DIY Newlyweds: DIY Home Decorating Ideas, Tips, Projects

Fraiser Crane's Apartment: Modernized

2012-01-23T13:41:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I did a modernized a TV show home set, but upon a reader request's I wanted to update the set of Fraiser (you can check out my past TV updates: The Golden Girls, Three's Company and The Brady Bunch here).

Dr. Fraiser Crane, a bachelor with a refined taste for the finer things in life, lived in his Seattle apartment with his father Marty. We watched Fraiser in his apartment from 1993 to 2004, during which time he had a contemporary style. He had a neutral living room, except of course for Marty's old recliner chair.

In the dining area, Fraiser had a pedestal table with glass top and neutral chair.

Fraiser's set still has a lot of elements which could still be stylish today, but I'd like to think that if Fraiser was still living in Seattle he'd have a more modern and minimalistic style these days.

Here's how I'd modernize Fraiser's apartment if the TV show took place today:

- New neutral sofa. Still neutral, but with a sleeker design (Crate & Barrel)
- Curved console table (West Elm)
- Modern coffee table. I think Fraiser would be into more minimalist look these days. (Crate & Barrel)
- Floor lamp to update the torch lights he has at the back of the room. (Pottery Barn)
- Modern recliner. I think Martin would agree to this sleek, but comfy chair. (West Elm)
- Wood and metal side table, perfect for holding Martin's beer and remote. (West Elm)
- Glass dining table. Still glass, but a new look. (Crate & Barrel)
- Cutback chairs. Since the rest of the room is neutral, I think Fraiser would like these patterned chairs. (Target)

That's how I imagine Fraiser living these days, back in his Seattle pad. Did you watch Fraiser? I still like to catch the re-runs on TV. I have a lot of fun putting these looks together, so leave a comment if there are any other TV shows you'd like to see updated.

Snowy Snout

2012-01-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

I’ve been quarantining myself at home this past week with a bad cold. Yesterday, I finally felt better enough to step foot outside to play with my pup in the snow. Although we’ve had a few brutally cold spells, overall this winter has been pretty mild and this is the first real snow fall we’ve seen all season (aside from a small sprinkle of freak October snow). My pup loves the snow and was pumped to get outside to play and munch on some ice.

Today we dressed him in a doggy vest (he’s a little guy and needs clothes to keep warm sometimes) and he couldn’t wait to get outside to play a game of soccer with his dad.

Has it finally snowed around you? Any snowmen and snow angels in your neck of the woods?

DIY Fabric Gift Bags

2012-01-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

So I know Christmas is long over, but I had to do just one last holiday related post and in a minute you'll see why. Plus, I bet you are still finding pine needles across your house, so that makes one more holiday post okay in my book. Now, here’s what my house looked like before gift exchanging with my family last year (2010):

Presents were everywhere and those plastic bags were filled with even more wrapped gifts. I don’t have an aftermath shot of that year, but here’s what the room looked like after all the gifts had been opened a few years ago:

Crazy right? A big wrapping paper mess! Now I know many families have a trash bag prepared and throw wrapping paper away as they open gifts, but I’ve always hated ruining the fun of present opening with having to stop and cleanup every 2 minutes. You have to admit it is kind of fun to make a big giant mess and shouldn’t exchanging presents be fun? Of course, cleaning up that mess is no fun at all. Plus, wrapping so many presents is a nightmare! Especially when there is a lot of other things to do for the holidays, gift wrapping just seems like a chore.

So after last year, my sister had the brilliant idea to sew reusable fabric gift bags. It would be less of a mess, greener (no more wasting paper and these are reusable each year), cheaper in the long run (no more buying paper), more durable than using paper gift bags, easy to store when not in use, and best of all save a TON of time gift wrapping. So we tried it this past year. And here’s what the tree looked like:

Still a lot of presents, but the majority of them were in nice and neat cloth gift bags (we didn’t have enough bags for all of the gifts). And let me tell you, gift wrapping was a breeze this year! Now, I chose to loosely wrap/cover the presents in tissue paper before putting them in the fabric gift bags because I was worried some of the unwrapping mystery fun would be lost without wrapping, but it really wasn’t a big deal. My sister just put her gifts in the bags, without tissue paper, and opening them wasn’t any less fun. You can still shake or feel the bag and have pre-opening present guessing fun with the fabric bags so none of the “magic” was lost.

So why am I telling you about this now? Because now is the perfect time to buy holiday fabric because it’s on clearance! Last year, around this time, I went to Walmart and stocked up on holiday fabric once it was 50 or 75% off. I got several prints and I believe they were about $1.10 per yard. I bought a LOT of it and ended up spending about $25 total. Our plan was to sew the bags throughout the year, but of course we procrastinated until this past December (that’s why we ended up running out of time and not having enough bags sewn). I’m not sure what their selection is like now, but a year ago when I bought the fabric, Walmart had cute holiday prints like Frosty the Snowman and Winnie the Pooh.

