Hey everyone I hope you had a great weekend, and for all you mamas out there, hope you had a happy Mother’s Day too!  I got a few things accomplished and that was nice, and one of them included taking down the Spring/Easter mantel and creating a new summer mantel.  And I loooooove how it came out!

I wanted to go with a beachy look this year with shades of aqua and the good news is that I already had everything. Except the driftwood which I picked up in Alabama. Oh, and I did buy the rope ball at Target for $5.

I love it up here!  You can also spy my aqua painted mason jar up there too.  That rope net thing around it was something I kept a long time ago and some decorative balls came in it, I think.

I already had the old antique window and used it for my Fall mantel last year as a backdrop, but this time I just turned it on its side, and made a simple shell wreath to hang on it.

I just wove some pretty ribbon in and out of the wreath form and glued on some seashells.  Really couldn’t have been any easier and I love how it turned out.

I love the driftwood and the natural element it brings.

Now here’s just a few more pretty shots. :)

And that’s a wrap!  I really am thrilled with how it came out.  You can see last year’s summer mantel here.  I loved it a lot too! :)

What do you think?  Are you ready for summer? Or at least ready for the beach?  I am! :)

xxoo,

Decorchick!

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The Beachy Summer Mantel is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Hey everyone thanks so much for your insight the other day about our living room rugs and Rugs USA.  I’ve been checking them out and found quite a few that I really like!  Wanna see?

Option A.

For some reason I just really love this navy rug.  But I think it might be too dark for our living room?  And not sure how it would go with our black and white ottoman.  But I looooooove it.

Option B.

I like this one a lot too and it’s pretty similar to what we already have.  It also comes in lots of different colors.

Option C.

They have lots of chevron rugs available, and I like how this one doesn’t have perfect stripes.  I know chevron will die soon, but I wouldn’t buy something in this pattern to be trendy. I buy because I like. And this one I like!  And this one seems a little more on the herringbone-ish side anyway. :)

Those are the first 3 options, and the only bad thing about them is that they are ALL wool!  I said I was going to get away from wool because of the shedding. But they are just so pretty I can’t help it.

Here’s the last option, and this is the only synthetic one I’ve found so far.

Option D.

I like this one a lot too!  And all of the rugs I listed have really good coupons out too.

It’s pretty obvious I wanted to stay with the blue shades and a geometric type pattern just because I like our current ones so much. But I’m not opposed to other colors/patterns too.

So which one do you like best? Option A, B, C, or D? And should I risk getting another wool rug?  Help!

xxoo,

Decorchick!

Let’s Go Rug Shopping! is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Well, sadly, I need to start looking for a new rug for the living room.  It breaks my heart actually because I LOVE the look of this rug, but it is still shedding!!!  It’s been over a year people.

Yes, those beautiful rugs! They really make the room I think.

And if you’re new here you can read about the rugs in this post and this post, and yes, I bought 2 of the same rug and put them together to make 1 big area rug.  No limits y’all.

But unfortunately, little fibers get everywhere on the wood floors and makes the floor look dirty when it’s not, so these rugs would best work on carpet where you can’t see them. :)  Also, after the kids romp around on it for a day or so, little fuzz balls form on the rugs and it’s just annoying.  I just can’t believe it is STILL shedding after all this time.  Really makes me want to cry because they look so pretty in here.

So now I’m in the market for just a synthetic rug…not a wool rug like these are because they are just going to shed like mad.  But I want it to be soft and cushiony.

Now what’s your favorite place to shop for rugs that don’t cost a fortune?  These were from Overstock, but I need some different resources.  Anyone have good luck with RugsUSA.com?  Let me know then we can go rug shopping together!  Online of course. :)

xxoo,

Decorchick!

The Rug Has Got To Go is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Hi everyone, hope you had a great weekend!  I haven’t shared any prego photos in a while, so that’s what I’m doing today.  I’m feeling great, some days totally exhausted though and can’t wait for nap time, and others I want to start all kinds of new projects. But most days naps win.  :)  I wish I was sleeping better though but my nonstop bladder and vivid crazy dreams are to blame.

Anywho, I took my daughter to Alabama last week to visit family and had a great time. I’m officially 31 weeks now, but in these pics I was 30 weeks.

And yes I’m mean and had to crop this picture so it was just me.  But here’s the original photo so you can see my beautiful pregnant cousin too.

Here she was 25 1/2 weeks.  And skinny.  And it’s not fair.  Even if I ate carrots every single day and that’s all I ate, I still would not be a skinny pregnant person.  That’s just the way God made me so in the meantime I eat way more than just carrots every day. :)

Oh hey, look who it is!

