Decor4poor

Best Salt and Pepper Shakers

2013-12-23T19:05:00.001-05:00

I was looking to find a Christmas gift for the women that works with my daughter everyday and decided to check Zgalleries. I showed Tom these beauties and he said get them for us too. They are a nice size and quite a little art piece. I've spent $10.00 on worse things.

Seriously...... So cute.

Poinsettias

2013-12-21T16:29:00.004-05:00

Black Friday I bought some poinsettias for $1.00. I bought quite a few of them, not knowing what to do with them all. I moved them around a hundred times keeping in mind the cat and the kids couldn't be around them. It then hit me like a ton of bricks, hide the endless mail I get daily with this wonderful plant. I am putting Christmas cards in between the plants for now. Here are some pics.

Cotton Ball Snow

2013-12-21T16:09:00.000-05:00

I asked my Mom if I could have the manger my Grandpa made her decades ago. My Mom hasn't used it in a long, long time so she said sure. I didn't want to take her nativity scene people because I have little ones and worried they would get lost or broke. I stopped by Goodwill hoping for a Christmas miracle that they would have some and they did (score) and they are unbreakable. I had to fix the manger up a little with new cotton balls. I had quite a few left over from that so I made some cotton ball snow hanging from the window. I love how it turned out. I just used fish wire and a needle to string it. I had to tie a knot around each cotton ball so they didn't slide down. I also put some battery operated lights inside the manger to make it visible in the dark. Here are some pics. I took quite a few because I love it so much.

Oh yes I did get the Stockholm rug from Ikea. It was love at first site. I will post more on that later. I am going to try and get better about posting for the new year, no promises though. Our daughter was diagnosed with Autism this summer, so I have people here everyday working with her. I don't have the time I used to, but I think helping my daughter right now is more important. She is making huge improvements by the way.

The Mantel

2013-12-21T15:16:00.002-05:00

I purchased these stockings at Walmart last year probably a week after Christmas. The price on them was I think $2.00 a piece. I also got the letters that are hanging on them at Walmart for a $1.00 a piece. I was so excited to see these when I was getting out all my Christmas stuff, I totally forgot about them (bonus). I have some brass stocking holders I would love to use, but they are too dangerous with little ones around so we nailed a ribbon across the mantle to hang the stockings. I had the deer, greenery, and elf on a shelf. Here it is.

We all have regular miss matched stockings that we have grown up with that Santa will be filling at Christmas, but it's nice to have matching ones as decor.

Plaid Flannel Pillows

2013-12-21T15:05:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but I am loving plaid right now. I wanted to add some touches of plaid to my living room so I did some shopping on line that pretty much turned up nothing. There was some stuff, but was way to expensive for my budget. I decided that I was going to have to take matters into my own hands (ughhh). I went on a shopping trip with my Mom a few weeks ago and hit the mall. I went into JC Penny, a store I don't go to very often and found these mens flannel shirts.

I bought a couple XXL mens shirts in flannel Christmas plaid, and another awesome plaid that was greenish. I cut them into squares the size of the pillow I was going to use.

Next step was ironing something I never do.

It was then time to pin it around the square reverse side up.

I dug out the sewing machine and started to sew around the square. I did this with the reverse side facing me. It was an easy job because the shirt had buttons down the front of it that I would be able to unbutton and put it right side out. That part of it is awesome because it makes it easy to wash them when you need to. I plan on keeping these babies out after Christmas.

I loved them so much I ending up making two more. I love them.

The shirts also had a pocket so you can hold your remote or phone if need be.

So then I had extra fabric from the shirts that I was not going to waste. I decided to dress up my horse in the dining room first. He looked like he needed a scarf.

Then I made some garland for the stairwell. I pretty much used as much from the sleeves of the shirt that I could, along with anything else I had left.

I sewed the arms together to make this look.

I bought old leather belts from Goodwill to hold it all up.

I love the rustic feel it gives. The shirts were $11.00 with coupon at JCP. In total it cost about $47.00. I love it! Oh and I also dressed up a Christmas wreath I got at Lowes on black friday for $5.00. I used a belt as well.

Needless to say I love it all! Making this stuff was the way to go!

Tropicana Love

2013-08-16T16:34:00.000-04:00

I so love the Tropicana plant. It is so beautiful! We have two on our newly stained deck. I love how they make the deck look tropical, without the worries of bees for the most part. They only flower once at the end of summer (for me anyway), but when they do they are drop dead gorgeous! I also love the fact that they are a bulb that I can cut down in the fall and bring inside during the cold months. When summer rolls back around, I replant and enjoy all over again. It saves on the cost of buying new plants year after year. I do this with hostas and arborvitaes as well.

