Kye Kye What, you may ask, is Kye Kye? It's a very cool new band. I can't take any credit for discovering them. My husband is the one who enjoys finding unique and interesting music. I'm happy that now I have a platform, of sorts, to share the stuff he finds that I really enjoy. (Honestly, out of all the great music he comes across, I usually only love about 10% of it. We have different tastes in music. He wants me to add that it's because I like country and some mainstream music.: ) Anyway, the awesome thing about this band is that they're believers, but their music is not what you would normally associate with"Christian" music. And I don't mean to put down the Christian music genre at all- there are some really great Christian artists out there whose passion is sharing the good news of Christ with the world (and who can fault them for that), but you know what I mean about the"Christian music" sound, right? Kye Kye is really good, and a huge majority of their lyrics come straight from the Bible. Below is my favorite song, called"Broke". I've posted the lyrics below the video where they've broken down exactly where each line comes from in the Bible.
BROKE I broke in the silence to repeat what I’ve done in the past won’t change me (Phil.3:3-11) I broke when you told me I could try all the time but my ways won’t change me (Eph.2:8-9)(Gal.3:1-3)(Ro.3:20-22)
We tried this, but we failed we know this but we’re too blind to see (1Cor.2:14) (2Tim.3:7) that there is freedom within me (Col.1:27) (Ro.6:4). your life brought light for all to see (Jon.12:46) (Mrk.4:11)
When I was lost so I, so I thought that I was searching all alone like I was lost so I didn’t know (Gal.4:1) what I was keeping all along (Col.1:27) (Ro.8:11)
I knew from the moment my mistakes all stood out your light’s my only safety (Ro.10:3-13) oh all the times that I didn’t look your way (Mat.13:22) look what I was missing Lord you fill in every space that I replaced instead of you (Eze.36:26-27)
Revived us, we will sing (Eph.2:4-6) restored us, you are the source to breath (Jon.4:14) ignite us to a need to bury everything I never want to be (Ro.8:13-14)
And this is Kevin's favorite song, called"Trees and Trust"
Kye Kye just released their sophomore album called Young Love, which you can purchase here. Oh, the other thing that I really like about them is that three of the four band members are siblings. Love that.
Seeds Family Worship gets our Vote forFab Find Friday
We learned about this amazing ministry through a blog that both of us follow. Tonight I took some time to explore their website and watch some videos, and I love it even more now! I will admit that my 2 and 3 year old sing some Lady Gaga (Kids Bop Version) and that my 9 year old does know a good bit of current pop music (actually, more than Jess does perhaps! Hehe), but we are also always on the lookout for great, encouraging Christian music. Seeds has great music and it's all directly taken from Bible passages. I don't know about you, but I'd love to have another resource for helping my kiddos commit scripture to memory. They learn a lot through church and school, but for me, music is an amazing way to help retain important passages of scripture. I can still remember my 10th grade Math teacher Mr. Dyrli taking out a guitar one day and putting I Corinthians 10:12-13 to a tune. To this day, I still sing his version in my head and it's a passage that has been really important in my life. A few super-cool things about Seeds Family Worship: 1. When you purchase their CD, you actually receive 2 CDs… one for you, and one to give away- Planting Seeds in other people's lives! There's even an interractive map on their website where you can share where you"planted" your seed.
2. They have awesome resources on their website. A few cool resources are scripture memorization cards and checklists. 3. They've put lots of their songs on YouTube so you can check them out there too! We hope you'll take some time to check out and support this awesome ministry. I can't wait for my new CDs to arrive and I'm already thinking of where to"plant my seeds"! This is a FUN and COOL song- I think Kenzie will love it! Check out their websitehere and let us know if you too are going to"Plant some Seeds"!Happy Friday- Have a great weekend!
Designed by Jones Design Company One of the tasks we've taken on this year is to purposefully teach our three-year old daughter scripture. The Bible states that children are more than capable, actually they are uniquely qualified, to have a close relationship with God in ways that may be difficult as they age. This may be because of their lack of cynicism and their uninhibited joy and enthusiasm for the objects of their love that draw them to the God they cannot see. Luke 18:16-17 says,"Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it'." Needless to say, we are convinced that it extremely important for Campbell to learn about Jesus and to begin to memorize what He said and discover how it applies to her life.
Amazon This book was recommended to me by a friend, and we are working through it with Campbell. Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding verse and a little story of the verse in action. First, I'll just say that the stories are lame and cheesey, but nevertheless, Cam loves them! My original intention was to learn one verse a week. I honestly thought it would take her that long to memorize them. Man, was I wrong! Campbell loved sitting down and reading the stories and repeating the verses after me so much that she is learning one new verse A DAY! We are currently up to letter"L", and it's been going great. We talk about the verse all day long, and they often come up in situations when she disobeys, and I'm able to redirect her using the verse. (You should hear how often the verse, "Do all things without complaining or disputing" is repeated in our house!) I can't say enough how proud of her I am, or how thrilled I am that she is hiding these important verses in her heart. We haven't sat down to do it every day- I need more self-discipline!- but it's a start. And one unexpected benefit of teaching her scripture is that I am relearning verses as well. As a result, I'm more aware of my own actions!
Obviously, not every child is going to love sitting down and memorizing scripture (my daughter is sort of a dork: ), but another great way to teach your child Bible verses is through music. We've already talked about Seeds Family Worship here. This music is awesome for older kids because they're catchy and fun to dance around to.
Hide 'Em in Your Heart by Steve Green is great for younger listeners (My nephew and daughter really love these songs), and each song is taken directly from select verses in the Bible.
Now this one is hysterical! Critter County, featuring Christine Wyrtzen, was made in 1984 and includes 24 verses (one for each letter of the alphabet) set to music. Each song is sung by a different animal that starts with that letter. I remember singing these songs when I was little, and now Campbell LOVES singing these songs, as well. These CD's are a little hard to find, but the link above had a few for sale. You could probably find a vinyl record or cassette tape of it, if you tried hard enough! Ha!; ) No matter how you decide to do it, the most important thing is that your child is learning Bible verses that will not only help them overcome and persevere through the trials and temptations that will inevitably come, but will also instruct them to seek God's heart and receive the promises and blessings He has for those who follow Him.
What am I missing? Do you have any tried and true methods for teaching scripture to kids?
