Plaid + Dots

{pinterest fun} : {spring apothecary decor}

This is my favorite "pin" of the week - an Easter decoration made with apothecary jars filled with faux Easter eggs from BHG.com.  What I love about this decoration is that it is simple, pretty, colorful and natural.  The apothecary jars would look stunning on a mantel or would shine as your centerpiece for Easter brunch.  Plus, I think you could keep it out as a "spring" decoration and get a little more longevity than only using it for Easter decor.  Isn't it lovely?  Now, I am off to find some apothecary jars...  Ciao!

PHOTO CREDIT: Better Homes and Gardens

 

valentine's day decorations

Miss N is taking a very long nap today... sigh...  a little "me" time is just what the doctor ordered.  My DVR is loaded with Martha Stewart and I am spending the afternoon catching up on Martha and crafting.  With all the Christmas decorations gone, the house feels a little bare- time to make some cute decorations for one of my favorite holidays, Valentine's Day.  The craft du jour is a simple heart banner made from felt...  you can use it as a mantle decoration or do what I did and hang over your glass doors.

It's very simple to make - all you need is a some felt in an array of colors (pinks, reds, white), scissors, picking shears, ribbon and glue.  Cut out a number of hearts in various shapes and sizes.  Layer them (if you choose) and arrange in the order that you'd like them to hang.  Glue them to the ribbon and hang when dry.  Viola, now you have your own Valentine's Day Heart Banner!!  You can use this to decorate a party or simply add a little "love" to your favorite room.  Enjoy!

fall decorating ideas: decorating with mums

I love the fall.  I love the colors, the smells, and the tastes.  One thing that I look forward to the most is decorating for the fall.  There are so many natural items that you can use to enhance your home inside and out that you can really be creative and it doesn't cost a fortune.  Pumpkins, mums, gourds, and hay bales can all be found at your local market or farm stand. 

Fall decorating can be lots of fun!  Every year I put mums out on my porch and it just adds a nice welcoming touch to our entryway.  A few years ago I started using apple picking baskets to hold my mums and they really add a nice touch to my fall decor.

What do you use to welcome the fall?  How do you decorate for the season?  I'd love to hear some new ideas!

welcome pumpkin!

What a cute way to welcome guests to your home!  I just bought this adorable pumpkin door hanging from LisaBees Etsy shop and it's added a little fall cheer to our door.  Check out LisaBees's shop for more cute designs.  

love affair: serena and lily

I am in love with Serena & Lily.  I absolutely adore their bedding, furniture, and designs.  So much so that I decorated Miss N's nursery in the "Kate" collection- it's fresh, feminine and so adorable!  It's a bit of a splurge for nursery bedding but her room just looks fantastic.

Well, when thinking about redecorating the bedding in the master bedroom, I looked to my friends Serena & Lily for inspiration.  Their latest catalog had some beautiful things.  I wanted to keep some of the existing bedding (sheets & accent pillows) and was looking to replace the duvet and shams.  I found two great lines, Ventura and Tess, and bought swatches of the fabric to see how the colors would coordinate with the existing accents and decor.  I seriously think the Tess line was made for our bedroom.  Not only did this bedding work well with the existing accents, but the color matched the paint in the room so well that all I needed to do is put the duvet on the bed and be done.  Sold!  

I purchased the duvet from Layla Grace and it arrived yesterday.  I spent my morning watching the Today show and ironing.  I put the duvet on the bed and the room has been transformed into a relaxing retreat...  I cannot wait to hop into bed tonight with a good book and a cup of tea.  Pure Bliss!

felt crafts : elephant mobile for baby k

There's a little one on the way and Miss N is soo excited to meet Baby K! My sister-in-law is expecting and the little guy will hopefully arrive sometime in mid-September (possibly on Miss N's first birthday!).  As part of my shower gift for the mom-to-be, I made an elephant mobile out of felt to accent her room (side note:  my sister-in-law is decorating the room in a precious jungle theme print, Dylan, by Serena & Lily - isn't this adorable?!).  Here's the finished mobile which hopefully will look just as cute in Baby K's room!

P.S.  The lighting was better outside for the photos :-)
 

 

i heart fabric + making pillows

In my quest to completely overhaul our family room (see previous posts:  changing up the family room), I've decided to swap out my old pillow covers with some new decorative pillow covers that are more fresh and vibrant for the spring/summer seasons.  I searched online a bit and couldn't find what I was looking for... so I bought some fabric, created a simple pattern and started sewing.  Here's the end result:

And here's another view...

And for all you DIYers out there... here's some simple instructions so that you can make your own decorative pillows.. [note: these instructions are for square pillows]

1. Select the fabric of your choice - I bought this fabric at Joann's but I've also found great fabric at Calico Corners, Purl Soho, and other small local boutiques.  
2. Pre-shrink the fabric according to manufacturer's instructions.  Press the fabric so it's laying flat.
3. Measure out the fabric.  This is a simple envelope enclosure pillow.
   1. Front:  Add one inch to the length and width.  So, for a 20x20 pillow, I measure the front at 21x21 inches.
   2. Back #1:  Divide the length of the pillow in half and add 5.5 inches (for seam allowance and provide enough overlap with the envelope).  Add 1 inch to the width.  The measurement for this panel will be 15.5 x 21 inches.
   3. Back #2:  Divide the length of the pillow in half and add 2.5 inches (for seam allowance and hem).  Add 1 inch to the width.  The measurement for this panel will be 12.5 x 21 inches.
   4. Here's a picture of my pieces cut out and assembled.
4. Create a one inch hem on both Back #1 and Back #2.  The length is the area that is hemmed.
5. Match the pieces of fabric together so the patterned sides are facing inwards.  Back #1 and Back #2 will overlap to create the envelope style.  Pin the fabric pieces together around the edges of the pillow.
6. Sew around the entire pillow leaving a 1/2 inch seam.  Cut the corners of the pillow so that it's easier to turn the pillow and get clean edges (making sure you don't cut through the stitches).
7. You're pillow sham is complete and all you need to do now is to put a pillow insert in and your done.  Ta Da!!!  Wasn't that easy?!?!

These are super easy to do and you can quickly change your room with just a little fabric, a pillow insert and some creativity.  Enjoy!!

carpet turned area rug

With our lil girl starting to crawl, we needed a larger area rug for our living room.  Well, I am excited to let you know that we found it!  

The size I was looking for was 11x15 which is not a standard size for an area rug.  So, I was on the quest to find a soft, large and cool area rug that didn't cost a fortune.  I surfed and surfed and surfed for days looking for a custom rug that wasn't crazy $$$$.  Well, on a trip to our local carpet store, Avalon, I discovered that you can get any carpet bound into an area rug for a fraction of the cost.  JACKPOT!  Well, I found a piece of carpet that I loved... we had it bound and now it's hanging out in our family room.  It is amazing how much larger our family room looks now that we've added a larger rug and changed the layout a little bit.  I love it!

Here's a recent pic of our family room transformation.. it's coming along and we still have a few more things to do.  Stay tuned for more changes to the decor in the coming weeks!

 

One thing you'll also notice is that we have new wood blinds.. so happy to finally have some "real" window treatments (which we got a Smith + Noble).

soon to be crawling baby = new area rug!

Well, we've made a bit of progress on updating the decor in the family room.  The new chair was delivered  - HOORAY!  [See first post to see the chair : Changing up the family room..]  We absolutely love this chair and are so happy with the purchase [Thanks C+B!].

In the past few weeks our little girl has turned into a little mover and is on the brink of crawling.  We desperately need a new area rug so that it'll cover enough of our floor for the lil crawler.  So...  the search for the perfect rug has begun!