Paper Daisy Designs

Looking Ahead

2015-01-12T13:52:00.001-06:00

In lue of new projects to share today, I thought I'd peak your interest by sharing some of the blog/home goals we have for the early part of this year.

Leslie Davis, Birmingham Skyline

1. Finish that kitchen!

Seriously, this has been a long time coming, right? I've given you sneaks like this one, but even this photo is missing some key elements. We finished up a much needed organization project for the pantry this weekend. So, all that is left is the custom light fixture we designed. I must admit I'm pretty stoked about the way it looks, just trying to get the right paint finish.

2. Create a home office.

The front room across the hall from the dinning room will soon have a distinct purpose. My husband will be transitioning to a job where he will work from home. So, this room that has previously been a home for misfit furniture is going to need to function appropriately.

We've acquired a desk sort of mid-century in style, that of course is getting a makeover. I have also been tweaking the plans I initally had for the room and all that misfit furniture. The goal is to make it an attractive, yet masculine, work environment.

Here are a few inspiration photos I have collected in my Pinterest Boards.

Source Unknown

Home Decor Obsession

There aren't many spaces I could find that capture the look we are after. The room will also have a conversation area. So, for now I'll focus more on sharing the color palette and tone of the room.

3. Refresh master bedroom.

I must admit here that I've broken one of those cardinal rules of home decorating. I have neglected the space that is supposed to be our sanctuary. I think most people put off completing their master bedroom spaces.

Here's what our master bedroom looked like in our old house.

Here are a few of my inspiration pins from my Beautiful Bedrooms Pinterest Board.

Source: Laura Lee Clark Interior Design

Apartment Therapy

Source Unknown

I won't be getting rid of furniture or doing any major makeovers, just invigorating this traditional space with subtle changes so that the room feels more fresh and current.

4. Overhaul the master closets.

We are lucky enough to have "his and hers" style closets. Unfortunately, they were poorly planned for their smallish size. The lack of proper layout and usable hanging space has increasingly become an issue. It has turned me into a closet slob. We will be adding custom shelving and overall redesigning the spaces, in addition to a clever way to gain space without knocking down walls.

5. Organize and add functionality to the garage.

We obviously spend a good deal of time in our garage. We need a designated workspace, as well as, overall organization.

6. Makeover the blog.

And lastly, the blog is getting it's own makeover. It is actually in the works now. I still have some layout & technical aspects that need to be addressed, but I'm very excited to show you the new look. I think along with being a cleaner, more inviting space, moving away from Blogger will open some new functional opportunities as well.

I hope you will continue to find this to be a place of inspiration and I look forward to sharing with you how these plans and goals become a reality. Along the way we'll learn some new things and continue to create beautiful spaces without spending a fortune.

So, do you have home goals for this year? Do any of these goals resonate with you?

Cheerful Winter Mantle & Winter Scene Printable

2015-01-06T10:46:00.004-06:00

For the last few years, in the transition away from Christmas decor I've elected to style my mantle with a winter theme, as kind of a celebration of winter.

The beauty of winter was not much of a reality growing up in Louisiana, but living in the Midwest gave me a new perspective. While the winters were long and often brutal, the beauty of fresh fallen snow and icicles hanging from trees was something I never tired of.

Now, living in Alabama, it's unlikely we'll see much snow. I know my neighbors are hoping to never experience the dreaded "snowpocalypse" again. Regardless, I figured a little fake snow and my favorite winter photo were in order to carry on the tradition.

When I picked up these adorable birds on clearance at Target, I knew without a doubt I wouldn't be skipping the winter mantle this year. How can you look at these adorable, bundled-up birds and not smile?

Then, I added a collection of old books, pinecones and a few of photographs of the children in the snow.

Literally tying the whole look together is a handmade star garland from a shop in Columbia, Missouri that specializes in supporting free trade artisans.

During Christmas, I loved the look of this tray full of antique and mercury glass ornaments on the peninsula between the kitchen and living room. So, I outfitted it with a little snow and removed the blue ornaments and added my favorite candle, Capri Blue Volcano Mercury Candle. (affiliate link)

Here's to cherishing the season of winter wherever you are! And to share the celebration with you I'm sharing my photograph with you as a free printable.

Just take it to your local Staples and have it printed as an engineer print. It will cost you less than $5.

For a 16x20 version, click here to download.

For a 24x36 version like I have on my mantle, click here to download.

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

In return, I would invite you to follow me on Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribe via email, also see the bar at the top right for links.

If you'd like to know the story behind the tree and the details on this special photoshoot,

you can read about it here.

If you'd like to see the other ways I decorated my winter mantle using this photo click here.

SHARING HERE: Vintage Inspiration Party, Coastal Charm, Think & Make Thursday The Pin Junkie Party, That DIY Party, Inspire Me Monday, Work it Wednesday

Best of 2014

2015-01-01T11:28:00.003-06:00

Today, I'm recapping the best and most popular projects of 2014!

But first my friends, I must wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope you rang in the year with the people that mean the most to you. And know that I am grateful you are here and wish you and your family a happy, healthy and blessed New Year!

I'm approaching the Best of 2014 by starting off with the posts that were the most popular this year. For each entry, click on the bold heading to read the full post.

5. One Roll Transformation

I can't tell you all how much I adore this space. You have to check out how I used only one roll of very expensive wallpaper given to me from Anthropologie to brighten our basement guest bathroom.

4. Fake an Oil Painting

This is a technique I've been using for many years. I have always picked up prints and frames inexpensively and this is a great way to combine the two and create the look of an oil painting.

3. Christmas Home Tour

Who doesn't love a home tour, especially at Christmas? And a free printable never fails to bring a crowd.

2. The Power of Paint

In this post, I give a quick tour of our new home in Birmingham, Alabama to demonstrate how much paint can change the whole feel of a house. We spent our spring break helping my husband paint the entire house before we moved in!

I think what makes this post so popular on Pinterest though is the diagram I designed of the color palette for our home.

Go check out the full post to see for yourself the Power of Paint!