To make the bags, we first cut the fabric using paper gift bags as a guide for size. I just put the paper gift bag on my fabric and cut the fabric to be slightly taller and two times wider than the paper template. Then, depending on how it was cut (either 2 or 3 sides would have to be sewn shut depending on the kinds of pieces you are using) I sewed all of the sides together, just leaving an opening at the top. The top was hemmed and we ran ribbon through so the bags would tie shut. And its not necessary, but when I wasn’t lazy, I also sewed across the bottom two corners as shown so the finished product would have a more defined gift bag shape. The photo below shows where I sewed in red:

Pretty simple! As I mentioned before, I am a total novice when it comes to sewing, but this was a very easy project for me. Here’s what this finished gift bag looked like:

I am very happy my sister convinced me to do this (she’s going to love reading that). The biggest benefit of the gift bags is not having to spend hours wrapping presents like we used to. The bags were a huge time saver and not any less fun. My nephews (all under age 8) didn’t seem to care how the presents were wrapped and enjoyed opening them just the same. Hopefully we will sew the remainder of our fabric into bags ahead of next December so we will be fully stocked up for the next holiday season. Only 11 months to go!

2012 New DIYear Resolutions

2012-01-11T17:29:00.001-05:00

Being the list-making person that I am, I had to put together a list of resolutions/goals for 2012, or as I like to call them - New DIYear Resolutions (get it- because it's DIY stuff!) I will be updating everyone on my 2011 goals soon (spoiler: I did surprisingly well) but in the meanwhile I wanted to share what I hope will be on the docket for twenty-twelve.

2012 New DIYear Resolutions:

Refinish Garage Sale Chest: Back in July 2010, I bought a dingy and dirty, but full of potential, wood cabinet at a garage sale for only $2. But embarrassingly, this diamond in the rough has been sitting in my garage as-is since the day I bought it. It's high time to restore this beauty.

Refinish Our Fireplace: Our fireplace was already on my to-do list back in 2010 and I achieved my goal for that year when my Dad built an expanded mantle shelf (see the improved before-and-after below). Since then, I also figured out how to disguise our flat screen TV cables. But, I'd really like to take the fireplace one step further by getting rid of the brass accents, painting the mantle, and maybe adding some new tile.

Create a Proper Window Seat: We have a nice window seat area in our living room, but I've never gotten around to making a nice cushion for it. I bought the foam for the cushion when we first moved in but had to put it away when we got our dog and he went through his rebelious teething and chewing stage. Now that he's a good boy (most of the time), I've put the foam cushion back but have only loosely wrapped it in some boring extra fabric I had on hand. This year, I'd like to sew a proper window seat cushion with some fun fabric and accessorize it with new pillows.

Ongoing Organizing: I've had organizing on my goals list for both 2010 and 2011. I accomplished a lot of organizing in the last two years, but I've always felt that this has to be an ongoing goal in order keep everything shipshape. I think decluttering as well as keeping drawers, closets, and papers in order is an ongoing process so I plan to continue my organizational kick throughout 2012. This year, I may try to be more organized with my organizing (there's a type-A statement if I've ever heard one) by tasking myself with one specific closet or area per month to tackle. In addition to organizing, I have been experimenting with a few different cleaning methods and plans to keep the house nice and tidy. My goal for the year is to have my house pass the "pop-in" test at all times, meaning that my house is clean enough to have anyone stop by at any time. Wish me luck with that one!

In addition to my home goals, I also wanted to share my personal resolutions this year.

Daily Photo Project: This year, I'd like to take one photo every single day that captures a highlight or something memorable from the day. I'm hoping that this will be like a visual diary where I'll be able to look back on the year and see the memorable moments. In the 11 days that I've been doing this so far, I've also found that it's been getting me to think creativly. I'm taking the photos with my iPhone and the simplicity of the phone camera is making me put a lot of thought into how the image should be framed and getting me to see simple everyday things as camera-worthy moments.

Learn to use SLR Camera: My other photo related goal for the year is to learn to use a DSLR camera. I purchased a Canon Rebel T3 over the holidays and am really excited to join the SLR world. I've been playing around with the camera, but I really need to sit down, crack open my manual, and learn the ins and outs of it. I know there are a lot of great resources online to learn to use DSLRs, are there any resources you can recommend?

Travel: You probably already know how much I like to travel, heck I even created a travel gallery wall devoted to enjoying all of my vacation photos. So of course I'd love to take another vacation in 2012. We haven't made any plans about where or when yet, but I hope 2012 brings us somewhere warm and preferably beachy.

So those are my goals for 2012! I have a few projects that I'd really like to accomplish, but I've left a lot of time for myself to accomplish home projects as they come up. What are your goals for the year?

