This is the color they sell on their web site

But I got my chairs  on clearance because they were discontinuing the red color.  I snapped a picture of them sitting in my garage

The combination of the red upholstered chairs, blue cushions and gold valance will compliment the Wonderland drapery fabric on the other side of the room

Even though the dining room table has a “country” feel to it, I think by adding the more stream lined upholstered chair and the blue geometric cushion fabric will make it less country looking.   I am  trying to avoid replacing the table, so I am hoping these updates will work,  what do you think?   I am heading out there this weekend to put it all together, so we will see. I will keep you posted.  Have a great weekend!

World Market dining chairs is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

Yep, Eddie Ross!  Now that was icing on the cake for me!  To be included with such a talented guy like Eddie is pretty special.  I buy Calico Corners fabrics a lot, and I have for years.  We have a store in San Diego and the staff there are so wonderful to work with, it has kept me coming back year after year.  Not to mention that I love being in any place surrounded by bolts upon bolts of fabric.  I loved the article, you can read it here.

More exciting news was that my valance tutorial was featured on Daily Do It Yourself.

That site is awesome. They showcase interesting, unique, and fabulous do-it-yourself creations from around the blogshphere.

Inspire Me Heather also did a great article on grasscloth and featured some of the spaces I have used grasscloth {which I admit is a lot} Her site is about linking tutorials and inspiration on home improvement from bloggers, lots of crafts, DIY & home decor projects.

Both of these blogs are definitely worth adding to your reader!

Today is only Wednesday, it has been a pretty darn good week for me already don’t ya think?

I was featured in the Calico Corners Newsletter is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

We used my Nikon camera to do the stills and the video.  It was so convenient and easy to toggle back and forth from still to video with a push of a button.  We didn’t have to set up two different cameras, which makes it so much easier and faster.  Hopefully with the step by step tutorial along with this video, I have covered all bases for anyone to make their own tailored valance.

Step by step directions found here.  I used Calico Corners Plataue fabric for the valance, found here

I would love to know what you think of the video.  Is the step by step tutorial and video helpful, or should I just give up my acting career and stick to written instructions only?

Video on how to make a tailored valance is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

One item I kept looking for was a 24″ starburst mirror for our river house.  They seemed to have a variety of these mirrors pop up on their sales, but they were $200 and up plus an outrageous amount for shipping.  But I kept looking every day, just in case.  And sure enough I found one that was affordable and the exact size I needed.  $59 plus tax and shipping.  You know what I always say…Score!

Even though I originally wanted the finish in gold and this one was dark brown,  I knew I could easily gold leaf it if I needed to

But once I got it up I liked it just the way it was.  Whew, one less project to do! I love how it reflects the cabinetry in the mirror.  Have you shopped One Kings Lane and found any deals?

One King’s Lane starburst mirror is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

With this type of valance you can get away with not lining your fabric.  The majority of the valance is against the upper part of the wall above the window, very little is in the actual window.  Whenever you can see a valance or drapery from the outside looking in, always line the fabric to give your windows uniformity from the outside view.   Also, make sure the type of fabric you are using is not a thin cotton, otherwise you might have to line it to give it more visual weight and to lay properly.

Here are the supplies you will need:

• 1″ x 4″ pine board {make sure it is straight} the length of your window plus 4″
• White fabric to cover the board
• Fabric for your valance {quantity depends on the size of your window}
• Sewing machine {this tailored valance can be made into a “no sew version” by using iron on sewing tape rather than the sewing machine}
• Iron
• Staple gun
• “L” brackets

{You might think this next step is unnecessary since the board will be covered in your valance fabric. The reason for this is, if you put this valance say in a window above a couch, and someone is to look up they won’t see raw wood behind the valance.  It gives it a more finished look}

{Clarification as to why you need the extra 7″. This is the total for the two sides of the board which are each 3 1/2″ wide}

This is where I forgot to take a picture of  how I placed the board on the fabric and how I lined it up.  Contact me if you have any questions on this stepYou should use at least two “L” brackets to hang your valance, three if your window is super long.  Once you get your “L” brackets up, slide your valance on to the top of the bracket centering the valance to the window.

Your finished window should look like this

Doing tutorials are always tough for me, so if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.  But I hope I covered it enough that you will be able to make your own.  If you do, I would love to see pictures!

Sharing this project with these lovely ladies

Erin’s Just a party with my peeps

Judy’s Swing into Spring

How to make a tailored valance is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

Oh well, now I get to pass my easy idea to all of you and take comfort in the fact that I will be saving other people time and money.

It all started when I thought of making water bottle labels for a charity event my daughter and her friend were hosting.  But I wanted to try printing the labels on regular contact paper.  Contact paper has a self stick backing, plus it is vinyl so the label won’t disintegrate if it gets wet.  Having a laser printer, I knew it would melt the ink on the contact paper unlike an inkjet printer.  And you know what?  It worked perfectly!  The cool thing is, you can buy a roll of contact paper for less than $5, and that will cover a lot of water bottles.  Can’t get any more frugal than that.

