Church Plates, a New Collection

Hey Guys!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend, mine has been pretty awesome since I just got back from vacation!  Ahhhh, relaxation at it’s best! Back to the real world and work tomorrow though.
I did have time to squeeze in a little project that has been hanging around for sometime.  I have been collecting commemorative church plates since the Fall and finally have enough to hang. 
I started seeing these church plates when I was out antiquing and I decided the next ones I found I would start a collection, then of course I could not find any!  My sister in law found the first two for me and then everywhere I went I had to look for them.  I tried to find mostly plates from NC and had pretty good luck with that but have some others mixed in as well.  I wanted to hang these in one area to group them all together.

Statement Chairs & One Kings Lane

Hey Everyone!  Hope you had a fabulous Christmas and Happy New Year!!  I have been on vacation all week and I am getting a ton of stuff done around the house! It feels so great to be able to check off task at a new year!
Right before Christmas I was contacted by One Kings Lane to write a post on my favorite statement chair by picking one that reflects my personal style.  I was also asked to introduce to you One Kings Lane’s new Home Décor Resource Guide.  I was excited to check out the resource guide for myself and wow, I really wish I had access to this type of information when I was in design school!  It’s a fantastic resource for information and knowledge on furniture types and offers guides to learning styles and time periods of furniture as well as decorating tips.  You can find the Resource Guide HERE. 
I immediately knew which chair I would feature but thought I would check out the resource guide first and they had a great article on Statement Chairs and how to select just what you are looking for, you can find that link HERE.
I choose the side chair I use in our bedroom.  When I was decorating our bedroom I choose this chair for the room because it added a pop of color and it’s a nice size, not to big, not to small.  I think the style fits my personality well in that it’s simple in design but the cane sides are a bit delicate and the upholstery is a bold color.  I painted this chair white as you know and it fits better in our room with the contrast of painted white wood against our espresso colored bedroom suite.

I love having a statement chair like mine that is simple enough to play around with pillows and blankets as the seasons change.

Do you have a favorite statement chair? 
Be sure to check out the Home Décor Resource Guide over at One Kings Lane!  It is a great source for finding styles of furniture along with great tips like How to Decorate a Rental.  I know it will be a go to for me when choosing new furniture like my next piece, a new sofa. 
If you are not familiar with One Kings Lane you will love the original site and you should  become a member, It’s free and you’ll find all kinds of great deals on home accessories, furniture, antiques, etc. 

April

Shiny Brite Wreath

Two years ago I rushed into TJ Maxx on Christmas Eve to buy these beautiful Shiny Brite ornaments I had been eyeing all season.  I felt like waiting until after Christmas may be too big of a chance so I snagged them for 25% off and bought 5 boxes of green and red ornaments. 
I typically don’t decorate with much green and red for Christmas, I like more jewel toned colors but these were so pretty…no worries, I picked up plenty of pink, purple, blue, and silver too.  I had planned to make a wreath out of the green and red from the day I bought them, however, last year we were still living with Will’s parents so I didn’t decorate. 
Traditionally I will not pull the first Christmas item out until Thanksgiving weekend but I wanted to start early on my wreath and I love it!  I am ready to start the decorating!!

This was so easy to make and it looks like it is really expensive.  To make one yourself  you will need a foam wreath, hot glue gun and glue sticks, PLENTY of ornaments (I used some cheap filler ones from the craft store), and ribbon to hang. 

I tied the ribbon on the wreath and picked a spot and just started gluing, placing ornaments  together like a puzzle. 

When you are all done you will have hot glue strands all over so I just used a hairdryer to melt them away. 
I love this finished wreath and it has inspired me to use a little more traditional colors this season!


Have you started your Christmas decorating yet?!?

