Decorating

DIY Monogram Lampshade {Tutorial}

June 4, 2012 12 Comments

In our new master bedroom is this fun lamp with our monogram on it!
If you have shopped around, then you know these are NOT cheap!
Actually, I was shocked when I found out how much just a monogrammed lampshade can cost!
But I LOVE the look of it, so I got to thinking and created this:

I found this super cute lamp at Target for less than half the price of a monogrammed lampshade, but knew it needed a little something!

Using my black vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and my Silhouette,
I created and cut out our monogram.

Then I applied the vinyl directly to the lampshade and…

Now we have a super fun,
semi-custom lamp in our bedroom!
And it cost WAY less than those fancy monogrammed lampshades!
The best part – it took me about 10 minutes make!

Gotta love achieving an “expensive” look without spending the big bucks!
Oh yea,

and because we love YOU,
tune in tomorrow for a fun Expressions Vinyl giveaway!

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Crafting, Crafts, Decorating, Inspiration, Make Your Own..., My House, Silhouette, Sponsors, Thrifty, Tutorial

DIY Master Bedroom Makeover!

May 28, 2012 41 Comments

I decided to redecorate our master bedroom on a Friday morning.
Three days later our bedroom looked like this:
(You can see what it used to look like here)

Ross and I LOVE our new “getaway!”

{Tutorial on this 5 minute monogram a lamp shade coming soon and maybe a fun giveaway from our friends at Expressions Vinyl!}

When decorating our “new” room,
I wanted to keep it simple and uncluttered.
I carefully chose a few of my favorite pieces décor that we already had in our house and with a little rearranging, everything has a new purpose.

I ran across this lamp shade at Target and HAD to have them for our bedroom!
Then I noticed that these glass bases were PERFECT for these shades!
Gotta LOVE the mix and match options at Target!
(This is what spurred the three day redecorating frenzy!)

I whipped up these pillows during naptime.
I fell in love with the Premier Print Twill Collection and instantly chose to mix yellow with black and white.

{DIY monogram pillow tutorial coming soon!}

I also added the stripes to the bottom of the window treatments because the panels were a little short.
It adds a fun, unexpected pop of interest in the room!

{Tutorial on how to make a simple, inexpensive curtain rod is coming soon!}

These fun frames used to be GOLD and have mirrors in them…
EWWWW!
With a little paint and sprucing up, they became a fun way to display pictures of the littles!

{A tutorial on using this lacquer paint and how to create these frames coming soon!}

This fun chair I found on the side of the road also has a new look!
Love it!

And this buffet was an awesome thrift store score!

Get ready to see the full transformation!

These signs were inspired by these that I fell in love with on Pinterest.
And yes, I will share how I made them so you can create your own!

Don’t you love the stencil on the wall?!
Well, if your are lucky, you can win your very own Cutting Edge Stencil soon right here on JIAD!

Did you notice the giant ruffle lamp?!

Remember The Mummy Lamp?
Yep, it has a new look too!

{Tutorial coming soon!}

The walls were painted with Valspar Montpelier Ashlar Gray.
The stencil was painted using Aspen Gray (see above).

I could sit and just BE in our bedroom all day.

It is so peaceful, simple and fun!

Stay tuned for a ton of easy tutorials and a few giveaways!

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Decorating, Distressing, Inspiration, My House, Sewing, Sponsors, Spray Paint, Thrifty

Coffee Table {Redo}

April 16, 2012 6 Comments

Every time I walk through our den past the coffee table,

I smile!

Our coffee table wasn’t always this fun…

I scored this at an estate sale for $20:

After a little sanding, a few coats of Kilz, a few coats of Krylon Jade and two coats of wipe on poly, we ended up with this fabulous coffee table!

Aren’t the legs on it awesome?!

It never ceases to amaze me what a little paint can do!

Yay for an awesome furniture transformation under $40!

Filed Under: Decorating, My House, Spray Paint, Thrifty

Spring Wreath {Tutorial}

April 12, 2012 3 Comments

Earlier this week, I showed you my new Spring Wreath!

Here is how it is made:

For this wreath,

I used a very thin flannel.

I am sure you can use burlap or pretty much any medium weight fabric!

You will need:

Light weight flannel (or any med – heavy weight fabric you want!)

A large wire wreath (Found at Hobby Lobby)

Scissors

Floral Wire

Cut your fabric into strips.

Mine were about 7 inches wide and about 28 inches long.

(I used 2 strips for this wreath)

Fan fold the end of one strip of fabric and “thread” the floral wire through all of the folds.

Tie the end to the wire wreath using the floral wire like this:

Begin loosely weaving the fabric in and out of the wire wreath…

Fold the fabric back over then weaving it through again, making sure the front side of the wreath is covered.

