Ally is totally rocking it out again with From the Right Bank's What's Your Style in One Picture Challenge III. I am so excited to be participating. But, babe. It Was Hard. And I tried to be really honest with myself for the challenge. Not my IDEA of my style, but my real style. What image reveals ME? In the end, I tossed Nate's living room for Katie Lee Joel that I always said was me in a room. Here is the one I came up with and here's why: That Mirror! Makes me do a happy dance. I have one of a similar size and age in my dining room. Chandelier. Don't have. Want. Badly want. Collected art. Original drawings. Pieces loved. Pieces with a history. Painted chairs — not all matching The table's clean lines add a tad more modern feel. Collection of candlesticks and magazines on the table = casualness Almost a total absence of color in the room.... Ally, I can't thank you enough for this exercise. I learned so much about my REAL style. Now it's your turn, babes. Please visit From the Right Bank and show us your style in one picture! Image via Greige from Indenfor
Well hey there! Want to know something about me? I find something I like and then stick to it. I have only ever ordered one meal at The Olive Garden for about 14 years straight (Chicken con Broccoli and FYI they took it off the menu, so I don't go there anymore! Ha!) I wish jeans, sneaks, and a sweater with an oxford underneath was still as cool now, as it was when I was in high school. So basically, I don't do much in the way of mixing things up (except for in my decor and design, which is weird, but who knows…). This month some of that changed! Hello Bangs and Glasses!
A few things happened to bring about these changes… #1 I spent 8 days in London and Paris surrounded by people that had more style in their pinky finger than I will in my entire lifetime. #2. I was given an opportunity from Firmoo Glasses to try a pair of glasses for free #3. I got a zit on my forehead (I'll explain later) So, here's what we ended up with… Awesomely geeky glasses that I completely adore (plus, I can see better!) and blunt bangs! I know I'm completely wild and crazy aren't I?
Let me tell you a little about Firmoo and the glasses first, then we'll get onto the bangs. Firmoo is the largest online retailer of glasses (who knew right?!). For years I'd been going to my eye doctor and ordering the uber expensive glasses they had. None of them were super cool, so I only wore them when I really needed to. Well now, I know that there is a HUGE world of glasses out there at like 80% less! And guess what peeps?? They give you your first pair FREE! Seriously doesn't get much better than that! (If you're the type that hears FREE and now is all distracted, here's the link to get your own free pair right away Firmoo Free Glasses) **Oh, and lots of people asked which style I got, they're #ZS8024 **
I knew I needed to post pics of myself (not my fav thing to do), so I added fun quotes I like to distract you! Is it working? Okay, back to Firmoo… Check out their website and make sure you try out their cool virtual try-on system. You can upload a picture of yourself and try glasses on. It's like paper dolls of the future. I made a quick call to my eye doctor and got my prescription info and just typed it in when ordering. If you don't have vision issues, that's okay- they make clear lenses too! Jess' hubs Kev, calls them his placebos and I LOVE that name! Glasses are definitely an accessory, not just a necessity anymore. A few day later, I got my glasses in the mail and it was love at first sight (Get it? Sight? Sorry, I can't resist a cheesy joke). They were step one in my mini Monica makeover. Then, I started toying with the idea of bangs… I love the look on other people, but I was a little worried because of my curly, unruly mop. Then, last week I was at the salon getting Kaden a hair cut and noticed this annoying zit on my forehead - suddenly I had my solution…bangs! If you can't beat em, hide em! Kaden gave me the go-ahead and I had one of my favorite hair stylists cut them for me! I couldn't be happier!! (If you're local, Rachel is awesome! Here's their FB page call her if you need a new do!)
I have to tell you, I am amazed that it took me so long to try something a little more daring with my"style"… I think it's a lot more"me" even. And just in case you're wondering, I'll still be ordering all the same foods at restaurants-I'm not that changed!! Here are all the details you need to get your first pair free from Firmoo… Firmoo Website Firmoo on Facebook (head over and let them know EC2 sent ya!) Just check out their site, choose a pair you love, and have them in about a week! (There are a few designer pairs that are excluded, but I found tons that I liked that were included) So are you going to get a free pair? Any other"stuck-in-a-rut" readers out there? ** A huge shout out to our favorite photographer Stacy Salvatori for taking these pictures of me. She is a Bucks County local and does amazing family, portrait, and wedding pics. Check out her site and let her know EC2 sent you!! **I wasn't compensated for writing this post. I got a free pair of glasses from Firmoo (like you can) and was thrilled to review them for you guys. All opinions are 100% mine**
Well hey there! Want to know something about me? I find something I like and then stick to it. I have only ever ordered one meal at The Olive Garden for about 14 years straight (Chicken con Broccoli and FYI they took it off the menu, so I don't go there anymore! Ha!) I wish jeans, sneaks, and a sweater with an oxford underneath was still as cool now, as it was when I was in high school. So basically, I don't do much in the way of mixing things up (except for in my decor and design, which is weird, but who knows…). This month some of that changed! Hello Bangs and Glasses!
A few things happened to bring about these changes… #1 I spent 8 days in London and Paris surrounded by people that had more style in their pinky finger than I will in my entire lifetime. #2. I was given an opportunity from Firmoo Glasses to try a pair of glasses for free #3. I got a zit on my forehead (I'll explain later) So, here's what we ended up with… Awesomely geeky glasses that I completely adore (plus, I can see better!) and blunt bangs! I know I'm completely wild and crazy aren't I?
Let me tell you a little about Firmoo and the glasses first, then we'll get onto the bangs. Firmoo is the largest online retailer of glasses (who knew right?!). For years I'd been going to my eye doctor and ordering the uber expensive glasses they had. None of them were super cool, so I only wore them when I really needed to. Well now, I know that there is a HUGE world of glasses out there at like 80% less! And guess what peeps?? They give you your first pair FREE! Seriously doesn't get much better than that! (If you're the type that hears FREE and now is all distracted, here's the link to get your own free pair right away Firmoo Free Glasses) **Oh, and lots of people asked which style I got, they're #ZS8024 **
I knew I needed to post pics of myself (not my fav thing to do), so I added fun quotes I like to distract you! Is it working? Okay, back to Firmoo… Check out their website and make sure you try out their cool virtual try-on system. You can upload a picture of yourself and try glasses on. It's like paper dolls of the future. I made a quick call to my eye doctor and got my prescription info and just typed it in when ordering. If you don't have vision issues, that's okay- they make clear lenses too! Jess' hubs Kev, calls them his placebos and I LOVE that name! Glasses are definitely an accessory, not just a necessity anymore. A few day later, I got my glasses in the mail and it was love at first sight (Get it? Sight? Sorry, I can't resist a cheesy joke). They were step one in my mini Monica makeover. Then, I started toying with the idea of bangs… I love the look on other people, but I was a little worried because of my curly, unruly mop. Then, last week I was at the salon getting Kaden a hair cut and noticed this annoying zit on my forehead- suddenly I had my solution…bangs! If you can't beat em, hide em! Kaden gave me the go-ahead and I had one of my favorite hair stylists cut them for me! I couldn't be happier!! (If you're local, Rachel is awesome! Here's their FB page call her if you need a new do!)
I have to tell you, I am amazed that it took me so long to try something a little more daring with my"style"… I think it's a lot more"me" even. And just in case you're wondering, I'll still be ordering all the same foods at restaurants-I'm not that changed!! Here are all the details you need to get your first pair free from Firmoo… Firmoo Website Firmoo on Facebook (head over and let them know EC2 sent ya!) Just check out their site, choose a pair you love, and have them in about a week! (There are a few designer pairs that are excluded, but I found tons that I liked that were included) So are you going to get a free pair? Any other"stuck-in-a-rut" readers out there? ** A huge shout out to our favorite photographer Stacy Salvatori for taking these pictures of me. She is a Bucks County local and does amazing family, portrait, and wedding pics. Check out her site and let her know EC2 sent you!! **I wasn't compensated for writing this post. I got a free pair of glasses from Firmoo (like you can) and was thrilled to review them for you guys. All opinions are 100% mine**
{If you didn't hear, The Real Housewives of Bucks County are now East Coast Creative (Get the story here). You'll still be getting all the DIY, Design, and Monica & Jess that you love, but change your favorites to www.eastcoastcreativeblog.com Thanks!}
You might remember that one of my 2012 goals was to make our family room reflect my style more this year. I still am convinced I don't really have a style… I more or less, just take lots of things I like and smush them all together, hoping it works out okay. Recently, I took one more step in the right direction for the room.