1. DIY Kitchen Island Cart

Our kitchen is has a U-shape work space and we felt there was an opportunity to add a small island for some storage but most importantly to me the cook, to gain a drawer for cooking utensils. This has been a life changer for the way I work in the kitchen. And because we recycled a kitchen cabinet to build this it was a fairly easy and inexpensive project. The hardest part was designing it and thankfully for you all I shared a plan on how to build your own!

And also up at the top of most popular and maybe just a few of my favorites are:

Master Bathroom Makeover, Phase 1

For just the investment in new sinks and gorgeous remnant counters, we transformed the look of this space. Definitely worth the read.

Maybe later this year we will get to the shower and tub!

Chandelier Makeover

I love this post. I think this is proof a ton of chandeliers can truly be saved!

Easy Board and Batten Mudroom Hallway

Okay, so honestly this one hasn't been up long enough to be wildly popular, but it's such a transformation. I love this space now. And I promise, this is an easy project!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the most popular post on this site.

How to Build a Sofa Table and Make New Wood Look Old

Everyone loves the look of aged wood and the end result of this technique is obviously very desirable. I think the warm, worn finish is very attractive.

I thank you again for continuing to visit me here.

I am looking forward to sharing with you all the projects I've got planned for this year. Be sure to follow along!

You can follow me on Google, Facebook, Pinterest or

subscribe via email, also see the bar at the top right.

Sharing here: Savvy Southern Style, Jenna Burger, Southern Hospitality, Think and Make Thursday Work It Wednesday

Watercolor Houses for a Long Hallway

2014-12-30T15:27:00.000-06:00

When I revealed our Board and Batten Hallway Makeover a week ago, I promised to share how I created the art that rests on the top running board.

The art, watercolors of each of the seven houses we've lived in and have called home, is very special to me. They create the perfect, harmonious gallery wall for this basement entry. Even when you've moved as much as we have, each home is filled with special memories, good times shared with neighbors, friends and family.

Creating the art was rather easy. No paint brushes required. I used an app on my iPad called Waterlogue.

The hardest part, I found, was gathering all the photos. Some were easy to track down on my computer; others were more elusive, tucked away in boxes. Some required the help of a past neighbor or even a mother to recapture the front of the house in just the right angle. Thanks Mom and Kelly!

For each house, I sent the photo to my iPad and transformed it into a watercolor. Super simple. I do have several tips to share.

Let's look at the progression from the before and after.

I found that once I lightened the original photo the app would fail to read some of the finer details that I wanted to keep. I also found in order to have an ideal blue sky, I needed to over compensate. I use Photoshop to make my edits, but there are other free or nearly free apps available that can do these simple edits fairly effectively. I've played around with You Doodle. On first glance, it looks pretty juvenile, but I used it to darken on of the roofs in one of the houses.

In the Waterlogue app, there are choices for the ways in which the app "paints" your photos.

For most of my houses, I used the Natural style of painting, the first one on the left. For a few of them I used the Color Bloom option, the last option shown on the right in the image above.

Click through for rest of the story>>

Merry Christmas

2014-12-24T10:07:00.000-06:00

Just a quick hello with the warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas!

I'm sharing one of my favorite Christmas Eve photos of our children. It speaks to the joy of the season. They were exclaiming, "Santa's Coming Tomorrow!"

May the joy of the season ever be present in your heart and the true gift of our Savior's birth bring you peace and fill you with love always.

Merry Christmas!

Easy Board and Batten Mudroom Hallway Makeover

2014-12-20T14:20:00.004-06:00

Want to transform a boring hall into a practical, useful and beautiful space?

Board and batten is the simplest answer to add charm and interest to a basic wall. In the same way crown molding adorns the ceiling of a room and chunky trim adds depth, board and batten is the classic and straightforward solution to a plain wall. Add functional hanging pegs, a place to rest, ample storage and you've created yourself a mudroom hallway.

I know you have read board and batten tutorials before, but speaking from experience, it is honestly a beginner, super easy project.

Everyone seems to have different approach to board and batten, varying not only in materials, but also size and spacing of the batten boards. I think it's a just a personal preference.

Today, I'd like to share how we completed the project.

I dare say this project was even fun! My husband and I were like little kids fighting over who would use the Ryobi AirStrike Brad Nailer.

Let's get to the how to shall we?

We decided to begin with a sheet of PureBond Plywood from Home Depot. I love that PureBond is formaldehyde-free and is a hardwood plywood.

We also used a higher grade of wood for our horizontal pieces because they tend to be straighter and have less warping.

We had the plywood cut to (2) 35" x 4 ft sections, plus the leftover, so that it would fit easily into our car. You could also have Home Depot rip all your cuts, but we chose to bring them home and cut them ourselves on our table saw.

I wanted the boards to be a little chunkier than most versions of board and batten I had seen, finally settling on 3.5" wide.

Here's what the boards looked like all cut and ready for primer. My husband, Richard, cut the boards while I was away for the weekend, but he said it went super fast. We hadn't decided on our exact plan for spacing at this point, so we ended up using only 12 of these boards.

When I returned, I primed all the boards and we got ready to assemble.

Here's a diagram of our construction of the board and batten and a description of the wood pieces we used.

I chose to use door casing as a transition board from the baseboard for two reasons. The first was simply an issue of recycling; we had some door casing in our wood pile left over from the installation of a new back door. The second was, when the trim was flipped so that the inside of the casing met the baseboard it was a similar depth. Conversely, the outside of the casing matched up perfectly with the depth of the plywood for the batten strips.

Click through for rest of the story>>

Thoughts on having an imperfect Christmas tree

2014-12-15T14:17:00.001-06:00

I shared my thoughts on how I create a memory filled Christmas tree last year, but this year I want to tell you why I wish to have an imperfect Christmas tree and maybe after you hear me out, you might want to have one too. Thank you Nester for helping us remember that "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful"every day and especially this Christmas.

Nesting Place Tour of Homes

Unfortunately, my tree looks nearly perfect. My teenage daughter even said so. And if you have a teenager you know that is a very big deal.

This declaration really makes me kind of sad. Let me explain.

