Fourth of July 2012!

 Holy cow! A year?? It's been a YEAR since I've last posted! AHHHH! Technically, 15 months.....DANG! I'm sorry folks, I've been a bad, bad blogger. I will do better! ;)  Anyways, here are some ideas I found while surfing the web. I wouldn't be true to myself if I remembered to write down where I found these SWELL ideas! I do not mean to offend, so please. please, if these are YOUR fab ideas, lemme know and I'll link you, mmmk??? Honestly, I never think about writing the link down bc I just save them to my "home decorating" folder on my desktop. It never occurs to me that, um, DUH....I will need to share with you , my lovely readers, just where the heck I find this amazin-gness! :))) I will try to remember to write it down so I can give credit where credit is do!

On to the Fourth of July goodies!!!

Isn't this just the best { and simplest and prettiest } ideas ever?!?! It's rice died in red white and blue! {DUH!} Love how easy it is yet still oh so festive!

 

These tin cans are to die for! It takes a little bit more time then the above craft, but it's worth it. You take tins cans { from canned veggies or what  have you} and fill it with water. Freeze until frozen. Meanwhile, trace out a pattern on tracing paper. Stars. Fireworks...whatever you what. Once frozen and your pattern is made, all you do is place the pattern on the can and tap a nail through the can with a hammer. The nail lodges into the ice so the can won't dent! Genius, right??? Then you MUST let the ice melt and the can dry. The you can use a piece of heavy card stock or cut up a manila folder in order to seperate the different colors. Then spray paint in red white and blue! Lite up with a candle at night.....sighhhhhh :)

 

 Last but NEVER least.... I know I will be having a cookout. as will so so many other folks everywhere. This is the cutest way to dress up your plastic cutlery! Just glue on some scrapbook paper on your good ol' canned veggie can { empty of course, LOL} and Volia! I think you could spray it with a clear spray paint or some Modge Podge to protect it so you can reuse it, but don't quote me on it!

 

Ok y'all. I hope you all have a WONDERFUL rest of your week and in the words of Arnold......."I'll be back!" ;) Till next time!

A Mish Mosh Post

I'd like to start off by saying Im sorry that I do not remember where I got some of these photos from. I do not mean to take them without giving credit where credit is due! I saved these to my desktop and completly forgot tolabel them as a saved them! :( Bad me! Please, if one of these photos is yours, tell me and I will link up right away!!!!

Ok,now onto some inspiration..............

I am in love with this entertainment center. Everything about it screams me!!!

I am also head over heels for thisframed map collage. *swoooon* {don't even get me started on the zebra couch pillows!!!}

What a cute idea for herbs....chalkboard paint!

I don't know about you guys but I am always ending up with lost socks. This is a cute yet functional way of keeping them out in the open until they find their mate......

I don'tknow why,but I would have never thought to make over the bathroom door storage like this, but man oh man it is AMAZING! Plus, I've been really digging yelloes for the bathroom lately....sigh.....

 Hailey is going through a major puppy love stage. I think this is a great way to incoraporate her wants with my need for a polished, pulled together, grown up look.

This entryway "command center" screams meeeeeee!

 I want to take this room and teleport it into Haileys room. Im groovin' on the blue teal and grey combo...oh and lets not forget the popof pink too!

 Look how easy this art would be to do yourself......I love how the blue stripe matches the wall color for a look that comes together!!!

 ok so I think I want this room.....only for the super awesome secret study area underneath the bed....how amazing! I know myboys would love something like this too!

Those were a few of myinspirations I have saved on my desktop. Ive been a bad blogger and Im sorry........

Till next time!

The Princess & the Pea

 So sorry I have been MIA. Our power cord broke and we just got our new one in the mail from HP! Yay!Anyways, it seems that our dream of owning our forever home may be closer then we were expecting.....details soon to come. So with that exciting news in mind, I have been dreaming of what I will do with Hailey's room....... here's some inspiration:

{Domestically Speaking}


{Source}


{cannott remember where on earth this is from.....If this happens to be your photo, please, let me know. I'd love to give credit where credit is due!} There is sooooo much more I have, but alas, the day is calling. Stay tuned!