I was browsing on Etsy a few weeks back and came across a shop I loved! Project Type has so many graphic art prints that I immediately fell in love with. This one in particular caught my eye.
I had been toying around with the idea of vintage cameras in our family room and this picture was too cool to pass up. I contacted the artist to see if I could have a few custom tweaks made (it was vertical and I needed horizontal) and she said YES! I was so stinkin' excited when she agreed! I ordered two prints and honestly even the packaging they came in was super cool! Now, you might remember what was on the wall already. My ginormous family picture with the smaller frame…
Well this time, I was going for the reverse. Tricky aren't I? Bigger frame smaller picture. Once again I used my prized possession, AKA grommeter from Nate. I'll admit I was a tad nervous putting holes in fabulous artwork, but I wanted it to have the same feel as the large print. Want to know how to use a Grommeter??
I keep my grommet tools in the little bin Nate gave me. Who knew one could love Tupperware?
Take one of the female grommets and determine your placement. I traced it with a pencil (a very fancy pencil I might add!)
Next place the cutting tool (might have an official name, but I don't know it) on your traced circle, and put the mini block of wood under it. The wood comes with your kit.
Give it a solid pounding with a hammer and you have a nice little circle cut-out
Pop the male piece through the opening. Make sure the pointy end is on the back of your artwork.
Now start stacking. Add the female part to the back…
Here' the order…The large metal ring goes on the bottom (part of the tool kit), then the male grommet, then paper, then female grommet, then the big mama tool (that's the really official term). Now Hammer, Hammer, Hammer. (Don't do it on your granite counter. I took mine outside in the garage)
Ta-da! Perfectly adorable grommet!
I took my art to the wall and hung it with plain nails. I'll use decorative ones to cover 'em up.
I added my chain, which again only cost me about $1.45 at Lowes
And vioila! I'm also going to add a fun door nob to the peak of the chain. I didn't quite get to Architectural Antiques this weekend as I planned to. Now, here's the question of the day… What should I put in the open gold frames??
Here's the room to give you the full picture…
Side note: Does anyone else have a weird husband that flips the cushions backwards? He does it when we don't have company over because the kids make a mess of the cushions. Sometimes I forget and then it's an awkward, mad rush as people are walking in the door. Weird. I know. So let me know what you think of my retro camera art, and what I should do to finish off this wall!
Confession: We have crushes. Yup, goofy, girl crushes. Now, we're not crushing on boys like we may or may not have in high school and college, but we're totally crushing on a few things we think you might want to crush on too!
1- Bicycle decor. This crush started a few month ago by seeing a bicycle pillow. Then, Mandy put some crazy cool bicycle art in her foyer, and I knew it was love. How great is this fabric? It's going to be making an appearance in my family room very soon!
A friend's family owns Bicycle Gift Hub and it's an online store of all things bikes! Now, it's a bit more for the seriously-in-love-with-the-sport type, but I did find these adorable book ends!
Want to know the funniest thing about this crush? I stink at riding a bike! Like seriously am awful. The phrase,"It's like riding a bicycle" has a very different connotation to me. My husband played college baseball and one time, when we were dating, I rode my bike across campus to meet him at the gym. The whole team had just finished up BP and I came riding up, looking all cool, didn't stop soon enough, hit the curb and went flying. Seriously, I was wishing the little accident had taken my life so I didn't have to face all those guys! Oh well, they must have found it endearing because most of them still came to our wedding the next year! 2- Industrial Eclectic courtesy of The Vow. First things first, I'm pretty sure"industrial eclectic" isn't real, but I sure love it as a style. I might have been one of the only women in America more smitten by the apartment in The Vow, than the likes of Channing Tatum (although, don't get me wrong, their chemistry was really sweet.) If you haven't seen the movie, I actually liked it and the hubs said it was really good for a"chick flick" Now, onto the apartment. It was a little too urban loft for me, but soooo much of it I loved. These island light fixtures are calling my name. One of my favorite things was the sliding metal doors on the bookshelves. I need that in my world somehow!
I love all the color in the kitchen. I love the mismatched light fixtures. I love the clock. I love the island. Sensing a trend here?
Now this picture is a wee bit cluttered for me, but look at those metal doors in the back!
So the point of this rant is that I'm determined to find a way to make my so-far-from-a-New-York-loft house have an"industrial eclectic" feel. 3- Ladies Home Journal I'm crushing on LHJ for two reasons… #1- they've completely launched a new and improved magazine that's awesome. It's totally focused on the reader and what stories they want to see in the mag. #2- We're going to be collaborating with LHJ for DIY and design stories! We were in NYC on Monday meeting with the editor in chief and her whole staff. It was pretty amazing. Lots more to come about LHJ, but for now, how about you go get or renew a subscription so you're sure not to miss any of our contributions. Just for a short time it's only $5.99/year! That's insanely cheap, so there's no excuses for not joining in on the fun! Head here to subscribe.
I'm most definitely crushing on brownies right now, but that's besides the point. I know you'd rather hear about my design crushes than my brownie addiction, so here goes:
1. Coral & Blue. Goodness, I'm in love. When I first saw that Ikea-hack buffet on the right, I was immediately mesmerized. Until then, the color coral never entered my mind for my dining/living room (I was going for more of a rust color), but now it's there in full-force. After an impulsive coral search on Pinterest, I found that amazing room from Southern Living on the left, and the Waverly Sea Scallop Coral Reef fabric that just sealed the deal. Expect a coral invasion into my home and onto this blog in the very near future.
2. DIY Furniture. In case you haven't heard, Ana White is the source for free furniture plans and I get sucked in just thinking of all the possibilities. I might have said to my husband tonight after seeing the apothecary console table,"Why would we ever buy anything ever again when we can just build it?", to which he replied,"You are an absolute madwoman." Ok, he didn't say that exactly, but I know he was thinking it. Anyway, my hubs and I have been scheming for months to build this playhouse loft bed for my daughter's 4th birthday coming up in a few weeks. One time I showed her this picture:
…and she hasn't stopped talking about it since! I can't wait to surprise her with it, and I'm also strangely excited about painting and decorating the little house. I'm hoping she doesn't have any ideas of what she wants it to look like (wishful thinking, I'm sure, because there is very little that my girl doesn't have an opinion about), because I've got the whole thing planned out in my mind already! What things are YOU crushing on?
It's no secret that I LOVE photos… I actually need to make a conscious effort to decorate with anything other than pictures of my family. Jess and I thought we'd share our gallery walls today and then some amazing ones we've found along the way.
These are OLD pictures from my very first gallery wall in our last house. I ran to Walmart, bought oodles of frames and just started nailing and measuring. This is not how I would recommend putting up a gallery wall. I was crazy lucky that this worked out and I didn't make one wrong nail hole. I'm still not quite sure how that happened!
Sorry, these weren't taken as"blog worthy" pics! In the new house, I knew that a top priority was to create another gallery wall. I had it up on the wall within three weeks of moving in. Score! BUT… I've yet to switch out any of the pictures, so they're all facing the wrong directions! It's amazing how long you can live with some things without fixing them.
I added a few larger frames and still went with a fairly linear layout. What do you think of the one yellow frame? It's just a fun little play off of the little bird on the table and on the fabric on the chair. (Please ignore the crooked red frame… life with 4 kids!)
Please notice the sideways pictures, the mats that should be removed, and the crooked frames. I'm keeping it real and showing you what it really looks like most days. One day in the next few months very soon I'll get new pictures printed. For now, the kids just think it's funny.
Even though Jess is on vacation in Maine this week, I got her to share a little bit about her gallery wall… ~~~~~ My gallery wall is in process, but here's what I have so far! Things to do: 1. Paint frames so they're all the same color, 2. Change out mat and picture in the large frame, 3. Put something in empty frame at top.
