Some photos I've been collecting as inspiration...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Christmas at the Crystal Cottage
I'm trying out this name for our house. Is it silly to name your house? I think not. I see our house as a cottage for sure - quaint, dainty, and homey. And the "crystal" part I added because I realized that I am adding so much sparkle to this place! So we'll see if it sticks.
Decorating this year was a blast - and I only spent $4! We got our tree last year as a gift, and most of our nicer ornaments. I only spent money on upholstery piping to make the "Merry Christmas" sign on the mantel! More details on that to follow! Everything else is reused or repurposed in some way to bring some Christmas cheer!
For ornaments, we used mercury glass ones that were given to us last year, made by Anthropologie. I also scrounged up some lace and tied simple bows and hung those sporadically. I fell in love with the typed pages look and made pinwheel ornaments of my own design (Free and EASY). Then, I found my handmade crocheted coasters, figured they looked close enough to snowflakes, and stock them on there as well. I hung a few doilies as well (one of my go-to items for decorating). I am pleased with the result! I had a little roll of bridal tulle (usually these are like 2 dollars at the dollar store) and wound it around the tree as a garland! I am too cheap to buy a premade garland, so this worked perfectly and looks so pretty with the lights twinkling through.
This wreath has been through many tranformations. This year, I bustled tulle around the ouside, added a flower that I made awhile ago with crystals (yay), and set it on a little doily. Voila. I hung these votives with leftover lace and utilized my new little awning in the dining room that I created with corbels and an old shutter.
These trees were transformed from hideous glittery gunk-ville. I hot glued fabric I had from old curtains over top, then wound around trim from old projects. I love them, and I'm sure I will use them for years to come!!
Decorating this year was a blast - and I only spent $4! We got our tree last year as a gift, and most of our nicer ornaments. I only spent money on upholstery piping to make the "Merry Christmas" sign on the mantel! More details on that to follow! Everything else is reused or repurposed in some way to bring some Christmas cheer!
For ornaments, we used mercury glass ones that were given to us last year, made by Anthropologie. I also scrounged up some lace and tied simple bows and hung those sporadically. I fell in love with the typed pages look and made pinwheel ornaments of my own design (Free and EASY). Then, I found my handmade crocheted coasters, figured they looked close enough to snowflakes, and stock them on there as well. I hung a few doilies as well (one of my go-to items for decorating). I am pleased with the result! I had a little roll of bridal tulle (usually these are like 2 dollars at the dollar store) and wound it around the tree as a garland! I am too cheap to buy a premade garland, so this worked perfectly and looks so pretty with the lights twinkling through.
This wreath has been through many tranformations. This year, I bustled tulle around the ouside, added a flower that I made awhile ago with crystals (yay), and set it on a little doily. Voila. I hung these votives with leftover lace and utilized my new little awning in the dining room that I created with corbels and an old shutter.
These trees were transformed from hideous glittery gunk-ville. I hot glued fabric I had from old curtains over top, then wound around trim from old projects. I love them, and I'm sure I will use them for years to come!!
Switch-a-roo Living Room
So, I finally got tired of the mission style matchy matchy coffee table and side table set. It was a great set, and certainly served me and my many roommates (and now husband) well over the years. Nonetheless, it just didn't suite my style anymore so I put it up for sale. I sold it within a few hours of posting it on Craigslist! Here is the before of the back wall of the living room:
I had been loving the glass topped coffee table look that is so popular these days and I thought that would be perfect to open up our living room. Everything I seemed to like, though, was hundreds or thousands of dollars (NOT my budget!). Luckily, I found a beauty with perfect lines at the Junk Exchange sale. It was only $20 and I got some glass cut to fit the top! I added this to the room and rearranged some other furniture pieces to take the place of the old side tables. I LOVE how open and functional this space is! No wasted room, more storage, more openness in the center of the room! I moved the lamps to the back sofa table and I LOVE it!
I had been loving the glass topped coffee table look that is so popular these days and I thought that would be perfect to open up our living room. Everything I seemed to like, though, was hundreds or thousands of dollars (NOT my budget!). Luckily, I found a beauty with perfect lines at the Junk Exchange sale. It was only $20 and I got some glass cut to fit the top! I added this to the room and rearranged some other furniture pieces to take the place of the old side tables. I LOVE how open and functional this space is! No wasted room, more storage, more openness in the center of the room! I moved the lamps to the back sofa table and I LOVE it!
One Dollar Update
This is the new little storage system in the Master bathroom - works great for cotton balls, tp, and anything else! I found this in a heap at the local Salvation Army and the price was right ($1!). I also couldn't pass up something in my favorite shade of aqua blue! I just used my pliers to bend the baskets back into shape, cleaned it up, and hung it! The photo below shows how I found it:
This bathroom still needs tons of work, but this is a small, practical step in the right direction!
Monday, November 30, 2009
(Practically) Free Before and After!
Check out the before, during, and after.
BEFORE:
DURING - painted the room. Added furniture.
AFTER - made like Scarlett O'Hara and repurposed curtains. These were from the old house, so they were free! I just stuck them in the ceiling with upholstery tacks, making pleats as I went along, and they have held firmly for the past few months! What a magnificent improvement! Also made bedskirt from an old duvet cover.
Honestly, the curtain project took me less than 30 minutes to do, and it makes me smile every time I enter the bedroom.
BEFORE:
DURING - painted the room. Added furniture.
AFTER - made like Scarlett O'Hara and repurposed curtains. These were from the old house, so they were free! I just stuck them in the ceiling with upholstery tacks, making pleats as I went along, and they have held firmly for the past few months! What a magnificent improvement! Also made bedskirt from an old duvet cover.
