It's Here, It's Here!

I got the drape for the crib bedding I picked out this afternoon!  I put a rush order on it so I could get something done before I went back to work on Monday.  Good ol' Target came through for me and I'm not gonna have to spend an arm and leg, nor am I going to have to do a ton of sewing.  It's Dwell Studio for Target, it's super affordable and it feels great.  I'm going to pick out paint tomorrow and I might make a trip to Hobby Lobby to get supplies for some projects I have planned. I found some red and white striped fabric that I may or may not use for some accessories and accents.  There are two fabric warehouses between Raleigh and Burlington (where the nearest Hobby Lobby is) so I think I'm going to do some more looking.  I'm so excited!  I'll be back to posting in a couple days when I have a project to share.  In the meantime, y'all have a happy New Year!

Make Your Own Throw Pillows

 Visit me at my new blog!

While I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of my crib bedding I thought I'd do a post on a very easy sewing project that can add color, texture and interest to any room.  Throw pillows can be ridiculously expensive, especially when you prefer down/feather filled pillows over the polymysterystuff-that-gets-lumpy ones.  By the time you buy a cover and an insert you're lookin' at at least 30 bucks per pillow and if you're lucky enough to find some at a store like TJ Maxx or Homegoods they might not have enough or they could still be 14.99 a piece.  Most of the pillows I've made have come out to cost about $5 each.  I buy fabric from the $7.99 fabric warehouse.  There's one in Raleigh and Durham.  Then I head to Ross and dig through all of their throw pillows to find down pillows with ugly zip-off covers.  I've bought pillows for $3.  You can't even buy a plain insert for that much.

Then it's time to sew.  I'm not a good seamstress, and there's probably a better way to make covers than the way I do it, but I've found the easiest way is to make covers that overlap in the back so you don't have to mess with zippers or trying to sew it up.  I don't have any pictures with all the details, so I'll give a play-by-play how-to when I make pillows for the nursery.

The pillows in the first picture are in my living room.  Guess which one I didn't make....yup the one with the beads.  It was on clearance at PB.  The pillows in the second picture are on the daybed in our office/music room.  So easy!  I can't wait to get started on the ones for my nursery.  Here's a sneak peak at my inspiration...that pillow is $61!

 

Back to Finding Fabulous

Back to Funky Junk

Disappointing After-Christmas Sales

It feels like it's been quite a while since my last post.  I hope everyone had a nice holiday!  Christmas is officially over at my house...my Christmas decorations are down and everything is back in it's place.  The good thing about having a small house and few decorations is that the process only took about two hours.  Usually I'd leave everything up until at least New Year's day if not later, but I'm in a major time crunch to get my closets and extra bedroom ready for a baby.  I decided on bedding and I'm waiting for it to arrive (it was in Greensboro as of 6:00 this evening!) so I can go pick out paint and start work on ripping off Pottery Barn Kids' room accessories. 

While I've been waiting for my crib bedding to arrive I've been getting ready for Christmas 2010 by trying to track down some good sales.  I had amazing luck last year, but this year has not been so good.  I think retailers learned a lesson from last year's bad economy and cut down big time on the amount of stuff that was stocked.  I went shopping the day after Christmas and could not find a single tree and I've only gotten a few boxes of ornaments.  I'm very disappointed.  Looks like I'm going to be stuck with my Wal-Mart tree next year...oh well.  

 
That's all I got!  If anyone has suggestions on where to get a tree let me know!

Merry Christmas a Bit Early!

Hi all!  I don't have any decorating ideas today because I am exhausted!  I just had a great week with family that ended with an amazing surprise baby shower that was thrown by my best friends.  I've been going non-stop for almost two weeks getting my house ready for an open house and visitors and Christmas shopping (officially done). I can feel myself starting to get sick so I'm taking a big rest 'til after Christmas. 

Here is a very small (maybe 1/16) sampling of all the baking I did:

When I get back my big project will be to get the baby's room done.  I've got less than two weeks until I go back to work and two months until this baby will be here so the clock is ticking!  This is what I have to work with:

Lots of organizing then I have a completely blank slate.  Exciting!

