How To Make Your Own Small Pillow Form...

Hi everyone! We've been busy moving our oldest daughter Courtney and her fiancé Courtland into their first home. We still have one more move of furniture this coming weekend (that dreaded heavy Ikea furniture that we're afraid to dis-assemble), but we're almost done!! It's been a lot of heavy lifting, painting, cleaning, organizing, but their home is beautiful. We're so proud of both of them for all they've accomplished at such an early age.

When everything is moved in, the final stage of decorating the new extra rooms they have will be the most fun! We all know after moving into a new apartment or a new home, money for all the final touches of decorating might not be there.

Pops of color, in the simplest form of pillows, is the best idea. Just one yard of fabric and a pillow form will do the trick. One yard of fabric can yield 2 throw pillows at 18 inches by 18 inches. You can also use pre-made fabric napkins or a tablecloth to make pillows too. It's just straight line sewing from there.

Today's post, however, is about the pillow forms. They can be so expensive in fabric or craft stores. Here's a tip to make your own from cheaper bed pillows you can buy at discount stores or ones you may already have.

Come on in to see how easy...

Add a Pop of Color to Your Kitchen...

My kitchen is all white with black counter tops. I love it, because it's so neutral and I can add pops of different colors throughout the year. This winter has been long, full of snow and bitter cold, so after Christmas was over and the house was bare of all decorations, I needed a little splash of color.

I found these fake green apples in Marshall's/TJ Maxx Home Goods. They were even cheaper than buying real apples and these will last forever!! Real fruit is expensive.

Artificial fruit is great now. They look so real.

Little specks, textures and dings to make it look like a real granny smith!!

So the next time you see artificial fruit in a store, take a second look. You'll be pleasantly surprised!!

What do you add to your decor for a pop of color?

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

Cute Shopping Bags are Great for Storage...

You know I love organizing. I REALLY love organizing when it's functional and cute at the same time...and cheap, that doesn't hurt either. My favorite idea that is both decorative and great for storage are those reusable bags that you find at the register of most stores.  The shopping bags are usually plastic or vinyl type, sturdy, have adorable prints and patterns, come in so many sizes and are usually only $1-$2.00.

Here are some of the bags I have and how I've used them...I bought them all at Michael's Craft store at different times, but I know they still have them.

You can use them for so many things...come on in and see.

Turn a Kitchen Towel into an Adorable Pillow...

Hi everyone! I'm doing a little Christmas decorating early in our daughters' rooms, because we have guest staying in there over the holidays. I can do it early because…1) the girls are on their own now and 2) no one will see it right now and think I'm a looney for putting up trees this early!! Lol I'm not done with the trees yet, but I have done a little sewing. I'll show the full room when I'm finished.

I found awesome kitchen towels in TJ Maxx. They were the perfect color red that I'm using to decorate one of the rooms. When I saw the towels, I knew they were going to be pillows and wall hangings. Here's how the pillows turned out!

Kitchen Towel Pillows made in one minute…

This literally took a minute to make….fold and sew 2 lines of stitching!!

Painting Old Light Fixtures…Before and After

Welcome to another edition of Tool Time Tuesday! Do you have old light fixtures that are still ok in their style or shape, but not so much their color? Well, that is definitely my story….not to mention I don't want to spend money on new ones or spend the time changing them out.

My quick fix…paint!!

This is the old color. It is a bronzy copper color.

Come in to see the small change that made a big impact for me!

Wine Cork Backsplash Finished...

Last week's Tool Time was a wine cork backsplash. You can click HERE if you missed it. In that post, I showed you the process of design and gluing the corks to a mounting board, but I ran out of wine corks. Ebay to the rescue.

I high recommend buying used corks from eBay. This batch came in 2 days and they were great.

Just make sure you buy from a great seller and they offer mostly or all "cork" corks, not synthetic wine corks. Synthetic corks feel like rubber. I have a batch of those and I'm thinking of a different project for those!

