Using What You Have

Recently, I have been helping out some friends as they redo/remodel their home. The end results of just what they have planned are incredible! They painted their walls and their cabinets and added laminate floors and already their house is a different place! They asked me to come over and give them so advice and help put things up. Here are just a couple of the things that I did with what they had and not having to buy anything to do it. Our shopping trips will come up in a later blog :).

Drapes: They already had chocolate brown panels that were in really good condition, so I didn't see any need to buy more. However, they needed a splash of color. I had this really pretty green table cloth that I had traded for at my Bible study's last accessory swap, so I brought this over. With the help of some pins and precarious balancing on a gatorade cooler, I managed to turn the table cloth into a swag that covered the curtain rod and united the two pannels and the living room automatically had a pop of color.

Lamps: Lighting is always an issue in any home, and in my friends' bedroom, this was no exception. They had two bedside lamps that really were just two small and not very helpful for reading in bed or overall lighting. With good bedside lamps that have a little weight to them costing close to fifty dollars (unless you're really luck and find some in a thrift store that aren't from the 70's and still work), it seemed silly for my friends to buy new ones after having paid for the floors and especially since the lamps still worked. So, I took several nice looking books (leather or cloth bound) and made a neat stack on each end table and placed the lamps on top of the stack, automatically giving some height to the lamps and a little more weight to the end tables. This especially worked because the look also references my friends' love for reading.

Accessories: Sometimes it feels like you need new accessories to dress up your home, when really all it takes is just moving them from room to room. This was the case with my friends' home. They have some great accessories from travels and family members that they really had only one safe place for (with a three year old and a 7 month old, you get the picture) before they redid their home. However, with the clearing of the bookshelf in their room and the addition of an armoire to their room, they automatically had more safe places for their items. I simply moved some of their items that matched their bedroom to their room and arranged them on top and automatically, they items felt new and the room felt different.

Creative Plant Containers

This past weekend we finally got to work out in our yard and clean up and plant some. I love working outside and seeing the end result of my work! It's funny, but I always feel like I haven't done enough when I'm finished, and then I realize that I have already spend most of the day outside! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! Anyways, I like to use your normal every day pots for my plants, but I also love to find unique ways to create pretty container gardens. For example, on my front porch I have this HUGE container that is stonewear that I plant an assortment of flowers and herbs in. That is my normal, run-in the mill container. But, behind it is my favorite part. Southern Living at Home has this gorgeous

Entertaining Stand and Bucket and it is meant for using at parties to serve drinks in (you get the idea; see below for a picture). Well, I love it with a fern in it! So, behind my run-in the mill container, I have this gorgeous stand with a fern in it and it creates the perfect entrance to my home. Talk about getting my money's worth out of this stand. Now I can use it for entertaining (I have another bucket that I bought on sale) or use it for decorating outside. I love double duty items!

Another fun and possibly free idea for your plants. If you have some fun, mismatched bowls that you love and you are not ready to get rid of, but really don't use, use them as mini-planters! I have a couple plants in some bowls from some old dishes we had and I love how the plants look in them. You can also use old mugs or even clear vases. This looks really cool because you can see the dirt and roots contained behind the glass and Ikea has vases for as cheap as $1.99. Have fun! Next blog will be about creative decorating for outdoors!

Easy Valentines Decorations

Ok, so it has been a while!!!! What can I say, I've been busy!!! Valentines Day is one of my favorite holidays, and not because of the mushy, gushy reasons! I love it because I grew up in a well decorated house and my mom always made Valentines Day a beautiful, girlly day. To be honest, I often forgot about the having a "special someone" part of it. I just loved the colors and frills of Valentines day! I love the reds, pinks, whites, blacks, and purples, found in flowers, table settings, cards, and food! I just love it all! Of course, now that I have a special someone, it makes it even more meaningful to me! Here are just a couple of ideas that I have for Valentines Day, some that I have tried, and some that I have seen.



A Simple Smell Good Idea:

Love Coffee (or at least the smell of coffee)? Fill up a jar or hurricane with coffee beans (go ahead and splurge and pick your favorite smelling ones!) and add a candle in red or pink. You have an instant easy centerpiece that isn't overly mushy and smells good all the time! I leave mine out year long. And I just love the look of the dark brown beans with a nice shade of red or pink.



A Simple Pretty Idea:

I love flowers, but I cannot rationalize always paying for them. I love the recent look of flowers added to water. So, instead of buying a fresh bouquet (which you can always do, but the flowers don't last as long) buy a simple bunch of fake flowers from your local craft store. Pick just one color (monochromatic looks really good for this) in a shade of pink, red, or white. I picked out carnations that look kind of like peonies. Fill up a hurricane or vase (I have a tulip shaped one) with water and then take the flower heads off of the stems and dunk them down in the water. It really does look like real flowers! Now you have a simple flower arrangement that doesn't take a lot or cost a lot.




A Crafty Idea:


I saw this in Good Housekeeping and loved it!

Buy some simple white pillar candles and some colored (red or pink for Valentines) beeswax (find it in a local craft store). Cut out hearts or letters in the beeswax and press onto the candles. Use different heights of candles and spell out words like "I Love You" or Be Mine" with them Candles. Arrange them on a plate and you have an instant Valentines Day candle garden. Have fun!

A couple of other ideas:

Now if you really want to go all out Valentines Day, try some or all of these ideas:

• Put a red table cloth on the table
• Add a pretty runner in a sparkly color (mine's gold)
• Add glass heart shaped votive holders (I found some at Target in their dollar section)
  
• Add sequin hearts in red or pink
• Add candy hearts

The last two ideas are more whimsical, which is one of the things I LOVE about Valentines Day, but don't feel like you have to do the more whimsical unless you really want to. Just pick the ideas you like and have fun! That's the fun thing about Valentines Day....it is a day meant to be fun and share your love with the people around you.

Happy Valentines Day!