Decor Adventures

For Sale My Adventures

2012-01-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Once in a while an opportunity comes along that you may have never expected. It lightens your step, pushes you outside your boundaries, gives you a little "Hey I can do this" confidence. Such an opportunity happened to me a few weeks ago when I wandered into a local store that sells furniture, accessories and other redone pieces for the home.

I started a conversation with the two owners and asked how they get their pieces, if they did them all themselves or how their shop "worked". They told me that they have a few people who provide pieces and of course they do some themselves. Once I told them how I "refinish some pieces for fun and I blog about it " {my shy explanation of what I do}, they asked me to send in some pictures of my work. So I emailed them a link to this table, this chair and this ottoman.

It turns out they loved my pieces and offered me the chance to sell items in their store on consignment.

I am certainly really excited about this because I never, really, I mean, never considered the fact that I would have the chance to make things and sell them. I mean I'm just a girl who likes to thrift and paint and change the pillows out every season {much to my husband's dismay}.

So I got to work and recently dropped off my first items, the red sewing table and some new sunburst mirrors that I made. I just found out this week that one of them sold. So it's official, and I'm really happy.

And now if course I have a million ideas in my brain about what I can make for the store. I already stocked up on some things and have a full on workshop going in the basement. If only it was warm enough to spray paint! Although I sneak outside and spray a bit here and here, even though it's cold.

If you are in Western New York, you can find the store here. Wish me luck. And please, leave me any consignment or reselling advice you may have, I'd love to hear it!

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The Winter Mantle

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Well happy Thursday to you all. Have I got some pictures for you today! Pics of the foyer that is, all dressed for winter. I hope my crush on my new Canon isn't boring you too much, we do look good together don't we?

That was during my photo shoot :-) On a straight hair day {it's naturally curly}. Back to the good stuff!

Our foyer this winter.

This is the brightest and best this foyer has ever looked. I am so proud! Take a look at some other pics in the space in the foyer label. I'm still astonished at what a good camera can do.

The winter mantle didn't change a lot from the holiday one. I made the distressed mirror which was so easy and done with only paint stripper and bleach, a how to is up soon for sure. The feather wreath I just love so much. I'm concocting ways to keep it up year round.

The pine cones in their metallic pots are leftover from Christmas, but I wanted a neutral, all season look so I planned on using them for both. And more feathers for a little fun. I love this bunch and they are so winter.

These are my snow and glitter candles in my dollar store hurricanes. I light them pretty much every night, I just love the glow of a candle in the winter.

I think this mantle is my favorite of all I've done. It really reflects my style and the look I was going for, simple, chic, cozy.

What do you think? Any winter decorating going on at your place?

P.S. Wall color is Creamy Mushroom by Behr. It's never looked quite like it does in person until now, thanks to my new camera. Red chair details here.

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The Trouble with White Furniture

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months ~ OK, it's been more than half a year ~ we've been decorating the dining room. There is actually one item on the dining room to do list that is completed, but it's not actually crossed off the list. Can you guess which item it is?

I've actually shown it in pictures before.

It's the buffet. It's been on my list to pick out a color and paint it. I got it at a thrift store just after we closed on the house and was anxious to use it in the dining room.

So why haven't I crossed it off the list?

Things seemed all fine and good. I even rub n buffed the hardware silver and we were moving ahead right?

Oh no. I made the largest of furniture painting mistakes with this piece ever. I mean, ever.

I painted over the white with clear poly. Big mistake HUGE. So guess what happened to my pure white buffet?

It yellowed.

Oh yes, it yellowed. Not all over the dresser, only in parts where the poly was collected more than others. Like on the rounded parts of the doors. You can see a tiny bit here where I've already tried to sand it away.

*UPDATE* I checked and I did use Polycrylic on this piece, not Polyurethane. The polycrylic is not supposed to yellow or at least it hasn't for some people. Maybe I have bad poly juju :-(

So what exactly do I do now? I have to sand off the poly and paint it again, that's what I have to do. A fun time right?

I've sanded all of it, but not 100%. I'm debating if I use a deglosser on it. I've already bought some. The thought of sanding this piece in my dining room makes me cringe. We've already installed the wallpaper and I don't intend to get the room messy because of this thorn-in-my-side buffet.

Sigh.

So I have to figure out a plan. Wait until the weather is warmer so I can take it outside? Try the deglosser (which I've already bought), try something else? Just paint over it all? The poly is water based.

I did go get new paint already. I'm hoping that Ben can help me out. I haven't tried this paint before but apparently you don't have to seal/poly over it. I was hoping for a semi gloss but this kind doesn't come in semi gloss, so I might test this out on a drawer and see how it goes.

So now I'd like to ask some advice. Tell me what do you do with your white furniture? What kind of paint do you use on it? Do you poly it? Do you leave it alone? Do you wax it? I've considered that too. Not sure what to do yet. Help a girl out. Me and my dining room will be forever grateful :-)

Here is the dining room list.

~~Pick out a wallpaper for in between the wall slats~~

~~Order the wall paper and hang it~~
~~Select a paint color for the top half of the room~~ ~~and paint~~

~~Decide if we are painting the ceiling or not~~ Nope, not painting it

~~Remove blinds and clean windows~~

~~Buy and put up window film~~

~~Find fabulous fabric for the window treatments~~. I got curtains from Ikea and hung those

Make ~~curtains~~ (if I buy fabric) ~~and~~ roman shades and hang them all

~~Make frames for mirror wall art~~

Buy frames (or find some) for other wall art I have planned

Decide which color to paint buffet and then paint it <-- Will be doing this one again!

Find new hardware for the buffet

~~Find lamps and shades for the buffet, repaint part of the~~ new lamps

Decide on/find other wall art?

Pick out and buy a rug

~~Get a new chandelier~~

~~Other lighting?~~ Mini lamp makeover is here.

Throw a dinner party to enjoy our new room!

P.S. This post nor my blog are not sponsored by Benjamin Moore Paints. I'm just hoping I've found the right product!

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Blog Goals 2012

2012-01-23T10:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday. How was your weekend? Mine was lovely. I tend to take a break from blogging on the weekend, although I still Tweet here and there, if you want to see what I'm up to on those "days off".

I've been thinking about blog goals for a while and am disappointed I didn't do them last year. So here they are, my intentions for Decor Adventures this year. Some goals, some to do's, some fun!

Make Friends ~ To put it simply, will you be my friend? I'd like to meet more of you, host guest bloggers and guest blog when I can. Can we talk on Skype? Email each other outside of comments? I'd like to get you KNOW you readers! As in real life. Well, as much as we can over the miles.

