1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map Wall Art DIY

I've been working on a couple fun DIY projects and have the first ready to share- DIY wall art made from a 1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map!  If you have any bare walls at home and aren't sure what to put on them,  this is a SUPER budget friendly and thoughtful way to add in some wall decor.  

If you have any bare walls at home and aren't sure what to put on them,  this is a SUPER budget friendly and thoughtful way to add in some wall decor.

Kind of crazy that I picked up this 1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map for just $5.00 at an antique store in Hopkins almost TWO years ago!  Can't believe it took me this long to do something with it but truthfully I kind of forgot I had it until I stumbled upon it a couple days ago while doing some spring cleaning and organizing... whoopsie! 

That's when my light bulb moment occurred- I could use these maps for wall decor in the small hallway under the stairs!  So, I thumbed through the guide book and picked out six maps for my 4"x 6" frames and hung them up in the hallway.  

I think the contrast of the black frames really pops against the paint color (Behr's Sandstone Cove) and the dusty pink + red maps create the perfect accent color combo!

I know I haven't shown this space on the blog before so in case you are wondering, the hallway connects our kitchen to the back entryway and the door on the right leads into our scary old basement.  We have a couple topographic maps by the kitchen so I like that the theme/type of art flow is similar through to the hallway.

Like I said, if you have some bare walls you are looking to fill at home be sure to always keep an eye out for interesting books at antique or thrift stores.  Who knows, you might be able to create a whole gallery wall with a couple thrifty book finds!

What do you think of the new DIY wall decor?

Would you have done something different with the guide book maps? I'd love to know!

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I'll be working on another forgotten antique find this weekend.  Can you believe I got this antique camping stool almost THREE years ago and haven't done anything with it?!  It's just been sitting in our old gross basement, poor guy.  Anyway, cue the makeover montage music, it's time to get to work!

Ugh, I love a good makeover montage.  I mean who doesn't?!

I'd love to hear any color/finish/fabric suggestions for the stool, let me know! 

Be sure to stop back to see how it turns out!  

West Elm Souk Rug Pattern Inspired Pillow Cover DIY

It was gettin' crafty up in here today- Check out my latest little DIY pillow cover project!

A combination of things inspired me to take on this little DIY project which started when I found this cute "Ziggy" pillow from Fine Little Day  on Pinterest a while back....

The pattern was cute, simple, irregular and had a handmade sort of feel.  I kept coming back to the Pin thinking "I wonder if I should try to DIY something like this?"

The look or texture of the print reminded me of the popular zig-zag or interlacing trellis patterned Souk and Torres rugs at West Elm with that similar irregular type line work...

West Elm Souk Wool Rug $199-$1299 and Torres Wool Kilim Rug $59-$599; Sidenote- I'd love to have one of these if anyone has a spare $1,000 I can borrow?! JK

I figured I should give this DIY a green light using a combo of the looks I was inspired by,  seemed like DIY-ing the print would be totally do-able right?  So, I had to try it!

I had an old cheaper white pillow cover that I figured I could sacrifice in case this turned out terribly and after steaming and ironing it for nearly an hour to de-wrinkle it was ready!  I started out by lining up the pattern look I wanted with painters tape.  I wanted to fit the three lines of diamonds going along the length of the Souk rug so I started by lining up that pattern with painters tape.

Using the painters tape allowed me to adjust and get the right size and shape similar to the rug.  Once I had the diamond shapes fitting across the center I cut out a piece of cardboard that fit into each of those three diamonds then used it to trace out the top and bottom rows of the diamond/zig zag pattern.  Once that was complete I used black fabric paint and a foam brush to apply the pattern.

All in all, it was a pretty simple DIY and I imagine there's probably ten other (and perhaps better?) ways I could have gone about applying or tracing out the pattern?  But I am just happy with the end result!  I think it has a simple modern look that we can fit easily into our living room or sunroom decor.  What do you think?

 Do like how the pattern turned out?

If you want to try this DIY, would you do the same pattern or something different? 

I almost want to attempt a sewing version of this DIY now, hmmm... Using the same pattern inspiration I could use thicker yarn and stitch it through a pillow cover instead of the printed/painted version?!  Sound crazy or should I try it???  Let me know!

Versatile Zippered Clutch DIY!

Hello from Antarctica Minneapolis!  It's 1 single sexy little degree this evening here in the Twin Cities, well on our way to a balmy -17 for the night.... ahhh the splendor of the northern midwest!  I'm happy to report that I did in fact get my buns off the couch over the weekend for some DIY action!  I decided to tackle the DIY clutch bag idea first (link to inspiration here).

So glad I did!  How simple and cute is this little zippered clutch?!?!

If you have experience using a sewing machine, it's so SUPER easy to make one of your own!  I whipped one up in about 20 minutes..... sew easy, I decided to make two clutches!

All I needed was some leather or faux leather fabric, scissors, zipper, sewing thread, sewing machine and pins.  I cut the leather/faux leather to the size I wanted and found a zipper to fit.  The gold one above measures 8.25" x 11.0" (fits and iPad perfectly!) and the larger one I made measures 10.0" x 14.0, perfect for throwing a good amount of random crap in :)   Curious how to make one? Let's get to it!

Here's how I tackled making one of these versatile little clutch bags! 
Start by cutting two pieces of fabric for the front and back of your clutch.  The photos below are of the 10.0" x 14.0" clutch I made so I cut two pieces of my faux leather fabric, both 10.0" x 14.0" in size.

Then it's time to get the zipper stitched in place along the top edge/opening of what will be the front side of the clutch.  With this step, I pinned the zipper in place face down along the top edge of my faux leather then stitched in place.  Once that step was complete and the zipper was attached to the fabric, I turned the zipper face up and did another line of stitching on top of the leather 2mm from the seam where the leather and the zipper meet.