If you took my Christmas Home Tour soon after it was first posted, then you might have noticed there weren't any photos of my Christmas tree. Yes, there were hints of branches in the images, but no real money shot of the tree.

At that time, I had only begun to decorate our tree. I still had big plans for a "special craft" for this year's tree and I had decorated it completely by myself.

Until this year, it was a tradition around our house to decorate the tree as a family the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year was the first time that was not to be.

We had family and friends visiting for Thanksgiving, which was so wonderful, but after they left we continued to relax and enjoyed family time, going to dinner and the movies. All good stuff.

By the time Sunday night rolled around, I reminded them, "We have to decorate the tree tonight!" Thinking to myself, "I've got a blog. I've got to get my tree up for my Christmas home tour."

Emily had a test to study for and Miles, home from college, was watching a captivating football game with my husband.

So that left me to decorate the tree on my own.

I remember thinking, as I hung ornaments in solitued, that even though they always fussed at me for moving the ornaments around after we they went to bed, I missed their randomness and their company.

I missed the laughter and stories shared as we admired our large collection of photo ornaments.

Being a scrapbooker and photo enthusiast we have a photo ornament for each child and one of the family for nearly every year.

We also collected ornaments from Hallmark that had a special meaning. The children either picked them out themsleves or we chose an ornament together that signified an activity or event that happened that year.

This wide assortment of ornaments has always given our Christmas tree a great deal of charm. Charm I wouldn't trade for a perfectly themed tree if my life depended upon it. As much as I admire a perfectly themed tree, the main tree in our house will always be the one filled with memories and love.

Each year, I do try to unify the tree with ribbon, additional glass ball ornaments and a loose theme. This year I choose to work with blue tones to match the living room and I used dried hydrangeas again. But this year they are blooms from an oak leaf hydrangea, the Alabama state wildflower.

My "special craft" project will just have to wait for next year. Sometimes you just have to let life take priority over the little things like handmade adornments for the tree.

And next year, I vow to not have a perfect tree as well. I would rather have my "big kids" help and cherish the memories of years spend together with our special tree. Honestly, I knew the day would come I'd be decorating the tree on my own; I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Cherish those little hands willing to help, they get big way too fast.

Let me know what your thoughts. Do you go "all in" with a themed tree? Or do you prefer the charm of ornaments collected over the years, handmade or otherwise? Does your family usually decorate the Christmas tree together?

Wishing you a memory filled Christmas!

If you'd like to see my Christmas Home tour, click here or on the image below.

How to Make Graphic Holiday Art with Royal Design Studio

2014-12-11T14:32:00.000-06:00

I love custom art for the home, especially with a bend toward modern design. My decorating is trending toward a more transitional style, although my dining room is still very traditional. I thought a pop of color and a bit of Moroccan flair would deck my walls for the holidays.

So when I was asked to create a DIY holiday decoration by Royal Design Studio, I knew I wanted to a graphic art piece that I could use year after year that would coordinate with the dinning room. I have used their stencils before and loved the process of creating personalized designs.

I chose the Starry Moroccan Night stencil. I love the detailed modern, graphic pattern.

Stencils are so easy, I promise anyone can do it. I promise! And because this is a wall stencil, even with the large scale of my art it was a super quick project as well.

I began by gathering my stenciling supplies on a large flat surface. It gave me a good reason to clear off my studio table.

Besides the stencil, you will need a matte board cut to the size of your frame, painters tape, paint, a fine foam roller, paint tray and a bit of scrap paper to roll off excess paint.

Like I said, I've done quite a bit of stenciling in my home and this is my best tip. Make sure you do not have too much paint on your brush or roller. Otherwise, you get a bleed through on the edges of your stencil.

Royal Design Studio Stencils are made with high quality mylar, so there is no need to apply a temporary adhesive to the stencil when working on a flat surface. I just taped the edges of my matte board and a little bit on the stencil to keep it from shifting on the table if I bumped it.

Once you cover the first section of the stencil, simply reposition the stencil using the registration elements for your particular stencil and repeat the painting process until your matte board is covered with the design.

My matte board, which I had cut at Hobby Lobby, was 30"x36". I used a coupon, so it only cost about $6. I chose to use matte board because of the larger size I needed and because I was using chalk paint. I'm sure if your frame is smaller you might be able to use a poster board.

Once you are done stenciling you want to take the time to clean your stencil. I put it in the bath tub with a little dish soap and an old dish scrubby.

The next part of the project was a little trickier to execute. I knew I wanted to use a bible verse, Mathew 2:10 and I wanted it to be in gold.

After a little trial and error I ended up having a small poster printed on glossy paper at Staples. To get the gold metallic look I was after, I traced the lettering with a gold water based Sharpie Paint pen.

When I set up my art, I only applied a stroke the the letters. I chose a light brown color to blend in with the gold, but if you were doing it in silver metallic you might choose a light grey.

If you don't feel very confident in your tracing skills I would use a finer point Sharpie. It think you would have more control than with the medium point.

The technique to I used to apply the gold, was to outline one side of the letter and then fill in where the pen didn't cover. Sometimes I had to go over the letter more than once, but I wanted to avoid too much paint coming out of the marker.

After letting it dry, I adhered it to my stenciled matte board. I got lucky because my Staples gave me 2 copies of my poster. I'm happy they did and would advise you to get two copies as well, for two reasons. One, in case you make a mistake in your tracing you've got a backup and the other one you will want to use as a second layer to mount behind the first. I could see the stencil design through the poster. I wasn't expecting that. I used a heavier duty craft tape to mount them to the matte board one on top of the other.

I thought I'd share this tip in case it's helpful. When I'm recycling a frame for another project, I often replace the glazing points. You can pick these up at any craft store in the framing department. This style much easier to use than older ones I've found that have to be bent back and forth.

These can be pushed into the wood frame with a flat head screw driver and removed easily as well.

I couldn't be more happy with the result.

I love this stencil so much I'm dreaming about wall application somewhere else in the house or maybe making some wrapping paper. The stencil is so large it would go rather quickly.

Do you like to create custom art for your home? Have you used a stencil for a craft project before? Share in the comments. I'd love to hear about your adventures.

