quick fix for generic looking binders

I hated the look of the binders that I had in my book crates and was going to buy some new ones until I came across some left over scrapbook paper in one of my drawers.

Why not just cover the spines and give them a whole new look?

All I needed was a ruler, pencil, scissors and a glue stick.  I measured the spine and then added 2 inches to each side and trimmed the paper accordingly.  Next, I ran a glue stick over the spine and centered the paper and then glued the edges down.  Problem solved and money saved!

terrarium

My obsession this week is with terrarium.  As you know by now, I am unable to keep a plant alive in my home for more than a day, so besides those nifty little air plants I talked about a few posts ago, I have fallen in love with terrarium.

Check out this terrarium How-To from Sweet Peach



And as always, you can can find some on Etsy

 

the vintage tea collection giveaway

Check out these amazing new items from Jennifer Rizzo and enter to win $400 worth of items from her shop plus a $100 gift certificate towards jewelry!  I hope I win!! 

Check out her Etsy shop as well.

     

restoration hardware....drool

I decided that adding 615 pages of the Restoration Hardware Fall 2011 Sourcebook was a little overkill, so here are just a few of my favorites.....

   

inspired by ikea

The Ikea 2012 catalog has some great new stuff.  Can't wait to go there and use up my gift card!  Click on the pics for $ and info.

slightly off topic

I know, I know --- this post has nothing to do with decorating, renovations or anything home related, but I was pretty proud of myself for being creative and crafty.  I had this necklace lying around forever with a broken clasp. Rather than searching for the exact clasp I needed to fix it and then having to deal with needle nose pliers, why not tie a think pink ribbon to it and give it a little more spunk?  Kinda cute don't ya think?

first fall-like saturday

What to do with my weekend now that its too chilly to be on the boat?  Why not drag my husband out of bed at 8:30 on a Saturday morning to go to some yards sales?

I can clearly see that my interpretation of the description on Craigslist versus the actual items at the yard sales were slightly off.  I honed in on certain words such as "multi-family" and "antiques" and seemed not to have noticed the mention of ample amounts of children's items.  Oh well, not our day for yards sales.

Our last stop was at antique store and we could not resist purchasing these 3 things...including what I just learned was the very first model of the Polaroid Camera, pretty cool if you ask me.

1948 - Instant photography goes on sale to the public for the first time with the Polaroid Model 95 camera and Type 40 film. The camera is so named due to its $95 suggested price. This is just over $850 today.
After selling out quickly, the Boston store that launched the first cameras begins taking backorders for up to $150, or about $1350! ---savepolaroid.com

Large Wooden Spool

 

Vintage Polaroid Camera

 

Vintage Chair

so long summer, renovations just around the corner

I have to face it, my bathing suit may not see the light of day until next year.  With the chillier weather comes the fairly long list of projects that we want to accomplish over the extended fall/winter/rain/slush/snow/cold weather of New England.

Although the table saw and chop saw have made a lovely addition to my hallway for the last few months, I am ready to move them back into storage! 

I've found that creating an overall list is just too overwhelming, so we are just going to take it room by room.  There are a few functional things that need to be done such as nailing in the baseboards in the office/guest room and laying the flooring in the master bedroom.

as well as a few fun projects such as building a tabletop for our antique sewing machine stand and antiqueing a mirror.



So needless to say we have a busy winter ahead of us, but what better way to spend a snowy Saturday than inside with our cats with the sound of a tablesaw?

air plants, can i handle it?

How have I not discovered these before?  We have ZERO plants/flowers in our home because of many factors (1) We don't get a ton of direct sunlight (2) I clearly don't how or when to properly water them (3) If left at a height that is accessible to the cats....it will get eaten, layed on or walked through within seconds. 

My interest was sparked by this vase that was on the home page of Etsy this morning from tohold (Los Angeles, CA)



I'll have to track down some of these babies and do something fun with them around the house. Let me know if you've got any air plants in your home and how you display them.

Hey, they even have their own website! 

"These truly are a perfect gift for plant lovers and for people who can't grow anything." --airplants.com

back into the swing of things

Alright, so I redesigned my blog - gave myself a logo (Thanks Jonah!), deleted a lot of clutter and made it cleaner and easier to navigate - enjoy! Now I get to go through my piles of saved blogs, images and wesbites and share them with all of you - stay tuned for tons of inspiring ideas!

drum pendants

I'm loving the look of all the drum pendant lights I've been seeing everywhere. 