2012 Free Printable Calendar

2012-01-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

When I’m not around here blogging, I have an office job as my full time gig. At work, I constantly need to use a calendar and I like the kind that shows all 12 months on one page. I often have to plan projects a few months in advance, so it’s helpful to see the entire year all at once. I usually just print something basic, but since I’m always looking at this thing, I decided to make a calendar myself this year so it would be easy to read, but also kinda pretty. Here’s the calendar I came up with that’s now hanging at my desk at work (and no, there is no way to hide those cables- I tried!)

And here’s a close-up of the calendar (sorry for the iPhone pics). I kept the calendar simple, but used some cute colors to make it pretty. I also wanted a way to highlight holidays without making a big notation so I simply changed the color of their dates.

Want a free printable copy of this calendar? You’re in luck, you can download this printable calendar in either PDF or Word format. I included Word format in case you wanted to make any edits to it or wanted to highlight birthdays or other events on it. Nothing is required to print the calendar, just click on the link and be on your way, but if you wanted to help a girl out I’d love it if you followed me on Google Friend Connect/Blogger or Twitter in return. Enjoy and Happy 2012!

UPS My Choice Giveaway Winner

2012-01-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

Back before the holidays, I blogged about a new service called UPS My Choice. This is a new service by UPS that allows members to sign up for free and receive phone, email, or text alerts notifying you in advance of when your packages will arrive and approximate delivery time frames.

The holidays might be over, but this is a cool service for anytime of year. And I know y'all are shopping online year-round! You can sign up for UPS My Choice here.

UPS was kind enough to sponsor a gift-card giveaway and I'm happy to announce that the winner is Shellie (I have emailed you with details).

Disclosure: I received compensation from UPS in the form of a gift card to participate in this campaign promoting the UPS My Choice delivery service. In addition, UPS provided the gift card I am using as the prize in my promotion.

Apartment Guide's Helpful Tips & Giveaway Winner

2012-01-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

Now that the holidays are over, I know a lot of us are anxious to get our homes back in order. I must confess that our Christmas tree is still up, ornaments and all, as I’m never one to rush to take it down due to a mix of enjoying how it looks/smells and dreading the work to take down all of the holiday décor and put ornaments away. But once the tree does go down, I always admire how my house looks less cluttered and bigger, plus I get to play around with new ways to decorate as I put my usual decorations back up. I’ll be posting about this soon (you know, once that tree actually comes down), but in the meanwhile I wanted to bring you some helpful home decorating tips from our friends at Apartment Guide.

You probably know about Apartment Guide as a great source to find a new place to rent (they have photos, floor plans, and lots of moving tips), but over on Moving Today they have articles and resources not only if you’re moving but if you’re already moved in and looking to spruce up your place. And nothing could be more timely than their article about cleaning up after the holidays. They offer helpful tips like:

-Say Goodbye: Don’t get overly sentimental and keep decorations up too long (*cough*cough* I don’t know anyone like that *cough*cough*).
-Organize: Take time to pack decorations away nicely so they’re stored safely and easy to find next year.
-Re-Gift the Wrapping: Organize used gift boxes and bows to re-use later (I like to this one too).
-Plan Ahead: While taking decorations down, inspect items like strings of light that have gone out and fix or toss them so you won’t be hassled with it next year.
-Recycle: Find out what options your community offers to recycle live trees and wreaths.
-Clean Up: Give your place a thorough cleaning and enjoy your post-holiday look.

You can read the full article here. Of course they also have plenty of non-holiday related articles too, like tips for cleaning out your kitchen pantry, how to save money on cleaning supplies, tips for living with small closets, and tips for keeping your bathroom clean. Plus, over on the ApartmentGuide.com blog they have lots of great articles too. And of course you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Last, but not least, I also wanted to announce the winner of the $50 Amex giftcard giveaway courtesy of Apartment Guide. Congratulations goes to Laura R! I have messaged you the details. Thanks to those that entered!

I'll be sharing my holiday clean-up efforts soon. Are you already packed up and put away or are you a holiday procrastinator like me?

Full disclosure: Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “How to Decorate Your First Place” program. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “How to Decorate Your First Place” program. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-03T01:52:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012! Whew! Christmas and New Years were a whirlwind of fun, but boy am I wiped out now! I was lucky enough to have over a week and a half off of work, but between finishing gift shopping, Christmas preparations, family get togethers, New Years Eve party preparations, and New Years Eve and Day parties, I am exhausted! I wouldn’t change a thing though, I love the holidays and am fortunate I got to spend quality time with my family.

Christmas was wonderful. We had a few great family dinners, I happily gifted a few surprises, and Santa was very kind to me as well. I was surprised with the gift of a new sewing machine that I've already put to good use. My sweet hubby also surprised me with a collection of the greatest movies of all time, so you can add watching them to my 2012 to-do list. Cooking is also on my to-do list, as I got shiny stainless steel pots and pans from my family. New Years was a great deal of fun too. I threw my annual New Years Eve bash followed by a sleepy, more relaxed New Years Day leftover lunch. I loved having my family over and spending time together on a festive occasion. We served good luck foods from around the world and had 12 grapes in each of our champagne glasses at midnight so each month of the new year would be sweet. I even stayed up until 4 am. It was a grand time! Here's a glimpse of what the last two weeks looked like around here.

