Bright Idea

Recently my traveling partner (aka my mom) and I visited the Southern Living Idea House in quaint Senoia, Georgia. The four story, Savannah-style row home is filled with ideas, design, and finishing touches in every nook and cranny. While I'm not in the market for building a new home, renovating my own, or even getting new furniture, for that matter, I was in heaven. I think I looked at each room twice and touched every piece of furniture as many times. The house had such a cozy, comfortable feeling. Nothing was too stuffy or formal, yet no detail was left undone. Pictures aren't allowed inside which is too bad, but certainly understandable.

After our tour of the home, we made our way to downtown. The downtown area is just around the corner from the site of the SLIH. What a charming area this is. Shops filled with antiques, home furnishings and gifts line the streets. Add to that mix restaurants, bakeries, and such and you've got yourself an afternoon full.

A Wreath for Wednesday

You may remember this wreath. Well, it just wasn't doing it for me. So, I added a little ribbon and few fakie flowers. Much better now.

Master Bedroom Makeover: Take 3

Well, this makeover began just after Christmas when I got new bedding, here's take 1. Then I added some new lamps and a mirror for take 2. And, it has taken me until now to get to this stage.

Finally, thanks to my sister, I've added curtains. She bought the curtains from Ikea, but ended up not using them. I just had to hem them up-these are the kind that come with hem tape so you can hem them to the length you need. I was a little hesitant of this at first as I'm not so great at reading directions, but I figured it out just fine.

I'm enjoying the curtains more than I realized I would. They block out just enough light so we can still sleep in when we get a chance and they make the room feel cozy. I guess they make the room feel more finished. Still to come, though, something for above the bed. And, I really want new paint for the walls, but no plans for either of those just yet.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

To celebrate the end of the school year, I made a this cake, from here. It turned out perfectly and my kiddos were so excited to taste the rainbow!

The colors were so bright and vibrant. I did six layers with the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. It was pretty easy, just a little time consuming. It was totally worth it, though, to hear my kids say how cool it was. Fun and yummy!

Happy Birthday, Sister!

Today is my sister's birthday! She is amazing and I'm thankful to call her my sister! Hope this is your best year ever, Sister! I love you more than you'll ever know!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today is my mama's birthday. I'm looking forward to celebrating with her tonight. She is a wonderful mother and friend. I am so thankful for her!!!

Happy Birthday, Mama! I hope your year is filled with much joy!

tassels with the nester

Nester is having a tassel party today, so I'm joining in. During the Christmas season, I posted here about a couple of tassels that I made. Since then, I've made a few more. What a great project-especially if you need instant gratification like I do.

This tassel I made using a small cross ornament that I found at Hob Lob during the holiday season. I screwed the bottom of the cross to a candle cup (also found at HL). Then I just glued fabric and ribbon at varying lengths inside and around the candle cup. To finish it, I added trim around the top (to hide the candle cup) and a ribbon to hang it with.

This one is fun with all the pink and green. I made it to coordinate with a friend's nursery.

And, this one I made using ribbon and some left over scraps of fabric.

If you need a quick, cheap, easy project that adds a fun touch to your home, give this a try!

butterflies

Loving butterflies these days! The hubs got these for my birthday last year. Since it was near the end of summer, I saved them for this spring. They are hanging in our carport currently. Although, I am considering moving them inside because I like them so. They are made of metal and have just the right amount of chipping paint and rust. Did I mention how much I like them?

Happy Easter!

I am so thankful for the celebration of Easter. Not the bunnies and eggs, but the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior!

this is no joke!

This is not an April Fool's joke, it is, in fact, a real post. I know it may seem hard to believe since it has been well over a month since my last one. I'm happy to say the sunshine has been a welcomed guest here. And, with the arrival of the sun and warmth, I think I feel my creative energy kicking in. Here's to hoping anyway.

I don't usually post too much about my job as a teacher, but this little project is something I'm proud of. A couple of weeks ago we had a special day at school. This day is intended to expose our students to art, culture, etc. Parents and other members of the community come and share in this special day. I chose a Parisian theme-with a little VanGogh art and bistro style tablescape.

We also made tissue paper flowers in symmetrical vases. I was so proud of how well my students did with their artwork. I have so many little artists! The projects were fun, but I quickly realized why I'm not an art teacher.

birdie

This weekend I picked up this little bird's nest fern. Love the color, shape and texture-love it all! This is the perfect addition, as I spruce things up, for spring around our nest.

sunshine and spray paint

Finally, enough sun and warmth to get outside and do a little spray painting. I've had this project in mind for a little while. I decoupaged my L with wrapping paper and spray painted a grapevine wreath. I'm not sure if I like it just yet, I may have to do some adjusting. In fact, I have another idea I might try. But, either way, it felt so good to get outside and my door sure did need something to cheer it up!

Sister See

The cutest addition to Sister's house is this little fellow. Meet Charlie. He's a Yorkie Poo. Isn't he the cutest thing?!?

Have a Heart

Saw this idea here and my mama made them to sit atop the cupcakes I made for my little kiddos (I'm a 2nd grade teacher) for our Valentine's Party. Pretty cute, I'd say. Can't wait to hear what the kids think. After all, they think I make the best cupcakes ever, which is quite hysterical to me. One of my sweet angels even asked me for the recipe-they are straight from the box. So, I'm sure they will be super impressed with these!

Wishful Thinking

I've been thinking about the warmth of spring and summer. I'm tired of this cold, dreary weather. Here in the deep south, it's been an unusually cold and wet winter. I'm normally a fan of cooler weather, but this is just too much. I need to get out in the sunshine and spray paint something. I am ready for green grass, flowers blooming and dinner outside. So, today I looked through my pictures to find something that reminded me of warmer weather. Now, come summer you might have to remind me to be careful for what I wish!

Sister See

It's been awhile since I've shown you Sister's house. She's really got it looking good! One of her latest accomplishments is the bedding for her guest bedroom.

It's pink and green and oh so fun. She mixed in some really cool patterns. She had the bedskirt and artichoke fabric pillow made, she purchased the Euro shams from PB and the white quilt and green bedding came from TJ Maxx.

Now, we've just got to get the rest of the room looking this good! And, I'm afraid that means I've got some projects to finish. Yikes, that list just keeps getting longer. Check back on Thursdays for more from Sister's. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get some of my projects crossed off my list.

Kitchen Hardware

After seeing these knobs at Hobby Lobby, I knew they'd be perfect for our kitchen. Sure enough, they add so much character. We still have several to install-another weekend project. But, I love the new look already!

Master Bedroom Makeover: Take 2

Well, I got new lamps and a mirror for the master bedroom makeover. (You can see Take 1 here.) And, the best part is I used what I had. That's right I didn't spend a dime (well, I guess I did at some point, but not too recently). The mirror I've had for many years and have never used it. It's a little small for the wall, but it works for now. And, the lamps were at Sister's. My mom bought one and I bought the other thinking she might need them in her new house, but turns out we went a little lamp crazy over there and she doesn't need them after all. So, I took them home with me and they fit in just right with the new look.

Slowly, but surely I'm making some progress. Next up, curtains and curtain rod. I'm crossing my fingers that I can get that taken care of this weekend.

Oh yeah, I think I'm going to go back over to Sister's and resume our Sister See Tour. She's had some more work done on her house and a few projects completed since we took our last tour. So, I hope you'll come back Thursday for that.

Smelling Good

I got this pretty little diffuser for Christmas. It smells delightful and the turquoise color is perfect for several rooms in our house. Right now, it's living in the bathroom. I'm thinking when the oil is out it will make a lovely vase, too.

Paperwhites

I bought Paperwhite bulbs and intended to plant them early enough to enjoy their blooms during the holidays. But, it was after New Year's before I got around to getting them planted. And, now a few of the bulbs have already started blooming. I'm glad I waited to plant them. Our house has felt so empty without all the Christmas decor. So, this has been just the touch needed to brighten things up around here.

Master Bedroom Makeover: Take 1

For Christmas Sister got us a new bedding. That means time for a makeover! Actually, our master bedroom has never really been finished. Here are some pictures of how our bedroom looked before the new bedding. Don't get me wrong, this room was just fine before, it just wasn't ever complete-no mirror, not much on the walls, mismatched window treatment. And, the colors in here didn't work well with the colors in the master bath which you can see here.

This new bedding is just what I needed to motivate me to makeover the bedroom and finally get it complete. So, that is what I'm working on now. The bedding is a blue/gray which works so well with our master bath-it really ties the two rooms together.

This is only the first phase, though. Still to go are window treatments, lamps, mirror, wall art, a monogrammed pillow for the bed and maybe even some new paint on the walls. So, stay tuned. Hopefully, I'll have this complete soon!

All a Flutter

As promised, here's a shot of one of my Christmas gifts. Jamie got this cute, metal dragonfly for me. I put it in one of our house plants rather than outside to protect it from rusting. Loving it!

Something Pretty

Oopsie! I did it again. Took a little bloggy break, that is. Not on purpose, though. Well, I'm really going to try to get back in the swing of things so my sweet mother and sister will leave me alone (ha, ha!). Anyway, I've been making some lists (I'm a total list person) of projects I want to complete and possible posts. I've even set some goals for the new year. I hope you'll check back to see how that goes. Later this week, I'll even show you some of the fabulous gifts I got for Christmas. For today, I looked through all my pictures and found this pretty one. It's not new, but it made me feel good on this cold, cold day. Hope you have had a great Monday!