Yep, that’s Myra from My Blessed Life, my blogging BFF (who also is pregnant and due just 1 1/2 weeks behind me!).  We were able to hang out a few days while I was there and it was SO good to see her and let our kids play together.  Keep in mind we never have hung out in person before, but we talk to each other just about every day. But it was just like we did hang out every day when we saw each other.  Love her bunches.

The third trimester has been interesting to say the least.  I haven’t been emotional or had raging hormones this entire time, up until now.  And some days it isn’t pretty if I’m being honest.  My poor husband.  That’s all I can say.  But at least while in Alabama my Grandma did have this treat waiting for me when we got there.

Yep, the famous caramel cake.  It is seriously the best thing ever.  I ate a piece every night with a glass of milk.  And I’m sure that will be apparent at my next doctor’s appointment this week.

Speaking of Grandma, here’s the pretty lady herself with me and her great-granddaughter.

Love them!

So that’s it. Just 9 more weeks to go!! I think I’m in denial about it too. I still haven’t caved and found out the sex of the baby, but I did have a weird dream the other night that it was a boy.  But a very pretty boy with bright blue eyes, and that’s all I kept saying is that “he’s so pretty.” Haha. Weird pregnancy dreams for sure.

xxoo,

Decorchick!

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Pregnant Fest {30 Week Baby Belly Pics} is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Well Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and I wanted to throw out a few ideas for you all in case you haven’t decided on anything yet.  And homemade gifts are always great and meaningful, and what better place to get all of your supplies from than Michaels?!

You can’t go wrong with a homemade card, and did you know May is national scrapbooking month?

Gosh I love orange and aqua I could just eat em up.

You could also buy a stencil kit from Michaels and make your mom something special too.

They have tons of different stencils to choose from, but a few simple projects that come to mind would be to make some monogrammed coasters, an apron, or even do some stenciling/glass etching on a pretty vase filled with flowers.  Lots of possibilities.

Michaels also has a great custom frame shop and you could frame your favorite picture or whatever is meaningful to your mother.

And lastly, one of my personal favorites would be to make her a chalkboard for the kitchen. Every mom needs a chalkboard!!

They are so simple to make and it’s one of my favorite crafts I’ve made before and use it all the time.  You can buy the chalkboard paint at Michaels too.  All you need to do is find an old picture frame, spray the glass with the chalkboard paint and voila!  So, so simple. Here are a few chalkboards that I’ve made for our home and as gifts if you want to check them out.

So what do you think? Are you inspired to make something for Mother’s Day this year?   I am, and now I’m off to shop at Michaels! :)

xxoo,

Decorchick!

Mother’s Day Ideas is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Hey everyone, hope you’re having a great week so far!  Today I’m happy to share with y’all a great company, Wallpaper for Windows who specializes in decorative window films and tints.  Ever wanted the look of stained glass and etched glass but don’t want to pay the high price tag for it?  Wallpaper for Windows is the solution!

I love their leaded glass designs…

I love how you can get the designs in privacy or see thru too.  I like having the privacy glass in the front of our house near the front door, but by the back door I’d do a see thru design.

They also have a new collection called the Cambridge Collection which focuses on the stained glass look.

So pretty!

Wallpaper for Windows also offers several other designs and options too, and I happen to love these too.

If we didn’t already have privacy film on our front sidelights I would definitely get these.

And they offer etched glass looks as well.

So many options to dress up your windows, glass doors, shower enclosures and more. Installation is super easy too and you can view the instructions here.

And the kind folks at Wallpaper for Windows are offering one of you a $75 gift certificate to their shop! Woohoo!!

To enter the giveaway to win a $75 credit to Wallpaper for Windows, please do the following:

1. Leave a comment and tell us what you would use their product on in your home;
2. Bonus entry: Like Wallpaper for Windows on Facebook;
3. Bonus entry: Facebook or tweet about the giveaway and include a link back to this post.

And that’s it! Please leave separate comments for each thing you do.  Giveaway will be open until Thursday, May 10, 2012 and winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Good luck!

xxoo,

Decorchick!

Wallpaper For Windows {Giveaway!} is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

I am soooo happy the chandelier I bought at the thrift store works!  Even though a small headache occurred when we took down the florescent lighting, the electrician already came and installed the electrical box and our laundry room (which is still undergoing a makeover) is now sporting a lovely “new” aqua chandelier!

