painted 'heart art'

Valentine's Day is almost upon us...
 i had a 'Valentine' project idea, and started on it... then stopped. 

it just wasn't going the way i wanted. 

after taking a break and surfing Instagram, i had a NEW idea!

(do you have any idea how MANY 'ideas' never make it to the blog?!!!
creating is a process - and sometimes, that process doesn't work as planned!)

the original project plan became THIS and i'm much happier with the results.

i owe that to two other people - continue reading to find out why!

tiny thread nests

springtime always brings me back to making different kinds of bird nests...

they represent spring, and also connect to the practice of 'nesting',
making a home fresh and clean as well as warm and welcoming. 

today i am sharing a new nest i've created this month,

inspired by talented artist and designer Cathe Holden.

i recently saw a photo of one of her sweet little nests made from sewing thread,

and was so charmed by the utter simplicity of it that i just had to replicate the idea -

 using yellow thread, of course!

this was a truly 'fast, cheap, and easy'TM project that i think you'll love,
and it would make a perfect treat at each place setting on your Easter table!

continue reading for the easy details... and more about my muse, Cathe!

a quiet beginning...

the beginning of a new year is like an empty room or a blank canvas or page to me...
as i open a new calendar and stare at the month of January,
i see a fresh start. possibility. space. time. freedom. opportunity. 
i like the idea of letting go of the old and embracing the new - 
even when it's sometimes scary to make big changes.

in mid-December, i read a post by one of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp,

and felt a great weight lift from my soul when i scrolled down and saw these words:

Let go of Plan A — Go with 'Plan Be.'

it hit home because Deb is a planner, my friends. a list-maker. a 'DO-er'.
and i most definitely gauge my worth and value on my output and productivity.
i always have - long before social media made it a daily goal visible to the world.
and it's a very bad habit. it drives me into burnout in every area of my life.
i've been struggling with that since October.
 but after spending much of December not creating online content,
and thinking about what i can do to remedy the predicament i find myself in,
i know what to do now...

continue reading

sweet sparkling new year!

we arrive at the end of the year, and the start of a new one...

we've made it, and that's cause to celebrate!

whether you gather with family, friends, neighbors, or a special person tomorrow night,
or spend a blissfully cozy evening alone in a bubble bath or watching The Ball drop,

i have a few last-minute ideas to share for making your New Year's Eve sparkle!

speaking of lifting spirits, continue reading for more...

send a message with stamped dishes!

sometimes an idea comes outta' nowhere.

sometimes, nature is the inspiration.

and sometimes, another creative person does something new

that makes me realize a possibility that intrigues me...

that's the case with this 'just for fun' diy project.

i saw something on social media and laughed.

then i thought 'i have a few china dishes that i could do something like that with....'

and so, i tried it just to see how it would look.

my approach is temporary art, as most of my decor projects are.

(actually, i came up with TWO ways to do this project that are temporary)

when i tire of this look, i'll be able to 'erase' it

and return the dishes to their original condition.

and when it was all done, another approach occurred to me!

...continue reading to see where my mind took me...

celebrate home!

"endings need grieving... and beginnings deserve celebration."

i read that line recently in a devotional, and it really spoke to me.

while many of us may not actually be grieving the end of a very trying year,

we certainly DO need to celebrate the arrival of a fresh new one!

there's a lovely song called 'Celebrate Me Home'
(originally by Kenny Loggins, and recently covered by Josh Groban)
that includes these lines:
"Come on and play my music, Let's turn on the love light in the place...
Please, celebrate me home...Play me one more song that I'll always remember,
And I can recall, Whenever I find myself too all alone, I can sing me home."

what a beautiful idea - to celebrate home.
not feel imprisoned in, not tolerate, not begrudgingly accept... but celebrate.
express gratitude for the home we have, enjoy the time spent there, really live there.

as we enter this new year, i thought it would be good to focus on 

ways that we can refresh, reclaim, and rejuvenate the MOOD inside our rooms...
celebrating our homes, if you will.
helping us to embrace and enjoy where we live our lives in simple ways every day.