The extra line of stitching provides a cleaner look and allows the zipper to sit flat once the bag is finished :)

Next, you need to attach the back side of the clutch fabric/ faux leather to the zipper.  Take the second piece of faux leather and place it on top of the first piece and line it up with the zipper (make sure the right side of the fabric is faced down as shown in top right photo below).  Stitch the second piece of fabric attaching it to the other side of the zipper.  Then with the zipper attached, lay both right sides of the faux leather face up and stitch the back side fabric 2mm from the zipper & leather seam (top right image below).... You will basically repeat the steps you did for the front piece of fabric attached to the zipper.

Once you have the zipper completed, place the back fabric piece on top of the front so the wrong sides of the fabric face out and then pin together.  Next simply stitch along the three outer sides 0.25" from the edge of the fabric.

That's pretty much it!  Then turn that sucker right side out, situate the zipper a bit and you are done!

Super easy if you know your way around a sewing machine right?!?!

I have to tell you that I've been calling the larger version my "work clutch" and I LOVE IT!  It's totally useful for the office- Instead of carrying a big ol' purse around or stacking little random stuff on my laptop when I'm on the go to meetings, I've been stashing all the goodies I like to keep on hand in my new little "work clutch"....  (cell phone, pen, pencil, measuring tape, iPad, mints, credit card, etc.) 

The Work Clutch idea is pretty b*tching right?  (sorry I am obsessed with b*tching lately for things I love)!

Aside from the DIY clutches, I tackled one more little DIY project during the Arctic Vortex :)  The second coat of paint on project #2 is drying and then I'll get it all gussied up to share!  Stay tuned for more DIY action!


What do you think of the DIY clutch?!? What color fabric and zipper would you use if you made one?
What project do you think I tackled for DIY #2?!?!
Did you tackle a fun DIY while you've been stuck inside due to the nasty weather?

Head Over Heels DIY Friday: Summer Styled Rope Mirrors and Candle Holders

Hello and happy Friday!  I have a sort of Summer DIY decor post for you today, because honestly I'm confused about whether we are in spring or summer right now.  It feels like we just skipped over spring and went right into summer here in Minnesota, does it feel like that where you are?  I know Memorial Day is next week which is the official start to summer, but heck it was freezing a week or two ago so let's just call it summer I say! 

Now onto my summer styled DIY project- Rope Mirrors and Candle Holders!

I've been seeing a lot of home decor made with rope lately and figured I could add it to some mirrors or candle holders at home.  So, I grabbed some Sisal rope from Home Depot for just $8.81 to add onto three glass candle holders and two mirrors I had at home.

For the candle holders, all I did was wrap the sisal rope around a few times and then pinning the ends to hold them on (no glue required on these!).

The mirrors were a little trickier and required the use of a hot glue gun.  I cut enough rope to go around my square Ikea mirrors three times with a bit extra to loop at the top.  I glued the rope in place around the edge of the mirror (shown in images below).

For my round mirror it was a bit easier.  I just placed cut rope on the inner edge of my mirror and glued the ends together.

Easy-peasy right?!?!?

I'm Head Over Heels for this simple DIY's, are you?!?!

I'm loving this fresh summer-y update for the mirrors & lanterns, but right now they are on my mantel and I feel like we are lacking some color.  So, help a girl out!  Tell me...

What could I add to the mantel or fireplace itself that would add color and compliment the rope/summer theme?

Sacre Bleu! Drab to Chic & Fab Blue Dresser DIY

I finally got my rear in gear over the weekend and painted that $10 campaign dresser.  I'm so happy that I no longer have to look at that dull beat up dresser- why-oh-why did I wait so long ?!?!  The fresh blue look is sooooo much better!

I guess my only reason for dragging my feet on the project was because I couldn't decide on a paint color.  Each one looked perfect and I loved them for different reasons.

After much deliberation, I decided to go with a glossy and rich navy blue.  I figured it would be a good color choice in case I end up using it in a different room in the future. Navy is a bit more versatile than red or pink- even though that would have been fun! 

I picked up two cans of Rust-Oleum spray paint at Home Depot and hauled the dresser outside for painting.

Sadie managed to photo bomb with just her nose :) stealthy and sneaky!

I pulled out the drawers, sanded the surface to get it roughed up, and removed the handle hardware.  The bummer was that I couldn't remove the brass corner details.  They seemed to be glued on so I had to cover with painters tape which was a long and annoying process, ugh!  Then I started spraying...
I did about three coats and let it dry overnight.  I was so excited to bring it back up into my closet to see how it looked, thankfully I was not disappointed.  The fresh paint totally changed the look and it fit so much better in the space!

One other little change/detail I added was this antique bracelet I got from blog friend Mimi-Toria Designs.  I loved the look of the black tassel on the green dresser above, but wanted to add a unique and personal detail of my own.  I don't think anything else would have looked more perfect!  Love how jewelry can also be house jewelry too!

I think the new rich blue look fits in nicely with all the other closet goodies I've got going on... BUT I still haven't picked out my window treatments, rug, or a cute decorative pillow to jazz up my refurbished antique chair. 

Those are the wanted items on my list before I plan to take "after" photos.  I guess they are little details but I want every little bit of my closet/dressing room space to be uniquely me!  So I hope you can be patient with my picky-ness until then :)  For now...

What do you think of my $10 dresser's new look?
What do you think of the color choice?  Like it or hate it? 
What do you think of the (house) jewelry added on the dresser?

I'd love to hear what you think, don't be shy now :)

Hammers and High Heels DIY Friday: Framed Paper Florals

This week's DIY is all about my inspiration from earlier this week-  paper!  Yes, pretty floral paper creations!  I know it sounds kind of strange, but I'm Head Over Heels for these Framed Paper Floral creations!

