'pretty up' the pantry

The other day I went to the pantry to grab a snack, and just stood there staring. 

It was ugly. And disorganized. And did I say ugly? I was tired of looking at it.

It was TIME to DO something about it.

But there's no money to just go buy a bunch of containers and jars. Nope. 
So I did that thing I DO: I went foraging around the house looking for things to use!

PRETTY things. Things like baskets and trays and containers that would corral items
while bringing some style to the pantry - without spending a CENT.

What I found was baskets. Lord, does my Mom love baskets!

I found an entire wardrobe packing box and two other large moving boxes FULL of baskets out in the garage.

Up on the top of some shelves, I spied the wood harvest baskets

that I used to stage photos of my Sweet Sweater Pumpkins TM over the years 

along with a wood fruit crate.

I grabbed them ALL and got busy....

Here's how it went (which is par for the course on anything relating to this house, I swear...):

I took a 'before' pic of the messy pantry. Then I emptied it, and took another photo.
THAT photo has disappeared. It's just....GONE. 

So the only 'empty' photo I have to show you is from earlier in the building process.

It took two tries to get the pantry the way I wanted it...

I ran out of containers the first time around, so I used the white plastic bins. HATE them.
Went into the guest room, the linen closet, the party supply boxes 
and found a few more baskets holding other things.
Swapped them out for the plastic bins, and was much happier with the result here.

There were items that I consider to be 'messes waiting to happen': molasses, syrup, honey.
To head off a disaster, I searched around for trays that I could put them in...
and I found some metal baking pans that don't get used very often. So I used them!
(why NOT? they are just gonna' sit in the cabinet doing nothing....)

On the top shelf, which has a TON of space, I wanted something really pretty...
So I arranged the crate, two large baskets, a few kitchen pots,
and a funky branch in a wood bowl up there to add some interest.

This isn't one of those high-style pantry photos you see staged to within an inch of its life

on Pinterest, or in a glossy magazine photo.

It's not the result of a bank-balance-breaking shopping trip at The Container Store.

It's just a pantry prettied up by using what was on hand... baskets. crates. baking pans. 

I'm not decanting the pasta into jars with chalkboard labels. 

I'm not covering the cake boxes with paper to match my color scheme.

I'm just opening those doors and smiling my head off 

at the order, organization, and style that I was able to add in about an hour

without spending a single cent.

Paper Flower Power!

  Don't know what it is lately, but apparently I have blossoms on the brain!
I recently saw some gorgeous photos of brightly-colored paper flowers on Instagram,
posted by 'BloomBox_oc' - I tried to save an image to share here, but it wouldn't work.

Their photos reminded me of a paper flower that I won at an event, 

so I dug through some of my (still packed) boxes and found it...

it's the middle flower in that image above, made from old book pages and tissue paper

by a very creative vintage show vendor named Becky, from 'Whimsies'.

All that flower power inspired me,

 so I dug out a bunch of my own vintage paper and made myself some:

It was fun!
I haven't spent a lot of time doing creative things for myself lately, 

and this was a nice way to spend the hottest part of the day - 106 degrees. YIPES.

And when I was done, I had a buncha' blooms to put on my studio/office wall:

I haven't made time to do many creative things for myself lately, 

and this one just made me smile.
Just in case that photo above doesn't make the scale clear, here's a reference shot:

Yeah, these babies are HUGE!

This project was was fun, easy, and I already had everything I needed to make them -
which is pretty much how most of my projects come about, anyway:
I get inspired and then dig through what I have to 'make it work'!

Through the process, I snapped some photos and put together a simple tutorial:

Looks like I'll be making more in the near future, too...

my Mom saw these on my wall and asked
"I think these are exactly what I need for the wall over my bed!
Can you make some in aqua and tan and white, to match my linens?"

Why, yes, Mom, I sure can!  see more of these here!

Shared Online:

Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

By The Numbers...

 This post was prompted by a FABulous project
that I saw at my youngest daughter's home...

She wanted to give her curb appeal a jolt of style  -without spending a lot.
(sounds like all of us, right?)

so she bought picture frames at the Dollar Tree, a can of black spray paint from Ace Hardware, 

took her porch lights and house numbers off the wall... 

and painted them all!

