Pantry Revived
Have you been watching the Hoarders TV show on A&E lately? It really motivates you to clean up and clean out doesn’t it? That is how I felt about my pantry. It was a mess and so unorganized it drove me crazy! These pictures are embarrassing and I can not believe I am showing you them, but I am so proud of the end result it just wouldn’t be the same if you hadn’t seen how it looked before. 
I thought that the producer of Hoarders might be calling me soon if I didn’t do something about it. 
You know how it is, so many things to do and so little time! I just put it on the back burner for that a some day project. A couple of bloggers got me inspired when I saw these posts
And this post
Aren’t those amazing! But I had other projects to complete before I started this one. Then…we had a visitor. A visitor you don’t want to see, the kind that are uninvited but show up anyway. I won’t show you any disgusting pictures, it wasn’t that bad, but it was enough to get me motivated to halt all other projects and get this pantry into tip top shape.
Since this is just a pantry, I decided this would be a good time to attempt something that I have been wanting to try. Putting fabric on the walls using starch.
Mod Podge Tables
This was going to be my original post on linking up to the CSI Project. But my dresser from yesterday got priority, so I thought today I would show you some things I have done in the past with Mod Podge. I love that stuff! I won’t show you ALL the things I have done, cause it would be a long ole post. But here are some of my favorites.
This is what the $5 thrift shop table looked like before I painted it and Mod Podged. I used fabric on the table top and then used Mod Podge to seal the top. It is a work horse in my studio, it hasn’t let me down.
This ugly side table was an estate sale find for $2. {sorry about the picture quality, it is the only one I could find for a before picture}
I sprayed it with lime green paint and Mod Podged a vellum damask scrapbook paper on top. 
I did not Mod Podge this couch {although that would be cool to do} but I did make a slip cover with a zipper opening, which was very hard for a non sewer to do, that coordinated with my two Mod Podge tables.
Hmmm..recognize the wallpaper? Yep, that is what I used for the dresser. It was left over from when I had my studio wall papered. In case you haven’t noticed, I kinda like damask. But this is my studio, only I am in it, so I kinda went over the top. I would never design this much damask in any other room or for a client. I have to tell you, I love being in this space. It is very invigorating. Seriously, if you browse my blog and see the projects I do, look at pictures of my house, parties and events I have done, there is usually some form of damask. I’m an addict for sure! 
Teacher Lunch Bag
Sometimes I come across the cutest lunch bags at Homegoods. I don’t work out of the house, so I am always bummed when I see them because I want one for myself. So I do the next best thing, and buy them for friends and family members as gifts and add my own little touches to them. They are roomy inside and also come with plastic containers that have cooler lids that you can put in the freezer to keep your food cold. And for the price of $12.99, I think they are a great buy. This particular one I bought for my good friend who is a first grade teacher and happens to have a birthday coming up. I thought it would be a nice gift after a having summer off to get her back into the swing of things for the new year. I needed to pretty it up with some bling and trim, cause she is that kind of gal.
The front looked cute, but the back was plain Jane. What to do, what to do…got it! I took an acrylic crystal {didn’t want to use glass just in case it might bang into something and shatter glass everywhere, that wouldn’t be good} and traced out the shape on damask paper and mod podged it on to the back. I attached it with a cute ribbon and hand sewed it on to the bag. Ta DA! Just what it needed!
Peacock, Chandelier, Damask Wedding Card Box
As I was browsing through my iPhoto recently, I noticed that I have a lot of pictures of projects I have done that I have never shared on my blog. I mean A LOT! I am turning over new leaf today, and telling myself that at least once a week I need to post past projects I have previously done.
So for the first post, I am sharing a card box I did for a bride back in January. She wanted to use it for her engagement party in New York and for her wedding in May. She needed ASAP {like within a week} and she wanted to incorporate all of her theme into the box. Peacock, chandelier and damask. Yikes I thought, how in the hec am I going to pull that off? 
Once I started pulling it together, I was pleasantly surprised on how all the elements flowed together.
The bride loved how it turned out and I was even able to express mail it to her in time for her engagement party. The chandelier even turns on and off! I have the battery pack inside the top box. You just push on the bottom of the chandelier and it turns on and off. Pretty darn cool don’t ya think? It is one of my favorite card boxes I have done. Sharing this with
Damask Settee
I bought this settee a couple of months ago at a flea market event. It looked like this
My vision was to use it outside. I sent it home with the person I bought it from at the flea market to have her upholster it for me. I was originally thinking of doing it in a burlap, or a white twill with some french writing on it. Then I came across two fabrics at Home Fabrics for $4.99 a yard and knew they were perfect for the settee. I sent off the fabric to the seller and I am in love with how it turned out!
As you can see these pictures are not taken of the settee sitting outside. Once I showed my husband the settee, he absolutely said no to putting it outside, that it was too beautiful to have the outside elements ruin it. I knew he was right, but darn it, now where was I going to put it? I moved this puppy around so many different spots in my house. I have really, really tall ceilings in my house and small scale furniture like this ends up looking like doll furniture in the rooms. But I think I found it a home.
I never thought this dining room really needed any more furniture in it, but once I moved that round table out of the corner and put the settee there it just worked!
Damask Delight: Meal Time Finds
clockwise from bottom left:
Damask Napkins – Plum Party
Printable Takeout Box – The Posh Event
Vintage Painted Bottles – Garrafaria
Damask Plates – Impress In Print
and for dessert… Damask Cake Stand – Polyvore
Damask Delight – Byrdie Graphics
I just love the selection of damask decals in Etsy shop Byrdie Graphics. Imagine having guests over a surprising them with a completely new look in one of your rooms! What’s great about decals is that you can use them sparingly or go all out, whatever fits your style. And even better is that when you change your mind, style or even move, they are easily removed.
Damask Delight – Cookies & Cake with Whipped Bakeshop
I spotted a few edible damask treats on Whipped Bakeshop‘s Flick’r photostream and just couldn’t resist. Wouldn’t these be divine on a sweet table? Or favors for your guests?
