The Homes I Have Made

Vacation Time!

2013-05-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick pop on to let you know that this week, I am...

The Little Man and I are off on a much-needed vacation! See you Monday with some big project reveals in the Master Bedroom (finally!!).

Have a great week everyone!

Toddler Floor Pouf

2013-05-17T05:00:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for a quick, easy, fun, and super adorable project to make this weekend, I have just the thing for you!

I have had this toddler pouf pillow on my To Do List for ages. From the first time I saw the idea here, I knew I had to make one for Henry's new playroom. When I found some 60" wide grey corduroy on clearance at Hancock for $3/yard a while back, I snagged some and set it aside for this exact project!

I used THIS tutorial to make the pouf, and I have to say, it came together SO nicely. Susan's directions and pictures really make this a breeze to assemble. I should have heeded her advice though, and used the small store-bought piping. I made my own piping, using some cord I had on hand, and it ended up being really thick and bulky. Not an issue for around the top and bottom, but piping the handle was a bit tricky!

It took me one nap to cut it all out, and another nap to assemble the whole thing, so it really is a quick afternoon or weekend project. My little guy loves to sit on it while we read books, and it seems all the neighbor kids love to sit and bounce on it too!

Oh, and that handle is just right for dragging it all over the house!

I've got a ton of little projects that I am hoping to wrap up this weekend. Are you working on anything fun?

Homemade Bath Salts (With free printable labels!)

2013-05-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Making homemade bath salts is not a new project (do a quick Google or Pinterest search and you'll see what I mean!), but when I made some sweet-smelling salts for some girlfriends recently, they turned out too cute not share!

These little jars full of stress-releif or sleep-inducing goodness make great birthday, holiday, "welcome to the neighborhood," hostess, or "just because" gifts! Plus, you can get so creative with the packaging that they are super inexpensive and fun to put together!

To make my bath salts, I used this recipe. For the essential oils, I used the Stress Relief and Sleep oils from Bath and Body Works. A huge batch of salts was made in no time (just be sure to keep your scents straight!) and then I got to work jarring them up into mason jars.

I used both the taller and shorter jars just for variety sake. I topped each one with a 4" square of white fabric (trimmed with a pinking sheers) and a homemade label before screwing on the lid nice and tight!

On some jars, I wrapped simple red and white twine around and around and around, finishing with a simple knot. I love the classic look of these!

I stacked the shorter jars and tied them together with matching bows.

To deliver my salts, I loaded the jars (both the short and tall) into these cute boxes I made using a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. I used this tutorial, and I am totally hooked on making these! So easy and fun! Now if I can just figure out how to make them bigger!

I made and gave these salts as gifts to many of my friends, all who are fellow military spouses, all whose husbands are far away. I made this little tag to tie the whole gift together...

The "stress relief" and "sleep" salts were paired with some mini "energizing" lotions to make a complete little "survival kit."

These little gifts were fun, quick, and easy to make! The longest part was designing the cute little labels to adorn the tops of the jars. To save you some time and effort, I have these labels all ready to share with you today!

Sleep salts (square and circle labels)

Stress relief salts (square and circle labels)

Round labels in three colors: red, aqua, and vanilla

Blank "survival kit" tags...fill in the title for whomever you need them for!

You can download the whole file here:

Every now and then it's nice to slow down and create fun little crafts like these. Nothing here was overly difficult, time consuming or expensive; and they really were such a joy to pull together. I hope my friends enjoyed them!

Hope everyone's having a great week. I'll be back on Friday with one more quick project idea for you before the weekend hits!

Some Blog Updates - A Tour

2013-05-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend (and if you're a Mother, I hope you got some relaxation time and much deserved special attention!) Today, I am taking a small break from projects and home decor ideas to show you some new features here on the blog! There are some tiny, subtle changes you may or may not have noticed, but are fun and helpful nonetheless! And since I've been working super hard to make my blog a little more fun and user-friendly, I thought I'd give you a quick tour!

The first change is I've added some new social media buttons - yes, I finally got my act together and signed up for Twitter and Instagram - for some reason, these things take me FOR.EVER to get on board with. Anyway, I've added those buttons alongside by Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, RSS, and Email buttons...and I've added an Etsy button so you can find my shop easier too!

So click on the buttons on the side (or below!!) to follow along and make sure you are getting all my blog updates and sneak peaks! (Psst - I am posting photos of project updates and progress on Instagram... Follow along to see what I'm working on right now!)

The other big change around here is I've done a major re-organization of my pages!! It was a ton of work, but so much more user-friendly. Let me show you what I mean.

Before this re-org, I had all of my projects organized by the location I made them, as in, which "home" I made them in. While that made sense to me (and I could find my projects pretty easily because I knew where I made each one), it occurred to me that the links to most of my projects were hard to find for most of you. So...there are no more pages for each home I've lived in, but rather, three new pages:

The first page is Our Homes, where you can find links to all the rooms and home tours for each home we've lived in so far. The sections of Okinawa, California, and Virginia are done, but this is where I will add the final room reveal posts for our current home as I get to them!

The next and biggest new page is my Project Gallery!!! It seemed to take me weeks and weeks to do, but I bit the bullet and just got it done (also with the savvy help of a good friend who guided me in the coding!!). On this page, there is now a photo and link for all the projects that have appeared on this blog so far! This page is now so much easier to update as I post projects, and I do so with each new post! So...if there's a project you're looking for and just can't seem to find it on my blog, the photo and link should be here!

Last but not least, I created a new page dedicated to my Magnetic Menu Board & Organizing. I've had so much blog traffic come my way due to this little project of mine (the Magnetic Menu Board), and I wanted to make sure I had all the related posts and resources quick and easy to find! I've lumped all my organizing ideas here too, so if you can't find a specific organizing-related post over in the Project Gallery, it's more likely to be here!

I also added a few quick link to popular posts over on the right-hand side bar, and hope to add a few quick links to my current home tour here soon. All in all, little changes that I think (and hope) will make for a better blog-reading experience here at The Homes I Have Made!

Thanks for stopping in today! On Wednesday, I'll be back with a simple project/gift idea!

Loving with Her Hands - A Tribute to My Mom

2013-05-10T05:00:00.000-04:00

As far back as I can remember, I have memories of my Mom making something. Always with knitting needles in her hands making a blanket or sweater or a hat or booties...or hunched over her sewing machine finishing my Halloween costume, Christmas dress, or her next beautiful quilt...or down in her glass workshop making stunning stained-glass tiffany style lamps. And that's just what I can remember. Our house is filled with amazing paintings and other works of art made even before I was born. There is no doubt that my craftiness and desire to create stem directly from my mom...the most gifted and talented "crafter" I know. She shows her love for her family through the amazing things she makes with her hands...and we are so lucky to be the recipients of such love.

Lately, my Mom's hands have been giving her a lot of trouble, keeping her from the hobbies she loves. I can't fix her hands, and I am too far away to cut her quilt blocks out for her...but I thought this was the perfect weekend to celebrate her and her beautiful work. To show and chronicle everything she's made over the years would be an impossible task. But here is just a small collection of the things my mom has made for me (and my family) that I hold and treasure so dear!

This afghan is a staple in our house, I remember a white one always on the back of the couch, perfect for watching movies! I think everyone in our family has one, all in different colors. Mom made me this rose one when I went off to college.

Mom is famous in our family for the baby blankets she makes. Each one is made specifically for the new babe, and Mom goes to great care in choosing the colors and patterns. Her "signature" gift is to include a small mini blanket that matches the large blanket, perfect for the stroller and nighttime. The light blue is Henry's baby blanket, made before he was born.

The dark blue was a bonus - and our favorite. Just something about the color and texture...

Henry agreed - this is the mini blanket now...he's had it with him every night since he was 3 months old. It is well loved. Mom calls it is his "bowl of spaghetti"!!

While I have a lot more childhood memories of Mom knitting, her latest passion is quilting - and she is amazing at it. She made the quilt below for Henry's nursery, using the owl fabric I picked out for the room. I have adored this quilt from the second I opened it, just a few weeks before he arrived...

...and it has been proudly displayed in all three rooms Henry has had in his short life so far!

Mom has also made themed baby quilts for a lot of the grandkids in the family. She embroidered all the designs and then quilted it...

My favorite part of the circus train quilt is Henry in the last car!

It sits in the center of our playroom, where we read books, build blocks, assemble puzzles and more.

You've already seen some other of my mom's masterpieces here on the blog! She did this quilt to match my niece's pink and orange room makeover!

Lots of bright citrus-y colors. A fun project for my Mom to work on and my niece to receive - I know she treasures it!

I've already given you some sneak peaks of the most recent quilt my Mom made for me, but I've been trying to hold back so I could show it to you today in all its glory. My Mom just made this blue/white/grey star quilt for our family to match our new blue couch and new room color-scheme.

She titled it "Megan's Stars," and each square is a State star pattern. The artistry and skill here are just awe-inspiring!

It is quilted with a whimsical star pattern, and the back is done in this awesome white and grey graphic material that I'm in love with!

Such a beauty, isn't it?!?

Of course there are many, many more items around my house (and in my Mom's and siblings' houses) that have come from my Mom's gifted hands...these are the ones that surround us the most here and now and everyday.

What I am most thankful for is that these items have become part of our family landscape, and precious memories are made in, on and around them every day...

The day Henry came home from the hospital...

