Tag Archives: decorating

Tree-mendous Tuesday

Tom & I have made quick work of our holiday traditions together. We always get a real tree (I grew up on the artificial stuff), and we make it a family affair – meeting up with his parents and sometimes his uncle’s family to pick out our trees. I love it. His mom is a live tree connoisseur. She has a very discerning eye, and will comb through the whole tree lot before making her decision. And her trees are always spectacular. I’m trying to learn her ways.

At this time last year, we were packing up our condo, getting ready to close on our current home. So, Christmas decorating didn’t happen. I insisted on some kind of tree, so we bought two small potted trees at Home Depot, and I decorated them after we moved in (which was literally 1 week before Christmas).

So this year, we’re making up for last years tree-less Christmas. We’ve got 10-ft ceilings in our family room, and I intend to take advantage of every last inch.

We made our annual trip to the tree lot this past Saturday. Here’s the tree before we left the lot! Don’t you love how part of it is hanging off the back of the car? Not quite as glorious as the scene at the beginning of Christmas Vacation, but still pretty sweet.

Here’s a peek at it in all its glory in our family room:

Is it weird to be super-excited about a Christmas tree? Because I am super excited about this Christmas tree…

Don’t worry – I’ll show you the final decorated product soon. I’m working up a post on all of our Christmas decor. What’s the tradition that you love most about the holidays?

Weekly Wishlist: Spectacular Stencils

While browsing Pinterest recently, I came across a bunch of cool DIY makeovers that can be done with stencils. Stenciling has always seemed kind of old-fashioned to me, probably because I remember my mom stenciling my bedroom, circa 1994. But clearly, this DIY method has been updated to suit more current senses of style.

And now I can’t stop thinking of what and where I’d like to stencil in my own house! My kitchen island, a kitchen backsplash, the back of a bookcase, a ceiling medallion in our dining room or my office (or both!), DIY art panels for our bedroom, and accent wall in our powder room, our entryway… umm, do you think that’s enough to start with?!?

Have you ever tried to stencil anything? A small tabletop or a whole wall? Any tips to share?

Note: I have in no way been compensated for this post by Cutting Edge Stencils. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Weekly Wishlist: Watercolor Trees by Angie Vandenbogaard

I’ve been admiring Angie’s watercolor trees ever since I discovered Etsy (circa 2008). There’s something about them that just makes me smile. She offers a bright, bold, friendly palette of colors, and I love the unique personality that each print takes on.

After so many years of admiring, I’ve finally purchased one for myself!

This is her “Hello” Print.

And I promise, promise, promise that one of these days, the elusive Family Room Gallery Wall is going to make an appearance (I’m saying this more for me than for you. I need to get a move on!). What I expected to be a quick, throw-it-together display turned into a time consuming “labor of love” where I began second-guessing everything I chose… But it’s all good now. It’s underway. And this adorable “Hello” print will be prominently featured!

You can shop Angie’s prints on Etsy here.

Autumn Mantel Makeover

Thought I’d pop in today to share the seasonal spruce-up I gave to my mantle (and a bookshelf) last night! I was inspired by some of the ideas I found yesterday through The Lettered Cottage Fall Decorating Link Party. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should! There are plenty of cute, clever and creative ideas to be found!

I literally cut these sticks out of a smaller, dead tree in our backyard. We’re planning on taking it out, so we might as well put it to use for decorating! The vase fillers were in a set decorative fillers I bought a few years ago. I think I got them at Michaels.

If you haven’t already guessed. I LIKE SPARKLY THINGS! The mercury glass candle holder was part of a set of 3 from Kohl’s earlier this year (snagged ’em on clearance for $6! So I got 2 sets). The brown tealight holder probably came from Michaels (I’ve had it for a few years).

Most of the items I used are things I already had, like the hurricane vase (Bed, Bath & Beyond, circa 2007). I just switched out the usual candle for acorns. The metallic pumpkin is new – Michaels had all of their fall accents for 50% off last week! Booyah! The gold pumpkin and glittery crow above (I’m calling it a raven in honor of Edgar Allan Poe) were also sale finds from Michaels! The purple glass spikey things were made by my cousin, who’s a glass artist.

Here’s one last shot of the whole mantle:

Now, on to the bookcase! I’ve been struggling with what to do with this space. I think I’m happy with this arrangement. But that doesn’t mean it won’t change 😉

Aren’t those flowers pretty? The color palette is so perfect for this time of the year, and I think they do a nice job of complementing my Subway Canvas. Check out how I made it here.

I just love that Scentsy owl warmer! And the Caramel Pear Crisp scent inside isn’t bad either!

Well, that about covers my mantle and bookshelf makeover! Hope you like it!

PS- Sorry that these photos are a bit grainy – I took them with my phone… and it was dusk, so the lighting wasn’t the best. I was too anxious to blog about my makeover to wait for the weekend, i.e. the benefit of natural daylight. Sorry. I’m impatient. I’m trying to work on it. Especially since my impatience is constantly at odds with the care and detail that needs to go into things like drilling holes in walls and painting…

*Update – I linked this post up to Centsational Girl’s Autumn Mantle Party. There are soooo many great ideas! I wish I had more mantles in my house!

Mirror, Mirror On Our Wall

This is probably a silly question, because I know I can’t possibly be alone in this practice, but… Do you ever buy decor for your home without really knowing what you’re going to do with it or where you’re going to put it? You buy it just because you like it and you figure you’ll find a spot for it eventually?

Well, I am guilty of these habits. But I also have a rather pathetic little tale about one item in particular.

I bought this metal mirror from Kohls in early 2007. I had every intention of hanging it up in our first home after we got married. But we never seemed to find the right place for it – ahem – it took us forever to start hanging things on our walls, and then we gave up when we decided to move.

But today, friends, is an epic day. At least in the life of this little metal decorative mirror from Kohls. For today, this guy finally found his place in life. On a wall. In our home.

Though this didn’t come without it’s hiccups – it was a bit of a process to hunt down the right screws, and then we ended up having to shave them down a bit to get them through the brackets. But at least we got it up! And it only took about 5.5 years! Whew!