Friday, March 7, 2014

Five Friday Faves

Hello, friends, it's Friday again!

Maybe it was taking the day off on Monday due to the stomach bug from hell, but I am pleasantly surprised to see Friday here so quickly.

We've got quite a few plans for this weekend, including but not limited to:

Helping my sister paint her little one's nursery (!!!)
Visiting Peyton's pre-school for an open house event
Getting starting on installing coat hooks in the mudroom
Going to the Atlantic City Home and Garden Show

Whew. I know I am forgetting something and I am tired just thinking about it, but I do love busy weekends.

On to my five faves for the week. Enjoy!


I love a lot of things about this photo, but mostly I am loving the bar cart and those curtains! Sewn-on triangles in fun colors liven up a plain curtain panel like no one's business. I think these would look awesome in a big girl or boy's room.


Big ol' vine bunnies?! Pottery Barn kids, why?! My husband will never see the need, but THESE ARE SO DARLING. When I got my PB Kids catalog I'm pretty sure I stared at them for about ten minutes, rationalizing a purchase.


I love these cheerful little trinket dishes. They are too much fun!


I just cannot. So. Much. Cute.  I want to give it all the snuggles.


I love this Smith & Hawken boot tray from Target. Admittedly, this would have come in super handy this Winter, but I think it might find a home in the mudroom just in time for Spring.

That's it out of me for the day. Time to get on with Friday and get this weekend party started!

Anyone working on any projects this weekend? Share in the comments!




Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A Look Back at February

You guys.

I was totally priding myself on not having been sick since the start of the New Year. Everyone else was sick: Peyton, Denny, family members, every one I work with. I mistakenly gloated a wee bit too much last week and was smacked with a stomach bug the likes of which I have never seen over the weekend.

Karma, friends. Sometimes it's not good.

Anyway, I feel guilty about skipping my Monday post because I wanted to share my seed starting adventures with you (and maybe start a share-as-I-learn gardening series?), but I guess that might have to wait for another day because there are pictures to be edited and an entire post to write on that topic.

As for today, let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? A lane of short-term memory, if you will--February.



I think February was a good month for me. Around the middle of the month, I finally decided that my winter doldrums were not just going to go away on their own and I had to kick them out myself by getting my hands dirty and picking up the paintbrush again. This set the tone beautifully for March, because you know what time it is: Mudroom Makeover month!

I'm so excited to get started this weekend and share all the gory details with you, but let's take a look back at February: a glance in three acts:


This is where the vision for the month of March started: right here with this mood board. The room is already painted, it's just waiting for me to get on with it, already. I'll be building some wall hook boards this weekend and installing them, so yippeee! for this project officially being underway. Wanna check out the deets? See my mudroom inspiration mood board here.


My Wooden Ladder Turned Blanket Rack was a project saved from the "almost trash" pile in my garage and upped the cozy factor in my living room while at the same time giving me a place to store blankets without them being crumpled, sloppily draped messes on my couch.


The DIY Spoon Art Pottery Barn Knockoff is one of my favorite projects to date, I think. Not only did I get a look I was seriously pining for in my kitchen, but I was able to do it AND save $185 in the process. Not too shabby, huh? This project was also featured over at Knock Off Decor, which kind of made my day/week/month/year.

So, how was your February? Anyone staying healthy? Who is looking forward to Spring?

I know personally, I am more than ready for Daylight Savings Time--an extra hour of daylight starting Sunday--yeeeeah!

Wanna see where I party? Click here for an awesome list of link parties I participate in..

Also linking up to:
Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo

Friday, February 28, 2014

Five Friday Faves

It's Friday, everyone!

Given that the week was just a whirlwind of stuff to do, I'm looking forward to taking it easy peasy this weekend. I might go ahead and start some seeds for my garden and keep shopping materials for my mudroom makeover, but really that's about it. Next weekend will officially commence with the mudroom makeover (shall I absolutely render myself completely ridiculous with titling this series of events "Mudroom Makeover Madness" for the month of March? Time will tell, I suppose) and then we'll really be rocking and rolling!

Here are my five faves for the week. Enjoy!


It's pretty apparent that Old Awful Man Winter isn't letting us out of his grip any time soon (more snow on Monday?! Say it ain't so!), so I think these knit poufs are the perfect way to up the cozy factor in your living spaces in the meantime.


Jonathan Adler for TOMS?! YES. Saw these in my inbox yesterday and almost fell out of my chair. These are perfect for Spring! You know, whenever it decides to get here.


I think these prints by Sullivan Elaine Anlyan for Anthropologie are awesome. They'd look great in the vision of my bedroom I have in my head for the future and I daresay that they'd look super amazing in a nursery (do you hear me, sister?! Get on this!). Also: anything bunny gets me every time.


Gold antlers for all your sparkly/dangly-thing hanging needs? Don't mind if I do. Supporting handmade businesses? Double don't mind if I do.


Are you following me on Instagram yet? I'll forgive you if you aren't yet, but you totally should ;) Even though it feels like -2649668714 degrees out, I am forever loyal to my giant hazelnut iced coffee, cream no sugar. We've been changing our diets pretty drastically at our house, but this is one thing I can't quit.

Happy weekend, all!


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

You're the Best

It's Hump Day, friends, and that means we're halfway through another week, slowly creeping closer to Springtime (just kidding, it's snowing), and most importantly, it's almost to the weekend!