That's right. In honor of our trips to Disney this week, we are highlighting our favorite things about this magical place. We had two totally different experiences here- Monica had no kids which meant sleeping in and staying out late and taking in all the"adult" rides and activities. I was with my family and some extended family which included 5 kids, so we were up early, getting home early and hitting up all the kid-friendly attractions. So, don't be jealous- just take some notes on things you do NOT want to miss next time you're in Disney World.: ) Jessica's Top Picks
1. Disney Photo Pass. This pass is ingenious! There are the usual photographers posted strategically around the parks (you know, in front of Cinderella's castle, with the characters etc.), but instead of having to go to a booth to pay for a picture and take it home with you, they scan your pictures onto the photopass card. You'll want to keep that card and have it handy any time you get your picture taken. When you get home, you can input the information into the photopass website, and all your pictures can be found in an album. From there, you can order and buy prints, or share the photos on facebook or through email, at no cost! We were told that if there are 9 or more prints that you love and want to have to use as you wish, ordering a CD of the prints is the easiest and cheapest way to go (however buying the CD will set you back $150!)
2. Disney Live Shows. Honestly, these shows are Broadway quality, but cost nothing (after you pay to enter the parks). The talent is amazing, the costumes and backdrops are so colorful and amazing, and the music is phenomenal! Our favorites include The Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom, Beauty & the Beast at Hollywood Studios, and Finding Nemo-the Musical at Animal Kingdom. Plus, the kids love all the colors and lights and music. It really is a fun-for-the-whole-family event!
3. Camp Minnie-Mickey at Animal Kingdom. If your kids are into meeting all the characters, this is the best place to do it! The three older kids in our group had autograph books and nearly filled them at Camp Minnie-Mickey. We met Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Pocahontas and a bunch more. Definitely get there as it opens at 9:00 AM to avoid the lines.
4. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom. This interactive show is hilarious and incorporates real people from the audience into the show. The technology truly is amazing- the characters (ie: Mike Wazowski) are animated, but somehow they can interact with the audience. The kids (and my husband) thought this was hysterical.
5. We used the book Birnbaum Guides: Walt Disney World 2011 to help us navigate the parks successfully with kids. It has a suggested game plan of action if you have kids which didn't steer us wrong. I highly recommend this book! Monica's Top Picks
1. FastPass. Basically, the best thing at Disney since sliced bread! FastPass removes the one complaint people used to have about Disney… long lines. With this system, you can reserve a spot in line for a ride while you visit other areas of the park. You go to the ride, use the Fastpass ticketing area and are given a slip of paper which gives you a one hour window that you can return during to go on the ride with a very minimal wait (our longest was 10 mins max.) All of the most popular rides have FastPass, but if you're thinking of going early in the morning to get reserved spots for all of your favorites, think again. You're only allowed so many FastPasses within a certain amount of time, so you can get one and then your ticket will tell you when you can go and reserve another one elsewhere. It's just plain old awesomeness!
2. Test Track at Epcot is a high-speed vehicle-simulation ride that I loved! It's one of Disney's longest (5 mins) and fastest rides. It takes you through a series of driving simulations (heat, corrosion, anti-lock breaks, etc.) but, the fun starts when you head out onto the open road. The speed and smoothness of the ride is amazing. Definitely check out this ride and of course use a FastPass to avoid an eternal line.
3. IllumiNations at Epcot. Every night this show is done at 9pm and I think I just happened to catch it on the best night ever. It was a warm night with an almost full moon, and the music, lights, and fireworks made"Disney Magic" come to life. It's a 14 minute show and it's not overly loud if your little ones aren't huge fans of the crazy loud fireworks. I recommend dinner in China and then watching right outside of Japan for an amazing viewing spot.
4. Downtown Disney. I like this part of Disney for many reasons, but the top two are that 1. It's free and 2. It has great shops and restaurants and isn't grossly overpriced. Earl of Sandwich was perfect for a midday lunch and in my opinion rivaled Panera (which is impressive in my book.) The Lego store (and the amazing Lego displays outside), the huge Disney Store, and the specialized Disney Toy Store were my favorites.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Jess for dinner at Downtown Disney's Rainforest Cafe. We were laughing about the fact that we rarely get to go out for dinner just the two of us and had to go to Orlando to do it.
The famous hold the camera ourselves shot…
Do you see the size of that dessert?
Ahh…Vacation My favorites list is a little shorter, but that might be because one of my very favorite parts of this trip was just sitting poolside reading for hours! Being able to get through three books in five days was just a little bit of paradise for me. So, we hope you enjoyed hearing our Disney Fab Finds. Now, do tell… what are your Disney Favorites?
Monica here! You know me as the blogger that has a super big farmhouse table and makes her husband take all sorts of weird bloggy pictures for posts.
But, did you know that I'm actually a high school English teacher? Yup, Mrs. Mangin by day, blogger by night! I have a little quiz for you…
Yes, it's the sad truth! After elementary, it's all downhill… Middle school is hit or miss, but by high school you're lucky if you get a,"Have a good summer" from a parent. Of course I'm generalizing, but it's pretty widespread. Here are my thoughts on the issue (and this is as a mom, not a teacher). I entrust my kids to someone for 7 hours a day… that's a really long time! Yes, it's their job to teach their students, but giving extra encouraging words when a kiddo might be having a rough day, or taking time to talk to a high schooler about their love of punk music, etc. is going beyond the job description and truly playing a role in a child's life. For that reason, I always want to be thanking my kids' teachers and encouraging them as educators. This doesn't end when my kids no longer need help tying their shoes… if anything, when my kids are teens, I want to be encouraging their teachers even more. From what I've heard, the teen years can be a bit of a challenge! So I've got a few Back to School Teacher Gift ideas for you, and don't you forget the high school teachers (honestly, you just might make their day/week/year)
Simple, School-Themed Flowers I'm no florist, but I'm pretty sure these are just some mums and yellow ball thingies. You could even pick some wildflowers. We have tons of black eyed susans around this summer. Pile in some dollar store letter magnets… add mason jar… add ribbon… voila!
Source: None via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Smooth Year Lotion Ok, this idea comes from a blog with a hysterical name…"Oops, I CRAFT my Pants" HAHA! I honestly laughed right out loud when I read it! Well, she gives a great tutorial and FREE PRINTABLE labels to turn Bath & Body Works lotion into a cute lil' gift.
Source: oopsicraftmypants.net via The Real Housewives on Pinterest The Legendary Diaper Cake ( Ok, the fact that the best title I could come up with was"Legendary Diaper Cake" has convinced me that I'm far too tired to finish this blog post…"Legendary Diaper Cake""Who says that??" Weak Sauce, if you ask me! So, this blogger is going to bed… it's been a very long day of 4 kids, teaching professional development for the high school staff from 8-4, doing a complementary staging job to help a missionary couple we know, and getting home at 10:30pm… So, you'll have to wait till I wake up refreshed to finish!) **** Enter Dream Sequence Music**** Well Good Morning! It is I, the refreshed blogger who was up way too late, but got a good night's sleep! So, let's get back to business! Diaper Cake with a School Spin Everyone associates a diaper cake with baby showers (Hello, Captain Obvious), but now we can add a school spin and make it into a rockin' teacher gift. The awesome part about this gift is that all of these supplies are on sale at Target and Walmart for about 99 cents or less! Glue sticks can get pricey, but you can substitute anything you want! I'm pretty sure this gift would be proudly placed in the teachers' lounge and some might even say it's"Legendary!" (hehe)
Source: designdazzle.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Back to the Grind This is what my kiddos are giving their teachers this year. We'll just bring them to"Meet the Teacher Night" this Thursday. Did I mention I've been sorta swamped lately? Well that's why it's sorta simple and no frills, but that's also kinda nice because anyone could throw this together in 5 mins! Coffee Tumbler… Ribbon, Giftcard… Cute Printable on Envelope… voila!
