Nature-Inspired Christmas

I love to change up my Christmas decorations every year, and usually make most of them myself. This year I've had a lot of fun playing around with my sewing machine, and I made some paper circle garland that I sewed together in greens, whites and painted some paper in metallics. I draped them on my mantel and piano for bright pops of color. I took a walk in a local park to collect the large sticks to make the star that I put above my mantel. I simply wired each connecting point together and I was done. The pine cone door decorations were a Pinspiration. They were incredibly easy to make too. I just used ribbon with drop of hot glue on the end to tie on the pine cones. The green one was made by cutting strips of burlap, gluing and tying in the same way.

Seems like we always get the itch to paint something this time of year, so this year it was the bay window wall. We painted it a dramatic charcoal called "Evening Hush" by Behr. I love how dramatic it looks, especially with light curtains and wall art. I drew the "Mistletoe" sign with chalk on my framed chalkboard on the same wall. This year we cut down a huge tree as tall as our 8 1/2 foot ceilings and placed it in a galvanized tub like last year. Merry Christmas!

Bedroom Revamp: Reclaimed Wood Headboard and Wax Paper Chandelier

 Our bedroom has been a work in progress. It actually started about two summers ago.(You can see what I worked on back then by clicking here and here.)

I had been wanting a cool headboard for a while, and a search through Pinterest led me to love the idea of nailing reclaimed wood into the walls. So, this spring, my husband found a pile of free untreated (chemical-free) wood planks. It doesn't get any better than free!

So, my husband measured and cut them to size, then drilled them into our wall panel in this cool pattern. I love it against the pale yellow walls! It reminds me of a barn door-so rustic and unrefined. And, the feminine part was added by me. I made the faux capiz shell chandelier-also seen all over Pinterest. It was the fifth one I've made-so I'm pretty much an expert by now! (for pictures of the other chandeliers and the tutorial-click here) 

Nursery Reveal

 
I am so excited to finally reveal my baby's nursery today! As soon as we knew this baby was going to be a permanent part of our family, I got busy working on the room remodel and some crafty accents to go with it.  I had been creating a Pinterest board of all my ideas and color schemes in the months leading up to the adoption.

I wanted to rip out the cheap tan carpet and paint the floors white. I wanted to paint the boring tan walls a paler color with bright accent colors. I also wanted an eclectic look with a gallery wall full of whimsical and vintage art.

Here are a few shots of what the room looked like before: 

I am a fan of nice hardwood floors, but these floors were in bad shape after 90 years!  The cheaper way to go was to paint the floors. My husband helped with that part and already had some practice from painting the floors for our older Boys' Bedroom Makeover  the summer before.

After painting the walls Whetstone Gray by Martha Stewart, I wanted to add some bright stripes to the entry wall. I used Frog Tape and this technique, since my walls are textured, for perfectly straight lines. 

I love how the bright orange and green stripes add pops of color to the room-I chose stripes because I think it's a look that will blend into big boy decor when he's older.

I painted the doors and table in the room the same green as the stripes-Lily Pad, also by Martha Stewart. I painted chalkboard paint on the crib panel so I can write fun messages on it for him-and in his toddler years I'm sure he'll have fun scribbling with chalk.  The tree art is was made for me by a local artist friend, Dani Herrera, who makes amazing things with reclaimed denim, zippers and more.

I've had this table for a while and this is now the third color it's been. After painting it, I distressed it with a sanding sponge to reveal hints of white and added new knobs for a brand new look. The thrift store magazine rack is where books are held, next to the comfy chair for bedtime stories.

I made this artwork with a printout given to me by a friend. I traced the elephant onto dictionary paper, cut it out and Mod Podged the whole thing to pallet planks. The curtains and fabric shades are both from IKEA. We have been replacing all of the wooden blinds in the house with ones without cords for safety.

I made this mobile by stenciling airplanes and clouds onto cardstock, cutting out, hole punching and attaching twine. I used an embroidery hoop for the top of the mobile.

I moved this IKEA shelving into the baby's room for clothing and the boys' got a bigger dresser to share. The accordian style wall hook fixture was a thrift store find. It also makes a fun display for finger puppets.