How's your week? Mine's been NUTS! Monday was full of work and a PTO meeting at Peyton's preschool, Tuesday was full of work and bloggy things (Hi to new friends who came over from Knock Off Decor!), and here we are on Wednesday and I plan on taking it e-a-s-y. After the 9 to 5, of course ;)

I was thinking the other day how much I enjoy sharing things with you on this space. Readers, you are the best bunch a girl could ask for! In just six months my little blog has grown by heaps and bounds already, and I look forward to growing it even more in 2014.

So thanks, friends, for being the best! You give me the most wonderful reason to come here and chatter away.

If you want to check me out on your favorite social media platforms, you can find shenanigans here:

Facebook

Instagram

Google+ (still learning this one, but who isn't?)

Pinterest

Bloglovin'

Twitter (honestly, Twitter escapes me, but feel free to follow for an occasional tweet from me. They are rare and elusive).

See you on Friday for my Five Friday Faves and next weekend officially starts Mudroom Makeover Month! I hope you'll follow along for the ride.

Let me know where you hang out on social media in the comments and I'd love to follow back!




Monday, February 24, 2014

DIY Spoon Art {A Pottery Barn Knockoff}

Happy Monday, all!

I'm super excited about this project I have to share with you today because it's a pretty fun Pottery Barn knockoff that is SUPER easy to do. I've had my eye on this piece from Pottery Barn for weeks and I'm SO GLAD I didn't have to part with $200 to have the look in my home.

Ready? Let's go!

First off, the inspiration:


This is the Spoon Shadow Box by Pottery Barn and I loooove it. What I don't love, however, is that it's $199 plus shipping and it measures 30" square. While the price hurts, the fact that I don't have that much wall space in my kitchen hurts, too.

I thought it would be easy peasy to replicate in a scale that suits my kitchen, and as luck would have it, it worked out perfectly!


The best part? It cost me $14--and truth be told, I overestimated how much linen I'd need, so it very well could have cost me less.

It fits in my kitchen AND saved me at least $185? That is what I like to call a win-win, friends.

Let's get down to our supplies:


 To copy this look, you'll need the following:


  • A frame...or two. I actually made two of these, the second I am yet to hang. I snagged these at the thrift store for $2.99 each. You can easily find a frame that is big enough or small enough for your space. If you want a spend a few extra dollars, you could even go all out with a shadow box.
  • Spoons. As many as you think you can fit in your frame of choice. I picked these up at the same thrift store, four for $1.00. There are seven here, so I spent a little less than $2.00.
  • Linen fabric, ironed. I went with the linen because I really was going for the same look as Pottery Barn, but you could easily choose a fabric that suits your personality and decor. Personally, my next choice would have been burlap. Because I overestimated how much fabric I'd need, I wound up spending about $7.50 on this fabric with a 40% off coupon at Joann Fabric, but I totally could have saved some money by getting less fabric. Luckily, I do have plans for what fabric is left.
  • Not pictured: hot glue gun, sawtooth hanger, and craft paint (I picked black, but again--you could totally pick a color that matches your kitchen)
To start, I removed the backs of the frames, tossed the glass, and kept the cardboard backing. The cardboard is what we'll use to mount our spoons. If your frame is missing it, a piece of foam board or cardboard from around the house cut to size will do the trick.

I gave each frame a quick coat of black craft paint. Nothing too perfect, because I knew I'd be distressing it slightly.



While your frame dries, cut your fabric. I used my cardboard as a rough guide:


Then you'll want to wrap your cardboard with the fabric. Think wrapping a present while you do this--it'll keep your fabric neat. Also: try to pull your fabric as tight as you can while not bending your cardboard. You don't want any fabric sagging with the weight of the spoons added.


Then, you'll want to insert your fabric-wrapped cardboard back into your frame, either using the tabs on the frame, or using hot glue. I did both, just to be safe.

Then you'll want to situate your spoons to find a layout you like best. It helps to do this before you start getting hot and heavy with the glue gun.

It just wouldn't be a craft tutorial without my kitchen floor showing up in there somewhere.
Also, forgive the change in lighting. This was an evening into the next day project, but really only took an hour, total.

Once you have a layout that tickles your fancy, glue those babies down! I put some glue at the lower bottom of the actual spoon part, and another bead of glue at the end of the handle. Use some pressure to help the glue get through the fabric and onto the cardboard for a little more stability. This is where pulling your fabric tightly comes in handy--if the fabric is not pulled tightly enough, the fabric will pull away from your cardboard with the weight of the spoons.

I added a sawtooth hanger to the back of my frame. Looking back, adding the hanger would have been easier BEFORE I added the spoons since I couldn't lay my frame flat to install the hanger properly.

I hung it over my pantry door. I love the high end look and I love that I spent a fraction of the price.

Granted, this isn't the same size as the Pottery Barn piece, and it's missing the glass front, but I'm okay with creating a version that suits my home.


That itty bitty baby spoon on the far right? It kills me.

And that's it! A super easy project that saves you a few bucks. 185 bucks, to be exact.

What were you up to this weekend? Any projects going on in your neck of the woods?

Wanna see where I party? Click here for an awesome list of link parties I participate in..

Also linking up to:
Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo