diy
diy: forcing paperwhites
Paperwhites are one of my favorite parts of Christmas decorating. They are so easy to plant and it’s fun to watch them grow each day, but the best part are the fragrant blooms that last well after Christmas. I usually see them grown in pea gravel, but I’ve always had the best luck growing them…
diy: homemade banner
One of my nearest, dearest friends is expecting her first baby at the end of December and, while the sex is going to be a surprise, she has already decorated her nursery in a nuetral color palette with a little animal print thrown in for good measure. In keeping with her theme, I kept decorations…
diy: tissue pom poms
This weekend, I hosted an intimate baby shower/luncheon for a good friend of mine who is expecting her first child this December. To keep things light and airy, I tried my hand at making a bunch of tissue paper pom poms and not only did they turn out fabulous, but I was surprised at how…
diy: pine cone wreath
I was so inspired by the pine cone wreath I featured in this post last week, that I decided to make one for my front door! If there’s one thing there is an over abundance of in the state of North Carolina it’s pine trees, and since we have a ton of them in our…
diy: painting stripes
I’m working on a nursery for a first-time mommy-to-be, who has a small niche off her master bedroom. The room is small-10 feet by 10 feet-and so, instead of cramming a bunch of small pieces of furniture and accessories everywhere, I started by adding some visual interest to draw the eye upward and painted stripes…
DIY: grid gallery wall
Decorating a large expanse of wall or even one with a vaulted ceiling used to frustrate the heck out of me, but I quickly learned there is power in numbers. A gallery wall of your favorite photos or artwork hung in a grid pattern packs a huge visual punch and makes a beautiful display. Remember…
DIY: distressed baby letters
This past weekend we threw a shower in honor of my best friend, who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first baby in eight weeks. I wanted to make something to sit on the table with the invitation that could also be used in the nursery. Since the parents-to-be are not finding out the sex of…
DIY: “zinc” mirror
There’s something about crusty old zinc mirrors that stop me in my tracks. The price tag, on the other hand, does not. So I decided to try my hand at reinventing a wooden mirror I got at World Market a few years ago (to sit on my fireplace just until my wooden sunburst mirror from…
DIY: nautical rope doorstop
Another advantage of being married to a Marine is that mine knows how to tie an inordinate amount of knots. Normally, that doesn’t come in handy except for that one day I decide I want to make my own nautical rope doorstop and then I become giddy like a schoolgirl! This knot is called the…
DIY: whitewashed furniture
I have long been a fan of whitewashed furniture; I think it gives some pieces character that you just can’t obtain with a regular painted or stained finish. So, when I scored two oak pedestal tables for $19 a piece at my local Habitat for Humanity store during one of their 50% off sales, I…
DIY: burlap-covered vases
Flipping through the March issue of Coastal Living, I fell in love with these bleached burlap-covered vases from Aero Home: I got to thinking how easy it would be to make similar ones myself instead of paying upwards of $50 for the ones featured above. This project cost me $0 because I had all the items I needed…