It's a Process

Back in December, I began the makeover of my daughter's old room into a guest room. Funny thing, she and her hubby are our only overnight guests, so in many ways, it's still her room. I forgot to take a "before" picture of the room until after the furniture had been moved. I did take a picture of the previous wall color. Yes. It was purple. It was my daughter's favorite color years ago. Yes. I am responsible for the decorative paint technique. Hey, at least it helped to camouflage all of the flaws on the walls from a lousy plaster finish (thanks to the previous owners).We built that peg shelf specifically for our daughter. As you can see it's up close to the ceiling and runs the length of two walls. It used to be lined with photos of a her and her dates at high school dances. The pegs below were used to hang and preserve the bouquets of flowers she received from many boys. She's an incredible young woman! Beautiful, spiritual, intelligent, positive, giving, and happy are only a few words to describe her. For several years now, when asked how she is, her reply is always, "I'm happy! Thank you." I am blessed to be her mother!
It was so fun to surprise her and her cute hubby with a nice room when they came to visit at Christmas. The room wasn't 100% finished but it was nice enough with it's freshly painted walls. It's still not finished. Usually, for me, giving a room a make over is a process. I think about it for a while. Then I try to gather a few things as I shop thrift stores. I start the job by painting the walls, and then the process begins to slow, as I try to figure out exactly how I want the finished room to look. This is where I drive my family crazy! In fact, one of my sons has a term for our home. He calls it "the house of unfinished dreams." I'm thinking of making the saying into a plaque to hang above the front door. But before I start that, maybe I'll try to finish a few other projects. One of my projects is to paint that green headboard a creamy white. Another is to do a technique on those flawed walls, then there's a table that needs a new top. Ahhhh! so many projects, so little time! Yep, it's a process to finish the house of unfinished dreams.

Knob Snob

I've been searching through my stash of knobs. I like to buy interesting knobs when I find them at thrift stores, and when they're on sale or clearance at craft and hardware stores. Knobs can be pricey, that's why I'm always on the lookout for good deals.
Changing knobs, and other hardware, is the easiest way to update a piece of furniture or the cabinets in your home. I always advise people to change out their knobs and pulls to give their home a more up-to-date look. Even if you can't afford to buy new hardware, you can afford a can of spray paint. All you need to do is take off your old hardware and give it a really good cleaning. Apply a coat of good primer. When it's dry, apply a couple of coats of one of the metallic finish spray paints. You'll be amazed at how different your cabinets look with updated hardware.
I like to change the hardware on my furniture too, to give it a bit more character.
I've changed the knobs on my antique sideboard.I put an over-sized knob on my entry table.I changed the hardware on the armoire in my bedroom from this:(Seriously, how can you pull open a big ol' door using that little thing)
To this:Today I changed out the knobs on a dresser in the guest room that belonged to my grandmother. Doesn't it look pretty sitting in front of those gray walls. Am I going to paint it? Not on your life! As much as I love painted furniture, I want this piece to look close to what it did when my grandmother used it. Years ago, when this dresser was in our master bedroom, I loved the look of the white porcelain knobs. My decor, at the time, was a little bit country. Now I want to give the dresser knobs that are more classic and traditional.

Lucky for me, I found a bag of antique glass knobs.
These are the real deal, not reproductions. A little bit of work and few minutes later,
and grandma's dresser looks so much better! Ahh, for the love of knobs!

Small Room, Small Touches

I love a linen closet full of pretty, white towels! It makes me smile every time I open the closet door. However, I don't really enjoy having white towels adorning my towel rods. Because my bathroom colors are very neutral, I like to bring in an accent color using towels. I change the towel color depending on the season, month, or my mood. For January I had an aqua towel with a brown towels along with a little aqua colored snowflake in the windowsill. I use those same brown towels during the fall months with along with deep red towels. The red towels work for Christmas and Valentine's day too. I don't need a bunch of different colored towels, just a few basic colors that can be mixed together for different combination's of color.
If you don't want to change your towels, then change the accessory that sits on the counter or shelf. Try tying a pretty seasonal ribbon around a towel or accessory. Look! I even hung a few Valentine's hearts on the shower curtain using fancy paper clips. At Christmas time I do this same thing with jingle bells.
You may think this is a bit odd, but I think that the bathroom is the one room where you have to sit for a while during your busy day, so why not change the decorations in it, the way you do the more public places in your home? Go ahead! Freshen things up, make your bathroom a pretty place, and have fun decorating it just as you do other rooms in your home.

A Sweet Thought

Wouldn't this little tree look beautiful covered with handcut hearts containing handwritten sentiments of love to and from each member of my family, each handtied with pretty satin ribbon?

YES! It would!

But in a home where the males outrank the females four to one, it's just not going to happen. So this will have to do.***UPDATED to ADD: I found the sweet tree at the thrift store, but you could easily make your own with a branch from the yard, painted white and stuck in an urn with stryofoam or plaster of paris.***

Candlelight and Romance

Nothing creates the feel of romance more than candlelight. Candles are an easy way to decorate for Valentine's day.
But I am here to admit that I rarely light my candles. (GASP!!!)Sure, if I know I'm going to stay in the same room as the burning candles, I light them up. And we have a tradition of having lit candles every Sunday on our dinner table. But on a normal day, or evening, the only candle you'll find burning in my house is the scented one on the kitchen stove.That's why electric candles make me so happy. In the morning I can flip the switch on, and enjoy the "candle light" without the fear of my home catching on fire.I know there are designers and candle purists out there who would say that the glow looks fake and it's not the same as the real thing. Hey! Since when do we have to listen to the "experts" when decorating our home?!!?
I say if fake candles, fake plants, fake bricks, fake eyelashes, fake whatever, makes you happy, then

ENJOY it! EMBRACE it! CELEBRATE it!

Being happy with your home depends on YOU,
not on any so called "expert".Now, I will get off my soapbox
and sit and enjoy the glow of my fake candlelight.

A Sweet Little Favorite

These are my favorite Valentine's day decorations.They are vintage cards that belonged to
my grandmother.I displayed them in a combination of dollar frames and
a, used to be brass but now spray painted white,
vintage frame.I combined several small cards in
a large frame we made from moulding.Aren't they simple and sweet?

A Craft You'll Love

Let's make a sweet little decoration

for Sweetheart's day!

First, gather your supplies. You will need:
Scrapbook Paper
Scissors and Glue
Ribbon
Paint
A Glitter Heart (Package purchased at WM for $1.50, but you could easily make your own)

Artist Canvas (You can find these in any craft store. These were purchased at WM, 3/$2.50 for 8x10 size. They can be also found in 7x9 sizes at the dollar store 2/$1.)Next, mark and drill two holes on one side of all three canvas panels. Then on one canvas, drill two more holes on the opposite side. If you don't own a drill, you could easily make the holes using a hammer and nail to punch through the canvas.Paint the two canvases with two holes. I used spray paint, but any craft paint will do. Or you could cover them with scrapbook paper.Cover the canvas with the four holes with scrapbook paper.
Glue on a large glitter heart.Cut two large I's and two large U's out of coordinating paper. Stagger the two pieces for a shadow effect and glue them onto the painted canvases.String ribbon through the holes in the canvases to tie all three together.And there you have a sweet, and fairly easy, Valentine's Day decoration!

I love a craft that you can personalize to your own taste!

You could connect the canvases horizontally to have a bigger area for words, instead of letters. You might choose: Be Mine, Happy Valentine's Day, Hugs & Kisses, to name a few. If you have a passion for scrapbooking, you might want to get more decorative.

If I've inspired you to make this sweet little craft,
I'd love to see yours!