My favorite picture from the gallery wall- a recent gift from my husband! ~~~~~~ There are so many amazing gallery wall ideas out there in blogland… Here are a few that I really love. House of Smith's awesome colorful wall
Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Monica on Pinterest This wall is SO ME! Grey walls, clean lines, black & white pictures (and man, that's one looong hallway) Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Monica on Pinterest
Source: houzz.com via Monica on Pinterest I love the accent lighting and the combination of sizes in this arrangement (Jess would love the baskets and bench)
Source: theinspiredroom.net via Monica on Pinterest We love The Lettered Cottage, and we love their gallery wall too!
Source: theletteredcottage.net via Monica on Pinterest This isn't my style, but I like how they used frames in unique ways and incorporated other items.
Source: thenester.com via Monica on Pinterest This is fun and whimsical. I love the use of paint to frame out the layout
Source: parlourhomeblog.com via Monica on Pinterest So, do tell… do you have a gallery wall? do you want one? I'm planning to add another gallery over our piano, so stay tuned for some DIY tips and a step-by-step post coming soon!
P.S. Don't forget that you can still enter to win a Blosoom Band! Check out yesterday's post for all the details! The winner will be announced Friday morning!
Well, we returned home from our Disney vacation on Saturday, so it's back to the grind here at our house. I just thought I'd share a little recap of our fabulous time together. There really is nothing quite like spending a whole week with the ones you love most, with no responsibilities to weigh you down. It's so rare, which is what makes it so sweet. Obviously, this is not a personal blog, so I won't go on and on about the trip, but I'll just say this: Disney World really is a magical place and I loved it just as much as the kids! (And just for the record, we travelled to Florida with my in-laws, and one of Kevin's brothers and his family, but you won't see any pictures of them here. I don't like to post pics of people without getting permission first, but it was so much fun being with them!)
My babies had such a blast and behaved so well, even on less sleep than normal!
Campbell dancing in front of the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney
We met lots of characters, but the princesses were Campbell's favorites. If you have a daughter, seeing their awestruck wonder is too precious to miss.
My fam in front of Mt. Everest in Animal Kingdom.
Just threw this one in because it's so cute. Cam didn't even know who Peter Pan was, but of course, she wanted his autograph and a picture with him. And does anyone else find it wierd that we now have all these pictures with"characters" who are real people, but who we don't know?
Hot days call for cool treats.
My main men with one of the army soldiers outside of Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios.
One of the highlights of our trip was my date night with my handsome man at Magic Kingdom. I love being with him.
My beautiful princess.
This is one happy child.
Too bad he won't remember this trip.
He became a champ at napping in the stroller.
If you're interested, you can see our Photopass pics here. If you have no clue what Disney's Photopass is, click here.
Just wanted to share the blog that I am most inspired by: The Lettered Cottage. I absolutely adore the way they've decorated their house and would love for my house to move in that direction, style-wise. Here's what I'm talking about:
These rooms are the same room! They recently redesigned their guest room (the first photo is the after photo, and the second two are the before photos), and guess what? I would take either one of those rooms and never leave. Happy Monday! I hope you can find a little bit of magic throughout your day today!
The past few years going green has become the"in thing"… well guess what?? The Irish have been way ahead of this Earth-friendly trend. I come from a family of Boston Irish Catholics and I grew up loving St. Patrick's Day!
If you're not sure if you're Irish, well here's my own little questionnaire you can use… 1. You consider St. Patty's Day as one of the Major holidays. (Yup) 2. You eat corned beef and cabbage at least annually (and look forward to it) (Yup- can't wait!) 3. You know all the lyrics to at least 2 Irish songs (Yup, and 1/2 the lyrics to plenty more) 4. You grew up eating dinner on 3/17 at pubs where they would be playing Irish songs and serving green beer. (Yup- definitely a favorite childhood memory) 5. You have a professionally taken, childhood picture of yourself in a green velvet dress and your brother in a green velvet suit, complete with knickers and a green velvet scally cap. (Ok, that one might not be for everyone, but it certainly confirmed the fact that I grew up Irish) So you might not have grown up Irish, but we can still have a little fun celebrating today! Let's start the celebration with a little song to get you in the spirit… I love this song!
How about decorating with the color of Ireland? Recently, I've been really interested in making a BOLD, Kelly green work into my decorating scheme. I have big plans to introduce some green furniture in my dining room, so stay tuned. For now, let's see what others have done with it… This isn't exactly my style, but I'm sure a little leprechaun would be happy in this bathroom.
This avocado green is much more my style
There are so many shades of green and this BHG room makes use of many of them, but does it in a way that totally works.
Super-modern, bedroom for some lucky little leprechauns!
Green Imperial Trellis wallpaper… I haven't mentioned my Imperial Trellis (IT) obsession yet, but I adore anything in this pattern!
So what do you think about GREEN? Benjamin Moore is my favorite source for paint colors and this is just a little sampling of their greens. Are you going to give Ireland a little shout out in your decor?
You might not be ready to take the green plunge, but your kids might love these cupcakes in honor of St. Patty tonight! Family Fun has the recipe and it's a great one for having little helpers in the kitchen.
Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day and let us know if you have anything fun planned for your family!
We've dedicated an entire week to expressing our adoration for the Fall season. Click here to see Day one of our Fall Lovers Series- the Anti-Wreath.
My favorite place to accessorize is my mantle (or is it mantel? Everywhere I look people spell it differently! For the record, I'm going with mantle today). I'm not kidding when I say I tweak it almost daily. So, while, for now, I am happy with my fall mantle, it probably won't stay this way for long. Ha!
See those bronze-colored vases on the right? I got those bad boys on clearance for $2.50 and $1.50 respectively, at Michaels. I wish you could have seen my happy dance when I heard what the final marked-down price was.
I battle my incessant need for symmetry every time I style my mantle, but I think I finally came up with something that is somewhat symmetrical but not exactly the same on either side of the mirror. I threw some fall-looking foliage that I've literally had for 5 years, at least, in the round vase and added a few dried gourds to complete the right side. I toyed around with a whole bunch of things (I need to remember to take a picture of all the stuff I dragged into the living room to play around with- it's like a decor bomb went off. Wouldn't that be cool, though? A decor bomb…hmmm.) Where the heck was I? Oh yes, the mantle.
I think my favorite part of the mantle is this little stack of old books and a the simple orange pumpkin (also from Michael's years ago). I love the pop of orange against my blue/gray walls.
The old lantern was my grandmother's and has seen it's fair share of rooms in my home. I love that thing. Overall, I think I'm happy with the mantle. For now. Here are a few other fabulous mantle pics to inspire you:
Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest You had to know that I would include an all-white mantle, didn't you? Don't you love the bits of autumn color in there? Beautiful!
Source: athoughtfulplaceblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest I thought twice about including this picture, since Monica declared her disgust with wreaths of all kind. But I like this leafy one. Deal with it, Mo.
Source: marthastewart.com via Jessica on Pinterest You certainly can't go wrong with pumpkins.
Source: thenester.com via Jessica on Pinterest I love these two non-traditional Fall mantles. The Nester used a few big gourds that matched her color scheme, and while not over-the-top fall-ish, it still hints at the autumn feeling. And this one:
Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Jessica on Pinterest …is absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to remember this one for next year's mantle. show it to my husband so he can remind me of it since I have the worst memory known to man But wait…what if you don't have a mantle?.Never fear! Just pick a shelf, table, countertop (whatever!) and decorate away! I used this shelf in my kitchen to add another touch of Fall into my home.
I {heart} this so much. I used leftover frames from our Nate Show makeover, and added the letters F-A-L-L which I printed on heavy cardstock in different fonts. I actually already had the metal lowercase L (my hubs and I couldn't resist the $2 grab bag at Michael's last Black Friday and ended up with whole bunch of random metal letters), and used scrapbook paper to make the last L. I threw in a couple burnt orange items and voila! Pretty fall kitchen shelf.
So, now you have no excuses. Go ahead and Fall-ify your mantle!
