Gli Speciali di Casa Chic Feature

A few months back I was very honored and excited to be contacted from the Italian Magazine

 Gli Speciali di Casa Chic.

I got to work with a lovely lady there by the name of Annarita who did an amazing job of making our house look magazine worthy.

 

I did copy and paste everything into Google so that I could translate to english and see what was said.

It was all good stuff:-)

Annarita tried to send me a few copies through the mail so that I could have them as souvenir's.

Alas...

I received an empty envelope instead since fedex couldn't see to it that they arrived safely.

If any of you over in Europe ever see a copy then email me and I would LOVE to reimburse you any expense to have it shipped over!

Anyway it was a fun experience and I thank Annarita for her patience and her immense talent!

Thank you!

P.S. I also saw this little shout out over on Apartment Therapy that I thought was cool! 

Boys Room - Fishing Time!

I was recently talking to someone about doing a fishing style room for her teenage son. It got me thinking about different ideas that I would incorporate into a room of that style. So...

I would start with the first layer:
1. I came across this headboard photo and thought it would be the perfect piece to anchor the room.
2. There are many ideas for lights, but this one really caught my eye. With its rattan weave, it brings to mind the look of a wicker basket, brimming with lures and fishing string.
3. No room is complete without bedding, and a vintage looking ticking was the first place to start. I wish I had included the many pillow ideas I had too, but lets be realistic, if it is indeed a boys room, simple is best.

After setting the backdrop, it is time to work on the details and let you know what this room is really all about.
4. A vintage fishing net hangs casually.
5. Hurricane lanterns rest peacefully on the dresser.
6. This rustic coat rack will be perfect to hang your hat or fishing creel (photo 7) .
7. Vintage fishing creel
8. No fishing room is complete without an old fishing reel to add a simple but perfect detail to the room.

I would continue adding layers of details without cluttering up the clean  and simple appeal of the room.
A few signs, metal or wood, an old fishing pole or two, some weathered buoys and maybe an old tackle box to add a pop of color and corral all those small treasures.

Sometimes a visual, even if it's not the exact style, is helpful to get me started off on the right foot. The photo below is a great example.It has that lake house look that is a great backdrop for the room I was looking to create in my mind.

Source: abeachcottage.com via Holly Ledingham on Pinterest

Thanks for riding along with me through my basket weave of ideas and inspirations!

Don't forget about my Shabby Apple giveaway!!

The Low Down On Painting Stripes

I live in Texas. I love living in Texas.

Except...
 For some reason they don't know how to have untextured walls here. Walls are textured. They just are. No questions asked.

So, have you painted stripes on textured walls? It can be a mess if you don't take one small extra step.

First of all I figured out the width I wanted to do my stripes. (Pretty simple with a little math...and a calculator)

Then I got a tape measure and starting measuring out my lines by making small marks on the wall with a pencil, then just taking my painters tape and running it from mark to mark. They aren't perfect but it sure beat the other option of taking a level and drawing lines allllll the way down each and every stripe.

Just make SURE you tape off the stripes you are going to paint!! What I mean is that when you tape off then you make sure your tape is on the outside of the stripes you are painting. So when you look at the stripes all taped up there then they will look uneven because you taped the outside of one and the inside of the next. I just made that waaay more confusing than it actually is.

After I applied my tape then I took some of the wall color paint and "sealed" the painters tape so that when I painted my stripe color then it would not leak through. This is the step that is SUPER helpful if you have textured walls. It really doesn't take long at all either.

If you are a perfectionist then this job may possibly drive you crazy, but for a gal like me that just likes to get it done....well it really wasn't too bad at all.

Go for it!

You can still enter my Ramsign Giveaway all day today!
Click HERE!

Baby Room Full Reveal - Before & After

Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart

Never to part, baby of mine

BEFORE: What it looked like before we moved here.

Semi-Before: A little redo after we moved here

AFTER

See my closet dresser redo here.

Check out my vintage stool post here.

See my first stage wall reveal here.