Are Things Messy in your Home? Try These.

Towels, Towels Everywhere
Right now, we are in military housing here in Germany, and the storage {and living areas in general} are much, much smaller then in the States. This wine rack towel holder is a genious idea. It's practical for someone who very little room but would also serve well for someone who has ample storage and just wants something decorative.

"A wine rack makes a perfect storage place for rolled towels in the bathroom. Not only are the towels easy to reach, but they become instant decoration. So choose towels in multiple colors for a beautiful display." ~BHG.com
　

 Mega Magazine Storage

Another area that I have a huge {and unorganized} pile of is magazines. This next idea is so super cuteee! Now I just need to find a piece of furniture so I can be a copy cat!!!

"Magazines do have a way of piling up and their slick covers can make stacking a challenge. Solve your problem with a shallow-drawer side table that holds your periodicals in style. Divide the drawers with office supply paper trays for magazines or leave them undivided for newspapers and photo albums. Stencil content labels on the drawer fronts in pretty fonts."~BHG.com

Nesting Table Storage

The thing that caught my eye in this next photo was not the nesting tables themselves, but something on the nesting tables. Can you guess what it might be????

I am talking about the little remote caddy on top of the lazy susan. How stinking cute is that!?!?! But I also love the nesting table for storage too. :)                                             

"Nesting tables are perfect for squeezing a lot of storage out of minimum space. Pull out the lower table when you need an extra surface for holding drinks or reading material, then tuck it away when you're done. Here, a stylish fabric-covered bin keeps DVDs accessible but contained while a pretty contrasting divided box on the larger table corrals remotes and other necessities on a lazy Susan.'~BHG.com

Bills                                      

We all have them. We all hate them. {unless you are debt free, then paying bills would be no biggie}
When I came upon this next idea, I smiled.

{gulp} Did I just say I smiled when I saw a jar that said "Pay up"??
Well.....wouldn't you?? It's just sooooo pretty! I wanna know what bills these folks have that come in pretty colors...

Hint hint bill companies. Make your bills pretty and maybe more people would pay them...
Just sayin. I loveeee the idea however and just may implement this idea myself! { our bills tend to get lost in the shuffle or throw out by accident} Thank goodness for online bill pay! :)

"Keep your bills front and center by storing them in a clear-glass jar that refuses to be ignored."~BHG.com

Art Supplies                                               

"Use short mailing tubes or potato-chip cans{aka Pringles!!} to keep paintbrushes, pencils, and other art supplies organized. Cover the mailing tubes with decorative paper to fit your decor. Stack them and attach them to one another with crafts glue or double-sided tape to keep them stable."~BHG.com

I think the chosen pattern to cover these cans is nasty. Just my opinion. Can you imagine some nice floral or damask print covering up those Pringle cans?!!?! {sigh}


Batteries

"Eliminate the need to run through the house looking for batteries ever again. Use a plastic tackle box with multiple sizes of openings to hold your batteries, grouped by size."~BHG.com

We keep our millions of batteries in a ziplock bag in a cabinet in the kitchen. We always know where they are, but it takes some digging to find the exact sizes we need. The tackle box idea is just so much more organized. I mean LOOK At It!! She's stunning. Just perfection. I plan on stealing this idea too!


Corral with Cans

"Use empty cans for wall storage in your home office. They can organize sewing essentials (as shown) or corral writing utensils, scissors, and other small office items. To make this wall storage, clean the cans, then spray-paint them the desired colors. Attach each can to the wall with a single screw through the bottom or with a heavy-duty wall-mounting tape."~BHG.com

First of all I would screw these bad boys to the wall.....we all know how boys can be, so better safe then messy, I say.

I dont know about you guys, but I can totally see these in my a boys room.
Just picture it.....crayons in one, matchbox cars in another. Plastic Army guys in yet another, as well as markers and colored pencils.....Sigh.....I'm in love!

                                            

Bedroom Headboards You can make yourself!

Being the thrifty gal that I am, I am always on the lookout for cheap decorating ideas that I can do myself.