*Bonus Challenge: Count how many times I wrote mantle in this post. That should keep you busy while you're bored at work. You're welcome. Linking up to: Home Stories of A to Z
We've been making some slow and steady progress on our hallway bathroom redesign (see my game plan here), but it feels like the eternal job. This is because of two things: we're making sure all the funds are in place (even though this is a small job, we still want to be smart with our money), and I've been searching for all the right pieces. Here's what we started with:
Not the worst bathroom you've ever seen, but it definitely had lots of room to improve. I'm so excited about this bathroom because it will be the very first room in our house that will be completed in the coastal/cottagey (neutral colors, weathered materials and warm wood tones) direction I'm heading in. I finally feel like I know what my style is, and now am taking baby steps to get my house in line. We started by breaking down the process into steps: Step One: Prep the Area First off, we had to take down that plain jane mirror and remove the builder grade vanity.
My he-man hubs cut through the caulk around the countertop with a razor and after that, just lifted it right off.
Removing the behomoth vanity came next. This was a bit tricky because we didn't have a clue how to didn't want to turn the water off completely to the entire house (he turned the water off locally, of course, though). After a bit of debating, Kevin decided to cut a small hole around the pipes with a jigsaw so that we could lift the vanity up and over the pipes.
Can you even believe the color of the walls behind the mirror? When we moved into this house 4 years ago, this was one of the first rooms we painted. The color was just unsettling. Still is, as a matter of fact.
Uh-oh. This was so not a happy moment. Actually, as we were pulling the vanity out, I said to the hubs,"I really hope the wood floor continues to the wall under the vanity." Ugh. It did not, and so, this project just got a little trickier.
Thankfully, the previous homeowners kept a few extra planks of wood flooring, but no matter what we do, there's going to be a difference in the staggered pattern of the floor where the vanity used to be. It's a good thing I don't care about everything being perfect. Why sweat the small stuff, you know? The final part of the prep stage was spackling and sanding the walls, and applying the base coat of paint to the walls (Olympic Quill color-matched in Valspar Premium from Lowes- A warm neutral gray.) Step Two: Beef up the Moulding This is a very simple and inexpensive designers trick that makes a world of difference. Some homeowners (ahem! Monica) are fortunate enough to have chunky baseboard trim, which just has a high-end, finished look, but we are not so fortunate. So, why not fake it? We bought 32 feet of half-round trim- enough to go around the entire bathroom, plus a little in case we made any mistakes. Then we took a piece of wood we had laying around to use as a guide (this is a must! It makes the whole job sooooo much easier).
Our piece of wood was roughly 3.5 inches tall. Cut the half-round so that it has nice corners that will match up using a mitre saw.(You can find loads of tutorials online that will teach you how to use a mitre saw and make the right cuts.) Place the wood on the top of the existing baseboard trim, lay the new cut half-round trim on top of that, level and then shoot in a few nails using a nail gun.
Next, use paintable caulk to fill in any gaps, and wood filler to fill in the nail holes. Finish with primer (ok, we did not do this because we NEVER prime, but you should do as I say, not as I do. We are such rebels.: ), and a fresh coat of white trim paint.
Voila! Chunky and fabulous. Step 3: Paint Stripes I'm not going to go into detail about this step, because we followed the exact instructions for painting the perfect stripe. I decided that we would paint a total of 3 stripes, and the middle stripe would be the darker color (Olympic Stormy Weather, color-matched in Valspar Premium)
The perfect stripe method worked perfectly! No bleeding at all. This picture does not do either color justice. They both lean towards gray, but are still warm like a neutral tan. I'm seriously in love with both of them, and am now contemplating painting the hallway/foyer one of these colors as well. Step 4: Make a Huge Mess (Optional) This is what our hallway currently looks like. How long can one live like this and not go crazy? We are are trying to figure out the answer and will fill you in. You're welcome.
Step 5: Install New Lighting Yup, after all the votes were tallied, I decided to go with this large, bronze fixture for above the sink.
It's awesome and huge, but there's just one problem: Because it's an outdoor light, the recommended max wattage is 60W. That makes for a very dim bathroom. I'm not giving up on this light, though, because I'm basically already married to it. I'm toying around with adding additional lighting somewhere else, and switching out the bulb to a 75W bulb (I'm a rebel, remember?)
See how there's almost no light shining above the fixture? Any suggestions? Here it is, as it stands today:
Lovely beefed-up trim.
Gorgeous stripes in neutral colors. I just had to throw my old ladder in there because I'm so impatient. And guess what? It's a keeper.
Wheeee! I'm totally loving it so far.
To Do List: 1. Add crown moulding. We're holding off on this until we can get a friend to help since we've never done it before and we've heard it's pretty scary. 2. Fix the flooring under the vanity and install baseboard in that area. 3. Paint and apply an antique glaze to the mirror. 4. Figure out the vanity situation. 5. Accessorize! (My favorite part!)
So, it's slow and steady progress, but it's progress nonetheless! Happy Thursday,
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I've decided that it's about time I dedicated some of my decorating/reorganizing energies to our master bedroom. I am in love with our Nautica paisley bedding (a Christmas gift from my parents), and I even like the paint colors in the room, but the artwork, flooring and disorganized closets are just not working for me. Let's start with the artwork, shall we? Nothing in our room says"Kevin and Jess". It doesn't capture our personalities, or even our design style. Most of what I have hanging on the walls were gifted to us for our wedding, and while they are lovely, almost seven years have gone by and I'm ready for something new.
Artwork above bed: BEFORE
Baby on the left is my daughter at about 1 month old, and baby on the right is my son at about the same age. (The colors are sort of wierd- must have been a different time of day. The colors on the right are more true to life.) The babies are adorable, but take a look at the artwork. Too country-ish. And the picture really is a nice picture of lilies, but I was over it. (Also, if you are wondering, my husband made our headboard from an old door that he cut down, painted and mounted to the wall. I love its simplicity and the fact that it was FREE, since we had removed the door from another area of the house to open it up a bit. It's a really easy DIY project for those of you looking for a headboard.) Right before Christmas, Monica and I went to Hobby Lobby, which, sadly, is all the way in Easton. If you are in to crafting/decorating, you will want to plan a day trip to this store. We planned a special trip where we had dinner and then meandered throughout the store for hours. I was so giddy at the checkout counter that I rambled on and on about my love for Hobby Lobby and how far we travelled to get there. I'm sure the lady thought I was crazy and wanted me to move on, but I didn't even notice so high was I on all the possibilities of this amazing store. Anyway, one my purchases was two chipboard letters, a K and a J. They cost $1.77 each, and I knew I could use them for artwork above the headboard.
The first thing you may notice is that I'm extremely impulsive. I didn't really think this project through, and so I took many, many steps to get to the finished product. But I'm a trial and error kind of girl, and I've accepted that. My first thought was to decoupage a really cool french script paper to the letters. They looked awesome and I was thrilled. Until…
…I held them up against the wall. I hated the color of the paper against the color of the wall, and it wasn't working hung next to the awesome brassy-gold ampersand that I also bought at Hobby Lobby.
So, I decided to rip the paper off, and try spray-painting the letters in a metallic finish. Turns out that ripping off paper that has been decoupaged is no easy task, so I decided to stop that, and sand the paper (really? Sand paper? Yes, I told you I'm impulsive and not always sure of what I'm doing.)
The metallic finish was equally awesome, but again I didn't like the finish of it against the wall, in the dark brown frames, or next to the brassy ampersand. So, what did I do? I painted the darn things the same color as the headboard.
Artwork above Bed: AFTER
I love it! It's just a touch modern, which is fun against the more traditional lamps and bedding. And you can't tell from the picture, but the"&" really brings out the goldish color in the bedding. I'm super happy with the finished product.
Just to keep it real, here's an up-close picture of my bedside table.
Eeeeww! Dust much? I have a few other projects up my sleeve for our master bedroom that I hope to start in the next few weeks. (I guess I should add dusting to that list.) It may take some smooth talking and the perfect timing to get the hubby onboard, so we'll see! Next up: the floors
We have disgusting carpet that was disgusting before we moved in, and is even more disgusting now since we've lived here for 3 years. We are planning on ripping it out and then painting the subfloors, ala Ashley. Not exactly traditional, but it's cheap and pretty!
We won't be doing an elaborate stencil, though. We're thinking big, broad horizontal stripes in muted colors. I can't wait and I'll keep you posted on the progress. I also have a few other ideas for art for the other walls that includes some of my favorite photos of the hubs and me. Time to get crackin'!
So, we're one step closer to ma king the master our own.
