This particular TGIDIYFriday craft comes with a  FREE, downloadable love banner for you to hang in your home. Heck yes! For the full DIY tutorial, you can find me over at hi, friend today -  I’m giving you the skinny on how to create this fabulous banner with only a few supplies.

Every home deserves a little love, dontcha think?

Get your FREE download, break out some hot pink paper, and get your XO banner on. Happy crafting!

P.S. Find last year’s Valentine’s Day DIY gift tags here!

I’ve bought and sold countless items on this lovely site, and along the way, I learned a thing or two. Here are a few of my Craigslist tips I’ve learned over the years..

10 TIPS FOR SELLING ON CRAIGSLIST

1.) Use ALL CAPS in the headline. It grabs people’s attention when they are looking through listings.

2.) Price the item fairly. What’s the first thing you look at when you see something that catches your eye? The price. So make it reasonable and people will look at your ad a bit closer.

3.) Describe the item’s color, condition and style. Is it cherry or dark walnut wood? Is the item in excellent, good, fair or poor shape? Is it an antique or a mid-century modern piece? I also always add that the piece is from a smoke-free, pet-free and clean home. Never hurts to share that the piece has been well-maintained.

4.) Give dimensions. Measure the item’s width, height, and depth. Potential buyer’s can measure the space they are hoping to fill and this prevents someone from thinking the item was much larger or smaller than it really is in real-life. Photos can lie when it comes to scale.

5.) Take legit photos and post 3-4 of them. The buyer wants to SEE the piece. They want to see close-ups and images of anything unique or different. In short, photos are worth a million words.

6.) It’s always easier when someone else hauls away your junk. Denote that in your post – UHAUL.

7.) Only take cash. Denote that in the post and their will be no surprises when the piece is picked-up.

8.) Have a buddy. When someone comes to take a peek at the piece you are selling, do not be alone. End of story. You never know what might happen and it’s just a good idea to have a partner in crime. There are no exceptions to this rule.

9.) When the potential buyer comes over, put the piece close to the door if possible. There’s no need to take them on a house tour and convenience sells.

10.) Count your money. We’ve had people give us folded cash and by the time we got around to count it, they shorted us by a few $20 bills. Lesson learned – count your cash!

Here’s a sample ad I recently posted…

Some of these tips might be no-brainers, but I thought since I was making a list, I might as well include them all.

Do you guys have any great Craigslist stories? Any killer finds? Any tips of your own that I may have missed? Do share!

Us Oregonians need a little life in our homes during these cold and dreary January days. Every time I look out the window, I see grey skies. It’s certainly not good for one soul’s (or complexion – I’m as white as a ghost) so this weekend I tried to bring a little life into our home. I picked up some beautiful white hydrangeas in hopes of making a very simple, yet cheerful winter tablescape. There’s something about the color white that freshens a room and brightens up spirits. To keep it simple, I just bought three large flowers, kept my clear-glasses-turned-candle-holders from my holiday tablescape and BAM! A simple winter table was born…

Or, I could have just kept them on the mantel too…

It’s amazing what three fresh flowers can do to a room. Let the spring countdown begin!

Stick with me for the rest of this week – I have some super fun things up my sleeve, including a FREE, downloadable Valentine’s Day goodie that will knock your socks off for Friday’s TGIDIYFriday craft. Here’s to hoping the work week zooms by…

Every once in awhile, I’m going to throw a little fashion into the Restored Style mix. Fashion is fun and innovative and there’s always something new. Case in point – the new Tom’s shoes. Which pair makes your heart flutter?

Pretty darn cute, right? I think I’m partial to the red corduroy pair – love the texture and color of those shoes. Any favorites? Do tell!

Cheers to the weekend!

Portland Flea has released official dates for 2012. Mark your calendars for…

April 21st

May 19th

June 16th

July 21st

August 18th

September 15th

October 20th

The market is held outdoors on SE 6th Ave between Belmont and Taylor. Vendors will be there rain or shine every third Saturday of the month from April through October; 10am – 5pm. What can you expect? Lots of antique and repurposed furniture, vintage clothing and collectibles as well as a selection of food carts. And fun people too!

The first flea market is less than three months away…start making your wish list!