Front Porch Tiled

2013-08-13T15:03:00.001-04:00

This is a long time coming for us. The porch was started several years ago, click HERE to see the post. Tom is a serious perfectionist, and knew that it was a job he didn't want to tackle, not to mention with a bad back. Tiling and backs do not go hand in hand. We ended up hiring a guy who had done some tiling in the past for Tom. It took the guy about three stretched out days due to the weather. We are very happy with it! We have not really styled it yet, but with it being end of summer I probably wont until next year. The tile is done though and we love it. You do not see tiled porches that often here in the Northeast.

We did get some landscaping done as well. We planted that weeping cherry tree, so cute. I can't wait for it to grow and form an umbrella shape. We will also be hanging a big american flag soon, I'll be posting a pic of that.

Here is where we started....

Sunglass Holder DIY

2013-07-25T13:27:00.003-04:00

I saw this DIY on Pinterest and had to copy it.

It was so easy. The only thing you need is a picture frame, some ribbons, and tacks. I found my picture frame at a garage sale. It was missing the glass, which I didn't want anyway. They were asking $1.00 which I thought was expensive, but it was the size I wanted so I had to bite the bullet. The frame was brown, but I I wanted white so I spray painted it. I got my ribbon at AC Moore for $1.99. I had the tacks. I simply attached the ribbon behind the frame with tacks. I then added sunglasses. I love how convenient it is to just grab and go! It is pretty cute too!

Today is also my special little girls birthday! She is two today! Happy Birthday Molly!!

Popping Tags

2013-07-23T17:57:00.002-04:00

I did go to some garage sales this past weekend. It wasn't one of those days where you hit the streets looking for sales all over town, they kind of found me. The sale where I got this little treasure was just on the side of the road, but the items were on a ~~faux~~ Tulip table like the one I have, so I had to see what they were getting rid of. I got this little treasure.

I loved the tag, one for the price, and two there was no mold. It is such a cute display item.

I call that popping tags!

Deer Head

2013-07-22T14:44:00.000-04:00

I finally found a deer head the other day at Home goods I have wanted one for awhile now, but they were expensive so I decided to just wait it out. I was super excited when I saw this deer that I didn't even look at the price tag. (Well I did, but it wasn't the very first thing I did.) It was $24.99, not to bad. I knew I wanted to spice it up a little, so I spray painted an old frame I had glossy red. Check it out!

I will show more pictures when I do the downstairs reveal. It is a work in progress right now. Love the red, I am usually a black and white chick, went out on a limb with the red.

Ta Ta!

Horse Makeover

2013-07-03T18:22:00.001-04:00

I am on a wicked horse kick right now. I see them all over the decor blog world recently, and it's great because I love horses. I went shopping with my Mom a couple weeks ago and picked up this horse sculpture at Homegoods I loved it, but wanted to spray paint it white....I had a vision.

When Tom saw it he was like, "very Marlboro". That was so not the look I was going for. With that being said, it was time for the glossy white spray paint. Here she is....

I love it! It is a major statement piece. (Whatever that means.)

Much better than the Marlboro country horse.

We had some drippage from the spray paint on the bottom base of the horse. We were not sure if we could fix it or not. I was like "hmmmm what to do?, maybe I should paint that part black, hmmmm" and Tom was like, "hmmm you could put like a garter belt around the bottom" I laughed so hard. I wasn't sure if he was serious or not. We fixed the drippage, damn I hate when that happens.

I love!!

Oh and Happy Fourth of July.... Love the fireworks!

Love our flag!

Horse Engineering Print

2013-03-29T10:40:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to say that I finally experimented with the engineering prints from Staples. In a word AWESOME!!!! Seriously the possibilities are endless! For those that are not aware, if you ever want to make a huge picture enlargement for cheap go to Staples.com, then go to engineering prints and download the photo you want to enlarge. They have three sizes to choose from 18x24 for $1.79, 24x36 $3.59, or 36x48 for $7.29. The quality isn't perfect, but I like the not perfectness of it. I already have a project I want to do using the engineering prints in the kids rooms, more on that later. The project I did yesterday was enlarging a picture I had taken of a horse down the road from us. I wasn't sure what size to get, so I ordered all three. The 36x48 is huge. I was hoping to use that one, but it was too large for above the mantel, so I went with the 24x36. I had to cut it down some to fit in the frame I have, but here it is.

Again I know I need a camera, but my Iphone will have to do for now.

So I love it. It is my favorite piece for the mantel to date.

Spring

2013-03-21T16:14:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share some Spring touches I have added around here. I had to do something Springy because the weather here is all Winter. So over it.

I got this little bird picture at Goodwill, I thought it was cute and happy. My Sister in Law got me this sea urchin from the Nate Berkus line at Target. We don't have a Target here, so I was pretty excited. Love it!

She also got me a couple other things from Nate's line. The silver shell, and black and white picture frame. Love it all!

