Out With the Red!

About every 5 years I need change.

It has been 5 years.

I wanted to 

remove a lot of the red I have decorated with

and introduce newer colors and fabrics.

Here is the living room before:

And here it is now:

It only took about $100.

The red chair went upstairs and the two gold chairs came down.

I had leftover paint from Dunn Edwards called "Boat Anchor".

I found Dupioni Silk in a gold and grey buffalo check on

clearance for $9 a yard and made the drapes.  I used a new method

found HERE.  She uses about 4 posts to describe the process.

I bought a painters drop cloth at OSH for $10, sewed a

slip cover for my occasional chair and ottoman and it

changed the room instantly.  Slip covers are time-consuming

but worth it because they don't cost a lot and you end

up with a new piece of furniture.  Go HERE to learn how.

I spray painted some of my red accessories with 

cream and re-used most of what I already had.

I bought 1/2 yard of fabric and made the pillows re-using

the inserts from my old red pillows.  The zippers cost 

more than the fabric!  Next time I make pillows I will

post how to put in a zipper.  I make a pillow in 15 minutes,

zipper and all - it's easy once you "get it".

Next I re-used my frames but took transfer paper, clip art images,
a piece of paper,

and a nice artist charcoal pencil and created my own

$5 art that represents 

 the Salt Lake Temple

and the Nauvoo Temple

for more info on where to do this easy art,

go HERE

The family room isn't quite finished, and I still need to delete red

dining chairs, cover the ottoman and change the rug, but it's changing too....

Here are the windows before:

and after - sans valences.  Nice and clean.

Here is the family room before:

and after - new fabrics.

And the icing on the cake......

My new beautiful lantern.  I bought my own birthday

present and it was even hung before my birthday.  I 

love lanterns and this one completes my island.

The red bathroom is gone and now charcoal too!

Valentine projects

This year the kids gave an easy Valentine cut from thin

craft foam.  I found patterns online and the boys

got a mustache and the girls got lips.

A new wreath- so easy to make!

2" squares of red fabric, wrap center around

a pencil, dip in glue and shove into a styrofoam

heart.  It took about 3 yards of 

fabric and about 3 hours.  

Chalkboard Platter

You might say I'm a little obsessed with chalkboards right now.
It's true.

I bought a silver platter on eBay for $9.
I bought a pint of chalkboard paint

at OSH and painted several coats on the flat part of the platter.  

It sits on my kitchen counter on an easel and I use my favorite chalk pen

to write whatever I want.
Messages of encouragement, announcements,

menus, etc.  It's a pretty message center.

I've seen the center of porcelain trays painted too and the trays also

look great hung on the wall.

On Sunday I remind the family what is coming....

Stay tuned for another chalkboard post tomorrow!

Owls - Whoo Whoo!

Owls are very trendy right now.  I hosted an Owl themed shower and made these cute owls as decorations.  To see the tutorial from "Juicy Bits", click HERE.

Since mine were not to keep, I did less stitching and more glueing.

Burlap Wreath

This is a cute spring wreath you can customize to match your decor or theme.  To see the tutorial from "Tatertots and Jello" click 

HERE.

I made mine to match my Owl Baby Shower.  

See the next post for instructions to make the cute little owl.

Valentine's Day Decorations

I don't have any Valentine's Day decorations.

New Beginnings just happened to be a red with white polka dot theme

and so the girls and I took an afternoon to do double duty - 

Valentine's decor that we could use for New Beginnings.

First, the one and only decoration - a heart wreath.

I added a new black and white ribbon and hung

it off-centered on the front door.  Love it!  

Love off-centered hearts!

Next....

Tall topiaries.

I bought white hydrangea balls, 2 dowels, 

and 4 white pots on clearance for $2 each.

I cut the dowels into 4 equal pieces, stuck 

each in styrofoam in the pot, painted them red,

stuck a hydrangea ball on top.

I then took apart a red rose ball.  I pulled each rose off and stuck it

into the hydrangea ball to create polka dots.  

I added a bow under the ball and bright green moss around the base 

and wahlah....

Next....

A low daisy topiary that sits on a glass vase.

I bought an 8" styrofoam ball, 30 silk gerber

daisies, about 10 small white silk flowers,

and I used more red roses from the red rose ball

and pieces of white hydrangea from a leftover

hydrangea ball.

I sat the ball on top of my vase, knowing that I wouldn't

 be covering any part of the ball that was inside 

the vase.  I cut the daisies leaving only one inch of 

stem under the flower and poked them into the 

ball covering it evenly.  

I filled in any gaps with the white flowers

 and white hydrangea creating a polka dot 

look and then filled in any leftover gaps 

with the small red roses.

To cover the uncovered ball in the vase, 

I wrapped the top of the vase with wide 

ribbon and tied a big bow.

Next....

Framed I Love You cards.

I bought an 8 x 10 frame, wrapped the glass in burlap,

and hot-glued I Love You notes on top of them.

The notes come from "Paper Source", one of my favorite

stores and say, "I love you" in about 40 languages.

I chose Chinese, English, Jordanian, Morse Code and

Text.

I <3 burlap!

       

Next....

Two easy things.

4 rose covered hearts in a glass jar.

Vinyl word "love" on a glass block with

a ribbon around it.

Here they are.

I have Valentine's decorations now

and New Beginnings was super cute!

Moss Ball

Every room needs green.  That doesn't mean a plant, per se.  I made a moss ball for my laundry room. 

One step closer to finishing the laundry room....

Here is what I used:  Hot glue, a styro-foam ball that fit 

my urn - it has to be bigger than the opening to look balanced, 

and 2 bags of light green reindeer moss from Michael's.

     

The ball adds just the right amount of green 

to the shelf above my ironing board....

Love the texture, shape
and color!