In case there was ever any doubt, I LOVE fresh evergreens at Christmas. Did you purchase an evergreen wreath or two for your home and now, the week of Christmas it's crunchy? It happens. I wonder how far in advance commercial wreaths are made. Besides that, if you hang your wreath in a place where it receives the warm air currents and do not spray it regularly, it WILL dry out. One of my friends always buys a wreath on Black Friday to use on her coffee table. It looks amazing, but come Christmas it's pretty dry. If that's you... you can make a fresh evergreen wreath … [Read more...]
Welcome to Part 2 in our three-part journey of how to create a home office that's budget-friendly, serves you well, and is uniquely YOU! (You can revisit Part 1 here.) You don't want to waste time and energy getting your space just right. Let my experience save you from the pitfall of a potentially expensive mistake. Thank you to Wayfair for sponsoring this post. The two MOST important things your home office needs… Let's start with the NUMBER ONE THING you need for your workspace. Ahhh. You FINALLY get to focus on your “new” home … [Read more...]
Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans! To celebrate, I dressed up a small sideboard in my dining room. You might have seen glimpses of it in the background of the photos where I shared how to set a star-studded 4th of July table. It's funny how I didn't think I had much that was red, white, and blue with which to decorate. Surprisingly I had plenty. The festive red, white, and blue banner was given to me by my blogging pal, Mary Beth from The How to Home. It sets the perfect backdrop to the vignette. If you wonder … [Read more...]
Don't overlook that clearance item because it's not quite your style. Here's how I gave a rustic farmhouse metal sign a makeover and turned it into casual coastal wall decor. Have you ever been shopping and discovered something on a super sale that caught your eye, but it wasn't just right for you? When that happens don't dismiss the item... look at it again to see if you can tweak it or paint it or personalize it in some way to make it just right. Not long ago I was in Hobby Lobby when they were marking all kinds of home decor items down and I came across this metal farmhouse … [Read more...]
Think outside the box to create your own home decor and learn how to make a pillow from a table runner. One of the simplest ways to "springify" your home, besides giving it a fresh cleaning, is to add some fun new spring decor. Even better... make that new decor yourself. If you can cut with scissors and thread a needle... you can handle this super easy DIY project! When I was out shopping for my Easter table, some table runners beckoned me. Goodness, they were cute. One, in particular, caught my eye. It was the sweetest bunny rabbit with a crown of flowers and a cute bow around her neck. … [Read more...]
It's amazing what one simple handmade touch can do to bring spring into your home. Learn how to make a moss shamrock to add to your home decor vignette for St. Patrick's Day. Do you love to decorate your home with small seasonal vignettes? I find that they not only provide color and textural interest, they give me a venue for displaying my home decor craft projects. If this isn't something that you're in a habit of doing, I hope this post will encourage you to have fun with your home decor in a small but rewarding way. A few months ago I transformed a rummage sale chest and … [Read more...]
Do you have 5 minutes? Put together this inexpensive and simple shamrock wreath for St. Patrick's Day in a flash. Extraordinary seasonal home decor shouldn't take a huge chunk of time to create. I don't mind putting a lot of time into projects that will stay up year round, but Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter... for those holidays I believe we should be able to create pretty or fun decor that's eye-catching in a flash for few dollars. That's why I was so excited to make this totally fun, colorful, and very simple shamrock wreath for St. Patrick's Day. It's super … [Read more...]
Sweet and simple ways to decorate a small space living room for Valentine's Day in a French country style. So tell me... do you decorate your home for Valentine's Day? It's something I've usually done in some small way. This year after the Christmas decorations were all put away my living room felt so empty. This year's Christmas tree was so dramatic that once those sparkling lights with the stunning ornaments were gone I just had to do something. Tim isn't a fan of artificial flowers, but I really felt that I needed something of scale that would … [Read more...]
Ideas for Making a Warm and Cozy Black and White Buffalo Check Christmas Bedroom. It's Christmas Eve! My favorite night of the whole year! The snow is falling ever so gently outside my window. Yet, my heart is jumping inside with anticipation. My home is squeaky clean and festively decorated. Swedish meatballs are "marinating" in the fridge, there's a pie in the oven, and soon I'll be preparing our overnight French toast for brunch. And best of all, we'll soon be celebrating with hundreds of others at the 11 pm Christmas Eve service at … [Read more...]
