A Work in Progress

I have received a few emails about my updated tablescape. Well, I tried to incorporate all the advice I received and somehow it has snowballed into a minor dining room/kitchen remodel! I know my husband is wondering how this went from taking advice on rearranging a few picture frames to now we will be painting the room and changing colors all together. There is never a dull moment around here!!!

However, I did start the process of moving a few things and I wanted to show you the "work in progress." Here is a before picture:

The one comment I kept hearing was to move the pictures into a square to add height and get a bigger lamp. I did both of these things and a few more. This is not the finished product, it is only the beginning. There were holes from the pictures so I decided that I am going to putty the holes and paint the wall a very pale yellow. I also need to bring the pictures down so the top of the pictures is even with the top of the topiary. Take a look at what I HAVE done:

I need to add some more books to add some more color  and height. I will also hang the pictures an even distance from each other on all sides once the wall has been painted.

Please ignore the broken light fixture! Moving the pictures around really did give the space some height and I love it! The topiary lights up so it also helps provide another element of warmth.

I will keep you posted on the project once I get the paint on the walls and the pictures lowered. When all the finishing touches are on this space I will post another picture. For now, I hope this will work!

The Answer to Ambiance in your Home

I promised you I would tell you about the one thing I can not live without in my home. You may think it is fabric, furniture, bedding or something else that might be considered a decorative accessory. Well I hate to disappoint you, but the item I can not live without costs under $10.00 and can be found at your local home improvement stores!

I do not care how dirty my house is or what project I am in the middle of doing, there is always one way to get a great warm feeling in your home. My personal key to wonderful ambiance for me and my family is lighting!!!

I do not love overhead lights that can feel harsh at times, so I have a ton of lamps around the house that help to help my house feel so nice.

Instead of spending 10 minutes every evening running around the house turning on all these lamps, I have found the secret to success and ambiance! Drum roll please..........

                                                           A Lamp Timer

This may seem so obvious and simple, and it is, but for some reason they do not get used enough. I have these on about five lamps in my house so that no matter what I am doing the ambiance is on at the same time every night. I spent the afternoon at the park with my kids today and we got home late, but the lights were on and it felt great walking in. I love this gadget!! These little timers also have a dual purpose of safety if you are out of town!

Finding a Balance

I must confess that I have not been blogging nearly as much as I would like in the last few weeks. Although I have a great reason, I have been busy making signs! I have been making custom signs and that has been keeping me away from the computer. I will not complain because I am blessed to have clients who want my signs in their beautiful homes. Thank you so much to everyone has orders a sign recently. I hope you love it as much in your own home as I do in mine!

Check back tomorrow to see one item I could NEVER live without in my home!!!!!

Tablescaping Troubles

I have seen some very cute tablescapes in the last few weeks on blogs. I got motivated and decided that I needed to decorate a table that we just moved to a new spot. However, when I started shopping around the house I started drawing a blank and can not seem to get this tablescape just right. So for the first time ever, I am asking advice on what I could add to make this tablescape perfect! Once I get some feedback I will post after pictures and show you what I have done. I can not wait to hear what my readers think!!!

The current layout of the table

 

                                                   

A few close ups 

Crafty Toddler Project

I had the pleasure of hosting a few toddlers recently and I wanted them to have a neat little craft to do while they were here. Well this may sound simple, however most of the children have just turned two and are still not ready for some of the bigger craft projects. The theme of our gathering was ladybugs so I came up with a very inexpensive and extremely cute craft for toddlers. This would be great for any play date or birthday party you may host.

First I went to our local craft store and bought frames for only $1.00 each. You can catch these frames 50% off sometimes so be on the look out for this sale. 

Then I spray painted all the frames red to coordinate with my ladybug theme

Next, I purchased some wooden ladybug cutouts that were already painted so I did not have to anything to them. I only paid $0.59 for each ladybug at my local craft store and then hot glued them in the corner of each frame.

Finally, I bought a $4.99 box of foam ladybug cut outs let the kids go wild putting the sticky foam bugs on their frames

The finished product!!!!!

The little ones' had a blast doing this project and it was something cute that they could take home and put a picture in it! This was very cute and not an expensive project.