This batch had some, but the price was right for the quantity of real cork.

 Come on in and see!!!

Tool Time Tuesday...Wine Cork Backsplash

Hi...and welcome to another Tool Time Tuesday. Today's project is not only a "tool" project, but a recycling one too! I am going to use old wine corks to make a backsplash in a wine cabinet that we have. Funny thing is...we don't drink wine!! My husband and I just can't seem to acquire a taste for it. We do have lots of family functions and holidays at our house, so the wine bar is perfect for family and friends.

Here's a sneak peek at the backsplash...

Here's the "before" wine bar. It's a bottom buffet from my niece and an old hutch top my sister found at a yard sale. Black paint marries the 2 together.

The process for the making the wine cork backsplash is easy...come on in and see!

Drying Hydrangea...

It's that time of year here in the northeast...end of the summer, grass in burning out, autumn just around the corner and it's time to cut the hydrangea. The last few years our hydrangea bushes haven't had many blooms at all, but this year was great!

Here is this year's haul starting to dry.

Courtney's Room..Spray Painting Ideas

Hi everyone. Today I want to share some spray painting ideas. I painted Courtney's room gray before Christmas and made the lined drapes with the duvet covers You can click HERE to see that post if you missed it.

This weekend, I'm trying to finish up a few more projects before Courtney graduates Saturday, May 18th and comes home. I have a few sewing projects left which I'll share with you this week too.

Here's the corner I worked on yesterday.  We had everything, just tweaked them with spray paint. (as a side note, the gray on the walls is all the same throughout the whole room...it just looks like 2 colors with the sunlight)

This is the before picture I found from Christmas 2011 of the pink paint. Great color when she was in middle school through high school, but the gray is much better for a 22 year old. Lol

I have a few painting ideas and one quick craft project for the cork board...so pop in for a visit.

Fabric Hoops Wall Decor...

Hi everyone! Today, I want to share a project with you that I saw on Pinterest. It was from the site Purl Bee. It uses wooden embroidery hoops for wall decor. When I first saw the idea, I already had some older hoops that I had been collecting and some from my mom, but the hunt was on. Every time I saw hoops in yard sales, thrift store or consignment shops I bought them!! They were inexpensive too...50 cents to $3.00 and some were $5.00 for a bag of them.

Here's the wall in my sewing room with all the hoops made with fabric I already had!!

You can make these too. They are very easy and fast to make up. Let me show you the quick steps...

Tool Time Tuesday...Painting Mirrors

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today's Tool Time is about painting...paint primer to be exact. The picture below is the "after" of an area in our home that has been on the "to do" list for 19 years. 

Ok, saying 19 years out loud seems crazy, but we all know how things can get pushed aside for other projects. When you move into a new place, you have so many projects to do to make someone else's house your home. Painting rooms, new flooring, drapery and we even had new additions so my parents could move in with us.

This whole wall is a wall of mirrors and would be a daunting task of removing it and re-sheet rocking.

Well, I finally addressed this problem without much effort or money at all. 

Thrifty Thursday...Free Autumn Arrangement

Hi everyone...just changing things up a bit on Thursdays. I usually have my Thoughts on Thursday, but I'm switching it to Thrifty Thursday.

I know with today's economic times, saving money any where we can is important. I thought I would try to do a weekly post with tips and projects for free or on a budget, using things we already have.

Here's my first tip...free autumn arrangement.

These are just cheap old plastic urns I had in the garage that I spray painted black a long time ago.

Go out in your yard or the woods and trim some branches. There were little leaves and buds still on the branches, so it really added to the look.

Just be careful if you have small children or animals in the house if your branches have berries on them. Maybe just use plain branches if you do.

I placed the branches in the urns...no styrofoam or anything. Cut several little twiggy branches instead of cutting one big one. Adds more depth to the arrangement.

