Bringing the trees indoors!

My youngest daughter, Morgan, has always been a girl who lived in her own world of make believe.  From a very young age she would fantasize about all things magical and mythical!  That's why it wasn't a shock to anyone that when she got married, she wanted a fairy tale wedding surrounded by the forest and gnomes.

 Here's a glimpse into her style.  I'll be honest, when she started explaining about the wedding of her dreams, I couldn't picture it!   It ended up being one of the most magical and special days of my life.

She and her husband, Ryan, recently moved into a great home.  Morgan wanted to add some details that would represent her style.  She asked me to paint some trees on her living room wall.  I've painted trees before, like I showed you here and here.  The trees in this room needed to be more realistic.  Her plan was to hang pictures from their wedding from some of the branches.

I decided to paint these trees freehand.   Remember, I'm far from an artist.  If you look closely at the picture above, I took a pencil and drew the basic lines of the trunks.  This allowed me to get the spacing right.  After that,  I added limbs and branches.  I tried to keep in mind that trees don't grow perfectly and growing this close together would overlap and intertwine.  I stepped back occasionally to make certain they looked right.

You can see in this picture part of her display of gnomes on the fireplace mantle.  After I finished the trees, she painted her frames black and hung wedding pictures from the "branches".

Once again, here's a project that doesn't cost anything if you already have the paint.  If you'd like to add some fun detail to your walls, consider painting an easy mural like this.  It's simple to paint over when you move or if you're ready for something new!

Redesign - Adding family heirlooms

When a loved one passes away, we are often left with warm memories and occasionally inherited pieces.  This home belongs to a client who recently received some heirlooms from her Grandmother.  Finding a place for new treasures and figuring out ways to incorporate them with existing pieces can be challenging.

This is the living room.  This is where the family with two small girls spend most of their time.  The antique dresser to the right belonged to my client's Grandmother.  In creating a design plan for the room, I wanted to position it where it would be visable.
The girls play in this room so it's important that the furniture stay against the wall to keep the space open.

Look at the beautiful crown molding in this room!  When we discussed paint colors, I suggested that they paint the trim and moldings a lighter color to allow them to stand out.  The color on the wall is already a warm neutral and painting the trim lighter will produce better contrast and the architectural features will pop!

These items on the dining room table are inherited tea sets, crystal and silver pieces that need a place to be displayed.

The Redesign:

Leaving the sofa on the wall keeps the space open and continues to take advantage of the view outside.  I placed the bookself that holds the girls books and art supplies next to the sofa to serve as an end table and still provide easy access.  The antique dresser fit perfectly under the window to the right.

I grouped black and white photos of the family above the sofa.  Displaying them together makes a strong impact.

In the dining room, I placed like items in the inherited china cabinet.  To the right of the window, I replaced the existing cabinet with another antique dresser that holds the silver.  Above this cabinet I hung a needlework picture made by the Grandmother.  My client showed it to me, hoping there would be a good spot for it.  It seemed fitting to hang it in this room, where most of the furniture and dishes were hers.  I love how the blue and golds in the picture compliment the blue dishes and gold on the dining chairs!

The before and afters:

This beautiful home has great moldings and arched doorways.  The inherited treasures look like they've always been a part of this home.  I'm sure they'll be enjoyed and appreciated by this young, growing family while their memories surround them!

Master bedroom retreat

Doesn't everyone want a Master bedroom that has the ambiance of a luxurious retreat?  It's the last room we see before we drift off to sleep so it should feel relaxed and peaceful.  It doesn't take a lot to give your room a lift.  Consider colors that appeal to you and start with an inspiration piece.  That's what my daughter, Ashley did when she found the flower pillow above on Etsy.  It was just the look she wanted for her room redo.

When Ashley and her husband moved into their 3-story condo, they had one small daughter with another one soon to come.  They were busy parents working and running around after two little girls.  They set up a bedroom for the girls and multiple play spaces, but their room wasn't at the top of the list.  When their youngest daughter started sleeping all night in her own room, they were excited because now it was time to create the Master bedroom retreat they had always dreamed of!

These before pictures were snapped after we started taking the bedroom apart (It's so easy to forget to take the before pics when you're excited to get started.)

As you can see, the room isn't very big and their California King sized bed takes up most of the space.

I created a Design Plan for the room using colors that Ashley chose.  By placing the bed on another wall, they have much more space at the foot of the bed.  

Here's a 3-D rendering of the new layout.