Keeping warm on cold winter days...

All wrapped up and keeping cozy in Gramma's love...

I love you Mom, Happy Mother's Day!

Ideas for Lighting a Rental

2013-05-08T05:00:00.000-04:00

Over the last week or so, I've been getting you all up-to-speed on our living room. I showed you our styled media stand, our new pillows, and even some easy coasters. One of the biggest challenges for this room, and one of the last things left to chat about (for now)...is lighting! We've had to do some pretty creative things to light this room, and had to do it all without investing too much time, money or hardware, as this home is (for all intents-and-purposes) a rental unit!

Let me remind you a bit about this room. It's a huge room, and we're very lucky in that. However, in this gigantic room that functions as our entryway, our playroom, and our living room, there is NOT ONE overhead light.

Grrr...no pot lights, no overhead ugly light fixtures (which I am and am not thankful for at the same time!), nada, nothing. In our teeny-tiny hallway, we have three overhead lights, and in this room - none. And besides this tiny window (below), we have a big front window that does let it some natural light during the day, but doesn't help us out much at night!

For many, many months, this room always felt dark and cave-like. It felt like no matter what we did, there were dark corners everywhere. After a lot of discussions and brainstorming, we've finally gotten this room lit how I like it. Let me show you what we did!

Our first strategy was a no brainer: lamps. When you have no overhead options, the light's gotta come from somewhere! Last week, I showed you the lamp we placed next to the TV (and into one of the darkest corners of the room). I don't exactly love floor lamps, because toddlers pull them down and movers break them, but this one was just too perfect for my taste. With it tucked into a nook behind the chair and media stand, little hands hardly ever reach for it and it really does do wonders for lighting this side of the room.

In another obvious move, we placed lamps on our side tables on either end of the couch. A long, long time ago (when I first previewed our side tables), these were our living room lamps. Well...they were never quite right for me or this room. They were a splurge purchase, and although I loved the shape and modern-ness of them, they always bothered me in here. Thankfully, they work perfectly with our new Master Bedroom design and now live in there!

So to replace those lamps, I went on a long (and I mean a-dozen-stores-and-4-sets-of-lamps-long) marathon shopping spree. God forbid I wait to stumble upon the perfect lamps - when I decide it's time to buy something, find it I shall!

I had in my head, after oogling over Sarah's lamps, that I really wanted round, orbish, chunky, glass-based lamps. After scouring Marshalls, HomeGoods, and the like. I ended up at Kirklands. I found the lamps on the left below and thought they were perfect - only to bring them home and everything from the size, the shape, the shades, etc were just wrong wrong wrong. Back to Kirklands I went, where I bought the middle ones. These too were not the right look or style I was going for. Back they went. Finally, I decided on the far right lamps from Target. Pricier than I wanted to pay and smaller than I needed, but it was just something I (foolishly) wanted done with.

Not a week or so later, I got this photo from the babysitter. Ummm...I guess glass lamps and toddlers don't mix too well. Don't worry, there was no contact between him and the glass...he was jumping on the couch (which we allow) and knocked it over. Boo. Off to find more lamps.

After more looking and more searching, I finally decided on these simple glass-columned lamps from Target. They have more solid, sturdier bases and I had the shades already, so in the end it was more cost effective than buying two more new matching lamps. I know these are fillable, but I like the clean simple look of them empty. The size and shape are actually much better than anything else I brought home, so this lamp saga had a happy ending. However, wouldn't you know on my next trip to HomeGoods I found not one but two sets of lamps that would have been perfect instead - oh well. That's how it goes. And I really am happy with these. Really ;)

Okay, table lamp drama story over, time to chat about the main point of this post: getting creative with lighting in a rental. Do you see them back there?

Yes, we "installed" pendant lights into our rental! The playroom side of this great room always felt so dark and I really wanted hanging lights instead of more lamps. I honestly never thought hanging lights in a rental was possible - I always thought that they required crazy, scary, expensive, electrical stuff...with lots of drilling...and removing parts of the ceiling. As it turns out, my husband is actually pretty savvy with electrical wiring (what luck!) AND we have an accessible, unfinished attic. With these two combined, we were able to hang some pretty snazzy lights in the playroom!

These were a fun find from the clearance shelf at Lowes. We were out for the day, looking at all sorts of pendant options, trying to figure out what would be the best (and most economical option). This project was going to be a bit trial-and-error, so we didn't want to get some fancy light fixture that ultimately was too complicated to hang and wire. When we found these for $10.50/light, AND Greg was fairly confident he could wire them together and hang them pretty effortlessly, they came home with us. Even if we failed, we only sunk about $35 into the project.

They are LED lights, not my favorite, but they are the "warmest" in tone, so they actually work pretty well in the space. At first glance, I wasn't sure about the black, but as the room has come together, they are perfect. We decided to hang them in varying heights just for fun. I can't give you the specifics because I'm not sure exactly what all he did while tromping around the attic, but I know the general gist of it:

First, he hung the lights (without wiring them) to get their placement right.
He then took them back down and drilled a hole through the ceiling above each light to the attic to run the wires.
He then ran the wires of each light up through those small holes.
Once up in the attic, he somehow (magically) combined all the wires so that all three were on one power cord.
Originally, he was going to run the power cord across the attic to an outlet, but we decided to run the power cord back into the room through a hole in the corner ceiling and plug it in an outlet we had easy access to (see photo below!)

This project was eye-opening to me. I thought that because this unit isn't ours', we were doomed to dark corners, awkward floor lamps and insufficient ambience. Now that I know my husband has this skill, we will be hanging lights again in the future! Now on cloudy days or at night, we can play in the playroom without feeling like we're in a power outage!

So now you are completely up to date with this room! This picture below was taken just the other day (sorry for the hurriedly shot photo!), and I'm pretty sure you've seen everything in here. There are a few things still to do - some artwork for Henry's area and something above the couch. Do you have any thoughts for me? Art, picture ledges, gallery wall, or keep it as it is? I am completely at a loss. Every time I think of something, I change my mind. I also feel like this room needs a punch of another color - it still seems a bit blah to me. I'm currently thinking turquoise, but keeping changing my mind on that one too. Sometimes I have a vision and everything comes together just right - this room hasn't been that way. I love everything we've done so far, but something is just missing.

Can you help me? What do you think?

I've got a pretty special post planned for Friday - be sure to stop by and see me then!

Easy Swap Ribbon Runner

2013-05-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day is next weekend (are you ready?), and as it is the time for thoughtful gifts and festive brunches, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show you how to make this simple ribbon-embellished table runner!

This is a really quick project with endless possibilities. Simply by adding a few button holes (okay, maybe a lot of button holes ;) down the sides of a stretch of fabric, you can quickly and easily switch out the ribbon for any holiday or tablescape!

Let me show you how it's done!

Start by choosing your fabric and length for your table runner. This fabric was leftover from a set of curtains I recently made. Not only do I love the subtle weave pattern on it, but at 56" wide, it was the perfect width to do "mini" runners for across the table (rather than one long runner down the center).

Once you decide how long you want your table runner to be, cut your fabric: desired length x 18". (Note - you may have to piece the runner together if you want to do a really long runner).

Using an iron and seam gauge, iron over a half inch down the full length of your table runner. Repeat on the other side.

Go back down each side again, folding over another half inch, but this time pinning the fold in place.

Stitching closely to the fold, run a simple straight stitch down both lengths of your runner to hem up the sides.

This is what my runner looked like after hemming up both sides. You may also repeat this process on the short ends of your runner to have a cleaner, more tailored appearance. Since my overall goal was for a casual, shabby-chic feel for my tablescape, I decided to leave my selvage ends be.

Next, it's time to measure out your button hole spots! This placement is completely up to you. The further apart your holes, the less button holes you have to make, but also the less of the ribbon you will see weave over and under the fabric. The closer your button holes, the more you have to make, the more you see the ribbon! I started out my holes 2" from the edge, and then repeated every 4 inches. No matter how many button holes you decide to make, make sure you do an even number so your ribbon ends on the outside on both ends.

I placed my button holes against the hem, and they extend about an inch in toward the center of the runner. Below, you can see all my button hole markings down both sides of my runner.

Next, it's time to sew button holes, lots and lots and lots of button holes! I'm telling you, at the end of this project, you will no longer fear making button holes! I'm not going to go into detail how to make button holes because each machine (and sewer) has a different technique. But this is a really good excuse to whip our your machine's user manual or do a quick Google search on how to make one. On my machine, the process couldn't be simpler: I used a button-hole foot and the button hole stitch, which together do all the work for me. To determine the length of my button hole, I used a 1" button (make your holes long enough to fit most ribbon!).

I sewed a total of 28 button holes for each of the two runners, totaling 56 button holes - yikes! Once all my holes were sewn, I trimmed all the threads and cut open the holes using a tiny scissors.

Now is the fun part! Take a stretch of ribbon that is about 4" longer than your table runner. Attach a safety pin to one side and weave the ribbon in and out of your button holes, keeping the ribbon flat (and un-twisted) as you move down the runner.

Pull the ribbon taught, and repeat on the other side!

Because I want to be able to change out the ribbon for different holidays or themes throughout the year, I chose not to adhere my ribbon to the runner. If you are worried about it slipping or don't foresee the desire to change out the ribbon, you can tack the ribbon down on each end.

Now your runner is done and ready to be dressed up and accessorized!