Here's the gallery wall-a combination of baby and family photos and some crafty things I made. I loved the idea of hot air balloons combined with Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go" phrase, so I made this artwork by painting and stenciling a canvas, then cutting out a 3-D hot air balloon out of card stock and gluing to the canvas. I  repurposed an IKEA night light  by cutting out cloud shapes onto navy blue paper and attaching to the light fixture. I Mod Podged an old frame with sheet music, adding a photo of baby's newborn toes.

 It was so much fun redoing this room and I think baby boy loves it too. He squeals with delight when he gets to play there. It was created on a budget and most accessories were either handmade, thrift store finds or things I already had in the house that I repurposed and used for his room. There's so much for him to look at and play with and it was a really great way to celebrate him becoming "finally forever". We love having him be a part of our family!

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Spring Wreath Made with Watercolor Paper Rosettes

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."  ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Perfect description of this freezing first day of spring! I have had this wreath up on my door for a few weeks now, beckoning warmer days and blooming flowers to come already! It is made from burlap and different types of paper rosettes, including some watercolor paper I painted that turned out so pretty. 

If you've been on Pinterest, you've probably seen lots of ways to make burlap wreaths. The accordion style below is my favorite and easiest to make, in my opinion. For the tutorial I used, click here. It is basically weaving a piece of wire through the folds of a wide strip of burlap and securing the back with wire. 

A helpful tip I figured out while shaping your wreath is to use clothespins all around the circle-it holds the wreath together while you secure each section with wire. I also used burlap on a roll instead of cutting strips for less mess and to save time. 

For the paper rosettes, I used thick handmade paper and also painted some circles of watercolor paper and cut them out after they were dried. Paper rosettes take a little practice to get right but are fun once you get the hang of it. There are a few tutorials out there that show the same basic technique: 

First you start by cutting out a circle a few inches wide. They don't have to be perfect. It helps to use thicker paper, like watercolor. 

Then you draw a swirl from the outside in, trying to space them evenly. 

Begin cutting out the swirl all the way to the center along the line. 

After your swirl is cut out, begin rolling the paper from the outside in. I used dots of tacky glue to hold them in place as I formed my rose, but you can also use hot glue. 

After making a few different sizes, shapes and colors of rosettes, I hot glued them to my burlap to finish the wreath. I love how it turned out-the rustic burlap contrasting with delicate pastel flowers. Since it was going on my front door, I sprayed on a coat of spar polyurethane to protect it from sun and humidity damage.

 This wreath is really fun to make-I recently got to teach a group of women at a nonprofit art center how to make them and love how different each one turned out. There's so much you can do with the burlap base-I consider it the "year round wreath", this is the third one I've made, just changing out the embellishments to fit the season. I'm pretty sure this one will be up until the fall-maybe then I'll make one with bright yellow leaves or white pumpkins? 

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Shaker Style Cabinet Revamp

One of the big projects I've been working on this summer has been my bathroom makeover, changing up paint, lighting, mirrors and adding storage after I took out a medicine cabinet. I am almost done, but wanted to do another post update on my progress.

I got a good deal on this shaker style cabinet I found at a consignment shop a few years ago. It was originally green with these cutesy, horrific pink cherries someone had painted inside it. So, I painted it white with blue distressed doors and it sat in my living room for a year and a half.

Until I needed more space for storage in our small bathroom. After taking measurements I found out the cabinet would fit perfectly in the upstairs bath right next to the tub. Like it was made for that space!

The nice thing about this cabinet is that the doors pop out-how convenient for me and my idea adding chicken wire after painting a cheery pop of tangerine orange on the shelves.

my finished cabinet!

I used small baskets to hide toiletry items neatly in the cabinet

As a finishing touch, I added chicken wire easily with wire cutters and a staple gun so the pretty orange shelves could show through.

I can't wait to reveal the entire bathroom remodel-new lighting is in, new mirror, paint colors too. All I need to do to finish is create some homemade art for decorating the walls. I found some good deals today at Saver's that have lots of potential to be transformed....stay tuned for the big reveal!

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