Honestly, the curtain project took me less than 30 minutes to do, and it makes me smile every time I enter the bedroom.
Princess Party - for grown ups!
I have had a lot of revelation about what it means to be royalty, mostly as a result from reading this book:
It's an excellent read, put out by a pastor on staff at Bethel Church.
So, I decided I wanted to share this and focus on this with some of the women in my life. The result? A princess party.
Here is the invite my guests received:
Beautiful princesses and ladies of ROYALTY. You are invited to a night of celebrating your role as a daughter of the King.
The night will involve some much needed girl time where we can reflect on our identities in Christ. We will also be enjoying some spa-like luxeries that are fit for princesses.
Please come adorned with your most sparkly and favorite jewels and wear something comfy, topped off with your royal robe (yes, that means bathrobe).
It was fun to see people come in their "royal" attire. I had a dollar store tiara waiting for each guest. One of my friends even came with her tiara from her wedding day! LOVE IT! A girl after my own heart!!
Also I set the table for a spa, using towels and hung votives from my *old* chandelier!
Each girls place was set with a doily and her princess name, and I also made plates of facial products for each girl. That way, I already had portioned out her cold cream, lotion, cucumbers, etc.
Here are some of the discussion questions we asked each other over our yummy treats (chicken salad, goat cheese baguettes, and chocolate banana cake). They really began some good conversation, and a time of encouragement for us to all choose the Royal response over our normal tendencies.
We followed up with facials..look how flattering these photos are! You can see the tiaras slipping off...
and were taught some hand massage techniques by one of my friends who is a massage therapist.
What a fun night! Thanks, ladies, for learning this lesson alongside me!
The Supernatural Ways of Royalty: Discovering Your Rights and Privileges of Being a Son or Daughter of God
It's an excellent read, put out by a pastor on staff at Bethel Church.
So, I decided I wanted to share this and focus on this with some of the women in my life. The result? A princess party.
Here is the invite my guests received:
Beautiful princesses and ladies of ROYALTY. You are invited to a night of celebrating your role as a daughter of the King.
The night will involve some much needed girl time where we can reflect on our identities in Christ. We will also be enjoying some spa-like luxeries that are fit for princesses.
Please come adorned with your most sparkly and favorite jewels and wear something comfy, topped off with your royal robe (yes, that means bathrobe).
It was fun to see people come in their "royal" attire. I had a dollar store tiara waiting for each guest. One of my friends even came with her tiara from her wedding day! LOVE IT! A girl after my own heart!!
Also I set the table for a spa, using towels and hung votives from my *old* chandelier!
Each girls place was set with a doily and her princess name, and I also made plates of facial products for each girl. That way, I already had portioned out her cold cream, lotion, cucumbers, etc.
Here are some of the discussion questions we asked each other over our yummy treats (chicken salad, goat cheese baguettes, and chocolate banana cake). They really began some good conversation, and a time of encouragement for us to all choose the Royal response over our normal tendencies.
Your husband/fiancée/future husband compliments another woman and you feel insecure.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
You are working on a group project/with a team and your ideas keep getting shot down.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
Your friend is telling you how successful she has been lately at ____(fill in the blank: work, parenting, school, marriage). You haven’t been so successful in this area.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
Your neighbor just got a brand new awesome amazing ____________ (thing that you want). You feel jealous.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
You look in the mirror, and the enemy keeps telling you that you aren’t pretty enough.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
You are going to a job interview. You feel under-qualified for the position but it is a job you feel like God wants you to have.
What is your normal tendency to deal with this? What SHOULD your response be, knowing that you are Royalty?
You have one main thing to do every day. It is to _______________ (fill in the blank). For the past two weeks, you have been doing a terrible job at it.
We followed up with facials..look how flattering these photos are! You can see the tiaras slipping off...
and were taught some hand massage techniques by one of my friends who is a massage therapist.
What a fun night! Thanks, ladies, for learning this lesson alongside me!
Sparkles for a song...
Another frugal project! I have had visions of replacing this monstrosity in our dining room:
It's in perfect working order, just not my style. And certainly not the style of this 1920's vintage home. So I sought out to restore this dining room to it's original splendor.
I found this photo of an antique empire chandelier and I knew that this would complete the look:
However, the multi-thousand dollar price tag was WAY out of my league! Imagine my excitement when I found this hidden treasure (for a song) at a local junk shop. I knew it needed some tlc, but I have willing hands to work (if not a willing pocketbook).
So, I turned this sad chandelier into this majestic beauty. It doesn't have quite the charm of the authentic antique chandeliers, but it is breathtaking. Don't you think?
Tutorial to follow on how I did it! It involves:
Paint: Krylon Metallics Oil Rubbed Bronze
Crystals: The Village Lamplighter
Pearls
Ceiling Medallion
Cheap Fabric
& Wire
It's in perfect working order, just not my style. And certainly not the style of this 1920's vintage home. So I sought out to restore this dining room to it's original splendor.
I found this photo of an antique empire chandelier and I knew that this would complete the look:
However, the multi-thousand dollar price tag was WAY out of my league! Imagine my excitement when I found this hidden treasure (for a song) at a local junk shop. I knew it needed some tlc, but I have willing hands to work (if not a willing pocketbook).
So, I turned this sad chandelier into this majestic beauty. It doesn't have quite the charm of the authentic antique chandeliers, but it is breathtaking. Don't you think?
Tutorial to follow on how I did it! It involves:
Paint: Krylon Metallics Oil Rubbed Bronze
Crystals: The Village Lamplighter
Pearls
Ceiling Medallion
Cheap Fabric
& Wire
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