Easy Valentine’s Wreath

I actually wrote about this Valentine’s wreath last year, but I thought I’d bring her back for an encore performance.

I found this wreath at Hobby Lobby, which was really pretty perfect on its own. I loved the simple, natural look of it.

I wanted it to be a little fuller though, so I bought a couple of these.

And then I stumbled across these beauties and I just had to buy them. Don’t they look delicious?

After putting it all together with my glue gun, I hung her on my door with the same upholstery webbing I used to hang my Christmas Wreath. Ahhh, so pretty.

 

Remember, you have until 9pm (Central Time) tonight to enter the Lisa Leonard Giveaway. Good luck!

De-Brassifying a Fireplace Surround

If you’re one of that rare breed that was just introduced to the internet, and even more recently introduced to the world of home decor blogs, this post is for you. You will be stunned and amazed as I turn my shiny brass fireplace surround into something entirely new…and from this century.

Here’s what my fireplace surround looked like until yesterday. I know the glare from the brass is burning holes in your eye sockets…sorry about that.

But with the help of some magic heat resistant paint, I was able to transform old glarey into something much easier on the eyes. I simply taped off the areas to be painted and used an inexpensive brush to apply the paint. This paint also comes in spray paint form, but I didn’t want to bother with removing the entire fireplace surround…and it’s a little to cold and wet outside to use spray paint at the moment (anyone else ready for spring?).

And the finished product? Ahhh, much better.

 

So there you have it. Happy painting!

Cheap & Easy Christmas Wreath (Sorry Pottery Barn)

I know...it's too early for Christmas wreath show and tell...but I just can't help it. Imagine your 5 year old jumping up and down and saying "Can we show them our wreath mommy?! Can we...can we?!!" Yep...that's me. I'm just so excited!!!

I admired this wreath at Pottery Barn, but not the $79.00 price tag (I'm pretty sure PB is going to start sending me hate mail...I'm sooo sorry PB...I really do love you.).

I knew I could replicate (does that sound better than "blatantly copy"?) this wreath inexpensively.

Enter my faux pine wreath (bought on final clearance at Hobby Lobby last year...it was probably $2).


A whole bunch of ornaments (some I already owned, and some I purchased...for a total of $5).


A few wire ornament hooks to secure the ornaments to the wreath (I wound them around the pine branches).


And voila! My own, lovely, easy, cheap, festive, sparkly...did I mention cheap?...Christmas wreath.

Um...please ignore the leaves on my doormat :).

This post is partying over at Kimba's DIY day. Feel free to head over for more great DIY ideas. We're also partying down at Cindy's party at Cottage Instincts.

Have a great Tuesday!

6 Easy Ways to Like Your Home More Today

Photo Credit: My Home Ideas

6 EASY WAYS TO LIKE YOUR HOME MORE TODAY

1) CLEAN SOMETHING: You don’t have to clean the whole house, just pick one area (i.e. a shelf, the floors in the living room) and clean it. Or set the clock for 15 or 30 minutes and see how much you can get done before the timer goes off. You’ll instantly feel better.

2) FIX ONE THING: Is there a light bulb that’s been out for a while? A piece of trim that needs 30 seconds with a glue gun? A button that needs to be sewn on? Choose one thing and do it.

3) MAKE YOUR HOUSE SMELL GOOD: Open a window (unless it’s 30 degrees outside), light a scented candle, spray some Febreeze on the upholstery (…and in your teenage son’s bedroom), bake cookies (well…you know…those pre-made ones from the deli case…I’m not asking you to clean AND bake real cookies!)

4) SHAKE IT UP BY SHOPPING THE HOUSE: Could the throw pillows on the sofa look nice on your bed?…or vice versa? Would that vase on your dresser be the perfect solution for your mantel with a handful of branches in it? Take a few minutes and experiment.

5) FIND SOMETHING TO PAINT!: Can you breathe new life into that old frame?, those ugly candlesticks?, or those boring oak stools? Think about it, and remember that a quart of paint or a can of spray paint is CHEAP.

6) DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY: Listen to music while you cook, light a few candles and “dine” over mac n’ cheese, eat on the good plates (that doesn’t have to include your 3 year old). Doing something out of the ordinary instantly makes things feel special.

In An Accessory Rut?

Are you in an accessory rut? Take this little quiz to find out:

The accessories on your fireplace mantel:
A) Change almost monthly
B) Change once each season
C) Um, they’ve pretty much been the same for the last year
D) What’s the problem? I got it the way I liked it in 1987 and I’m sticking with it!

I’m guilty of at least “C”. What about you? Now, I don’t think it’s realistic for most people to be constantly changing up their accessories (a girl's gotta do the laundry sometime), but taking a step back and shaking things up every once in a while can be a very good thing.

For instance, this is how my piano has looked since…um…January 1 (cute little me as a newby blogger wrote about it in this post).

(WOWZA - That's a horrible picture...proof that you should NEVER take photos at night!)

The decor's been okay, it’s been fine, but it’s a little boring and I’m kind of tired of looking at it. So it occurred to me one day, “Wait a minute...I don’t have to be tired of looking at that…I can just change it!”. Yep…alert Oprah…I had a light bulb moment.

So I removed all of the accessories so I could start with a blank slate. I pulled a bunch of "stuff" out of my secret accessory closet (you know you have one too), and then added little by little.

With a little trial…and a little error...I created a new look that I like, simply by re-using "stuff" I had around the house.

What little nook have you been neglecting?

P.S. My walls aren't really that yellow...I blame it on zero sunlight today...and I have no excuse for the "before" picture...except for newby blogger naivete.