All you need to make them is a frame (or two), paper, fabric, scissors, tape, glue (Elmers is fine), and small pins.

To make my framed paper floral creation, I started by making the individual flowers.  I used the floral shapes from my inspiration post and focused on making four types of flowers in various sizes.  I nicknamed the types of flowers petal, accordion, circles, and 4-fold. 

First up is the petal- Cut 4 drop shaped petals, pinch the narrow end and glue, then glue the dry petal ends together.  You will have to sort of hold the four petals together until the glue dries a bit.

Now to the accordion- Fold up a square piece of paper accordion style, staple through the center, with scissors cut the front side at an angle on each end, then open and glue ends together.

For the circle style flower- start by cutting circles in varying sizes (they don't have to be perfect), cut 3-5 to make a nice flower shape, Fold part of the circle inward to make the circle turn into a cone shape (you can fold in as little or as much as you want depending on how you want the flower to look), glue the folds in place, once you've made the circles into cones layer from largest to small and glue in place.

Last is the 4-fold- Fold a square piece of paper in half and fold that in half again, on folded sides cut two half petal shapes, unfold.  You can repeat and layer on an additional 4-fold or leave on it's own.

After I finished making a good-lookin' gang of paper florals, I prepped the frames by removing the glass fronts.  Then I took some faux linen fabric and wrapped it on the frame backing with tape (yes it looks icky but I didn't want to use anything permanent). 

Once the fabric was set on the frames it was time to add the flowers! 

I laid them on the frames to plan out an arrangement, then all I did to attach them was pin them onto the fabric.  In an effort to not smash the paper, I carefully pinned through the flower first so all I had to do was push the pin into the fabric. 

That attachment technique seemed to work nicely (progress image above).

To bring some spring into our Living Room, I decided to add the two finished Paper Floral Frames to our mantel.  Since it's technically still winter, I left the birch branches but I added a bit of green moss in for an early fresh spring feel.

I think the Framed Paper Florals turned out to be a good winter/spring transition look for our mantel decor- certainly a unique decor addition as well! 

What do you think of this little DIY project?  Are you Head Over Heels?

What other creations would you make with paper flowers?

I have to say, making all those little flowers was kind of fun but a little annoying at first.  Took a bit to get the hang of it but thankfully no papercuts here :)  I might try making a wreath next in some bolder colors! 

Alex and I are cooking up ideas for our next home project, hope to share some of that news next!  Have a great weekend!

Head Over Heels DIY Friday: Table Linens to Decorative Pillows

Hooray for Friday!  My DIY this week is a quickie (post-wise and project-wise).  On a random Target trip I found this placemat and table runner on clearance.  The woodgrain pattern was textured, either velvet or flocked.  I didn't really have a use for them in our dining room but loved the design.  Then I got a fantastic idea!


Since the placemat and runner were backed with another fabric I thought I could simply open the seam on one of the edges and fill them with batting to make some pillows.  Sure enough, it worked!  I ended up cutting the runner in half to turn it into two pillows that would match the placemat size.  But it was so easy, the last step was just sewing the closure closed (which can be done on a machine or by hand).

I know it probably sounds a bit nutty to turn table linens into decor pillows, but I think it turned out to be a nice set to freshen up our living room!

Would you have done it too?  Are you Head Over Heels for the pillows or the project?

Sorry I have been short on posts lately, I will try to stay busy over the weekend with this blizzard thing on it's way.  I imagine Alex and I will be cooped up in the house, anyone else too?  Ugh, the doldrums of winter.  Have a great weekend!

A Bland Black Tray Gets a *Studly* Makeover

Remember those gold studded black trays I saw at Honeyshine?

Of course you remember!  They were just to fabulous to forget right?  Even though I loved it and wanted to buy one, I thought it would be fun to create my own!  After all it's a simple black tray with gold stud accents, couldn't be that hard. 

We had an old faux leather coated tray in our basement (yep, our basement it stuffed with stuff) that used to sit on our coffee table until Sadie started to get interested in chewing on it.  Rather than it getting destroyed I just hid it in the basement and haven't really missed it.  It did look pretty boring, but adding some studs will spruce it right up! 

I had a bunch of leftover nailhead trim from my last chair upholstery project (which was awful and required perhaps 400 pieces of used and unused nailheads). 

Anyway, I began pressing each nailhead into the top edge of the tray.  The sewn faux leather surface was really easy to work with since I could easily stick them in the top edge seam. 

I spaced them out evenly and then used a hammer to make sure they were set evenly along the top edge.

I am so happy with how it turned out!  It kind of went from blending in and unnoticeable to being something that stands out on it's own.  It's a perfect fit in our Sunroom to gather all of our books and magazines.

I love it and I am so happy I took something that we had and weren't using and made it useful rather than buying something new.  That feels GOOD!

What do you think of my studly storage tray?

Have you created something useful from your "stuff" pile recently?  What was it?

My *Grave* Fall Mantel Decor & Distressed Mirror Tutorial

I'm getting in the spooky spirit with my uber creepy mantel decor that features something straight out of a graveyard...

 Yep, those are actual grave markers along with an antique iron widow's peak.  I imagine you might be thinking "Say what?!?" and no we didn't go grave robbing, we actually got these two years ago at Junk Bonanza. 

The booth vendor informed us that they were from Iowa and the markers were used temporarily until an actual headstone could be placed permanently- hope that was true.  So yes, they are creepy but Alex and I like that kind of authentic creepy-ness. 

Before we get into all the decor details, I have to share a quick tutorial with you! 

When I started planning out my decor I thought distressed antique looking mirrors behind the grave markers would look perfect. But sadly, I didn't have any or know where I could find them so I started to think of how I could replicate the look DIY style. 