For this post, I was gifted a stencil of my choice by Royal Design Studio. All opinions and other designs are my own.

Christmas Home Tour 2014

2014-12-08T00:05:00.002-06:00

Welcome to my Christmas Home Tour! Last year was an exciting time to share my holiday home but little did I know that would be the last tour from Missouri! We are now nestled up on a hill, a steep one mind you, in Alabama.

I'll be sharing my tour at Jennifer Rizzo's Holiday House Walk. If you would like to peer into some beautifully decorated Christmas homes, then this inspirational linky party is for you! Click on the image below to join the House Walk.

Welcome, y'all come on in. There's plenty to see. I'd make you a warm chai tea latte if you were here.

I noticed on our second walk through of this house during the house hunting trip that I'd still have plenty of bannister to hang all of my holiday garland. Yes, I love Christmas decorating that much.

I had a new design planned for our Christmas tree this year so decided to hang the chalkboard "Joy to the World" banner here this year instead of the tree. I've had this quality garland for several years, now and I add sprays to the places where I tie it up to give it extra fullness.

The dinning room table is adorned with a mixture of fresh greens used throughout the house, magnolia leaves, holly sprigs, Leland cypress cuttings from my yard and free Christmas tree cuttings from Home Depot. Home improvement stores generally give away the cuttings from the bottom of the trees for free. Just make a point to go in the evening before they recycle them. Try to get a variety of sizes of branches and types of trees.

Around the outside our house we have an interesting variety of plants and trees, but the front garden beds are filled with numerous holly bushes, several different varieties in fact. It wasn't until a question popped up in my bible study this fall, that I learned that my name, Leslie, means garden of holy. After I discovered this little fact, I have to believe this is the home God intended us to live in and gratefully we plan to do so for a very long time!

The dinning room is just a bit beachy. I combined the southern elements, magnolia leaves and cotton sprigs to compliment.

On the buffet, my slightly tacky tinsel tree and a collection of memorable photos of the children from a Christmas Eve past and photos with Santa shine.

While my tinsel tree lacks the vintage charm of an antique version, with lights and ornaments, it shimmers with undeniable iridescent light.

I love filling my holiday home with moments that bring back the joy of Christmas past. While our children are teenagers and we are still making memories, I get very nostalgic this time of year.

Through the arched opening and into the kitchen you will see the open shelves have been adorned with the mixture of fresh greens and festive snow scene.

I'm obviously totally embracing my return to the south and was inspired to create a magnolia wreath for the kitchen window. I love the subtle texture of my modern interpretation of the traditional magnolia wreath.

The holiday dishes come out of the cupboards now and are conveniently displayed on the kitchen island cart we built for the center of the kitchen.

I was looking for a new way to display our Christmas cards this year, wracking my brain on how I could go vertical somewhere in the kitchen.

Then I remembered this old house post the previous own left in the master bathroom. While it was an interesting approach to a towel rack, it didn't quite work for us. But as a way to display Christmas cards, I think it's clever. Festive mini clothes pins secure each card to twine tied around the post. Topping the post with Christmas greens and a bow finish off the festive look.

In the living room, the chalkboard mantle sings "O Holy Night" through the returning printable from last year. I still love it and with my computer crashing last week, there was no hope of creating something new.

You can still download your own version of the printable in two sizes here.

This is the first time I've displayed antlers in my home, but I thought Christmas was an appropriate time to do so.

Next to our Christmas tree is our Christmas village.

It is a bit unconventional, but I adore it.

You see, Legos were a huge part our children's lives. Living in Missouri during the cold winter days and hot summers, much of their time was spent sprawled across the floor in the game room constantly changing and building new creations for their Lego City.

When they decided they were too old to play with Legos and were ready to pack them away, I must admit I had a stroke of genius. I asked them build me a Christmas village. I figured all the money we invested in Legos should be put to good use, but most importantly having a Christmas village filled with familiar scenes brings back fantastic memories.

Truth be told, I think they look forward to setting it up for me each year and that just makes me smile.

Every year at Christmas time, we would pull out our collection of Christmas and holiday story books. The little piles of books around the house are a nod to those treasured times.

The last stop on our Holiday Tour is the screened porch.

I was so thankful to find this chalkboard as I unpacked the Christmas decorations. I had used it on the front porch last year. Surprisingly, even after being shoved in a box by the movers, it had only a few smears that were easily fixed! It's a nod to our Louisiana heritage where just about everyone is a Breaux or Boudreaux and people are born in places like Thibodaux. Ha, Ha!

If you'd like read more about my perfectly decorated tree and why I'd rather it not be so perfect, click here. It's a post inspired by Nesting Place.

Thank you for taking a tour of my Christmas Home. As always, I hope you were inspired to try something new your home. I wish you a wonderful Christmas Season and may the joy of Christmas be with you all year too!

I would also be thrilled if you would follow me in my journey to creatively decorate and renovate our home on a budget. It is definitely still a work in progress, there is always something new to do and discover here.

Menu Plan Monday

2014-12-07T22:03:00.002-06:00

Hope you had a fantastic week! I still don't have my Mac back yet, so I'm coming to you from Richard's pc laptop. I finally caved in to using a pc so I could post. I missed y'all that much!

This week I'm repeating a few of the items from the last menu plan as we went out to eat, twice! It was a welcome break with Christmas preparations abounding.

Monday: Roasted Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

Julia's Album

Thursday: Chili

I'm still tweaking my recipe, but this one is similar in a few ways. Going to make some adaptions to this one from Pioneer Woman.

Friday:Leftovers

Saturday: Christmas Party; Leftovers

Sunday: Chicken Taquitos

I've actually never tried making these before. I've found this recipe to start with but I'll likely explore other options before I get rolling.

Updates around here:

I've been spreading Christmas cheer around the house. I'll be sharing my Christmas Home Tour Monday morning. (Which is why this is going up early.) Be sure to check back and see what's kept me busy this past week.

You'll even get to a good look at the kitchen. I'm still planning to do a big reveal with sources and complete details, but it will likely be after the first of the year. I've got a lot planned between now and Christmas!

