. I thought I would also share our progress in the den so far. And I even have a mid-way point picture so you can see how far we've come! This is an awesome den with a wood-burning fireplace and ridiculously high ceilings. The problem lies in the fact that it currently isn't being used. And with winter coming soon, the homeowners really want to enjoy the fireplace. So, we came to the conclusion that a TV was pretty much a necessity if anyone was actually going to hang out in there. This helped to figure furniture position and function.
The idea for this room: to create continuity between the grays in the fireplace stone and the gold on the wall while opening up the room and keeping it casual. Here are a couple of pics of the room when we started.

Here is the plan: Grays, golds, and browns in some really fun prints. The damask will be window treatments with the other two fabrics as pillows. And the daimond pattern will be an awesome new rug! We will be reusing the leather couch from the living room. We also will need a media table for the TV and the plan is to also have two smaller sitting chairs to stay in front of the table for extra seating when entertaining.

And here is a work in progress picture of what is going on so far. We are still missing the draperies as well as some pillows, but the room is already looking great! Once it is complete I will post the updated pics!

We decided to mount the TV on the wall and hide all of the cables/wires in the other room, which is just a mud room. So no messy accessories! The coffee table is a piece that is special to the family that was also taken from the living room. We will give it some fun accessories to help update its look a little!

Look for more updates soon!

Back From Summer...err...Fall Break!

2010-10-14T22:40:00.001-05:00

So, I know you probably gave up on me ever blogging again, but I'm back! The truth is, I've been extremely busy with lots of good stuff, and I decided to take the Summer off from blogging...which turned into part of Fall as well!
For this post, I wanted to share a little about what I have been working on. Last Spring, I had the privilege of staging a home here in Memphis for a great couple who welcomed me into their life like we were old friends! I was pretty new to town and I really appreciated their friendship. We have stayed great friends since then, and after their house sold, they purchased a BEAUTIFUL new home! It is fairly new construction with some rustic/natural touches, which is totally them.
The problem was, it was decorated with a mixture of the old homeowner's over-the-top formal decor and their own furniture that was a mix of things from before the two were married.
They were ready for a total makeover to fit them and their home, and I was flattered that they asked me to help!
It is a big house with big rooms, but we are trying to tackle a room at a time and so far we are finding some great things!
First up is their living room:

This room has an entire wall of french doors (which was quite the challenge) and has some great custom touches. You can see though that the curtains are a bit much for the laid-back feel of the house, and the furniture could use some sprucing-up. Don't worry though, we are re-using this couch in another space!

Here is another view of the windows. These are stationary panels that don't actually function, just for show. Our plan was to create new panels that would sit in the same place, but could pull across the doors for privacy.

This is a view of the living room looking at the fireplace. This couch will be replaced by a chocolate sectional that sits on the far right wall and turns to face the fireplace. This will give them functional seating and make the most of this long room! We will also get a new, leather recliner to sit in front of the window wall. A new rug and a couple of small chairs to flank the fireplace will give this room almost 2 times the current seating! And it still will feel bigger than it does now!

This is one of my inspiration fabrics to be used for throw pillows. It was a bit of a splurge but is so soft and the colors are absolutely beautiful!

The top fabric will be the new drapes (I got it for a steal...and actually bought all that was left, possibly in the whole world...I couldn't find it anywhere else!). The bottom fabric will be more throw pillows.

This is the inspiration board that I put together for the homeowners. They loved it! And so do I! I think it is perfectly sophisticated/casual, which is exactly what they are!

There will be more to come soon and I will also post some pics of our progress! I have also been working on some projects around my own house that I will post soon!

Southern Living Glass-Etching Project Follow-up

2010-05-13T21:48:00.001-05:00

I know, you're shocked. It didn't take me two months to follow up with a Southern Living Project of the Month. I'm a little shocked myself, but I had a deadline for this one. As I mentioned in the original post, my plan was to make etched glasses for friends that just bought a new house. And that's just what I did. Of course, I bought the most intricate stencil possible and the most oddly shaped glasses, so it was a little more challenging than it should have been. But I had a certain look in mind and once I get something going in my head, there is no turning back!