I used my runners as the foundation for a fun and fresh Easter/Spring tablescape a few months ago. Swap out the bunnies for small gifts for Mom and you're ready to go!

Nothing says Spring to me like fresh pops of green and earthy burlap!

Up next this week, some more living room chatter!

Simple Tile Coasters

2013-05-03T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today I am sharing one more quick little project from our on-going living room update! A while back, when we finished our new side tables, we were hesitant (obviously) just to put our drinks right onto our newly-finished solid wood tabletops. As I was adding "coasters" to our never-ending To Find List, a lightbulb went off, and I ran out to the garage.

Although I am a purger, I am always very, very slow to get rid of craft and decor items. Here's why! I bought these tiles 5 years ago (yes, you read that right), while we were living in Okinawa. I think they were $0.50 or $0.75 per tile. I scooped up a bunch and have been lugging them around the country ever since. You know, because someday, I'll be able to use them!

Well, here was my someday!

The colors were spot-on with our living room decor scheme, and they were the ideal size and shape to be coasters. Although I had 5 different patterns to choose from, I went with the polka dots and two-toned stripe; they just seemed to compliment each other the best!

To make them a little more friendly with our wood table tops, I simply cut out felt squares and hot glued them to the bottoms of each tile.

In less than 15 minutes, I had two coordinating sets of tile coasters!

These have worked out perfectly - well, once we taught Henry not to pull the felt squares off the bottom of them!

They're chic, simple, color-coordianted, quick and FREE! Cheers to that!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Chic Tiled Herb Garden Tutorial at PS Today!

2013-05-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

Just a quick pop on to let you know that I'm over at Positively Splendid today with a really neat Spring project:

This project was so much fun to do, and the result is just stunning! Head on over to Amy's blog for the full tutorial!

Tomorrow, I'll be back with another living room project for you!

Lots (and lots) of Patterned Pillows!

2013-05-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

About an hour south of where I live, there is a very, very dangerous store. It's a fabric store where they have rows and rows and rows of decorator-weight fabric...all for $8/yard. Oh wait, not all of it is that cheap, excuse me...they have one corner in the store that has higher-end fabrics (and I mean HIGHER end), and those are $10/yard. Oh, and they have a flat fold table that has cuts for $5/yard. I don't know how they do it, but this store has prints I've seen sell for $35-$50/yard all for less than $10/yard. Yikes!! I go to this store more than I should, and almost every time, I walk away with at least 1 yard of fabric...because come on, for $8, what's another fabulous print in your fabric stash?

Over the past months, as I worked on other areas of the house, not quite sure of the direction I wanted to go in the Living Room, I slowly but surely accumulated a very nice collection of blue/white/grey/black patterned fabrics. Each one made my heart skip a beat when I saw it, and that was enough to tell me that I needed just a dose of each one somewhere in my house. When I was simply exhausted of this bland and lacking room not moving forward...

...I decided to dive into my stash of prints and do what any girl would do...make pillows! Lots and lots of pillows!

For the longest time, I hemmed and hawed and hemmed again, trying to figuring out which patterns to use and which ones went together better...but then I just up and decided to use all of them. I went for the whimsical, everything will coordinate eventually approach...and I actually think it worked!

In one weekend, I was a pillow-making fool. I used mostly pillow forms or old throw pillows I already had - I just kept going to the linen closet and finding another pillow to re-cover. Some pillows are basic four sided pillows, hand-sewn completely shut on the forth side.

But most of them have an envelope back, so I can slip them on and off when my mood changes...which it will probably do in a month or so ;)

What really made all the patterns work together for me was the addition of black. Lately, I've really embraced the whole "every room needs a little black" approach, and I have to say, it's done wonders for our family room. We have a lot of dark-tone furniture, so adding the black chevron and damask pillow just worked.

These pillows cycle around on a pretty regular basis. Most nights though, once Henry is asleep, the couch mostly looks like this...

But during the day, when that certain two-year-old is awake - the pillows are much better put to use as a giant jump pile!

At least it's a pretty jump pile ;)

Tomorrow, I'll be over at Positively Splendid sharing this month's project. Be sure to check in to see what I've been up to this time!

Styling Around a Media Hutch

2013-04-29T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've chatted about the family room in our "new" house (we've lived here almost a year, can I still call it "new"?). This room has been the slowest evolving room in our entire house - which is sorta driving me crazy because it's in the center of our house, and we spend all our time here - but I am also trying really hard to be patient and get it right. We've pretty much replaced every piece in this room since we moved in - we built new side tables, refinished an old hutch to be our media stand, made our own oversized ottoman to be a coffee table, hung patterned cornices, and even got a new fantastical blue couch! Once all those projects were done, we were stuck. We had updated a lot of the large elements for the space, but weren't exactly sure what direction to go in to pull the whole thing together. It sat like this for quite a while: bland bland bland bland!

Today, I want to chat a little about this wall, the one the media hutch is on. I don't particularly care for clutter, so accessorizing is really tough for me. I don't like useless, meaningless stuff lying around collecting dust; but at the same time, I knew this bare-bones side of the room wasn't giving me that cozy collected, "just right" feeling I was craving. It was a little...empty...

I added a few accessories for the holidays (below), and after seeing the pictures here on the blog, I realized this side of the room need some well-selected accessories to finish it up. It's amazing what photos can show you that is hard to see live with your very own eyes!

So after a lot of searching, thinking, tweaking, moving, arranging and re-arranging, here we are now...

I didn't do anything overly creative or genius here, but I like to think these well-selected accessories help finish this side of the room a little more. What all did I do?

When we added Henry's green high chair around our dining room table, we had an extra dining chair. I loved the blue pattern in the corner of the living room, so that stayed after the holidays. To the chair, I added a fleecy throw (IKEA, $3) and a new blue and white striped pillow (DIY, more details on Wednesday!). The lamp is from Target - I must have gone and looked at it a million times before I finally bought it. Floor lamps don't tend to survive moves (and babies!) very well, so I try to avoid them, but I just knew this one would be perfect, and it is!

To the left of the TV, I have a large apothacary jar (purchased overseas in Okinawa) filled with a ton of sea glass collected from Okinawan beaches. The little green bud vase (Crate&Barrel) holds some off-spring of the philodendron that is growing like crazy in our living room!

On the right side of the TV, I added some books and an extra large jax (Hobby Lobby); and behind that I placed one of my new favorite plans: Lucky Bamboo! I don't exactly have a green thumb (although lately, it's getting greener ;) and when I was looking for plants to put in some glass vases, these were just the ticket! They are almost impossible to kill, and they only need water to survive (so I didn't have to put soil into my see-through glass jars). I filled a large glass vase (from my stash) with garden rocks (leftover from our garden), and these babies were good to go! They get just enough natural light from the front window and are thriving! I am always so amazed at what an impact live plants have in a space!

Nate Berkus always said on his show that you need to have a natural element in every space. I tend to like things shiny and clean, but who am I to question an expert! I had this fantastic basket hidden away in my closet (I think it's from Marshalls years and years ago!). I fill it with more throw pillows and blankets that always rotate on and off the couch throughout the day! Don't you think for a minute I keep that beautiful quilt stuffed in the basket all the time - it's pulled out every night to keep us cozy on the couch - Henry (our two year old) just doesn't like blankets on the couch - they impede him from jumping off the back after all - so it's easier right now to keep everything in baskets! LOL.

It's really hard to get a shot of how all these rooms are coming together, but this shot from the couch (below) can give you a glimpse of our living room, dining room, and laundry room in the background. The blue striped fabric is used both on the pillow and the laundry room curtain; and the grey stripes on the wall are echoed in the art on the dining room walls. I love this view from the couch.

So....speaking of pictures, they really do give you a different perspective of a space than you can get while standing in it. I was pretty much ready to declare this side of the room "done" until I uploaded these photos for this post. Just looking at these photos helped me see the large open wall space on the right side of the room, above the basket. I can't help but feel some simple artwork or photographs are needed here to balance out the whole wall.

What do you think???

This room isn't quite yet done, but I do have some more updates for you to see this week. On Wednesday, I'm going to show you the sewing I've been doing for this space! See you then,

Polka Dot Toddler Robes

2013-04-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one who goes in fits and spurts with craft and decor projects? For a while, I will paint and paint and paint, and then all of a sudden I miss my sewing machine and I then sew and sew and sew, until I grow weary of sitting at my machine and reach for my paint brush (or some other tool) again! After a few months of painting some furniture pieces (none of which I have shown you yet, but will do so very, very soon!) and doing some accessorizing and styling around the house, I was yearning to sew something. You know, use a pattern, cut something out, and sew it together. I don't often do "leisurely" sewing (as in, something NOT on my To-Do List and something for just pure fun!), so I was really excited when I stumbled upon some towels I bought on clearance last season at Target while I was rummaging through the closet, surely looking for something for some other project ;)

When I bought these robes last year for $3 a pop, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them: beach robes for Henry and his two best toddler buddies!

I had seen the pattern and fantastic photos for toddler beach robes on one of my all-time favorite blogs, MADE. I just eat up all of Dana's photos, creations, colors, and patterns and couldn't wait to put these together!

Lots more photos and details after the jump!