The lights & numbers went back up, then the frames were hung -

which pops from her gray siding and draws attention to the numbers:

There's one arrangement by her front door, and one beside her garage door.
She told me it took her no more than two hours, start to finish.

Now THAT's 'Fast, Cheap, and Easy' for you! ;)
__________________________________________

Those of us who decorate 'differently' than the mainstream often get comments

that are confused, bewildered, and less than complimentary. 

You know what I mean, right?
'Why did you build a headboard out of DOORS when you can buy a perfectly good headboard?!!'

and that sort of thing....

Well, I used to hear those comments from my KIDS. Oh, yeah. 

Mom embarrassed them by hanging old windows on the side of the garage,

by refurbishing garage sale finds, by making planters from old restaurant tin cans.
They did NOT appreciate my 'recycle, reuse, reimagine' philosophy.
[where did I go wrong??!!! LOL] 

Over the years, as my daughters and son have grown up and furnished & decorated homes of their own,

guess what they discovered?
oh, just that making use of what they have on hand or can get inexpensively (or FREE)

isn't such a BAD thing after all - and it can look pretty impressive!

(Is this where I get to say 'I told you so!'???!!!)

Singin' the Blues...

Nope, I'm not sad that it's summer!
It's just that as the days heat up, the color blue can REALLY cool off our homes...

a shot of blue hues can bring calming energy and a cool (literally!) vibe to your decor.

Find some true blue hue inspiration for your summer rooms here:

bohemian blue inspiration

beachy summer color palette 

beachy weathered paint tutorial
summertime blues party decor
FREE weekend makeover parts 1 . 2 . 3 . 4

Don't be blue, baby! Just use it to decorate with ;)

FABulous Fourth!

Summer's definitely heating up, and Independence Day is just around the corner....
if you're looking for some 'Fast, Cheap & Easy'TM ideas for your weekend,

you'll find them here on homewardFOUNDdecor!

Summertime Front Porch Decor Inspiration

At Liberty Vintage Decor Inspiration
Red, White and Blue flavored water beverage

Patriot Games: Scrabble game boards as placemats

Nautical Flag Decor Inspiration
Coke Bottle Tabletop Decor Inspiration

Poker Chip Magnets

Water Bottle safety-grip labels

(click pink type for link to post)

Wishing you all a safe and happy Fourth!

spirit of aloha

yes, you CAN live in a tropical paradise - right where you are!
i've always said that if you truly love a place,
you shouldn't have to wait to visit it just once a year.
simply use the palette and elements from that place to decorate your home - 
so you can enjoy it every day!

oh, how my parents loved their annual vacation on the island of Kauai, Hawai'i.

they loved being surrounded by amazing examples of tropical beauty, 
tiki decor and Polynesian architecture - by the sights, sounds, and smells of the islands. 

from the elegance of five-star resorts to historic buildings to primitive jungles,

Hawai'ian culture embodies adventure, nature, the sea, the sky, and the sand 
like no where else on earth.
(and it was the ONLY place on earth my Mom could get my Dad to stop working!)

each year after their visit, they would return home relaxed, 
extolling the beautiful spirit of Aloha that surrounded them there.

so a few years ago, i did a makeover to bring that spirit into their home...

while they were visiting the islands, i re-decorated their home 

with all of the (many) Hawai'ian elements that they collected on their annual trips.
Mom had tucked things away in cabinets, pulling them out to use for her famous parties...

i decided to just turn their home into something that resembled one of

the resort properties on Kauai instead,

so that they would be surrounded with reminders of the place they loved every day.
 and they LOVED it!

i did this makeover during their trip in June, 2013. they went again in June of 2014 - 
completely unaware that it would be their last trip there together.
my Dad was diagnosed with cancer on their return that year,
and he was gone eight short months later.
i am so glad i brought the islands to their home when i did, 
because Dad's last days and hours were spent in a room filled with 
the beautiful music of the islands and soft breezes blowing in from the patio.
we were able to give him the feeling of being in Hawai'i...
and now he's in an even more beautiful place.

see my tropical thrifty weekend makeover of their home
in this four-part series:

Tropical Weekend Makeover Part I
 Tropical Weekend Makeover Part II

Tropical Weekend Makeover Part III
Tropical Weekend Makeover Part IV

...and make sure you check out ALL of the 'tiki style' posts here on the blog
for many more tropical decor ideas!