Saturday, January 28, 2012

Master Bedroom - New Addition

Oh my i am so excited!! I know i said earlier this week that i would be getting the first new addition to our master bedroom and i got it this week! I know i might be the last one to get one, but it's a trend that i haven't fallen out of love with, and don't think i will.....

YAY!! My very first and only gold sunburst mirror. Since the ones that i liked so much were so pricey, i thought that the DIY was was the way to go. But then when we were at home depot last weekend looking at plants, i spotted the Martha Stewart one for only $34.97!! And as you can tell, i thought it was perfect! Perfect size, perfect color, perfect price! Another update, i sold a TON of stuff this week, so the plans for the bedroom are getting more realistic and exciting! Can't wait to share!!!


Friday, January 27, 2012

O'verlays

Oh my gosh are you serious?? Who knew there was such an amazing place out there as O'verlays! I can't tell you how excited i am that i read this months issue of House of Fifty, because they just made my DIY RAST nightstand project easy as pie! I can't wait to use them! Take a look! And for $10.00 a piece, and not to have to do touch-ups, i'm sold!


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

DIY Inspiration: ikea RAST nightstand

Okay okay i know these have been floating around forever, but it's decided! This is exactly what we need to replace Chris' nightstand with. And we did decide to do table lamps. I'm just going to have to have a smaller table for now until we have a bigger bedroom (it's only short by 2 inches!!) and i'm telling you right now, i''m never downsizing to a queen bed not ever so that's not even an option! I got this inspiration first from Marissa at ROOST...she is so talented and i love what she did with this ikea RAST $34.99 dresser....

Even though the color that it is made in is so appealing (NOT), i really love what she did with hers...

I just love it! And my love for gold isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so i'm pretty excited! Danielle Oakey from Danielle Oakey Interiors just finished hers as well and i'm just as in love with hers...

So i've decided that the white with gold is definitely what i'm going with, and that i'm going to do a playoff of the design that Marissa used....both gorgeous and both i'm very envious of! Good job ladies! Thank you for continuing to inspire me daily!

The hardware came from here and is perfect and more than affordable too! Thank you again!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Master Bedroom Inspiration: Part 2

So i know it's super lame that i didn't do a post yesterday, but my job is extremely demanding and especially now! So please don't give up on me! So with that said, besides work ALL i think about is what i want to do in our master bedroom. I did find something that's PERFECT for it this weekend and i'm hoping to have it soon to show you, but Chris said before i buy ANYTHING that i need to sell some stuff that i won't be planning to use anymore. So that is what i am in the process of doing. Trying to sell things to make room for new things. I wish there was a Plato's Closet for home decor, because i'm pretty sure i'm make some good headway with such a place! So for now, i will just continue to be inspired.

So our main concern is our lighting/nightstand situation. We're obviously not going to live in our basement apartment forever (cross your fingers people) but since we are right now, the way our room is set up doesn't provide too much storage. Because of this, i don't have as much room on my side of the bed for a nightstand because Chris has a larger one with some storage space. If we could both fit something like that, it would obviously be ideal, but since we can't we were just going to stick to the one nightstand for now. But then comes the question, what do we do about lamps?? Chris HATES the idea of wall lamps, which i obviously thought was brilliant! But now i'm questioning my taste...maybe they ARE ugly and my husband has a point. Regardless, i found these swing arm lamps and this tutorial on how to cover up cords that hang down if you're in a temporary living situation like we are. Does anyone have any inspiring ideas??? I need some help here....



Both of these lamps are Robert Abbey from Wayfair. I just don't know if they're what we should do, but i do think i like the price!

And this tutorial that Brett at Manhattan Craft Room on covering the lamp cord is genius! I do love the way she did it and would never have thought of it myself...

By the way, i had told Chris that we needed to make a trip to ikea to pick up another faux fur, but guess what??? All sold out! I was going to make the stool out of the one i already had, but i don't want to cut it up and staple gun it to find out that ikea isn't getting them back! So i decided to wait. I did put my existing one on my coffee table topped by my gold tray, and it does look quite chic! I'll post pictures i promise....

