Be inspired today with these fun and creative patriotic holiday decorating ideas... Holidays give me a great reason to have people over. We love spending time with friends in an informal way. There's something about a holiday that puts everyone in a more celebratory mood. Plus... it gives me a theme for table decor and more.     With that in mind... Memorial Day is almost here and it's the perfect reason to open the cupboards and drawers and pull out all things red, white, and blue. Since Memorial Day is about remembrance and appreciation, it's a great teaching … [Read more...]

  You went to the garden center... picked out some pretty plants with dreams of having a window box garden like those on Fixer Upper... but really you have no idea what to do.  Don't worry... you've come to the right spot to learn...   What You Need to Know to Plant a Beautiful Window Box     My goal today is to show you how you too, can create a beautiful magazine-worthy window box Joanna Gaines would love.   This is a full-blown tutorial filled with planting tips!!     You Can Plant a Beautiful Window Box!   To make it easy I'll be … [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...]

    Ranunculus. I've been smitten with this lovely blossom forever. It was always my plan to grow ranunculus for spring, but for some reason, I never got around to it.  They aren't like tulips or daffodils where you bury bulbs in the fall with a promise to enjoy a swath of them from the distance each spring.  Ranunculus are best enjoyed as cut flowers.  Or in pots... up close and personal.     That's why I flipped head over heels when a local grower brought these beautiful blooms to my neighborhood supermarket.  My local store always has flowers... but really there's rarely … [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...]

  Easter was over.  Another week came and went.  And I still was in love with my pretty Easter centerpiece.  It had been the star of my spring tablescape. And though I love eggs for spring, it was time to put away the eggs.  As I stood there looking at my table and wondering how I might change it up for a Mother's Day tablescape... I had a lightbulb moment! I didn't need to start all over from scratch!  I just needed to tweak that sweet but simple Easter tablescape and centerpiece!   That's the thing... instead of putting everything away and having an empty table or having to think up a … [Read more...]

    There you are... standing in line at the grocery store. There they are... beautiful blossoms beckoning you to take them home. You hear their whispers, "I'm so pretty, your house needs me." "You know you want me... take me home with you." But, you remember that you have no idea how to make a tulip arrangement.  And you tell yourself, "Flower arranging is not for the faint of heart." Pshaw! You may never have successfully arranged flowers before in your life.  But TODAY!  Today you will make a stunning floral centerpiece and it will be the FIRST of many, many more to … [Read more...]

  One of my favorite things to do is to open my home to guests and serve them a delicious meal at a thoughtfully decorated table. It's an expression of my love and the creativity comes straight from my heart. Because I know everyone doesn't share my confidence, I can't wait to show you how to... Create an Elegant Easter Tablescape on a Small Budget. You really can be frugal and fabulous!   Everything I share is easy to do... I'm not one for time-consuming and complicated projects. If you peruse Pinterest you'll see some stunning tables with gorgeous centerpieces that take up every … [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...]

  Want to know a secret? I just figured on how to make the most beautiful... yes... perfect mossy eggs. Even better... I'm going to share the secret with you. But, first... let's just look at this pretty spring vignette.     It's filled with some of my favorite things... pussy willows, an old cement planter, moss, birds, eggs, bunnies... and even a little gold.  Okay... maybe a lot of gold.     This year I am all about moss for spring.  It's a great way to infuse life and spring into my home decor without spending a lot of money. A bag of moss, … [Read more...]

  You'll never guess my accidental discovery for cleaning the tarnish off silver.     It all started after a trip to a thrift store. This particular thrift store is notorious for using wide packaging tape to tape sets of things together... glass, pottery, metal, plastic... they use it on everything. Have you ever tried to get that tape gunk off from items?  It can be a real challenge.  On plastic... you can just about forget it. This week I picked up a set of tiny bowls, the kind you use to hold pre-measured spices and such for baking and cooking, for a dollar.  I also picked … [Read more...]

  Last night we had one of those long rumbly spring thunderstorms.  Just what we needed to clean the air and the winter from our neighborhood.  I love when Easter arrives late and we get to enjoy decorating our homes for Easter and spring without having to shovel snow or wishing winter away. Recently, I created a lovely Easter centerpiece and tablescape and now I'm working on spring and Easter decorating at home.   To inspire you, I put together a plethora of Eggstra special Easter ideas. Cute ideas for decorating eggs, using eggs on the table, on the door, and more.  They all … [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...]

  Officially for me... it's NOW spring and Eastertime. Why do I say that? As I was looking out my treetop window on this cold misty gray morning a robin descended onto a branch and proceeded to begin the preening process.  It was such an ordinary spring sight... except that it's now past the middle of March and this is my FIRST robin sighting this year.  As the sun sinks into the horizon tonight, I'm going to listen for the robin's evensong. I cannot wait!  Truly it will be music to my ears.  There's something about hearing those evening trills.  Even for a few moments... peace descends upon my … [Read more...]

  You can create fun, whimsical, home decor for St. Patrick's Day for pennies.  And it's quick and easy, too! I've been having the most fun transforming this wall and cast-off table for the different seasons and holidays.  All on a super small budget. You're going to love all these super easy ideas that you can duplicate, too.     Let's start with the items on the table top. Books are a great way to frame objects that would otherwise seem to be floating in space.  They serve two purposes.  One... to give some additional height and two... to give substance or weight to the … [Read more...]

  Do you ever look at your home and wonder if it would be better to have a tornado sweep through and start over fresh? There are times when all of us... those of us who don't have a natural decorating bone in our bodies and those of us who relish making a room into a happy sanctuary for those we love... need to be inspired.       My friend Melissa Michaels from The Inspired Room just launched her latest book, Simple Decorating. It's a small book. But, don't let the size fool you.  I've been reading and collecting decorating books for years and this is one that you … [Read more...]