Hula hoop ornament wreaths
Have you seen all the ornament wreaths everybody’s doing? I think they are so pretty and festive.
I have been dying to make two for our front doors. But the standard size would be too small because our doors are large. I would need at least a 30″ foam and those aren’t cheap and easy to find.
Then I saw Kate’s from Centsational Girl tutorial on how she made her beautiful ornament garland. I just love her style and the colors of her mantle.
And then an idea came to me. I could make an ornament wreath as big as I wanted by stringing them on to wire like she did for her ornament garland.
I already had the ornaments on hand, and using Kate’s tutorial I made an ornament garland until I had a enough to form a 30″ circle. {Kate’s tutorial on how to string the ornaments was super easy, I think by doing it this way rather than gluing them on individually saved me a ton of time}. But the ornament garland wasn’t stable enough to keep a circle shape. It needed something behind it. So I sat and stared at it for awhile. Anybody else do this when you get stuck? And then my husband walked into to the room. All I can say is, thank God I married an inventor. He asked what I was doing with the garland and I told him my dilema, and he instantly said, why not use hula hoops? Woohoo! Problem solved. Love that guy. Off to Walmart I went and picked up four $5 kid size hula hoops {got 4 just to be safe which turned out to be a life saver in the end}.
Sick and shopping {not sick of shopping}
I got myself a cold last week and can’t seem to kick it. So I am going to the Doctor today hoping he can fix me up so that I am healthy and more energetic for Thanksgiving. To pass the time, I have been catching up on blogs, pinning a TON oh and…shopping. I thinking being sick is going to put me in the poor house if I don’t get well soon.
{I would love to say I was doing some pre-Christmas shopping for my family and friends but that would be a lie. I was totally selfish and bought for just me}
Wanna see what I bought?
First up is the beautiful Caitlin McGauley print. She is one talented artist! I just fell in love her fashion illustrations
I guess technically this was a gift, because the proceeds goes to the hurricane Sandy Victims. Couldn’t pass that up!
I must be on an illustration kick because I bought this one by Jessica Rae Summer
{maybe this picture depicted the way I was feeling and that is why I was drawn to it} This girl is ONE talented artist as well. Check out these chairs she hand painted for the DIFFA Dining by Design event with Kelly Sutton of SuttonHouse {one of my favorite designers!}
My next shopping splurge was at JCrew Factory. How in the heck did I not know about them having a factory store on line? They are having a 30% off plus free shipping. Now how could I pass that up?
An Ikea step stool makeover
This weekend I did a quick and easy step stool makeover to use in my closet. Being that I am height challenged {short}, it makes it difficult {impossible} to reach all the high shelving in my closet. I decided I needed a cute step stool that I could utilize and organize my closet better. After shopping around, I found there are no real “cute” stools to be had. It was time to come up with my own DIY cute version.
So off to Ikea I went. What better place to find something that you can spruce up and make your own inexpensively? And wouldn’t you know it, they had the perfect stool for $39.99. It’s called the Ingolf stool.
Technically it is a stool to sit on, not a step stool, but the height was perfect for a shorty like me. I already knew how I wanted to make this stool more glamourous. I had pinned this bench on 1stdibs a while back
Funky and fun right? And $4200. I knew this was the look I wanted to achieve, but on a way smaller scale and price.
Luckily for me, Ikea also had this faux sheepskin rug for $9.99. A perfect knockoff for the top of my step stool. Sold!
Rather than go all gold on the legs like the inspiration picture, I chose to bring in some coral along with the gold. I used Krylon’s Coral Isle in gloss from Joann’s
Hot Chocolate Station
I love me some good hot chocolate, especially when it’s cold outside, which seems like for ever ago here in San Diego. I do a hot chocolate station every year at Christmas. Even though it is usually hot outside at Christmas in San Diego we all drink it as if it is blustering outside. Our way of making it seem like a wintery Christmas for a day.
I pretty much use what I have on hand and then embellish it with festive decorations
I also include hot apple cider in with the hot chocolate station using the mulling spices from Williams Sonoma {that stuff is the best!}. I used my sillhouette machine to make all the labels
I put the mugs in a tiered cupcake stand which I embellished with ribbon and bunting
I added fake snow to the bottom of the tiers with mini ornament lights. I loved how the battery operated mini lights lit up wrapped around the tiers, it was so festive.