31 Reasons I Love School Last year, we gave Kenzie's teacher a Thermal Lunch Tote from 31 Gifts and she LOVED it! I called one of my BFFs, Mandy, a 31 Gifts guru and asked her what she'd recommend. Of course she had awesome ideas, and my favorite was the Mini Organizing Tote filled with supplies and a list that you an your child come up with for 31 Reasons you're excited for a great school year. How cute is this? I love that you can get it personalized for your teacher. If you're thinking of something from 31, click the 31 logo on the sidebar you'll get 15% off your order, which is the special in August (Even if your kids start school really soon, you could still get one in time for Back to School Night I'm sure)
So, whatever you do, even if you can't pull together a"Back to School" gift, a note, or email just saying"Thanks" and"Have a great year" would mean a lot… I know Mrs. Mangin would adore that.
P.S. Don't forget to VOTE for the CBS Blog of the Year Today!
The keys I found at Blue Mountain Flea Market....waiting to be made into something beautiful MY DESIGN PROCESS FOR WORKING WITH UNIQUE ELEMENTS: VINTAGE KEYS (Part 1: Designing with Unique Elements) It's been a while since I've updated my blog so I thought I'd share with you what I did with the vintage keys that I found this past summer at the Blue Mountain flea market (Saylorsburg, PA). I knew these keys were going to upcycled into something special, and it was going to be some type of neck or wrist jewelry. Designing When I'm creating a new design I usually start out by first choosing the main elements/materials. For instance, I might come across some outstanding gemstone beads that really appeal to me and usually the wheels will start turning right away about what other kinds of stones or materials they might work well with in a design. Other times I'll be working with some unique object, as in this case, the keys, and then my design process is a little bit different. When designing around one special, unique element, that element is known as your focal element, or focus of your design'the first thing that attracts your eyes'and you build your design around that. My Design Process for Working With Unique Elements Here is how I go about my design process: I usually will keep the item close to me on my workbench, and although I'm not yet using them or designing with them, I'm looking at them a lot and at that point, I just let them sort of sit in my mind and usually within a day or two I have a pretty good idea of what other materials I want to use with them and what type of design I am going to make with them. At this point, I'm looking at the keys and studying things such as their color, shape, size and texture. When choosing my secondary materials in a design, I think about whether the materials will complement each other, and I also think about whether they will work together to make a whole'meaning, that when you look at the design, you experience a soothing aesthetic whole, as opposed to seeing something that is discordant, choppy, or awkward. Just like when you listen to a piece of music and you notice a wrong note ' well the same goes with design too ' you want your design to flow, and create a feeling of unity'sorta like music for your eyes. After my secondary materials are chosen I lay everything out, and often moving pieces around like a jigsaw puzzle, will work on the design until I feel it is organized the way I like, and only then will I begin to fabricate it- put it all together! Part 2: Fabrication of Necklaces Made with Antique Keys ('to follow soon)
We promised that during our maternity leave from filming (I love getting a maternity leave without having to have a baby btw) that we'd do a whole bunch of things, and one of them was letting you have more little peeks into our real life happenings. With that in mind, we proudly introduce… Right Now a series that we'll do monthly… well actually, basically whenever we feel like it.
So, here's what's going on in my world right now… Loving: This amazing fall weather we're having here on the East Coast. Mid 70s during the day and cool, crisp nights!! It's the best sleeping weather ever! September is probably my favorite month of the year and I'm so thrilled to have some time off to enjoy it! Reading: Last night I finished reading Gone Girl. Thanks so so many of you for giving me book recommendations on Facebook! I liked it, but didn't over the top love it. I'm not sure what about it is keeping me from giving it an A+. If you read it, tell me what you liked/didn't like. I'd love to hear!
Waiting For: This weekend, but not excitedly… you probably know we breed Bernese Mountain Dogs with our dog Pennlyn. Well, this weekend the puppies leave and go to their new homes. I LOVE the families that we chose to adopt, but it will be super sad to see them go and I will have 4 miserable kiddos for a few days!
Excited About: A few things… Sunday we're going pumpkin picking and on a hayride with a bunch of our friends!! Our ABC/Live Well Network Season 1 Wrap party for our show- this Thursday night we'll all be celebrating the end of a successful first season. I'm still trying to figure out what to wear… Ugh!!
Trying To: Eat healthier and work out regularly. This is not my favorite thing, nor something I'm good at! But I have a goal of Oct 23rd, and hopefully will come away from this"maternity leave" happier and healthier. Working On: Communicating better with my oldest daughter…my mini-me. We kinda butt heads a lot. She's strong willed and I'm the queen of strong wills and well, let's just say I'm working on it. I want to figure out the best, most effective way to parent her.
Enjoying: The 3 hours each day that I have the house to myself, but then I'm also really enjoying the after pre-school, few hours before naptime that it's just Callen and me. It's really fun and nice to have 1:1 time! Using: Tons and tons of Chapstick!! I'm on a medication that makes me have crazy dry lips, so It's me and chapstick 24-7. Wearing: I'm totally in mom mode and usually wear sweats and my favorite Northface sweatshirt almost every day. What's the point in looking cute, if I'm gonna work out at night?!? Planning: I'm working on and planning my kids' playroom makeover. I totally struggle with designing my own rooms lately! I'm cool doing rooms for other people, but if I'm spending my own money I want to love it. GAH! It's killing me!
Needing: To find a good recipe today that uses a million veggies, bc I have a ton that will go bad soon if I don't use them!! Learning: How to think more before I talk (but don't hold your breath Eric, it's a slow learning process!) Struggling With: Church. We're kind of in this place where we're wondering where's a good fit for us. We've been at the same church for 16 years (and it's a wonderful church! Check it out HERE), but we just want to make sure it's right for us and we're not just there bc it's what we've always done. But, at the same time we're not sure what will be exactly right- it's tricky!
Listening To: The"Sister of the Year" CD mix made for my by my little brother (well, he's 26, not all that little, but little to me). He has the best taste in music and makes me mixes that have tons of songs that are cool well before they become cool. It's a good thing I have him, bc otherwise I'd never have even a sliver of cool within me when it comes to new music. Product I'm in Love With: My Kreg Jig- hubs used it yesterday to build new benches for our outdoor farmhouse table! Doing: Working down my to-do list for the day. I've committed to today being uber productive! (Up next, responding to emails, then making soup, then putting away all Cal's fall clothes) Dreaming Of: Taking another trip to Europe or somewhere amazing with my hubs. Last year at this time, we were counting down the days for our London and Paris trip.
