easy no-mess Easter basket grass

while i have always loved creating holiday decor,

i do have my limits... Easter grass is one of them.

(my theory is it was created by the same people who invented Legos.

to drive parents - specifically the parent who does the cleaning - batty.)

since i hate the mess  of plastic grass strands wrapped around the vacuum bar!!,

i've found other materials to use in Easter baskets that reduce the mess and fuss.

yes, paper shred works - but it's still a mess.

i've found a way to get the same effect as grass

without the resulting mess and cleanup...

and you might be really surprised at how cheap and easy this solution is!

continue reading for my sly little trick (that has an added benefit!)...

my top tree lighting tip...

this photo may be a bit of a surprise after my last post...
before we get to the merry & bright colorful decor,
i have a tree-lighting tip to share with you that is guaranteed to up the sparkle factor
on any tree you decorate!

continue reading to see what my no-fail tree lighting trick is...

tutorial: make faux succulents from ribbons

as i've been scouring my house for crafting / decorating supplies during quarantine,

i've unearthed a LOT of stuff that i had forgotten about!
case in point: a tin container of multicolored ribbons shoved in a box.
i pulled them out, separated them by color, and looked at the pile of green ribbons

with an eye toward using them somehow in the new guest room decor.

nothing immediately came to me UNTIL i walked outside that evening to water our plants.

i looked over at a galvanized bucket filled with succulents and BING! 

bells started ringing in my head.

a nice 'play' session ensued, where i messed around with paper, scissors, and glue

to combine with those ribbons and turn them into a decor element.

once that was done, i attached them to something already in the room -

and i really like the way this one turned out!

continue reading for the before, during, after, 

AND a tutorial to walk you through making your own faux succulents from ribbons!

painted ceramic vases = faux cacti!

ideas for decorating with succulents and cacti have taken over my brain!

i've been sharing all of the details of projects completed as part of a recent

no-cost makeover of our guest room, giving it boho style,

and i hope you've been finding some inspiration for projects of your own!

the bowl of faux succulents/cacti shown above reveals another one, and it's SO easy. 

continue reading to see the before & after transformation...

summer patio decor refresh

this patio decor project is a perfect example 
of my homewardFOUND decorating philosophy:
re-think what you already have to make your home look terrific!

we've reached the middle of the strangest summer on record,
and if you're like me, you've been home A LOT  - 
maybe the spaces you've spent a lot of time in might need a refresh right about now.
since we're all enjoying the nice weather outdoors these days,
why not give your patio, porch, or deck a quick makeover? FREE?!

continue reading to see two examples of VERY 'fast, cheap, & easy' makeovers
on two different outdoor living spaces...

metal chair = magnet board!

a spur-of-the-moment solution to a project i'd been considering took over my weekend!
making a change to the black metal chair in this photo has been on my mind,
but i wasn't sure about the method. or the outcome. mostly, the permanence of it.
so it's been 'on the back burner' for awhile. um... years.
then a solution presented itself - and in less than ten minutes, i had done it!

continue reading to see the final colorful outcome of this crazy-easy undertaking,
and hear a tale about the chair in this photo. it's been on a journey to get to me...

updating old school clipboards

say 'clipboard' and everyone pictures part of a computer function.

in my office, it refers to the Old School style ACTUAL clipboards.

sure, i use digital photography, social media, web platforms, and digital files.

but in the course of blogging and designing spaces for retailers & show vendors,

i also use a lot of hand-drawn sketches, doodled/scribbled ideas, and notes.

a LOT of doodles and notes. and they pile up.

for years, i've used shallow wire baskets to corral the paper landslide. 

(another old school organization method) but it always looks messy.

 while cleaning, i spied several old wood clipboards that my Dad had used in his warehouse...

and an idea began percolating:

make these look good, and they'd sure come in handy for holding file folders.

and y'know, they really do! i use them every day now.

continue reading to see how fast this project was...

salvaged junk potting bench

spring and summer bring out my green thumb,

and having a potting bench to plant, replant, and putter around on is a necessity.

me being me, though, i'm not about to spend money on one!

i'd rather create something that is 'one of a kind' that no one else has,

re-using the junk and salvaged stuff that's already around the house...

so when i spied an unused plywood table extension in the garage, 

my mind saw it as a component of a potting bench for our backyard.

so last year, i got to work on it - and because i wasn't blogging then, i never shared it here.

with gardens on everyone's mind right now, i thought it was time to remedy that!

continue reading to see what ELSE i dragged out there to build this useful diy piece...

free weekend may-keover!

if this 'stay at home' order has done one thing, 

it has made many of us start looking more closely at the rooms we live our lives in. right?.

and that can reveal things that we tend to overlook...

like rooms that are looking a bit sad, and need some help.

now, you know me - i'm not gonna' spend money if i don't have to.

and i don't consider home decorating an 'essential' reason to head to the store right now.

so.... i shopped the house and pulled together stuff we have here already

and gave one of our rooms a simple makeover. FREE. in a weekend.
one day to paint two items, another day to swap out accessories and linens. easy-peasy. 

continue reading to see the details!

colorful office makeover

i thought i'd start off the month with a #MAYkeover story!

a week ago, i undertook a massive purge / cleaning/ reorganization of my studio/office.

while it has needed a deep clean for over six months just to get rid of things i don't use anymore,
the truth is that this project was the result of color overload...

before we talk about how my creative space ended up having a BAD effect on me,

we need to go back a bit... to my 'neutral phase'....

if you've read my posts about office organization,

you've seen my neutral-tone studio that i created in my farmhouse on an island.

i loved that peaceful, serene room that allowed me to focus on my work,

and for over a decade now, i've embraced neutrals as the basis of my home decor.

sure, i sometimes add a small 'pop' of color each season to the porch or other rooms -

but i've kept my creative workspace neutral. it worked in the past, so i stuck with it.

until i realized something about myself...

continue reading for the story of how i got from there, to here, and what happened in between!

cinco de mayo mayhem!

I know, it's weird out there. All kinds of celebrations are cancelled.
We're allllll ready for this coronavirus quarantine to end. 
But hold on, my friends, there is a way to find the happy while we wait:

*This year, Cinco de Mayo is on a Tuesday. TACO Tuesday!* 
It's the perfect reason to celebrate, right in your own backyard!

SO, today I'm dipping back into my blog archives (about seven years back!)
to share three different ideas for fiesta-style tablescapes and bar setups.
With all of us staying home, these ideas will help you
to see 'what you have at home' in a fresh new way to create something fun!

continue reading for a peek at three different themes for Cinco de Mayo Celebrations:

a sunny bunny Easter table

 i dunno' what the weather is like where you live, but here, it's positively murky.
gray, rainy, COLD (relatively speaking - it's cold for us!), and dismal.
this whole isolation/quarantine/stay home order would be a LOT easier
if the sun would shine and the weather would warm up 

so we could spend time outside in our yard!

sometimes, we can't wait for the sunshine - or spring - to come to us. 

we have to go to it.
and since we can't go anywhere right now, we have to CREATE a sunny spring.

that's what i did for our Easter table - i created some sunshine!
i grabbed everything yellow i could find and put together a simple, easy, happy tablescape

that's made up of just 'everyday' stuff, coordinated by color.

my homebound friends, you can do this in just minutes with ANY color you have on hand!
don't let being stuck inside the house because of weather or quarantine stop your celebration.

continue reading to see more details that i hope will inspire you to 'get to spring'...

easter eggs on parade

it's April first - and rather than share a joke or a prank, 
i hope you'll enjoy this slideshow of Easter egg decorating ideas

pulled from my past homewardFOUND blog posts!

for more inspiration, 

see all past Easter egg posts here

paint chip easter eggs - over easy!

if you've been around here any length of time, 

you know that i like my decorating projects 'fast, cheap, & easy'TM. my trademark phrase.

in this case, the project is 'over easy'! 

yeah, it's a pun, but it's also true - because this is a super-fast craft idea for spring & Easter.

