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7.22.2016

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}


7.11.2016

By The Numbers...

by the numbers house number refresh homewardfounddecor
 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! ;)
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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!'???!!!)

7.07.2016

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:

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