April

Mirror Mirror

Happy Fall Y’all, it officially feels like cooler weather is going to stick around here.  I’ve taken down all my Halloween decorations and I am kind of of excited about Christmas decorating.  No grand plans but I am looking forward to decorating this year and setting it all up in our new house. 
I wanted to share with you this really awesome mirror that I recently painted.  It’s a bit different from my normal paint projects and it rocks!  It kind of makes me happy every time I look at it.
I don’t know which picture to start with on this, #1 because mirrors are hard to photograph, #2 the details are the best on this one…so I’ll start there.


Before this mirror was gold and it was beautiful as is but the gold was flaking and there was this reddish hue left behind that cheapened it a little.  


Once I started painting I wondered I started to regret it, the gold was very regal…the white was so bright next to the gold.

Little action shot for you…It must have still been warm out this night
Once I got all the white paint on I felt better, it really looked great.  I used the new Amy Howard One Step Paint in Ballet White and then I applied a product from her line called Dust of Ages.  I had seen a similar product to this a while back and was eager to try.  A detailed piece like this one is perfect for this finish. 
With the dust, you paint, wax then sprinkle the Dust of Ages on just before the wax dries and then buff to a beautiful finish.  Since this was the first time I had used it, it took a little getting used to and the first try I think I let the wax dry to much and I applied too little dust.  I tried again right over by applying a little more wax and then adding the dust liberally, then buffed. 
Here is a shot of my first attempt.  Dust on the left, none on the right. This looked good but I really wanted that aged antique look.

My final product.


I loved trying something new with this piece and that I was able to recreate the aged antique look of the original in a painted version. 

What do you guys think?  Is it a beauty or what! 
Hope everyone has a great week!  I’m fighting the urge to decorate for Christmas!!

April

Lantern Turned Terrarium

I love TJ Maxx!  Are you a Maxxinista’s too?  I love to just stop in and browse, I find great inspiration there for home décor and fashion and sometimes I am lucky enough to find a great deal!  My local store has a really great merchandiser because the store always looks neat and is displayed nicely. 
Anyway…TJ Maxx certainly did not pay me to write this, I’m just a huge fan.  I was there Friday browsing and found this great little lantern for $20.

As soon as I saw this lantern I knew that I wanted to fill it with plants.  They had several shapes and sizes but this one was just perfect.  I loved the weathered wood and simplicity.  I found some small plants at Lowes Home Improvement.  I had two small pots that I had spray painted white a while back.  I simply sanded them a bit just to distress.

I also had some moss from the craft store and wanted to use that as filler in the bottom around the pots.

I simply repotted the plants and added them to the lantern.  It is simply charming!  Now is the perfect time to find tiny plants thanks to the popularity of fairy gardening.




I had so much fun with this I redecorated my little entry table…

Twice…

It’s nice to have a new item to adore every now and then.  Where do you find inspiration?

April

Guest Bath

I thought it was about time to show you guys a room that is finished  here in the new house.  I don’t know why but I can’t seem to focus on one room long enough to get things complete so I started with the smallest room in the house, the Guest Bath. 

It was feeling a little dreary with my old navy shower curtain.

I was inspired by my black and white daffodil pictures to add yellow to this room.

I spent very little money and time on brightening this room up.  I just added the shower curtain and new hand towels along with the little rug.

I was able to use this very old ashtray as a decorative soap dish.

And my splurge was this new soap holder from Target.

I will admit the yellow was shocking at first but now I’ve gotten used to it and I love the cheerfulness.

I also realize I should have steamed the curtain before these photos…but who has the time!

Oh and the new rug is so cushy and cat approved!

Shower Curtain:Marshalls, Cynthia Rowley, $14.99

Soap holder, Target $12.99

Rug: Marshalls $12.99

Hand Towels: Marshalls, on clearance $4.50

Daffodil Prints are actually X-Rayed flowers (way cool) Artist is Jane Cox read more HERE, these were a gift from my Mom.