I hope everyone has a relaxing and refreshing Christmas!

Craigslist Inspiration and an Easy Bow Wreath

This mirror is for sale on Raleigh Craigslist right now for only $60!  It's pretty large and it'd look super cute with a new coat of paint.  If  I had somewhere for it in my house I'd be on my way to get it right now.  Some Raleigh reader needs to go get this, and hopefully every one else will be inspired to take a quick look through Craigslist for some great deals.

I saw this wreath on a store window a couple of days ago and thought it was such a good idea.  They must have gotten their idea from this Real Simple article from last year.  The ones at the store were actually cuter than the one Real Simple had as their example and they used real wreath frames instead of paper plates.  I don't have any children yet, but if I did this would be a really cute project for them to make and put on their bedroom doors.

Thanks!....and More Cheap Greenery

It's been one month since I started rambling on this little blog.  Thanks to my readers, followers and all those who have left comments on the posts and via Facebook!  I really appreciate it...I'm pretty sure I would have been done about three weeks ago if it hadn't been for all to positive feedback.  Thanks again, y'all!

Here are a couple of other places where I've used Costco greenery in my house:

The trees are from Target and Crate & Barrel.  I got them on sale last year.

This is not my favorite, but it makes my unfinished Craigslist mirror look not so unfinished for now.  The ornaments are from Target....also on sale last year. 

These pictures are not great, but I found more cheap greenery at Trader Joe's.  The swag was a mix of different greenery and the wreaths are just like the Costco ones, but smaller and half the price.

New Old Taper Candles

I definitely did not come up with this, but I can't remember where I saw it.  Anywho....I thought this was a great way to use taper candles.  Most people have them laying around and even if you don't they are pretty cheap (these were $.88 each at Wal-Mart...cheaper than a pillar candle).  Mine are tied together with ribbon, but I've seen them just put into glass containers loosely and it looks really good. 

Christmas-ed Out....for the time being...

For the past couple of days...maybe three...I've lost track....I've been baking like a mad woman and preparing our home for guests.  I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  My husband and I are making a trip out to Chapel Hill tomorrow and then to my parent's house, so it'll probably be Sunday before I have anything new to share.  While we're in Chapel Hill we will be doing some Christmas shopping here and then eating lunch here.  Very excited. 

When I get back I have a bone to pick with Southern Living and their definition of "easy" after attempting one of their recipes from this year's Christmas book.  Until I have ample time to vent I'll just keep it to myself.  For now....I still think their decorating ideas are pretty...

Not Too Bad for $29.99 at Wal-Mart

Here's our little tree!  Now there are much more impressive trees out there in blog world, but my goal is not to show off my decorating "talent", but to show off how little money was spent on this thing.  We got it two years ago from Wal-Mart for $29.99...pre-lit.  We will be replacing it after Christmas this year, but for the time being it'll do.  I bought most of the ornaments last year after Christmas.  I think I spent about $50 on over $200 worth of stuff, and since I didn't see them again until almost a year after I bought them it was like an early Chirstmas!  If you're a newly-wed or wanting to change up your Christmas decorations I highly recommend waiting 'til after Chirstmas.  You'll be amazed by how much stuff you can get.  I'm already excited about Christmas decoration shopping on the 26th!  My husband found the planter at Lowes for $9.99.  It was a bit of a headache to get the tree in there, but it covers up most of the pole...all 18 inches of it.

I love my Target ornaments!

My mercury glass ornaments came from Tuesday Morning.

Back to Funky Junk.

I Need Help!

This may be a little premature, because I'm not sure how many people actually read my blog on a regular basis, but if you've never commented before now's the time to do it.  I need advice, suggestions, whatever help I can get.  Here's the deal:  our baby boy is due in less than three months and I have done absolutely nothing to get his room ready for him.  We have a crib in a box.  That. Is. It.  I've had a really hard time finding crib bedding that I like because I'm looking for something that will be able to grow with him for a few years....something that's more boyish than babyish.  I'm not a huge fan of pastels or the red, navy, khaki color pallet.  If I could stomach it I'd spend $360 on this:

...plus the $$$ on the room accessories.  I am cheap and I can't even imagine asking some one else to spend that much money.