Doesn’t it look beautiful??  And yes I still need to finish cutting in around the edges on the wall with the orange paint.  I just can’t reach it and still not sure how I’ll get that one done.

Here is the before of the $8 thrift store brass chandelier.

I first just cleaned the chandelier, and then protected all of the bulb sockets by wrapping them in foil before I spray painted.

Then I painted the chandelier with my favorite aqua spray paint from Krylon called Catalina Mist.  It’s soooo pretty.  For other projects using this color you can see my aqua painted mason jar here, and my old drawer project here.

Don’t look at the chain too closely and think I forgot to paint it or something.  I just didn’t worry about it much because I plan to put one of those cute chain covers around it anyway.

And here it is hung up again in the laundry room.

And YES, this fixture does put off plenty of light in this room which I was originally worried about thanks to my husband, but we set him straight didn’t we? :)  I just love it and it makes the laundry room more happy.

Ahh I love spray paint.  It’s still amazes me what a little paint can do!  You’d think I would lose my excitement by now about paint in general, but I haven’t and probably never will. It’s just awesome! :)

This room is just about done now with a few touch ups left to do.  I can’t wait to show you!  Have you painted anything recently?  Do you ever get tired of what a little paint can do to something ugly?

Sharing this post at Sarah’s Before and After Party and Weekend Wrap Up Party.

xxoo,

Decorchick!

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And It Works! {An $8 Chandelier Makeover} is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Every single time I set out to do a “little” project, somehow it doesn’t end up being so little.  It’s annoying.  We got the florescent light down in the laundry room so I could put up my new chandy, and we were left with this.

If you notice it is just wires up there hanging, and no electrical box.  The electrical box is needed to hang up chandeliers, and it looks like this in case you don’t remember.

Florescent lights can be hung differently like ours was.  Ummm, good to know now, after the fact.  And all of those ugly holes. That one big hole that is shaped like a half moon was a mistake by the builders apparently.  That is actually the center of the room, but then they must have realized the florescent box wouldn’t fit if centered so they cut another hole.  Lovely.

I know that you can put up an electrical box yourself, but my husband doesn’t want to mess with it and well, I don’t either, so we will have an electrician come do it for us.  It will just be a few dollars for us to have someone that can do this with their eyes closed, so it’s worth it for us to hire it out.  You have to pick your battles, and sometimes it’s just easier to hire out. :)

But the good news is that the builders will come fix the holes after we are done hanging the new light free of charge.  Yay!

I can’t wait to see the new light hanging up in there.  I did paint it and it looks lovely.  I just hope it works.

Do your little projects end up being more than you bargained for too?  I think I just need to learn that’s just how it’s gonna be. :)

xxoo,

Decorchick!

Why Can’t Things Ever Be Easy? is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

I’m so happy to write and share this recap with you all.  I know all you have heard from a lot of bloggers the past few months is Snap, Snap, SNAP!  But there is good reason for that, because the conference was just amazing.  And I would consider myself to be a picky conference goer, even though I’ve only been to 1 other one that I wasn’t too thrilled with.  But what makes a good conference are the people behind the scenes who put it together I think.  And I must say, those Utah girls are the nicest people you will ever meet.

I was honored to be a speaker at the Discovering and Defining Your Style session, and with a rockstar panel.

Shelley@House of Smiths, Ana-White , Me, and Kate@Centsational Girl.

It was terrifying and thrilling to speak in front of a bunch of other gals, but I made it and actually enjoyed it!  It was my first time doing any public speaking, and just so you know, I dropped public speaking 3 times in college and never took it again.  :)

My roomie was Brittany whom I’ve met before, and she was great and is an awesome friend.

That’s Cassity from Remodelaholic who is so awesome, Brittany, and me.

Oh, the location where we stayed (Thanksgiving Point) was beautiful.  I hope to go back to Utah one day when I have more time and explore.  But wherever we walked there were tulips and more tulips.  It was gorgeous!

Mountains were right outside our door too but I didn’t snap a decent shot of them. Shame on me.

I met and saw so many wonderful people so I’ll just start posting the photos.  Some I’ve met before and some I just talk to online and on the phone so it’s nice to finally meet in person! :)

Jen@Tatertots and Jello, Brittany@Pretty Handy Girl, Me, and Mandi@Vintage Revivals.

Destiny@A Place For Us and me.

Brittany, Kristina@Pearl Gateway, and me.

Amy@Positively Splendid, Kari@UCreate, and me.

Shelley and me.

Tam@Sew Dang Cute and yea, me again.