continue reading for some of my top tips to help you celebrate your home...

repurposed wood crate entry decor

decorating with succulents and cacti is a hot design trend right now...
these easy-care, high-impact plants are making appearances 
in mod boho bedrooms and rustic farmhouse dining rooms,
as well as on back decks & front porches everywhere.

last summer, i was inspired by a very creative display idea at a store, 
so i re-created a budget version of it in our front entry, using succulents.
i never shared this project in a blog post, so it's time to make up for that.
(plus, it ties in beautifully to a whole new series of posts i'm prepping for August!)

continue reading for 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:

vintage door = inspiration board

while i love Pinterest as much as the next girl, i prefer the old school method...

an actual 3-D 'bulletin board', inspiration board, mood board -

whatever you want to call it. and the bigger, the better!

years ago, i had an old door that i turned into an inspiration board

by filling the window area with a large piece of modular ceiling tile.

(you know the kind that drops into the T-bar in the dropped ceilings of every office building?)

 it worked great - but that material is messy as heck. it's like styrofoam.

  

so when i undertook the same project again recently, i needed a new material to use.

turns out, i had what i needed in the garage!

 continue reading to learn how to create a bulletin/inspiration board, 

using an old door or window frame - or even a new window frame, or picture frame.

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'!

happy Galentine's day!

Valentine's Day isn't ALL about hearts and roses and romantic love.

it's also a great time to share the love with your girl friends - especially the single ones ;) 

(and who needs roses when you have rose', amiright?!)

the idea for our party decor started with a pink paint chip from the hardware store.

i had a few on hand after helping a client select paint colors for her retail shop,

and with them, this party theme rapidly became 'Paint the Town Pink!'

continue reading to see some fun ideas for a themed GALentine's dessert party...

frosted fall leaves tutorial

"autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower..." ~ Albert Camus

that's one of my favorite quotes about autumn.
i saw something the other day that caused that poetic line to spring to my mind:

isn't it pretty? i love the 'fall-into-winter' feel of the leaves shown here.
this image on writer Ann Voskamp's website inspired me to create
my own 'frosted fall leaves' for a simple Thanksgiving tablescape...
it's a really easy project, and it turned out perfectly.

continue reading for the easy tutorial if you need a last-minute Thanksgiving idea
that won't take much time at all...

thanksgiving tablescape round-up

well, here we are again, my friends... running at full speed toward the holiday season!

things can be pretty crazy this time of year, so to help prepare you for Thanksgiving, 

here's a round-up of my past posts sharing some tips, tricks, and ideas

for creating lovely table settings without a lot of prep & work...  

 click on each title to read the entire post, 

where you'll find all the details and resources to help you out!

.

#1: Vintage White & Tan Table

#2: Vintage Black White & Tan Table

#3: Spicy Table

#4: Spicy Table part deux

#5: Green Table

#6: Urban Style Table

#7: Urban Bar Buffet Table

#8: Vintage Pink Table

#9: Vintage White Table

#10: Vintage Silver Table

#11: Vintage Brown Table

#12: Fabulous Fall Tables

#13: Autumn Picnic Table

#14: Thanksgiving Tea Table

#15: Modern Table

#16: Kids' Table 

#17: Thanksgiving Buffet Table

#18: A Tasty Table

#19: Last Minute Table

#20: Simple Table

i don't know about you, but sometimes 

it seems that Thanksgiving gets lost in the rush of the holidays, 

receiving little attention and not much preparation

(yes, i DO 'fess up to totally forgetting the table decor one year!)

for me, setting a welcoming table to enhance the delicious food

is a simple way that we can encourage our guests to 

slow down and focus on the people who are most important to us...

may your Thanksgiving be a day of gratitude, generosity, and connection this year, 

surrounded by family, friends, or family AND friends...

and thank you so much for dropping in here for a visit!

  

well, hello, pumpkins!