Menu Plan Monday

2014-12-01T14:24:00.006-06:00

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. We were happy to host some of our family in our new home. Despite not locating our turkey fryer and an impromptu baked turkey, all was delicious and throughly enjoyed.

The only sad news to report is that my hard drive did indeed crash last week. Praying that my photos can be saved. Make you backups my friends!!! Needless to say, that leaves me making do on the iPad.

Let's get to Menu Plan Monday.

Monday: Shepherd's Pie

We still have some leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving to make this an easy meal.

Tuesday: Leftovers

I used my leftover turkey to make Turkey and Sausage Gumbo. (If I had my computer, you'd see a lovely photo of the gumbo and likely the recipe.)

Wednesday: Bacon & Cheddar Grits Quiche

I saw this on Pinterest and breakfast for dinner is something we like to do every once in a while.

Thursday: Roasted Chicken

Made this a few weeks ago and everyone loved it.

Friday: Lasagna Rolls

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Chicken Mozzerella Pasta with Sundried tomatoes

Other Updates: I've been working on cauking and spackling today and hope to reveal the mudroom makeover this week. Will likely be the end of the week. Hopefully I'll be fully functional by then.

Menu Plan Monday, Thanksgiving Week

2014-11-24T20:17:00.001-06:00

Oh gosh, y'all I hope you are having a great Monday. Mine was going fine despite a super sluggish computer this morning. I had to abandon it to get some projects done and when I finally made it back this evening I think it's truly dead. Hopefully not, but it is not cooperating at all, even tried reinstalling the system and that wouldn't complete.

So, I'm limping along here on my iPad. I don't really like writing my posts from here. It's just not as fluid. But I'll give it a go because I hate not to be here.

Here's a look at this week's Menu Chalkboard.

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie

Since it's after dinner, I can report that this was pretty good. I actually used the Pillsbury Gluten Free Crust and while it wasn't what I'd call flaky, it was crispy and quite tasty in it's own way.

I wanted to try this crust out before the big Thanksgiving day to see if this crust could past the mustard for my Crunchy Caramel Applie Pie. (I'll have to share this recipe next week.) I think there are so many other stars in this pie that the crust is really just a facilitator and I think this Pillsbury Crust will do just fine.

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wedensday: Shrimp and Sausage Pasta

Miles and the rest of our company should be here, so we'll enjoy this favorite.

Thursday: I was going to make a pretty menu card to share here, but obviously that didn't happen. I'll just have to do a recap or come back and update when my computer is back.

Friday: Leftovers, I don't know about y'all but I love Thanksgiving leftovers.

Saturday: Turkey and Sausage Gumbo

I basically use my Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe but use the turkey carcass to make a stock and debone what's left. It's always a great treat.

Sunday: Special request or Leftovers

Emily asked me what the Special Request meant at dinner tonight. I told her it was for Miles to decide when he gets home from college, but then my husband pointed out that he may need to get back before dinner. That made me very sad, so maybe it will just be leftovers. Hrmmph.

Around here: I was gone all weekend joining many of my family in Maryland to celebrate my Dad and Step mom's 25th Wedding Anniversary and Renewal Ceremony. It was a beautiful event and I was happy to share it with them.

Richard worked on his "honey do" list while I was gone, helping us get a jump start on a new project in the mudroom hallway in the basement. He also finished installing the three extra can lights in the ceiling to almost wrap up the kitchen.

I primed the wood for the mudroom project today so hopefully we can get them nailed up tomorrow. I'm not sure we will get it done in time to do a big reveal this week, but maybe. Oh and then there's that darn computer!

If I don't make it back, I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving, shared with the ones you love the most.

A Dry Creek Bed, for beauty and drainage

2014-11-19T21:30:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in the Hillside Landscape post, our backyard consists of a small flat area near the house and a cleared hillside that continues up into a wooded area.

Once we moved and settled into our home, we realized that the hill was actually one large Alabama sandstone rock loosely covered with a combination of weeds and grass. The dirt layer over the rock varied from a foot or so deep, to just several inches in some areas.

Ultimately our solution, after considering many options, was to uncover the rock and embrace what God planted in our backyard–a beautiful sandstone hill.

We added some attractive evergreens and ornamental plants from the Southern Living Plant Collection to surround the area and eventually create a visual link between the area below the fence and the wooded area above.

The one red flag that arose in this project of removing the grass and dirt from the rock was confirmed by a drainage expert. He warned that once the grass was removed the water would flow extremely fast down the hill and could potentially cause water issues with the house below. He suggested a major creek bed several feet deep and several feet wide. The expense and implausibility that heavy machinery could get into our backyard kept his proposal from going forward.

Armed with expert information we opted to build a smaller dry creek bed, taking fate into our own hands and saving ourselves a major hit financially. We had some peace of mind that any excessive overflow would be captured by an existing French drain closer to the house.

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Menu Plan Monday

2014-11-17T10:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday friends! Hope you had a great weekend. Busy week ahead of us so let's get to Menu Plan Monday.

Here's a look at this week's menu chalkboard.

Monday: Alice Springs Chicken

A household favorite around our table. Mushrooms aren't popular here, but I like that I can add them to my piece of chicken and we can all be happy.

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Pizza

Thursday: Leslie's BBQ Chicken Rub

The weather is predicted to be warmer and looking forward to some grillin'!

Friday: Teriyaki Chicken

New crock pot recipe to try.

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Chicken Chili

Project Updates
We made some progress on our lighting makeover of the kitchen. (I use the term "we" very loosely.) I still have some work to do on the light fixture I'm making.

We've got one more big project to get done before Thanksgiving. We've got it all planned and hopefully execution will go smoothly!

Have a great week!

Thrifty Art: Fake an Oil Painting

2014-11-14T18:39:00.002-06:00

Finding unique and inexpensive art can be a challenge when you are decorating on a budget. Every good budget decorator knows that thrift stores are filled with all manner of cheap art and frames. Sometimes I find a piece of vintage art I love, but find the frame is just hideous. Other times I buy art solely to take home a gorgeous frame at a great price. Today I'm sharing my little secret for getting an oil painting for less.

My latest thrift store makeover is this piece of art sitting on the open shelves in my kitchen.