But now I'm back to work and back to blogging. Thanks to everyone who reads this little 'ol blog, you make me feel truly special! I am amazed by how much this blog has grown over the past year and I have my readers to thank! And can bet your bottom dollar that I'm looking forward to 2012 around here. I'll be back with my annual recap and New Years resolutions soon. I'm looking forward to more projects and blogging more often in 2012. How were your holidays? Is there anything you'd like to see more of here in the new year?

Christmas 2011: Our Tree

2011-12-24T15:51:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve! I can’t believe the big day is almost here. Presents are wrapped, dessert is baked, but I haven’t yet shared this year’s Christmas tree. You can check out part 1, my vintage inspired faux Christmas tree, and part 2 my holiday living and dining rooms, but I’ve finally taken some photos of this year’s big tree and family room to share. Here she is!

This year, I chose to put the tree to the left of our fireplace so it’s right between our kitchen and family room.

Keeping to my vintage inspired theme this year, the tree is decked out with ornaments from Christmas of yore. This year, I brought over a lot of ornaments from my childhood since my parents no longer put up a large tree like they did when we were kids. So I added a lot of wonderful and sentimental ornaments, like this fabric owl ornament:

This year we also have some vintage ornaments that were passed down to Rob which were originally from his great-grandmother.

I think the old family ornaments are so special and make our tree more meaningful. In addition to all of the real vintage ornaments, I sprinkled some vintage looking glass ones and glittery baubles.

For an added vintage feel, I added tinsel to the tree this year. We used to have tinsel on our tree when I was a kid so I really like the added touch of sparkle.

Over on the mantle, I used a tinsel garland for the vintage feel and decorated with some mini light up trees and a few more of those glittery ornaments that I love so much.

On a nearby side table, I set up a little Christmas village, another thing that I loved as a kid.

Our staircase ties matches the mantle as it’s decorated with even more glittery ornaments (can you tell how much I like them).

I also added some colorful garland that I used on the mantle as well. I think it ties everything together nicely.

And of course, my colorful glittery ornaments are a must for this year.

I’m so happy I went with a more colorful look for this year, but most of all I’m excited I was able to decorate with a lot of vintage ornaments from both of our families. Did you have a theme for your tree this year? Are you feeling more colorful this year too?

Simple Christmas Card Tips

2011-12-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

I’m about to head out to wrap up my Christmas shopping (yes, I am usually one of those last minute Christmas Eve shoppers), but I wanted to pop by here first to share a quick tip for sending holiday cards. Although these tips are really simple, they have helped me keep my Christmas card sending organized from year to year, which is always a relief given how busy this time of year gets.

First, I buy boxed holiday cards each year and usually there are a few left over in the pack. The leftover cards typically don’t end up being used because the following year I can’t remember who already received one of these cards and I don’t want to risk sending the same card to someone two years in a row. So now, as soon as I write a card I jot down the recipient's name and place the note in my box of cards. Next year, I’ll be able to see who received one of these cards already. This is also a good way to remember who I send cards to each year so I don’t accidently leave anyone out.

My other tip is also quite simple, but it’s something helpful that I don’t always remember to do. Whenever I get a card in the mail, I tear out the sender’s address to compare or add to my address book. As holiday cards come in the mail, I save all of the address clippings on my refrigerator and then make sure they are entered correctly in my address book when I sit down to send out my cards. I still like keep tracking of everyone’s addresses in a book rather than online or on the computer and this is just a helpful reminder to make sure I have everyone’s most up-to-date addresses.

So there you go, those are my quick holiday card tips that are quite simple, but can save me a headache. Do you have any quick tips for keeping things straight during the holidays?

Christmas 2011: Living Room & Dining Room

2011-12-21T19:31:00.001-05:00

I’ve finally snapped some more photos of my Christmas decorations this year. This year, I was inspired to have more colorful holiday decorations with a bit of a vintage inspired look. Earlier this week, I shared my living room Christmas tree:
I loved the glitterly ornaments from this tree so much that I used them in a few other places as well. My living room coffee table centerpieces has candles on a red charger along with a few red sparkly ornaments. Simple, but pretty!

The real vintage touch in this room are these Santa toys from my husband’s family. I’m not sure what year these are from, but they’ve been around for several decades and I think have such a fun and distinct look.

Over in the dining room, I went a bit more traditional with the décor, but still tried to keep things colorful. My dining room table centerpiece has a few Christmas cone trees along with some crystal candle holders.

Instead of candles, I popped some more of the glittery ornaments into the candleholders. I think it’s a fun look and ties together nicely with the Christmas tree in the adjoining room.

I also strung some garland along the chandelier to add to the festive look.