I've already confessed to you that yard work is not really my thing. I pay way more attention to the inside of my house, and tend to neglect the outside. Unfortunately, my hubs isn't really into working outside either. But, I started to feel really bad for our neighbors because the front of our house was sooooo not welcoming. A few years ago, right before my daughter was born, I had Kevin paint the shutters and front door of our home a nice neutral brown. It was a major improvement over the faded blue that was there when we bought it, and for awhile, I liked the look. But not anymore. Now that I know what style I'm going for in my house, it wasn't fitting the bill. Not unique enough, not coastal/cottagey enough and not"me" anymore.
Oh did I forget to mention that we also have a jungle of a flower bed right outside our front door? Ugh. This flower bed is the bane of my existance. It's very large and overgrown with weeds. I figured that if we were going to add some curb appeal, the weeds had to go. We'd really like to put some low ground cover (suggestions, anyone?) in the entire bed so that we don't have to worry about it too much, but for now, we did some much needed cleaning out.
Our house is only about 15 years old, but the paint was peeling badly on the columns, so we added that to the facelift list.
It really just didn't scream,"Hi! Come on in!", did it?
I had slowly been accumulating paint chips to find the best front door color, and finally narrowed it down to Deepest Aqua by Glidden. Since I got my paint at Home Depot, I had them color match it for me in Behr Ultra Exterior Paint + Primer (you can see the code below, if you're interested!). I chose Behr Ultra Exterior Paint +Primer in Dark Granite for the shutters. No joke, this paint was amazing! It went on soooo smooth and covered really well on the first coat. I highly recommend it! We ended up only doing two coats, and they look perfect.
All of the trim on the porch and both columns got a fresh coat of white paint, as well.
I'm so impatient that I had to snap a picture of the house after the door was painted but before the shutters were painted. Loved it immediately. That blue is spot on and the perfect color for my front door.
I had Kevin take the door knob off because it had seen better days, and sprayed it with a dark bronze hammered metal spray paint. What? You don't spray paint on an old tree stump? Why ever not?!: )
That simple step made a world of a difference, and was free, since I had the spray paint already. Score!
After weeding, painting, spray painting and a lot of sweating, here's how the house looks now:
The house feels more calm to me, if that makes any sense at all. And the colors make our house look more white, when actually it's an off-white, pale yellow. I'm a big fan of that, as it was completely unplanned!
We didn't take down our shutters, because they're a bear to do so. My hubs just used a step ladder and his mad painting skills to get them done.
To dress up the porch a bit, I brought my DIY floor mat from the kitchen out. I was never really a huge fan of it in the kitchen, and with the addition of my new rug, I liked it even less. It matches perfectly out front, so there it sits! Much better.
This chair was one of my grandma's (I have two of them) and a while ago I spraypainted them in Krylon Pimento Red. I thought it would be fun to paint our house number on the back of the chair, but before I commited I wrote it on with chalk. One of these days I'll get around to painting it for real…or maybe not.
I'm really digging the non-traditional mix of these colors.
I'm planning a few more little touches to the front door and then I can't wait to get my Fall on in the next few weeks!
And just for posterity's sake, let's take one last look at the before and after:
Can I get woot-woot?!: ) Are you guys into working outside? What can you recommend for the giant weed-fest going on in my front bed? P.S. Do you follow us on Facebook? If not, you totally should because we're always posting in-process pics and teasers about the projects we have going on. Plus, you'll get an inside look at our craziness!: )
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 recognize that DIY art projects are not for everyone. My love for custom art was born out of necessity (read: lack of funds). Creating my own artwork works for me, and I've found out why: 1. I don't worry about ruining something I already have. With the exception of a few things, everything I own was bought second-hand or for a low price. I don't fear repurposing things, because the originals cost me almost nothing! 2. I am not afraid of change. Actually, I crave it.
3. I am not a perfectionist. Little imperfections in my art/craft projects are endearing to me. They say"I was handmade, and therefore may be flawed, but a lot of thought and care went into making me". I'm not saying perfectionists can't create art (because I'm sure most real artists are perfectionists), it's just easier for me to say this picture is"good enough", than someone who wants everything to be perfect. Ok, that's that. Recently I bought a yard of fabric for a project (stay tuned for more on that!) that I fell in love with. I ended up having some extra fabric left over that I wanted to use somewhere- anywhere!- in my house. I was feeling inspired by a gift bag in which my husband had wrapped my birthday present. I decided to combine my fabulous fabric, the cute bird, old frames, and some patterned scrapbooking paper into one art project!
First, I started with the bird stencil (the bag had a 3D bird on it, so I just ripped it off to use as a stencil). I laid it onto the back of the fabric in the opposite direction I wanted it to face, and then traced it. After that, I carefully cut along the line, flipped it over, and then mounted it to the scrapbook paper, using regular, old tape!
My husband insisted that this poor bird needed legs, so I drew two legs freehand and cut them out of the fabric, as well. Then I put the whole thing together and…
Voila!
I used the same method with my second art piece, but used the fabric as the background and the scrapbooking paper as the bird. I didn't have a smaller stencil, so I again, I freehanded the bird.
Then I had Kevin hang them on an empty wall in our living room. (I promise that these two pictures are level, it's just a wierd angle)
I love the way the pictures look as I enter the living room, and that I can see them from my kitchen table. Makes that room feel one step closer to completion, or until I'm ready to redo the entire room again for the third time.: ) I may not keep these pictures forever, but for now, they are a cheap solution. Below are some images from a few other bloggers of artwork they created using what they had on hand, or a few inexpensive items they purchased. Click on link under the image for specific instructions on how they made these beautiful pieces of art.
The Nester The Nester simply scoured her home for items that would look good grouped together in a frame. This could easily be done finding stuff on a hike out in the woods, or on a trip to the beach.
Martha Stewart These prints were made using memorabilia from trips (like tickets, maps, postcards etc) that were blown up and then framed.
Ashley Ann Photography This is not everyone's style, but these two canvas prints were made for a nursery, and were created using a canvas, scrapbook paper, mod podge (amazing stuff!), and a little paint. Adorable and easy!
Isabella & Max This look is much more sophisticated and elegant. This piece of art hung above the couch was made using a canvas, paint and a few different paint brushes, and nail heads. My sister who regularly tells us that she is not creative, painted three canvases in varying shades of colors that now hang above her fireplace, that are similar to this one.
Ok, time for Round 2, and let's just say we're back and better than ever. Well, not us, but the contestants. Their knockoff projects are killer this week!
We can tell that they really want to win the awesome prizes from our fabulous sponsors this week! Let's just recap what they are, shall we?
1. $100 Gift Card toRoyal Design Studio. RDS is our go-to source for all of our stencil projects and our run on CWTS last year was where we were first introduced to them!
2. A pair of $120 Robert Allen pillows fromChic Decor Pillows These pillows are hand-made and absolutely gorgeous. We're sorta jealous that we don't get them.
3. Project featured byHomeTalk, which, come on, is kind of a big deal.
These are pretty fabulous prizes, but let's not forget that one contestant and their star partner will win the Grand Prize at the end of these four weeks! Woohoo!
$500 from Homes.Com $500 Gift Card to HomeGoods Project featured by HomeTalk
We are so impressed with how these ladies took these famous, really pricey items and put their own spin on them to make them unique and fabulous. Let's get this party started!
1. Anthro-inspired Wall Lamp
When I heard this week was knock-off week I knew immediately what I wanted to do. See, I've been seeing this lamp I wanted in the Anthropologie catalog. It makes my heart happy but…my budget doesn't allow for it. Well, could you afford $2800.00 for a lamp? I know, right?!? Ridiculous! So, I took it upon myself to figure out how to make this lamp accessible to mere peons. Or simply those that have a budget.
Granted, I had to change things up a bit. I used pipes more than wooden spindles. And Rub n Buff to achieve some of the finishes. I also wasn't about to do the whole thing in copper piping (have you seen the cost of copper pipes?) so I sprayed pvc pipe with copper paint and Rub n Buffed it to get a nice shiny look. All in all, I have to say that this ridiculously expensive lamp just got beat. Oh yeah Anthro…you hear me??…you are charging too much!