This is the whole mantel.

It's a little more cluttered than I usually do, but digging it!

Sorry I haven't had any posts for awhile. We went to kind of Sunny Florida for a couple of weeks.

Happy Spring!!

This and That

2013-02-08T19:24:00.001-05:00

I thought I would do a quick post to share some of my birthday presents, and a couple new things around the place. I will not say how old I turned, but if you can count all the candles you are a winner.

I got some beautiful flowers delivered on my special day, from my special family!

My oldest son got me this book! He knows his Mamma so well, and I love that! That bookmark is so sweet!

I also changed out my big turquoise beauty and the beast chalkboard. I just wanted to rustic stuff up around here, don't know if it's permanent.

My try at Valentines art. Hmmmmm good for now.

I also changed out the red cross art on the ledge shelf going down the stairs. I ordered a banner print from Walgreen's with one of my favorite pictures of my middle child. I would show the whole thing, but not a big fan of putting pictures of my kids online. It is so awesome. He is holding this huge frog that my husband found a couple of years ago. I plan on putting all the kids pics up there when I find the right pictures. They will replace the Ansel Adams print. I love the size, it's perfect. And I do believe that clock needs to be raised up an inch or so as well.

That's about it. Have a great weekend!

Ruler Growth Chart

2013-02-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

I know this is not a new idea, but it is brilliant and I love it! We made this the other day, using several of the tutorials that are online. I am so happy to be able to track the kids growth now. When I first moved in with Tom, he had tracked his daughters height growth on the wall, and luckily copied it on wax paper before we painted. We are now going to be able to track all the kids height young and older.

It fits perfectly in this spot. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dining Room of Past

2013-01-29T14:36:00.002-05:00

This is the old paint that used to be under the chair railing. This was before I moved in. I am not a fan of sponge painting, but have done it before... God bless.

Then there was the cocoa color that was under the chair rail, when I was in my African phase.

Then there was the touch of red from my old record cabinet makeover. It was still my African decor phase.

I am liking my current phase best, but I guess you always think what is current is best.

Bye-ski!

Cowhide Rug in Dining Room

2013-01-28T17:22:00.001-05:00

I have some new pics with the cowhide rug in the dining room. I took quite a few so bare with me.

I just added that ghost chair by the door so I would have a place to put my diaper bag and purse when I come in. I used to put the stuff on the floor, and thought this would be a better alternative.

Love my Bean Boots!

Well I told you there were quite a few pics.

Stairway Renovation

2013-01-24T16:57:00.000-05:00

We finally addressed the dark stairway that goes to our fully finished basement. I did not like the dark wood, and made many feeble attempts at trying to make it look good. We decided it was time for a change. We painted the pine wood white. It took two coats of primer and one coat of paint. I was nervous when we did it, because it was such a big change and wasn't sure if I liked it. I had thought about white washing the pine, but thought it would be to messy of a project. Tom finished building and putting up a picture ledge two days ago, along with putting up some new lighting. The result is pure awesomeness. I really like the modern look and feel that this gives off.

I painted that red cross art today. Tom hasn't seen it yet, hope he likes.

Here is the before picture.

Here it is with a coat of primer

Here are my attempts at trying to make it work.

It wasn't happening. This new look is so bright and cheery. The lighting really makes it even more spectacular. So happy with it! It even makes the hall of fame look better too. I am not sure if I hung the clock too low. Any opinions on that? I could sure use some. I keep going back and forth on the placement.

Cowhide Rug

2013-01-22T13:06:00.002-05:00

Here is an exclusive sneak peek at my new area rug in the dining room. We are in the midst of a pretty big change around here, and there are tools, paints, ladders, and measuring tapes scattered about. Here she is! Love, love, love.............

I can't wait to show more of whats going on around here.

Hallway Chair Rail

2013-01-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

It seems as though the New Year has given me a burst of energy. I can't say how long this will last, but I am going to take advantage of it. I had painted my living room white this past summer, but never finished the painting into the hallway. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and also didn't want to deal with painting the Hall of Fame. The thought of taking all those pictures down and rehanging them seemed insurmountable I knew it had to be done though so I did it. Here are the results, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Before

It was a cocoa brown wall color.

With the kids finger prints all over the wall, and the paint being nearly four years old it was time for a change.

We decided to add a chair rail, and paint the lower half gray like the dining room. It all seems to flow so much better, and the wall looks more like a gallery now.

After

It looks so much better now! We are off to our next project. I will reveal that hopefully in a couple weeks. It is going to be a huge change for us, and can't wait to show it. I am loving this burst of energy we are having right now. Did you get a New Years burst of energy?