Here’s a shot of the entire table setting:

I also used ornaments instead of candles in some Winterberry painted glass candle holders that are displayed on a nearby ledge.

I think the glittery baubles add a fun touch and tie everything together nicely.

So that’s what’s happening in our living room and dining room these days. I’ll be sharing our family room and main Christmas tree hopefully tomorrow. What do you think of my look for this year? Have you changed up your décor for this year?

I am linking up this post at House of Hepworths.

Faux Vintage Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T04:25:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy getting ready for the holidays around here, that I haven't had the chance to share what I've been working on. Namely, my holiday decorations. I still haven't photographed everything, but here's a look at one of my Christmas trees for this year (yes "one" as in I have more than one tree this year!)

I like to change things up a little from year to year, and after two gold and red color schemes in 2009 and 2010, I decided to do something more colorful for this year's Christmas decorations. This year, I'm having a colorful, vintage inspired Christmas!

After Christmas last year, I picked up a 5-foot tree on clearance at Walmart. We always get a real tree for our family room, but I got this second faux-tree for our living room. I've always loved how pretty houses look with a decorated tree in their front window and couldn't resist putting it up. Plus, I love being greeted by it when I walk in the front door.

We saved the real vintage ornaments for our family room tree (more on that later), so this tree got decked out in what I think are vintagy looking ornaments. Really, they are just ornaments from Target that I picked up for super cheap after Christmas last year but I think their bright colors have a vintage look. I was inspired to pick them up after the colorful vintage Christmas mood board I put together last year.

Here's how the tree looks at night:

The tree's skinny little trunk is a total giveaway that this tree is a fake, so I tried to disguise it by placing a cute little animated Snoopy (a gargae sale find) and animated singing Santa (a gift) in front.

But the best under the tree decoration is my little Santa Paws, all decked out in his holiday frock:

If you read this blog regularly, you know I'm no stranger to dressing up my pooch so save the crazy dog owner comments!

So that's my faux vintage Christmas tree? What do you think, was I able to pull off the vintage vibe? I'll be sharing the rest of my colorful and vintage inspired decor later this week once I actually take some photos of it!

Reindeer Dust Recipe

2011-12-13T17:54:00.001-05:00

Any kid who is waiting for Santa Claus to come this Christmas knows the importance of preparing for the big guy. You need to leave out milk and cookies for Santa to make sure he comes to your house and leaves you some nice presents. Santa gets all of the treats, but let’s not forget about his reindeer- they’re the ones that drive Santa around and make sure he gets to your house after all. Make sure to leave out some food, also known as reindeer dust, for the reindeer this year. Here's a special recipe for Santa’s reindeer that will attract them to your house and give them a nice snack while Santa’s inside working his magic.

When I first heard of the idea of reindeer dust from a friend, I had to mix some up for my nephews. The kids sprinkle the reindeer dust on your lawn before going to bed Christmas Eve to attract Santa and his reindeer and give them something to munch on. It’s a lot of fun for the kids and they will look adorable sprinkling it around outside.

You can get creative with what goes into your reindeer dust, but here’s my recipe:

-Popcorn
-Oats
-Raisins
-Sprinkles
-Magic Dust (glitter)

Just make sure your kiddos don’t think the snack is for them to eat if you’re putting glitter in it! I mixed up a batch of the reindeer munch, put it in a zip lock bag, and attached a reindeer image that I designed (from my printable gift tags) to a square cut from a paper shopping bag. I think it makes a very cute gift!

Have you heard of reindeer dust before? What Christmas Eve traditions do you celebrate?

I'm sharing this post at House of Hepworths.

$25 Gift Card Giveaway from UPS!

2011-12-12T14:23:00.001-05:00

I’m so happy to bring you guys another giveaway today! Who wants to win a $25 American Express gift card?! UPS wants to make your holiday shopping easier this year by sponsoring this gift card giveaway and with their cool new service, UPS My Choice.

UPS My Choice is making online shopping a whole lot easier by helping consumers avoid the disappointment and hassle of missing home deliveries by providing delivery alerts, specific delivery time frames, reroute options, and electronic signature release. This way, you can focus more on the fun of online shopping and less on worrying about when your package will arrive, where it will be left, and what will happen if you’re not home to receive it. You can now schedule package deliveries around your schedule!

UPS My Choice is free to sign up for and will allow you to receive phone, email, or text alerts notifying you a day in advance of when your package will arrive and an approximate delivery time frame. You also have the option to electronically “sign” for a package or for $5 you can reroute your packages to another address or nearest UPS Store. There is also a UPS My Choice Premium membership that will also give members access to an online delivery calendar that shows the status of home deliveries, a shorter delivery window, and can provide drivers with detailed information on where to leave your package. For more information or to register, visit UPS My Choice.