DIY Monogrammed Door Mat

Well, The Cottage went and did it, she finally decided to get her own page on Facebook. This way y'all can have priceless insights into my decorating psyche. I think it will also give us a chance to interact a bit more. Wanna become a "fan" (ha...that term cracks me up)? Click the Facebook

box on my sidebar...or...below.

Now to the good stuff. Have you ever seen and admired those cute and classy monogrammed door mats at the fancy places like Williams Sonoma or Pottery Barn? And then have you proceeded to let out an audible shreik as you read the prices?

Pottery Barn - $59.00

Williams Sonoma - $69.00

Well, I decided to take a stab at making my own monogrammed door mat. How hard can it be, right?

Step One

I took a plain door mat that I already had (it was originally from Ikea, but you should be able to find them easily and inexpensively at other stores).

Step Two

I taped off the where I wanted lines to go around the edges of the mat with brown packing tape (it's what I had):

Step Three

This is where if your printer's working you print a large letter in a font you like. If it's not (blast!) you take a stab at drawing one yourself. Then cut it out with an xacto knife.

Step Four

I taped the letter down in the middle, and then covered the remaining exposed areas with tape. CAUTION: Be sure to put lots of tape on the back side of the flimsy areas of the letter (I didn't use enough so my edges were a little fuzzy...my one fatal mistake...oh well).

Step Five

I pulled out some black spray paint from my stash and sprayed away. I did a total of four coats because I wanted really full and durable coverage.

And VOILA!

My own monogrammed door mat. Cost? Freeeeeeeeee. (Although, if you don't already have everything you need like I did, you should be able to do this for under $20).

No More Sad Doors!

Hey there - I apologize for being M.I.A. this week. No, the carbon monoxide didn't get me, just millions of work things (Oh that pesky day job) and life things (What do you mean my car needs a new catalytic converter?!). This is where I once again vow to myself to write all of my blog posts the weekend before, so I'm not stuck being postless... and inspirationless...and hopefully not readerless. Anyhoo...enough hand slapping.

Let's talk front doors shall we? I always feel so bad for those little (or big) houses with sad, plain doors. Sometimes I just want to sneak out in the middle of the night and give them a fresh coat of paint and a nice fluffy wreath. You know...like a decorating bandit...with a black mask and a paintbrush in hand :).

For instance look at this sad little house. See the tear? She used to feel so cute and sassy, but now she feels a little frumpy and out of style. Poor thing...

No problem sweetie, the decorating bandit is here. Let's just freshen up your door and shutters with some black paint, remove that outdated awning, and throw in some fun accessories.

See? She's new girl...and all we did was add a little paint and a few accessories. (For info on how to paint a front door click here).

I know a lot of us put off projects like sprucing up a front door because it just feels like too much work and too much money. Just do what you can handle doing...whether that's paint or simply adding a new wreath. Even a little change will make a difference.

And speaking of wreaths, if you're in the market for a new wreath, here are some out there in internet-land that have caught my eye. Enjoy!

Etsy - toinspireyou

Etsy - toinspireyou

Etsy - TheKeepersHouse

Etsy - KnockKnocking (too cute!)


Etsy - SimpleSweetDesign

Target - Fall Faux Berry Wreath

Target - Town Market Wreath

Target - Lavender Fields Square Wreath (I would lose the ribbon)

Have a great weekend!

Paint That Bad Brass

Thanks for your nice comments yesterday on my painted light fixture. I think it's just further proof at what a can of spray paint can do! I had several of you ask how I painted the light fixture to transform it

from this (sorry I don't have a better before picture):

To this:

Basically, I didn't want to remove the entire lighting fixture ('cause I'm lazy like that) so I covered the wall and the counter below with paper bags so I could spray it in the room. I also covered the light sockets with tape so that paint wouldn't interfere with the fixture working correctly.

I didn't prime first because...well, again, I'm lazy like that. And really, it's not going to get a whole lotta wear so I felt okay about skipping this step.

I applied 2 or 3 coats of Rustoleum American Accents spray paint in oil rubbed bronze. This spray paint is now hard to find, but you can read about other options and where to find this one here.

I also replaced the glass shades on the fixture. They were that ribbed glass which feels a little dated to me.

And I felt like a more current looking glass shade would make a big difference. They were pretty inexpensive at Lowe's (I want to say $5 or $6) and I chose simple marbled alabaster shades.

A couple of you also asked about painting door knobs. I haven't done this yet myself, but I have spoken with several people that have, and they've all told me that they hold up very well. I would definitely recommend that you prime first and then apply 3 light coats (with plenty of dry time in between and before use) for optimal durablity (yes...I said "optimal durability"...can you tell I'm in "work mode"? I'll get back to human speak later.).

Happy painting! Let me know if you have additional questions.

Good Brass vs. Bad Brass

There’s good brass and then there’s bad brass. Good brass has been making a bit of a comeback lately. For instance, "Cutie-Pie" Nate Berkus (as his BFF Oprah calls him….and really, we all know it’s true...sigh), used brass hooks on the kitchen cabinet doors in his New York apartment. (You have to look reeeaaaally close to see them, but I promise I’m telling the truth).

And if you look really, really close you can see that he also opted for brass door knobs and hinges.

Here's anothe example of good brass:

Source: Ebay

And then there’s bad brass….Ahhh, brings back memories doesn't it?

(I actually have this faucet in my powder bath)

Can you see the difference? In one word “patina”. Good brass is worn and has a unique, vintagey character. Bad brass is polished to the point that you can see your fluffy, shellacked bangs from the 1980’s in its reflection.

Still have bad brass in your house? No problem. If you can't replace it, just pull out the spray paint and give it an instant update, like I did to the light fixture in our powder bath.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

See? Easy peasy.

P.S. Thanks for all of your supportive comments about my new pillows. I definitely know who to turn to if I want permission to splurge :-).