.

continue reading for the easy how-to and how i've used them...

home-making

friends, i just want to offer an encouraging note to you today...

i know things are scary in this world right now. i feel it, too.

.

in the midst of all of it, i am purposing to choose to keep my mind in a place of faith not fear, 

a place of peace not panic, a place of still finding things in everyday life to be grateful for. 

to find simple, comforting ways to be creative and content at home. 

to make home a place of respite, refuge, and happiness.

and isn't it good that we can make our homes a retreat from the worlds' chaos? 

in the midst of the current sense of uncertainty, i hope that you can all 
focus your mind and your thoughts on still seeing beauty in the world around you,
extend patience and kindness to others (but not your hands! LOL),
and fill up your homes with a daily celebration of life:
music, cleanliness, and a calmness of spirit built on gratitude for what we DO have.

.
we have a choice, and our choices affect others around us and in our homes...
we can still shine the light of hopefulness and BE the bright side of life right now.
we can still pull together here on social media and encourage & uplift one another.

.as a way of sharing good news and encouraging messages & images,
i invite you to share your social media links in a comment on this post:
facebook page, blog, instagram, pinterest, twitter. you can share someone else's, too!

.

this is a way we can 'visit' some new people, find uplifting content, and let it brighten our days! 😘

____________________________

oh, and that project pictured above?
i've had a few questions about it, so i'll share the details...

continue reading to see more!

paint chip shamrocks!

it's finally MARCH!
so now i can divulge the second decor project that i came up with
after creating my 'painted paint chip' paper <<< click for tutorial
(this project was actually the REASON i came up with that alternative to using actual paint chips)

inspired by my own pink 'paint chip hearts' shared back in February, 
i tweaked that process to make shamrocks to decorate with, in honor of St. Patricks' Day - 
and it's SO easy, even your kids can do this!

continue reading for an easy-peasy spring decor craft that your little leprechauns will love...

painted 'paint chip' wall art

in a past post, i used pink paint chip cards to make decorative hearts.

i also talked about how it is decidedly NOT cool 

to grab handfuls of paint chip cards from your local hardware or paint store, 

and suggested a few ways to obtain said paint chip cards without being greedy.

today, i came up with another alternative - just paint your own 'paint chips'!

i grabbed some heavy white paper and some craft paints to try out my idea,

and it works so well that i immediately made some wall art out of it!

continue reading for an easy paint tutorial,
and in just a short time, you can have SHEETS of 'paint chips' to craft & decorate with!

freshening up!

as March approaches and spring arrives, 
i tend to gravitate toward greens and yellows as accent colors in my neutral home...
what's YOUR favorite color right now?

wait - what??? COLOR? ooooh, scary, right?

you can live with color without committing to long-term change!

add a few simple colorful accessories to your office or entry way

and your neutral rooms will SPRING to life! 

in this past post, i shared some of my office organization & decor ideas,

along with photos of my own studio spaces over the years.

i recently came across photos of another office space i had in the past,
that i spruced up with a shot of bright chartreuse green.

this seems like a good time to share those, with a seasonal change on the way.
giving our spaces a face lift as spring approaches is a great idea...

continue reading to see how offices and front entries can quickly look and feel 'spring fresh'!

heart of glass

 if you're as old as me, you might know that this blog post's title is actually a song title.

(by the band Blondie, waaaaaaay back in the late 70's)

in the song, a heart of glass gets broken.
around here, there are some glass hearts that have been in our stash SINCE the late 70's -
and the fact that they haven't broken yet is kinda' amazing, if you ask me!

by incorporating those small-ish glass hearts into our existing winter decor,
they instantly bring a Valentine's Day vibe for the month of February.

continue reading to see how...

heart-felt decor - in an instant!

we incorporated the color RED (for the first time) into our home decor this winter,

and it has truly warmed up the visual look of our rooms.
(i've linked up those posts at the bottom of this post)

the bonus is that this color made the transition to February SO easy:

all i did was add in a few red hearts... BOOM! done!
one of the ways i did that was by using a completely unconventional method 
that i just had to share!

continue reading for my crazy crafty decorating exploits...