These are the tea glasses that I made for our friends, the Henrys! My etchings had a few little mistakes, but I am just going to say that it adds to the handmade charm :) I didn't take pictures of the process, because it was literally exactly like how Southern Living mapped it out. You can see their steps HERE. I will say, don't go cheap on your etching cream. I did this at first and had to go back and buy the kind that they recommended after my bargain brand didn't work!

You could really do this with any glass/letter/number, etc... It was totally do-able and fun!

Here are the Henrys in their cute new house with their new glasses! They have worked so hard painting and getting their house ready this week. And they are the first ever humans to make it on the blog! So congrats!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

2010-05-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

Every year since college, I have celebrated Cinco De Mayo. And by celebrated, I mean going to the nearest "Mexican" restaurant and eating a lot of cheese dip and drinking a margarita or two. I have never had any idea of the significance of this holiday, and why we celebrate a Mexican holiday in America. I figure it is mostly just an excuse to drink lots of margaritas and eat lots of Mexican food on a random day of the week. I decided it was time I find out more about it, so I went to the most reliable source on the web. It turns out that this holiday is really only celebrated in one State in Mexico, and is more widely observed by a bunch of Americans who have no clue what its about. Pretty funny.

Now that you have gotten your really accurate history lesson, I'm sure you are wondering what Cinco De Mayo has to do with staging, decorating, or DIY. Well, you are right to wonder, because in most cases, the answer is absolutely nothing. But in our house this was not the case. If you remember my Southern Living project of the month from a few months ago (you can read about it here), you will also remember that I have a lot of fresh herbs growing in my back yard, one of these being cilantro. And what better dish to use fresh cilantro in, than homemade quacamole? And what better day to make quacamole than Cinco De Mayo? I know, its like the whole 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon thing. But now you know why this post makes sense!

I decided to take pictures of the guacamole making process so that you can do this in your own home! It is SO EASY. I made this recipe up myself, but it is pretty basic, and anything can be added or taken away.

These are the ingredients that I used. Cilantro from my yard, red onion, avocado, roma tomatoes (they have fewer seeds than regular tomatoes), lime, and salt to taste. Don't you just love my Mississippi cutting board? It was a great Christmas present from my mom a couple of years ago. We love having pieces of our home state around the house.

This is everything cut up. I show this mostly because the colors are so pretty, but also so that you can see the size of the pieces once cut. You can just scoop the avocado out with a spoon and then smash it in the bowl.

I like mine pretty chunky but if you want yours really smooth you might want to thrown the avocado in the food processor before adding the other ingredients. At the end squeeze fresh lime over the dip. This brings out all of the flavors and keeps the dip green for longer! If you are having trouble getting the juice out of the lime, put it in the microwave for a few seconds (my husband did this and I thought he was crazy but it really works!)

And what Cinco De Mayo would be complete without a quesadilla or two and some yummy margaritas! (These might actually be daquiris since I used strawberry vodka instead of rum or tequila. This is still up for debate but regardless, they were really yummy. Notice someone couldn't wait to start drinking his before I could take the picture.)

We love any excuse to cook something festive or celebrate something, so this was right up our alley. Does anyone else enjoy this holiday as much as we do? And please excuse any parts of this post that might ramble a little! I have had a couple of margaritas!! :) Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!!!

Southern Living Project-of-the-month: Glass stencils!

2010-05-01T10:19:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed that last month I did not post a Southern Living project. I tried really hard to find something in April's issue worth trying, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't. So I figured I would just wait until May. And May's issue certainly didn't disapoint! It was like they knew that I was looking for a great DIY project and so they delivered! This is something that looks pretty easy and also easy on the budget!

How great are these glasses? My plan is to do this for a housewarming gift for some friends but instead of numbers, use their last initial. What do you think?

Southern living even provided step-by-step instructions and pictures for anyone wanting to try this!

I also want to try this on a mirror. I think it looks really custom and is a great alternative to a frame.

I love this mirror and I think I will use the stencil I already have from THIS lamp makeover project.

Stay tuned for a follow up for this project and March's project(I know, a little late!)