While this is my top goal, it's also the most elusive. How do you get to know people that live across the country? What can I say that won't make me sound like a big dork?

I promise you I'm totally normal. I like to thrift, you like to thrift. I have an 80's bathroom that needs a makeover, you have an 80's bathroom that needs a makeover. I have more spray paint than Valu, you have more spray paint than Valu. See, we're best friends already :-)

Plan It Out ~ I've been planning a lot for the blog this year, unlike in years past. When I have an idea for a post I write it down in the notes app on my phone. Then I transfer it to a Google Doc spreadsheet so I can see what I want to do for the month and am not scrambling for what to write. I really need to pay attention to this more and get on top of the photography. It's always where I'm lacking. Which brings me to the next goal.

Pretty Photos ~ I'm lucky enough to have gotten two new cameras recently and a tripod for Christmas. Since I dropped my older point and shoot, I got the Canon PowerShot Elph which I am more impressed with each time I use it. That little thing has power!

And, I did not see this one coming, but we did get a Canon Rebel just after the holidays. The god of cameras, I've been having some fun with it as seen here and here. I am so impressed with it and look around the house for things to photograph. I'm really happy to have this both for memories and blogging.

Connect, Connect, Connect ~ This one bears repeating. I want to do more connecting with other bloggers. Link up my projects more often, participate in a blog series, showcase other bloggers when I can.

I realize that people find out about blogs through other blogs and I'm not going to reach my goals if I sit here and wait for people to find me. I've got to get out there. So if you have tips, want to do some blogging together or have other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Help You Out ~ I also realize that you come to read my blog for a reason and I want that to be a good reason. I plan to have more useful topics in the coming months, you know, info you can use, be inspired by and enjoy.

I plan to keep this in mind when planning, connecting and writing. Almost all my top posts from last year were how to's and that is no accident. More how to's will be on the way! Any special requests?

Identify Success ~ This is also a hard one, but related to the above. How do I know if I'm successful at blogging? Am I really having fun doing all these projects? Am I happy with my home? If not, how do I cope with that? Do I measure success in numbers, friends, or something else? What is my intention with all of this?

Some hard questions, but important answers. This is where the balance comes in because I do work full time and now am in grad school full time as well. I don't pretend to want to "do it all" whatever that even means these days. I want to be happy and healthy and spend quality time with my loved ones. These are my intentions in life. Blogging is a hobby, my creative outlet, something I do for fun, not money and I intend to keep it that way.

Miscellaneous ~ A little housekeeping. There are some things I need to do, or want to.

Get a professional profile picture. Check! I've been wanting to do this for a long time. One day I put on some makeup, sat down next to some nice natural light and hubs shot some pics.

Switch to WordPress? A question mark since I don't really know how to make it happen or if it's for me. I do know that I'm more frustrated with my current software and need to find a quicker better way to host photos, write posts and improve the overall look and organization of the blog in general. My husband does graphic and web design and we started talking about it already. Let's hope!

Get business cards. I don't have these yet, but I'm going to Haven in June and need to be prepared. I'm trying to think of a fun business card-like thing I can take with me. My URL on a paint brush? A can of Decor Adventures primer for everyone? I'll think of something...

And I think that about covers it! Did you make blog goals this year? Have you wanted to?

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Tips for Organizing During a Move

2012-01-20T12:33:00.003-05:00

In honor of organizing week, today I'm offering tips on how to stay organized while you move. About two years ago The Chef moved in with me after we got engaged, these are photos from that fun time. And in June it will be two years since we moved into our first house. On average I'd say I've moved about ten times, not counting all those back and forths each year in college. Some people probably move more often right? Do you know how many times you've moved?

It can be a stressful time, but doesn't have to be at all. Here are some my tips for getting organized during a move.

Tip 1 - Enlist friends. Packing up an entire house or apartment can seem daunting, but doing it with a buddy (or a few) who packs while you sort can make the project go twice as fast. If you promise them pizza, I'm sure they will help!

Tip 2 - Make a plan for the items you are working with. Once you start to pack, you'll probably realize there are things you no longer need and can get rid of. A great way to get though this is to put the items into three piles. 1. Pack 2. Donate 3. Throw away. Any other items you'll use between now and when you move can be kept in separate bags or boxes for moving at the last minute.

Tip 3 - Pack like items together. Once you start to wrap things up, keep as many of the same items together as possible. Then when you want to look for them later, you know they will all be there. When you start to do this you'll see just how many rolls of scotch tape you do have... and can get rid of. Less to pack = less to move!

Tip 4 - Have a little fun. Nobody says you can't! All the physical labor might tire you out, refreshments can keep you energized and you can celebrate the start of living in a new place. Now I am not promoting booze here friends, just make sure you eat during all that work too!

Tip 5 - Create a moving day box. This should include any items you might want to use on moving day. Here are some:

Packing tape ~ scissors ~ sharpies ~ box cutters ~ extension cords ~ light bulbs ~ rags ~ cleaning supplies ~ reservation info for the moving van ~ water and snacks ~ garbage bags ~ plastic bags ~ tissues ~ hand wipes or sanitizer ~ aspirin ~ toothbrush & paste

Any other tips you'd like to add for organizing during a move? Did you make a moving day box?

Don't miss my how to get rid of stuff post and how to keep your home organized by Sheila at SZ Interiors.

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Welcome Guest Blogger SZ Interiors {Keep Your Home Organized}

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all. This week we are talking about organization. Yesterday I talked about how to get rid of stuff and today we have a special guest, Sheila from SZ Interiors who is here to give her three favorite tips for keeping your home organized. Sheila is one of those bloggers who I just connect with you know? And I'm so glad to have here here today. Sheila, thanks for visiting!

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Jessica, it's awesome to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me to share 3 of my favourite tips for keeping a home organized. With this fast paced, busy world we live in my approach is to look for what's grinding at a space, keeping it from being in order, and then figure out how to change it. If we can solve the things that chafe, chances are there'll be less temptation for clutter chaos to reign ;-) Have you ever noticed how clutter impacts more areas of your life than just your space?

Tip #1: Establish a place for everything in your home. I know, not original or new, but it's key!

We've all heard this Benjamin Franklin quote before...

Photo: Twistmo Etsy Shop

But honestly, this is where it all begins. I really believe in this motto, and here are a few ways to get started.

Think of your home in zones, and then decide what fits in each zone.
Be systematic and practical. Consider how you use your home, how you move through your home, and where you will instinctively think to look for things.
Make it easy to retrieve your items, and just as easy to put them back.
Resist setting things down to put away later - later sometimes never comes!
Do what works for you, and your family - don't work against your personality, or your lifestyle...