This concludes this first edition of Right Now. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings or at least tolerated them! Want more of our day to day ongoings? Follow us on Instagram! Monica- @Eastcoastcreative Jess- @Jess_EC2blog What are you doing, loving, reading, or dreaming of right now?
It's festival week here in the Lehigh Valley PA with Bethlehem's Musikfest! This ten day festival runs August 6 th through the 15 th , and boasts over 300 performers! During Musikfest the streets of downtown Bethlehem are closed and 14 stages host a huge range of local to nationally known musical performers.
Musikfest is presented by ArtsQuest, a nonprofit arts organization, and all proceeds from the festival help support The Banana Factory (ArtsQuest's community arts center and gallery in Bethlehem, PA) as well as other local nonprofit groups.
I'm a huge music fan and really look forward to Musikfest every year. Last night I got to see Heart, which was a long time coming for me, as I've been a huge fan for 20+ years and this was my first time seeing them live! The previous night I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd, another long awaited show ' and both concerts were just outstanding. Here are a few photos I took at each concert!
Heart Musikfest August 10,2010
As beautiful as ever!
Lynyrd Skynyrd Musikfest August 9,2010
Musikfest website: http://www.musikfest.org/
ArtsQuest website: http://www.artsquest.org/
KISS at Montage in Scranton PA
Thanks to a friend, I was able to see KISS in Scranton PA on the following Sunday, August 15th. They were awesome, as usual. The best was that we didn't even know we had front row seats until we got there....the tickets said "row C" so we assumed we were third row....until we got there and found out the rows started with C!
all photos copyright Laura Beth Love 2010 and may not be used without permission
As you all know, my hubs and I have been DIYing a 600 square foot patio. It's been a huge job, but it's 99% done and we're loving it! (We've even put on an addition, but our lights were back ordered so I can't give the full reveal yet-boo!)
600 square feet is a lot of space to fill and I wasn't about to go out and buy all new furniture for the space. I've had this old record player hutch (if that's even such a thing) in my basement for about 7 years now- It was just waiting to be upcycled.
This baby used to house my in-laws old record player and then eventually a boombox. It's crazy to think that now that all of my music is on a 4 inch iPhone. Anyhow, if you need any convincing that this piece needed some upcycling, I've provided you with some evidence…
One of my favorite things to do, is to look at a piece of furniture and see past the"yuck" and into the potential it has. Remember when we upcycled this dresser into an Anthro Knock off.
They key to a good furniture upcycle is to believe that anything can be changed and set some goals!
To Upcycle this piece, I had a few goals: #1- Get rid of any and all scrolly things (I sorta loathe them) #2- Remove the speaker fabric #3- Paint it with outdoor paint #4- Add some bold details #5- Distress it (so I don't get mad when one of my 4 kids"distress" it for me) #6- Add new hardware
Get Rid of Scrolly Things Sometimes it's easy to think there are things you can't change about a piece, but it's amazing what you can do with a jigsaw! I just taped off a straight line and cut those scrolly babies off!
Remove Speaker Fabric I ripped off all of the lovely fabric and then had to take out the speakers. There was no magic to this step. I actually gave a hammer to my seven year old son and said,"bang away!"
I love when furniture has an industrial flair, so I cut plywood panels and covered them with chicken wire. It isn't the most fun to work with, but it's not impossible either.
Paint with Outdoor Paint This piece was originally intended to be used indoors, so I wanted to be sure to paint it with good quality outdoor paint. I really don't love taking tons of time painting furniture, so I used Valspar's Exterior Spray Paint. It took about 3 cans to do two coats on the whole piece.
Add Bold Details Since this piece was originally so traditional, I wanted to do something graphic and more modern as a detail. I thought a thin herringbone would do the trick.
Herringbone is super-simple! #1- Mark out your center line. Then, measure the width you want the stripes (I used 1") and make tick marks down both sides of the column. #2- Tape off your lines. The top of the left side slants down to one tick mark below on the right. #3- Paint & Remove your tape. Let it dry and repeat on the opposite side, but shift your painted section down one, so you have the"every other" look.
Distress the Piece You might notice that my lines weren't completely crisp in the herringbone. I was painting outside in 100 degree heat (blogger foul), but I also knew I was going to distress it anyhow. I'm not always into distressing, but I figured it was going to get banged up outside (and I have 4 kids that are pretty rough on furniture). To distress, first I went at it with a sander with 220 grit paper.
Have you ever had this problem? I ran out of the right size sanding pads. Oops! After sanding it down a bit, I gave the entire piece a good glazing. I actually began my glazing love affair by reading Living with Lindsay's blog (check her out it you haven't)! My favorite glaze is Martha's Black Coffee. As you can see, I slopped it on, rubbed it around, and then wiped it off. I wanted pretty solid coverage, so I used a good bit of glaze.
After adding some hardware she was all finished and ready for the patio!
I think she's much more my style now!
All that's missing now is some cool, outdoor artwork. I'd love to hear any ideas you have in a comment. We have some insanely creative readers! P.S. I have to mention that I'm so glad to have my BFF home from vacation! A week apart feels like such a long time to us! Now that she's home, Jess is working like a mad-woman on some cool projects for her dining room!!
I don't know about you, but I'm itching to Fall-ify my home. You know that"let's get cozy, wear sweatshirts and bring out the pumpkins" feeling? Yeah, I have it. One of the major focal points for seasonal decor in our house is our fireplace and mantel, which I decided to give a little makeover before bringing out my Fall stuff. All it takes is chalk paint, a stencil and a lot of patience. I originally posted this project a few weeks ago over at Infarrantly Creative, but have been dying to share it with you! I can't believe how much I love my fireplace now, and I think you will too.
I'm not going to lie, this was not an easy project. In fact, it took me at least 6 hours of painting and stenciling, but it was so totally worth! Here'e what you need to do: 1. Prep your fireplace. Remember my peach marble tile fireplace surround that I hated? Yuk. I first painted it with Annie Sloan chalk paint that I got from Shaunna who writes Perfectly Imperfect and sells AS paint, but before I did that, I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove and dirt, dust and soot.
2. Choose your paint. I used Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Pure White and French Linen. Man, I am in love with this stuff! It adheres to any surface- even marble!- with no trouble. Just a quick word about fire safety: we don't use our fireplace, so I wasn't worried about whether or not it was flammable, but be sure to check your paint if you have an active fireplace.
3. Brush your base coat onto the surround. I used Pure White and it took 2 coats to get even coverage. I recruited my hubs to do this part, since, let's be honest, painting trim is not my strong suit and I'll take help when I can get it!