Coffee Table Makeover

2010-04-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

Last Fall, I bought an Antique (50's era) coffee table and two end tables from Craigslist. I loved the way they looked and that they were in really good condition after all these years. The end tables are being used in different rooms in the house, and the coffee table has been off-and-on in my den. This is the table in its original state.

I never was happy with the color and I knew I wanted to do something with it, I just wasn't sure what. So I saw this post on YoungHouseLove. Now, the furniture piece, use, etc... were completely different from mine, but I liked their idea of a white top surface and a dark base. So I got to work sanding down all of the shiny surfaces and went through my collection of left over paint to see what I had!

For the top, I used left over oil based trim paint that we had used to paint ALL of the trim/crown molding in our house. How we had any left over, I'm not sure. For the legs, I used the coffee bean colored paint that we used on cabinets, the beams in our great room, a shelf, and who knows what else.

Here is my coffee table now! My new, bigger rug is also darker than the previous one, so the white really helps the pattern pop and brightens up the room at the same time! And you may recognize these vases from a previous post. This is their final resting spot!

I am also really excited about the rose bush that is blooming on the side of my house! Since the azaleas that I used for these little white vases have died, the roses make a great replacement!

So far I am really happy with my decision to paint the table. It was a $20 Craigslist find that I have made my own! And if it turned out scary, I was only out 20 bucks, right? So don't be scared to paint furniture pieces that are tired or no longer work in your space! It can really bring new life to a piece that you thought had run its course!

Stay tuned for a new Southern Living Project of the Month coming soon!

Pretty Prints Everywhere!

2010-04-23T08:37:00.000-05:00

When shopping for myself, I usually go straight for the sales. I don't even like to look at regular priced merchandise because as a former buyer, I know how much that stuff costs to make, and how much it gets marked up on the way to the store.

So usually, when I get my Dillards Home store promotional mailer, I just chunk it. Not just because I believe Dillards took at least 10 years off of my life and is the reason that I have wrinkles and why my stylist just found my first grey hair (eek!). It's also because they usually cater to a "different" customer than myself when it comes to home decor. But this week, the cover caught my eye, and when I opened it up, I got excited! There were great, updated prints everywhere! What has gotten into these buyers?? I don't know but I am really impressed. Yes, most of these are out of my price range (yes, I am CHEAP), but there are a few really reasonable pieces.

I have picked out some of my favorite Home Store pieces from Dillards.com, but you really need to check it out for yourself. There were LOTS that I liked but didn't post.

Their home page says "something for every room", and it's true! Again, I am not advertising for Dillards...but I am giving them credit for actually being on trend and broadening their customer base.

Here are a few of my favorites:

These Towels come in green and chocolate, and the print is great! And they are on sale!!!

OK, so these canisters aren't exactly a print, but I think these cute cut-outs count! These are also on sale and I love them!

These yellow ceramic vases are also on sale, but are still a little pricey. I think the unique shapes together with the print are just perfect!

This Noble Excellence dinnerware collection comes in several great colors and has a lot of extra pieces in this fabulous print!

Aren't these salt and pepper shakers just adorable?? And the set is only $8.99!!!

Now for some bedding options. They are really on trend with this season's collections and I have about a dozen favorites! I love this black and green medallion print.

This print is my favorite and coordinates with the towels earlier in the post. This is the bedding that caught my eye in the mailer. It comes in other colors as well!

Another pretty print in grey and yellow. The curtains might be a little much but I still love the bedding!

Another grey print but suprisingly bright for such a neutral color!

And this black and white is suprisingly Spring-y and would look great with some colorful accent pillows!

After looking at all of these I am seriously planning on having another wedding! I want to register for everything!!! Where was all of this stuff 4 years ago?

I hope these prints inspired you to freshen up your home's look. Even if you are on a smaller budget, a few of these pieces definitely won't break the bank, and you can use the rest for inspiration! Happy Friday!