Remember, if 'it' doesn't have a place, it doesn't have a home. So be honest, and be ruthless.

Tip #2: Create a quick list or reference sheet of those seldom used items you have stored.

This is really helpful for things tucked away, like seasonal items. Taking a photo of the storage, and then itemizing the contents goes a long way for quick retrieval.

Photo: SZInteriors

These bins are home to things I seldom use. I keep this reference sheet in a drawer close by, and I've found it super handy. It's saved me time, and has removed the searching frustration.

Tip #3: Labeling

Labeling seems like an extra step, but you'll be glad you did!

I keep my spices in a drawer, and label the lids so I can find what I'm looking for at a glance.

Photo: SZInteriors

And I write on containers that are on the higher shelves. Like my vinegars.

Photo: SZInteriors

Oh, and a tip for those hard-to-reach-places... I keep a little step ladder handy.

Photo: SZInteriors

Did I mention our ceilings are 9' high? Without a step ladder I would never climb up to the top cupboards, and what a waste that would be!

Labeled, listed and tucked in it's place! If you stick to this mini system it becomes a routine. And routine is the key to success for keeping an organized home.

If you are looking for a little inspirational read, I recommend Karen Kingston's book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. Even if you're not into feng shui, this book is an easy read and full of great tips for life.

Thank you again, Jessica for inviting me over!

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Thanks Sheila for coming by, maybe one day we will get to organize in person :-)

So tell us friends, are you organizing at home these days? Any tips you want to share?

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How to Get Rid of Stuff

2012-01-17T11:44:00.000-05:00

January is the perfect time of the year to organize which is why many of us get in the mood to purge, clean out and declutter once and for all. A new year brings a new mind set and most often that is an organized one. People want to get rid of things, clean up, and vow they will conquer the paperwork pile for good.

Although I don't usually pick a certain time of year to declutter and organize, I've been doing a lot of it lately since I had a few weeks off of classes. This week I want to talk a little about organizing and first up is my favorite thing to do ~ get rid of stuff.

I kid you not friends, I love getting rid of stuff and have no problem purging my home of things I don't need. Since we've been in our house more than a year now, I know what items I use and what I don't and I regularly clean out. That yard sale pile is getting huge!

Getting rid of things is for the most part mental. Why is it so easy for me to get rid of stuff and how do I do it? These are my easy tips.

1. Be in the Zone. Cleaning out your home or simply just a closet should be done when you are in the right mind frame. Realize how much better you'll feel when you get something organized. Zero in on the task at hand. Give yourself enough time and do it when you feel you are ready.

You must be focused, you must be dedicated, you must be willing to throw things away! There's nothing worse than stating to clean out a space and feeling paralyzed in making decisions. Pick a day when you really want to get things in order and start.

Source: operationorganization-mn.com via Cathy on Pinterest

2. Realize you probably have items you don't need or use. One thing we can all agree on is that we probably can get by on living with less. Simplification is a very powerful thing and it really is true that a cluttered home is a cluttered mind. Free up some of the energy you spend moving things all over your house trying to figure out what to do with them and you will feel better I promise.

And don't forget, there are people who can use those extra pair of jeans or the pile of storage containers you don't use. Give them away to those who need them more than you do.

3. Start Small. Don't think you have to whip your house into shape from top to bottom in one weekend. Chances are it just won't happen, you're not Marry Poppins. Even one small drawer in the kitchen will have you feeling like you accomplished something. And that something will snowball into more somethings. Like the basement :-)

Source: theredchairblog.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

4. Have a purpose for the items you will give away. When decluttering, you should be organizing your stuff into four piles: Keep, give away, sell and donate. Sometimes the sell pile becomes the donate pile, either way you have a purpose with your things. And it's easier to get rid of them when you have motivation, whether it is to donate them, sell them and make some money, give them to a friend that could use them, this will keep you motivated.

My current motivation is the yard sale we will have in the spring. Knowing I have the chance to sell items makes it easy for me to get rid of them.

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Need more tips?

I've been using this declutter calendar which has a task each day for you to get your house in shape.

Here are 8 Ways to Get Rid of Things

Pretty Hand Girl has a post on Taming the Clutter

Want to start right now? Here are 18 things you can get rid of today

If you need a guide on where to take your items, here is one from Oprah

Tomorrow Sheila from SZ Interiors will be my guest and share with us her three favorite tips for keeping a home organized.

So, tell me, are you decluttering these days? Purging a closet or two? Have difficulty getting rid of stuff? I want to hear all about it.

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Snow and Glitter Candles

2012-01-13T10:10:00.001-05:00

Well it's finally snowed here. There is white all outside and it is cold! After having an unsusally warm fall and snow-less winter, we got the white stuff this morning. Did you get snow?

When it gets chilly like this I like to cozy up and surround my self with blankets, candles and hot tea. The cool temperatures and snow just make you want to snuggle in at home and I definitely do a lot of it. After the holidays, but before spring is a perfect time to enjoy the winter season, so I made some candles to create some warm winter ambiance.

These are simple as can be and only require some pillar candles, glue, Epsom salts for the snow, painter's tape and glitter {not pictured} to add some pizazz if you'd like. I get my pillars at The Christmas Tree Shop, I find they are the cheapest there and they have ivory or white.

First, tape off the part of your candle that you want the "snow" on. I put mine about 1/4 down from the top, but you can put it wherever, you could even do the whole candle if you would like. I put the tape on so it would give me a straight line.

Take your candles and paint on some glue. I used Elmers regular old glue thinned just a bit with water. Now painting glue on wax does not give you solid coverage, in fact you'll see the glue start to bead up a bit and streak together. Although I wasn't expecting this, I kind of liked the effect. It looked like wood strations of tree bark.

As soon as you get the glue on the part of the candle you want, sprinkle on the "snow" and glitter ~ feel free to use any color, and you're done!

Remove the tape, if you used it, and display anywhere. I think these would make great gifts too.

I put these in my dollar store hurricanes {my most popular post to date}, on the mantle in the foyer. Along with some pine cones and a mirror, you have yourself a warm winter scene.

Do you feel cozy? Since I am still playing with my new camera, I took some pictures of these at night and some during the day. Here are the night shots.

And the daytime ones. These are on my winter mantle which I will show you next week, come back to see it! {Antiqued mirror teaster if you want to lean how to make one!}

Linking Up With Winter Crafts and Decor Challenge at The CSI Project

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Our House Made of Paper

2012-01-12T12:24:00.001-05:00

Although bloggers open their homes and are proud to display many photos of the inside of their houses, one part of the house we don't often see is the outside. Some say it's for security, and I agree, privacy is a good thing, so I've come up with another way to show you what my house actually looks like.