4. Place your stencil in the upper corner of the surround. Adjust the stencil sheet and check to make sure it's level, then tape it in place with painters tape. If you want to use a spray adhesive (which I didn't), spray it on the back of the stencil and place it down evenly. I highly recommend using the adhesive for this job, because it took me a loooong time to get clean lines without it. (We have an awesome tutorial on stenciling must-haves if you need help with this!)
5. Begin stenciling. The trick to stenciling without any bleeding is to off-load your brush properly. After dipping into the paint, dab it onto absorbant paper towels, or cardboard until it there is very little paint on the brush. Both my stencil (Beehive Furniture Stencil) and brush are from Royal Design Studio, and they are excellent quality, which makes the job go much smoother.
I had to do two to three coats for every stencil to get the coverage I was looking for. Words can not express the excitement of pulling back that very first stencil. Go ahead- try it and tell me that's not true.
Once the paint is dry, realign the stencil, level it and keep on moving! You might want to turn on some music, because you'll be doing this for a while.: )
At the end of the first night, here's what I had accomplished. Ugh. I saved the hard parts for last. Yippee!
6, Cut your stencil to fit the corners and edges. Oh, this part is so hard, because as I was cutting my stencil, I was envisioning all the projects I could do with it go right down the drain. But, it's absolutely crucial to cut the stencil if you want clean, crisp lines all the way around.
7. Touch up any paint bleeds with a small fine-tipped paint brush…or toothpick, in my case. No matter how good you are at stenciling, there will always be some bleeding. It's easy to touch it up with the base paint color and a steady hand. No one will be the wiser!
8. Finally, wax it and you're done! You'll want to add some kind of protective finish, and I used Annie Sloan soft wax, which was formulated to work with chalk paint. After all that hard work, you'll want a force field surrounding this thing, but wax will have to do.
Step back, grab a drink and enjoy your pretty new fireplace surround!
I love love love it, and am already planning a room makeover based on this fireplace!
If you want a cheap project that will instantly give your room a facelift, this one is for you. Showstopping material, folks! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, if you follow us on facebook (if you don't, you totally should) you know that I finally entered the year 2012 and have a new HTC OneX smartphone. This thing is amazing and I can't wait to share with you how it has made my life soooo much easier, but for now I'm totally loving Instagram, and would be thrilled if you decided to follow me!
Monica has been on Instagram for quite a while now, but if you don't already follow her, add her to your list too!
We'll give you lots of sneak peeks at our current projects, as well as fun insights into our daily lives and what makes us tick. We promise.: )
Before you read this post, click PLAY on the music below to set the mood…
We can't even believe that the end of summer is approaching. We're basically in denial. Since we're going to cram as much awesomeness into these last few weeks as we can, we thought we'd better organize our plan of attack. Thanks to Emily at Jones Design Company we had a fabulous free printable to use. So yes, two dorky bloggers just sat together and wrote these out, but now we're going to share them with you…
Jess' Must-do-ASAP List
Monica's Must-do-ASAP List
Excuse our chicken scratch handwriting… Do you remember back in high school when having cool handwriting was a big deal? Yeah, I (Monica) never had cute girl handwriting- Jess did!
So now we want to know what you have planned for the last days of summer? Thanks to Jones Design Company, you can click HERE to download the printable. Fill it out and then post it to the Real Housewives of BC Facebook page HERE. It'll be super fun to see what you're all up to in the next few weeks! (Oh, and we'll look sorta dumb if no one posts it to Facebook, so be a blog pal and just think… you get to show off your cool handwriting!)
Today, the Medieval week on the Swedish island Gotland starts. Markets and music, theatre and lectures. Knights clash in tournaments. A journey in time and space. Gotland's special settings, Visby's 200 medieval houses on winding lanes, splendid church ruins, and the magnificent city wall frame makes the beautiful Hansa city a perfect place to celebrate the Middle ages.
Additional information: Gotland is listed on UNESCO's world heritage list, and film maker Ingmar Bergman lived here, on F'r'.
One of the many things we love about this blog is that we can share not only the fun projects we are working on, but also things that are important to us as well. One of those things is an organization called Worthwhile Wear that was started by our close friends, Dan and Steph.
Worthwhile Wear's mission is to rescue young girls from forced prostitution and more importantly, prevent it from ever happening at all. They target the root issues of trafficking: poverty and lack of education, by teaching these girls a trade (making jewelry, bags, scarves etc) and offering them free education and a safe place to stay. For the past year, they've been focusing their efforts in India where they've been working to create vocational centers.
This year Worthwhile Wear is shifting its focus from overseas to something closer to home. In the final part of 2013 Worthwhile Wear will launch a new program called “The Well.” This is a long-term aftercare and housing program for women who have been sexually exploited or trafficked in and around the greater Philadelphia area.
Why is this so important to us? These are our daughters, Kira and Campbell, and we can't even imagine how horrific it is for young girls like them to have to go through what they do as a result of trafficking. To know that it happens here, right where we live, is a sobering thought and we want to be a part of stopping it before it starts.
So, all that to say that Worthwhile Wear is having a party! It's 2nd Annual Worthwhile Evening and we've agreed to help out with decor for the event again. We had so much fun last year with the"Taste of India" theme and want to make this year's party just as awesome! You can read about last year's event here and here, but we pretty much transformed a big, blank room into a fabulous backdrop for the event!
The centerpieces showcased the amazing jewelry made by women who have been rescued from trafficking.
This year's theme is all about water (get it? The Well…), and the decorating committee has some pretty fun ideas up their sleeves.
1. Unknown (anyone know?) 2. The Yummy Life 3. Amazon 4. Weddbook We want you to come hang out with us at the event! There will be delicious food, good music, beautiful art, a silent auction and a chance to hear from Shandra Woworuntu, a woman who escaped forced prostitution. Here are the deets you need to know: When: Saturday, November 9th from 7-9 PMWhere: Calvary Church, 820 Rt. 113, Souderton, Pa 18964Cost: $35 per ticket, or $30 for groups of 10 or more Purchase tickets here. Here's the fun part, we're giving away 2 tickets to the event! We would love to have as many of you come to learn more about Worthwhile Wear and be a part of this awesome event, so we wanted to give away two tickets to make that happen for someone! We'll announce the winner next Friday, October 18th. We'd be thrilled if you would share this post with your friends so that we can help Worthwhile Wear change the lives as many girls as possible! Enter below for your chance to win: a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you can't make the event, then go ahead and start your Christmas shopping on their website! Don't want to come to the event or shop, but still want to help? Donate here to help save young girls and give them the hope for a future. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Isn't this so much fun? We LOVED doing these projects for our most recent Nate's Crate Challenge, and are so excited to be reliving our favorite projects here on RHBC! One of my favorite (and also one of the easiest!) projects from Monica's family room was the moss mongram I made for above her mantel. This is honestly a project anyone can do, so you have no excuse NOT to try this! Plus, this is one of those things that is perfect for Christmas decorating, but could very easily transition into other seasons- all you'd have to do is swap out the ribbon. Pottery Barn sells something similar to this…for 79 bucks! You can recreate this at home for less than $10, and I'm going to show you how. DIY Moss Monogram
Step 1: Choose the letter you would like to use and place it backwards on the back of the sheet moss. Because I'm a bad blogger, I didn't take any pictures of the process for this during the Nate Show taping. Lucky for you, I wanted to make one for myself! I purchased the MDF letter for $3.00 at Michael's. The sheet moss can also be purchased there, and it literally comes on …wait for it…a sheet! For those of you who might be wondering, it is faux moss, which for me means no watering! Ha! The moss sheds a bit, so you'll want to lay down a drop cloth, or do the messy work outside.