Friday, January 20, 2012

DIY: Chevron Canvas Painting

I already warned you about my obsession for chevron, and i already warned you about needing to get better pictures of this stuff so don't get too antsy about those things quite yet. This is a project that was SO easy and inexpensive and it really makes such a statement in my living room space. I got this inspiration after i saw a home tour of Lauren Davis at Me Oh My! and i fell in love and just had to do it! This was the inspiration...


And this one above is how mine turned out. Hers looks much airier and lighter than mine, however mine does look a lot better in person than in this picture and I'm sure will look better once i use a real camera to take pictures.

SUPPLIES
24x36" artist's canvas from Hobby Lobby (with 40% coupon it was $20.00)
Painters Tape
Sponge Roller
Paint (I used a small test container of Dolphin Fin by Behr)

DIRECTIONS
Create a template either on your computer or just with a ruler, pencil, and piece of paper. Trace the template onto your canvas with pencil (you won't be able to see the pencil after you paint). Tape off the area that you want to paint. *I taped the entire zig-zag that i was leaving white so that i could easily roll the paint on. I did about 3 coats of the gray before i took the paint off. It's my favorite think hanging on any of our walls I'm pretty sure. The part that took the longest was taping, but essentially i did this during an episode of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice! I could have touched it up more, but i didn't and i think i'm the only one that can see the imperfections so i'm still in love with it.

As you can see it's hung above an old piano. That was the Christmas present that i got for Chris this year, and he has high hopes for this piano. He has decided he wants to paint it in cream with some major distressing and glazing, and then paint the music stand a darker tone. We are for sure going to start that in the very near future and i can't wait to show you the end result! Plus, i hope by the end of this weekend to have a nice furry stool to show you! Woo hoo....

Thursday, January 19, 2012

FREE Printable Poster: Chevron Obsession Continues

I know i already posted something chevron today, but i just couldn't help but post this free printable from Sarah at Compulsive Craftiness. I just fell in love!

Go here to get an 8x10" for yourself!

FREE Printable & Gift for the Sunbeams

Almost immediately after Chris and I got married, we were called to teach sunbeams, which for those of you who don't know is the group of kids in our Church who are 2 yrs. turning 3. At the end of the year when they were about to move up to another class, we were debating what we should give them. We didn't want it to be too expensive (they are 3 after all) and didn't want it to be something that they weren't old enough to understand. The age group they were graduating to are called sunbeams so we came up with this as a gift for them...


Pink for the girls, orange for the boys. Then we got these 4x6" TOLSBY frames from ikea for $0.99 a piece and it made the perfect gift.


They're a thick plastic and in my opinion not cheap feeling or looking, so i loved it. If you like the print you can right click and save the image and print is as a 5x7" or a 4x6".

I designed it the same way i did this invitation for a friend's baby shower. And if you're asking if i will ever get sick of chevron or over it, the answer is NO!

Enjoy!

*if you want me to change the color of the letters on the "sunbeam" print to match your child's room, just let me know and i'll email it to you!



Featured by The Way We Are by Leah


Thank you so much to Leah from The Way We Are for featuring our DIY gold leaf zig-zag tray! I was ecstatic!! Man if this is what kind of satisfaction blogging gives people, now i know why people do it! Thank you so much again Leah. Please check out her blog here...she is AMAZING!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

DIY: Anthropologie Inspired Zinc Letters

I love these letters (and everything else) from Anthropologie, but with a $98.00 price, it just wasn't the right time to order one. So i know i'm not the first one to try this, and i also know that this isn't the one-and-only tutorial on how to do this, but i tried it with the silvery paints and it did not turn out the way i planned. Then i stumbled across this tutorial on Sugar and Charm. As much as i love that she chose to spell out 'EAT', i decided to buy 2 different sized 'M's (for Middleton) and do that!


SUPPLIES
Black acrylic paint, Folk Art pearl paint, cardboard letters (you can use wood if you want) and a foam paint brush.