I love the warmer earthy tones it adds to cooler vibe of the kitchen. And you'd think it's an oil painting wouldn't you?

Well, it's not. It's really just a Mod Podge facade on print and an inexpensive canvas board.

I had originally discarded the print and used the frame for another project. Recently, as I was going through my frame stash, I ran across this print and with fresh eyes I saw potential. I purchased a new frame and gave the print a faux oil painting makeover.

See all that gorgeous detail? That was created simply and easily with Mod Podge and a little ingenuity.

Here's what you will need:
   • Print or piece of art
   • Mod Podge- Matte Finish
   • Paint brush or brushes
   • Canvas, the size of you print or a piece of foam core

Steps:

1. Begin by applying a nice coat of Mod Podge to the back of your print.

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Thank you.

2014-11-11T09:52:00.000-06:00

For your sacrafice, for your bravery, for your dedication to our nation. For preserving the liberty and freedom of our land, for your service far and wide and near to home. May the peace and grace of our Lord always go with you.Thank you.

I'll be back tomorrow with a full post.

Menu Plan Monday

2014-11-10T08:47:00.004-06:00

Happy fall and Happy Monday! It definitely looks like fall around Birmingham. I took this close-up shot of some maple leaves on a walk last week.

Let's get to it. Menu Plan Monday.

I must confess that while obviously I planned my menu last week, I still ended up going to the grocery store a few too many times. This week I will review my recipes closer before heading to the store and will plan to go only twice. I promise!

Monday: Shrimp and Sundried Tomato Risotto

We ended up not having this last week, because we went out to eat unexpectedly. The good news is I did find a good price on Gulf Shrimp, at Costco's no less. I'll let you know what I think of the quality. I'm not sharing the recipe you see because I didn't write down how I prepared the shrimp for the top. I can tell you it was amazing and simple.

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Oven Tacos

Thursday: Chicken Parmesan

Here's my plan on this one. I'll use the chicken tender recipe we thought was top notch a few weeks ago and then top it with an organic tomato sauce and Italian cheeses after the tenders are nearly baked. I'll serve with regular pasta or spaghetti squash.

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Chicken Picatta Pasta

Source: The Pampered Chef

Nice simple meal that is surprisingly tasty. Gluten free versions of spaghetti work fine here too.

Sunday: Mediterranean Lentil and Sausage Soup

Oh, my how we love this hearty soup!! You will not regret making a pot on a cold night. I promise!

Update Around Here
I scratched a few small projects off the mighty long list I've got going. That felt good. What about you, did you get to any projects this weekend?

Have a great week everybody!

Fall Home Tour

2014-11-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my little fall home tour. Maybe it's more a collection of fall vignettes than a home tour, but after I got my Thanksgiving mantle finished, I realized the other little bits of fall around the house that were worthy of sharing. I totally subscribe to the notion that your home is meant to be shared with family and friends alike. And that means you!

I had to rethink my front entry decorating because this house has no covered porch. But what it lacks in overhang it makes up for in steps! I can see myself really letting loose one year lining the several dozen steps with pumpkins and mums!

Having recently moved to our home in Alabama, you can imagine I was thrilled to discover that we still get to admire little bits of fall color here in the south.

I love the traditional look of mums and pumpkins. To me, it's not fall until they both make an appearance. For variety, I also added a pot of red lettuce, cabbage, pansies and violas. They should provide a bright spot all winter long.

Let's move inside now. Simple touches like ceramic pumpkins and preserved leaves greet you, speaking to the season without being overly decorated.

And here's a look into the living room mantle with the Thanksgiving chalkboard printable. Scroll down to the bottom for the links!

I picked up the cotton bunches at The Chapel Market a few weeks ago and some plopped some feathers into copper pitcher I found at a garage sale. They add a warm, yet trendy touch to the mantle scape.

Because I haven't shared many photos of the living room, here's a wider shot. The back of our property is mostly one large slope that leads up to a wooded area, so we get to enjoy the full view of our newly landscaped rocky hillside without the need for privacy or drapes.

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Thanksgiving Printable; Philippians 4:6

2014-11-05T22:06:00.002-06:00

I don't know about y'all, but I'm still in love with chalkboard designs. And let's face it, Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that can be hard to decorate beyond bright leaves, pumpkins and pine cones.

The retailers have us moving so swiftly from Halloween to Christmas these days, I've often experienced all manner of Thanksgiving decor disappearing before I could even think turkey.

But more than anything, I want our family to be especially thankful for our blessings and remember how faithful our God is. We don't have to have a life filled with worry. God hears our prayers in every situation, in every season. I think Philippians 4:6 is the perfect memory verse and if I could have had a billboard sized mantle art, I would have added verse 7 too.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Click here to see Full Fall Home Tour

The print on my mantle is 18x24 and cost me less than $2. It's an engineer print from Staples. Gotta love that right? I simply uploaded my file to Staples.com and picked up my engineer print in a couple hours.

The one thing I learned from creating a large scale printable last year, is that an engineer print isn't designed to handle grey scale art. So in order for the printable look most like a chalkboard, the background has to be printed in solid black.

After cutting off the white border, I simply added my own authentic chalkboard look with real chalk! I shaded in the banner shadow.

And rubbed the side of a piece of chalk all over the black paper. I then took a paper towel to soften the smears. I added a bit of extra chalk around the edges where a chalkboard tends to be most chalky.

My chalkboard print goes on top of an existing chalkboard, made from a piece of foam core painted with chalkboard paint and then stuck into a frame. I just apply a few squares of two sided adhesive to the foam core and smooth on the engineer print.

I can still write on the board later or change out the design for last year's Christmas chalkboard.

I created several sizes for you as a THANK YOU for reading, following and commenting on my blog. Please feel free to enjoy for your own personal use.

But, I would love for you to do me a favor and choose your favorite media to follow my blog. I've put the Pinterest linky below. Or you can use the little squares just under the end of the post on the left.

Visit Paper Daisy Designs's profile on Pinterest.

For an 18x24 click here for the download.

For a 16x20 click here for the download. For this file you will still order an 18x24 and then cut it down to size.

For an 8x10 click here for download. This one can be printed on a standard printer and will already have a nice chalky background.

Thank you and have a blessed Thanksgiving! I invite you into my home for the full Fall Home Tour 2014.

Menu Plan Monday

2014-11-03T20:11:00.000-06:00

Menu Plan Monday is here! I refuse to let computer troubles get me down on this Monday. I apologize for the delay.

From a persnickety iPhoto library, to a mouse that didn't want to scroll and then throw in an irrigation repair, a trip to get groceries and a furniture specialist to fix the gouges left by the movers on the stairs and there went my day!

And of course I cooked dinner. So let's see what's in store for this week.

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie

Sadly, this was not so great. I'm working on my gluten free crust skills in preparation for Thanksgiving. I really want to have a piece of my apple pie, crust included!

I followed this recipe from the book I mentioned previously, Gluten Free Baking by Michael McCamley. I can tell you what went wrong. The directions say to, "Add a little water." Really? How much I ask you? Some starting measurement like, "Add a tablespoon of water until..." would have been nice. I have no frame of reference for how a gluten free pie crust should feel. After chilling in the fridge for 30 minutes and then rolling it out I realized it was too dry. So I scrapped the pie idea and grabbed my ramekins. I topped each scoop of Chicken Pot Pie filling with a pie crust crumble and brushed butter on for good measure, even that didn't rescue the failed crust. It was edible, but not the delectable crust I was hoping for.

Tuesday: Leftovers, or since dinner didn't turn out, maybe we'll order pizza.

Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognese

From Simply-delicious-food.com

Emily sent me this link as her suggestion for the week via Pinterest. I might use this one, or I have this amazingly beautiful cookbook, Coming Home to Sicily: Seasonal Harvests and Cooking from Case Vecchie I haven't actually cooked anything from this book yet, but the story and the photos are stunning but I think there's a recipe for Bolognese in there.

Thursday: Pizza Supreme Soup

Now, this one is tried and true and is so very good! Like pizza in a warm bowl!!

Friday: White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Did you know that this is my most popular recipe on Paper Daisy Kitchen? Well, it is and it is worthy of the praise. If I say so myself.

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Sundried Tomato Risotto

Okay, so this one got a new photo and the recipe got an amazing tweak that takes it to a new level of deliciousness. The last time I made this without the chicken and served it with some sautéed shrimp. It was fantastic. If shrimp are still on sale later in the week, we'll have shrimp again. If not it will be the chicken version.

Recipe updates:

I've added the recipe for Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo, gluten free. Y'all this was so good. Even my friends who were in town were like, "This is gluten free? This is excellent!"

That recipe for Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes from last week? Not so good. I'l try another version of crock pot potatoes next time. I definitely deleted that Pin! I was wondering how red potatoes would taste mashed. I'll just stick to russets from now on.

I think I need to go back and add a disclaimer after the week is up if the recipes were bad, don't you think?

Project Updates:

In the kitchen, we're making progress on those little touches, but we've decided we can't ignore the lighting issues. The kitchen only has 4 recessed lights, with one additional light over the sink. We've compensated by hanging a 12 light chandelier over the table, but I'd like to install a new fixture. So, in order to have proper light and a cool new fixture we need to see if we can add extra lights and not tear up the bead board ceiling and hire an electrician.

One more thing I have to share. Emily came up with this brilliant Halloween costume for our golden doodle, Tucker this year.

How do you like our DIY Dog? Did you have a fun Halloween night?

Have a great week my friends!

Hillside Landscape Makeover with Southern Living Plant Collection

2014-10-29T12:24:00.000-05:00

One big question we had when we considered purchasing this home was "What do we do with that rocky hillside?" While most perspective buyers obviously looked at this backyard and the steep driveway and ran away, we figured we would come up with a solution to tame this sloping yard.

After milling over landscape options, from retaining walls (too difficult to get materials up the side of the house) to waterfalls (too costly and again there was the materials problem), in the end we came up with a cost effective, yet attractive solution. We decided to just embrace our Alabama sandstone covered backyard and create a beautiful, naturalized landscape.

With the help of the exceptional plants from Southern Living Plant Collection, we selected mostly evergreens that will insure a lush, green hillside year round.

To truly appreciate the transformation, you have to see what it looked like before.

When we first moved in, the patches of rock you see were still covered with "grass". We quickly discovered it was a nightmare to cut with a mower given the degree of the slope and the shear amount of rocks that seemed to just pop up out of the ground. After one grass cutting adventure, my husband, Richard, took a shovel to the areas where rock was peeking out. That's when he realized that our backyard was actually one expansive piece of sandstone covered with topsoil.

After looking at those unearthed patches of rock for several months completely perplexed, but still trying to revive the grass, it finally hit me that the rock underneath had to be more attractive than what we were seeing. Richard eagerly embraced the idea of ending the acrobatic moves to cut the grass. The only reservations we had about the whole project was the drainage issue. Following some discussion and research, we settled on adding a dry creek bed to supplement the existing french drains.

Once we were ready to begin our project, I spray painted an organic shape to reveal and we started to dig out the rock.

While it was several afternoons of hard work removing the rocky soil and grass, the more we uncovered the more excited we became.

To help secure the soil at the top of the rock, I gathered the rocks we excavated from the dig and stacked them along the edge. While it looks fairly random, I carefully selected rocks so that they fit together tightly.

As I mentioned, the one concern we had with the Uncover the Rock project was how to control the drainage. We knew that rainwater would come off the rock much faster with the soil removed and felt the need to create a diversion for this swiftly moving water. A dry creek bed that would divert the water to a drain at the far side of the yard and away from the house as well as provide some visual movement across the yard. I'll have a full tutorial on how we built the creek bed in another post.

After a couple sore nights, we were ready to start planning the actual garden around the rock. I began by sketching out a little plan over a photo I took on my iPad.

Click through for rest of the story>>

The Chapel Market Recap

2014-10-27T22:52:00.003-05:00

One of the events I added to my must-do list after I found out we were moving to Birmingham was to attend the Chapel Market in Pike Road, Alabama.