Here's the rendering of the closet side of the room.  I forgot to take an actual picture of this area, but it basically looks like this.  Placing the dresser into the closet frees up more floor space.  We took the doors off so we placed a curtain panel up to hide the hanging clothes.  White baskets from Ikea were placed across the whole top shelf for more storage.  A nightstand holds their TV for viewing from the bed.

We painted the wall behind the bed charcoal gray.   Space is limited on each side of the bed so I installed wall shelves to serve as bed side tables.  We purchased a basket to place underneath each shelf to hold books and accessories.  The lamps were purchased at Ikea and were hung from hooks on the ceiling.

This close up picture of one of the lamps shows the cute white and gray print, perfect for this room!

There's a vaulted ceiling which helps the room feel much more open.  We brought the dark gray onto the window wall as well for contrast.  I love how it looks with the crisp white drapes.

Ashley picked out this cute fabric that I used to create a wall-mounted headboard.

Above the bed we hung baby pictures of the girls underneath the silhouettes that I made for Christmas.  You can see a post about the silhouettes here.   We painted the frame on the large family picture bright yellow for a great pop of color against the wall.

Other touches of yellow stand out against the wall color too.

This room has become the peaceful retreat that my kids so deserve.  Ashley said they feel like they're in a luxury hotel when they go into the room.  That's a feeling everyone deserves after a long and tiring day!  

Next up...we're bringing this same color scheme into the attached bathroom.  Stay tuned!

New calender and a lamp re-do

I've added additions to my desk organization project.  As mentioned in my last post, I wanted to make my small work space better organized but I definitely wanted it cute too!  In fact, I believe that our mood and ability to function at our fullest potential is greatest when our surroundings are pleasant.  That's the biggest reason I love the Interior design business.  I share my passion and I get to help my clients feel good about their living spaces.

I just restocked my Sherwin Williams paint samples.  Instead of throwing out the old ones, I decided to keep them for projects.  I saw some ideas on Pinterest for creating a paint chip calender.  Above are  a couple that I found.  I already had everything I needed to create one for myself, so I gathered up the supplies and went to work!


These are placed inside of a frame so you use a dry erase marker on the glass.  Pretty clever!  Here's how to make your own.
1.  Start with a picture frame (mine is 11x14).  Spray paint it if desired.
2.  Cut a piece of fabric or scrapbook paper for the background (I used burlap).
3.  Cut a piece of cardboard (or in this case a gift box lid) to fit inside the frame.
4.  Use spray adhesive to glue the fabric to the box.  Position cut squares of paint samples on top and glue down.

To give the frame detail, I made muslin flowers.  This is another Pinterest inspired idea, except I made mine a bit differently.  They're cute and really simple!

1.  Cut out 5 circles of muslin.  I used a little red cup to trace.
2. Set the pieces aside.

3.  Take each circle and fold in half, and then in half again.  Cut little scallops out on the rounded edge.  Do this on all 5 circles.
4.  Taking 4 of the pieces still folded, lay them on top of the 5th piece and stick down with a dab of hot glue.
5.  Cut a small round piece of burlap and hot glue it in the center.  Add a small button on top.  Easy!

Here's a side view that shows the dimension.  I just love these!  They may start popping up all over my house!

Here's my calendar!  I placed some jute around the edges to give it more texture.

Now onto the lighting.  I bought this little lamp at a thrift store a while back, not because I loved the look but  because it was the right size.  I've planned to re-do it since I bought it so this seemed like the perfect time.
I began by taping the top with frog tape.  When I paint lamps, I like to put the cord into a plastic grocery bag  and tape the end.  This is an easy solution to keep it paint free.

While the lamp was drying, I covered the lampshade in burlap (surprise!)

I added another flower and some fabric leaves.

I put some rope around the edges for the trim.  I love how it turned out!  I'm not sure why it took me so long to do this.

Since I used cork, burlap, muslin, jute and rope on my projects, I decided to wrap a soup can with more jute to create a nice textured pencil/pen holder.

My desk is organized and much more appealing then it was before.  I have no excuse to not accomplish great things here!

Hanging file holder

My desk needed a makeover ... BAD!  I help people find solutions to be better organized on a regular basis, however I don't always follow my own rules!  I get too busy and let my desk pile up.  The truth is, spending a small amount of time reorganizing can help me to be more productive with my time.
Today was the day that I decided to clear my desk of EVERYTHING!  I decided there was a fairly simple solution to my paper pile problem.  I just needed a place to keep two files, one for "current files" (for the client's I'm currently working with) and a "to do" file (where I put everything else that needs my time and attention).  Since my desk space is limited, I wanted something to hang on the wall.  I also wanted something cheap, but cute!