So I have put together a little tutorial on how I did it. You do need to either have a laser printer or access to one to be able to make these.   You can check with Kinkos, I think they have laser printers.

I suggest to do a test run on regular paper before you print them on the contact paper.  That way you can see how it would look on the water bottle and make any adjustments.

• Using a word program or Power Point, {I used Power Point because it has a ruler on the side which makes it easier} Place horizontal lines in 1″ increments, you should have 9 total.  This will also serve as your cutting line.
• Type your wording in your favorite font and color that you want to appear on your bottle wrapper in these 1″ x 8″ areas
• Print and cut your labels on regular paper to see if you might need to adjust your layout

This is how your layout should look on your screen {minus the red measurements}.  Make sure you have your page set up to Portrait.

Once you have your layout the way you want it, cut out a piece of 8 1/2″ by 11″ piece of contact paper.  I used white contact paper, but you could really get cre8tive and use a colored paper using contrasting color fonts, add pictures or graphics, I think the possibilities are endless.  You have to manually feed the contact paper into the machine one at a time.  It took me a couple of attempts to get the machine to catch the contact paper, but once I got the swing of it, it went really smooth

Trim your printed contact paper to 8″ wide, then cut the contact paper along the horizontal lines.  {note the first and last strips will be slightly wider than 1″ so you will have to slightly trim these two pieces}

Take off the existing label on your water bottle.  You might have some left over sticky paper that won’t come off, but that is ok.  The new label will hide it.

Peel off the backing on the contact paper of your cut label {for this part of the tutorial I used an empty bottle…I was thirsty}

Adhere the new label to the water bottle, starting at the sticky part left on the bottle.  Wrap around the whole bottle until you meet the start of the label, over lapping the edges.

And your done!

If your water label isn’t the same size as the one I used {Costco brand}  just adjust the 1″ portion on the layout larger or smaller to fit your particular label.

I can not wait to make more.  My sister already requested graduation ones for my nephew’s party.  I want to try blue or red contact paper for the 4th of July.  These would be easy to do for baby and bridal showers, and of course weddings.  I hope you guys get to try this method out, and if you do I would love to see them!

Linking up to the Celebrations at Home link party {I love this blog for party inspiration!}

How to make water bottle labels is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

I decided to do neither and just use the old ones I already had.  The boards fit perfectly, why make more work for myself?  I put the grey velvet fabric over the existing lavender fabric, and stapled the fabric to the back side.  Took a whole 10 minutes for each of them.  Now that is my kind of project! I used the same adhesive back velcro to attach them to them back on to the foot boards

I thought since the couch was tufted, these inserts should be as well.  I did my “cheat” tuft and used my staple gun to make three tufts

I plan on putting fabric covered buttons on the “cheats” next time I go out there.  I love how the grey foot boards pick up the grey from the couch when you walk into the room.  And it was so much easier than sanding and painting, sometimes it pays to re-use what you have, and this time I am so glad I did.

Grey velvet foot boards is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.

I had never been to the one we have here in San Diego, but I figured it was worth a try.  I was pleasantly surprised on how organized and clean it was.  Not as big as I thought it would be, but that is ok, I found what I was looking for, and at a perfect price, $15.

A 14 armed brass chandelier.  SCORE!  Take that Craig’s list.

As soon as I got it home, I wiped it down with TSP and took it outside and hung it on a tree

I sprayed it with primer

Then I sprayed it with Rustoleum black gloss automotive enamel spray paint.  I had never used this type of spray before, but I knew I wanted a shinny high gloss finish, and it worked perfectly

Now it was time to bling it up a bit with some crystals.  I knew in order to drape the crystals onto the chandelier, I had to drill some holes to hook them into.  I used a tiny drill bit and drilled holes inside the outer edge of the cups.  Then I went to my stash and used what ever I had left over from my Etsy shop.  Which turned out just to be enough

There are a few glass crystals on there, but for the most part I used acrylic crystals.  They give the same look but without the price.  Plus it meant not having to go shopping to finish this project, which I was very thankful

This chandelier was originally hard wired and I need it to be a plug in type.   I am going to sweet talk my  husband into re-wiring a plug on the end for me, and then I can hang it.  I have lots more to do for this event, I am doing the decor { I am sure that doesn’t surprise you}.   But I think with this chandelier as the statement piece in the room, I have a good start.

So all in all this brass chandelier makeover cost me $12 in paint and $15 for the chandelier. The crystals I already had.  Total cost $27.  Now that is a deal!

I had planned on writing a tutorial on how to make the flat roman tailored valence this weekend, but realized this chandelier needed priority instead.  But it will be coming, I promise.

$15 Brass chandelier makeover is a post from: Cre8tive Designs Inc.