Step 2: Trace the outline of the letter onto the sheet moss using a Sharpie (or any kind of) marker.
Step 3: Cut along the outline using scissors or an X-acto knife. For Monica's monogram, I used scissors because that's what I had on hand. For my own monogram, I used an x-acto knife. Both work equally well.
Step 4: Turn the letter over and run hot glue along the outside edges.Immediately place the cut moss on top of the hot glue and press down. I don't have pictures of this, but you get the idea, right? Be careful! Some of the hot glue may seep through the moss. Ok, so this is what the sides of my monogram letter look like:
I only put moss on the top of my letter because I'm lazy. However, if you want your entire letter to be covered in moss, just cut 1/4 inch (or whatever the thickness of your letter) extra of the moss all the way around. Then you'll wrap the letter with the moss and hot glue in place. Step 5: Cut two equal lengths of coordinating ribbon and hot glue the ends 1-2 inches apart on the back of the letter. Depending on your letter, you may only want one length of ribbon (like I did with mine), so in that case, simply cut the length and hot glue straight down the back of the letter. For my letter, I also cut a piece of ribbon that I folded into a bow and then hot glued to the top of the ribbon. This gives it the effect of it being tied to the mirror.
Sorry! Cell phone pic…(Boo. Bad blogger strikes again!) Hang that mossy bad boy up, and you're all set!
Beautiful, earthy and simple.
Sigh…Cue the Christmas music!
Please do not judge the mantel decor by this picture- this was taken close to midnight in the midst of the 48 hour challenge, so it was faaaaaarrr from finished. So that's it folks! Think you can handle it?; )
Psssst! Don't forget to check back tomorrow for all the deets on how to make your own modern reindeer artwork!
Let me tell you, it is so bizarre to actually have a post about something I did at my own house these days. The last little project we tackled was our front porch makeover and I was so inspired by that, that I decided to add some backyard appeal to my deck. There are many issues with this deck, but let's just start with this one little area:
First of all that window is in desperate need of love and attention. Secondly, there is absolutely no style to this area of the deck and thirdly, man, that deck needs power washing! Even though I knew I couldn't squeeze in power-washing, I had some pretty cute ideas to spruce this spot up and make at least one area of the deck look nice! Feast your eyes on this area now…
This is a two-step project: the shutters and the window box. I'll break each one down for you. Neither of them are difficult- you should be able to do this in only one day! Here's what you need: For shutters: (6) 1x4 pine boards Liquid Nails (8) 4 inch decking screws (8) 1.25 inch nails Chop saw 3M Wood Filler 3M Sandblaster Bare Surfaces Sanding pad Exterior Paint For Window Box: (1) 1x10 board (3) terra cotta pots ScotchBlue Painters Tape Drill Jigsaw (2) wooden brackets Spraypaint Exterior paint 3M Sandblaster Bare Surfaces Sanding Pad ScotchBlue™ Non-Slip Dropcloth
DIY Window Shutters Ok, let's start with those pretty shutters, shall we? I already mentioned that I bought six pine 1x4 boards. This should be enough for the vertical slats and the short horizontal cross pieces for your shutters, but check your measurements before you buy these in case your window size is different from mine.
1. Measure the height of your window and make sure to include any trim or framework around it. My shutters are the same exact height of the window- no more and no less.
2. Cut wood to size using a chop saw. My hubs tried out these Digital Worktunes Hearing Protectors from 3M and was in love. He's such a music guy and the fact that he could listen to his mp3 player while working made the fact that I was making him work after a 12 hour car ride home from vacation a little more bearable.: ) Oh yeah, my boards were 36 3/4 long, but again, measure your window first! I liked the look of three boards across, so I measured the width of those three boards to determine the width of my cross piece. It ended up being 10.5 inches, so he cut those too.
Looking pretty good so far!
3. Attach the three vertical boards together by running liquid nails along the sides. Clamp together and let dry. 4. Measure the distance of the cross pieces from the top and bottom. I liked the look of 4 inches, so we made a mark on each side.
5. Put liquid nails on the back of your cross piece and attach to boards. Clamp and let dry.
6. Because we didn't want to see any pesky nails, we decided to nail the cross piece in from the back. Once your liquid nails has dried enough, you should be able to easily flip it over and hammer in a few nails to make the entire shutter secure.
7. Paint them your desired color. We painted the shutters the same color that we used on the shutters on the front of the house. (Sorry no picture of this! It was getting dark and we were being dive bombed by beetles. Gross.) 8. Hang shutters on either side of the window with 4 inch decking screws. Fill in screws with wood filler, sand and touch up with paint. Voila! Cute new shutters that were super easy to build!
DIY Window Box I'm not sure that you can technically call this a window box, since, um, there is no box. But it has the look of a window box without having to build one and lets you play with some pretty terra cotta pots! 1. Measure the width of your window to determine the length of your 1x10 board. I actually had this piece of barn wood laying around in my garage…go figure!; ) Cut using a chop saw. \
2. Evenly space your pots on the board and place an"x" through the hole in each pot. Then, double-check your marks with a tape measure to be sure they're evenly spaced.
3. Figure out the diameter of the area under the lip of the pot (that way the pot will sit in the hole but not fall through). Divide that number by two (oops! Did I forget to mention there was math involved?) and make marks that distance all the way around the center point. For example, the diameter of my pot under the lip was five inches, so I divided by two and got 2.5 inches. Each mark is exactly 2.5 inches away from the center point. Got it?
4. Using a large drill bit, drill a hole at the center point. Make it large enough so that the jigsaw blade will be able to fit in there. Cut out the entire circle with the jigsaw. Repeat on the other holes.
5. For the pots, I went with a two-tone look. First I sprayed two of the pots with a terracotta red (I know, ironic. Why not just keep it the terra cotta color, you ask? It wasn't perfect. So there.) The other pot, I sprayed a really light aqua blue. Let dry completely.