I started with some old mirror squares from Ikea in our basement along with black and gold cans of spray paint.  I thought it'd be easy and I would slowly spray paint near the bottom so it would have a kind of ombre look.... that didn't work out on the first try :) I ended up ruining one of the mirror squares (thankfully had more in the basement) or I guess you could call it my practice round? Whoops!

Anyway, I learned to spray from a distance of two feet and to barely press the spray paint trigger so that the paint will kind of splatter out.  The splatters are what will give it that faux antique/oxidized look.

  Once the mirrors dried I got the mantel set up!  I placed both mirrors behind each grave marker. 

 On the ends I added white pumpkins, gourds, and skulls inside antique light bulb covers.

 In the center I placed our antique widow's peak with white pumpkins, gourds, and moss (which tied back to our dining room decor too!).

 Perfectly spook-tacular mantel decor!

Lastly, in case you are a bit more curious about the grave markers (like I was when I began writing this post), here's some more information I found online-  the markers belonged to a 17th century organization called the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also known as "The Three Link Fraternity."  FLT stands for Friendship, Love, Truth.  Back then, it was odd to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need and of pursuing projects for the benefit of all mankind, thus going by "Odd Fellows".

Interesting huh?  I love learning the story behind my antiques :)

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What do you think of our spooky mantel decor?

Do you like the DIY distressed mirrors?

I have one more DIY Halloween decor project and our sunroom pics coming up!  Love having lots of fun things to share in the next few days and weeks!

Joining Kate's Linky Party over at Centsational Girl!

Before & After Photos of My Entryway Decor Update

YES!  I can check this project off my to-do list! I love that feeling :) 

It's been a few weeks since Alex updated our back entryway with beadboard which led to my urge to redecorate... or really I guess decorate since it looked empty & bland before.  Take a look at the space now!

The last addition to the space was a new wall mirror.  Most of you agreed in the comments from the beadboard post that we needed a new mirror, badly.  I was happy to find this round gold framed mirror at Home Goods for $29.99. 

 Since I had a black and white kind of theme going on in the space, I wanted to incorporate black somehow with the mirror.  So, instead of just mounting it flush to the wall Alex and I got a black wall hook and chain from Home Depot to hang the mirror from. Both items together cost about $6.00.

 Alex screwed the hook into the wall and attached the chain to both of the triangle hanging hooks on the back of the mirror, then simply hung the mirror on the hook.  Marvelous!!!

 I love how the black chain & hook adds a unique design element to the mirror and coordinates with the theme in the space.  It's just fun right???  Speaking of fun, I have to say the mirror looks sophisticated on our wall... but when Alex got the chain on the mirror and said it was ready to put on the wall I took one glance at it and screamed, "WAIT!  It looks like a big Flavor Flav necklace!!!  I have to wear it!" and so I did...

I couldn't help myself and I've been saying "Yeeeeeah Boyeeeee!" for couple days now, haha!

Okay, back to business.  Here's another look at the mirror further back.

Adding the black and white contrast really helped get rid of that blah look from before...

I also love how my DIY West Elm Rug coordinates back to my Smith & Hawken chalkboard basket from Target...

Below is another before and after look at the hooks turned hat/train rack...

 The latest Pottery Barn catalog inspired me to add some decor to the top shelf which ended up coordinating back to the wall mirror nicely.

Now for dramatic effect, here is the space before & after the beadboard update...

And a side by side of then and now...

A bit more detailed and thoughtfully designed right?  The best part is that the cost for this decor update totalled under $50! 

Oh, did you notice that I finally found a way to reunite my DIY Chair Pair?

I might have to show you an update of that little sunroom space if you are interested too?

What do you think of the updated entryway space?

Which DIY update is your favorite?

How have you added storage or updated your entryway?

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Here are the links to all the projects used to update our entryway:

Installing Beadboard Trim

DIY West Elm Diamond Rug

Vintage Stool Update

DIY wall hook to hat tack/ train rack

DIY West Elm Diamond Jute Rug

I am so excited to share this *genius* (and last) DIY project for our back entryway update.  I took a plain old 2' x 3' jute accent rug and turned it into a twin version of West Elm's Diamond Applique Jute Rug...

Here is a photo of the actual rug which retails for $29.99 (for 2'x3') - $279.99.  Ours turned out just like it right?!?!  I was so happy with it and it was super easy to make! 

All I did was tape off the section I wanted to paint black using blue painters tape.  I measured to make the diamond 3.5" wide.  It was a little tricky at each end of the diamond shape since it gets wider, but you'll get it.

 Once my diamond shape was taped off, I grabbed black fabric paint and a foam brush to paint with.

 The painting part was pretty simple but...

 With the braided texture of the jute, I had to press the foam brush down into some of the grooves of the braid to ensure full coverage of the black diamond.  I was also careful around the border of the diamond shape making sure paint wasn't glopping under the painters tape.

 I let it dry for about four hours since I coated the fabric paint on pretty thick in a few spots.  Then, I started to take the tape off.  Check out that perfect edge!!!

 I was sooooo happy with it!!!! 

I ended up waiting over night before actually placing it on our floor just to make sure the paint was set and wouldn't get ruined by foot (or paw) traffic.

This DIY project was so easy and I am so proud of how it looks!  I really loved the West Elm rug and glad I took a stab at making my own at zero cost since we had all the supplies needed.

I want to make another one!!!  Maybe monogrammed with a "Z"?!?!  We'll see!

What do you think of my West Elm-like creation?

Do you feel inspired to make your own too?

*We're hanging a mirror in the back entryway today, then I will have all the 'after' photos ready!*

Head Over Heels Friday: Accessorizing with DIY Tassels! Tutorial Included!

Thanks to a fun little craft lunch I had with coworkers this week, I'm Head Over Heels for Tassels! 