A paper sculpture.

A while a go I saw this idea on a blog called Fresh Nest Design that no longer seems to exist but I wanted to give them credit for this, because it is such a cute idea.

Here is where I live!

I made this with a simple piece of art that I thrifted {the one on the left}, some paint to freshen up the frame and inside and I used card stock paper you can find at any craft store. I painted the inside with light blue paint that I had on hand and the frame white. The one on the right is what I made our kitchen chalkboard calendar from. Each were $2 at a yard sale.

Then I got to work on my house design. Take a photo of your house as straight on as you can, and use that as a guide. You can print it or just reference from a photo, either way works.

Now at first this might seem complicated depending on how many floors you have or the structure of your house. Don't over complicate it, just start with the basics.

Here is the first and second floors and the roof. You can easily see shapes based on your picture.

Once you get that down you can add the windows, with or without curtains, shutters, grass and whatnot. These pieces of paper are loose on the canvas at this point. You want to go for placement and size, making sure your trees are in proportion to the porch.

Again use the photo, what is in front of what? How do the windows fit on the second floor? And so on.

Then you can glue it all down with regular or craft clue and some of those raised glue dots or foam to raise up the paper pieces. This is where the fun comes in to make your stairs look dimensional or the landscaping pop out. You can see I did this with our stairs, bushes, porch roof and columns.

I used scissors with different edges to create the roof layers. These scalloped edge scissors can create shingles! Or perhaps a pond you might have. Anyone have a pond? I also matched the paper color to the paint color of the rooms. Fun!

Here is a close up of the grass, simply cut the paper close together perpendicular, although not all the way through a strip of green paper.

We do have large bushes in front. The neighbor's cat likes to sleep under them :-)

Expirament with different colors of paper. It's neat to see what you can create with paper.

And this is what my house looks like! Grey with white trim and grey shingles. Our steps goes down to the sidewalk and the bay windows on the second floor are my office.

What do you think? Wouldn't these make great gifts for friends who move into a new home or move away to remember their old place? Or it's even a fun kid's craft. Will you make a paper sculpture of your house?

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Home Goals 2012

2012-01-10T16:34:00.000-05:00

Every day I come home from work and turn the key in my very first home I am thankful.

Thankful to have a roof over my head when it's raining. Thankful the furnace turns on when it's 20 degrees outside. Thankful for a place to sleep and share with my loved ones.

I don't take one moment of home ownership for granted, and that's why this year I decided to make goals for my home. Because I'd like to focus on some specific ideals for my nest, and thought this would be a great way to remind myself of what matters most.

Since we've only lived in our house a year and a half this could easily become a project to do list, but I'm working to prevent that. Because what matters the most is far beyond a to do list. Without further rambling, here are my goals for my home this year.

1. Develop a cleaning schedule and get on it

I have yet to come up with a systematic way to clean my house. Any part of it. We just kind of tackle things as they need to be done. One day hubs gets in the mood to wash all the floors, I dust while I'm on the phone. Believe me, it's not a complete nor effective system. First up, a spreadsheet! A cleaning spreadsheet that is. I know my husband is rolling his eyes at this, but I'm an organized gal, what can I tell you?

2. Clean out the clutter once and for all

Since it has been more than a year in our place, I know now what kinds of things I'll keep and what I don't use. So I've been de-cluttering like a mad woman for quite some time. You should see the pile in our attic just waiting for the spring yard sale. There's more stuff in that pile than all the Targets in the Northeast. But I will have de-cluttered the entire house before the year is up. And hopefully made some cash in the yard sale to boot.

3. Conquer the paperwork

Ahh, the paperwork. The most nasty of home organization enemies. I have serious progress to make in this area. It involves cleaning out old magazines, developing a system for my office desk and starting the scrapbook project I've been wanting to do for 2+ years. Any one else scrapbook?

4. Work on Our Windows

Sadly, the many windows we have in our house have been nekked for too long. Old metal blinds, no curtains, no wonder I haven't shown you any of them on here. I need to either make or buy some curtains and see what we can afford-ably do about the much needed treatments.

Replace the old carpet will be on next year's list for sure.

5. Fix up the Porch

On the front of our house we have a lovely 112 year old porch, with 112 year old paint on it {we think}. We started stripping it last summer and got nowhere fast. We have to come up with a solution to remove the paint and redo it, so we can enjoy some refreshing beverages out there in the warm weather. Patio furniture would be a bonus.

6. Open our home to family and friends
What matters most about our home is who we share it with. Since the dining room project is nearing completion, we plan to dance on the table and drink champagne! Or perhaps have some delicious cocktails and fabulous conversation :-)

7. Lucky goal number seven is Plan for the Future
We are only the fourth owners of our 112 year old Colonial and I'm grateful that the previous families have taken such good care of it so we plan to do just the same. We will probably look into insulating the attic, renovating the bathrooms and drylock the basement. Maintenance for sure, but needed so that we can enjoy our space for the long haul.

And that's about it! Did you make goals for your home this year? Are they projects or enjoyment?

Linking up with The Nester's Home Goals Link Party

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A Peek at the Grass Cloth Wall Paper

2012-01-09T11:17:00.000-05:00

After a long seven months of ordering and waiting and ordering and waiting {and ordering for a third time}, I finally got all the grass cloth I need AND hung it up in the dining room. We started decorating the dining room last summer since it had not had anything done to it since we moved in and we use the room quite often. Time to give it some personality! See our progress here.

Although I was expecting the wallpaper part of the project to be done for my sister's wedding shower back in September, since I was told my wall paper would be in between 10-14 days, it ended up being on back order for three months.

Talk about a delay in your project!

So I waited and we finally got the first roll in around October. Turns our someone didn't measure and needed to order not one but two other rolls.

Yea that someone was me. I take full responsibility for this major oversight when doing wall paper. I didn't measure. I thought the double roll {which is the minimum you can order} were about 120 square feet, turns out they were 72 and we used 2+ rolls to cover the lower half of our 30 x 15 dining room.

Measure folks, even if you think you'd have enough!

But now let's get to the photos. This is not a how to, I'll explain that in another post, but I am so happy this installation is done! And now, grass cloth for your viewing pleasure :-)

This wall paper installation was not typical, in that our dining room as a plate rail and vertical slats all around the room. We cut each piece to fit precisely in the rectangles between the slats.

This is a nice close up of the paper with the trim and the wall color, which is Driftwood Grey by Martha Stewart in flat. I love flat paint! You need it in old houses and I don't know why I didn't paint other rooms flat sooner.