I thought something like these would be really cute, I mean functional.  I went to Target to see what they carried but everything they had either cost more then I wanted to spend or wasn't the look I was going for.  Then I saw these:

Cute - no, but they were only $2.99 a piece!  I grabbed them and then went on a search for something to make them cuter.

This cork roll was only $1.99.  I grabbed it and decided that I'd take these items home and make something magical happen.

I started by cutting a piece of the cork to fit on the top of the file holder.

I sprayed the back of the cork with spray adhesive.  Important: spray this outside as it's super sticky and will go everywhere!  Don't ask me how I know this!  This held the cork down pretty well but the edges popped up some since it was rolled.  I just took some tacky glue and went around the edges with it.

I wrapped a piece of twine around the edges of the cork to make it look more finished. After printing my signs on card stock, they were ready to hang with a tack.
I love the texture of the cork and twine.  It definitely makes them look cuter than black plastic!  Oh yeah, they're really functional too!  I've got a lot more room on my desk now!

Total cost:
2 file holders - $2.99 each
1 roll of cork - $1.99
Twine - had on hand, I use it all the time!
Total = just under $8.00

I have a couple more projects that I'm working on for my desk organization.  I'll be sharing those with you soon!

Thanks for visiting!

Havin' a party...Yo Gabba Gabba style!

I'd like to share with you a really awesome party I went to.

The guests of honor

This sweet boy turned 3, and the little princess on the right (my grand-daughter) turned two!  These two are great buddies and they both are crazy about Yo Gabba Gabba!

These are their cute Moms, Rachel (on the left) and Ashley (my daughter, on the right). Considering that their kids have the same obsession and birthday's so close together, it only seemed fitting they would combine their ideas and efforts and throw one big Gabba extravaganza!

This party didn't lack details, and it's my privilege to share this post in the hope that you find inspiration for throwing a fun children's party.
As we entered through the front door, we were greeted by these fun gabba characters on the sofa.

As we walked out to the back yard, lanterns and pom poms were hanging from the trees for a festive look.  For an easy tutorial about making these pom poms, click here.

This colorful table was full of snacks and goodies.

I never realized how much yummy food is Gabba colored!  I thought this was a brilliant display for the party and so delicious too.

They made Gabba punch!

I loved their creative idea to decorate each table for the guests in a different gabba color!

Gabba toys were brought out for all the kids to play with.  This little cutie is also my grand-daughter and the birthday girl's sister!

Gabba characters made from poster paper were hung on the house.

Here's some of the kids waiting to get their faces painted.

There were organized games and fun activities for the kids.

and of course there was cake!

The birthday kids sampling the labors of love.

Do you know how easy it is to get this many kids to look at the camera at the same time? It isn't, but this was the best shot of about 15!

The party was a huge success!  These two kiddos are one year older and will most likely remember a lot of the details of their fun day.  At least they'll always have the pictures to remind them of the love and attention their Moms put into their party.

Here's a list of party supplies with prices and locations purchased:
Plastic Table Cloth's .97 at Wal-Mart
Napkin Basket's $1 each @ Dollar Tree
Colored Napkin's $1 per pack @ Dollar Tree
Punching Balloons $1 per 3-pack @ Dollar Tree
Streamers 2-pk $1 @ Dollar Tree
Colored Plates $1 @ Dollar Tree
Plastic Drink Cups w/ Straw - .99 @ Party City
Sun Pull String Pinata - $19.99 @ Party City
Multi-Color Paper Garland 12ft - 2.99 @ Party City (around the food table)
Yo Gabba Themed Party Supplies (Party City)
Plates 8 pack - 3.54
Muno Drink Napkins 16-pk - $2.02
Brobee Napkins 16-pk - $2.49
Paper Cups - $2.17
Birthday Candles - 4-pk $3.99
Foil Yo Gabba Confett 1.2 ozi - 2.99 (we used 2 packs)
Yo Gabba Gabba Scene - $5.99
Yo Gabba Gabba Table Decorating Kit - $5.99
Yo Gabba Gabba Stickers - 8 Sheets - .99
Pin the Eye on Muno Game - 4.99
The Juice containers - 3.99 @ Wal Mart - We used Hawaiian Punch to make the color even brighter.
Amazing children's parties can be achieved without spending a ton of money.  If your child has a favorite character, chances are that they have toys and stuffed animals that would work great as decorations.  Solid-colored party goods are usually less expensive than all character-themed items.
Whether you know someone who would enjoy a Gabba or a different themed party, I hope you've been inspired by seeing the fun ideas these Moms created for their little ones!