I made the mini Christmas bunting from decorative ribbon, super duper easy to do. You just fold 1″ of ribbon in half and then cut the triangle and glue it to whatever string or ribbon you like. Quick and easy.
Decorating with Ikea artificial plants
I know that artificial plants are not perceived as a classy staple for decorating, but I am here to tell you different. The problem is, I can’t seem to keep a plant alive. They always look good the first couple of weeks and then they start to turn on you. They wilt, turn brown or grow in weird directions, or just plain die. Unless you have a green thumb, which I don’t, putting live plants in bookcases or tablescapes can be defeating. Until I discovered these artificial plants at Ikea for $5.99 each and my decorating world changed
They are the bomb for fillers in decorating and for people like me who can’t keep plants alive. They look real, have great texture and are the perfect size as stand alone or in clusters.
My favorite use so far has been using them outside. Yep, fake plants outside, and they totally fake people out when I tell them they are not real. I have had these Ikea plants outside for over a year and they are hardly fading. Here I used two different varieties in one buket
Even close up they look pretty realistic don’t ya think? You might remember when I “potted” some in my Radio Flyer Wagon last year {and they are still looking fresh a year later}
But I mainly use them inside the house for fillers in my tablescapes and bookshelves. I used them in this fall trayscape mixed with dried hydrangeas
Great space saving closet tips
I have been slowly organizing my closet. It all started with Pinterest and people pinning glamourous closets like these
To die for pink pendants light fixtures right?
The tufted seats…gonna do this for sure!
Oh the shoe space is to die for and that chandelier? Be still my heart
Seeing all these Pinterest images made me realize three things:
1. I have a dream closet but didn’t realize it’s potential until Pinterest
2 I need to organize my stuff much more efficiently to make it look pretty {like how they laid out the shoes in the last picture}
3 It was time to glam up my closet
I started my makeover back in March when I wallpapered my closet in this large damask print
But that is as far as I got. Until recently, when I saw this light fixture at a local store, Girard Avenue Collections
It was the perfect glam piece I needed for my closet, so I bought it. Unfortunately it is still sitting in the box in the closet and not hanging from the ceiling. My electrian is TOO busy right now so I have to wait, ugh!
So in the mean time I started organizing and editing my clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry. I needed to have more organization and neatness in my closet if I want to achieve that glamourous dreamy closet. No more stacking my shoes hap-hazardly and mixed matched hangers.
Agate in your home
Have you noticed the agate trend? It’s everywhere in home furnishings. I like the movement of agate but in small doses. I could not live with this countertop on a daily basis, could you? Way too much movement for me. {I’ll take two of those light fixtures please!}
But I do love how agate looks as bookends
And in lamps
Or framed art
I think the use of agate in this bathroom is my all time favorite. Even though it is not fitting into my small doeses theme , I think it is stunning
You could get a small dose of this look via Anthropologie
Those knobs were $14 each and just went on sale for $2.95. I bet they sell out fast.
What is your take on the agate trend? Love it or leave it?
$40 Ikea Vittsjo sheliving unit
When I saw this Ikea Vittsjo hack on Ana Antunes blog I was smitten. The high end look she achieved on the shelving unit was genius and then to top it off she is Portuguese! Which made me even more an awe since I am half Portugese. 
It seems to be the new Ikea hack lately. You can’t beat the price, $70. I love that you can really transform the metal and glass unit to fit your own decorating style. Kate from Centsational Girl did hers in white and replaced the glass with wood
For Chic Sake did a single shelving unit in gold but replaced the bottom shelf with a mirror insert. Smart, wish I would of thought of that.
So when I needed something to flank the two sides of my new credenza out at our river house, guess what I did? Yep went and got me two of the Ikea Vittso shelving units and sprayed them gold. I used the single shelving units which are $40 each
I haven’t finished styling them yet but I love how they turned out. I assembled them first and then sprayed them with Design Masters Brillant Gold
I didn’t bring my good camera with me so here is another iPhone blurry picture
And because we all love a good before and after, here is what this area used to look like {I finally got the tv hung, which made a world of difference}