Natalie@Johnny in a Dress and me. P.S.-Don’t skinny pregnant people make you mad? Natalie was too cute to hate though. :)

(then crazy Mandi had to touch our bellies for good luck) :)

Me and Wendy from The Shabby Nest.

Then came the dance party on the last night of the conference.  Um, this was so fun and hilarious.  I loved snapping photos of people gettin’ jiggy with it.

Traci from Beneath My Heart showing everyone what’s up.

Gosh I love this picture!!  Traci is a riot and can really bust a move. I’m serious. And I love how in the moment Jen is in the background. Haha!

Beckie@Infarrantly Creative gettin’ down too.

That was me acting like I was dancing with Mandi, but I really wasn’t.  You can tell by the scary expression on my face.

And then I was also honored to be sponsored by Apartment Guide and network with other bloggers while at the conference.

Lisa@Pennington Point and Anna@Take The Side Street.

I passed out cards to bloggers I think would be good candidates for working with Apartment Guide and that was fun too! Everyone was really interested and excited about the possible opportunity.  I explained to them the work I have done with Apartment Guide in the past, different campaigns I have participated in, and what was expected from me etc.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these bloggers and working with Apartment Guide!  And if you think you would be a good fit, you can email me your info and I’ll pass it along too.

Also, remember that whether you’re living, looking or moving, ApartmentGuide offers how-to tips for making the most of your space on a budget.  And do you need some more inspiration?  Read this fun article about What Your Bedroom Wall Color Says About You and how to Decorate on a Dime.

“Like” Apartment Guide on Facebook at Facebook.com/apartmentguide, follow them on Twitter @AptGuide and “circle” them on Google+ for real-time tips and updates on making the most of your space.

Want to know a few other awesome things that made SNAP so amazing?  The food was delicious and we had “fancy” dinners!;  the venue wasn’t huge where you would get lost and not ever see anyone; the sessions that I attended were great; the swag bags–oh my these were out of this world; easy access to sponsor booths; everyone was together all day long, including dinner; the market when we shopped and supported our favorite handmade businesses; and again, the people.  The sweet, sweet people behind SNAP! and all of the amazing ladies that attended.

It gets sad leaving conferences because these are people that are your friends and you know you would hang out with in real life if they lived in the same city as you.  But the reality is that most people live on the other side of the country or at least several states away.  I sure hope they have this conference next year because I am so going again.  I can’t believe it was their 1st year!

xxoo,

Decorchick!

SNAP Conference Recap! is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time

Hey guys!! I’m so happy to be back home from SNAP Conference, although I had the BEST time!!  I can’t wait to share my recap with you all soon.  But today I’m going to show you all a little sign I made for our laundry room that I love!  And I made it with the Silhouette Cameo of course! :)

Now you may notice this isn’t our laundry room, and there’s good reason for that.  And that’s because there is no lighting in there at the moment so I can’t photograph anything.  More on that soon. Ugh!

But back to the sign.  All I did was use the handy dandy sketch glitter pens, and it was SO incredibly easy and fun. All you do is take out the blade in your machine, then pop in the pen and that’s it.

I really don’t know why I have been scared to try them for so long.  It was the easiest thing ever.

Then you just create your image (and I downloaded all of the letters from the online store).

And then hit cut and watch the pen do it’s magic.  It just draws the image on your paper/cardstock instead of actually “cutting.” These will be SO awesome to make homemade cards.  And hey, Mother’s Day is coming up!

I love the pretty aqua color and it’s going to look fab in our laundry room.  I may even spray paint the frame too eventually.

Now how would you like to hear about the latest Silhouette promo where you can get a fabulous deal on the Cameo machine AND the sketch pens??

Here’s the scoop:

• You can buy 1 Silhouette CAMEO, 1 $25 download card, 1 Silhouette Metallic Sketch Pen pack, and 1 Silhouette Glitter Sketch Pen pack for $269.99  (everything that’s included is pictured above)
• This is an MSRP of $344.97 (This is almost $75 of savings!)
• If you already have a CAMEO you can get the sketch pen packs for just $6.99!
• The promo will run April 24-30^th

You have to use this special link to buy the bundle package, and you need to enter the code DECORCHICK at checkout.

Hopefully you can treat yourself to a little Mother’s Day gift! You’ll love it! :)

Have you used the sketch pens before?  I can’t wait to use them again!

xxoo,

Decorchick!

Wash and Dry Sign, and a Special Deal! is a post from: Decorchick! Changing her world, one project at a time