P.S. Stay updated on new vendors and sneak-peak photos by following Portland Flea on Facebook, Twitter, and of course, the official PDX Flea website.

While searching for some prints and colorful pillows for a client, I came across etsy seller Driftwood Interiors (thank you Kelly from Bungalow Blue!). Owner Kerri Shipp specializes in original paintings and fine art prints in watercolor, acrylics and mixed media and I love that each print comes in different colors, making it easy to find a piece that would fit nicely in a variety of different rooms.

I took a few of Kerri’s beautiful prints and paired them with some white frames, fun pillows and…AHA! A little room facelift is in action. Here are two quick boards I created with the tangerine colored prints.

The prints are very reasonable ($25.00 each) and are fairly large too (the pictures above don’t do the size justice) as they measure 8.3 x 11.7 inches. Pretty, right?!

I’m off to PhotoShop class tonight…hopefully I remember how to be a student again:).

Hope everyone had a happy weekend! Ours was filled with too much rain. Bleh. In other news, I am making progress on my 30 before 30 list –  you guys are keeping me accountable and I love it! Here are a few updates…

1.)  Find the most perfect little black dress. And purchase it.

2.)  Donate my hair to locks of love. Completed on 12/6/11 – proof here

3.)  Perfect one killer cocktail.

4.)  Compete in the decathlon.

5.)  Break my athletic club’s decathlon push-up record.

6.)  Learn how to make my parent’s delicious eggs benedict.

7.)  Give cold hard cash to a charity of my choice.

8.) Take a cooking class. Completed on 12/17/11 – proof here

9.)  Play one round of golf with my Dad and brother. I hear they are quite good. 

10.) Create and order our wedding album.

11.) Visit Kyle’s grandparent’s historic bar in  Crawfordsville, Oregon.

12.)  Get a spray tan (must succumb  to this – I live in Oregon!). Completed on 12/1/11

13.)  Take my niece and nephew on a special  “Auntie Outing”.

14.)  Pamper myself – get  a facial and a massage in the SAME day. Imagine that.

15.) Surprise Kyle with something.

16.)  Visit New York for the first time. UPDATE: Trip booked! Need NY hotel ideas STAT.

17.)   Begin the search for our next home. 

18.)  Buy a luxurious set of sheets. No more sets from Target.

19.)  Legitimately learn PhotoShop. UPDATE: Begin my 8 week class TOMORROW at Pacific Northwest College of Art! Hello homework.

20.)  Take a hard look at our finances/retirement accounts.

21.)   Take a sewing class. UPDATE: Learn to sew a zippered pouch class scheduled at Modern Domestic for Feb. 13th – anyone want to join me:)?

22.) Officially launch my design services on Restored Style. UPDATE: In the works…23.)  Try bikram yoga.

24.) Think (NOT try!) about adding a wee one to our very content family of two.

25.)  Read the stack of books on my bed side table. All of them.

26.)   Pay it forward to a stranger.

27.)  Buy the camera lens I’ve been coveting.

28.) Save ALL my photos to my external hard drive. No more memory mishaps.

29.)   Open a cherished bottle of wine from the wine collection my Grandfather gifted me many years ago.

30.)   Have a birthday party to celebrate turning 30! UPDATE: Looking at small Portland venues/restaurants (I know it’s early, but this girl loves to plan a party) – any ideas for me?!? 

As you can tell, I need a few tips from my lovely readers! Where should we stay in New York? Any hotel ideas for us? What are the must-visit restaurants in the city? There’s an endless amount it seems, so bring on the suggestions. And fellow Portlanders…any thoughts on a perfect party place for my birthday? Kyle says I am not allowed to talk about my party until “at least August” so let’s keep this conversation between you and me…

Cheers to a great week!

Lots of good things, at totally reasonable prices too. World Market is a great place to pick up accessories, seasonal items and food. Every time I go there I walk away with something random. Yesterday it was olive oil, cards, and 90% off holiday wine tags. SCORE!

Hooray for the weekend, friends!

Here are a few things that caught my eye this month…

 
What are you digging on Pinterest lately? Are you as addicted to this site as I am? Is a support group in order?

Happy hump day – make it great!

P.S. All sources can be found on my Pinterest account here.