They are chic little accessory piece for you OR your home decor, plus you can make your own in a few easy steps for under $1!!!  Check out my DIY tassel creations....

 There possibilities for adding them to your shoes or accessories are endless, I loved all of these ideas!

Floral Tubes & Tassels  White T-Strap Tassel Sandal  Green Velvet Studded Tassel Heels  Congnac Brown Tassel Belt  Tassel Crystal Pendant Necklace  Chain Tassel Bracelet  Skeleton Key Bookmark   Pink Tassel Scarf  Tassel Handbag/Clutch

Adding them to your home decor is a little trickier, but I thought these were pretty chic examples!

Tassel Trim Window Panel   Black Tassel Furniture Accessories

Now I have to give my standard "Hammers and High Fives" to my work gal pals Lauren and Katie Lee for teaching me this new DIY skill!  I know there are plenty of these tutorials out there, but I think mine might be a simplified version (no cardboard needed).  Let's get started!

You can make tassels out of different materials (yarn, fabric, leather, etc.). For the tutorial, I used six strand cotton floss with a metal ring.  You can use as little or as much floss as you'd like, the more you use the thicker/bigger the tassel will be.

First, remove the paper wrap from the floss but KEEP IT IN THE LOOP AS PACKAGED!  That is the cardboard time saving step.  Next, carefully cut a 10-20 inch piece of floss to be used in later steps (shown in left photo).  Then, carefully line up the floss, lay it flat, and using a small piece of floss (or thread, this ends up getting cut off near the end) tie a knot around the middle of the looped floss.

Once the middle it tied together, grab scissors and cut the looped ends open on each side (show in left photos below).  Then take the metal ring and place over the middle section where the knot was tied.  Remove the floss/thread knot and fold in half. 

Take the 10-20 inch piece of floss you cut at the beginning and wrap around the folded floss just below the metal ring (shown below).  Lastly, trim the ends of the floss as needed to make sure your tassel has a clean finished look!

There you have it, easy as pie right?!?!  You can make them any size and length depending on how you want to use it.

  Here's another look at my lamp accessory piece, I made the tassel thinner and longer.

For the necklace I made, I actuall found the perfect chain in my grandma's jewelry box (which my aunt passed along to me).  I store my jewelry in the bottom two drawers but kept my grandmother's jewelry in the top.

I remembered that she had a couple gold chain necklaces and sure enough one of them looked perfect with the tassels I had made....

Super cute right?!?  I love it even more because of that sentimental touch!

Are you Head Over Heels for Tassels and this tutorial too?!?

What else are you falling for this week?

Glad it is the weekend!  I'm totally going to finish my chair project (finally)! 
Have a wonderful weekend everybody, hope you cross off something from your to-do list too!

My Chair Reupholstery Project Gets a Bit "Hairy"

Before I start yapping about the chair redo, I want to thank everyone that left a what would you do comment on my Tuesday post.  Every comment was so fun to read!  It sounds like the majority of you are just as curious as I am about the key!   I've got a few things to investigate before I start buggin' strangers but I can promise you there will be more follow up to this story! For now - To Be Continued -

After getting over the initial excitement of finding that skeleton key, I continued on tearing away at the old upholstery in order to get it down to the bare bones.  I was happy to find beautiful shaped wood that was hiding underneath! 

I also learned a fun little fact about the guts of this chair.  See that gray/black stuff that kind of looks like gross hair?  Well, it is hair... horse hair to be exact and that kind of fill isn't cheap- $347.35 for 15lbs of horse hair fill compared to $78.60 for a 13.5lb bundle of organic cotton.  Who knew?  I didn't. Turns out most high end furniture is filled with horse hair, for example Hastens mattresses at $4,000-$12,000 a piece.

I consider Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware's furniture to be quite fancy and when I did a little investigating I found that they don't typically use horse hair fill.  Anyway, it was an interesting thing to learn because it made me understand that this chair was made of high quality materials and perhaps came from a higher end furniture store?  Haven't found other tags or logo yet, but we'll see!

With my chair down to it's bare bones, I looked to Restoration Hardware for some inspiration thinking my chair could have a similar look to some of their upholstered chairs.  The first collection I stumbled upon was their Deconstructed Collection which featured the artistry and inner workings of each furniture piece.  I thought it was totally interesting after gutting my chair and seeing a similar set up....

Restoration Hardware Deconstructed Collection

However I don't think my DIY skills can execute this look as nicely, LOL!

My inspired look is going to be closer to their Lyon Upholstered Chair.  I like the linen fabric and exposed wood framing. 

Restoration Hardware Lyon Chair



This chair redo will be my first full-on reupholstery project (this one was pretty easy).  I hope it goes well! 

I might try and add in some nailhead trim to the look, does that sound cute?

Do you have any upholstery tips?

Be sure to let me know if you have any thoughts or tips!  See you tomorrow for Head Over Heels Friday!

Our Completed Door Turned Headboard!

  The door turned DIY headboard project is complete!  Check out the finished look (and click here for the full tutorial post showing how we made it from a salvaged door)!

Gorgeous right?  I have to say it actually turned out better than I expected, I'm sooooo happy with it!  Crazy to think it all started with this $40 salvaged door.

My hubby gets major kudos for taking that....

Along with a few pieces of trim and framing wood ...

To make a rather snazzy looking headboard if I do say so!

I still can't believe how similar it looks to the Pottery Barn headboard for 1/5th of the price.

Am I right?!?! 

That makes it even more exciting!!!

Anyway, my new dilemma is our bedding.  I know I wanted all white in the beginning when I mapped out our Master Plan, but I am second guessing it now.

Should we have something with some color to break up the bedding from the headboard? 

Do you think the pop of red is still fun as the accent color?