6. Then I taped off the bottom of the pots using the ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape. I had such good luck with it on my front porch that I knew it would do the trick! I sprayed the lip of each pot in the opposite color and let dry. I peeled the tape off and was thrilled with the result! What's nice about this tape is that it didn't pull any of the spray paint off of the pot even though it has been sticky hot here!
7. Paint the shelf and brackets the same color as the shutters. Attach brackets to the siding and then screw the board right into the brackets on the top. Add your pots and flowers and you're done! Now, for the gratuitous beauty shots. C'mon, if you look this good, you're allowed to show it off.: )
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I'm so excited to introduce you to one of our biggest DIY Projects ever! Over the next weeks we're going to be taking you step-by-step through our DIY Patio Project. I was thrilled when Stone Depot and EP Henry decided to partner with us on this crazy adventure.
So, here's the plan, each week I'll be giving you an update with info and tips on what we've completed. You're going to be amazed at how do-able this DIY really is (just LOTS and LOTS of work- husbands, please don't send me hate mail!) and don't worry, for those of you that definitely don't want to tackle this as a DIY, I'll hook you up with the pros at Stone Depot and they can help you out. I'm way impulsive, so for a Big-Mama DIY, I needed a plan to keep me focused and doing things in the right order (or I would drive my hubs nuts!)
Step #1- Plan Patio Layout This was honestly very, very tricky. I learned a few things… As I planned, my patio mysteriously got BIGGER and BIGGER and planning is not as easy as I thought it would be. I had a few requirements 1- A large space for a BIG Dining Table (I feel another DIY table coming soon!) and 2- An area for a fire pit and sitting. Here was brainstorm number one… Now, remember I'm NOT an artist or a landscape designer. This looked pretty on paper, but having an opening for stairs off the patio only about 3 feet away from the opening for the walkway was weird.
Brainstorm Number Two looked like this… Still had the weird stairs/walkway combo and I also added a bump out area. Why you ask? Well, I love sitting in the sun! The way the sun crosses our house, that little area would have sun 24-7 (Well, not really, but you get the idea). Eventually I talked myself out of that because it was weird and made me seem a tad vain (enter the Carly Simon music).
The Final Plan is different than both of our initial ideas, but it's clean, simple, and big enough for all my requirements!
Now, it looks kind of small in these pictures, but it's about 600sq/ft and will be perfect for parties and lots of outdoor fun. DIY PATIO TIP: Use leftover spray paint to draw out your design on the grass to make sure it's what you really want. I had about 7 colors going on at one point.
Step #2- Choose EP Henry Stone from Stone Depot Once we had our plan, we headed off to Stone Depot in Perkasie. They have a HUGE selection and their guys know their stuff! We were able to walk around outside and see actual patios and samples of each of the different paver options and colors.
Here's what we picked! Bristol Stone in Blue Spruce. I think the color will go really well with our house.
Here's a better picture, but in a different color. We're going to have sitting wall, like this, along the back and we're going to add fun lighting too!
I love how the stone sizes are varied and I like that they're larger than traditional pavers. At our old house we had Old Town Cobble, which is nice, but the Bristol Stone has a more contemporary feel to me. The next step is measuring and planning outside the house. Here's a picture to give you a general idea. Next week I'll give you all of our tips for the measuring, trust me we learned a thing or two along the way! DIYing with my hubby is a tad different than DIYing with Jess! HA!
So be honest, are we CRAZY for taking on this DIY? Any tips or advice?
A few weeks ago, we headed to New York to work with the Nate Show again. We were super excited when they invited us back! We weren't 100% sure what we'd be doing on the show (and we can't tell you… you'll have to watch next Wednesday, the 26th.) However, we did know we'd be doing something on the set and it involved DIY. That got us thinking about DIYers Must-Have Supplies… what things we couldn't do a project without. DIYers Must-Have Supplies We started making a list, and checking it twice (no, I'm not bustin' out the Christmas music this early… the day after Halloween is the acceptable date in the Mangin family!) and then we got a rolling suitcase to transport all of our DIY must-haves to NYC. Here's Jess packing up after our time with Nate!
We thought we'd share a list of our must-haves with you! You know how sometimes husbands aren't 100% sure what stocking stuffers to buy? Well, slap this list on the fridge and tell him anything on there would be a great stocking stuffer and make a DIYer very happy on xmas morn!
Of course this list is not all-inclusive, and we most likely forgot a few essentials, but it's a working document. These are all things that I have in my house right now. Well, lots of these items used to be stored in Eric's tool dresser, but we all know what happened to that!
I figured I could give you a peek into my supplies and how I keep them all semi-organized. Welcome to my basement…
Ok, I know it seems a tad overwhelming, but let me break it down a bit!
1-Caulk, spray paint, mini paint samples 2- Spackle tools, Roller heads, chalkline 3- Paint… lots and lots of paint 4- Oodles of picture frames (and dust!) 5- Extra lamp bases (from my staging days) 6- More paint… I have about 4 shelves dedicated to paint 7- Rollers, paint trays, brushes 8- Artwork, frames There's a whole lot more, but that's the main gist. The more projects we do, the more supplies we gather! How about you? What items are your DIY Must-Haves?
************************************************************************* Did you hear about our Design it Forward challenge? We still need donations and helpers! Check out our post HERE and be a part of this awesome project!
Are you looking for the link party for your Creating with the Stars submission? Yay! We're thrilled to have you! Click here or use the button below to link up. Submissions are now open until February 21st. If you want to read more about the contest and all that it entails, click here.
======================================================================== So, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that some of you are procrastinators like me. My hubs and I are celebrating Valentine's Day this weekend, but I still have no clue what we are going to do (and my hubs is not much of a planner, so I'm thinking it's kind of up to me!) So I went, looking for some fun and exciting date night ideas to celebrate all that love you've got going on with your special someone. 1. Progressive Dinner. Let me tell you that this is SO up my alley. I love to eat and I love to eat out, so this is a perfect combination. This one would be so much fun because you have a lot of time to chat, the night is a bit longer and you get such great variety! I already know where my hubs and I would choose to go:
2. Compete Against Each Other! This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but man, I love a good competition and so does my hubs. One of my favorite things to do is to go to Dave & Buster's and play all the games (I especially love the basketball games!). Whoever gets the most tickets, wins something of his/her choice. Or, if you don't have a huge arcade near you, try go-karting, bowling, tennis etc…something to get your heart pumping! 3. Play the Tourist I've lived in Bucks County almost all of of my life (minus the college years), and absolutely love it here, but I'm always amazed at what things I've never tried, shops I've never gone to and activities I've never done right in our area. Take some time to research different travel sites to see what you might be missing. Try a restaurant you've never tried before too! 4. Instagram It! I kind of love the idea of an instagram scavenger hunt, since, you know, I can't get enough of the whole IG thing. Make a list of fun activities/places and go to every single one and Instagram a selfie pic in front of whatever it is. You could totally customize the list to fit the two of you as a couple, but here are a few fun ones we thought of: -Favorite Restaurant -Best spot to see the skyline -Funniest sign in town -Best place to grab a drink -Favorite place to listen to music/read books -and my husband insists this one is awesome: take a pic with a farm animal in the background. So strange, people, so strange.; )
Once you've checked off everything on your list, reward your hubby with good ol' number 5… 5. Game of Love (Original OR Travel) I'm not going to go into tons of detail about this one (you can check out all the juicy details on how to play here), but trust me, this is one date night that will not be soon forgotten.