I bought Dana's easy-to-follow pattern here and set to work making the long-sleeve version for my Henry. I'm not the best clothing sewer, so I wanted to figure everything out on the one my little guy would wear first. I had bought two towels in each pattern, thinking that would be more than enough for three robes. Turns out, I needed two towels to do the long-sleeve version, so both white towels went into this cute little robe. Dana gives lots of options (long sleeves, short sleeves, lined hood, long waist tie/short waist tie, etc). For this one, I did long sleeves, a long tie across the back, and a lined hood with some funky moda fabric!

Again, I can sew pillows and curtains and cushion covers and slip covers all day long, but ask me to make clothing and I kinda freak out. Henry's little robe isn't perfect, but it challenged me to 1) actually make a garment, and 2) pull out my serger, which I'm sorta scared of. I think I triumphed on both counts.

Once I knew what I was doing, the other two robes came together really quickly and turned out much nicer, LOL! I made the short sleeve versions because I could get one out of each remaining towel. Turns out I liked these better - oh well!

By the third one, I felt like a pro with the binding, the serger, all of it!

For the two blue robes, I made short sleeves, the shorter ties (as in they don't go across the back), and lined the hoods with really, really cute "boy" fabric!

These were so enjoyable to make. It's nice to sit back every once in a while and make something purely for the fun of it. I so often sew square things or make things up as I go...it was refreshing to follow a pattern and watch something come together just as it should!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Next week, I plan to finally show you some recent updates in the family room! I'm excited!!!

Bead-Embellished Cake Stands

2013-04-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

With all the party chatter over the last few weeks, I realized I never posted my cake stand project that I featured over at Positively Splendid...um, back in February - oooops! I really, really love this project, so I wanted to make sure all you lovely readers got a chance to see it in case you missed it earlier in the year!

I modeled these cake stands after some whimsical ones I saw at a flee market booth a while back. While I could have just spent the $30ish for one, I thought the idea was pretty easy to replicate and would make a great DIY project! Using some really affordable materials from the craft and hardware store, I created these two adorable cake stands that not only provide great levels and interest for holiday displays, but can also be used year round to display a variety of things!

These were really easy and really fun...let me show you how I did it!

I picked up all my supplies at Michaels and Lowes; everything was really inexpensive, each finished plate cost me about $10! Here are your raw materials:

Un-finished wood staircase spindle ($1.97)
Beads in a variety of sizes ($0.99/strand)
Wooden rounds ($2-$4)
Fence post toppers ($0.97)

You'll also need some basic supplies (not pictured): wood saw, wood screws, drill and drill bit, wood filler, hot glue and hot glue gun, spray primer, spray paint, and clear protective poly spray.

Okay, start by cutting down the staircase spindle to more manageable lengths. I chose to use the spindle because it was a lot cheeper than fancy unfinished table legs (which you could also use if you don't have the means to cut down the wooden spindle). But I also liked that by cutting the leg down in various locations, you end up with very different looks for each cake stand. (NOTE - If you are cutting these yourself, make sure your cuts are straight and level - this will dramatically effect the levelness of your plate in the end!) You can cut your's anywhere you want, here's where I cut mine:

When deciding how long to cut your pieces, take into account the finished height you want your stand to be as well as the size of your top platform. My larger cake stand got a taller post, while the smaller cake stand got a shorter post. Below, you can see the various elements that went into each stand!

For the small stand, I used a 7" round, a standard fence post topper, a 5.5" cut spindle, and 2 12" lengths of small beads.

For the larger stand, I used a 9" round, a standard fence post topper, a 8.5" cut spindle, and 4 6" strands of larger beads.

Next, assemble your stand. Using a drill and appropriate size drill bit for your wood screws, pre-drill holes in the center of each stand piece, and screw one section to the next as you go.

Both in the very bottom and on the very top, countersink your screws so they are more-than-flush with the wood surface. You don't need to worry about the screw on the bottom, but to create an even surface on the top of your plate, fill the hole with wood filler and sand smooth.

Both of my plates were assembled in the exact same fashion. Once you have your plate put together exactly as you want it, it's time to embellish it. For the smaller plate, I simply glued the string of beads (exactly as I bought them) to the edge of the wood round using hot glue. Try to be "clean" with your glue and use as little as necessary (while still keeping everything firmly attached) because although clear now, once sprayed, you can see the glue a lot more!

For the larger cake stand, I wanted to do a swag effect. My 6" strands weren't going to work individually, so I re-strung them onto fishing line to make one long string of beads.

Next, I hot glued the beads at regular intervals on the underside of the wooden round. This may take some trial and error and some tweaking to get your spacing just right.

Here are my plates all ready for their finishing paint job!

I am a big fan of primer - I find that a well-primed surface ensures nice and even paint coverage! As such, I started by spraying both plates with Zinsser 123 Primer.

I then followed up with several light coats of red and turquoise spray paint.

Lastly, I gave them each a coat of Rustoleum clear gloss for final protection!

And that's it!!!! Now you can use your cake stands however you wish. Mine were brought right inside and put on my Valentine's Day mantel, but as these colors are all over my home, I can use them wherever I need a fresh pop of color!

A little out-of-date, but here are the cake stands as they appear on my Valentine's Day display:

These stands can be assembled in so many different ways and colors - the possibilities really are endless. And whether you need them for displaying treats or decor, or even to adorn a bookcase, they are such a fun accessory to have on hand!

In addition to some Spring cleaning, I've been spending some good time at my sewing machine. On Friday, I'm going to show you some cute little gifts I made for Henry's little friends! See you then!!

DIY Ramp Race Track

2013-04-22T06:26:00.000-04:00

HEEEEEELLLLOOOO everyone! Long time, no see! Sorry for the un-annoucned little break last week. After a few weeks of party prep, the birthday party, two weekends in a row with company and all the crazy world events of the last week, I just needed a little downtime and a few steps away from the computer. My heart was craving a little break, so I didn't ask questions and just took one - sorry to leave you all hanging. By the end of the week, I was antsy to get back at it...so rest-assured, I am feeling re-freshed and ready to get back to regular posting.

Before my little break, I was chatting up all things On-the-Go Second Birthday Party - you can read the full party reveal HERE and a spotlight on all the DIY decor I did HERE. I wanted to show you one more project from the party before I wrap up this little series! This was a quick and easy (and relatively inexpensive) toddler project - great for the party AND great to have in the garage for summer outdoor playtime!

I can stake no claim to this idea; I got my inspiration from this adorable party. When I saw this idea for a race track, I knew it would be relatively simple to put together and would be a perfect addition to our toddler party activities. After all, what little kid (or big kid?) doesn't get a kick out of racing cars down a track?

This little project was pretty simple, the whole thing was made using (mostly) pre-cut wood from the hardware store and some paint we had on hand...

Let me show you how we did it!

This project was completed in the flurry of last-minute party prep so I don't have any "during" photos for you - but it's not too complicated to see what we did.

From the hardware store, we purchased:

1 2'x4' sheet of 1/2" plywood
6 1"x2"s, also 4' in length - we took a few minutes to search for pieces that weren't warped or too ragged
2 simple hinges

From the stash in our garage, we also used:

Primer
Black paint
Turquoise Valspar Spray Paint
Scraps of 2"x4"s
1.5" wood screws

I started by doing all the painting - everything was primed first and then painted un-assembled. The 1"x2"s were given two coats of blue spray paint, while the plywood and 2"x4"s were primed and then given two coats of basic black paint. (Note - we actually only painted the top of the plywood surface, but I didn't like the wood showing on the underside, so we went back and painted the bottom after the whole thing was assembled! It wasn't so easy to do, so I would recommend painting everything before assembly ;)

Once everything was painted and dry, Greg then evenly spaced each of the wood slats and screwed them to the plywood from the underside so the screws wouldn't show.

Next, he cut down some 2"x4"s to about 20" each and gave the tops about a 25 degree angled cut. Party time was approaching, so this was a little trial and error and quick cutting, but it worked great ;)

The kick-stand-style legs were attached with basic $2 hinges from the hardware store.

We found that matchbox-style cars flew down the ramp so fast they they crashed and rolled at the bottom. Fortunately, the cars I bought as party favors worked PERFECTLY! They raced down the ramp and rolled smoothly off at the end!

Here's the birthday boy racing his car with some party guests!

If you're wondering what the blue surface is at the end of the ramp, it's a yoga mat, LOL. We didn't want the party favor cars to be chipped and dinged from hitting the cement, so the mat provided a nice "soft" cushion to land on. How convenient that we had a yoga mat to match the party decor!

There was so much going on at the party that I can't really give a testimonial for how much it was used or enjoyed. However, it's still set up in the garage, and we race cars down it almost every day! In addition to the sandbox I made last summer, we have quite the DIY toddler play area set up outside!

I've caught the Spring Cleaning Bug, so I am working my way through the house organizing closets and cupboards and purging things we don't need or love. I'll be back on Wednesday with another party-related-DIY project for you - see you then!

"On the Go" Party - Spotlight on Decor

2013-04-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

On Monday, I showed you all the photos from my Henry's second birthday party (if you missed the big party reveal, you can read it HERE!). Today, I wanted to go back and talk in a little more in detail about some of the decorations I made/collected for the party!

Even though my little guys is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and all the auto-characters from the Disney Cars movies, I chose to do a more "generic" On the Go-themed party - I know, I can be a lame Mom! I couldn't really decide if I wanted to do just cars or trains or "all-things transportation" or "trains, planes, and automobiles." Then, when I found this digital elements kit, I knew this was the exact direction I wanted to go!

