For my first “Tutorial Tuesday” back I wanted to share this recent life changing hair tutorial that I found about a month ago on pinterest. It is truly easy and fast which is extremely important to a new mom. Not only do I spend less time doing my hair now because I like it so much better after doing this that I don’t waste time fiddling with it and then giving up, I also save money on product because I only use hairspray.
I have big news! Nate and I are going to have a baby. My due date, August 30th. Of course this will change our lives forever and has already started to have its effects. During this exciting time I have decided to relieve myself of some unneeded pressures, including blogging for now. I won’t be gone forever and when I return I am sure to have a stock file full of exciting projects including a nursery! Until then please continue to be inspired by my older posts and I look forward to my families new journey and coming back to tell you all about it.
P.S. You can currently follow me on Pinterest, to keep up with my collection of ideas for my home and the nursery.
I found a fabulous new blog and am already very inspired!
Check out Abode Love!
I first found this blog via Pinterest where I fell in love with these striped walls.
From there I ventured to this lovely blog and fell in more in love with her entire home!
I love the Anthropologie look of the living room. I always hesitate to add pretty “clutter” like this and like the fabulous Anthropologie stores but when I see it, I always want to do it.
Can’t wait to dive further into this blog for more and more inspiration. THANKS ABODE HOME!
Here are a few cute and easy ideas for quick decorating for Halloween that is cute yet sophisticated (as sophisticated as Halloween decor can get anyway).
These river rocks painted with black chalkboard paint can be changed from season to season to give any message you want. Here in white chalk are spooky themed words. Such a quick and simple idea via Pinterest.
Frame a doily in a cross-stitch ring and place a fake spider on it for a cute and shabby chic version of a spider web.
via Betzwhite
Fill vases and jars you already have with fake spiders, snakes, etc. I’m not really down with the skulls but that’s just me. You can fill jars with anything you like and change them for each holiday. I think it would be fun to fill one with dirt and a fake zombie hand emerging from the dirt. The ideas are endless.
Print out some spooky pictures and wrap your glass candle holders. Again, this couldn’t be quicker and more simple while not being gross and overdone.
Another quick print out can give you this simply chic Halloween decor in a jiffy. You could even whip this project out in minutes before your Halloween party that you meant to plan for but just didn’t because you were busy and ran out of time.
via SouthernMomentum
If nothing else than a can of spray paint and a some hand painted art or stencils if you don’t have an artistic hand can turn ordinary pumpkins into fab. Paint a festive motif for pumpkins that are fall decor rather than Halloween specific.
via SouthernMomentum
Here is an added bonus via Pinterest of some creative Halloween party foods.
A Halloween cupcake:
Spider web cookies
Frankenstein Marshmallows
That is just a small glimpse of all the fun ideas that are waiting for you to discover on Pinterest. If you haven’t checked it out yet click on the link to go immediately before you waste another second wondering what you are going to make for dinner tonight, what you are going to wear tomorrow, how you make a cheap and creative costume for your kids, and tons of other things you haven’t even thought of yet.
Not surprisingly, the living room is one of the first rooms nearing completion in my home. I love designing living rooms! To me it is the room that really dictates the feel of the home and makes the biggest statement. While some may say the kitchen is the heart of the home, I say the living room is the main stage, setting the pace for the rest of the home to play off of. So here are some more pics of my living room in progression.
As you can see, if have already changed some things around. I replaced the cherry blossom sprays that were on top of the side tables with my lovely new lamps.
The new lamps are in beautiful polished nickel and clamp to the back of the side tables. They swing in or out and direct the light just where I need it. They also have two light settings for mood lighting or high reading light! I really love the masculine/industrial feel they add to the space.
As you can see above I also added some pretty “street scene” prints simply leaning against the arm of the lamps.
Here’s a look from the other side of the sofa.
Here are two wider angles to give some perspective of the entire room. I saved the chaise from our previous sectional sofa (it was the best part of the sofa!!) I plan on slipcovering it but am still deciding on fabric. Behind the chaise you can see my DIY art. It is simply an old frame I have had for years with some discount fabric I picked up stapled to the back. It took me awhile to find something to fill the “hole” behind the chaise but my patience paid off! I didn’t have to spend much money and got the big impact I wanted. Sometimes I just pays to wait. I am also on the hunt for a tufted ottoman for the center of the room. Again I am waiting for the right deal at the right time!
Here is my favorite part of the room, the white chairs in front of my huge window! The area of the living room really makes the space feel crisp and fresh while also being inviting! Haha, don’t you just love my shabby rug! Some people (like my husband, who is more of a clean and simple kinda guy but I love him for letting me have my way with the decor) don’t really “get it” but I do! I love the worn shabby look to death!! I have also temporarily thrown a salvage architectural find behind the chairs against the wall for now till I find it a home. I fell in love with this piece of old cornice from a porch and had to have it! I am thinking I will use it for a “crown canopy” above my bed soon but for now it rest happily in my living room adding character to the space!
Here is where my cherry blossom sprays landed. They flank the fireplace now. You thought I had gotten rid of them huh?!? Nope just a quick move to a new home freshened the space up! I am constantly tweaking and revising.
Here is my fireplace and “butterfly art” as you have seen before but now I have added the cherry blossom sprays and the vintage suit case table beside. I picked this old suitcase up at a local antique shop for $12. I simply put it on table I already had.
Now I know what you are wondering, “where is the TV?” Why it is where are the furniture is facing of course!