I have found a crib sheet and quilt that I like, but it doesn't come in a complete set with bumpers and accessories.  There's no picture of it on a crib, but here's the kid's room: 

I love the colors and I think the print is funny.  If our son is anything like his father, he will also appreciate the goofiness of those monsters  I've found some fabric that matches and I'm willing to do a little sewing to make this stuff work, but I thought I'd ask around before I committed to doing a bunch of work if there was something out there I haven't seen yet.  I don't necessarily need a theme or print....dots or stripes in decent colors would work.  If you know of a store that sells anything remotely close to what I'm looking for please, please, please let me know.

Putting It All Together

I don't have a mantel or built-in bookcases...but I do have a $60 Target bookcase.  This is may attempt to get that Christmas mantel look.  On my Target bookcase you'll see other things that I've already posted about:  framed hymn, wreath stand, and the birch candle.  The wreath is another live wreath from Costco ($14.87).  This one I kept pretty simple by just wrapping lights around it and hanging some ornaments in the middle with brown satin ribbon.  The greenery is also from Costco.  You can get 25 feet of live cedar garland for $14.99. One strand of it went a long way at my little house.  (Live cypress garland, which looks like cedar is $69 for 6 feet at Pottery Barn!)  I think this little vignette could use maybe one more little thing before it's totally complete, but I couldn't wait to share about the Costco garland. 

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to show off my tree and what I found to put it in.  My wonderful husband was searching slickdeals.net last night and found a planter at Lowes for $9.99 that I immediately ran out to buy.  The trick is going to be getting the tree in the planter without destroying it.  I've already broken three ornaments while trying.  Wish me luck!

Back to Hooked on Houses.

Christmas Cloche

Hopefully I'll have my Christmas decorations where I want them by the end of the day...until then...another quick post.  Here's my little cloche with a mercury glass tree I got from Target for about $5.00 after Christmas last year.  I hope my little fern that usually lives under there will survive the holidays in my kitchen.  It probably won't. 

Frame Your Favorite Christmas Hymn

Quick decoration project today because I'm trying to get the rest of my Christmas decorations up so I can get the rest of my house in order.  I've alreay posted about how I've bought books for $1 at Goodwill...well this is another handy use for them.  Amongst the books I've bought is a hymnal.  I simply ripped the page out and stuck it in a $5 frame from Michael's.  It couldn't be easier!

Currently Looking For: Something to Put My Christmas Tree In

Southern Living

I have a 6.5 ft pre-lit tree that my husband and I bought from Wal-Mart a couple years ago when we were still in an apartment.  It has about 18 inches of pole at the bottom of it so really there's only about 5 feet of tree.  It's a mess, but I refuse to go out an buy another one until after Christmas when they'll be 50-75% off.  So this year I'm just going to work with what I got. 

I've seen some great ideas for alternatives to tree skirts this year in magazines and on other blogs, so I'm officially on the hunt for something to put my tree in that will cover a significant amount of pole. 

Country Living

Marley & Lockyer

There's a pretty funny post at The Nesting Place about tree skirts that you should check out.  I totally agree with it.

The Look for Less: PB Framed Corkboard

I'm taking a break from Christmas decorations because mine are still all over the place and I have no intention of doing anything about it 'til this weekend.  Instead I have a quick "look for less."  This corkboard is $149 at Pottery Barn.  

Target and Wal-Mart both carry Board Dudes corkboards that look like this:

The Board Dudes website sells it for $49.99, but Wal-Mart sells it for about $12 and Target sells it for $16.  It's a bit smaller than the PB one at 22x35, but it does the job.  We have one in our kitchen and office. Our refrigerator is visible from everywhere on our first floor, so I like using this in our kitchen for pictures and recipes instead of having things stuck all over our fridge.  The picture is horrible, but here's mine:

I used picture wire and mini binder clips at the top to hang things I didn't want to put holes through.

Paperwhites!