I'll agree that mine isn't exactly the same as Anthro's. True. But, let's see mine is…about 3% of the cost of their's. Okay, I'll make do with not exactly! Truthfully, I love this lamp. It's so quirky, fun, stylish, and feels like an art piece! I'm so glad this contest pushed me to create it, I'm in love with it!
2. Restoration Hardware-inspired Lighted Sign
When I think of knock off, I think copy cat (in a good way). I think of anything duplicated to the T, but is much less expensive. For this round, I chose not to duplicate, but rather I was inspired by this Restoration Hardware arrow and created something a little different. I'll tell ya… with the basic process, you can create just about anything you can imagine. A state, a letter, a number, a symbol, a phrase. It's totally up to you.
Perfect for outdoors.
Perfect for indoors.
3. Schumacher Zimba-inspired Drapes, Anthro-inspired bench and Cornice
I love designer fabric and furniture, but the high prices make it hard to justify (especially when I change my mind frequently!) I like to get a high end look at a fraction of the price by putting a little, time, effort, and creative thinking to work!
I've been obsessing over Schumacher Zimba fabric forever, it is absolute perfection for draperies! But, at about $100 a yard (that means about $300 just for ONE panel), it is definitely not in the budget. By creating my own stencil and buying pre-made white draperies from Ikea, I was able to get two panels for about $25!!
Ever since seeing one doubling as a window seat, I have been dying to build an upholstered bench ottoman. Inspired by Anthropologie's bench ottoman that costs $1,700, I built this ottoman for under $100. I cut costs by using an inexpensive comforter in lieu of foam, upholstry webbing as a top support, and a drapery panel for fabric. It's perfect for extra seating or a place to rest your feet.
Custom cornices can be very pricey especially when topping a large window. For this window, I wanted a 95" length which can cost over $850. I built this cornice using 1x12 and 1x6 to create the frame and a long tablecloth for fabric for under $25.
These three diy projects transformed this window area and cost me only $150. The time and effort was definitely worth it over paying over $3,000 for all of the originals! 4. Faux Chair Slipcover
It looks like a chair, but kinda like a slipcover too… Well, that's because it's a chair covered by a slipcover! Who knew this chair had such high ambitions? I did, that's who!
I saw this faux chair cover on this Danish website and I knew these covers would be perfect for my house. I drew a template and took it to a copy center to have it enlarged. Then I cut it out and appliqued each individual piece to a plain chair cover to create a faux chair on a slipcover.
It's a fun easy project that takes an afternoon. And now all my other chairs are a little jealous! I had fun making that plate wall, too. Just plates and a few vinyl birds. I think they're perfect with my"fancy, new" chairs!
5. Anthro-inspired Ikat Console
ANTHROPOLOGIE. I LOVE this store. I love the colors, the design, the textures, the ambiance, and inspiration that I always find there. When I saw this gorgeous ikat hand painted console, I knew it was the perfect piece of inspiration for my CWTS Knock off. (and at $1698--it's a great piece to knock off; )
Using a cabinet base from IKEA and an ikat stencil from Olive Leaf Stencils, I recreated the console, choosing a similar color palette, with some color adjustments to fit my own house and decor scheme.
They say"imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Well, Anthro, you most certainly have mine. In honor of my love for this store, I styled the console using some Anthropologie treasures, in addition to some old wooden spools & candles, books and beautiful orange tulips. 6. Anthro-Inspired Sharpie Plate Art
Woo… week 2! After the crazy, hectic, eating-cereal-for-dinner kind of week last week was I was hoping for a"knockoff" project I could knockout quickly. Apparently, I don't know how to do that. I chose to knockoff Lost Arcadia By Molly Hatch sold by Anthropologie for $7,500! Since that's about $7,450 over my budget, I decided to see if it could be done on the cheap.
It's basically 30 plates hung together with a painted scene going across all the plates. At $7,500, that's $250 per plate. Luckily Dollar Tree sells white plates for a buck. And, since I was pretty sure painting freehand on the plates wasn't going to look all that great, I used a Sharpie and a projector. All you have to do is trace… easy.
I chose to trace a botanical print on my plates since I felt it looked a little more modern, but tried to keep the style and overall feel the same–very loose and all black and white. The plates are hung using Command Strips. At 5 feet wide and 6 feet tall, it makes quite the impact on the wall, not the bank account.
7. Horchow-inspired Mirrors
So, here we are at round 2 (Did you see all of the awesome projects in round 1?). This week's theme is Knock-Off, which I love. I'm cheap frugal, and just can't spend the money that some of the big name websites want for their stuff. Plus, I'm sure my husband would think I'm certifiably insane if I bought a $300 vase or $100 throw pillow. But just because I'm designing on a budget doesn't mean that I can't have nice things, right?
I saw these mirrors over at Horchow, and loved them. I'm one of those ladies that thinks that you can never have enough mirrors in your house. Mirrors to make your room look bigger. Mirrors to reflect light and brighten up your space. Mirrors to make sure you don't have food in your teeth. The more, the merrier. But $1095 shipped? Yikes. No thank you. But looking at them, I figured I could make them. A quick stop at Hobby Lobby for the wooden plates and big mirror, a not so quick stop by Home Depot for the rope and other supplies, and a call and stop by the local mirror place for the smaller mirror size that I couldn't find pre-cut anywhere. Then it was time to go home to paint, sand and assemble.
I did have to get creative with the black caps that Horchow has on the ends of their ropes. My solution? PVC end caps, simply spray painted black. Some black BBQ & Stove spray paint on the metal (which is holding nicely as long as you don't bang around the metal) and voila! Drill a hole in the PVC, hot glue the hooks and rope, and BOOM.
Slightly smaller, slightly lighter in color, but perfectly me. 8. West Elm-inspired Wood Tile Dresser It didn't take long for me to figure out what I wanted to do for this week's challenge. I've been lusting after this wood-tiled dresser from West Elm for months and months, but at a whopping $900, it just wasn't going to happen. So, this challenge gave me the perfect excuse to try and re-create it on my own! And I think it turned out pretty awesome.
I found this gorgeous antique dresser at a local flea market and knew it would be the perfect piece for this project. It's not quite as modern as the original, but it has some nice clean lines and wooden casters, which make me a little weak in the knees. With a fresh coat of paint, some DIY-ed hardware, and a whole bunch of whitewashed, hand-cut wood tiles it looks pretty dang close to the original.
Really, if I'm being honest, I like my version just a little bit better.; -) 9. Anthro-inspired Duvet When I first saw the Corin Duvet from Anthropologie, I fell in love with its details. Hand stitching, gathered fabric, pure gorgeousness. But it also came with a price tag that was way out of my league.
I wanted this look for our room but didn't want to spend $400 (and I didn't want to sew anything) so I bought a white duvet cover and a bottle of puffy paint. PUFFY PAINT?! Yes, I said puffy paint.
I used a picture of the original and a steady hand to paint the details onto my duvet.
But don't worry, the look is nothing like those cheesy tee shirts you used to make!; )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's time to vote! You guys have a ridiculously hard job- we don't envy you a bit! You can only vote one time, but you can vote for your favorite 3 projects. In order to vote, please LIKE EC2 on Facebook. Thanks! Thanks for voting! Check back tomorrow to see Monica's Knockoff that saved her over $1500! Did you miss the Round 1 projects? You can see them all here.Want to know the results of Round 1?Click here!
No… I'm not getting all creepo on you… this is a PG blog-Our moms read it! What I'm talking about it this adorable ball of fur that's now a part of the Mangin family…
I'm seriously head-over-heels in love with her! She's a Bernese Mountain Dog that will be eight weeks old today and she has the sweetest disposition ever! Jess came over to meet her the other day and was surprised at how smitten I am, so she said,"I didn't think you were a dog person?" to which I replied,"I'm not! I just like my dog!" Ha! What can I say? It's true! So in honor of Miss Pennlyn (AKA Penn) I'm sharing some Doggy Style projects… Four Post Bed… Puppy Luxury! I first saw this bed a few years ago in a Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine, and immediately loved it. I don't think the size will work for Penn, but I love the look and idea of it.
Source: lowescreativeideas.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest You could also just find a coffee or end table, flip it over and get your DIY on, turning it into a bed. And of course, I'm loving the yellow! Crate Bed Since Pennlyn will be a pretty big dog, I'm thinking this style bed is a bit more her speed. I'm loving this DIY bed made by Home Frosting and I can't wait to make one. She used leftover 1x4s, but I think I might use some free pallets. The finish she created is fabulous!