It was not too far of a drive, about 2 hours, but it was a fantastic day trip! Made especially perfect given my companions for the day. My best friend Dana, her daughter and my daughter, Emily joined us for this lovely fall day of shopping.

Emily and I started perusing the outside tent while we waited for our friends to arrive.

It didn't take long for me to find a familiar face. The owner of Southern Accents, Garlan, was there with his perfectly curated architectural antiques.

He's so kind. When my daughter went to take the photograph of us, in true teenage fashion she felt obliged to tell me I looked short so Garlan squatted down. What a good southern gentleman.

I loved all the cool salvaged pieces in his booth, but I swooned over these two. Unfortunately, my master bedroom is a little too formal to pull off this look, or I'd have snatched these up.

I find when I have the time, it's always best to loop back around in settings like this. I have often found the perfect treasure on a second pass. That was certainly the case here.

One of the other booths I was sure to make a second trip to was Coastal Charm. I also got to meet Linda later when I made a purchase.

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Menu Plan Monday

2014-10-27T10:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween, Friends! I can't believe Friday is Halloween. I didn't do much decorating for Halloween this year, choosing to focus on fall decor with family coming for Thanksgiving.

We are looking forward to passing out candy and our traditional Halloween dinner. Does your family have a Halloween meal traditon? We do. It's probably the only time of the year we have this food.

Let's take a look at this week's Menu Plan Monday Chalkboard.

Monday: Salisbury Steak and Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

The Domestic Man

I've made this recipe before and we all enjoyed it. I'll be doubling the Sailsbury Steak recipe so we can have leftovers, as Tuesday is my bible study day.

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Herb Roasted Chicken

From the Pioneer Woman

I usually make this Sticky Chicken Recipe when I roast chicken, but I think I've made this before a long time ago. I still have rosemary and thyme growing so I'll have fresh herbs on hand. Probably will skip the sage.

Thursday: Black Bean and Lentil Chili

Taste Love & Nourish

I saw this recipe last week on Pinterest and quickly added it to my Yummy board. I think it looks like a delicious hearty soup. I can't decide if I'm going to add meat to the dish or not. I bet Richard would like it better if I did. He's that kind of guy.

Friday, Halloween: Hot Dogs, maybe Corn Dogs

We pick this day every year to enjoy the all American Hot Dog. I only buy Hebrew National brand now. I love that it is made with all natural ingredients and they are definitely the most tasty hot dog I've ever had.

I might be starting a new tradition given our gluten free eating. I didn't see any gluten free hot dog buns on my run to the grocery store today. I did have an ah, ha moment in the freezer section though. What if I took my recipe for Gluten Free Cornbread and made corn dogs?

Saturday: BBQ Ranch Grilled Chicken

Plain Chicken

I like the idea of this one. I'll take some of my BBQ Chicken Rub and add some Penzey's ranch dressing mix. How can you go wrong with those flavors?

Sunday: Lime Marinated Chicken Quesadillas

If you've been around Menu Plan Monday much you know that most of the time, when I fire up the grill, I'm cooking more than one recipe. So I'll grill my Lime Chicken and have use my prep time on Sunday for trying my hand at makeing gluten free tortillas.

Hope you have a great week! I'll be back later today for The Chapel Market Recap. What a fantastic day! I need to reboot my computer, it's running super slow this morning and I really need to go for a run. I've been indulging in a little more candy corn than I should.

Target Agate Coasters Up-cycle

2014-10-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm sharing a little crafty project. This is an easy up-cycle of the Target Threshold Glass Agate coasters, creating more realistic version with a touch of gold!

I have on other occasions crushed over the Target Threshold line. I love the way the brand approaches the decorative items. From a variety of price points, they can offer what's hip and hot in interiors.

Of course I would take note at the end cap with a collection of Agate inspired accessories. I showed much restraint until recently when I noticed this coaster set with that familiar orange clearance tag.

I appreciated the transparent quality of the glass coasters, but thought with just a little manipulation they could look much more realistic. I also didn't like they way the looked on a dark surface, kind of flat and lost their oomph!

I was also hoping to make them a little less green to coordinate better with my home. And of course a touch of gold never hurt.

I started by doing some research on what real agate looks like and chose a blue variety that I thought would work with my other accessories in the room.

In the photos of the real deal, I noticed the sparkly light grey, almost white centers. So that's where I started with my transformation.

Other than the coasters, this is what you will need to make your own.

Start by removing the 3 rubber pads from the back of each coaster. I removed the residue with Goo Gone, but I'm not sure it's necessary.

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Menu Plan Monday & Update

2014-10-20T13:43:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but after this beautiful weekend Monday feels pretty good too. We are finally getting to a point in a our renovations we could take a day, to just enjoy the area and perfect early fall weather.

So let's got to Menu Plan Monday and then I'll chat some more about the weekend.

Here's a look at this week's menu chalkboard.

Monday: Bacon Burgers

Making a reappearance on the menu this week because I planned too much food. Still not used to one less mouth to feed with Miles away at college.

Tuesday: Zuppa Toscana

Annie Eats

I love this soup and have been making it almost exactly as written by Annie Eats for years. With the fresh fall air all around us, soup will be making a big return to the menu plan now.

Wednesday: Italian Casserole aka Better than Lasagna

We love this dish and it can be very simple to make with pre-made sauce or if you are feeling like your inner Barefoot Contessa is trying to burst forth, make you own. I often freeze leftovers of my Authentic Italian Meatsauce for the sole purpose of making this dish.

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Tuna Cakes

I can't find my recipe right now. The link I had on Pinterest is now blocked. I'll get back to you on this one! Hopefully I've saved it somewhere else.

Saturday: Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Using my basic gluten free gumbo recipe and replacing the chicken with shrimp. Oh, I can't tell you how good it is to have access to fresh gulf shrimp again!

Sunday: Leftovers

Recipe Feedback:

We all agreed that the Crispy chicken fingers recipe by Yammie's GlutenFreedom was a hit. I prepared it exactly as described, shocking right? The only thing I would do differently is make more crumb mixture and maybe add a bit of the rice flour she mentioned. (Continued.)

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