Like this linen shade from West Elm

 

or these custom made shades from jessedirk on Etsy

darling little finds

Being the good wife that I am, I decided to go to my husbands softball game the other evening to cheer him on....but not without a stop by Crate & Barrel which just happened to be few blocks away from the game.  My eyes went right for these.....

I plan to purchase white eggs, blow out the yolks and then dying them in tea and then placing them in this porcelain egg crate. I'll let you know how that turns out....seems my grocery store only carries brown eggs, not white.

I have a few ideas of how I want to fill this berry box colander, but need to poke around for a bit before I come to a final decision.

bowls = lampshades

A great idea from Country Living ---- why not turn mixing bowls into decorative lighting?


"An enlightened take on the pendant lamp, this project uses ceramic yellowware to glowing effect. First, choose a bowl that measures at least four inches high and five inches in diameter. Turn it upside down on a flat work surface. Measure and mark the center of the bottom of the bowl. Using a power drill fit with a two-inch tile or ceramic hole saw ($9.98; sold at Home Depot stores), push squarely down on the center mark until the ceramic piece pops through the bottom of the bowl (wear a dust mask for this part). Wipe off any debris, then screw the socket from a pendant light kit ($14.94; sold at drillspot) into the hole. Install a 60-watt bulb, and hang according to kit's instructions." ----Country Living

old dress shirts = new pillows

I liked this recycled craft idea from Country Living using old dress shirts and recycling them into pillow cases.


STEP 1: Iron shirt to smooth out all wrinkles. Button it, then pin the shirt's front and back to each other to keep them together when cutting. STEP 2: Cut out the shirt to match the shape of your pillow insert — adding two inches to both the width and length, and centering the row of buttons down the front. (You'll now have two pieces of fabric.) STEP 3: Repin the fabric so the shirt's finished sides face each other. Sew the pieces together using a 6/8-inch seam. Snip the corners at an angle to ease turning. STEP 4: Unbutton the fabric and turn the pillowcase right side out. Iron, then rebutton. STEP 5: Topstitch around the case twice — first 1/8 inch from the edges, then 3/8 inch from the edges — to finish it. STEP 6: Unbutton the case, insert the pillow, then rebutton and fluff. 

build a industrial rustic bookshelf

Step by step directions and video tutorial on HGTV's blog for you to create your own!

and in 1st place

I love Anthropologie, not as much for the clothes as their accessories and their displays, especially this distressed wood dresser.   I would certainly like to live in an Anthropologie store, I think I would be quite comfortable.

new found love

In the last few days, I have spent more of my time than I would like to admit on wanelo.com and pinterest.com.  I've started saving and pinning some of favorites -- will post a link to my collections soon!

noticing trends

As I read my favorite blogs, check out my favorite online shops and peruse through my beloved catalogs....here are a few trends I've been noticing. 

BIRDS - screenprinted on wood, canvas and pillows (just like the one below featured on Etsy), ....porcelain, glass, wood....in cages, out of cages....in nests or on a perch, they seem to everywhere.  Most are simple silhouettes.  I found myself falling in love with a few things and got some great ideas for some decorations of my own. 




CHALKBOARD/DRY ERASE - I'm seeing lots of "write on" objects. Like these chalkboard office accessories and dry erase bank from CB2 Anything from trash cans to pencil holders to piggy banks and even hanging light fixtures.....done right these could be pretty cool.




COVERED BOOKS - It seems like it might be a decorating "no-no" to actually see the binding of a book these days.  I certainly agree that an ugly book binding can throw off your whole design scheme, so why not cover it with something fun like scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, brown paper bags, newspaper or even fabric?  I've also seen books in a bookcase with pages facing out, love the look, but certainly not an easy task to find a book you want to read!  Check out Google for some covered book ideas that fit your design style.  Also love this idea that was recently posted by Paislee Press.

PAINTED BRICK - In certain rooms, I love the look of white painted brick, like these guys over at Young House Love.

garden and home and you, oh my

Just spotted in the June 2011 issue of Real Simple Magazine is this wonderful website called terrain, take a few minutes to look around, they have some great stuff!