5-minute makeovers

I thought I'd show you a few little vignettes from a client's redesign I did recently that each took about five minutes (or less) but made a pretty big difference. (Or so I think.) This client is an ongoing one of mine...I've been there a couple of times and have a couple more to go. She is somewhat of a minimalist, but has collected just a few items throughout the years and from her many travels that have sentimental value.

She had a great start in this bathroom, having recently painted it a lovely light blue. She wanted to go for a beachy look, and had one or two framed pieces with an ocean theme, but wanted to pull the look together.

BEFORE...

cute starfish and towel, but what is in that basket?...

Nothing?? Just Easter grass?...

AFTER...

Ah, now it looks complete. After snooping in her cupboards, I filled the basket with extra washcloths, guest soaps, and an adorable miniature starfish. Now it's cute and functional...my two favorite words for bathroom decor.

BEFORE...

A lonely teddy bear and box of tissues...

AFTER...

...after snooping in cupboards again...a beautiful blue glass decanter, jar candle, and glass jar filled with river rocks and shells.

BEFORE....

the same client's hallway leading to the bathroom. She'd had these photos on the floor for about half a year, because she wasn't sure what configuration to hang them in...

AFTER...
There we go. I think they're happier on the wall, don't you?

Thanks for humoring me as I share these little projects! Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll have a wonderful interview with the very talented photographer, KA Compson, my pick for July's Artist of the Month!

Friday's Fab Finds that (hopefully) make you smile!

This week's finds are truly fabulous. (As if they aren't always?!) It's a random collection of colorful artwork, accessories, and paper products that bring a smile to my face. As always, I find myself amazed at the endless talent and creativity to be found on Etsy. Each one of these shops blew me away with their artistry...and I really mean it when I recommend checking out the complete inventories of these shops.

ch-ch-cheetah purse no. 2 by theseawithin

Olive Jade Flower Necklace by Pebble Jewelry

white love birds print by yumiyumi

moving announcements by niftypear

branches, framed original watercolor, by ajkstudio



purple iris, original watercolor by ajkstudio


magnolia, original watercolor by ajkstudio

I hope these finds make you smile like they did me. (I can use smiles right now since I'm feeling a bit under the weather.) I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I'll be back next week with some redesign pics and an interview with KA Compson, my pick for July's Artist of the Month!

Vintage Baby Shower

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm posting about this late today. I've been pretty sick recently...it's a long story...let's just say I have endometriosis and it really gives me fits at times. This week has been one of those times. But anyway, I think the shower last night turned out just lovely, and Hannah (mommy of baby Abigail, the guest of honor) seemed really pleased. I'm sure Abigail was quite pleased, too, although she showed it by spitting up on other people but then falling asleep in MY arms, thankyouverymuch.



I realized only today, looking at the pics, that a lot of them turned out much darker than I had thought. So please forgive my lowsy photography! And on to a few details...



Here's the banner I made for Abigail. It was a LOT less labor-intensive to print the letters onto white cardstock, which I then just cut into rectangles, than it was to cut out a letter form, trace it onto patterned cardstock, then cut out the patterned cardstock (like I did here). But, it was still a pretty cute look. I went a little crazy with one of my corner punches and made each corner of the letters elaborate and pretty (of course, you'll have to just take my word for it, because you can't really tell in the photo!). I've decided that banners are one of my favorite ways to pull together a color scheme for a party. I have so much fun finding pretty scrapbook papers to mix and match.


My whole theme for this shower was based on a vintage table cloth I have that is yellow with pink, green, and white on it. (You can sort of see it in the background on several of these photos.) I found pretty pink and green paper plates & napkins, and mixed them with yellow plates and green cups. I prefer the paper goods to not be too matchy-matchy.


Grrr...another dark photo...but you can kind of see the fancy corners on the custom invite I created and then displayed as part of the decor. There are three layers of pretty cardstock, and a couple of different fonts...the primary being French Script.

The hostess, Sarah, made a really refreshing sparkling strawberry lemonade punch (it was like 95 degrees last night, which is super-hot for us Oregonians!) with a really lovely ice ring in it. Scrapbook paper over my Battenburg lace tablecloth adds dimension and color.

Ah, my trusty cupcake stand. How I love you, Cupcake Stand! How I love Crate & Barrel, where I bought you. Heck, how I love cupcakes! It's a regular lovefest, people!

The flowers were all in little white vintage and new pitchers and vases. I chose pink and yellow Gerbera daisies because I wanted something charming, old-fashioned and not fussy-looking. (I almost always buy my flowers at Costco. I get two bunches of them for $17.98 total, and once I split them up they always go pretty far.)