DIRECTIONS
Paint the letters all black and let them dry. Acryllic paint dries really fast as long as you don't load it on too thick, which you won't need to do. Then, dip your brush into the pearl paint and use long strokes to paint over the black. This silver coat will give it the texture and depth it needs to look like a matte metal. If it looks to white, just keep spreading the paint from that spot. The less paint and the longer the strokes on this the better. My sister who has never painted anything in her life got it right away!


The top one is about 12" tall and the bottom one is at least double that tall! I really promise i will take better pictures tonight and update this tomorrow, but this really is a project that i love. I honestly think this is the first one i did after we got married, and i haven't gotten sick of them. I keep moving them around to different places of course, but they're so versatile they can really go anywhere. I hope it's as successful for everyone else as it was for me.

Master Bedroom Inspiration

So Chris gave the go ahead that by December we will have a new bed, a new mattress, and new bedding and i'm so excited!! I obviously already have ideas just churning in my head all of the time. I'm not sure if i'm going to DIY a headboard, or buy a ridiculously beautiful bed with a gorgeous headboard included, but we'll just have to find the perfect thing. It's no mystery though why i would want to draw my inspiration from this...

I seriously cannot get enough of CWD Textiles! It's like her fabric was designed so perfectly that she can do no wrong in my book. I love her upholstered headboard, but since i change my mind so often, i think i need to go with something more neutral. The bed will be the hardest part. I'm definitely going to have to do a ton of research. But this one from Anthropologie wouldn't disappoint if it made it to my house somehow...

The only problem is that it's quite pricey! I would probably have to sacrifice the mattress and the bedding to get this bad boy. But how gorgeous right???? What if i promise to love it forever and ever? What then??

All i know it i'm headed to ikea to get another one of the faux furs tonight and see if i can stumble upon a stool!! I just can't get over it or stop thinking about it. I really have to control myself when i get around home decor. I probably love everything in the store at some point, so i have to tell myself if i miss it after i've walked away from it and can't stop thinking about it, i just have to have it! Then it makes me only buy stuff i really love instead of impulse buys, which i have definitely been very guilty of in the past.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Re-Styling Inspiration

So i was looking at Clementine + Olive today, and came across such a good idea that i love and i'm totally going to try when i get home....

The second picture would be easier to do like now/tonight since i don't have a darling little stool like the first one, but since i have convinced Chris that it's a good idea to save up and get a new bed and new bedding, i think a little stool like that has to make it into the design scheme somehow, don't you?? Plus, i already have the faux version of this from ikea....

This one is $29.99 which is a good price for sure, but i wasn't sure if i was going to like it or not so i was really wishy-washy about buying it. Then one day i went with my mom to look for something completely different, and they now have a faux version for $9.99!!! You can tell it's fake by the back of it, but i honestly like the faux one better...they don't have it online for some reason, but i promise it is in the Draper ikea and will not disappoint. Especially if you want one for a DIY like this, or just as a little accent. So perfect!

FREE Valentine's Day Printable

Rebecca over at Simple As That made a very cute Valentine's Printable, but with all of the colors she did, you could leave it up all year long. Click here to go to her page and download any or all of them.




DIY: Better Homes and Gardens Terrarium Tutorial

I am a total sucker for TJMaxx!! I go there all the time to try and find whatever i can to make our house even more beautiful! There and HomeGoods will be the end of me, or the end of my access to our bank account maybe...

So this project began at TJMaxx and was ALL Chris. I cannot grow anything, like, anything. He is the one who buys and waters and cares for our plants. So we went into the TJMaxx in Santa Maria, CA while on vacation to see what it had to offer that the ones here in Utah just don't. I couldn't find anything that was perfect, but lo and behold Chris found this x-large apothecary jar that we couldn't leave the store without buying. We had both read the article by Tovah Martin in BHG about terrariums, and he had been pretty set on the idea since then. So the directions are the exact same ones we used. Even though i'm not the one who cares for it, it is the easiest plant we have to care for. Hers a really pretty, but i'm happy with our TJMaxx compared to her Crate & Barrel's.

