Framed agate slices
I fell in love with the idea of framing agate slice as wall art after I saw what Erica from Moth Design had done with hers.
So on a whim, back in February I ordered two on Etsy. And they just sat on my desk. Then Tanya from Dans le Townhouse just recently framed her agate slices and they are stunning
This was the motivation I needed to get my rear in gear and do mine. I wish I would of been able to hand pick my agate slices, rather than order them on line. The agate slices I ordered aren’t half as stunning as Tanya’s. And they didn’t have that pretty gold around the edges, which makes them look so much prettier.
My plan was to order the frames at Pottery Barn like Tanya did, but I got lucky and found two at where else…HomeGoods! They were white 11 x 14 frames with a nice mat, I wanted black frames, so I just sprayed them black. I quickly gold leafed the edges before I assembled them into the frame.
I attached my agate to a canvas panel, which is a thin canvas board with the texture of a stretched canvas, but more sturdy. Canvas panels were my staple when I was in interior design school for presentation boards.
I used Aleen’s Glass and Bead glue on the backside of the agate slices to adhere them to the canvas panel.
How to wallpaper with fabric using starch
Putting fabric on a wall with starch has been around for a long, long time. I used this technique in my kitchen pantry a couple of years ago and I was shocked on how easy it went up and how easy it is to take down {I still have mine up, but I have pulled back a piece to see how hard it would be to take down, and it just peeled right off like butter}
Last weekend I used the fabric with starch on a bigger area at our river house guest bedroom. This time I did a whole wall and I am so pleased on how well it turned out. Of course I didn’t think before I left the house to bring my good camera. Then once I started the process, it dawned on me that some of you might like to know I how I did it, so iPhone pictures is all I got.
This is how the room looked before
But after 6 years of this, I was ready for a change. I wanted to add a more modern look to the room and use a pop of color and a pattern on the headboard wall. I knew wallpaper was too permanent, and the thought of taking it down when I tire of it was not appealing. And so I came up with the idea of using a bold fabric instead of wallpaper as the alternative. This whole concept is great for renters, or a designer like me who is constantly wanting to re-design a room.
How to take better pictures
I have always wanted to take better pictures with my Nikon DSLR camera. Kate from Centsational Girl posted about one of her affiliates Shootflyshoot. It caught my attention because they show you how to use the manual mode on your DSLR camera via videos. I liked the idea that I could watch the videos on my own time, stop and start them when I needed to. So I purchased their Photography 101 videos and I must say, I love them! I watched the videos on my laptop, with my camera in hand. It was so helpful to actually manipulate my camera while watching the video.
I am not affiliated with Shootflyshoot, or getting paid to do a review. But since I bought their product I thought I would give you my personal review of how I liked their product.
I used my master bathroom tub area to try out the manual mode. Granted, they aren’t perfect, but I am very proud that I adjusted all the settings myself to get the picture.
What do you think? Not too shabby right? I think the one thing I got down was the lighting {fstop} but I still need to practice more so I can remember what to do every time.
This is the waterfall is outside the master bath window. I was very proud of myself that I was able take a picture with moving water using my manual mode settings. Still a lot to learn though.
Inspiring blogs
Happy New Year! To start off the new year, I thought I would share a couple of projects that I did last year that I didn’t put on my blog. The great thing is that all these projects were inspired from blogs that I read. Not Pinterest, but from actual bloggers who put their heart and soul into showing you how to make things and introduce you to new ideas. To me they are where the true inspiration comes from.
I was inspired by Lucy from Craftberrybush to I make my own version of her sugar cookies for Thanksgiving
Hers of course were much more healthy and prettier, I made mine from a box mix.
Who hasn’t been inspired to paint a wall or door in chalkboard paint from a blog? It was Janelle from House of Fifty back in 2010 who first introduced me to chalkboard walls.
I didn’t get to do a wall like Janelle, but I did do a chalkboard door for my daughter’s room. We already had the old door, I just inserted a thin piece of wood that I sprayed with chalkboard paint.
Ever read the blog Before & After? TONS of inspiring furniture and room makeovers. Plus Lindsay who writes the blog is pretty darn funny in her descriptions of the before and afters
Which inspired me to make a cushion for my daughters settee
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}.
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
$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}
My magnetic idea for attaching a table skirt
I love the look of a table skirt on a table for entertaining. It gives the table more depth and style compared to a plain table cloth. I was at Party City one day I saw that they had table skirts, but they were made out of plastic, more of a throw away item. It got me thinking how I would love a table skirt made out of fabric that I could use over and over again. But how would I attach the table skirt to the table and still be able to put a separate table cloth on the top? I know they make table skirt clips, but I wanted something that was seamless looking. Then an idea hit me, magnetic adhesive strips might work if I put them on both the table skirt fabric and the actual table.
With these supplies in hand I started my project
I happened to see these ruffled bed skirts on 4 Men and 1 Lady‘s Joss and Main curator collection and instantly knew they would be perfect for a ruffled table skirt. They were exactly what I needed to try out my magnetic idea. So I ordered two in the king size.
I took apart the two 15″ ruffled bed skirts and sewed them together to make a 30″ x 17′ long ruffle panel. My finished ruffled skirt was heavy, I was afraid that the weight of the fabric would be too much for the magnetic strip to stay in place. So I decided on a whim to staple the magnetic tape directly to the table