See my post all about my baby bedding.

See my Baby Mobile reveal here.


Aaahhhhhh......
1. Redo vintage stool
2. Paint stripes on walls
3. Redo collage wall
4. Paint other mirror
5. Paint crib
6. Paint small hutch
7. Make new crib bedding
8. Add a few pillows to the full size bed
9. Paint dresser to go in closet
10. Organize closet
11. Make a mobile

Baby Room - Full Reveal Coming Soon!!

I wish I had the time to show you more. Perhaps later today....

Stay tuned....

Baby Mobile - All Done & Ready For Viewing!

A baby mobile is something that I always wanted for my baby room, but could never find one I liked. I decided that since I was making everything else this time around that I might as well tackle a baby mobile as well.

I used a few different ideas off the ol' internet for inspiration, then I just made up the rest. I call this, "Tattered Bird Mobile". It goes along with my "Tattered Baby Bedding" that I revealed here..

I wanted something subtle and gender neutral that would tie in with the "theme" of the room. I really love how it turned out! Of course one of the best things was that the whole thing cost me about $3.00!
One more thing done and only ONE thing left on my to-do list. 10 weeks to go....

I'll be having a giveaway the end of this week, so check back in!

You Can Still Vote On Your Favorite Pick Out Of The TOP 5 We Can Do It Cheaper Projects!

Baby Bedding - All Questions Answered!

First of all, thanks to all of you great commenters for the sweet little notes you left for me. I appreciated all the feedback after all my "hard" work:-)

I actually had quite a few questions about how I made the bedding, what I used and all that, so I thought I would answer them all in one big ol' post.

Image from laylagrace.com

WHAT KIND OF MATERIAL DID YOU USE?
As you can see in my (above)inspiration photo, the fabric is linen. Ahhh, love it! Didn't really think it was pratical for a baby, and I didn't have the $$ to spend on it. One friend suggested using the Lenda curtain panels from Ikea. That is a great idea because these curtains really look like linen and they are super cheap. Only problem is that Ikea isn't on my way to or from anything, and I couldn't find any in the light beige on Ebay, so I moved on... I ended up using natural colored muslin from JoAnn Fabrics. It was on sale for $3.50 or so a yard so it worked for me! (by the way, you can find this fabric in the quilt backing section)

HOW MUCH FABRIC DID YOU USE?
Another very good friend reccomend 10 yards and I trusted her. 10 yards was perfect! I also have a bit left over for a few other small things I'm working on.

WHAT PATTERN DID YOU USE?
I cheated and used my old crib set. I recovered my existing bumper (it's one looong piece, no sections) and used the skirt as a guide for my new skirt. I did make the new skirt a little longer though, it has a 14 inch drop instead of 12 inch like the old one.
Make sure you don't forget to sew in ties too!(I used ribbon so I wouldn't have to make all those ties)

HOW DID YOU MAKE THE RUFFLES?
I had never gathered anything on my own with a machine (always did it by hand) so I had to ask my mom about "how to". It is super easy and very time consuming when you gather 30 yards of material like I did for this project. All you do is set your machine to make a long stitch. I set mine as long as it would go. Then you back stitch one end so that you don't end up pulling all your thread out. Once you have stiched the length you want (remember when you gather something it will "shrink" down by half or more) grab the top thread and start pulling and sliding your gathers down.

Also, to give them the tattered look then I figured out how wide I wanted them, made a small cut with my scisors and then ripped the rest of the way. Pull a few more strings off to "fray" it a little more. You also may want to stitch along the frayed part to keep it from fraying any further. I "frayed" both sides of my ruffles.

There you have it. Any other questions? Feel free to leave a comment or email me!

Don't forget that Daylight Savings starts this weekend!!!! I can't keep from smiling just thinking about it. Turn those clocks forward and enjoy your extra hour of light.
Have a great weekend!

You Can Still Vote On Your Favorite Pick Out Of The TOP 5 We Can Do It Cheaper Projects!