What color or pattern of bedding would you add?

I'm all ears, really let me know what you think.  I've been online shopping for bedding for DAYS and I'm getting sick of it.  I think some fresh ideas or advice would be awwwwwesome :) 

Click here for the full tutorial post on how we made the headboard from a salvaged door

Dried Wedding Bouquet Project

What did you do with your wedding bouquet after the big day was over?

Did you throw it out?
Did you keep it?
If you did, is it shrivelled up and crusting away in a closet?
Mine was :) and it was icky and making me sad!

I have mentioned a few times before that I am a SUPER sentimental person and I have a hard time letting go of things that carry memories along with them. So you bet-cher buns I didn't get rid of my wedding day bouquet!  I did a simple little project with it that I have been meaning to share for a while.  

After our wedding day...

I brought my bouquet home and hung it upside down to dry it out. Then from their I stuck it on the top shelf of a closet where it sat for two and a half years. A few weeks ago when I was doing some spring cleaning, I pulled it down from that shelf and debated throwing it out. 

I just figured it was going to continue to fall apart and unless it had something covering the flowers to hold it together... like a net.... DING!  I grabbed some tulle fabric I had laying in my sewing room then just cut out a piece large enough to cover the bouquet.  I gently placed it over top of the flowers and used small sewing pins to pin the tulle to the base of the bouquet near the ribbon.  Super easy!  Now, at least I can enjoy seeing it every now and then without worrying it will crumble all over the floor.

Who knows if I will indeed need to toss it out someday, but for now I am very glad that I kept it!

What do you think?
What else do gals do with their bouquets?

Master Bedroom update is up next!  Yep, FINALLY!  See you soon!

A Tale of Two Two-Tier End Tables

Yep, you read that title right, no typos... We're talking two tier end tables today!

First, I'm sorry I don't have an update on our Master Bedroom, we actually didn't get to it at all over the weekend (but we did sell the bed frame on Craigslist, yay!).  Like most people, we were busy watching the Superbowl on Sunday and on Saturday I made plans to tackle a little DIY project with my blog buddy Lauren.  So I apologize for my Project ADD right now, and I know I still haven't finished the Hutch/ Nook :( nobody's perfect right (and who would want to be anyway?).  But thanks for still sticking with me :)

Now back to the project!

I found out last week that Lauren and I both picked up two-tier end tables while out thifting on our own.  How random right?!?   Hers is on the left and mine is on the right in this photo.

 I picked up mine because it reminded me of the end tables my grandma had and it was only $12 so I had to get it.  I wasn't totally sure where it would end up, but I thought with some sanding and white paint it would clean up nicely! 

We both got started on our tables by sanding, which is not the fun part.  I hate sanding!

After that we headed back in for the fun part, painting!  I painted mine white (I know, kind of boring) and Lauren used Martha Stewart's Terra Cotta Specialty Finish paint to give hers some texture and a fun look!

 Here's some more painting action, but you get the idea...

During our two coats of paint and drying time we got to chat about married life and of course blogging.  It was great to talk about our blogging experiences and share some advice or things we learned while in the blog world.  I loved that part of our project!

Once the paint was dry I moved it into our Living Room.  It ended up being perfect next to our not-so-much sectional couch.  The sectional fit great in the condo we lived in previously but we had to split it up to fit in the living room in our house.

We will get new furniture someday but I know we don't need it now (at least that is what I keep telling myself, might get a new lamp though).   I must say the two-tier table compliments the strange end of the couch well.  The couch sort of 'flows' into a table instead of just the floor :) I was also happy to place one of my favorite wedding day photos on top...

Awwww

As for Lauren's end table 'after', you will have to pop over to her blog to see!

So, what do you think of my $12 two-tier end table redo? 

Do you have a similar table, or remember one that a grandma or grandpa had?

I hope to get moving on the Master Bedroom project this week.  On my to-do list...

1. Install curtain rods

2. Sew new window treatments from some fabric I picked up

3. Make to-do list of the 'man' tasks for the hubby (hehe) 

Have a great week everybody! 

Be My *DIY* Valentine Mantel

Cupid must have hit me early (in home decor form) because I am in Looooove with my Valentine's themed fireplace mantel! What makes it even more lovable are the easy little DIY projects that I decorated it with, including...

 ...a framed felt fabric heart backed with skeleton key printed burlap and stacked books wrapped with printed bookends and decorative ribbon.  The bookends spell out lyrics to a sweet song that is special to my husband and I, ahhh the romance!  But romantic quotes or a poem would be sweet too!

First up, let's cover the stacked books with printed bookends tutorial.  All you need are books, ribbon, scissors, and paper to cover the bookends.  I didn't make full book covers because my books have the paperback covers torn off and I didn't think the paper would lay flat enough to look nice.  If you use hardcover books I'd recommend the full covers!

 I decided to print out the lyrics (text) for the bookends opposed to hand writing.  I made sure to space out each line in order to cut out each line of text to add onto the bookends.

 Here is one line cut out (reverse side, text on the other side).  I folded the outer edge so it would appear like a bookend cover instead of a raw edge of paper.

 Then I wrapped the cut out around the edge of my torn paper back (note the folded edge of white paper).

Once I lined it up on the book, I put a crease in the paper that fit the size of the bookend.

 Repeat those steps for how many you are making in a stack and then tie them together with a decorative ribbon! 

***Any guesses on the song lyrics I printed out????***

Now, let's cover the framed felt fabric heart backed with skeleton key printed burlap. Really, this one is pretty simple- take a frame, some fabric to cover the size of the frame, and lay a cut out felt heart on top.

 Ta-da!  Super easy, and super cute!

Here's a look once I got the mantel all set up.  I was really happy with it because it still looks a bit formal and not too cheesy or juvenile, which is often tricky with the pink and red Valentine's color scheme.