HOW TO Plant a Terrarium:
All you need; a clear container, soil, and a plant says Tovah Martin

PROVIDE DRAINAGE
Put an inch of 3/8 inch pebbles in the bottom of the container. Mix in a handful of horticultural charcoal to keep moist soil smelling sweet.

POUR IN POTTING SOIL
Add 2-3 inches of light potting soil that contains lots of peat, such as African violet medium. Tamp it down to remove air pockets.

DIG A LITTLE HOLE
No trowel needed! Make a planting pocket with your finger. Set the plant in and firm the soil around it. Make sure no roots are exposed.

WATER LIGHTLY
Dampen the soil until water drips into the stones. Don't use the misters or sprayers, Tovah says: "They make more of a mess than they moisten the soil."

KEEP IT GROWING
Water an open terrarium when the soil looks dry or you can no longer see water in the stones - every 7-10 days or so. A closed one can go for two weeks or more between waterings. Remove spent flowers and leaves as soon as they appear. Wipe the glass, inside and out, occasionally with a clean cloth.

This is how Chris' turned out and it looks really awesome! It's pretty tall and it's a really good natural decoration that not even someone like me could kill!

Monday, January 16, 2012

DIY: Gold Leaf Zig-zag Tray

So I pinned this tray forever ago on Pinterest knowing that I wanted to redo the tray I already had, when I had the time of course. So while i was finishing up Christmas presents and Chris was bored without having to study, he offered to help. I wish I had taken pictures of the step by step process, but if there are questions, just feel free to ask...

This is the tray that i fell in love with from upintheairsomewhere.com, but with a $98.00 price tag, and also already owning a perfectly good tray, the only way i could justify it was as a Christmas list item or a DIY. DIY it was.

All we did was buy FolkArt Gold Acryllic paint and painted over the entire tray. Now i was a little nervous about this. We looked at the gold-leafing option so it could be more like the original, but with never doing it we didn't want to ruin the tray. The other problem was, i wasn't sure how acryllic paint would do after putting painters tape over it, but that was the easier thing to fix if it didn't go well. I taped the stripes as closely as i could to replicate the original. Chris rolled over the Behr Ultra White Matte indoor house paint. And then came the hiccup...

When we excitedly peeled up the paint, there were a few spots where the gold acryllic came with it. We quickly got more gold paint and some touch-up brushes and Chris used his skills and touched it up. We also got come clear coat sealant to spray over the top to hopefully make it more durable. Was it everything i thought it would be??

I seriously could not have been happier! Especially for less than $10.00 total compared to $98.00...um, hello?!? Of course this was the better option. It's obviously not as shiny as it is with the gold-leafing, but it again satisfied my gold fix.

C. Wonder

I don't know where this site came from, but i LOVE everything they have, including their prices. Mariah, my younger sister, got me this bowl for christmas and it definitely satisfied my craving of gold lately.

I may have peeked at the price, only $8.99 for this beauty. It also comes in chocolate, navy, and red coral. Click here to see all of the colors.

Now my goal for next Christmas is to convince Chris that we should get a new bed and bedding. I like what we have, but i just want it to be perfect, and it's just not quite there yet. But i think this pillow would get me a little closer.

And this one is on sale right now for $14.99 for the cover (insert not included). It also comes in chocolate, navy, and orange. I just need to figure out what color scheme i'm going to go with for my bedding. Navy, coral, and bronze perhaps?? I think it's a promising option...

Click here to see the color options for this pillow. Check out the rest of their site! It's amazing!

Two newest additions to the family...


With a Target price tag of $24.99...


and another Target price tag of $19.99 and a $50.00 Target gift card from Christmas, i just couldn't pass it up!

See more of the collection at Target here.

My continuing obsession...

i think i can confidently say that i will never get sick of chevron or navy w/gold! i love it!

via Pinterest

Misty Bradford's Baby Shower



This last Saturday, Chris and I threw our friend Misty a baby shower. I was so so sick and could not have done it without him. I didn't take any pictures, but i did make some delicious food and thought it only fair to post the delicious recipes for the salad and the sandwiches. Enjoy!