Stendig Calendar

2013-01-02T16:15:00.001-05:00

We finally got the Christmas stuff packed away, and I couldn't have been happier because I wanted to put up my new calendar. I got the Stendig calendar. I love it!!! I hung it over the mantel, because to be honest it was too big to go anywhere else. It is really an art piece, and from what I have read it is the only calendar to be in the Museum of Modern Art. It switches from a white background to a black background every other month. When you are done with the month you can use the paper for gift wrapping. Love it! Here are some pics.

I also put an area rug we had in our bedroom in the living room, it really warms the space up. I got that black and white striped throw at Ikea when I went in November so glad I did because it is AWESOME!

We really want to get new furniture, because these couches suck. I am not a fan of the way they look, but more then that they are ruining our backs.

I got a cowhide rug from Tom for Christmas that will be going in the dining room. The glass table is so heavy that we need to have one of Toms friends to help. Ughhh trying to be patient. In other news it's our 3 year anniversary today, and we are going out! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vintage Nut Bowl

2012-12-22T15:56:00.001-05:00

Yea!! I finally got my nut bowl all situated! I love the retro look! My Grandparents always had this out when I was little and wanted to have one too. I got it at a garage sale this past summer. Love!

Christmas Decor

2012-12-15T10:43:00.001-05:00

Hey everybody, I know it's been awhile. I have not had a typical holiday season this year. My mother had to have triple bypass surgery, so I have been helping her as much as I can. I did manage to get my tree and other decorating done this past week. The kids have been sick and I was home and able to get this done. This is my tree and mantle this year.

I did the lighted deer head again and added a couple more deer that I got at Michael's. I got a fur rug at my once a year trip to Ikea to put under the tree. The tree is fake. It was a good decision with a one a half year old pulling ornaments off of it constantly. The other nice thing is that it has a remote control to control the lights. It can be white lights, colored lights , or both.

This is my retro vignette I love the wood nut holder and the bubble lamp. It wouldn't be complete without a Perry Como Christmas album. Speaking of records, I had to move my record player and albums. Tom has a mid century record album/holder that I brought up from down stairs. Love it.

I am so excited about Christmas this year, I have an awesome present that I will be getting that I can't wait to share. I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas.

Door Art

2012-10-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

I was getting so tired of my door look going on down the stairwell.

The plan is to paint all that real wood paneling white, I just can't deal with it right now. So I decided to just update the look of the door. The clock does not work right, so that had to definitely go. I am really digging on gold right now, so wanted to add some of that in the mix. This is what I came up with. I know the frames are not all level, not sure if that is good or bad.....opinions?

Then the other day I decided to paint a picture that I got at Goodwill the same colors as the door. I had originally put a picture frame in that as well.....

Then tried this....

Then of course this....

I wasn't really feeling any of those ideas, then I realized I got this subway system map from New York city circa 1978 at a garage sale. It fits perfectly inside the frame. What do you guys think?

So that's it. I am digging it. I have some real "subway" art now.. I am sorry I am such a bad blogger lately. I am actually still doing decor stuff, just too lazy to post.. Ughhh maybe it is just a phase..

Harvest Market Finds

2012-10-03T09:12:00.001-04:00

We had our annual Harvest Market in our town and pretty much it's a lot of garage sales (AWESOME), food, and music. I got some cute stuff that I want to show you.

I got this gold frame for 50 cents. I downloaded this wash your hands print from 4 men 1 lady blog. Love it! It's my favorite thing in the kitchen right now and it only cost me 50 cents.

I picked up this rocking horse for $1.25. It was the perfect size for Molly, and I love how vintage it is. I looked it up on ebay when I got home to see if it was worth anything, and turns out it sells for $299.99 on there. I guess I got a good deal. It's so cute!

I picked up some of these Pumpkin Lanterns. I am not sure if that is their official name, but that is what my Mom calls them. I am not a huge fan of fake flowers, so these are a perfect dried arrangement. I also got the cute little pumpkin.

The first sale I went to was a preschool fund raising sale that is known for having great kid stuff. I got there nice and early and started looking around. I have been wanting to get a new stroller because I have been using a snap and go, and Molly has outgrown that. I saw this black and white polka dot stroller that I loved, but it was $50.00. I left the sale and was on my way. Well the next morning (Sunday) I woke up super early and couldn't stop thinking about that stroller. It was going to be half off at that sale today, and maybe that stroller would still be there if I was lucky. I loaded the kids up, drove by and everything was covered up, ughhhh they were not even open yet. There was a women selling food out front so I asked when they would be opening and she said 9:30. She asked me what I wanted, I told her and the stroller was mine for $25.00. This stroller sells for $399.00 at Target. Yessss another deal. This thing corners like it's on a rail. I love the polka dots!

Had a wonderful time, and love my new treats. I got a couple other things as well, but they are under construction. I will show them later. Have a great day!