Do I want it to be the center of attention? Not really. Is it ok for now? Yeah because I get to watch Big Brother from the comfort of my chaise! Again I am waiting patiently for the right housing for this monster.
So to refresh, here is the living room before.
and after…
After…
Much more to come, so stay tuned to see kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom makeovers.
Until next time!
I was in much need of some inspiration to break the paint brush out again and start painting my kitchen cabinets. It seems once the paint supplies are packed away they really want to stay that way, or maybe I really want them to stay that way.
As you can see below my basic builder cabinets in warm honey oak aren’t really cutting it mixed in with my cool color palette of gray and white.
I have finally found my inspiration though from a newly found blog called Me and Jilly.
Here is Mia’s kitchen before. Looks somewhat like mine with basic builder cabinets and linoleum countertops.
Now here is Mia’s kitchen after…
Wow what a transformation and so inspiring!
Mia added molding to her plain cabinet fronts, added glass panels to some of the upper cabinet doors, and did some finishing touches with a brick veneer backsplash and unique concrete countertop.
I am thinking, if her kitchen can look this good with some sweat and tears, mine can too! Now that I have the inspiration I just have to find the time. If I ever get the two together I’ll be unstoppable! Ya feelin me?!?
I finally have pictures of my fresh new office. I designed the space for blogging and sewing/crafting. I wanted a space that was cheerful and inspirational and that really said KATIE! Well I think I nailed it. Here is the big reveal.
The room before was a plan blank canvas, white walls, beige carpet, etc… Your typical builder grade small bedroom. I don’t seem to have a before picture which saddens me but here is a picture I snapped with my phone right after painting.
Of course from this pictures lighting and without anything else in the room the walls felt a little bit neon. I knew that it would all come together in the end though.
I had a simple white desk from Ikea already so I added 2 Expedit bookcases to the mix.
One I put on its side on casters for a sewing table with storage. I can pull this out to the middle of the room when sewing so the fabric has somewhere to spread out. I picked up these fabulous new vintage “linen-look” file boxes from Ikea as well to store “do-dads” and stored all my fabric swatches, remnants, etc below.
Then there was artwork. I used remnants of Thibaut wallpaper inside Ikea frames. They were the perfect color combo of Apricot, Aqua, and Green all softened by the yellow background. I loved the Pagoda lanterns in this wallpaper which is why I picked it.
Then not to be left out, the other side of the room I framed some typography art and added some accessories to the top of the bookcase. I also picked up a fabulous pinboard framed in gray (seen below again) from Home Goods for just $24.
Then some finishing touches from things I already owned (always a good thing!).
First my favorite Thrift find chair.
My fav chair, shown here in true “Glamour Shot” style with a cute pillow made by yours truly, has bits of coral and aqua throughout this traditional needlepoint toile fabric. I heart this chair for real and it only cost $25!
Then finally one of my favorite lamps, one because it is fabulous and two because it was free, pulls the color scheme together.
I will be adding curtains soon in this Thibaut plaid.
I will show you the curtains when they are up. Until then I hope you liked my inspiration space and were inspired yourself.
Until next time!
It is that time of year again! Well, I guess it is not really quite that time but I just can’t wait, it is time for all things pumpkin!
I just love this time of year because all the fabulous pumpkin recipes emerge as we begin to crave festive, spiced foods. So for those who crave pumpkin as much as I do I have scoured the web to bring you some fabulous pumpkin recipes. I will try some of these recipes myself and let you know what I think to come.
Pumpkin Gnocchi via House of Brinson
Pumpkin Spice Latte via GimmeSomeOven
Pumpkin Risotto via FoodNetwork
Spicy Pumpkin Soup via Simply Recipes
Pumpkin Trifle via A Taste of Home
Pumpkin Spice Muffins via HowToSimplify
Click on the links above to see these recipes. If you try and like any of these let me know! I would love to hear about your experience and share with you this fabulous season of pumpkin fever.
Since in my previous post I gave an example of unique and inexpensive art I thought this tutorial would be a perfect follow up to that.
This DIY tutorial on how to create your own silhouette art is fun and easy on your wallet.
Click here to see how these adorable silhouettes are made via Tater Tots and Jello
I’m back! It has been awhile since my last post because I have been working on my office space and waiting patiently for my computer to be function again. Finally I can share again and in the meantime I have been busy!
For my first post back I wanted to share with you something I have been dying to post about.
My butterfly art!
As you can see from this before picture (below) that I had a huge hole above my fireplace for what in the 90′s we called TV’s to what now we refer to as that huge box that I once stared at. The hole is not big enough for our new flat-screen TV’s so it is useless!
I hate those holes! So I decided to cover it up!
I took an old pallet and pulled all the boards off the back to fill the front.
Then I ordered some white cardstock butterflies from Etsy. (click here to shop) I used those little round dots you use for scrap-booking to stick the butterflies to the boards and ta duh!
My butterfly art. I thought carefully about how I wanted to place the butterflies and as you probably know, I am unashamedly coping the very popular wall art from Serena’s room (if you don’t know who Serena is you don’t know what I am coping anyway so it is ok 
) but I like it so I don’t care! However I did want to give it my own twist so I had the butterflies flutter off to the picture adjacent.
I am planning on adding a white Gazelle trophy above the fruit picture (not a real one of course) to have a couple of butterflies land on the horn.
Like this:
Well that is it for today. I gotta get back to finishing my office makeover so I can blog about that. So until next time.
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