…Keep weaving in and out…

Don’t freak out once you reach the end of the strip!

Simply grab the second strip of fabric, fan fold, thread the floral wire and attach to the wire wreath just like you did with the first strip!

Continue weaving the fabric in and out until the entire wire wreath is covered and then fluff away to your hearts desire!

Flip the wreath over and tie twine or ribbon to the back of the wire wreath.

Now gather your little wooden rectangles (found at Hobby Lobby for 50 cents), Chalkboard Spray Paint and little clothes pins.

Paint the wooden rectangles with the chalk paint…

Write cute letters on them and clip them to the twine in the center of your wreath with your little clothes pins!

Now you have a simple spring wreath that can easily be used for many seasons!

Yay for Spring!

Filed Under: Crafting, Crafts, Decorating, JIAD, Make Your Own..., Spray Paint, Tutorial

{Spring} Wreath!

April 9, 2012 1 Comment

When I think of Spring,

I think of simplicity.

Cleanliness.

Happiness.

So,

when creating our Spring Wreath this year,

I decided to allow the natural beauty around our home to take center stage.

I made a point to create a wreath that would compliment the natural, vibrant colors that only Spring brings.

This wreath is not only perfect to use to transition to other seasons,

but it’s simplicity is just plain sweet.

It is also super simple to make!

A tutorial is coming soon!

Filed Under: Crafting, Decorating, My House, Seasons, Sneak Peek

Chevron Pennant Banner {Tutorial}

March 28, 2012 8 Comments

I made this Pennant Chevron Pennant Banner
for Harper’s Bow Tie & Tutu Birthday Party!

I ran across this Chevron Pennant Banner created by the fabulous Jen over at TT&J and fell in LOVE!

Jen created hers using her Silhouette!
I could have easily made mine with my Silhouette,
but decided to create a tutorial for those of you who do not have a Silhouette…
because I love you THAT much!

Alrighty,
here is how you can make you own Chevron Pennant Banner sans a Silhouette!

Gather your fabrics and cut your pennants out.
Mine were about 7 inches long and 5 inches across the top!

Cut a strip of Heat n Bond and apply to the backs of your fabric according to the directions on the package.
(I cut my Heat n Bond about 3.5 inches wide and 8 inches across)

Next find or create a chevron pattern on your computer and print it out.
Then Trace it onto the back of the Heat n Bond.
Trace about 5 pennant chevron lines per pennant.
Tip: You can line the chevron pattern up with the first line and trace the bottom line to save time!
Once you are finished tracing your chevron pattern,
cut them ALL out!

Peel the paper off of the back of the chevron pattern and apply to the front the of the pennants according to the directions on the Heat n Bond package.
Trim the excess pieces of fabric as needed.

Now it is time to assemble the actual banner!
Get your twine, ribbon or whatever you want to use and cut it to be as long or short as you want your banner to be!
Remember to leave room at the ends for hanging the banner up!

Lay your twine out in a straight line and then lay each pennant where you want it to be on the banner.
Turn each pennant over and put a strip of hot glue across the top of the pennant.
Carefully place the twine on top of the glue and press into place!
Repeat this step for all of the pennants!

I wanted to make the banner a little more girly,
soooo…..
I decided to add lace trim to the top of each pennant!

Cut the lace trim into strips.

Add hot glue to the top, front of each pennant…

And carefully place the lace trim on top of the pennant.

If you want to add a little more happiness to your banner,
cut strips of fabric about one inch wide and 19 inches long.

Tie the strips onto the twine between each pennant and…

You have a super cutie Chevron Pennant Banner!

Filed Under: Crafting, Decorating, Hot Glue, Tutorial

Sweet Silhouettes!

March 12, 2012 7 Comments

In our den hangs Cliff and Harper’s silhouettes!
And I am completely in LOVE!

Holly from Life As A Thrifter lives about 30 minutes away from me!
(Yes, she is just as fabulous in real life!)
I walked into her beautiful home and completely fell in love with this:

I just HAD to make a few for our house!

Since I am now obsessed with cutting wood…
and painting signs…
this project was perfect!

I love how they POP in our den!

Love!

Filed Under: Crafting, Decorating, Inspiration, My House, Spray Paint, Thrifty

Knife Block – Your questions answered!

November 21, 2011 9 Comments

Lately my inbox has been flooded with questions about my Knife Block.

Today,

I will answer your questions!

I spray painted the wooden knife block a few good coats of Krylon Catalina Mist.

Once the first color was dry, I spray painted ONE thin coat of Krylon’s Ivy Leaf.
(The coats of spray paint should be thin and no paint should go down into the holes for the knives)