 In addition to the books and frames, I got these cute little "XOXO" letter blocks from Target's See Spot Save section for only $2.50. I used them in between each book stack.

 The other framed print is something I made for Alex on our first wedding anniversary (paper is the 'traditional' first first wedding anniversary gift, see the whole list here).

 It is a print of all the addresses that hold a special memory for us- like where we met, where we got engaged, where we got married, etc.  Makes for a cute gift idea for Valentine's Day too!

 Then on the right is another look at the framed felt heart.

 Just simple and sweet all together!

*** Well, have you figured out the song??? ***

It's "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson

(If you haven't heard the song before, you must click the link!)

The reason it hold significance to Alex and I is because his sister Amber and her husband Ryan performed it as a surprise at our wedding reception.

You can't really tell, but I am crying.  Oh, and Amber was only about 3 weeks away from giving birth to our nephew Henri!

Alex and I had never heard the song before our wedding day. We were incredibly moved and touched by their performance.  It is one of my favorite moments from our wedding day!

***** Hope you enjoyed that little romantic side story :) *****

So what do you think of the mantel?

Have you done any Valentine's decorating or projects yet? 

Gift Idea: DIY Sign with Family Name & Year Established

Need a last minute gift idea???  I've got one for you!  Take a look at this family name sign I made for my sister....

I gave it to her last month for her birthday but thought I'd share it now as a gift idea.  It was pretty easy to make and it adds a thoughtful personalized touch for the recipient! Here's how I made it...

I started by getting a piece of wood to make the sign out of.  We actually had some scrap wood pieces in the basement so my hubby just cut one in the size I needed.  Then I grabbed my FAVORITE wood stain Minwax Special Walnut 224 wood and stained the piece of wood to give it a more antique style.

Love that stuff, used it on my DIY Vintage Style Crates and Cutting Boards

After staining and drying, I began to stencil on the letters.  I didn't have an actual stencil in the font and size I wanted so I just printed out the letters I wanted from our computer.  Then, I carefully cut the letters out and traced them onto the wood with a pencil.   I thought the sign would look nice with the last name spelled vertically and the year established date in a smaller font at the bottom horizontally.

Once I had the letters traced out with pencil, I used an Elmer's Paint Pen to outline them with black paint. 



I HIGHLY recommend Elmer's Paint Pens for this project! Without it I don't think the edges of each letter would have looked so straight and crisp!  Plus, you can use them on just about anything- wood, clay, fabric, glass, etc.

After I outlined each letter with the paint pen, I got out some black paint and brushes to fill them in.  I didn't use the paint pen for that part because I wanted it to have some thicker paint for a more authentic look.

I was soooo happy with it once I was finished!  I couldn't wait to take it to the post office to send to her!

Here is a picture of the sign once they found a nice home for it in their house.

Thanks Holly for sending me a picture to post on the blog!

Isn't it nice? I think it adds a proud family touch to their home!  I think I need to make one for us now!

Hope everyone has a nice week!  I am sort of scrambling with last minute Christmas to-dos :(  why do I do that to myself every year???  Wish me luck... I hope I don't become a Grinch in the next couple of days!

PS- if you haven't seen it already, be sure to check out Holly & Brian's DIY Built-Ins!!!

Craft Night Series: Light Filled Bottles! Plus a Multi-Wear Snap Scarf Giveaway Contest!!!

It's Craft Night #3 in our Holiday Crafting Series!  We got so many fun pictures during this project that I am also including a Caption Contest!  The winner will receive their very own Multi-Wear Snap Scarf (scroll to the end of the post for details). 

First, let's take a look at our crafty creation.  My friend Sarah hosted and she came up with this bright idea....

Wondering how or where those string lights are plugged in? Well that's our project!  We got out our power tools and drilled a hole into the back of the glass bottle.  Pretty simple and it looks much nicer than seeing a cord come out of the top.  This project is fun, inexpensive, and can turn empty wine bottles or jars into holiday lighting!  Let's get started...

(Click here for Craft Night #1: Yarn Wrapped Wreaths with Felt Rosettes OR here for Craft Night #2: Decorative Cutting Boards)

I guess it wasn't really a Craft "Night" since we met up at Sarah's for Sunday Bunch, which was a nice little change up!  We kicked it off with some yummy food and mimosas!!!

 After we fueled up, it was time to get started on our project! 

Here's what you need:

Power Drill

Empty Wine Bottle or Glass Jar

Masking Tape

Mini String Lights (easier if you get ones that DO NOT connect end to end)

Safety Goggles

Working Gloves

3/8" (or 1/2") Glass Drill Bit (shown below)

NOTE: since this project includes power tools and glass, make sure you wear the appropriate safety gear!  Also, take it easy on the mimosas if you have those too!

First, take your bottles or jars and soak them in warm water with dish soap for at least 10 minutes. It will clean out the inside of the bottle and those pesky labels will get saturated with water making it easy to scrape off with a scrubber.

Once you have the label removed, dry the bottle and apply a piece of masking tape over the bottle where you intend to drill the hole.  The tape surface makes it far easier to start the hole with your drill (not as slick as glass).  It also serves as a SAFETY measure in case any of the glass around the hole chips or breaks.

Next step- Drilling!!! 

To add some holiday spirit, I forced everyone we decided to wear festive head gear, 'tis the season after all!  Sadly, we forgot our protective safety goggles but thankfully I remembered Alex's go-to when this happens- sunglasses!  At least it made for some fun pictures :)

Now that you have your drill, place your bottle on a steady surface where you feel comfortable holding it in place while drilling. Make sure to have your work gloves for this step, glass + drilling = scary, so protect your hands!