Source: home-frosting.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest DIY Pet Tags Leave it to Martha to come up with these adorable tags.
Source: marthastewart.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest I was about to order a generic tag from the pet store, but I plan to try this DIY this week before going the generic route. I just need to make sure it's heavy duty enough. I'll let you know how it goes! Pet Art I'm not really a huge fan of having pet pics all over the place (remember… not a"dog person") but I do think some pet art might be cool in the kids' playroom.
This took me about 30 seconds to create on Picnik. I used the"Posterize" effect and voila… Pet Art! I think I'll order it as a canvas this week. Hungry Puppy? Since we've only had Penn for 5 days, her food is just in the bag, but I do have ambitious plans to create some kind of cool looking container. The hubs thinks I'm insane and wants to know why the dog food container needs to be cute, but he knows who he's married to, so he's cool with it. Here's one fun idea…
Source: tidymom.net via The Real Housewives on Pinterest The style isn't mine, but I think I could add some of my own modern flair to it. I sorta had something wooden and rustic in mind, so we'll see… Custom Stuffies These are the funniest things ever! I think they'd make such an awesome gift! This seller on etsy makes custom stuffies for your pet. Just send a picture of your pooch and you'll get a look-a-like stuffie in a few weeks! I've contacted the seller, because she doesn't have this as an active listing right now, but I'm hoping she'll be back at it soon! Pennlyn definitely needs a mini-me stuffie! WAIT! Hold the press! Shevon contacted me and you can now buy a custom stuffie! Here's the link: Custom Stuffies (Soooo stinkin' Cool!)
Source: etsy.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
So, it looks like I have a lot of projects to get working on! Although, before I get working on my puppy projects I think I need to get Penn house-broken and doing fancy tricks (can I teach her how to go get my laptop for me?) I'll keep you posted on Miss Pennlyn and any cool projects we make for her! Oh, one last thing… She WILL NOT be owning one of these… Thundervest…No Comment!
Source: thundershirt.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Thanks for letting me introduce my little lady to you!
WAIT! Don't stop reading! The voting for Crafting with the Stars is now open! We've entered our first project and we need your votes. We obviously can't tell you which project is ours, but we can give you a hint… look for the coolest one… that'll be ours! Nah, we really do have some stiff competition, so head over and vote for your favorite 3 projects. The winners will be announced Wednesday. Thanks! ClickHERE to see the entries and vote!
One of my 2012 resolutions was to add more of ME into the style (or lack thereof) of my family room. I might have taken that resolution a tad literally come to think of it, but I'm still happy with the progress so far! Let me give you a little back story…
See that artwork? It was hanging in my family room for the past year. It's fine… if you know me well, when I say fine, I mean ehh… take it or leave it. In this particular case, I was ready to leave it, so I started by taking it apart.
I wanted to do something a tad more meaningful. Trust me, I'm all about art just because it looks cool, but for some reason I was determined to create something a little"deeper" for this room. At first I thought I'd use some cool lyrics I love."American Pie" has always been a favorite song, but then I vetoed that because it just didn't feel right and I'm sure there's some weird deep meaning I am oblivious to. I decided on Matt Redman's"Blessed be the Name of the Lord", typed it up on an 8x8 and enlarged it at Staples. (Total cost for two was like $5.00)
Here's the deal on the song. I'm not all like,"woohoo it has to be a praise song" or something like that. Truthfully, I hated this song for about 3 years and would actually leave church every time it was played. I wasn't being a jerk, I just couldn't stomach it. You may have heard me mention my twin boys in my birthday post, and this song has a line,"You give and take away, You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name." Let me tell you for a mom that wanted nothing more than to keep holding her babies that line was beyond challenging for me. So why put it on your wall crazy blogger? Well, over time I've been able to get to the point where I do trust and understand that He will give and take and it's not going to be easy, but I'm not in it alone. He doesn't say I'll give and take and see ya later. It's only by grace that I got through each of our losses without becoming bitter and changed. Okay, enough personal stuff, if you want to read about our journey with the twins, you can check it out here. (Who knows, maybe it will be a help to someone.) So I had my lyrics and needed something to go over them. It took some brainstorming and then it hit me. FINGERPRINTS… our fingerprints! Here's How I did it! The mat needed a coat of paint. Don't be afraid to change the color of your mat, it's a great, quick fix.
While they dried, I pulled out my kids stamping kit and took some prints. I'm a dork and started with my pointer, but realized a thumb is a better option. Just press, don't roll and don't use too much ink.
Then, I took pictures of our prints. I zoomed in as close as I could get, and then cropped in picasa. Editing the picture to black and white and increasing shadows helped me see the lines.
I happened to have a mini projector on hand (borrowed from a friend about 9 months ago- oops!) and a jar of cherries! I needed the projector a bit higher and they worked perfectly. If you don't have a mini projector an old school, classroom one would work fine too.
Keeping it real… yes, I still have a Christmas countdown on my walls.
I taped the paper on the wall and traced in pencil. I almost went blind. It was not simple to see, but it still only took about 5 minutes of tracing.
I removed it from the wall and traced over my lines with a sharpie.
After reassembling the mat and frame I was ready for after pictures… Darn that my room is bright with a glare 24-7.
Here's my new meaningful, fingerprint art.
I have a second one coming with the hub's print, but I'll show you that when the rest of the wall is finished! I have some fun plans brewing!
So what do you think of my new artwork? It's okay, you can be honest, I know it's a little unique.
This weekend Jess and I got up bright and early on Saturday morning to attend a barn sale. We weren't 100% sure what to expect (the details were limited) and on the way we were laughing at the possibility of us walking it and it being all farm equipment! Thankfully it wasn't! The sale was inside and out of this cool, old barn
There were plenty of random things, but also tons of furniture, mirrors, and stuff that was right up our alley!
I REALLY wanted to buy this piece for my dining room, but it's a corner unit that wouldn't fit. I was bummed!
Jess almost bought this mantle to turn into a headboard, but I kind of talked her out of it!
We both loved this cool sign!
I spotted and scored this awesome"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…" style mirror for $5.00!
DIY Chalkboard Mirror Have I mentioned I'm impulsive?? By Saturday afternoon I was ready to start working on my mirror project! I make my poor husband take all kinds of dorky pictures of me holding things… He accidentally got himself in this picture (don't tell him I used it on the blog!)
Here's the mirror before… Jess is in a gold phase, and liked it gold, but me… not so much…
I went to Lowes and after staring at the spraypaint choices for an eternity, I decided that blue will now be my kitchen accent color. A worker actually made a comment about how long it took me to choose.: )
Did the blue in the above picture worry you?? It just looks crazy bright in the pic, in reality, it's a really great, dark blue! Love it! If you're doing this project with a mirror, I recommend spraypainting right over the mirror as well. It acts like a primer for the chalkboard paint.
See the little cobwebs?? I clearly didn't take the time to prep the mirror. Thankfully, they wiped right off. Impulsive remember?
Next, it was time to paint the mirror surface with chalkboard paint. You can get it by the quart at any Lowes or Home Depot.
Rather than using my real painting brushes, I opted for some art brushes because I was going to freehand the edges.
It is just me or do other people like taking pictures of open cans of paint? I always think they look so cool!
Thankfully, the mirror had an easy edge to follow and I was able to get my lines nice and crisp (perfectionist tendencies!)
The chalkboard paint went on really evenly and only required one coat.
And of course I hung it before it was dry! Ahhh I love it so much!
We decided we'd use it for a countdown for this kids for now. Eventually, I'll need some kind of quote that makes me seem way cooler than I am.
Here's where it's hanging in my house…It's on a small wall area between the kitchen and living room. And look, I've been using my Key Hooks and you can see them in this picture!
So, do you have any cool frames or broken mirrors that you can make into a cool chalkboard? What do you think of my Mirror, Mirror on the Wall turned Chalkboard?