(i know, it's been a year since i closed this blog! i wasn't going to post anymore!
but a recent project is SO easy and SO worth sharing with you that... well, here i am again!)

a while back, i had an idea for a new decor project.

it was inspired by some scrap wood cacti shared by 'A Crafty Mix'
on Funky Junk Interiors Junk Projects Party #474 ,

only my idea was to use *a particular wood item* as the basis of my repurposed cacti.
then i forgot all about it. (hey, it's summer....)

this past week, for some strange reason, that forgotten idea morphed into a new one.

and it was pumpkins, natch. i mean - this is me, the former pumpkin queen. 

what ELSE am i gonna' be thinking about as fall approaches, right?

i've designed my original sweet sweater pumpkins, glass lamp globe pumpkins,
tin can pumpkin pails and faux concrete painted pumpkins

...and shared them all with you here on the blog. 

so with my 'pumpkin brain' engaged, i made a stop at the local Savers thrift store,

and they had exactly what i needed. i saw it, i liked it, i wanted it, i got it. (yeah).

and then... i painted it!

<<< click 'continue reading' to see what i did - and what i used!

fall picnic: a movable feast

Fall is the perfect time of year for a picnic...
enjoying an alfresco meal that is elegant and fancy, plain and simple, or somewhere in the middle.
Keeping basic elements needed for a picnic ready to go in a basket or tote
makes it easy to enjoy a last-minute trip
to enjoy sunset on the beach or a temperate day at the local park...
Don't let the fact that summer is over keep you inside!

...continue reading to see just how easy it can be to create a Movable Feast!

Mother, May I?

ok, friends, Mother's Day is this coming Sunday!
here are some easy and creative last-minute ideas for your celebrations...

continue reading to see all of my Mother's Day posts!

Salvaged Cross Wall Art

 as fun as the bunny ear napkins were in my last post, 

i couldn't let Easter go by without sharing much more meaningful content...

the cross in the photo above is a wood planting box, 

handmade by an artisan* who gifted it to me in a parking lot. yes, a parking lot. 

his truck was parked next to me at a local nursery, and he walked out as i was getting out of the car.

i complimented him on the two planters that he had in his hands - the cross and this heart - 

and he told me his good news, that he had just landed an account for them to sell his planters.
he smiled a mile wide - then he handed the planters to me. 

i was shocked and tried to refuse them, saying he didn't need to 'pay' me for the compliment.

and that young man said something profound to me that will be forever linked to this cross planter:

'hey, good news needs to be shared, and celebrated!'

 yes, yes it does. 

and on Easter weekend, i can think of no Good News better than that of the Cross.

that particular cross is now something i see every day in my home.
when i was creating a gallery wall arrangement, i grabbed the cross planter from the potting bench,

intending to include it in my decor. but it needed something more... and it became a project!

continue reading to see what i did with it!

Winter Into Spring Decor

 wondering how to decorate for the change from winter into spring?

try combining the hues and textures of winter with a touch of spring flowers, 

like the clear & white glass, burlap, and cherry blossom combination above.

this is a really simple way to take an everyday item and make it work as decor...

yes, those round things in the photo up above ARE what you think they are:

glass light globes

from old porch lights and overhead hall lights!

continue reading to see what i've done with them for spring!

Valentine's Day Projects + Tutorials

looking for some 'fast, cheap, & easy' TM ideas + inspiration

for making Valentine's Day gifts + decor using what you already have?

you'll find tutorials and photos for my TOP TEN best-selling and most popular original projects

- plus two inspiring valentine party themes - in the homewardFOUND blog archives. 

i've pulled the links all together here to make it easy for you ;)

TUTORIALS:
giant L O V E letter tiles  

embellished vintage bottles . wrapped glass vases

paper swedish hearts . paper flower heart

sweet pincushions . fabric sweet hearts  

  sweet gift tags  . heart gift tags  . charm bracelet

PARTY INSPIRATION:
sweet treat party decor . sweethearts soiree

have fun makin'! 

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #414