home decor

Tuesday’s Space- Christmas Mantel

12 Dec 2012

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Tuesday’s Space, a day late, but I don’t think you will mind, right? As I mentioned last Tuesday, my living room mantel has been bugging me. After about 10 attempts (yes, 10!) I think I finally got it where I want it.

Here is the final mantel. This is completely different than when I started. Most is thrifted and repurposed items. The wreath was used outside on my front door a few years ago. The bulbs on it are mostly from the Dollar Store and were hot glued and tied together in clusters of two to three bulbs each. I rescued the red ribbon from the bottom of a storage bin. It’s been a few years since it has seen sunlight, but with a little bit of steam, it is as good as new. To the left, I repurposed my thrifted pewter vase (not bad for a $2 investment) and filled it with some faux berries I had purchased a few years ago. To the right are the three candle sticks I thrifted last year and a deer candle holder that was actually thrifted at the same time (not sure why I didn’t show you guys!) To give a  nice layered effect, I used different size bulbs, while adding some interest with different colors and finishes. Our stockings are a few years old now, purchased from Target. I added a bit of visual weight with a simple garland hung under the mantel. On the hearth, there are two silver vases I purchased from the Pottery Barn clearance section years ago. I think I paid under $20 for both. I decorated them with some bells hung from ribbon purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. I also added a little flair with some bulbs and greenery. Ahhh, and I think it’s finally done!

How are your mantels coming along?

By: Category: Spaces Tags: , , , , ,

Tuesday’s Space – Decking the Halls

5 Dec 2012

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We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home, spending most of it decking the halls adding some Christmas spirit! There’s something about taking those dusty plastic bins out from the attic that fills me with anticipation. The last few Decembers, the magic has been magnified by my favorite helper.

He and Daddy put together our Scrooge village. This is the first year he really understands the story A Christmas Carol. He was very careful to put the ghost of Christmas future pointing at Scrooge himself, right in front of his house. At night, he sits in front of each house and tells the whole story.

Decorating the mantel is always my favorite part. I know it should be the Christmas tree, but I just love how the stockings look dangling between the garlands and lights. This year, I struggled with the mantel. I pulled it all apart three times before settling on a set up I liked. I am still not sold on it, but as my husband said “Sara, walk away from the mantel!” The advent stockings I made last year are just adorable. This year, they are filled, for a very lucky boy, with Lindt Christmas chocolates.

I also finished a few of my bells. I had planned on giving these out as gifts, but they are just so darn cute and match our Christmas tree so well, I decided to keep them. Maybe next year I’ll knit more for friends and family!

What decorations are decking your halls? Please leave a link to a “Tuesday Space” post on your blog, and we can all gain a bit of inspiration!

Happy Decorating!

By: Category: Spaces, The Pomegranate Chronicles Tags: , , ,

Thrifty Thursday – Toy Chest

29 Nov 2012

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The final piece Griff’s boys space room was missing was a toy chest for all those rocket ships and aliens. On my weekly trip to the thrift store, I stumbled upon this beauty.

It looked to me to be a handmade wooden box for storage. The only issue it had was one broken hinge. It came home with me for $10.00. I purchased it to transform myself, but my dear husband had the week of Thanksgiving off, and was not only completing the stuff on his “Honey Do” list, but also tackling the projects on mine. I didn’t mind so much. It was cute to see him trying to see the vision I saw in the box. First, it would take a new coat of paint. We picked a burnt orange to match the accent sheets on the bed and the big planet on the wall.

I purchased the cheap paint, and it took 4 coats to actually cover the red. Dear Hubby also changed out the hinges to larger more durable ones and painted the top black to match the rest of the furniture. Once all was dry, we moved it into the space.

It fits perfectly at the bottom of Griff’s bed. Price: $10.00, paint and hinges $9.00, total investment: $19.00. The whole room has really come together. It is so gratifying when a vision comes out better than you expected, isn’t it?

Now, to get to hemming those darn curtains!

Any good thrifts lately?

 

 

 

By: Category: Spaces, Thrifting Tags: , , , , , ,

Tuesday’s Space – Outta This World

20 Nov 2012

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We have been working hard on our new space. Griff’s room is no exception. We ordered these space themed decals from the amazingly talented Danette from Studio Wall Art. She has a bunch of creative themed decals (a MUST to check out!) It took a while to place them. We cut them out and placed them around the room with painters tape before settling on this configuration.

Okay, I have to admit, I cheated on the bed, I purchased this space themed quilt from Target. It is complete with space ship pillow and orange accent pillowcases (the extra sheets were $7.49 on the clearance rack). Not to worry, the quilt I made him, is still under this one, keeping him warm and snugly. Still to do? I need to hem those blue curtains, they are just too long. I will use the left overs to make a valance for the window on the other side of the room that you can’t see. I also have a few projects to show you that we thrifted and upcycled to make this room perfect. Stay tuned for those posts!

So what do you think?

What spaces are you working on?

By: Category: Spaces Tags: , , , ,

Tuesday’s Space – New Carpet

13 Nov 2012

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Last Friday, we got our new carpet installed in our upstairs space. We moved in this weekend and are slowly settling in. We can’t help but feel like it’s a new house. It’s more than we could have expected and just doesn’t feel like it’s really our home!

I’ve had a frustrating weekend trying to find curtains and shades. It’s not like it use to be. I am not sure why, but it seems everyone wants you to special order them. I finally found a cost effective option at Lowe’s with some cellular blinds that can be cut to order on the spot. I am still trying to decide on what color to choose and what (if any) curtains should be added with them. It’s so exciting deciding on all the final touches. Moving in has put some pressure on me to finish my quilt, the bed is in a big need of updated linens!

What are you working on?

By: Category: Spaces Tags: ,

Tuesday’s Space – All Hallows’ Eve

25 Sep 2012

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My son’s favorite holiday is Halloween. He loves it more than Christmas. He has been obsessed with the costumes, decorations, and legends since he could talk. He’s never been very scared of it and has always had a very good grasp on imaginary vs. reality. He is a creative soul with an amazing imagination. To celebrate him, I started my decorating a bit early this year. Kari over at U-Create turned me onto the printable graphic site by The Graphic Fairy.  This is an amazing site filled with all kinds of printable vintage images and crafty inspiration. I scrolled through the pages and pages of images and found the perfect shots for my mantel.

I started this mantel with a $2.00 thrifted mirror. I painted the frame a glossy black to hid the wear. What I like about this mirror is that it is very old and casts a rippled image, making reflections just a little off. It sets the tone for the spooky display. I then rounded up all the unused frames in my house and printed different skull and bone images from the Graphic Fairy to create an overall theme.

I dug out an old Styrofoam skull that we have had for years and adorned it with a black crow. I added one image with a vintage “trick or treat” message for some color in one of the larger frames. The cracked paint on the frame lends even more creepy to the collection.

Finishing everything off, I added some faux Chinese Lanterns with fall mix and an orange light up tree to reflect off the mirror. Lastly, I added two tall candles on either side of the frames to light during the town’s trick or treat night! We have other areas of the house I decorated as well, but this is by far, my favorite!

How are you decking your halls?

By: Category: Spaces, Thrifting Tags: , , ,

A July 4th Space

4 Jul 2012

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Happy 4th of July! I hope whatever you are up to today, you enjoy every minute. I thought I would share our tablescape for our BBQ today. The best part about this table is that I didn’t pre-plan it. I am always so much more satisfied when something comes together because I was creative than when I planned for it. Do you agree?

Of course, in the world of Pinterest, inspiration has been flowing all week for 4th of July ideas. This table must have stuck in my head. I’ve been so busy, and with the holiday in the middle of the week, it seemed almost impossible to actually execute on any of the cool ideas that I had pinned. But at the last minute, I hit the dollar store in hopes of finding some decorations. They were pretty much out. I was able to grab red place mats and red towel there.  I was stuck with what I was going to do about napkins. I remembered, I had some scrap blue fabric that I thought might work as make shift napkin rings. I ripped strips and tied them around my plain white ones, added some red ribbon and finished it off with a flag (dug out from the bottom of Griff’s toy box). To add more color to the place settings, I used blue water glasses. The centerpiece was made from bits and pieces from other collections around the house. I purchased a bunch of sunflowers at the grocery store while out to get food. I placed them in a newly acquired crystal pitcher then tied it together with some fresh cut geraniums from a hanging plant I have out front and another found flag.  We are only having a small gathering, but sometimes it’s just nice to do it up right!

Happy 4th Everyone!

By: Category: Spaces Tags: , , ,

Tuesdays Space

11 Jun 2012

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We have old built-ins in our living room. There are two smaller windows in the center of them. I have been struggling for years on what to do to anchor them and tie them into the room. Most valances are just too long or large for this space.

When I found some red curtains for the other windows in the room, I decided to purchase one extra panel and take a stab at sewing my own valances. I have seen a few tutorials on how to make them, giving me lots of inspiration. In the end, I did not use a tutorial, but did what I thought would look right. First, I cut the curtain into two 15.5 inch pieces. Then I hemmed it up three inches on each side. This left a finished length of 9 inches, keeping them short enough to add color, but not block the sun coming in through the windows.

Making two ties with some left over fabric from my studio project (you know how much I love this fabric!) gives it a custom feel. The ties are sewn to be one piece bands and were installed over the curtain to be 8 inches (an inch smaller than the curtain) to create a bit of a drape in the fabric.

They came out great giving the whole room a more polished feel. I plan on making some pillows to match and am also contemplating adding the same green fabric to the edges of the red curtains on the other windows. There’s always another project out there, isn’t there?

Happy Sewing!

By: Category: Sewing, Spaces Tags: , ,

Never Fear the Power Tools

26 May 2012

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You may remember my hallway make-over last year. It really added a lot of functionality to the hall for us, but soon started to look more like this:

The shelf I had added above the coat rack was terrible. It never worked quite right, and every time you pulled a jacket off the rack, the lightest tap on it would send all the items tumbling onto our heads. So I took it down and added these pictures, but I never really liked the frames much. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was time to go back to the drawing board. I couldn’t find a shelf I liked, so I decided to make one myself. I went to Home Depot and purchased 3 boards – a 8 inch, 3 inch and 2 inch. They were only 4 foot sections so they fit just fine in my car to bring home.

First, I measured out my space to be sure I could get the shelf to work. I measured out 8 inch sections of wood (to match the width of my shelf top board) on the two inch board and put them quickly through the miter saw.  These are the pieces that hold up my shelf.

I then pre-drilled two holes in each 2 inch piece. Next, I measured my shelf top to be the same size (wall to wall) of the space in my hallway and cut it down to the right size with the circular saw.

Next, I cut down the 3 inch board. This will be the front of my shelf and hide all the other pieces to give it a finished look. I secured the 3 inch board to the front of the shelf top using some carpenters glue and brad nails. Then I found some old paint that I thought would work in the space to add color to my shelf.

I also painted the two smaller pre-drilled pieces.

After everything was dry, I used a screw gun to screw the 2 inch boards directly to the wall. I was sure all was level.

Then I simply slipped the top shelf right over the top of the 2 inch boards.

With a little cosmetic help, filling, sanding and painting the anchor holes from the old shelf, I got this:

Yay. I think this space is finally done? Maybe? I’ll keep you posted!

 

By: Category: Spaces Tags: , ,

Tuesdays Space – Fall Mantel

Tuesdays Space – Fall Mantel

4 Oct 2011

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After seeing this great post from Sleepy Time Gal, I was inspired to work on my Fall Mantel. I had an image in my head of what I wanted the mantel to look like. The first project on my mind was to create a Fall Inspired Fabric Banner. So a trip to Joann’s fabric sale last week found these great fall fabrics.

I wasn’t sure exactly how to get the banner I wanted, so I just went with it. I printed out “Harvest” in a traditional font on computer paper to scale. I traced each letter onto a dark brown felt and cut them out.  I then cut out [14] 8″ (at the top) triangles and matched up the colors to be complimentary.

I sewed each letter onto the right side of the banner triangles.

Then sewed the “V” of each banner (right side in), flipped them inside out and ironed flat.

Then it was onto a matching 1/2 inch bias tape in the solid color.

I applied the bias tape by pinning to the back side of the bias tape and sewed in the “gutter”. This affixes the triangles together.

Then flipped the bias tape over and pinned to do the finishing touch.

One last pass through the sewing machine and it is done!

 

To complete my Fall Mantel, some fall arrangements (made by Griff, me and some faux fall flowers from Joann’s), some candles and of course, some faux pomegranates (how could I resist?)

Join me in “Tuesday Space”. What are you working on for Fall Decorations? Organizing your home? Table center pieces? Small projects? Big projects? Please share your post (and inspiration) in the comments here.

Happy Decorating!

 

 

 

 

 

By: Category: The Pomegranate Chronicles Tags: , ,
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