Now, onto the giveaway! Here’s the scoop:

- Prize: $25 American Express Gift Card
- Enter By: Tuesday 12/20/2011 12pm EST.
- To Enter: Just leave a comment! (Remember to leave a method of contact. It can be blog/twitter/google profile/email address/or email me with your info if you don’t have those accounts and don’t want to post your email online).
- Bonus Entry 1: Sign up for UPS My Choice (basic membership is FREE and is quick to sign up for) and leave a separate comment saying you’ve done so.
- Bonus Entry 2: Follow me on Google via Blogger/Google Friend Connect or with Google Reader. Leave a separate comment saying you’ve done so. If you are already a follower, leave a comment saying so.

Good luck!

Note: I received compensation from UPS in the form of a gift card to participate in this campaign promoting the UPS My Choice delivery service. In addition, UPS provided the gift card I am using as the prize in my promotion.

2011 White House Christmas Decorations

2011-12-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

The White House is decked out in its holiday best once again this year. Each year, the First Lady picks a new theme for the holidays and the 2011 White House Christmas theme is “Shine, Give, Share” which includes a tribute to military troops, veterans, and their families.

The official White House Christmas tree, located in the Blue Room, is 18.5 feet this year.

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The Blue Room tree features holiday cards created by military children and medals, badges, and patches from all branches of the military.

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A second tree honoring the military sits in the East Landing of the White House. This tree honors Gold Star military families, ones that have lost a loved one in service. The tree features star ornaments which families inscribed with the name of their loved one.

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A total of 37 Christmas trees are part of the official 2011 White House Christmas decorations. Two large trees stand in the Grand Foyer.

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The China Room features a decorated tree and elegant table setting.

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The Red Room features two smaller trees and red wreaths.

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The Green Room features handmade tabletop trees made from recycled aluminum.

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The Library has a large tree decorated with red ornaments and a banner highlighting this year’s theme.

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The Library also features a large topiary sculpture of First Dog, Bo, crafted from plastic trash bags. This is one of the many Bo sculptures made this year.

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The East Garden Room contains the largest Bo sculpture, a 4.5 foot Bo made of 35 yards of felt which stands next to several paper Christmas trees.

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The White House even provides details and a template to make your own mini paper Christmas tree.

I think this year’s White House Christmas decorations look beautiful. I like the special tributes to the military, the handmade trees, and of course all of the Bo features. What do you think of this year’s White House décor?

DIY Sweater Pillow

2011-12-08T13:26:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing a lot of sweaters turned pillows on Pinterest and wanted to get in on the fun. I originally wanted to use a thick cable knit sweater for this project, but I realized that I had given all of my ill-fitting ones away to Goodwill recently. But I did find this old, but cute, argyle print sweater in my new Goodwill pile that is perfect for pillow making.

It no longer fit me, but my model looked pretty spectacular wearing it:

I must admit I briefly considered keeping the sweater for him, but I didn't see any country club visits planned on his calendar, so I decided to move forth with the pillow project.

I'm a total novice when it comes to sewing, so I don't feel qualified to write a full tutorial about how to make a sweater pillows, but I did put together this quick picture showing where I made cuts and where I sewed (just keep in mind, I'm no pro!).

Basically, I cut off the sleeves, stitched the top of the sweater, stitched the bottom of the sweater part-way (leaving just enough of a gap to squeeze my pillow form in), and then cut off all of the excess material. The width of the sweater was perfect for my pillow form so I didn't have to touch the sides of the sweater. Once the pillow form was in, I hand sewed the bottom of the pillow where I had left the opening.

Here's the finished project. It was pretty quick, easy, and cute!

I also added a small rosette that I made from excess fabric. I played around with a bunch of ways to make a rosette, but the only thing that really worked was rolling the fabric until something it looked nice (this must be the vaguest tutorial ever!).

I think the pillow looks festive for the holidays, but can also be kept around other times of the year. What do you think? Have you made any sweater pillows or from other upcycled materials? (I also made placemat pillows and a tea towel pillow over the summer).

I'm linking up this post to House of Hepworths.

$50 AmEx Giveaway from Apartment Guide!

2011-12-07T14:40:00.001-05:00

Who wants some extra spending money for the holidays??? The folks over at Apartment Guide have been kind enough to sponsor a $50 AmEx Gift Card Giveaway! Woohoo!

I am partnering with Apartment Guide to share some tips on how to decorate your first place. I know how challenging decorating a new home is; we moved into our first home three years ago and it is still a work in progress! But whether you’re settled in, looking for a new place, or planning a move, Apartment Guide can help to point you in the right direction.

Apartment dwellers who are looking to move, can find helpful photos, floor plans, and tips on finding the perfect apartment community at Apartment Guide. But there is plenty of information for home owners too, anyone looking for moving or home decorating tips can visit Moving Today to explore decorating styles and get decorating inspiration or check out Apartment Guide’s Blog for fun ways to explore your new city. You can also check them out on Facebook or Twitter for even more tips on making the most of your space!

I’ll be back later to share tips for decorating your first place, but in the meanwhile lets get to the giveaway!