(source)

I used a combination of this digital kit along with the Going Places Cricut cartridge to make all of my decor.

Let me show you everything I made!

The first thing I created for this party was the invitation! I used the On the Road Kit elements in My Digital Studio to create the invitation:

To make it a little extra special, I printed these out on white cardstock, then mounted them to colored card stock. I then printed a sheet of Interstate signs...

...cut out each one individually, and attached them to the invitation with dimensional stickers. Here's the final invite that went out to each guest!

With the invites out and the RSVPs coming in, I got to work on the actual party decor. As I was working with all the elements from the On the Road Kit, I realized it was almost the exact same color scheme as Henry's Monster of a First Birthday Party last year! What luck! Since I could re-use a bunch of the decor items I purchased for that party, I just needed to make a few new things to update the theme for this year! I swapped out the red for black and all the monsters for cars, and we had a whole different feeling for the party!

The main decor item I made for this party was the circle backdrop:

Shame on me, I didn't take pictures of the step-by-step, but it wasn't too difficult and you can probably figure it out from the photo. I cut out 4 images (the bus, the taxi, the car, and the arrow...all with a circle around them from the Going Places Cricut cartridge) in each of my four colors. I cut the set twice, giving me 8 circles in each color. I then used the "relief" cut (what was left behind from the solid color cuts) and mounted those extra buses, taxis, cars, and arrows to white circles, giving me four more sets of 8 circles. Lastly, I did the same thing with the black #2s. I'm not sure that made sense...it wasn't a ton of cutting or a ton of paper because I used both the cutout and the circle image from each cut, does that make sense? I made my backdrop a perfect square: 8x8 since I had 8 circles in each color. I then laid out my circles so that the stripes ran diagonally. Each circle was hot glued to a string of ribbon (eight strings of ribbon for the eight vertical panels). Then each ribbon was looped at the top and bottom (with a glue gun), and wooden dowels from the craft store were inserted horizontally. The wooden dowels on the top were then nailed into the top of the window frame for hanging; the bottom dowels just provided weight to keep the whole backdrop straight and together.

Phew! I hope that made sense!

I used the same Going Places cartridge to make some simple "stoplights" for the garden. These are cardstock cutouts glued onto foam board and stuck in the grass with kabob stakes ;)

Each activity for all the kiddos was also "labeled" with Interstate signs. I cut a cardstock template using the Going Places cartridge and traced the sign onto white foam board. Once the signs were cut out with an Exacto knife, I cut black letters (using the Printing Press cartridge) and glued them on. These are also held into the ground using metal kabob stakes!

We wanted to keep the driveway free of cars so there was plenty of room for the kiddos to roam around. To block off the driveway, we used some mini cones (that we already had in our sports gear stash) to hold down some colored balloons! Had the wind not been blowing (the WHOLE afternoon!), it would have created a nice little balloon barrier. Too bad it looked like this all day ;) Oh well, still kept visitors from parking in the driveway!

Speaking of mini orange cones, I also used them to create some super simple table centerpieces for the food table! These bright flowers were leftover from the Monster Birthday Party and were purchased at Hobby Lobby last year. I saw them there recently, so I know they still carry them if you're looking for them. With everything I made for this party, these were my favorite. Nothing crazy or fancy or difficult, but they just made me smile!

One of my favorite tricks for setting a great looking party table is to keep all the serve-ware simple and color-cooridnated. Because my table cloth was black, I opted for clear dishes and turquoise platters. Now, I don't run out and buy colored platters for every party I host! My secret: wrap shirt boxes (the lids and bases separately) in party-coordinated wrapping paper! Not only is it really cheap, but provides some neat, disposable surfaces to display food!

See what I mean?

Some other little crafts I did for the party were for the food and drink tables! Again, using images in the On the Road Kit, I made street sign labels for all the foods:

These were just printed on cardstock, cut out, and then hot glued to popsicle sticks. They are all held to their serve-ware with clear packaging tape!

I also used the car and truck clipart to make cute cupcake toppers! The images were printed and cut from white cardstock; the colored backings were cut using the Cricut. The number "2s" were cut using the Cricut and then given "street" lines using a yellow paint pen.

Over on the drink table, I made a large "Fuel Station" sign, again using the Going Places Cricut cartridge. The frame is one from my stash, I just covered the glass with the same wrapping paper as the boxes for the food table!

I made a similar sign for the favor and gift table:

The last craft I did for this party were the little favors for both the adults and kiddos! I got the idea HERE. I thought these would be quick and simple...um...they weren't! Of everything I made for the party, these probably took the longest! I didn't want to use the Cricut (because it was nap time and it tends to wake my little guy up!), so I cut all the circles from paper bags by hand and stamped them as I went. I then found that it was easiest to actually FILL the little pouches right on the machine, so I would sew 3/4 of the way around, poke the M&Ms in, then finish sewing them shut. I made about 35, and they seemed to have taken all.night. They sure were cute though, and people happily took them for a snack on the way home!

Lots of fun little projects and details went into this party. Besides the candy pouches, nothing seemed to take a ton of time since I spread out my party prep over a few weeks. I'd cut things one night, glue together the next, etc. Although it seems like a lot of little things, they were all fun projects to work on that came together rather quickly. It was actually nice to step away from the home decor crafting that has been occupying my time for the last 7 months to work on some smaller, simpler crafts!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Next week, I want to show you a few more details from this party before I get back to some fun furniture reveals! Stay tuned!

"On the Go" Second Birthday Party!

2013-04-08T09:41:00.000-04:00

This past week, my Henry turned the big TWO! We threw an "On the Go"-themed birthday on Saturday to celebrate the occasion. It was such a great day, attended by lots of friends and family!

I tend to really get into party planning, and this venture was no different. The "On the Go" theme was lots of fun once I got moving (ha!), and ideas really started to fly. In the end, I was really just restricted by time (which was probably a good thing!). This party was so much fun to pull together; we had a gorgeous day to celebrate, and I am pretty sure the birthday boy and all of our guests had a great time!

I know I should space out all these photos over several posts, but I can't help showing you everything today! Like last year (with the Monster Birthday Party), I'll go back and give some details about different aspects of the party...but today, you are just going to get lots and lots and lots of photos (that's your fair warning ;).

Okay, here we gooooooooo!!!

I'll go into more detail later this week, but the theme was all things "on the go," and the color scheme was blue, green, orange and black. The color scheme actually came together "accidentally," but in the end I was really digging the combo!

A bunch of paper circles provided a striking backdrop to our table!

A few shots before all the food was put out...

Yes, I used mini cones as vases for some flower arrangements!

I even got to re-use the "Happy Birthday" banner from last year!

A few "stoplights" adorned the garden beds!

A quick snapshot of the porch as we were putting things out!

I really, really wanted to keep the food simple. It was a 3:30PM party, and I knew guests wouldn't want to fill up too much between lunch and dinner. Light snacks coupled with some fun sweet treats were just the ticket!

No big cake this year, just cupcakes - perfect for toddler hands!

Toddler staples: gold fish and animal crackers!

We did have some veggie sticks and fruit to keep things a bit healthy! Everything was finger foods though, so no utensils required!

Two of my favorites of the day: the stoplight sugar cookies and green cake pops!

Fruit kabobs and pita chips with dip rounded out our offerings!

Am I the only one who gets all giddy at the site of a pretty party table??

We had just the right amount of food - almost everything was gone by the end of the afternoon!

Oh, and beer, lemonade and water were provided at the "Fuel Station"!

On another long table, we had room for gifts and favors!

I didn't have time to make favors this year, but found these adorable wooden cars on Etsy. Each child got to pick a car to play with at the party and take home with them!

Other favors included candy pouches and curly straws. Each child had a bag with their initial on it to fill with goodies!

The candy pouches were for adults and kids alike and were filled with M&Ms.

We had a lot of fun activities out to keep the little ones busy! A wooden race track (for those wooden cars), which I painted and Greg made (more on this project later this week), and the ball pit were huge hits!

Bubbles were the other big hit of the day!

We also pulled out the chalk...

...and other outdoor toys to keep the little ones busy!

For the adults, we had Corn Hole...

...and a lounging area to sit and snack and chat!

Oh, and would you like to see some snapshots of my big boy? He had such a great day playing with his friends and sampling all the treats!

Mom and Dad had a good day with their friends too!

It's such fun to watch Henry turn into a little boy who can run and jump and talk and laugh and play! He's such a great kid with such a happy personality. As I said last year, it's amazing what a difference a year can make...

Phew! I was exhausted on Saturday after the party, and I'm exhausted from re-living it through all these photos! Nonetheless, it was such a great day, and I hope you enjoyed seeing all of it here! I will be back later this week and next with details about everything (well, most everything!) you see here!

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Two-Toned Painted Metal Star + PS Guest Post Today!

2013-04-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

How's your week going? I've been cranking away on birthday party stuff (my little guy turned 2 yesterday!!) and his big party is this weekend. I am super excited to show you party pics next week! I wanted to pop on really quickly today to let you know that I am over at Positively Splendid, sharing a tutorial for making this fabulous striped "rug" for an outdoor or patio space!

This was a really fun project to do, so head on over to Amy's blog to get all the details! While I was pulling together my porch and garden for Spring last week, I decided to give a large metal star I had purchased a while ago a face lift to give it a bit more personality and brighten it up for Spring!