Vases and Blooms on a Budget

2010-04-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posting last week...I have been really busy with work and also working on a few DIY projects that you will soon see on the blog!
Today's is about bringing a little of the outside in and spending as little as possible without sacrificing style! I have been eyeing some "Found" vintage wine jugs on PotteryBarn.com for a few weeks. I love them, not the price tag. With prices ranging from $99-$279, these were NEVER going to be in the budget. So I started my wheels turning to figure out how to get the look without the price. If you've read my blog before, you know that I love a good thrift shop find. So this is where I started. But first, my inspiration:

These are the Pottery Barn wine jugs that will cost you a pretty penny. But I love the color and the simple, natural look of them.

I also love the shape and size of these vases, also from Pottery Barn.

These are some more "Found" bottles from Pottery Barn.com for $36 each. A little steep if you ask me. So I set out for the thrift store. After spending a grand total of $4, I was pretty proud of myself. I also made a 50 cent find at a neighborhood garage sale. I rounded out my shopping trip with a stop in TJ Maxx and shelled out $16 for a large vase (more than I usually spend, but after comparing to $279, I couldn't pass it up!)

Here is my complete new vase/bottle collection! Total price was 20 bucks! The flowers were free. They were from a bush outside of my house (ok on a bush that could possibly be my neighbors', but they won't know the difference).

A closer look at my thrift store finds! I love the blue tint and how each bottle and vase is different and unique.

I really think they add a lot to my little dining room corner and the white flowers look great with all of my white accents in the room!

While thrift shopping, I also found some great white vases for another grouping. My inspiration was from the blog YoungHouseLove. If you have never read this blog, you should! This couple are who I strive to one day be. They have redone their entire, old house on an amazing budget and it looks like it came straight from a magazine!

These are some vases they have in their house, from IKEA, and I love the look of them grouped together!

So with 3 more 99c thrift store finds, I made my own grouping! And I again used azaleas from my yard (these actually are from my yard!). My mantle is just a temporary home for these. They will hopefully end up on my newly refurbished coffee table that I will be posting about soon!

What have you found at a thrift store that you are proud of? I love to see how people make one person's trash their own treasure!!

Make Sure Your Pretty Spring Plants Are Also Pretty Winter Plants!

2010-04-09T13:33:00.000-05:00

Today is a perfect Spring day and I just couldn't help but take some pictures of the pretty flowers that are starting to appear in our yard! This gave me a great idea to post a little about landscaping and plants. We always talk about the inside of your house, but the outside is important too! No one wants to venture inside a house that looks scary from the street!

So, I thought I would use our home as an example of this. When we were looking for a house, we stalked the internet until we had a list of homes that we wanted to see. After looking at our house online, the ONLY reason we decided to see it in person was because of how beautiful the yard was! I have shown you the inside pictures of our house before we moved in, so you know the yard must have been pretty spectacular. This is the front of our house. Now these pictures don't show the entire front because the flower bed on the left side of the house is a work in progress.

I thought the shadow of the tree looked really cool. It doesn't have all of its leaves yet so it makes a great shadow! Our grass is still in the process of turning green...

This is another view (yes that is a dog wandering around my flower bed). This brings me to the purpose of my post. When you are looking for plants for your yard, make sure to do several things:
1. Pick out several heights in order to layer your plants, highest in the back, shortest in the front. This creates a lot of interest and depth in your flower beds.

2. You are more than likely shopping in the peak blooming season, but make sure your background (largest) plants stay green year-long. A good example of this is the azaleas in the front of our house. They make beautiful blooms in Spring/Summer but keep green leaves in the winter so the front of the house doesn't look barren and boring. A plant like hydrangeas will give great color in the Summer, but come winter it is a little scary looking and should be an accent plant, not the backdrop for all of your other plants.

3. READ THE LABELS on all of the plants that you purchase (I have learned this from experience). If you have a shady flower bed to fill, don't fill it with plants that need full sun!!

These are some of my lovely azaleas and my dog, Riley. I didn't want the neighbors to think I was crazy just taking pictures of bushes, so he makes a great subject. That is his frisbee that has seen better days, and that he takes everywhere!

This is just a shameless way to get more pics of my sweet puppy on the blog!

This is a flower bed on the back of my house and a great example of using plants that stay green year long/can live in shade! I can't take credit for much of anything in my current yard, as that was all the work of the previous owners. They did a great job!!