This step does take a LONG TIME!  So be ready for your arm and hand to hurt a little, drilling through glass is a slow process.  Once you notice you are getting close to finishing the hole, take it a little slower so you aren't surprised when the drill bit breaks through. 

  As I was finishing up drilling the hole (which was kind of scary, not going to lie!) and the drill bit finally fit through, a little chunk of the glass broke near the bottom of the bottle (shown on left).  So, remember the masking tape part?  Well it SURE came in handy!  That little broken piece just stuck to the tape and didn't end up inside the bottle or somewhere in Sarah's living room! Kind of a bummer, but hey, it will still work for our project. 

Sarah's bottle (on the right) is a better example, she had no problems with glass breaking.  Again, BE CAREFUL!  After you've made the hole, rinse the bottle out again to clear it of any drilling dust and dry it off.

 Now, it's time to start stringing in the lights!  Sadly, I was unable to find any string lights that do not connect end to end (as in each end has that big square plug that doesn't fit through a little hole).  So, I had to fold my string of lights in half and start stringing them in from the middle, leaving the two big plugs outside of the bottle.

Important Tip: Make sure to test your lights before you string them into the bottle.  Thankfully, I remembered to do just that and sure enough my red string lights with green plastic were broken!  Boo!  At least I brought a back up white strand, even though the color wasn't my first choice.

Since I had that broken section of glass, I covered it with tape before I started trying to insert the lights.  Turns out, that extra space did come in handy since I had to fold the lights in half and string them in.  If you have the lights that connect end to end like mine I would suggest using a larger glass drill bit (1/2" or larger) so you have more space to insert the lights.

Sarah rigged up this little stick with a hook at the end so we could pull the lights toward the top of the bottle as we were working.  It was SUPER helpful!

Once you have the lights inside plug it in so you can "oooo" and "awwwww" at their glowing beauty!

Sarah used small battery powered LED lights in her bottle (on the left).  The bulbs were really small and it was much easier to get them through the drilled hole (just thought I would mention that as an option as well). Ally didn't have hers finished by the time I took pictures.  Instead of a wine bottle, she used an antique glass peanut jar she found at a thrift store.  Turns out, those old jars have really thick glass so Ally was drilling for quite a while :)

 Once I got mine home I added this vintage label (another from the Graphics Fairy) on the bottle to go with Our Merry Little Vintage Christmas theme.

I placed it in the middle of our wine tasting station and plugged it in.  I love this unique touch of holiday lighting in our dining room!  What do you think of the final look?

Now, onto the Caption Contest!!!

While I was writing up this post I wanted to use the images below, but I was STUMPED for fun ideas :(  Here's where you come in!  Just post a comment with your caption suggestion for myself, Sarah (middle) and Ally (right).

The winner will be chosen by Alex and I based on the most clever/fun caption that will make us laugh out loud :)  That winner will receive their very own Multi-Wear Snap Scarf handmade by yours truly! They were a hot seller at Finch's Boutique, so male readers out there should make sure you post your caption ideas too!  The scarf would be a great Holiday gift! **Hint Hint**

The winner will be announced Friday, December 16th.  I look forward to reading all of your funny caption ideas and remember keep it clean and appropriate!

Alright, put on your creativity boots and get cracking! This contest is officially ON!

Christmas Kickoff! DIY Red Linen Stripe Christmas Stockings

It's time to kickoff a full week of Holiday Decor! Weeee-Hooooo...errr... I mean HO HO HO!!!

 I have been feverishly working on all of our Christmas decorations for the past week (or two?) and I am soooo excited to show it all off!  I thought with all the Holiday Linky Parties going on that I would break up the posts by 'decor' category and have a holiday post each day this week.  So, I hope you're feeling jolly because there is going to be a ho-ho-ho lotta Christmas this week on Hammers and High Heels!
 On Dasher to the first project....

I made our own Christmas Stockings!
I feel so Martha (Stewart) right now! Take a look at my cute striped linen-like stockings...

I love the more rustic/ vintage feel of these stockings compared to our brighter (and fuzzier) stockings we used last year.  I was inspired to make them after finding these vintage linen stockings on Dreamy Whites.

Aren't they beautiful?  I just had to have something like them for our own home, and I they were super easy to make!  I was even able to use some left over linen like fabric that was just sitting by my sewing machine.

Here's how I made them...

I started by tracing the shape of my old stockings onto two layers of the fabric. I did two stockings in the larger size for Alex and I, then two smaller ones for our pups Rocco & Sadie.  Once I had the pattern mapped out, I pinned both layers of fabric together so it would be ready for cutting & sewing.

 Next, I cut out the stocking shapes and they were ready for sewing.

I hopped on my sewing machine (no pictures, sorry!) and sewed along all sides except the top opening.

 Here is a look at the stockings after sewing and ironing.

 Then, it was time to make the red stripe designs!  I used fabric paint, foam brushes, and blue painters tape for this step.

 I lined up the painters tape to create the stripe design on each stocking.  I planned to make one thick stripe on the larger stockings and two thinner stripes on the smaller ones.

I mixed my red fabric paint with a little black paint to make a darker red color that would coordinate with our holiday decor.  Then I used a foam brush and applied the fabric paint to the stockings.

 Fabric painting complete!

Once the paint was dry, I removed the blue painters tape.

Here they are!  Some of the lines weren't perfect, but I think it adds to the rustic/ handcrafted look!

I folded a cuff at the top of the larger stockings and hung them my our mantel.  I even got to use my torn book stack/ stocking holders!!!! 

I am so happy with the character these handmade stockings added to our mantel decor!  Hmmm, are you curious about the rest of the mantel???  I hope so because that is going to be revealed in tomorrow's Holiday Decor post!

Hope to see you again tomorrow!
Make sure you are joining all the great Holiday Linky Parties like these.....

Centsational Girl- December 12th!