Alongside my painted bench and flowered cushion from last year, the red painted crate from my Christmas decor, and some new flower pots, the star brings the whole porch together to give it a completed feel!

This paint treatment was pretty easy! Let me show you how I did it....

My metal star, when I first purchased it, was actually turquoise. I painted it a crisp white to hang in the family room during the holidays. It's not lost on me that I painted it back to turquoise...but it took me a few months to decide it didn't belong in our family room after all. Oh well - you don't get every project right the first time :)

Although my star was white, I went ahead and primed it with Zinsser 123 Primer spray to ensure good adhesion with my new paint...

I then used some leftover Martha Steward Lagoon paint (leftover from the kitchen) and leftover Martha Stewart Azurite (leftover from the dining room) to paint the star by hand with a brush.

I began by painting two coats of the turquoise; I didn't tape it off or pay too close attention to the seems and edges since I was going to be painting over the smudges with a darker blue.
Once dry, I taped off the center "seem" of each star, as well as the inside borders. A scissors helped me keep everything crisp at the center intersection.
I then painted the remaining sections with two coats of the dark blue.

I removed my tape while the paint was still wet. I gave the star 24 hours to dry, and then finished it off with a Rust-oleum Clear Gloss coat.

We hung the star with some wire on a sturdy screw above the window frame.

We also laid some fresh mulch, fertilized our little bushes we planted last Fall, and added some bright fresh gerber daisies. I am so thrilled with how our porch has come together - it's exactly the bright, cheery, preppy Americana feel I was aiming for!

I'm scurrying off to finish some last-minute things for the birthday party! Have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday with some party pics!

How to Hang a Wreath with a Fabric Sash

2013-04-01T06:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday and Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a very low-key weekend, which was well needed by all in this house. We celebrated Easter with our local family (friends and neighbors) and introduced our kiddos to the wonders of plastic eggs filled with goodies :)

A few weeks ago, I showed you our bookcases turned dining room hutch, complete with crisp white china and fresh pops of kelly green. I promised then that I would show you the nifty way I hung my boxwood wreath on the front of the bookcases, and I am here today to fulfill that promise! This may be one of those no-brainer ideas; but for me this was totally new and may forever change the way I hang wreaths :)

I wanted a big sash to hold my wreath, and I wanted it to lay perfectly flat...so just tying a big piece of ribbon or fabric wasn't going to work.

My solution is really quick and easy. Let me show you!

I started out by cutting 2 stretches of fabric, both 6"x56". (NOTE - I cut two pieces of fabric to essentially line my sash. You could just iron the edges over on all sides if you want to conserve fabric). I then placed them right-sides-together, and sewed down both lengths (the sides). I could have sewn three ways around (leaving one short side open for flipping), but I didn't. (I was somewhat figuring this out as I went ;). With it sewn shut, I flipped the tube right-side-out and ironed it flat. I then placed my button holes: one at one end and then two at the other end. The several button holes on one end will allow you flexibility in length when you actually hang your wreath. I have room for one more hole (see photo below graphic), but just didn't go back and add a third :)

Here you can see my button holes on both ends of my long strip!

To hang your wreath, simply wrap your sash around your wreath and line up the button holes, depending on how low you want your wreath to hang!

And what do those button holes get hooked on to? A Command Hook! I used one of the larger hooks (I think it holds 5 lbs) and adhered it to the top REAR of my bookcase. It's hard to tell from this photo, but this hook is against the wall, away from the front of the bookcase where the wreath hangs. The hook should face away from where you want your wreath to be.

Once the hook is secure, simply place two of your button holes over the hook (with the wreath caught between the holes).

And once done, your wreath hangs perfectly flat on a lovely swatch of fabric!

How about you? How do you hang your wreaths? I always struggle with the ribbon twisting or the wreath twisting, so I am pretty excited about this new method.

We're prepping for a big birthday party here this weekend (the big TWO!!) and we've been readying our porch for Spring. Check back on Thursday to see a few of our outdoor additions new for this season!

Cheap and Easy Decorative Side Panels

2013-03-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since we've chatted about the windows in our living and dining rooms - otherwise known as the main living areas of our house. You might recall that when we first moved into this house, we installed these fabulous cornice boxes on the four windows in this space, and I declared the window treatments "done." At the time, I was truly smitten with the clean lines and the phenomenal geometric fabric, but as the other elements of the room started to evolve, the cornice boxes were just a smidge too clean and modern for me. I stared at them over and over and over again - half in love with them and half craving some long, more traditional, window treatments. I didn't want to get rid of the cornices completely, so I started toying with the idea of adding curtains under the cornice boxes to give me the classic look I was going for. Once the idea struck, it didn't take me long to execute my plan!

To rewind a bit, this is what the window looked like before adding some decorative side panels. Again, there's nothing wrong here, but I was just craving some fabric and texture and warmth in this space, instead of everything feeling so neat and tidy.

Here's the same window from the same angle with the addition of the decorative panels. Much better, don't you think?

So why am I calling them "decorative side panels" instead of curtains? Well, because, they are literally decorative side panels. Besides being pretty and giving me the feeling I was craving in this space, they aren't functional at all. They aren't wide enough to close, which is okay because we have the blinds. They are Velcro-ed into place so I can take them down whenever I want to (and I didn't have to install curtain rods!)...and the best part? They were really quick, cheep and easy to make!

Are you curious to see how I made them?

I didn't want to invest a ton of money or energy into this project since these "curtains" are really just for looks. Because we had the blinds, I made the decision that these curtains didn't need to close, which saved me a ton of money on fabric! Here's what I mean:

We have a fantastic local shop that carries an incredible selection of home decor fabric for $8/yard. Yes, you read that right. The WHOLE store is $8/yard. Anyway, I picked up 6 yards of fabric for a total of $50ish - not too terribly bad for four curtains, right?

I started with a 6 yard x 56" stretch of fabric.
I cut this stretch in half width-wise, so that I had two 3 yard x 56" pieces.
I then cut each 3 yard piece in half length-wise, leaving me with a total of four rectangles measuring 3 yards x 28" each.

With my four curtain panels cut, I then hemmed all four sides. The long sides each got a 1/2"fold, folded over another 1/2" and stitched shut. The tops and bottoms were each folded over a 1/2" and then another 4" and hemmed. At this point, my four rectangles were "hemmed" on all four sides to take care of all the rough edges/cuts.

I then cut 6 1" pieces of Velcro (I used the "sew" loop and "sticky" hook kind) and spaced them evenly across the top of my curtain panel. I sewed each Velcro piece in place on the RIGHT side of the fabric.

I don't have pictures here so I hope you can follow me. I then cut a 12" piece of the adhesive-backed Velcro and attached that to the INSIDE of the cornice box. I then lined up all my 1" pieces, sewed to my curtain panel, end to end onto the long Velcro strip, essentially "pleating" the curtain panel. Make sense? Maybe a picture of two might help!

The 12" stretch of Velcro is attached to the cornice box, and the 1" pieces (sewn to the fabric) connect to the cornice box to form all those pleats!

Hanging curtains with Velcro is not new for me. I did it here and here and here. If you're a renter, especially, this is a good trick as you often have windows, blinds, tracks, rails, etc that are a pain to pull down (and put back up!). If you just need a dose of fabric and are hanging decorative panels (like these or valences), Velcro is the way to go!

These took me an afternoon to make, and I really love the end result!

The other two decorative panels were hung on the back doors to mirror the window in the front of the house. Especially here in the dining room, the longer curtains lend a more sophisticated feel that is appropriate for this room.

A few quick before and after shots...of the playroom area:

And the dining room:

I'm really quite satisfied with this solution! Tweaking our original window treatment just a smidge helps me love our entire space so much more! How about you? Have you ever had to think and play and identify a solution to make something work just a bit better in your home? I feel like I am doing just that all the time ;)

Thanks for coming by today! I hope you have a great weekend. I'll be back here Monday with another project reveal! See you then :)

Stenciled Cutting Boards as Kitchen Art

2013-03-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Thank so much to all of you whole left fun comments on my "a Little About Me" post - it was fun to hear back from several of you and get to know you a bit better! Thanks also for all the race well-wishes! I have a mini race recap at the end of this post for those interested to hear how it went :)

Today, I want to share a tutorial for a project that's been on my To-Do List for a while. I had all the materials sitting on the sidelines just waiting to be done, and last week I pulled them out to "just dot it!" I am super excited with how they turned out! Check out my new kitchen art: stenciled cutting boards!

These have a little back story. For those of you who know me or have checked out my About Me page, my "real life" interests/profession are health, fitness, and nutrition. Many years ago, I was a chronic dieter, always watching my weight, counting calories and cutting out this or that in an effort to achieve the ultimate health and aesthetic...in reality, I just created a pretty un-healthy relationship with food. Over the course of several years, throughout grad school (where I studied Nutrition), and as I simply just got older (and wiser?), I slowly cleaned up both my eating and my attitude toward food so that I can now say I have a very healthy approach to my "diet." I attribute most of that mental shift to Michael Pollen's book, In Defense of Food.

This post is not about that book or even my journey to food peace; however, the main premise of the book is summed up in three very simple phrases: Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants. These three phrases now guide my food choices and have for years. So...when I was trying to think up something fun to perk up my boring small kitchen - I knew displaying these meaningful words were just the ticket!