Our window film-ed windows let in tons of light but are completely private. I still have to make roman shades for them.

Some styling on the bookshelf. I like how the paper looks with all these elements, white, silver, wood. It's great texture.

I love this shot as well. You can see most of the room, but it's a close up of the buffet {which needs to be repainted, more on that later} and you can see the chandelier, the mirrors and the wall color.

We got that nice picture from our wedding framed for Christmas as a gift from my aunt and you can see a sneak peek at a silver candle holder I got on the right. Isn't it fun? Bath & Body Works, clearance. Go!

Grass cloth is done! Pfew. I'll show you how we hung in soon. Here are the dining room makeover tasks. Happy Monday!

~~Pick out a wallpaper for in between the wall slats~~

~~Order the wall paper and hang it~~
~~Select a paint color for the top half of the room~~ ~~and paint~~

~~Decide if we are painting the ceiling or not~~ Nope, not painting it

~~Remove blinds and clean windows~~

~~Buy and put up window film~~

~~Find fabulous fabric for the window treatments~~. I got curtains from Ikea and hung those

Make ~~curtains~~ (if I buy fabric) ~~and~~ roman shades and hang them all

~~Make frames for mirror wall art~~

Buy frames (or find some) for other wall art I have planned

Decide which color to paint buffet and then paint it

Find new hardware for the buffet

~~Find lamps and shades for the buffet, repaint part of the~~ new lamps

Decide on/find other wall art?

Pick out and buy a rug

~~Get a new chandelier~~

~~Other lighting?~~ Mini lamp makeover is here.

Throw a dinner party to enjoy our new room!

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Most Popular Projects of 2011

2012-01-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

To see what's happening with my blog I use Google Analytics, which provides a wealth of information on traffic, sources, content usage and all those other web things.

According to GA, I had some top visited posts last year. Want to know what they are?

Number 1 ~ How to Make a Brooch Wedding Bouquet This is not a surprise because I googled the same thing when trying to make my own. I ended up making a bouquet that was from family jewelery and hydrangeas. I hope my tutorial has helped you if you made one. Send me pics, I'd love to see them.

Number 2 ~ How to Paint Stripes on a Wall This was a project we did in the guest room. Wide white and grey stripes. You have to use what your paint closet has right?

Third most viewed post ~ Pottery Barn Knock Off Wall in the Foyer. I'm excited that this project was highly viewed because it took me about five minutes to do, was totally free and was featured on Knock Off Decor. Shows you what faking it can do right?

Next up ~ How to Hang Plates on a Wall. Notice a theme here with the How Tos? I do. I wrote this as a guest post on Pretty Handy Girl and then posted the tutorial here also. It's easy and affordable.

Fifth Most Viewed Post ~ How to Make a Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. This was a guest post in a blog swap from Deb at Just Short of Crazy. Go Deb!

Sixth ~ How to Make a Homasote Bulletin Board. More how to, note to self. This was a cheap foyer project. Homasote is the material you can pin things into, so it makes a great bulletin board. And I change it up all the time, I need variety in my decorating.

After that ~ How to Paint Chevron Stripes. I did this on two end tables in the living room since I refinished them in ebony stain and the tops were untouched. One day they got chevron-ed.

Eight was our Wedding Passport Invitations. We had a travel theme for our September 2010 wedding. Read all about it here.

Ninth was Updates in the Guest Room and I'm guessing this one had a lot of hits since I linked it up at Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party. That girl is the Super Woman of home blogs and gets mucho traffic. Thanks for sending some my way Sarah!

And lastly, the 10th most viewed post was...My New Craft Corner in the basement. Kind of unexpected for the top 10 but a fun space I arranged after we repainted the basement last winter.

Sometimes the top ten will surprise you. Did you see what were your top ten projects of last year?

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Blue Dresser Reveal and New Camera Pictures

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Not only do I have the reveal of my free curb side find dresser today for you, but I have another surprise as well. All of the photos below were taken with our new ~~boyfriend~~ Canon Rebel DSLR! I'm am loving it more each day, especially today since it was the first I actually downloaded the pics to my laptop to see in full view. And I like what I see.

But first I have to show you the long awaited free dresser makeover. That's what this post is about! I found this dearie on the street just a few houses down on the curb, literally and we carried her home along the sidewalk {imagine the stares from the neighbors}. Into the garage she went, broken drawers and all for a total and complete renovation, of the dresser sort.

She had great shape and was a perfect size, I just knew I could make her shine.

I even teased you before with a sneak peek when I was picking out knobs and refinishing the drawers. You don't have to wait any longer, here she is.

After contemplating a bright green, or charcoal gray, I decided on the deep blue. I can't get enough of this color these days and since I knew my grey office needed some punch, blue it was.

The semi gloss poly came out perfectly and I'm really happy I went with the crystal knobs. They are just the look I was going for. Take a look at the focus in this shot ~ amazing!

She is now living in my office with some wedding pics and gold accessories on top.

Remember what the feet used to look like? One was held together with duck tape and was quite broken underneath so I took off the wheels and cut a few inches on each leg to make them even.

Here they are today, I like them better without the wheels actually. Ohh, look at the focus, the light, I love this camera!

She goes nicely with the zebra rug.
*UPDATE* The color of this dresser is Restless Sea by Behr Premium Plus Ultra found at Home Depot. This is the paint chips that are only one color on a 3 x 8 card with rounded corners, you know the one. The number on the paint card is UL230-23. It looks like a deep navy on the card.

I had the paint made in Martha Stewart's semi-gloss latex, only because the Martha line is low VOC and I like the semi gloss look. When you go to do this it will be a custom color match. You obviously could have it mixed in the Behr paint or any other I imagine. On top is two coats of a semi gloss latex poly.

I'm so glad to have this piece in my office, I can store plenty of items in there and it goes great in the room. So what do you think of the dresser, the photos, the color?

I'm really happy with this piece. For all the DIY projects that go wrong and the craft fails, projects like this make them all worth it.

Linking Up With:
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design
Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking
Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive & Proper
Restored It Wednesday at Restore Interiors
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now
Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
WhisperWood Cottage First Project of the Year Party

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It's a Chandelier and a Wind Chime

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Even though we're in a new year, I'm still working on putting the dining room together. It's a long project...

The most recent item off the to do list is to hang the chandelier. I ordered the capiz chandy from West Elm and have been patiently waiting to get it hung up. See we have an old house and in our old house's electrical areas are old wires, gas lines and bunches of other fun things. Like no studs to hang things from and no junction boxes. Good times, right?