Learn how to create a budget Thanksgiving table setting with dollar store items that's simple and elegant, plus a fun DIY pumpkin centerpiece project. It was just the two of us that Thanksgiving. As usual, since we moved to the Southtowns of Buffalo, there was snow and lots of it. There was no way I was going to get in the car and drive 8 hours for dinner. So I set the table as elegantly as possible and roasted a turkey. Tim and I were having a blast in the kitchen together, making a week's worth of stuffing, potatoes, Far East Celery, two kinds of cranberries, … [Read more...]
Easy tutorial and TIPS for making and styling a modern farmhouse 3 tiered tray. And more farmhouse tray inspiration from 11 of my favorite blogging friends! It was Tuesday... I dropped Tim off at work and then swung around to Walmart for a quick kombucha run, jumping back on the road for another busy day. And then it happened! My car steered itself into a parking lot... and right into the first parking slot... smack dab in front of the Goodwill store. I looked over and a lady was just unlocking the door. There I was... the first customer of the day with the whole store … [Read more...]
I think we take often take ourselves and our decorating too seriously. We have a budget and a vision in mind and we put our blinders on and focus on getting "that look." Does that sound familiar to you? I can be guilty of that for sure. Because everything I'm doing is "new" these days, I am striving to look at my home decor more purposefully. Maybe in an upcoming post, I will delve further into that mindset, but today... Let's talk about the floor cloth I created for my balcony garden. As you know, I am crazy about my beautiful outdoor space … [Read more...]
Are you ready for a DIY that's easy and perfect for spring? I put together this easy spring dogwood wreath... in just thirty minutes for just three dollars... and you can make one too. On Friday night my friend and I took a drive to the largest greenhouse I've ever seen. On the way home, we passed countless dogwood trees just beginning to bloom in the woods lining both sides of the highway. It was spectacular. Spring is here in full force and the dogwoods are blooming and the dogwood stems I purchased for just $3 each at Walmart were waiting in my studio closet anxious … [Read more...]
Sigh! I just wasted two hours of a perfect day. The kind of day you wait for because it's sunny and energizing and everything you need to get a lot of work cranked out. You should have seen my goals for the day. I even gave myself permission to take care of all the after breakfast chores at lunchtime today, just so I could knock out my work. But, it didn't happen. Instead, I allowed myself to easily be distracted. Once I get focused on a project or my day, I can accomplish a huge amount of work. But if I get distracted... … [Read more...]
I'm not much for pink. Are you? Except for pink tulips... oh. my. goodness! They totally make me weak in the knees. Today I want to show you how to Turn a Plain Pot of Tulips into a Beautiful Easter Basket Garden. I LOVE pink tulips and my favorites are the May blooming pink Lily Flowering Tulips. I had huge swaths of them planted at my first home only to have them bloom and die in a day because of an unexpected 80-degree day in early May. Disappointing for sure, but it didn't stop my love affair with them. Pink Lily Flowering Tulips are not found in the stores, ever. … [Read more...]
Isn't it fun to decorate your home for spring? I'm so excited to show you how you can make this inexpensive and whimsical mossy wall bunny for your spring or Easter decor. It goes together pretty quickly and doesn't require a bunch of exotic craft products you'll never use again. You might need a quick trip to Hobby Lobby or Michael's, but if you do... you can fly in and out and don't forget to use your coupon there. My favorite thing about this adorable bunny is that although it's fabulous for Easter decorating, it has staying power for all of spring. And if you live in the … [Read more...]
Is breakfast time crazy and chaotic at your house? We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so doing something to make a breakfast that will stick to your ribs for the day is something we all need to do. My husband loves a bowl of oatmeal. It's quick to fix and can be topped with all kinds of yummy toppings. To make those few breakfast minutes more organized and special, I created an oatmeal toppings tray. It was super fun to do. Costs very little. And you can customize it to match your decor or go crazy with … [Read more...]