I started by buying a three-pack of bamboo cutting boards from Marshalls for $13...

Then I gave them a really simple, but time-consuming, stencil job. Let me show you what I did!

Pick one of your cutting boards to get started. Now, I didn't do this step (because I didn't know), but if I were to do this again, I would spray or brush the board with a very light clear coat (poly or something). The boards are made from bamboo, and as I pealed off the vinyl (that I used for stenciling), some of the fibers pulled up too. Not a huge deal, but a little annoying.

Next, I picked a font and experimented with sizing until I determined the exact right size for each of my phrases for each of my boards. I recommend experimenting on cheap paper until you finalize your sizes and then cut out your phrases onto re-positionable vinyl.

I should have used transfer paper to move my letters to the cutting board, but I didn't. It was pretty easy to place the whole thing by hand, even going back to insert all the letters' details.

I chose to use lowercase font for the top and all caps for the bottom to give it some variation. Here are my words ready for paint.

Before I actually applied paint, I went over everything with a small craft brayer to make sure everything was flat and adhered nice and smooth and tight.

I used simple acrylic craft paint to stencil my words. Instead of using a dobber, which would have been much faster, I decided to paint my stencils by hand with a very fine-tiped paint brush. My track record with stenciling isn't the greatest: I always seem to get leaks into areas that are supposed to be paint free. I really wanted to make sure my words came out perfectly clean, so I chose a slower more detailed application process.

I painted the top with white and the bottom with green, all using the small brush. All the letters got two coats of paint. It took for.ever....

But it was worth it! My letters were crisp and clean once the vinyl was removed. (Pst, see what I mean about how the vinyl pulled away some of the bamboo fibers - I know - totally annoying. Once they're sealed and up, you can hardly notice, but the heartache would have been avoided had I just sealed them first.)

I repeated the exact same process with the other two cutting boards and the other two "food rules."

Once the cutting boards were stenciled and the paint was dry, I took them outside for two light coats of Rust-oleum Clear Gloss. Not only did this seal everything up for durability, but the spray also intensified the colors.

I love how they turned out. These would be a neat gift idea using monograms, last names, home addresses etc!

My last step was to add a little texture to the "handles" on these boards. After attaching it to the back using hot glue, I wrapped some basic twine that we had out in the garage around the corners of each board.

Totally un-necessary if you're not digging that look, but I like the texture it brings to the project.

These boards aren't too heavy, so to hang them on the wall, I hot glued hanging brackets on the back of each board.

Here they are all done and ready for hanging!

The original plan was to hang these over the sink. But as we played with different options, we actually liked them next to the refrigerator better. Here's what it looked like before...

And now with a little meaningful art!

Our kitchen is a cave, so it's super hard to photograph nicely, but here you can see how it nods to the greens in the next room. They really are the PERFECT reminder right next to the refrigerator :)

With that done, our kitchen feels a tad more complete. Now, I just need to figure out something for above the sink :)

Oh, and for those of you curious about my half marathon. Here I am crossing the finish line:

Don't be fooled by that very happy expression (I was waving at some friends who surprised me in the crowd!). I did finish, so that in itself is always a victory. Especially since this is the first race and considerable distance I've done since being pregnant, having a baby, and having hip surgery. It wasn't however, my best race, slogging along for the final three miles in pretty rough shape. I'm not making excuses...okay, maybe I am. But my Little Guy gave me his sicky germs - how kind of him - and I got sick starting late Friday night, the night before the race. Around 2am, I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the start line. I did make it to the start line as well as the finish line in 1:57, a very respectable time, at the top of my game or not. Every race is always a journey, and with longer races you never really know how it's going to end. You can feel good for 10 miles and fall apart during the last three despite solid training and a good race strategy. Maybe that's the excitement and allure of running longer distances? Although not the race I was hoping for Friday morning when I was last here with you, I am still proud that I put one foot in front of the other, and got it done!

I'm spending the rest of the weekend re-couping instead of tackling the list of projects I was hoping to finish up. I'll see you back here Thursday for another playroom update!

A Little About Me - Part I

2013-03-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends! I hope you had a fantastic week. Spring has sprung where we are, making my days a little brighter (literally and figuratively!) and my spirits a little higher. It's amazing what a little sunshine and fresh air can do for ya (and for a toddler too!). I thought today would be as good a day as any to start a little series that I've been wanting to add in here and there throughout the year...

I pride myself on keeping this little ol' blog of mine focused on home projects, ideas, crafts, inspirations and the like. But being a long time blog follower myself, I know as a reader, I really love getting to know more about the writer behind the blog. I just eat up those "behind the scenes" or "what my day looks like" kind of posts. I am not a big, fancy, full-time blogger but just a stay-at-home-Mom who loves her paint brush and sewing machine...so my day-to-day life may not be so much different than yours'?!? So, instead of doing "a day in the life of Megan" post, I thought I'd just share a few quick snippets about me!

While this type of description may not be a big deal to some people, saying "out loud" that "I am runner" is a pretty big deal to me. As a kid/teen, I was a chubby gal - a talented dancer - but about as far from athletically gifted as you can get. Always struggling with my weight, I always thought that if I was a runner, all my weight problems would go away. Truth was, because of my weight and low fitness level, I was never able to run (consistently) - and it became this un-attainable skill I thought I would never, ever, ever have.

Fast forward 15 years. Over the years, I've learned how to eat properly, exercise regularly, and overall love who I am, what I look like, and appreciate my skills and talents for what they are (not that any of these things were quick and easy, but this is supposed to be a short post ;). In the last 4 years or so, I found myself fit enough to run and threw myself into it full-throttle, completing 3 half marathons and one full marathon within a year. Not surprisingly, I ended up with a pretty significant hip injury, requiring surgery (Nov 2011) and a year of rehabilitation. Just over a year post-op, I am back running again. Tomorrow, I will run my first race since before I got pregnant with Henry (almost 3 years ago!) - a half marathon - my favorite distance. I am excited to be back in my running shoes again and can't wait for tomorrow. I hope to have a good "race report" for you on Monday!

If you've been coming around here for a while, you probably don't need me to tell you this but have noticed it yourself. I guess I am saying it here, loud and clear, so that you all know that I know I am a horrible speller ;) I have been my WHOLE LIFE. True story: I was the ONLY kid in all of my third grade class who went the entire year without a perfect score on the weekly spelling test (as noted by the sticker chart displayed in the classroom). Although spell check helps me out significantly, I still make some pretty good blunders...like this one:

I'm not making excuses, I do try really, really hard to catch errors. But, I am a busy Mama who is trying to cram blogging in with everything else I want to get done in a day - I just don't catch all my spelling errors because I am usually writing posts hurriedly during naps or in the early morning light before he wakes up, and I am sorry. But please know, I know they are there...somewhere, and when I find them, I (usually) fix them :)

This one's a pretty quick answer: Maroon 5 Radio and The Wiggles Radio (only when the little guy is awake :) on Pandora Radio! I am a HUGE music lover, and as you would expect from a former dancer, I get a ton of my energy from music. I don't have a particular style that I am loyal to; I am an equal-lover of Country, Pop, Oldies, Musicals and more. Right now, I am really loving Maroon 5's new album (I have all of them), as well as the soundtrack from the movie Pitch Perfect (I know, total geek :)

Right now: a turkey and provolone sandwich on whole wheat with honey mustard, avocado, and mixed greens...with a side of carrots, a sparkling water, and three Dove dark chocolates. It might sound strange that I can tell you exactly what I had for lunch (granted, it was just an hour ago), but I am a total creature of habit and have the same thing for every breakfast (cereal with blueberries and soy milk), snack (Luna bar), and lunch (see above!). Yes, everyday. Not because I am watching my weight or counting calories, but because I literally like having the same thing day after day. Afternoon snacks and dinner always change, but for the first half of the day, I eat the same things. After a while, I will get bored (switching from cereal to oatmeal for example), and then will stick with the "new" thing for a while before moving on. I also like to eat my cereal out of a specific bowl and drink my coffee out of a specific mug - some might call this a little obsessive, I just call it "comfortable."

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So, there you have it. Not a craft project or inspirational DIY today, but a few fun facts about me! I hope it helps you to get to know me a little better, and I'd love to get to know you better too. If you're feeling in the mood, leave me a quick comment with a fun fact about you. Many of you leave me lovely comments often, so I "know" your names and sometimes your little thumbnail-sized faces, but not much else. I'd really love to know more about those who bring a smile to MY day with your kind words and comments!

I'm off to rest and eat some good ol' carbs in preparation for my race tomorrow. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here Monday with a really neat kitchen art idea! Until then, my friends...

Styling Bookcases as a Dining Hutch

2013-03-20T06:57:00.000-04:00

We haven't talked about the dining room in a while around here. I showed you a few things months ago, like our strong use of pattern, our lantern planter, and our artwork for this space. This room sat THIS close to being done for a while, but the one thing left to be done was to style the black bookcases we had in the corner! I just couldn't figure out what to put on them. The Holiday Home Tour came around, and they got decorated for Christmas. But when the holiday stuff came down, I was still clueless about what to do with them.

In an attempt to make them look complete, I pulled out out every book and decorative item I had. Everything I tried felt very random, cluttered, and out of place. Then, as I was literally on my way out shopping to find something to fill these babies, it occurred to me that I had some fantastic-ly shaped everyday dishes and serve-ware tucked away inside our kitchen cabinets. Although these are technically bookcases, their location in our dining room meant I could certainly use them as a dining hutch, right? (After all, I'm already using a dining hutch as a bookcase ;).