New House New Pretties

Hey Ya’ll, I know it’s been a while.  We’ve been working hard to get unpacked and settled in to the new house.  It’s been so cold we haven’t been able to get into the garage and get the rest of the house stuff sorted until today.  I was hoping by now I could take some pictures of finished rooms but it’s still a mess. 

With a new house comes new wants and needs and I have purchased a few new things to make it feel more like home around here. 

If you are following me on Instagram or Facebook you have already seen this beautiful rug.  I needed color in the kitchen and a runner so this was the perfect fit.  I found this at World Market for $79.99.

This little 2’x3’ rug was not needed but the colors were so cheerful, I wanted it for the Laundry room or our Master Closet.  It didn’t work out in either of those areas but I didn’t want to take it back so I put it by the bed and it adds a fun pop of color to the bedroom.  Found this at Target for $29.99.  

Love this lamp for our Office!!  I’ve had my eye on this one for a while, I was just waiting to get moved.  Hobby Lobby for $79.99 at HALF off, $40.

 

Our Office is a room I am really focusing on because we both work from home from time to time and we need a nice comfortable work space.  I really don’t want to paint walls in this house since we will likely only live here a year or so but I wanted a place to add color and storage.  I love the Pottery Barn Studio shelves but those are around $300 each and I needed a better deal.  Found these at Target for $129 each.

Again for the Office, I had a bulletin board but the fabric was almost the same color as the wall so I needed something a little different.  I picked this up at a local fabric store and recovered this guy in less than 10 minutes.  I added some pictures and sayings I love and will get great use out of my dry erase boards by having them up on this.

This little lamp is new too.  Believe it or not, I had the exact same lamp in another color (purple shade, silver base) that was broken in the move.  I went to TJ Maxx in search of another short lamp for this dresser and found the same one!! I was thrilled.  This little guy was $29.99.

Last up, new houseplants.  All of my plants except for two died in this winter move.  I left them on our screened porch thinking they would be protected enough and they bit the dust.  I had to have a few more around here.  Houseplants are one of my favorite things to decorate with.  I snagged these at Wal-Mart (except for the rabbit foot fern).

We also had to buy a refrigerator and were lucky to find a great deal on Craigslist for $150.  We had to have a TV for our living room too and got a good deal at Best Buy this week since TVs are in high demand for the big game tonight….at least Will said it was a good deal :).

Now we are back to broke and must curb the spending! We do have to buy blinds and that is last on the list for now…everything else will be a work in progress.  It’s funny, moving 3 times in 6 months really makes you want to simplify.  We got rid of a lot when we moved the first time and now I have even more I’d like to sale or donate.  I’d like to be very patient with all other purchases and really spend time living here and evaluate if we really NEED it.

Also…I have a lot of furniture projects in the works.  Hopefully soon I can give you guys a house tour and a sneak peek at some of those furniture projects coming soon.

Enjoy the Super bowl tonight! Who are you pulling for?

 

April

 

Jewelry Box Makeover

A long time ago I stopped by an antique shop in Mount Pleasant, SC and picked up a jewelry box for $10.  It was supposed to be part of my planned closet makeover for my jewelry and accessory area.  Well I’ve since moved twice and it’s just been sitting around.  I finally gave it a make-over. 

Here are the before pictures.  I had already started to paint when I took these. Oops!  I just realized when posting pictures I was holding the top on, upside down!


I thought about painting it all white and only adding an initial but it was too boring.

Now I think it has more flair and I am really happy with the way it turned out. 

In case you are wondering about HOW I did this…I painted the box with two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and the chevron pattern is in Annie Sloan Graphite, the “L” in Annie Sloan Arles. 
I also painted the inside, the red was just too much for me.  It took THREE coats of Annie Sloan Old White to turn the red pale pink (happy mistake)

To achieve the chevron pattern I simply printed a pattern that I found online and transferred it to the top with graphite transfer paper.  I used the same technique with the “L”
I love the way it turned out!

Now if I just had that closet to put it in….

April