We're linking up to a few Great Blogs! Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic, Under the Table and Dreaming, Today’s Creative Blog, DecorChick, Finding Fabulous, The DIY Show-Off, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Polly Want a Crafter?, Shabby Chic Cottage, Stories of A-Z, House of Hepworths, Beneath My Heart, Shanty 2 Chic, The CSI Project, CRAFT, House of Grace, Domestically Speaking, Creations by Kara, Southern Hospitality, Lolly Jane, Keeping it Simple, Somewhat Simple, Making the world Cuter, Young and Crafty, My Backyard Eden, Dittle Dattle, A Glimpse Inside, At Home with K, Brambleberry Cottage, Beyond the Picket Fence, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Someday Crafts, Serenity Now, The DIY Club, My Girlish Whims
Have you ever noticed how incredibly expensive planters are? For about $40 I could get one itty bitty planter, that's not even cute. No thanks. I decided I would DIY planters that would work perfectly with my new painted door and rockin' house numbers. I didn't want anything to frilly, or girly. I wanted my style inside my house, reflected on the outside too! This project cost me $20 each, was incredibly simple, and totally fits my style.
Here's What you'll need to DIY your own color block, tiered planters: Plastic planters (mine were from Target) 2 colors of spray paint 1 color of latex paint Dirt, Mulch, Plants, Etc. I started with these plain Jane planters from Target (find them here). You can't really tell how big they are, but they're pretty big (I can't wrap my arms around the top of the large one- I tried, so that gives you an idea and a weird mental picture. Sorry about that!) They cost $7 for the medium and $13 for the extra large.
The first step was to spray paint the middle color. I used Valspar's grey primer because I love the color.
You don't need to worry about the top or bottom at all. Just get a nice, even coat on the middle. I did two light coats on mine.
I painted the top color block with the same color I recently used on my front door. I'm a bit obsessed with it. I didn't need to tape for a clean line, because the planter had a lip that I was able to use as a guide. Also, make sure you paint down pretty far on the inside. I'm assuming your house guests will be taller than the planters, so they'll get a peek down inside.
The next step, made this DIYer do the dance of joy (remember Perfect Strangers?) because it saved me so much time! I used a paint can opener to pop the bottom of the planters. I'll warn you, it will sound like you're breaking them, but you're not! They'll pop right back on when you're done painting them.
Taking the bottom off, meant no need for tape or cutting in. Just spray paint the bottom whatever color you'd like. This was my little work station (aka messy garage).
Put the pieces all together and you're left with cool, color block planters.
They're nice like that, but I wanted to take it up a notch! I wanted some height, so I stacked them up. I didn't do any permanent attaching or anything, just fill the bottom with dirt, plant your flowers, add the next planter, and repeat. Again, remember the angle people will see them from when they walk in… mulch is a must. No one wants to see this…
I used white wave petunias on the bottom and a boxwood on top.
Here was my porch a few weeks ago. It was a sad situation… trust me, I know!
Take a look now! I think it's just a tad more welcoming don't you?
For a grand total of $40 and less than an hour, I got two color block, tiered planters that perfectly match my style and house colors. (You can see the door and house numbers Here) Now… if only I can keep the plants alive… What do you think of my DIY Planter Upcycle?
**Since my mom loved my planters, she kind of hinted around to wanting one of her own. Here's what she got for Mother's Day! Black and Red to match her house!
Happy Monday, guys! We've had a busy weekend filming back to back episodes for Knock It Off, but we wanted to pop in and give you a round-up of our favorite summer items from some of our favorite companies! These wonderfully talented people make this blog possible, and we've gotta say, they're stuff is stinkin' awesome! Check them out, show them some love and don't forget to look for special coupon codes just for you!
1. I am LOVING this Tangerine Braid Headband from Henle Headbands- that color just calls my name! 2. Monica is obsessed with these Slim Cool Salmon flip-flops from Havaianas that come in lots of cool colors. 3.Isn't this Flower Leather Cuff Bracelet from Belmonili super cute? You ALWAYS get free shipping within continental US. Use the code BelmoniliECC for 10% off your order!
4. Our absolute favorite thrift store is having a 50% off sale on all media items at Liberty Thrift Stores, which- need we remind you?- includes books! Thrift stores are treasure troves of books with great covers, perfect for styling your home. (Picture Source) 5. Guys, you know we love a good DIY project, but some of you complain you don't where to begin or even what to do once you start. You have no excuse anymore because Bareroot Design Studios offers Design Workshops that will teach you how to get the look you want for your home. For all you locals, Bareroot Design Studio is hosting anOPEN HOUSE on Saturday, June 15th from 1-3pm. You do not want to miss this!
6. We have shared our love for Lucent Lampworks over and over again, but this Cylinder Glass Shade with Antique Bronze Down Rod just made us fall in love all over again. Save 10% when you use the code EC2tenoff.
7. I love the simple design of this Blessings Carafe from Blessings Unlimited. What a beautiful way to dress up your summer table. 8. This Affection Small Art Print from Red Letter Words is such a thoughtful and stylish gift for all of those graduates in your life. With lots of different saying, you'll be able to find the perfect one for that baby shower, wedding or graduation gift and you know what the best part is? They're only $19 each! 9. We love our phrases from 163 Design Company (see them here and here) and now they've come out with these NEST Chalkboard painted letter s, which are awesome. So cool just as they are, but even cooler that you can doodle all over them!
10. For a non-green-person like me, this Garden Planning Kit from Clean Mama Printables is clutch. This baby will help you achieve the garden you've always wanted It includes: *Planter Planner*Garden Plan Grid*Plant Record (keep track of all your plants in one place — glue on a large envelope and keep your receipts and plant info to keep track of plants that need to be returned or relocated)*Garden Plans — This Year + Next Year*Yearly Annuals, Perennials, and Trees + Shrubs Tracker*Yearly Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs Tracker 11. I know it says"Spring" in the title, but this Riley Spring Paper Pack from Moo & Puppy screams summer to me! Are you making a summer bucket list this year? Use this paper as a background for your big list of activities for your family! Use EC215 for 15% off your order! 12. Don't forget to check out the c urrent issue of Smart, Blonde and Craft y for loads of fun and creative DIY ideas to fill your summer and it's totally FREE! Also, make sure you take a look at all the fun blogs listed- you might come across one you've never heard of before!
13. I'm sorry but these Typewriter Key Bracelet from Junxtaposition are just so dang fun. Choose your design or pick one out as a one-of-a-kind gift for a friend. 14. I love the smell of citrus in the summer, and the NEW! Wood Wick Candles from CJS EcoChic are soy so that sweet smell will last a loooooong time. 15. Remember that faux stained glass window I made two years ago? I used this Artscape Window Film. It adheres to any window, is easy to customize and is a breeze to install. This stuff makes a HUGE statement without working hard for it. Plus, it can add some privacy and style where there is none!
16. I got this XXL Utility tote from Thirty-One Gifts and it is fabulous! It can hold so much stuff, and it easily collapses when I'm ready to put it away. I'm a huge fan of the nautical look, so the navy and white just stole my heart.: ) My bag holds a lot of the typical summer items you need when you're a mom of two little ones: towels, swimmies, suntan lotion, toys, but still looks good! C heck out Mandy's guest post HERE to hear more about her story and how she was able to leave her full-time job when she joined 31! Go ahead and contact Mandy at hajelfamily@yahoo.com or check out her website for more info.
17. We've recently found the DIYers solution to dirty, nasty nails. Gel manicures at Oasis Salon. Monica has been telling the entire world that her polish is lasting over 3 weeks! I have to admit, they do look awesome even with all our DIYing. If you're local you HAVE to try out their amazing pedicures and gel manicures. We can't get enough. Visit Oasis, tell them EC2 sent you and get 10% OFF one visit!
18. Ahhhh, how amazing is this Herringbone Shuffle Stencil from Royal Design Studio? I've been wracking my brain trying to find a place for it in my house. Think the baby would like it? Use the code ECC10 for 10% off your order.
19. And last, but not least, our favorite family photographer (and the official photographer of EC2. Ha!) Stacy of Salvatori Photography. This girl is seriously talented and has a fun personality to boot! She just did our gender reveal photo shoot and a few months ago, photographed Monica's family doing their thing on a Saturday morning. Make sure you like her facebook page because she's always running fun contests. We promise that you will LOVE working with Stacy and will have fabulous photos that will last forever! Ok, folks, time to shop! Have fun.: )