I brought the large urns inside, because I needed something big to fill in the spaces in front of the walls on each side of the window.

I just moved some furniture around in here and didn't have any artwork or pictures for the walls. The branches fill in that space perfectly and they were FREE!!!

Bring something in from outside and see if it works in your home too.

This is great for autumn, but adding little white lights to these branches will work great for Christmas  time too!!

Happy Thrifting,
~Karen~

Another Waiting Room Before and After...

Hi everyone!! A few weeks ago, I shared a waiting room I decorated for the dental office I work in. Click HERE to see that post. Well, I wanted to share the second waiting room I did for our new office. I had so much fun doing both...different styles in each office, because of the style and ages of the buildings.

Here is the before of the room...

and here's the after...

View from inside the room.

This is the same wall on the right above.

Leather club chairs from Target just like the other office.

Dining room chairs from Marshall's.

Table from TJ Maxx and lamps from Marshall's $30 with the shades!!

Little desk from Ikea and thrift store chair. Rug is from Target...I think $80

The windows in this older home are just beautiful. They were hidden behind vertical blinds. The wood trim, crown molding and details are the reason for the different feel than the other office.

This is the kid's corner.

All the accessories are from Marshall's. The wire baskets were all different colors, so I spray painted them a galvanized metal. Aren't the little club chairs so cute.

All the lamps from Marshall's have pretty burlap fabric shades. Love them!!

Great new chandelier to replace an ugly round ball light. This is from Home Depot $80. Just need to turn the seams on the shades, now that I look at it!!

I have a tutorial for these lined drapes coming up.

Double rods and for drapes and sheers. Sheers are from Ikea...$5.00 for a pair!!

Fabric is from Joann's. Needed the coupon, but it came to about $22.00 per yard. I was sick cutting it! LOL

Lined drapes were easier than I thought.

Hope you enjoyed the tour.

I know this is a waiting room, but maybe you can use some of these ideas in your own home.

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Waiting Room Before and After Pictures...

Hello to all...hope you're having a great day! I wanted to share some pictures of a waiting room remodel I did a few months ago. I am a dental hygienist and work in a wonderful office with great people and the best boss who let me redo the waiting room.

Here are some before and after pictures for you. I know what you're saying...I don't live in a waiting room, how would these help me in my own home. The answer....paint. Well, paint and all new furniture, but paint is big.

Here's the before...forgot to take a picture of it with all the old furniture, but it was just tired.

Here's the after...looking in the same corner

Before...

After!!

These are some of the specifics. FYI...you have to put all this furniture together yourself!

• 2 club chairs from Target...2 pack for $300. Color espresso
• dining room chairs...2 pack for $160. Color espresso
• rug form Ikea...$149
• coffee table from Target...$140. Color dark espresso
• round side table...TJ Maxx for $80

2 Kids ottomans...Target $100. I know, but so cute!! and I just love it when I see a little one sitting on them.

Kid's Toy Corner...

Small shelf...Target for $70.

• Wire baskets form Marshall's and TJ Maxx for $8.00 each, but they were all different colors, so I spray painted them silver to match the lamps. Added electrical light covers as name plates for what toys are in the baskets.
• sewed the fabric basket liners to match the lampshades (also from Target)

Found the matching fabric in the kitchen section as a table cloth!!

Here's a before of the red trim :(

Painting tip...PRIME, PRIME, PRIME.

The gray paint is Benjamin Moore called Nimbus Gray. LOVE IT!!

This is the door after.

The valance was an easy project...tutorial to follow soon.

Just fabric sewn with a lining and then stapled to a 1" x 2" board.

then mounted above the window with "L" bracket.

Old pillows covered with more tablecloth fabric.

Lamp from Walmart...shade from Target.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour.

Maybe some of these tips can be used in your home too.

I also did a second waiting room in our other office. I'll post that next week.

Coming soon...2 tutorials on how to make the valance and also how to sew long, lined drapes.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~