But we knew this so we made do and called for reinforcements to figure out how to get the chandelier up there.

We removed the old light fixture. I was not sad to see it go. You want it? It's yours.

And we got the help of a friend who had some gas to electric conversion pieces that we attached to the gas line. There was electric up there, some old houses don't even have that. We just needed to find a way to attach the fixture to something in the ceiling. The conversion piece {the triangle-like piece in the middle of the plate below} goes right on the gas line <-- which is capped, by the way. If you do this make sure of that first!

Then we screwed in the new chandelier's plate to that piece. It worked like a charm.

Two men up on ladders, a free lunch for the friend with the conversion piece and about 20 minutes later, the chandelier was up. With 372 little plastic bags around the capiz shells.

Guess who got to take all those bags off?

But it was well worth it, like that episode of Design Star where Leslie unwrapped them all {she got the same chandy in the kitchen makeovers} and they were jingling for an hour. Only I wasn't under a 10 minute deadline, thankfully.

I'm really really, really happy with this chandelier. It is much needed glamor.

But wait, it's not just a chandelier. Guess what happens when the wind comes through the room, or someone walks in his office on the second floor? Yes, my chandelier turns into a wind chime :-)

I guess I didn't think about that happening, but it's not so bad. Mrs. T did warn me after all, she has the same one.

I'm loving it against the grey walls. What do you think?

Another item on the dining room to do list bites the dust. Only a few more to go! Here are the dining room makeover tasks.

~~Pick out a wallpaper for in between the wall slats~~

~~Order the wall paper~~
~~Select a paint color for the top half of the room~~ ~~and paint~~

~~Decide if we are painting the ceiling or not~~ Nope, not painting it

~~Remove blinds and clean windows~~

~~Buy and put up window film~~

~~Find fabulous fabric for the window treatments~~. I got curtains from Ikea and hung those

Make ~~curtains~~ (if I buy fabric) ~~and~~ roman shades and hang them all

~~Make frames for mirror wall art~~

Buy frames (or find some) for other wall art I have planned

Decide which color to paint buffet and then paint it

Find new hardware for the buffet

~~Find lamps and shades for the buffet, repaint part of the~~ new lamps

Decide on/find other wall art?

Pick out and buy a rug

~~Get a new chandelier~~

~~Other lighting?~~ Mini lamp makeover is here.

Throw a dinner party to enjoy our new room!

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2011 In Review

2012-01-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012! Hope you have a fun and festive New Year's. I'm still enjoying some time off of work and have been lounging at home for a few days, it's wonderful :-)

I've had some time to look back on what I've accomplished last year too. Sometimes I forgot all that I've done and it's fun to remember all that's been done. 2011 was the first full year we have been in our first house, there was a lot to do.

As soon as January of this year began I started the basement project. We took it from this,

To this, a newly painted and organized space, not to mention a new project area for me. This is where I pretty much make everything, furniture, crafts, you name it.

This year I also started and finished Wedding Wednesday, a small series where I showed you the things we made for and all about our wedding. Including my brooch bouquet, our boarding pass save the dates and passport invitations.

I made over our small side foyer which we use everyday to enter and leave the house. It got some paint, shelves and accessories and was a very sorry before.

Now it's bright and functional.

The wall in that area had wall paper removed, plaster repaired, a new light put in and of course was painted. Paint is pretty much involved in any project at home, right?

Our gallery wall of objects we found in the house welcomes me home each day.

In May I scored a headboard off Craigslist and made a cover from Dwell Studio fabric that I love.

A HUGE project we did this year was a total master closet renovation. I mean to the studs through plaster renovation. Believe me it was much needed. I was so embarrassed to show the before photos!

But the after, now I should show LOTS of these.

To spice things up I painted the all-white closet ceiling a deep glossy blue.

And I made a wax paper capiz chandelier for the closet too. It's one of my favorite projects of the year, and most pinned.

Although not complete yet, this year we started the dining room project too. So far it's gotten new paint, grass cloth {which isn't totally done}, new mirrors, and I'm working on the rest.

In September I hosted my sister's wedding shower, it was a lovely day. I'd never hosted such a large group in my home before, so we rented tables, chairs and champagne glasses for the celebration.

Since it was our first year in the house, lots of rooms got their first dose of decor, including the living room. Here it is empty just before we moved in.

And today.

October was all about pumpkins. I did my first 31 Days Series and absolutely loved it. I didn't find it stressful at all, really. Committing to writing for 31 days was overwhelming at first, but each day I looked forward to what I could come up with to blog about. It was a learning experience for sure.

Source: thursdaynightdinner.org via Claire on Pinterest

November marked lots of work in the dining room including putting on the grass cloth. There was lots of cutting.

And I ventured to NYC to see in person some items I've been wanting to order for home. I think I spent about an hour and a half in West Elm, the sales staff started looking at me funny as I knelt down to feel the rugs and all. But I got to do some amazing fabric shopping at Mood Fabrics.

And now it's 2012, can you believe it? Another year to have some fun at home :-)

Did you get to look back and see all you did last year?

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My Favorite Projects of 2011

2011-12-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year when I can look back and see all that I accomplished in my home. Having a blog is an amazing way to keep track of it all and each time I scan through my posts I remember all the fun I had making these things ~ or so I tell myself at the time :-)

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite projects of the year. Complete with before and after pics!
I'd been wanting a small ottoman for a while and took a risk when I made over this one with zebra fabric.

This project was featured on Better After.

Not afraid of copying the big guns, I made my foyer wall look like a page straight out of the Pottery Barn catalog with some maps and architectural finds. It took me about 5 minutes to do this and it was such a huge bang for the buck considering it was all free.
This was featured on Knock Off Decor.

One of the most decorated and re-decorated items in our house is the homasote bulletin board we made for the foyer. I pretty much change it up every season and it cost around $8.

Another foyer favorite is the sunburst mirror that I made from cedar shims. They are all over blogland and I love seeing how people make them. This was so easy, I'm thinking of making more very soon. Hmm, just where will I put them?

This chair makeover took me quite a while to finish, but it was worth it in the end, don't you think?

I've saved the best for last with our master closet renovation. The before pictures are worth seeing, even though I'm still embarassed to show you them.
Yes this was actually our closet.

In the closet I made a wax paper chandelier, it's definitely one of my favorite projects of the year.

And that's my list, favorite projects of 2011. Any favorites you love? Are there other projects I've done that aren't on the list?

Linking Up With:

Top Projects Party on Southern Hospitality

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What Santa Brought For Me

2011-12-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

Hello friends! I hope you had lots of fun these past few days baking and visiting and spending time with your loved ones.

