The Money Pit: Summer Porch Makeover

It seems like forever and a day since I wrote any posts about this old house, and that's a shame because we've been doing TONS of projects to it over the last few years to spruce it up and make it our own.  Back when we were still house hunting, one of my main requirements was that we have a large porch.  When we decided to buy Matt's parents old house, I was thrilled that it met that criteria with flying colors.  We have a beautiful screened in sleeping porch that actually runs the whole length of our house.  It's one of the best features in the spring, summer, and fall months.  Whenever we are entertaining that's where people tend to congregate.  That's why it's surprising that I've never taken the time to really thoughtfully decorate and create the space.  It's always been an odd, mis-matched grouping of furniture/storage area.  This year I decided to do a whole makeover on our awesome outdoor space, to make it as beautiful as it is functional.  Here's my inspiration.

From top left corner:

1. For seating we've always had random folding chairs that we can pull out, but I spotted these great wooden club chairs at World Market.  The best part is you can change the canvas anytime you want.  I chose red and yellow to match the color scheme, a stylized version of primary colors, and I'll be adding pops of gold here and there.  Image from World Market.


2. A bright turquoise patterned rug will add a pop of color to our concrete floor. Image from rugsUSA.


3. Succulents and greens in fun, eclectic white containers. Image from Accent Decor.


4. Brightly colored tables will bring a pop of yellow.  Spray paint has been my best friend lately, I've been re-vamping tons of furniture pieces with it.  Image from Etsy.


5. I love the palms, black and white stripes, and pops of yellow in this outdoor space. Image from Cottage and Vine.

Ahhhh, so excited.  Can't wait to share our newly decorated space! 

xo - Emily

Decorate: DIY Home Decor Projects

It's another round-up of fun posts that I created over on Paper Muse Press.  Not to brag, but it's a pretty great blog, and if you like anything related to cooking, home decor, DIY, weddings, basically all facets of lifestyle, it's one you must check out.  But now moving on from that shameless plus, I'd like to share a few of my favorite projects from the past year.  There's nothing like a home decor project, whether very small or large to spruce up your space!

Probably one of my favorite pieces of artwork in our home (and one of our most pinned projects) this antique window came out of our basement during the remodel.  I decided to spruce it up and add it to our newly refreshed bedroom.  On a side not, I can't stop painting things gold, it's a problem.  See the Antique Monogrammed Window Artwork post for the step by step.

Nothing adds a bit of personality to a table quicker than chargers, and these were made out of the simplest material out there, plywood.  Paint them any color you want with various patterns, and whoola, a customized tablescape.  The best part is you can paint the opposite side a different color, or the whole thing for a whole new look!  Pop on over and check out the Plywood Charger DIY post. 

I love a good ombre dye project.  I mean who doesn't really?  I decided to try out this craze with some very simple, no sew curtains in bright beautiful turquoise blue.  See my Ombre No Sew Curtain DIY here.  

I'm a huge vintage lover, and piece that's handed down from family members is even more special.  This old stool used to belong to my grandmother, and I decided to give it a refresh by covering the seat with some new oil cloth.  See the Vintage Stool Makeover here.  

And last, but certainly not least, the Washi Tape herb garden.  Washi tape is so fun, and it comes in a huge variety of colors and patterns, so it can be used for almost any project.  It's been stubbornly chilly here in the midwest, so I haven't even begun to think about planting my garden yet.  However a simple solution?  An indoor herb garden to tide you over til it warms up outside, made even more adorable with washi tape decor.  See the Indoor Washi Tape Herb Garden DIY here.

Thanks for checking out all my favorite home decor projects.  I hope you'll follow me over on Paper Muse Press for all my DIY projects, recipes, and more!

xo - Emily 

 

DIY Projects: Thanksgiving Decor

I'm not hosting Thanksgivign this year, but it doesn't mean my mind isn't running rampant with lots of fun ideas for what I would do to decorate our table.  I've been sharing a few of them around the internets.  They're super duper easy (like anyone can do them), and look like you spent hours and hours on them.  It's all about groupings of simple to make items, which is key if you're busy cooking a Thanksgiving feast. Pop on over and check them out! 

Here's the Fall Leaves Vases that I shared over on White Table Style.

 

And the super simple Squash and Taper Candle DIY on Paper Muse Press.  

Hooray for Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to gorge myself on delicious food, and spend lots of time with family and friends!

xo ~ Emily

DIY Projects: Boom!

So as I expressed in my last post I know it's been pretty quiet here on the blog, but I've been a busy girl creating lots of hand made things.  I'm guest posting over on White Table Style today with my friendship bracelet DIY (go check it out).

And then there's all of this over on Paper Muse Press.  Lots and lots of wedding DIY's, home decor, recipes, etc.  Boom!

 

DIY Projects: Amy Butler Quilt

Back in November I bought a fat quarter pack of the new Amy Butler Lark fabric from Urban Arts and Crafts.  I was so taken with all the lovely colors and patterns and the first thing that popped into my head was to make a quilt for my mom for Christmas.  Fast forward to March, and I was actually able to get it finished just in time for her birthday.  

It was a rather ambitious undertaking, considering it was only my second attempt (the first was a baby quilt, about 1/4 of the size).  I meant for it to be large enough to cover a queen size bed, but once I started piecing it together I realized exactly how huge that was.  I ended up making it a bit smaller, but am pleased to say that it can still fit at least three people under it quite cozily (my mom, and two sisters tested it out).  

