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...]
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...]
Lovely. Floating. Flakes. Gathering. Whiteness. Snowfall. The other evening we had an unexpected snow at dinner time. Look closely and you can see the large falling snowflakes. It was a magical few hours. Truly extraordinary!! Supper was ready and I sat down to eat. However I could not contain myself. It was getting late and the light was getting low. So, I excused myself from the table, grabbed my camera, and attempted to capture the moment. The windows which had been locked against the winter winds were cranked open to capture this photo and many more. Such a … [Read more...]
The other day I wanted to do something fun for St. Valentine's Day. And I wanted to do it quick. Let me present to you this sweet... Framed 3-D Valentine Heart & Tutorial This is a quick and easy bit of Valentine home decor to make.... using a photo frame, a piece of fabric, magazine pages, scissors, and glue. This day of love will be here before you know it! Here is a great way to use things you already have on hand to create a sweet, heart-moment for that perfect spot that needs just a little bit of loving. But before we take off on our little … [Read more...]
Moments. That's what my friend calls little vignettes. Don't you just love that term? How to Create a Simple and Easy Valentine's Day Vignette As I was organizing my studio, you know, the one I talk about showing you but never do? I uncovered a little frame I picked up at the thrift store last year, and I remembered Jennifer's post I had read that morning and pinned, and just like that...I was inspired. So instead of defaulting to "too busy," I sat down at my table and had some Valentine fun creating a little 'moment.' If you follow An Extraordinary Day on Facebook, you'll … [Read more...]
Today I turned over the page on the calendar. A day late. The funny thing is that my life is like that lately. A bit behind. Do you remember my Christmas Decorating Inspiration post last week? I'm here to report....though it was very inspiring...I was having trouble pulling off the decor in the sun room with the vintage blue Ball jars. I love. love. love. those things. They just plain make me happy. But, my sun room is a very small room and lining the jars up on the window sill just didn't seem to work. Yes, they stood there like good little soldiers. Let's just say my ideas … [Read more...]
This is the first in a very long time that my house hasn't been pretty much decorated for Christmas a week after Thanksgiving. Is your house decorated? My husband brought up one of our trees, so we do have a bit of a start. We plugged in the lights, which fortunately are still on the tree from last year, only to discover that half a string did not light. Phooey. Fortunately, after removing the string, the bad light was discovered and we're back in business. Except I have to re-string them on the tree. Don't you wish you could just wave your wand and magically the lights would be … [Read more...]
Day 3 You know people with thankful hearts. We might not actually think when an individual interacts with us, "Oh, Janie surely has a thankful heart!" But it is that very thing that gives a pleasant countenance and so many other pleasing traits to our friends. These, usually, are the people with whom we enjoy, whatever we're doing. I want a thankful heart. If I want the heart inside my chest to get strong, I need to exercise it. The same is true for a thankful heart. We absolutely must exercise our gratitude muscle, in order to have a thankful … [Read more...]
Recently we painted the trim in our great room and sun room. That was quite a project!! Have you ever noticed that when a room undergoes a dramatic transformation, everything in the room also undergoes a bit of a transformation? What is it with us? For the past year I've been living large in a 1,000 square foot home. My piano...which my parents purchased for me when I was just 4 years old...is a major player in the great room. (Haha...I love it when I'm accidentally funny!) It has a wonderful mantel-like top which allows for some fun displays or vignettes. Although I was a … [Read more...]
Just 10 days ago I woke up, sleepily walked to the great room where my husband was doing his morning reading, and said, "I decided yesterday that it would make me very happy if we could paint the trim in here." Now what guy doesn't want his wife to be "very happy?" Fortunately is was his day off, so we drove to the "big" town and secured our paint. Along the way we even saw the most amazing American Bald Eagle I've ever seen perched in a tree along the greenway. I wrote about it here. What a great day! Nature and decorating. My heart sings! Back at home, we rolled up our sleeves, moved … [Read more...]
Day 18 One of my new friends came to my home for a visit. While she was here I shared with her a few projects I have on the back burner. It was good to get a little feedback. Sometimes a gal just needs to know she hasn't jumped off into the deep end. I'm just teasing...sorta. While we were walking around I took her to the sun room where I recently hung a favorite seasonal wall hanging. I mentioned that in this small house I have limited wall space, but really wanted to put up that bit of artwork. One day I realized that it would fit perfectly over one of the windows between my (mini) great room … [Read more...]
Day 16 A few years ago I was surfing the web and looking for Fall Decor ideas. I was amazed at all the very talented people "out there." One of the websites I came across was The Inspired Room. I was very new to reading blogs back then and was fascinated by Melissa Michaels' blog. The Inspired Room lived up to its name. It was inspiring. But, not simply because of all the lovely vignettes and seasonal arrangements which graced her home and my computer screen. It's the honest and approachable spirit with which Melissa writes, and her virtual hospitality of welcoming her reader into her home and helping us … [Read more...]
Day 9 Wow! I can't believe that I am already nine whole days into 31 Extraordinary Days! Are you having fun wondering what I'll have up my sleeve every day? Me too. :D Whatever in the world is Fall Fluffing? It's my term for taking what we have and making it a bit more, well....extraordinary. Kind of like when you walk over to the sofa after guests leave and pick up the pillows and fluff them....nestle them against the sofa back...just right...and smile. Fluffing. Recently I acquired a buffet or sideboard. Is it the same thing? Does anyone know? Anyhow....I've … [Read more...]
It's leaf peeping time! Right now the trees are just beginning to turn color. It's my favorite time of (F)all. The mostly green leaves provide the perfect backdrop for the riot of yellows, oranges, and reds. I'm sure you'll agree...it's extraordinary!! Just a few days ago, I spied these leaves when out for a walk and shared about it here. But there's more to the story. Several of you have commented that some of those leaves looked almost unreal. They certainly were striking. And I'm certain that I've never seen any quite like them. So, when I finished my photo session with the … [Read more...]
Fresh-Picked Pumpkins in our Home Decor What did you do today? Me? I had one of those very fun girlfriend kind of days. The kind where you both pick up pumpkins, go back to her house and create a magical moment with your stash? Yes, one splendid day. And what a nice afternoon it was. The temperature was perfect. To take advantage of the sunshine, we flew out to her patio and engaged in the grown-up version of playing Barbies. Only we used fresh-picked pumpkins in our home decor. Did I tell you we had fun? We arranged a little sitting area and filled it in with all kinds of fall … [Read more...]
This morning, after watering and fertilizing my porch pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets, I took a stroll around my "garden." Really all I have is a rolling, bumpy, rough-around-the-edges yard. It isn't really a garden, yet. Though I do have a small but lovely island of various Sedums, Euphorbia, Goat's Beard, Iris, and Geranium in the middle of my backyard. In the back corner, someone, long ago, had a garden. I've pulled multitudes of weeds from that corner, leaving behind strawberry plants which I had hoped would bear lots of fat juice red berries. Ha! Unfortunately they are not that kind of … [Read more...]
The other evening Tim and I went for a stroll. I no doubt needed a power walk. But, I can't leave home without my camera and then that power walk ends up becoming a stroll. Yes, I married a man who has incredible patience with me and my camera. On this particular night I came across these lovely yellow wildflowers. I haven't yet discovered what they are. I think they might be a variety of Coreopsis. Do you know? As I was going through my photographs this stunning bit of yellow inspired this post. Years ago my dear friend Kaye gave me a book, Creating a Beautiful … [Read more...]