Here’s the scoop:

- Prize: $50 American Express Gift Card
- Enter By: Friday 12/16/2011 12pm EST.
- To Enter: Just leave a comment! (Remember to leave a method of contact. It can be blog/twitter/google profile/email address/or email me with your info if you don’t have those accounts and don’t want to post your email online).
- Bonus Entry 1: Follow Apartment Guide on Twitter @AptGuide and leave a separate comment saying you’ve done so.
- Bonus Entry 2: Follow me on Google via Blogger/Google Friend Connect or with Google Reader. Leave a separate comment saying you’ve done so. If you are already a follower, leave a comment saying so.

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed.

Note: Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “How to Decorate Your First Place” program. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “How to Decorate Your First Place” program. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Pretty Penny Sign

2011-12-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

I’m excited to share a guest project for DIY December today! Reader and fellow blogger, Dacia, sent in her pretty penny snow sign to share here. Dacia blogs over at Lemon Drop Life and is a newlywed who recently moved into a new house with her hubby.

For the holidays, she bought these white letters from Joann Fabric and put her money into sprucing them up…literally!

Dacia spray painted the letters bronze and added some sparkle by gluing pennies on them!

The pennies are so clever and I think they make the letters look very festive.

Don’t they look so glitzy and fabulous now?

Dacia shares more details about this project over on her blog. While you’re there, check out all of the other awesome projects she’s worked on! Thanks for sharing, Dacia! And if you have a holiday project you’d like to share, I love to feature it as part of DIY December too- just email me!

Broken Ornament Photo Frame

2011-12-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

I’m so excited to share my first DIY December project today. If you missed it, check out my intro to DIY December here. Now onto the project!

A couple of years ago, my fully decorated Christmas tree fell down, shattering a lot of ornaments. Being one who likes to make lemonade when I’m handed lemons, I held onto the broken ornaments with the intentions of making something with them. Even broken, the ornaments were too pretty to just throw out.

I had the idea of making a mosaic picture frame with the broken ornaments and I finally got around to it this year. Spoiler alert…I love how it turned out!

I took a cheapy black photo frame and spray painted it a nice holiday gold color. I did a quick coat of spray paint and didn’t worry about making it perfect since I knew I’d be covering it up with the ornaments.

Then I started hot gluing small pieces of the broken ornaments onto the frame. At this point, I must warn you that as far as craft projects go, this is a dangerous one! With little pieces of glass ornaments everywhere, I had a to be very cautious not to cut myself. I was also very careful to clean up the project area afterwards to make sure there weren’t any tiny pieces of broken glass that slipped by me. This is definitely not a project for kids!

Back to the project- I started in the corner, gluing larger pieces onto the frame first. Since the ornaments are curved, I used a lot of hot glue to fill in gaps on their underside and get them to stick to the frame.

I kept gluing along the frame, trying to alternate the types of ornaments I was using.

Once I glued one layer of ornaments around the entire frame, I filled in the gaps between pieces with a second layer of smaller ornaments.

And here’s how the finished frame looks!

I love it! I’m so happy I was able to reuse the broken ornaments in a unique way. The texture of the frame is still a little rough, so this is a project I would keep away from kids even when finished. Even so, I’m very happy to display this frame for the holidays. I think it would make a pretty cool homemade gift too. The ornaments just look so festive, colorful, and cheerful!

What do you think? Have you found a way to reuse broken ornaments or turn other holiday mishaps into something new?

I'm sharing this project over at NewlyWoodward's Dare to Give Homemade Gifts party, House of Hepworths, and DIY Showoff.

DIY December 2011

2011-12-02T00:20:00.001-05:00

Happy DIY December! Like last year, I’m planning a month full of blog posts featuring holiday décor, crafts, and recipes. I will be sharing some of the projects I’ve been working on to get ready for the holidays, as well as some gift guides and round-ups of great projects I come across online all December long.

If you have a project you’d like to share to be featured here, please email me, I’d love to see it!

But before we jump into this year’s DIY December, here’s a look at some of the posts from last year’s DIY December 2010:

2010 Holiday Décor

2010 Decorations - Gold Christmas Branch - White Chocolate Tree

Holiday Decorating Ideas

Hanukkah Decorating - White Christmas- Beach Inspired Decorations

Creative Gift Wrap

DIY Gift Card Holders - Free Printable Gift Tags

DIY Project Ideas

DIY Christmas Ornament Ideas - DIY Homemade Gift Ideas

Holiday Gift Guides

Hostess Gift Ideas - Unique Gift for the Cook - Last Minute Gift Ideas

2010 was a busy year, but there’s even more in store for DIY December 2011!

Banana Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-28T08:06:00.000-05:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a truly wonderful Thanksgiving. I tried a few new recipes out for the day, but my sweet tooth really enjoyed the banana-nut-chocolate cookies I made later in the weekend. They are a nice, hearty cookie that I think are perfect for colder months.