These are the little favors. Pink candles in tiny pink glass goblets. I bought them months ago on clearance at Target, because I thought they would make great baby shower favors. Then, all my friends announced they were having boys. But all's well that ends well, because they fit the theme of this shower perfectly. Each one is tied with a ribbon and decorative tag that reads "Welcome Abigail".

There's my wrinkled tablecloth. Oops. The key is to dazzle people with all your other decor so they don't notice the wrinkles. :-)

Sneak Peek...Vintage Baby Shower

So I thought I'd give you a sneak peak into the baby shower I'm decorating for tonight...this is going to be so fun. It's for a gal named Hannah who's somewhat of a newcomer to our church, and my generous friend Sarah just recently offered to host a baby shower for her. But time is of the essence, because baby Abigail is already here...and pushing 3 1/2 months old! So we gotta get this girl some presents! (This goes to show that a LOT can be accomplished in a week, which is all the time I've had to plan for this...but since I usually procrastinate anyway, I suppose this isn't all that unusual after all!)

Anyway. Here's the custom invite I created. I taped it to this metal picture frame for display at the party...and it helped me photograph it a little better, too...

And some lovely tidbits which are soon to be a banner (oh, I do love a good vintagey banner) and tags for favors...

And, of course, paper plates and cups. And what's that I see in the little Martha Stewart package? Cupcake wrappers? Does anybody here like cupcakes?

They're alright, I guess.

Okay, okay, you got me - I love 'em! But who doesn't?

Stay tuned for more pics later this week after the shower. It's going to be sweet!

A Major Award

I won! I won!

What, you ask? This fabulous award from the equally fabulous Jen at Sanctuary Arts. I consider Jen to be the Queen of Furniture Makeovers, so when she created this award and sent it to five people, including me (for my dining room makeover), I had to smile. Me? Ladies, when you see some of the other furniture makeovers she included and awarded, you will be so inspired and amazed, you just may rush outside with paint brush or spray can before you even finish your coffee.

I am supposed to pass it on to one person. The first person that came to mind was Kimba of A Soft Place to Land. She even does Furniture Rehab Tutorials! But, she's already one of the original five that is getting the award straight from Jen. Sooo... the next person I immediately thought of to give this award to was Marie at Watch the Wind Blow By for her lovely makeover of a dining room/kitchen hutch. Here's the before and here's the after. It's a piece with great bones that just needed a little paint and a little lovin' and voila! it's got a new life and a new identity.

Thanks again to Jen for this fun award. You know, it's ironic that I was already thinking about furniture makeovers. In fact, as I'm working away on my e-zine (nevermind that I'm a whole week behind) I had already written an article on furniture makeovers. I guess great minds think alike! Oh, and if you're on my e-zine list...well...it's coming...really, it is... :-)

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!!

For more of my Fourth of July posts, read here and here and here.

I hope you have a beautiful holiday, spent with good friends, family, and maybe some good food too. Happy Birthday USA!

Summer Decorating Inspiration

Today I thought it would be fun to show some inspiring photos of spaces that have been decorated in red, white, or blue (or some combination of these colors). I was browsing bhg.com and was loving what I found. I chose interiors - and exteriors - that reflect a laid-back style...nothing too fussy...just crisp and clean and looking like summer.

Um, yeah, I'd live here. Wouldn't you? Look at that front porch!

These deep cobalt walls are pretty striking - but they work with the clean white upholstery in the room.

Whoa, that's a lot of stripes on that porch, huh? But somehow they all work together and end up being fun and relaxed.

I've always like blue and white pottery. It's really the star of the show here, with simple white walls in the background. It can be traditional, Asian, or beachy.

Note the red mats around the pictures on the wall. That's a neat touch. I also like the red toile seat cushion cover on the chair.

Here are some dramatic blue walls again...not quite as dark as the last blue room, but dramatic all the same. It's a few more patterns than I would normally put together in one room - but somehow this Bohemian look really works here.

My favorite part of this room...the vintage sheets they used as chair covers! And more blue and white pottery.

In this mostly white entry, the blue and white bowl with the red apples stands out perfectly. This looks calming to me, and I almost feel like I can smell the salt air from the ocean, which is surely only a few steps away!

What a relaxing guest room this looks like. Sweet and simple.

And, okay, forget the first house I showed you...can I live here instead? Instead of a front yard they have a BEACH...instead of a street they have the OCEAN...instead of a view of their neighbor's house, they have a view of the SUNSET OVER THE WATER.

Let's all just close our eyes and pretend we're here for a moment...just a moment...

The ocean breeze smells wonderful, doesn't it?!

(all photo credits: bhg.com)