The Evolution of the Mantle

When we first moved in... a mirror and 2 wall sconces found a home above the mantle - same things from our apartment days. I wasn't in love with it but that's what we had so I made due.

I did love it all jazzed up for Christmas...

But it needed a little spice for all the other days of the year. I loved the shutter look I saw on someone else's blog. So...we had a door in our garage left from the previous owners and I decided I would attempt to saw it in half. It worked and so I gave it a shot with a fatty barn star. Liked it, but didn't love it.

Next on the list...distressing the shutters. Better but not perfect.

Finally a sign and some candle holders did the trick. I think a mantle is one of the hardest places in a home to decorate. It's not quite finished yet, so tell me your advice...Do I leave the candle holders the color they are?

If not, what color should I paint them?
What color candles would look best?

~ The bench ~

So of course when I went to Pottery Barn the other day not only did I have to find an armoire for a great deal but this cute little bench as well. We do not have a mudroom in our house so I have been wanting a little spot for us to store shoes and other stuff when we come in the door.


This baby was found for $99 and then an additional 30% off. Luckily, it fit perfectly next to where we enter the house from our garage door.


After stealing some pillows and baskets from the living room I was able to get a vision of what I want it to someday look like. For now it just remains empty but maybe later when I save up some of my 'home' budget the empty bench will one day look like this!

~ My Dreams Have Come True ~

Gotta love Pottery Barn Outlet! I have been eying this beauty every time I go there. When I first saw it it was over $1,000. Then it went to $899. Well when I went down there this past Thursday it was listed for $599 PLUS an additional 30% off.


I have been scoping out armoires for some time now and this was a steal!!! A big beautiful armoire that I was in love with for only $420! I had to have it (plus we had not touched any tax money and the hubby got a bonus). So after a consultation with the hubby, some encouragement from a friend, and long haul home it now resides in our living room.


It will soon be the new home of our computer, printer, office supplies, etc. while our current office gets turned into an official 'guest room'. I love to see rooms finally coming together. Let's just say I'm in love.

~Bows~

You can never have enough bows right? With another little girl on the way I decided to add a few more headbands and bows to the collection.


1. Buy some ribbon you like (I especially love the kind with wire - it holds its shape well) - around 1 1/2 - 2 yards for each bow.
2. In the middle of the ribbon tie a regular bow. Then continue making loops.
3. Hot glue them down or wrap some wire around the middle to hold it all together.
4 .Glue on headband type of your choice.


Since these are for a newborn I attached them all to elastic stretch lace.

I purchased all of the supplies at Walmart and the total for both the ribbon and lace (I bought both of them by the yard) was all under 6 bucks. So for under 6 dollars I made 4 headbands and three matching bows for big sister.

These are really fun and easy to make and you can really experiment and try anything with them. It's hard to find and usually expensive to find bows that specifically coordinate with certain special outfits so for so cheap there's nothing better than just making them yourself!

~ Keeping it in the Family ~

What young couple just starting out on their first adventure of home ownership doesn't have at least one piece of furniture that belonged to their parents - or maybe even grandparents?

These little end tables have belonged to my mom since...oh I don't know? at least 20 years. After sitting in her barn for forever they have found a new residence at our home.

They didn't really go with the couch set we bought and so out came...what else but the spray paint!!! After some primers, paint, a little bit of distressing, and a few coats of poly and these little babies were good to go.


Will they stay there forever? Who knows. But for now they are a good home to Wii accessories, diapers, wipes, scriptures, Cd's (hey those baskets can really hold quite a bit of stuff!!!), and whatever else happens to get tossed in there.

For now they are the perfect addition to our family room.
Shame on me for not getting a 'before' picture - or maybe I did and I just can't find it - oops :)

~ A Warmer Room ~

While the family was away the other big project I tackled was painting our living room. I have been in love with the red wall since we moved in but the white walls just weren't cutting it for me anymore.

The space needed to be warmed up a bit and so I decided to paint the other 3 walls a nice tan color. The room it self doesn't look too much different but I feel like the small change I made using paint made a big difference.

Paint is my favorite thing to use to change a space - it's cheap!!! So for under 15 bucks my walls went from boring old white to warm and cozy tan - and with paint if you absolutely hate it you can always paint over it again :)

~ Refreshing a Pantry ~

The hubby and baby were away this past weekend. I have never experienced such a thing and although I missed them both very much - I have to admit that my weekend alone was lovely. I did rest but I also got a few projects completed that I'd been dreaming about for awhile now.

In our entire house all the doors are white - except two. Both of these doors are teeny tiny and I have hated them since we've moved in. The upstairs linen closet door remains it's original wood color but our pantry door now is a beautiful chalkboard black. Can I tell you how glad I am that I finally did it? I love the new color and the added bonus of being able to leave sweet little love notes for my hubby.

I did no sanding or priming so all this little project cost me was the $8.97 quart of black chalkboard paint I bought at Walmart. I applied two coats and still have about 75% of the paint left for another project. Add a .96 cent box of chalk and the entire thing cost me under 10 bucks. I added the flowers/ribbon/bucket - that I already had lounging around in the pile of stuff that doesn't have a home in our basement - to add a more homey touch.


Now the toddler has yet another thing to do while I'm trying to make dinner and it wipes up perfectly clean. What could be better? Love it! Don't be surprised if I end up using this stuff in lots more places around the house...I may use up that quart a little quicker than I thought...