Want to give the travel version a try, even if you're not travelling? It's still super fun and easy to play!
Ok, now it's your time to spill. What's your favorite date night activity? We want to know!! Happy Valentine's Day! We sure do love that you take time to stop and read our nonsense everyday!
We have another treat for you today! Meet Beth, fromFree Stylin'. She is a girl after our own hearts, since she LOVES decorating with style on a budget, and is pretty darn good at it, too.: ) We had the priviledge of meeting her at Haven, and she is so sweet and bubbly! We're sure you'll love her-after reading her post today, and then head on over toher blog to check out the fun stuff she does in her neck of the woods! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey East Coast Creative Fans!! My name is Beth, and I blog over at Free Stylin'. You can find all kinds of posts about"living a stylish life without the expensive pricetag!" I've been big fans of Jess and Monica's since seeing them on The Nate Berkus Show. Those girls have some talent! It was such a blessing to meet them in person last month at Haven. (And yes, they are as sweet and friendly and beautiful in person!!)
Me, Jess, Monica, and our cute friend Jamie
I was so excited when they asked me to visit with y'all about something I love to talk about…Decorating for FREE!! I am all about using what you've already got to make your space beautiful. I'm also way into projects that I can do right now. (I love instant gratification.) So today I want to show you…
5 FREE Home Decor Projects You Can Make TODAY!
Would you like a little more glamour in your bedroom? New sheet sets and pillow cases can get expensive, and if you try to save a little in price, it could cost you in comfort. BUT!! You CAN make pretty bedding pieces out of the"underutilized"; ) lingerie in the back of your closet. Choose the items that have the most material and add the satin fabric to a pillow case you already own. Or make a throw pillow using pillow fill you aren't currently using. Learn how to make your own HERE.
Trays are a decorating must-have, and they are as functional as they are decorative. A pretty tray can help complete a look, and you can make one for your home in about 15 minutes using an old cookie sheet and a piece of fabric. My tray, above, was made from a shirt I was about to give to the Goodwill. Instead I cut it up and glued it to the cookie sheet. Find out more about it HERE.
Sometimes you just need to see something in a new way. Take a piece of artwork for example. I could no longer even look at the Monet painting on our mantel. So, I sprayed the frame another color and painted my own abstract art instead. You can paint directly to the back of your artwork or buy a poster board for just pennies. See how HERE.
If you don't have paint, or can't because you rent, but you want a change today, try"wallpapering" a wall with maps or book pages or sheets of music. All you need is a stapler and some Mod Podge (or watered down glue) to seal the edges. The paper isn't permanent, but it makes a huge statement in your home. Check out how I papered my boys' bedroom HERE.
Decorating with plates is such a fun and interesting way to bring in color and shapes into a room. And don't feel like you have to limit the plates to just a dining room! Hanging plates on any wall in your house is quick and free…just raid your own kitchen cabinets! You can hang your plates with hot glue and paperclips, too. No fancy plate hangers needed. Go HERE to see how I used plates in my own living room. I hope I've inspired you to try something new and FREE in your home today, using the items you've already got around you. It really does feel great to have a new look for nada lotta. Come stop by Free Stylin' for more tips and tricks like these.: ) Thanks SO much, Jess and Monica, for having me! Hope you're having a fun vacation! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So much amazing inspiration in one place! I don't know about you, but I'm totally loving that abstract art she DIYed. Add that to my ever-growing list of projects! Thanks for being here, Beth!
W hen I was a Music/Art major in college, I visited a home with the most amazing collection of original art work. The home inspired me because the people who lived there were not wealthy by any means. In fact, you could probably call them 'starving artists.' Nevertheless, they had an amazing collection that included paintings by well-known regional artists as well as unsigned paintings found at tag sales. It was a collection that they had been working on for many years and it was a collection they acquired passionately. And it showed. Their house breathed a wonderful sense of vitality because of it. My collection of paintings has been greatly inspired by them. Here are a few of my favorites.
18 x 14 I bought this Eric Jacobsen painting, unframed, at a fundraiser for our local art gallery. Months later, I happened to find an antique frame that fit it perfectly (see this post ). The painting in the first photo was also purchased at the same fundraiser, and is by the same artist. I found an antique frame ($15) that happened to fit it as well.
15 x 18 This still life was purchased at Matthews Gallery in Portland. I had taken the owner a few paintings for him to appraise, and ended up trading them for this piece.
18 x 23 This piece is a reproduction of the The Torn Hat by Thomas Sully. It's signed by a well-known Seattle artist. I purchased it for $60. I found an old wood frame for $20 and had it cut down to fit the piece for another $20.
28 x 15 This is one of my favorite pieces. I love the companionship of the horses. It was a rare find in that the original frame was in pristine condition. I paid $120. Margaret and Graham have taken a liking to this one too!
9 x 13
13 x 9 A few years ago, an artist friend of mine allowed me to raid her seconds bin in her art studio. This pair of landscapes paired nicely with these antique Victorian frames ($45 each).
26 x 19 This piece is one of the largest pieces I've acquired. The frame drew me in as it's a beautiful chunky gold frame with clean lines and a wide profile. I knew the frame alone was worth the cost of the painting — $225.
17 x 22 I did a post on her here. I found this portrait unframed for $44. When I got home, I was thrilled that she happened to fit into this antique floral frame I had picked up several months prior ($20). My friend Steve described the frame poignantly as a beautiful 'dress' for her.
13 x 11 This is done by a local artist, Cathleen Rehfeld. Cathleen's work lovingly captures the essence of the landscape in our region. I bought it unframed and paired it with an antique frame I had cut down to size by a frame restorationist for $100.
16 x 13 This lone oak is by the same artist. I had this frame cut down as well. As you can see, I'm especially drawn to landscapes and portraits. And I love finding beautiful antique paintings, but I also collect new art that offers that classic Hudson Valley School aesthetic. I look forward to continuing to grow our collection. The vibrancy of the art is one of the reasons I'm so drawn to having white walls in our home. I love the way the neutral wall contrasts with the brilliance of the gold frames and the lovely imagery of the paintings.
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