My backyard is fully shaded, as I'm sure many of you can attest to, so learn to embrace your "wild" side and appreciate your ground cover. I love these little purple flowers that grow in my grass-less back yard.

This is me being a stalker and taking a pic of my neighbors' backyard. They don't ever use it, but it has such great wild flowers it almost looks like snow! This was the best pic I could get without climbing the fence/being arrested :) I love the way it looks...it almost makes me feel like I don't live in the city! Almost...

I am by no means a plant expert, in fact, I've learned alot by trial and error, but these are just a few things that I have learned and would like to pass on. Good luck with your planting this season!

Great Cordova House For Sale!

2010-04-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a house with all of you that just went on the market in Cordova. I helped them with alot of the staging and it is a great house! It has been really well maintained and they have added a lot of character with some great flooring updates and an extra bonus room upstairs! Here are a couple of pics from its listing on FSBO.com.

This is the front of the house. Very cute!

This is the very large master bedroom

This is the dining room. It is a great size!

This would make a great starter home for someone just married or just starting a family!

Check out the listing and all of the details HERE.

My Herbs are Here!

2010-04-05T14:44:00.001-05:00

In January, I started my Southern Living "Project of the month" with a cool weather herb box. Truthfully, I had pretty much zero confidence that I was actually going to be able to grow my own herbs from seeds, but I thought it would be fun to give it a try anyway. If you remember, this is how my box looked after planting my seeds.

A couple of weeks ago, I went outside to check on it like I do every day (ok more like when I remember), and this is what I saw! There were little herb sprouts everywhere! I couldn't believe the seeds actually decided to turn into real plants!

So, I decided to wait until my little buds grew up a little before I posted about it, since the previous picture isn't THAT impressive. This is what my herbs look like now!!

I have 4 different herbs planted: Cilantro, Basil, Chives, and Parsley. The Basil is taking its time and being a little slower than the rest, but it is starting to peek through the soil!

This is a close-up of the Parsley. It is even starting to LOOK like Parsley! Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will have enough to use in one of my dishes! I hope this is encouraging to those of you who have a not-so-green thumb like myself. I can't wait to plant more things that we can use around the house!

Cat Purse Anyone?

2010-03-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

Based on the emails that I have received from friends with funny craigslist recomendations, my monkey post from last week was a big hit! This week I am bringing to you two more great finds from Craigslist.com. You can thank me later.

First, this lovely cat purse. Only $15! And notice the intricate monogramming of the word "Catty". If the creepy cat face doesn't scream, "stay away from me, I'm crazy", letting people also know that you are "catty" should seal the deal.

Here is the link for the Cat Purse. Snatch it up before someone else does!

Next, this "Wooden Indian" would make a great conversation piece for only $200. I am thinking that having this sitting in the corner of a room in your house would be almost as creepy as the scary cat purse. I also have to point out the cat in the background of the picture who looks a little irritated that his scratching post is being sold to the highest bidder.

Stay tuned later this week for an update on my Cool Weather Herb Box!

Easy Plate Shelves

2010-03-25T14:57:00.000-05:00

Anyone that has ever been shopping with me to Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Urban Outfitters, etc...knows that I always like to browse their unique collections of plates and bowls. For some reason I am immediately drawn to these and usually don't leave without buying one. The salespeople must think I'm crazy, because who buys just one plate? Me! :) I usually find them on super-sale because there are no longer enough left in the store to make a place setting.

I have been collecting these for a while and my husband was starting to wonder why we have an entire collection of mis-matched plates. So, I asked him to build me a couple of plate shelves so that I could display my wonderful finds!

I gave him my measurements and specifications, and he went to work. He built 2 long boxes and even put a groove all the way across the top of the shelves so that my plates would have a snug fit in their new home! Then, I primed and painted them and they were ready to go. He left the back of the shelves open and mounted a long piece of wood on the wall that fit in the open area of the shelf. This made it easy to slide the shelf right onto the board and after securing it with a couple of screws, it was complete!

These are my new shelves! I am loving how much color the plates bring to my dining room wall!