I found the recipe from Martha Stewart and made a couple small substitutions based on the ingredients I had access to (I used pecans rather than walnuts and chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks). The cookies turned out delicious, but too sweet even for me, so the recipe shown below is what I’d do next time to reduce the amount of sugar. Next time, I might also try reducing the chocolate chips and adding raisins for a twist.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chunks or chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions
1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Add butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar into a separate bowl and mix with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla and mix at low speed until combined.
4. Mash banana and mix in.
5. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
5. Stir in oats, chocolate, and nuts.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop balls of dough onto baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set (cookies will still be slightly gooey when you first take them out of the oven). Cool cookies on wire racks.

Original recipe source: Martha Stewart

Did you try out any new recipes over the holiday? I’m linking this cookie up to the Dare to Eat Cookies party at NewlyWoodwards and to Tasty Tuesdays.

Thanksgiving Recipes

2011-11-17T16:54:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is only a week away? Eek! Good thing I'm not hosting or my family would be in trouble! I do like to contribute to my family's Thanksgiving table though, so I've been brainstorming some yummy Thanksgiving recipes I could make for the special day. Pinterest has come in handy for this (and of course other blogs and sites). Here are some of the recipes that I haven't tried yet, but struck me as likely to be delicous.

And if you are feeling stressed out by Thanksgiving preparations, just be happy you're not a part of this family (click on the link if you need a good laugh!)

Thanksgiving Vegetable Dishes

Balsamic Glazed Green Beans and Pearl Onions
Roasted Vegetables
Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Apples
Balsamic Honey Glazed Oven Roasted Baby Carrots

Thanksgiving Casseroles & Sides

Vegetable Orzo Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad
Sweet Potatoes with Sage Butter Crumb Topping

Thanksgiving Breads

Sweet Potato Biscuits
Artichoke Bread
Home Made Dinner Rolls
Applesauce Nut Bread

Thanksgiving Desserts

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
Apple Pear Crumble Pie

Turkey Shaped Thanksgiving Fun

Turkey Veggie Platter
Turkey Cupcakes
Turkey Cake
Turkey Fruit Salad

What are you making for Thanksgiving this year? Do you have any favorite stand-by recipes or will you be trying something new?

My Favorite Projects: October 2011

2011-11-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

It's mid-November already which makes me officially late for my monthly favorite projects recap (you can check out last month's faves here). But better late than never, right?

Here's what I was up to back in October:

Painted Sea Shell

Un-Spooky Halloween Decor

My BIG Salad Recipe

DIY Dog Halloween Costumes

And now for my some of my favorite projects that I came across the web last month:

DIY Sea Art

Sunny Chandelier Makeover found via Better After

TV Turned Dog Bed

Cinnamon Stick Candles

Aren't these projects great?! What did you cook up in October? Feel free to leave a link in the comments section with your favorite project. And am I the only one who can't believe it's mid-November already???

P.S. If you've been featured this month, or in previous months, feel free to grab a button:

DIY Home Decorating Ideas

(un)Football Playoffs

2011-11-09T10:29:00.000-05:00

Now that (un)Football Sundays have wrapped for the season, I wanted to thank the wonderful bloggers who participated. I think each of them scored a touch down with their projects! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist one last football related pun).

Check out the creativity we saw over the last 5 weeks:

Split Pea Pumpkins by Beneath My Heart

Fall Mantle by 33 Shades of Green

Candy Corn Pumpkins by NewlyWoodwards

Fall Door Pocket by Southern Hospitality

Twine Wrapped Candles by yours truly, me!

These projects sure beat watching football! Thanks again for participating, ladies!

Twine Wrapped Candles: My unFootball Sunday

2011-11-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

I’ve been having so much fun with (un)Football Sundays each week and am excited that it’s my turn to share a fall project today. If you missed any of the past projects, you can check out the projects from Traci, Alissa, Kim, and Rhoda.

I got the inspiration for my fall project from these rather plain looking candles. You have probably seen these same ones at Walmart where they sell for $1 or $2. They smell great, but there is nothing striking about their look. So I decided to spruce these babies up for fall by wrapping them in twine.

I had some twine on hand (purchased a while ago from the dollar store) and hot glued it to the bottom of the candle. I placed dots of hot glue around the bottom of the candle and wrapped the twine around, and then continued wrapping it up the sides.

I continued to place dots of hot glue sporadically around the candle and wrapped the twine tightly around it.

The candles looked better already, but I decided to give them a fun twist with some spray paint. I taped off horizontal stripes on one candle and vertical stripes on the other.

Then I got busy spray painting and donned one in white and the other in red. I think these colors go nice for the fall, but would also look nice in the summertime for a nautical look.

I’m really pleased with how these candles turned out.

Here are the candles on my living room table, next to my red painted shell.

This was such a quick and easy project and I was able to use materials that I already had on hand. I’m really enjoying this candle transformation, what do you think?