Have you taken down your holiday decorations yet? I cleaned up a bunch yesterday. I was so ready to pack away the little trees and stockings and advent calendar. And I didn't stop there, I've already started the total house purge. It's just something I have to do this time of year. Do you do some purging as well?

I wanted to show you what Santa brought for me.

A tripod! My #1 wish this year. I can't wait to start using it.

Source: amazon.com via Alice on Pinterest

Soon my photos will look like this

Source: niagaranovice.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

And this,

Source: livebreathedecor.com via Jessica on Pinterest

And this!

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest

All color perfect and clear and beautiful! OK those are clearly not photos of my house, but I hope my future photos will come out just as bright with my new tripod :-) What did Santa bring you this year?

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Christmas Around the House

2011-12-23T16:49:00.002-05:00

Christmas weekend if finally here and I hope you are enjoying it with your loved ones. Today was another day of relaxation, with a little bit of getting things ready for Santa's arrival.

If you're not blog Christmassed out I'd love to give you a tour of my home. Come on in.

This is the front foyer in our house. I moved this console table in from the living room to make room for the tree. I kind of like it here ~ but it won't stay long, I've got other plans for this space.

These houses are both little candle holders. The white one I got when I worked at Bath & Body Works many years ago. You didn't know I was a lotin pushing, shelf restocking, hand massaging mall employee did you?

I redid my advent calendar on the homasote bulletin board like last year. Free wedding greenery alert. It's all over the house :-)

More greenery from my sister's wedding made their way onto the plates in the kitchen. I think I have to get greenery every year.

Circling around into the dining room are the feathers. I love this wreath, it was the first item I brought out this season. Like on December 1st. Hubs saw me bring it down from the attic and looks at it and looks and me so I just exclaim "Feathers don't mean Christmas, they mean winter..." Who's with me? I don't know if he bought it.

Up in my office I put a little tree, with a fur garland.

In this photo you'll notice a few things. 1. I love fur! 2. The window sill needs to be refinished. Apparently the previous owners let it rain in there a bit. 3. And that the grass is green. It's December 23rd people! And I live in a very snowy city. It's totally fabulous. I could take this rainy winter over snow any year.

And that's the end of the quick tour. Now if you want to warm up, we can sit by the fire and drink hot cocoa. If only I had a fire :-) We do need to get those fireplaces working! I would love to chat with y'all, until then I wish you the very happiest of holidays! Merry Christmas to one and all!

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Holiday Card Display

2011-12-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hi friends. It's a day off of work for me today so I'm home enjoying some tea and getting a few things done. I love days off. Especially since I can get some day time photos of the happenings around this place. Like our holiday card display in the dining room.

I've had these white branches that I covered with lights last winter in the foyer. But I didn't want them in there this year so into the dining room they went. My plan was to use them as a display for our holiday cards.

First I made sure the vase the branches went in was nice and sturdy so I filled it with rocks. Branches can be heavier than you think.

I haven't been using much red this season but I thought it would be perfect in the grey and wood toned dining room. On when some ornaments. These are from Hob Lob and the dollar store. I am el cheapo with my ornaments. You don't need to spend a lot to get a little sparkle.

This is a nice shot of the grass cloth too. I absolutely love the texture of it back there!

Then I got my supplies to hang the cards. A hole punch, ribbon and some scissors.

I punched holes in the corners and tied them on with ribbon.

The fun part is you get to add cards each day as they come in the mail and soon enough your card tree will be blooming.

A fur blanket comes in handy to make yourself a tree skirt. See how Frosty in the background is trying to get in on the action?

Oh, one little secret to organizing your cards. I cut out the addresses and tape them to the back of the cards so I have the info mail cards back.

Then you can look at the cutie pictures of your friend's children all day long :-)

Did you get to display your holiday cards this year?

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Frosty

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends. I hope you are enjoying your holiday season and are ready for the fun that lies ahead these next few days. On Monday I handed in my last project of the semester for grad school and so now I feel like I can breathe a bit and do things on my own schedule around here. At least until classes start again.

But no more talk about that, last night we got to decorate Frosty, our first real tree. Don't even ask me why I named a tree, it just came to me when the hubs asked and so last night Frosty got fancy.

Frosty lives in the living room by the front windows, she is mighty tall, 8 feet.

I put on lots of glitter this year, these feather ornaments are my favorite and they are from the dollar store.

Four strands of lights, two rolls of ribbon, lots of ornaments and some glitter stems went on. This little guy is from my trip to London a few years ago.

Can I tell you how much I LOVE my little point and shoot camera? I'm getting more used to it and love almost every shot it takes. Almost.

Just like that Frosty was all glammed up.

So we celebrated by lounging on the couch and having some beverages. Hubs makes a mean White Russian.

And this is pretty much my view right now. It's very warm and cozy in here, even with a snowman as a Christmas tree.

And fall pillows :-)

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Our First Real Tree

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

My husband and I come from different holiday traditions. Well at least when it comes to the Christmas tree. His family is used to a country drive to select and cut down their very own evergreen right out of the forest. Me? I was happy with the fakie that my mom, sister and I put up each year. With the color coded branches and little filler pieces you wrapped on the fake pole, that tree was older than me.

While I get to pretty much do most of the decorating around here, I agreed to get a real tree for our home this year. My first. Can you believe that? But with a new home and new husband come new traditions, so we donned our warmest gear and headed out to McHughes Tree Farm.

McHugh himself showed us the ropes. "Climb up the hill and pick any tree you'd like!" he told us. Off we went.

We were joined on tree day by my brother and sister-in-law and our two nephews. Nothing like hiking up hill in the cold and mud trying to dodge snowballs from two teenage boys. And get good pics for the blog of course.

But it was quite fun. There were trees as far as the eye could see. All shapes and sizes. McHugh was right, you can really stop any time and get whichever tree you want. We searched high and low.

Now there are a few items you need for cutting down your own tree. Here's a run down.

1. Some cute Wellies to weather the weather. Thankfully it wasn't snowing but it was wet. Wellies are perfect for days like this.

2. A cute hat of course and sunglasses so people think you look totally out of place trying to chop down a tree in the woods. Besides I have to take some shots of myself since I'm always taking them of other people.

And you need a tree farm too, that helps. Yea that's about your only requirements for a tree cutting adventure.

Oh yea and the big, burly, bearded man with a chainsaw always giving you the furrowed brow when you take his picture. Hold your horses ladies, he's all mine :-)

Then you have to be serious for tree selection is a serious business! You want one that's full and green and just the right height and width. Soon enough you will spot one and you'll just have to take it home with you.