This picture shows the groove in the top of the shelf. Also, they stick out from the wall far enough so that if I want to use them for something other than plates, it won't be a problem.

This is a not-so-close-up view of my wall. Don't worry, I have more plates that I can use to change out if I get tired of these :)

You could very easily add crown molding to these for a different look, but I really like the clean lines of these...it is similar to the lines of the molding already in the room. These shelves were less than $50 to make, and after pricing them elsewhere, that is a steal!

Craigslist: Good deals and good for a laugh

2010-03-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

I am a frequent (at least twice daily) peruser of Craigslist.com. It can be a great place to find inexpensive furniture/art/pretty much whatever you're looking for. Every once in a while, I come across a piece and I think, "someone else has to think this is as funny/ridiculous as I do!" So, I am going to start posting these as I find them to pass on these great deals to you. I know we can all use a good laugh every now and then!

Up this week is this "Statue of Monkey on Stand" It can be yours for only...drum roll please...$375!! Its description states that it is "one of a kind" and has brought "many compliments over the past 5 years". Also, this apparently cost the original owners $2,000, but they are willing to part with it for a mere $375.

Seriously, who wouldn't want one of these in their home??! The face and tail are gold-leaf! Click on the link for more pictures! If you find any funny Craigslist posts let me know and I will be happy to post them!

Great Finds For Spring!

2010-03-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

As a stager, I am always looking for cost-effective ways to make a stylish but neutral impact in a house. There are usually a few places that I automatically look and this week they do not disappoint. I wanted to highlight a few pieces that could make a huge impact on a home with a small impact on your budget.

First up is Target. They have a great Dwell line called "Dwell Studio". It is my go-to for fashion forward prints and cheery pieces. This Spring is full of simple floral and bird sillouets, tile prints, and muted colors mixed with a pop of bright! This is a placemat that would instantly update a table! 2 for $10.

5x8 Area rug for $125!!! What a steal! And the silloutes are perfect for this season. Slip this in front of your couch and you have an instant update!

This is one of my all-time favorite Target finds. It has been in my online shopping cart for close to a month (does anyone else ever fill up their cart and just leave it without hitting the purchase button?). I can't believe is has survived that long without selling out. It is reversible and is only $5!! Yes, you read that correctly. I might have to hit purchase today before the rest of you snatch up the last one!!

Alright, on to my second spot. I try to avoid Wal-Mart at all costs, see HERE for some examples of why. But shopping online is a great alternative. They have a HomeTrends line that is actually stylish and, of course, inexpensive. This is sucha pretty rug and the price is pretty unbelievable. I think it's out of stock at the moment, but probably not for long.

This pillow is perfect for Spring! And $13!

Another $13 Throw pillow! That's hard to beat!!

Finally, I am loving this lamp. And for only $25, I love it even more. It has a much more expensive look. And they also have some great updated lamp shades for only $10 a pop!

When looking for fast, easy updates to a space, these are definitely a leap in the right direction! Happy shopping!!!

I Am A Picture Grouping Groupie!

2010-03-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

Large pictures/frames are usually pretty pricey. This is a problem for me since I have lots of large wall spaces. My solution has always been groupings of pictures and frames. I currently have a grouping of all of our children (animals) in my hallway, a grouping of family and friends in my dining room, and some other random art groupings in other rooms in my house.

Why do I like this so much? Because usually smaller picture frames are much more reasonable and give the look of a large piece when several are hung together.

Last month I posted about some great Etsy finds. One of them was these great bird print cards! I loved them so much that I decided they needed a new home, in my home! For $8 they were hard to resist.

I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do with them, but I had an idea. My in-laws recently re-modeled their home, and apparently had lots of nice frames left over. So, my mother-in-law generously gave us our pick of her stash, and I immediately saw many makeovers in my future. One set that really caught my eye were custom framed flower prints. They were very 90's reminiscent with the green marble matte and 2-toned gold-ish/brass-ish frame. She had already given me the go-ahead to do whatever I wanted to them, so I was set!