Short post today!  I'm in the middle of a cleaning frenzy and the rest of my Christmas decorations are still scattered all over my house so I don't have a cool project for today.  I do have some pretty pictures of paperwhites, though.  Hopefully they will inspire you to grow your own.  You need to start now if you want 'em blooming before Christmas.

 

 

Target has paperwhite bulbs that come in pretty containers from about $9.99-$14.99 and higher.  If you already have pretty containers you can just buy the bulbs I think they're pretty cheap at places like Lowe's and Home Depot.  I planted some last year and they looked great and smelled amazing.  I'm going to get mine today!  All pictures are linked to their sources.  The third picture is linked to a how-to at realsimple.com

 ***I just got back from Target and the kit I got had 3 bulbs in it and an oblong galvanized metal planter*** for $5.99!

Transformed Costco Wreath

I am covered in glitter and I have sustained minor burns from a glue gun, but I think the result is worth it.  Here is my transformed $15.00 live greenery wreath that I picked up from Costco:

This project was pretty cheap because I didn't have to go out and buy ornaments for it.  All the small ornaments were from the centerpieces at my rehearsal dinner (3 years ago...thanks Miss Sherri) and the larger ornaments were bought last year at 75% off...about $5 total.  This wreath could get pretty pricey if you didn't have some spare ornaments hanging around, but it would be very easy to do on a much smaller scale.  My wreath is 28".  I've seen smaller ones that are very cute and use only ornaments on a coat hanger and no greenery.

I started last night by hot gluing the metal tops to the glass balls.  Apparently if you don't do this they will just pop off.  I strung my ornaments onto floral wire and the result looked like this:

Obviously that's not enought to encircle the wreath.  You have to lay them on the wreath and spread 'em out. 

Once you have them where you want them wrap pieces of doubled up floral wire around the wreath to attach the strand of ornaments.  I probably had to attach it in about 10 different places before I coud hold it up and not have the ornaments sag.    Overall, I'm very satsfied with the look of the wreath especially when I consider that the one at PB is about 80 bucks and smaller. 

Here's the link where I found this idea.  That wreath uses a coat hanger and just ornaments.  Bending a coat hanger didn't sound like fun to me.  The floral wire was very easy to work with.

Back to The Inspired Room!

 Back to Funky Junk!

Christmas Mess

This is the current state of my living room:

Yikes.  I have until December 10th to get everything the way I want it.  I think I can do it.  Currently I'm working on making my Costco wreath look like it didn't come from Costco.  Hopefully I'll have a cheap wreath project to show off tomorrow.  This is my inspiration:

We'll see how it turns out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Y'all have a good turkey day.  I'll be back Saturday with all my Christmas decorating adventures!

Pretty Pomegranates

I don't use a ton of red in my Christmas decorations, but if I did this is how I would do it.  I love this look.  Some of these seem like they could be pretty easy to recreate with some fresh greenery.  All the pics are linked to their sources!

I've seen pomegranates for about $2.50 each at most grocery stores, but I saw them for $1.29 each at Trader Joe's this weekend!

 

Craigslist Find

I realize this only applies to my Raleigh readers, but I just had to share.  I hope it will inspire a Craigslist search whereever you are.  This chair is only $30 on Raleigh Craigslist right now:

I'd go pick this thing up if I had somewhere to put it.  Reminds me of these....

PB Swivel Desk Chairs $399

The Look for Less: Pottery Barn Birch Candles

Pottery Barn has been carrying these for a few Christmases now, and I still haven't gotten tired of them.  This is the first year I've bought any though.  They range from $15-$69(!) at PB, but since they've been so popular other retailers have started carrying copies that start at $9.99.   Target has three different sizes 4", 6", and 8".  I bought one of the 6" candles for $12.99 and was planning on buying a couple more from Target until I stumbled into Kohl's on my hunt for a wreath stand .  Kohl's birch candles start at $12.99, but almost all of their Christmas decor is alreay 50% off.  I got a 4" candle for $7.79.  The 6" candles are $8.99.  I"ll definitely go back and  get a few more.

I think these look just as good as the ones from PB. The taller one is from Target and the shorter one is from Kohl's.