That is why I am so happy I found these beauiful { and easy} do it yourself headboards.

Sit back, scroll down and marvel with me at some of my favorites.

This one is right up my alley. Anyone who knows me {or has been to my house} knows just how much I love having my family photos around. This idea is right up my alley..... I don't know if I would do this in my bedroom or not. Guest room, totally.

I think this idea would be amazing for Hailey's room. It's a stenciled "wrought-iron-headboard". You can make your own easily too. Here is what Better Homes and Garden says to do:

"Find a stencil at a local crafts store or make your own. Cut the stencil from acetate with a crafts knife, affix the stencil to the wall using a spray adhesive or low-tack tape, and apply paint inside the stencil. Use acrylic paint or specially formulated stenciling cream."

This next idea is something I am totally going to do when we get our forever home. All you need to do is:

"hang a bench cushion by its ties from wall-mounted hooks. Top the hooks with a piece of over-door molding, which you can find at a home center.{like Home Depot or Lowe's} To create a tufted look, sew covered buttons to the cushion with ribbon, poking both ends through the bottom of the cushion. Pull the ends tight and tie."

                                                (directions courtsey of BHG.com)

love love LOVE the soothing colors as well.

"Create a headboard with diva attitude by using a shapely metal screen. A solid-color block painted on the wall behind this one and embellished with metallic swirls gives the headboard larger-than-life personality. The effect helps draw the eye upward with space-enhancing results."

I LOVE the lines of the screen and how it is complimented by the golden bronze painted scrolls on the wall.....

This next headboard will be something that I do in our forever home. How simple to do and yet adds such a dramatic punch.

Better Homes and Garden says:
"The handsome paneled headboard is really a wooden door turned on its side. Purchase a new six-panel door without a doorknob hole, or use a vintage door and place it on the wall so the hole is below the top of the mattress."

All you do after that is paint to a color of your liking and add molding to the side of the door that will be above the matress. Ta-da!

When I look at this picture, it screams "put this in your boy's rooms!!!" Couldn't you see little airplanes and books on the shelf? Baseballs and footballs anyone?!?!

I just simply cannot wait until we get our own home and I can do all these wonderful thins to it!!!

Do you all have any other DIY headboard ideas you would like to share? I'd love to see them!

                                      {all photos & ideas from Better Homes and Garden}

Spending time with the ones you love

I love how the little arched pass-through leads into a study area with huge bright windows....


My idea of a perfect family room.....built-ins and a fireplace! [wood burning, that is!} Nothin screams "family time" to me more then everyone lounging around the fire telling stories, laughing, talking and just being a family.


These pillows {pottery barn} make my heart go pitter patter!


I heart this rug.....also Pottery Barn


Look how stunning the beadboard is on this fireplace! Talk about a work of art! {all on it's own!!}

Frame Your Walls!

So I decided that I need to start compiling a place for all of my DIY how to's and decorating inspiration.

I've been seeing a lot of unique ways to use frames for your walls. some of these are just nice ways to display your photos, others, like the one below just use the frames themselves.

I like how circle frames are used to break up all of the boxy-ness ( if that even spelled right?!?!) Also, isn't the way the lamp fits right inside the frame awesome? I think so!

                                        (cannot remember the site...maybe potterybarn.com)

Now this one happens to be something I am going to do! Isn't it beautiful??? I have a gazillion photos of my kids around {they make me happy} but nothing that looks as classy as this. This makes a statement in a stunning way, I think.

                                                              Potterybarn.com

This idea said it was for a bedroom, but I would so totally do this in a living room or even foyer or entryway. Love the pop of orange with the blankets and how the pillows are on top of them.....

                                                                  PotteryBarn.com

I could totally see myself doing this photo wall and bench in my forever home. ( once we get one!!)

traditional living room design ( Houzz.com)

This whole rooms screams me!

contemporary living room design by philadelphia interior designer Designs by Shoshana (Houzz.com)

Look at how great this wall is....all black and white potos in a black frame complimented by a "pop" of color with the brown leaves....**sigh**  I think I'm in loveee.
 

contemporary home office design (houzz.com)