Hello, my name is Diane and I am enamored with chalkboard art. Chalkboards and chalk and I go way back. Last year at Christmas, I tried my hand at creating some chalkboard art. It wasn't magazine worthy by any stretch. However, that did not stop me from attempting to create some laundry room chalkboard art. [wink] You see I have this little laundry room makeover that I started last summer. And because I'm a finisher, I decided it was high time that I get the project done. So I started with giving you, and me, the ultimate inspiration, including a 'before' picture. … [Read more...]
It's been a busy week, but the laundry room makeover is almost complete! And today I'm going to show you some of the art that I created for my laundry room decor. As you come down the stairs and turn to the left, this wall is the focal point of the laundry area, here's the before shot. Because I wanted the area to look whimsical and inviting to do laundry, I decided on my zero budget to create art for my laundry room decor with what I had on hand; some clothespins, black cardstock, leftover paint, and a thrift store find. My laundry room decor began … [Read more...]
Usually, this time of year I am up to my eyeballs creating fantastic spaces for kids. I would hardly have time to notice the beauty of creation around me. But, this year....I am having so much fun picking blossoms, creating fun tablescapes, and enjoying springtime. I love how the pink detail on the plates comes alive with the pink crabapple blossoms. Just for fun, I put together a centerpiece for the table using book pages and my vintage Ball Mason jars. The jars usually take residence on the shelves in my laundry room. They are so happy in their … [Read more...]
I'm loving this dramatic moment on my cabinet. It's a simple tulip wreath DIY project anyone can do. And by now, you must know I love quick and easy DIY projects. What is it about spring? Are we so staved for color after a long cold gray winter that we are more than willing to put together such a glorious mix of colors? I surely am. In my sun room, anyway. Do you gravitate towards color in the spring, too? Summer...that's a different story. Though many plant reds and yellows together in the summer garden, mine will usually be filled with white, purple, pink, blue, and a dash of soft yellow. … [Read more...]
Spring! Where art thou? How would you like to bring a bit of spring into your home without it breaking the bank? Yes, please!! Patience, please. I'll get there in a minute. If you've been a reader for a while you may remember that I stuck branches up in my sunroom this winter for Christmas and hung red snowflakes from them. It was part of transforming my sunroom into a Swedish Christmas room. I loved those snowflakes and left them up all winter. After I cut the snowflakes down I was left with these bare branches. Oh my...they couldn't stay like that. I had a choice...either take … [Read more...]
I love the word metamorphosis. You too? This weekend, I had a sun room metamorphosis of sorts, as I notched up my spring decor. You'll remember I talked about it last week here. And before that, I decorated it with red and snowflakes for winter here, and for Valentine's Day here, and for Christmas here. The biggest change is the addition of flowering branches. Do you see them? They were so. very. difficult to photograph. Seriously impossible. In my quest for decent pictures I took photos on multiple days. You'll notice that some of the … [Read more...]
Welcome to.... Decorative Paper {Pennant, Garland, Flag, Bunting} Banner-Making 101* By the time you complete this easy DIY tutorial, you should have a lovely pennant banner to grace your wall or mantel. Are you ready? Let's start! For way too long I have been admiring the lovely pennant banners that grace walls, mantels, porches, windows, and more. I wanted a lovely flag garland to drape somewhere in my home, but I needed a pattern, a how-to. One day the desire overcame the need for a how-to and I created my own lovely pennant flag banner. Keep in mind that beauty is in the eye … [Read more...]
Remember how I said I was embracing Winter? Not anymore! Today I flung open the doors and welcomed Spring with open arms. Well not literally...it's only 27 degrees! Instead, I exercised my decorating creativity and paper crafting skills to make a fun pennant banner embellished with colorful birds and music pages from vintage hymnals. My vintage window has now undergone its third transformation since I received it as a gift on Thanksgiving. Take a peek at it as a Christmas Window and later as a Valentine Window. Who knew that an old window would make such a fabulous … [Read more...]
I finally settled on my word for the year... Joy. If you read my previous Joy Day! post you already know that. And so I thought it would be fun to show you how I put together this little Wintry Wall Vignette over my sideboard and share a little more of the behind the scenes meaning. Plus, a brief tutorial! Ready?! The JOY Basket. Last year during the Christmas season I created this basket of joy. This year I didn't have a place for it. After all the gold and glitz of Christmas got put away, I came across the joy basket again and propped it up on … [Read more...]
Winter came roaring back this week. Cold temps. High winds. And plenty of those frozen crystals that fall from the sky. Though we would like to be seeing daffodils and tulips....it's still a bit early. With that in mind, I spent this week embracing winter. Inside. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link An Extraordinary Day will receive a small commission which will help with the costs of this site. Thank you! St. Valentine's Day will be here soon. But, as much as I enjoy hearts I want Winter to be the lead with St. Valentine … [Read more...]
This year I've had fun making my New Year's table sparkle with gold and silver and candlelight. You might remember my Thanksgiving table. The gold trim on the plates were the hint I needed to splash gold accents all over my table. Then for an early Christmas party I decided to splurge and purchased some silver chargers for just 99 cents. That table setting was a twist on elements of the Thanksgiving table but in silver. In preparing my New Year's table setting, I thought it would be fun to meld the gold and silver together for a perfectly imperfect New … [Read more...]
Now....it's beginning to look like Christmas at my house! For those of you who have been following my slow slide into the season of Christmas, you'll be pleased to finally see something here! I am over-the-top happy to have the mantel done. Oh, that's right, I don't have a mantel. I do have a sideboard thanks to my wonderful friend. And I recently splashed it up with that ever-popular Annie Sloan Chalk Paint which I recently talked about. Do you ever notice that when someone says it's confession time, heads turn from tables clear at … [Read more...]
I've had my ear to the ground and it seems that people are saying Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. There are no gifts involved, no fireworks - though I'm sure it's pretty deserving. It's a holiday reserved for gathering and gratitude. Really...that makes it pretty special. Unless you're spending it alone. Most years I'm too busy to do more than think about what my Thanksgiving table will look like, let alone plan what will be eaten from the plates on the table. But, not this year. I have had time to do a little tablescaping....and exercise that thankful heart muscle while doing … [Read more...]
Copy Cat Challenge ~ with a twist! When DebbieDoos announced the challenge and added..."With a Twist"...she had me!!!! Generally I'm not one who gets into copying something or someone. I like to take the essence and do my own thing. When I read the challenge, I immediately had something in mind. Back in May, Kristi of Addicted 2 Decorating did a series of posts about transforming her community patio into a restful and colorful place to relax. She did a great job. One of the things she did was to create her own Outdoor Rug with Painted Stripes. I'd been thinking that my porch needed a facelift. … [Read more...]
