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!

Attractive Container Gardens

I had a lot of projects this weekend. One was to paint my newly acquired baker's rack (at a yard sale for $8) with outdoor paint. The reason is I want to creative an attractive herb and vegetable garden. I like to have fresh herbs and vegetables, but I really don't feel like dealing with the yard work that would be involved (I prefer to just deal with flowers and bushes in beds). So, I have made it a goal to set up an herb and vegetable container garden. But, ever wanting to have an attractive home, I wanted an attractive spot for these plantings. So, I found a baker's rack (similar to the one pictured) at a yard sale for $8 (the guy was asking $10, so I asked if he would take a lower price. Just an example that it never hurts to ask for lower!). But, two of the shelves were wood and over all it wasn't ready to be put outside and exposed to the elements. So, I bought a can of Rustoleum black textured spray paint (to give the appearance of black wrought iron) and a pint of black outdoor paint for the shelves. I sanded down the shelves to give them a little texture and provide a surface for the paint to stick to. I then painted the baker's rack (note: it took the entire can I bought and half of a can that I had had from a previous project) and painted the shelves. It took two coats for the shelves.

So, now I have an attractive place on my deck for my future container plantings. I just have to go buy some attractive pots and plants! You can also use the various hooks on the rack for tools and necessities for the yard. This is a simple project for little buck but big attractive bang, especially if you would like to grow your own plants and are tired of paying outrageous prices for herbs and vegetables. This is an easy way to keep your outdoors attractive but practical!

Southern Living At Home...Wonderful Products

So, I am super excited about some news! I am going to be a Southern Living at Home consultant! I am so excited about all of these beautiful products that are both beautiful and functional! There are so many wonderful items in it and you can always get them for great deals! For example, the customer special for this month included a beautiful glass tray that you could buy for $20 with a $30 purchase of another equally beautiful product. Southern Living at Home also sells gorgeous hurricanes in different sizes and shapes that can be used for holding candles, decorative balls, flowers, etc. A great idea I learned today was to take coffee beans and put them in a glass container with a candle and use it for decoration! So, if you are in the triad area of North Carolina, send me a message and I can set you up with a great party and the opportunity for free, wonderful products!

Baskets!

I love baskets! They are so useful and are great for storage and still attractive! I have baskets all over my house and I use them for multiple purposes. Maybe one of these will solve your home organization problem.
Basket #1: This basket is in my living room and is a low basket with a handle. I keep our dog's, Lola, toys in this basket. She is able to get all of her toys out easily on her own, but it also relegates her toys into one spot and she knows where to go to get them. Attractive and useful.
Basket #2 and 3: These are both in my living room as well. One is a wire basket (from Southern Living at Home) and I keep nice magazines and a photo album in this one for display. The other is buy our love seat and just holds regular magazines. Again, an attractive solution when you have several magazines or books in a room that you want in one spot.
Basket #4: This one is also in the living room, but is a tall narrow basket and I keep this one buy the piano and hold my piano books in it. They look attractive in there and it keeps all of them in one spot for me.
Basket #5: This was in my bedroom. It actually has some sentimental value because we bought it on one of our trips. This basket holds yarn that I am using to make a blanket, but the yarn balls are in the color of our bedroom. You could use a nice basket to hold colorful, decorative balls or balls of yarn.
Basket #6: This is actually in my pantry and holds baking goods. It's attractive and keeps all of those loose items in one spot and in easy reach for me. It also looks good!
Basket #7: This one is in our master bath, which is on the smaller side and short on storage. The basket is circular and we keep our bath towels rolled up and in it. They look good and attractive in that and they are in easy reach!
Basket #8: This one is in our bedroom and it is by my husband's dresser and side of the bed. I put it there to give him a spot to keep extra magazines and books that he hasn't finished with, providing him with one place to keep it all, rather than scattering them all over the room.

I haven't done this because I don't have a place for it, but I have also seen people use large baskets for their shoes by the front door, which is a great spot when you have little ones!

Hope this gave you a few easy and attractive ideas for storage for your own home!

Re-purposing Household Items

I love to take items from around my home and see how many different ways that I can use them. The picture above is from our first apartment and if you notice the candle garden on the left, the base is actually a bamboo plate that I found on sale at Kohl's. I then bought sand and put the candles on it. That bathroom was a beach theme and this look worked and came out very inexpensive. Currently, I have that plate and the candles with river rocks arranged on it.
Another item that can be used for more than just its purpose is a mirror. I love mirrors because they reflect light and add an interesting element to a room. I like to prop them on shelves at different levels, behind lamps, candles, etc. I also love to use a good mirror as a tray for decoration or for food service. It makes for an interesting display, especially if you have a group of collectibles that you would like to display but they look cluttered on their own. Display them on a mirror and it automatically unifies it.
Another great item to re-purpose is a wall sconce. I love to use these for their original design, but if I have a pretty or unique one, I also like to use them for decoration in a unique way. For example, I was given a pair of "Sassy" wall sconces (Southern Living at Home) for birthday one year. I am using one as a shelf for a display in my kitchen, but I have the other one turned over on its flat side and I am using it for sheer decoration. As a side note, if you are not familiar with Southern Living at Home, their items are great for using for multiple purposes. Check out my consultant's site if you would like to see more and tell her you read about it on here. The site is www.southernlivingathome.com/amiep. You will love what you see.
Anyways, another item that is great for multiple purposes is a glass hurricane. Normally, these are used for candles, but you can put fruit in them, stones, sea shells, arrange beads around them, or even include a small vase with flowers inside it! I have even seen these used as decorative extra toilet paper roll holders.
One more item that I love to use for different purposes is decorative cups and vases. I like to use cups (typically glass or ceramic) that have an interesting pattern or shape for holding pens, make up brushes, toothbrushes, my husband's razor, or tubes of beauty supplies. I recently found a bathroom glass that had some chips on it at TJ Maxx that had a pattern that matched my bathroom for around 50 cents. I bought it and it is currently holding my makeup brushes and eyeliners.
So, look around your house and get creative and see what you have that could be used for different purposes and even save you money from having to go out and buy something!