This is one of the 4 pictures in its original state. A great double-matte and solid frame. My idea: spray paint the frame a better gold, paint the large matte white, and use a new print (this is where my bird stationary cards come in!)

This is the same frame now! I gave the frame a once over with gold spray paint. I left the inner matte gold but painted the outer one white. Doesn't it just make that little birdie sing?

This is my new grouping pre-hanging. I absolutely love how great they look with my rug. These found a new home in my formal living room and I think then work perfectly.

Here they are on the wall. I once again apologize for the camera quality and will be happy to take donations for my please-no-more-bad-pictures camera fund :) The chair doesn't usually sit there but I move it for vacuuming and I thought it looked nice. I am planning on painting the mirror the same gold as the frames. And still trying to figure out a good color for my piano other than off-white. Any suggestions??

So, for $8 for my bird cards, and $2 for 2 cans of spray paint, I have new art! You can't beat that!

Springing Your House Forward!

2010-03-17T00:08:00.000-05:00

It is finally starting to feel like Spring (sort of), and every Spring I can't wait to freshen up my house! I have never been a big "Easter" decorator, because so many of the options for this holiday are either geared toward kids, or they are just super cheesy. This year, I decided to try to find some pretty things that were geared more toward Spring, and didn't scream Easter bunnies (OK, a few of these scream easter bunnies, but they are the exception).
This is a table setting from PotteryBarn.com. I am still in mourning over the recent closing of the Memphis Pottery Barn, so I will have to get my fix online. I love how the centerpiece is a Springy but simple flower arrangement in a basket. And the egg-shaped bowls are toned down by all of the other more natural pieces used on the table.

These nest votive holders are really cute and simple. Perfect for Spring! They are also from Pottery Barn.

These eggs with muted tones are more grown-up than the typical kiddie-eggs. And they are really pretty with a little greenery in these glass containers. Also from Pottery Barn.

OK, this is where things get a little more "Eastery". But how cute would this bright yellow little bird pillow be on a side chair in a kid's room?? I found it on Etsy.com

This is another Etsy.com find and I think it is adorable! And less than $7. It is very Anthropologie-ish but with a much nicer price tag.

This is another Etsy pillow that is very bright and Springy and perfect for Easter. In the right setting, these could brighten up your home/apartment/condo in no time and add a little bit of personality at the same time!

Other easy ways to bring your house out of hibernation:

Place some fresh flowers in pretty vases on tables/counters...you can find some great flowers at the grocery store, belive it or not!

For those of you Mississippi girls with your Peter's/McCarty pottery bunnies scattered around your house, bring them all together and make a Spring Statement on a shelf or coffee table!

Change out your throw pillows with some bright, floral prints!

What else do you do in your home to make if feel more Springy?

Be Back Soon!

2010-03-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

I just want to apologize for my lack of usually consistent blogging :) I have been under the weather /sick/coughing and sneezing uncontrollably and have not been my normal bloggy self. I will be back with something very soon! Everyone have a great weekend!!

This is pretty much what I have looked like all week...minus the earrings :)

March's Southern Living Project!

2010-03-04T11:07:00.000-06:00

While I am still waiting for something to sprout from last month's project, a cool weather herb box, I am on to this month's project.

I want to try something different each month, so this month I decided to look for some easy, practical, and fun recipes.

I have narrowed it down to a snack (because snacks are the #1 food in our house), and a drink (Because I am so excited about springy, sunny weather where you can sit in the back yard and sip a fun, fruity drink! Well, maybe not OUR backyard unless we get our mosquito issues under control...)

My first project will be Benne Brittle. Can't be too hard, right? It's only 3 ingredients! Sesame seeds, sugar, and vanilla extract. My kind of recipe :)

The second recipe I am trying is the Mango Tango Tea. Sound Yummy! I'm thinking a "long island" version might be fun too :) There isn't a picture of how it is supposed to look, but I am going to add the ice cube idea from this drink recipe, which also sounds yummy. How fun are blueberry ice cubes?!

I am going to hopefully try these out within the next couple of weeks, so I will report back on how they turned out! I really appreciate how Southern Living includes recipes like this that are do-able for those of us who aren't gourmet cooks!