Now you have to act quick if you are dressed totally out of place in the forest with your sunglasses, hat and Wellies, wielding a camera on your tree excursion because those babies come down quick.

One minute it's growing all natural in the forest,

Then next it's on the ground!

And then all there is left of your tree is the reminder that it once lived in the woods, a little stump.

This actually made me kind of sad because I am a nature loving recycler extraordinaire in real life and cutting down a tree can bring me to tears. I kid you not. But I kept my tree-loving tears in check and remembered that trees are renewable and recycle much better than those plastic fakies you get in stores {although don't get me wrong, we have 3 fakies up in the attic and I love em}.

And marriage is all about compromise right? He's gets a real tree, I get Photoshop Elements for Christmas, see how that works?

Back to the tree ~~killing~~ fun. Hubs strapped her on his back and down the hill we went.

I just have to say this is probably my favorite picture ever... My husband carrying our first real tree, is there anything sweeter? The lighting is perfect, the colors are vibrant. He's all flexing and everything. Favorite picture ever.

Wrap her up so she can make it home in one piece,

Strap her to the car and off you go! Love that Forrester, it holds all my thrifted furniture bargains.

Now you may think all this nature stuff happens outside. Oh no. When you get home you have to make a fresh cut so the tree can get enough water. Right in your foyer. Thankfully we have wood floors that sweep up quick.

And just like that you have a Christmas tree cutting adventure! Just add water :-)

Do you get a real one? Any cutting stories you want to share? Notice how I just dress warm and snap away while hubs does all the work around here? If only I was kidding.

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The Natural Free Holiday Mantle

2011-12-13T21:21:00.001-05:00

The day is finally here! I finally got my mantle all done this past weekend and finally photographed it. A feat in itself, I tell you. But it's done, it's up and it was all totally free.

A few weeks ago I had a vision of what I wanted on my holiday mantle. I was thinking greenery and an antiqued mirror up top.

The greens are a piece of garland I've had forever. I think it originally came from K-Mart and is really thick. The extra greens {hanging over the front} are real and are from my sister's wedding. I snagged the leftovers from the welcome table and centerpieces :-) They've made other appearances at my house. I could write a post called "How my Sister's Wedding Decorated my House for Free".

On top of the greens are my glittered pine cones nestled into gold and silver terracotta pots - from the garden. I glitterized the tips of the cones and love the sparkle it brings. I'm all about the layers these days. Gold pot, glittered cones, layers of greens. I love it all!

I made not one but two mirrors for this holiday mantle. The one on top was cut from door mirrors, distressed and pieced back together in a poster frame. A how to is coming your way!

On top of that I made a wreath with more of the free wedding greenery and ornaments. The free free continues.

Down inside the hearth is the second mirror. This is the one I silver leafed. A fun but interesting project I will show you soon. I love the look of it behind the logs.

Free is good! I had all these supplies on hand. I'm getting more excited about this using what I have thing. I think I might try it again.

Hope you like the mantle!

I have other parts of the foyer to show you and the three how-tos from this: 1. Antiqued mirror 2. Wreath made of greens and 3. Silver leaf mirror. Hope that makes you come back soon!

Linking up with

Christmas Cheer Link Party: Holiday Mantels at Ten June

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Glittered Old Christmas Bulbs

2011-12-12T11:52:00.002-05:00

Hello all and happy December Monday. Although my posts have been a litte far and few between these days it doesn't mean there isn't tons of activity happening behind the scenes around here.

One project I finished last month actually are my glittered Christmas bulbs. It's a Pinterest inspiration, surprise surprise!

This project is very simple, requiring only three supplies. Bulbs, glue and glitter. Oh, a brush and glass jar to display them help too.

I had these bulbs from when my granfather moved one time and kept them for a holiday craft project.

They actually do work, and I had almost a whole strand. I even contemplated putting them back on the strand after I glittered them, but accidentally popped a bulb {and the strand} when I was putting one in. Those old wires can be tricky, so be careful. I kept all the blue, green and white ones that I liked.

Again, this holiday craft is easy peasy, just paint some glue on the bulbs.

And then sprinkly your glitter loving heart away.

Of course the glue will dry clear and so you can put on as much sparkle as you want. Let them dry and just like that you have a jar full of happiness.

They are living in the dining room right now while I put it back together after the chandelier hanging on Saturday which was a success. I know the room will be done someday and I can get holiday decorations in there soon. Until then, a little glitter will make me happy :-)

Linking up to:

Holiday Craft Link Party at Centsational Girl

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Putting the Dining Room Together and a Secret

2011-12-06T10:36:00.001-05:00

These days our dining room is the center of the action at our house. With the wallpaper going up and my sister's wedding items living there, it's getting lots of attention.

The other weekend I finished putting up MOST of the grass cloth, I say most since we ran out of paper of course. Home improvement I tell you, it never goes smoothly! But we had enough up to start to put the room back together.

We finished up this corner so I grabbed the broom and started cleaning up. Am I the only one who still uses a broom - do you all use the Swiffer and those things? I'd personally love the Roomba!

First up, empty corner.

It's been my idea all along to put the not-yet-finished buffet in that space. I think it will fit well in that corner. Step one, move the drawer-less buffet over and place the lamps.

Here is where the secret in this post comes in. Now what kind of secret can I have in my dining room?

A secret floor outlet! It's one of those old house quirks I guess. We had it fixed when we had the switches put in earlier in the year, and it has a nice brass switch plate.

Perfect for plugging in lamps. That way I don't have to use the wall outlet and have cords hanging all over.

I love those furniture sliders, do you use them? They are God's gift to women who need to move furniture all alone I tell you.

Mirror is in place, drawers are back in. Although you notice the doors on the buffet don't close because the paint made them not fit - have to fix that. And we have a new dining room corner.

I love it in the space. Just like I predicted, it fits perfectly. And the room is coming together slowly but surely. Next up, holiday decorations.

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What Being Matron of Honor Does to Your Dining Room

2011-12-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends. It's been a long and busy week for me. On Friday my sister got married and we had an absolutely wonderful winter wedding time. Being Matron of Honor is hard work I tell you!

With all the family events and fun, holiday decorating and projects progress are a bit on hold. But my dining room certainly got a workout.

Wedding central! My sister stored most of her items at my place since they live in Florida. She and her husband made just about everything for their wedding. Invitations, guest bags, menu cards, all kinds of treats. I'll try to share some soon.

It was a craft extravaganza.

I hope life is wonderful where you are and I'll be back soon with some fun happening at my place.

Now, I'm going to book a massage and take a nap :-)

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