I used Kaffe Fassett shot cotton from bon bon atelier in all different colors to fill in between the Amy Butler fabric.  This project brought about some valuable lessons, especially once I started piecing it together.  Keep in mind I've never had any quilting lessons or sewing lessons for that matter so I'm learning as I go.  One example of an important lesson: I tried to line up the rows of Amy Butler and shot cotton so they would be a nice grid.  However it became clear early on that I had mis-cut quite a bit and lining up was not going to be an option.  Instead I let the squares sit free form next to each other.  

I also did some improvising again when it came to attaching the front and back to each other.  Again it was quickly revealed that my measurements were off somewhere along the way, and the whole things was not exactly rectangular, but rather had a bit of polygon action happening.  Who knew there was so much math involved in quilting?  However you live, and learn, and next time it will be even easier (and hopefully a whole lot straighter).

And of course I had to take the obligatory cute dog pictures before I handed it over to my mom for her birthday.  

xo ~ Em

Floral Friday: Trader Joe's Bouquet DIY

For today's Floral Friday post I'm sharing with you a little video that I shot last week.  This video was a bit of a test of my new camera's capabilities (can you belive it's a digital point and shoot?).  I was at Trader Joes, I saw these lovely peach roses, and got inspired.  I love working with flowers, and I think sometimes people believe it's a much more complicated process than it really is.  I thought this DIY would be great as a sweet little bridesmaids bouquet, or a Valentines day gift for someone special.  Hope you like it!

 

Make Something Monday: DIY Ombre Glitter Shoes

Make Something Monday is back with today's step by step project.  I absolutely LOVE all things glitter.  I have two pairs of glittery shoes, and had been seeing some DIY's, including this one on one of my favorite hand made blogs, A Beautiful Mess.  It seemed like a fairly simple process so I thought I'd give it a try.  We attended Party Arty this past weekend, a fundraiser for The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.  Everyone gets dressed up in their finest duds for the event, and I found a beautiful off-white grecian inspired gown at Hemline.  

Matt and I at Party Arty.

I wanted to give my dress a modern edge so I wore an architectural cuffs, statement earrings, and simple cocktail rings.  I did my hair in smooth waves, and added some bright plum lipstick and nail polish.  I knew I wanted to carry my grandmothers iridescent blue clutch (one of my most prized accessories), for a pop of color, so I thought I'd try out the glitter shoe DIY and make a custom pair to match.

Supplies:

• Old pair of shoes.


• Aleene's Tacky Glue


• Paintbrush


• Glitter: Since I was doing an ombre pattern I chose four different colors.  I like super fine glitter from Martha Stewart which I purchased at Michaels.


• Newspaper


• Mod Podge


• Optional: paint that is the same color as your glitter (this will depend on what color shoe you start with).

As you can see the shoes that I started with were not in very good shape.  They're satin covered so they had lots of marks and stains on them that I wasn't able to remove.  It was time for these babies to get a a face lift!

Cover your workspace in newspaper, because as we all know glitter is messy.  Since my shoes were a bright banana yellow I decided to paint them teal before I got started with the glitter.  I figured this would help disguise any spots that might get missed, or in case the glitter flaked off.  If your shoes are a close color to your glitter you can skip this step.

Next brush the Tacky Glue onto the shoe.  It's very thick, so try to keep it as smooth as possible so there won't be lumps and bumps all over.  I decided to do an ombre pattern on the shoes so I started with my darkest color of glitter at the tip of the toes.  Before you start put a piece of newspaper or magazine under your shoe so you can catch and save each color as you apply it.  Be super generous with your glitter, then shake it off.  Repeat for each color, or do all over if you are just using one color.

Once each color of glitter is applied you may notice that they look a bit separated rather than blended.  To get an ombre effect they need to blend into each other a bit more.  Take a little bit of glue and lightly spread it between each color change.  Sprinkle a little bit of the darker color first until it's about half covered, and then add the lighter color on top.  Let the shoes dry overnight to make sure that everything is really stuck on.

Take the shoes (outside is best) and hit the soles hard on the sidewalk, ground, etc. to get rid of all the little bits of loose glitter.  You won't be able to get all the loose pieces off, and you'll leave a Tinkerbellesque trail wherever you walk.  That's why the next step is optional but highly recommended, so you aren't shedding glitter all over you or your friends homes.

Adding the Mod Podge will help seal the shoes so that you aren't losing glitter.  However it will kill some of the sparkle, and fades the color even though it dries clear.  I used glitter Mod Podge to add a bit more dimensionality of multi color sparkles to my shoes.  Take your paint brush and add as thin a layer as possible to your shoes.  It's thinner than the glue so it brushes on much more easily. 

Mod Podge dries much more quickly than the Tacky Glue, I left mine for untouched for about 6 hours, but a few hours is probably sufficient.  Once they're dry it's time to wear them.  Mine were a bit stiff because of all the layers of glue, but it wasn't any different than breaking in a new pair of shoes.  They worked out great for the event, I didn't lose any of my glitter, and everyone loved my sparkly new footwear.

Hazel approves.

Thanks for checking out my ombre glitter shoe DIY.  I hope you'll try it out for your own special event.

xo ~ Em