I pulled out my everyday dishes and platters as well as a few other decorative items I had around the house, and all of a sudden, the display felt very right to me!

See how I pulled this whole thing together after the jump!

Although I was loving the all white china on the black cabinet, these shelves were craving a punch of color (I can't do anything without some color, after all!). Then we painted the high chair green (remember?)...

...and I knew it was exactly the ticket to making this bookcase come alive! I added a boxwood wreath (that I had been eyeing at Target for months), hung from the center with some textured white fabric. I'll show you how I did this in the next week!

I then just kept my eyes open for some perfectly suited green items to fill the nooks among my dishes!

A stack of my favorite food-related books bring a nice punch of color, and the real green plants in these awesome little planters (from Marshalls for $4) add just the right color and "texture."

I scored the Fiestware green pitcher for $15 from a consignment shop (and absolutely did a happy dance when I did so!)...

The matching green planter was a $9 clearance find from Marshalls, as were the green cedar nesting buckets on the top shelf ($18 for three!). The dark green vase, stool, tea set, and dried sea urchins are all from our travels to Japan...

I am so thrilled that I worked really, really hard to figure out what to do with these shelves. After all my attempts, our lovely dishes (that we adore) are displayed and handy when we need them; and a few decorative touches bring it alive and make it feel complete. This "dining room hutch" is situated at the end of the hallway from the bedrooms and back of the house, so as I come into the main area of the house, this is always the first thing that greets me. The green always makes me smile!

I'm not quite ready to proclaim this room done, but we are really, really close. Here's a peak of how everything is coming together!

Hope your week is going great! See you Friday!

How To: Fabric-Covered Bulletin Board

2013-03-18T09:13:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning to you all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead! As usual, I am working on several things at once. These days, I am finishing up a few things to get our porch and yard ready for Spring (I'm pulling everything out this weekend) and my son's up-coming (second!!) birthday party. While I'm working away on those things, I wanted to play a little catch up here on the blog! I've got lots and lots of projects I haven't shown you yet, so over the next few weeks I'm going to reveal this project and that project to get us up to speed with where we are at in our house!

Today, I wanted to show you a quick project that I certainly didn't create or think up myself: a fabric-covered inspiration board. I really wanted some sort of bright, cheery board for our craft room/home office. There are so many good ideas and tutorials out there, but I thought I'd throw my take on it out there too - after all, everyone has a different way to accomplish a similar look! Let me show you how I went about customizing this store-bought cork board for our craft room/home office!

I really wanted a big inspiration board for above my craft work station, and I really wanted it to have a chunky wood frame. We are not super construction savvy in this house, so when I found this good-sized bulletin board at HomeGoods for $40, I knew I could make it work exactly right for my space!

This project was quick and simple - let me show you what I did!

Here was the catch with this particular board/frame: it had a finished, stapled and papered shut backing. As in the kind of backing you get with professional framing...as in, not super easy or simple to pop out the cork board, paint the frame, cover the cork board with fabric and pop it back in. I decided that instead of removing the backing, I would "make do" with the board as it was.

I started by covering the cork board with cardboard (from old boxes) and painters tape. I then gave the frame a light sanding and wiped it clean of dust.

I primed the frame with my usual Zinsser 123 primer and then painted it using some of Martha Stewart's Tailor's Chalk (leftover from our dining room) mixed with some Floetrol to reduce brush strokes.

I gave the frame two good coats of white, followed by two light coats of poly spray.

While the paint was STILL WET, I removed the tape and cardboard covering to reveal a nice clean white frame!

Next, I measured out the cork board size, adding an inch total (1/2" on either side). I then cut out my fabric to the right size.

Next, I used spray adhesive to attach my fabric to the cork board. Although the picture below suggests that I sprayed the cork board, I actually opted to spray the backside of the FABRIC instead. This stuff is ubber-sticky, and there was no way to keep it from getting on my pretty white frame.

With the back of my fabric sprayed with adhesive, I placed it wrong side down onto my cork board surface. I worked quickly to smooth wrinkles and pull everything nice and taught. Once my fabric was flat, I was left with that 1/2" border all the way around my frame.

Any flat edge would work here (i.e., flathead screwdriver, butter knife, etc). I simply went around the edge of the board, tucking and smoothing the fabric under the frame. In some areas I had to "loosen" the cork board from the frame, but not so much that it was completely free from the frame.

It worked like a champ. By the end of an afternoon, I had a pretty and perfectly matching cork board for our craft room/home office!

I ultimately decided to hang it horizontally because it filled the wall better!

I added some vinyl wall decals above the board, as well as some hanging storage below.

It's perfectly situated in the center of my craft station to pin up whatever I need to keep handy!

This craft wall is still a work in progress...I should have updates here for you soon! For now, one more glance at the before/after!

Hope you all have a great Monday! I'll be back Wednesday with a look at our almost-finished dining room!

A Simple Spring

2013-03-15T06:51:00.000-04:00

The first day of Spring is less than a week away! Woo hoo! We've had some gorgeous days lately (sprinkled in with some chilly ones!), and I am catching Spring Fever fast! I am antsy to get some new flowers planted outside, and am enjoying all the fresh pops of color in the stores, around the web, and in my own home! After the bit-over-the-top mantel display I did for Valentine's Day, I was really craving less "stuff" and less decor in general for the Spring season. Along with sweeping the house for un-necessary clutter, I put together a less fussy Spring mantel to bring in some of that fresh color but also some Spring "lightness" to our foyer.

Although Emerald is the "color of the year," I am REALLY crushing on more of a "shamrock green" lately (and no, not because St. Patty's Day is right around the corner!). I've found that adding this sprightly green throughout my house cheers me up and makes things feel alive. As such, this big green grass display was the jumping off point for my "mantel."

I get really frustrated at the cost of fake flowers in the stores, even in places like HomeGood or Marshalls. I am not a very good flower arranger, but the look I was going for here was pretty simple so I gave it a go myself! I made this one using three grass bundles from Michaels (on sale for $4 each!) and a yellow planter I already had (thanks, Mom!). I filled the bottom 2/3 with sand to hold my grasses in place and then used rocks for the very top layer (because they are prettier than sand). It weighs a TON, but it cost me $12! The two little bird houses are from the Target Dollar Spot last year!

I'm a little over balls and flower right now, so when I saw these glittery eggs on sale, I scooped up a few in my color scheme. Piled on a cake stand, they are just the right amount of Easter for my "simple" display!

I rounded out the display with one of my white lanterns and my white "love birds" from my Valentine's decor.

On the other side, I placed some simple white bunnies with citron bow-ties (also used in my Spring Tablescape).

I have been on a wreath spree this year. Yowza. We moved to North Carolina with 2, and we now have 6. Most I've picked up on clearance here and there. With all those wreaths, I didn't quite have a natural, neutral wreath. I grabbed the brown vine wreath from Michaels for $4 and then a bundle of yellow flowers for $7. Twelve dollars later, I had a fresh spring wreath for inside!

Here's all the elements together. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep things toned down and simple. I love the freshness of this little cove without feeling like there is too much to look at!

Ahhhh - just looking at it makes me feel energized!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! We are celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends and i'll (hopefully) throw in a few home projects here and there!

See you back here on Monday :)

Rolling Storage (from a dresser drawer!)

2013-03-13T06:25:00.000-04:00

As promised, I am popping in today to show you how we added some much-needed storage for under our "new" play table!

This drawer has actually made an appearance on the blog before! Don't believe me? Remember this project/post?

Yup!! When we made over this hutch base to become our new media stand, we removed the top three drawers and inserted shelves. These solid wood, dove-tail-joint drawers were still good and sturdy so they were tucked away in the garage for a "rainy day."

Well, enter a "rainy day"!! If I can rewind a bit...I had been casually shopping for some sort of crate, box, or basket that we could place under the play table to hold extra track, trains, etc. When I was out in the garage working on the first play table makeover, I glanced over to the side of the garage and saw our stack of drawers. I raced in with the largest one to see if it would fit!

Not only did it fit perfectly under the table, but it also comfortably held all of trains and track!

There was no time to make it over in time for Christmas, so it sat just like this for a few months!

See the rest of the transformation after the jump!

When it came time to do the second table makeover, I figured I might as well do the drawer too while I had all the paint(s) out. Here's what I used to get her done!

I started by removing the handle and filling the holes with wood filler. I then gave it two light coats of primer (with sanding in between) and three coats of the Rust-oleum Red. Once it was painted (and dried), Greg screwed some rolling casters to the base of the drawer (these were leftover from a rolling bookshelf that we never put the wheels on). The last step was to attach a new handle, also leftover from something or other. In the end, this snazzy little storage solution cost us nothing extra to put together. We made the whole thing using stuff we've ~~accumulated~~ collected over the years!

Here it is all loaded back up!

The casters make it really easy for the Little Man to pull it out as he wishes, and the pop of bright red is perfect under the mostly white table!

Hooray for a free makeover and a fantastic up-cycle!!

We still have those other two drawers left, wonder what we can do with those??? ;)

We've had a rainy, rainy day and we are antsy to go out and play! Hope it's dry wherever you are! See you Friday - hope to have my Spring mantel up for you to see!