Holiday Decorating

Over the weekend we decorated the house for the holidays. We have lights up outside on the trees, placed a few decorations inside and decorated the tree. I got a really good bargin on yellow ribbon this summer, so I have been using it everywhere. I also made a paper chain garland, but have not found a place to hang it. I might use use it in James's room. Next we need to get a wreath on the front door and make a dinning room table centerpiece. Hopefully those will get done soon so we have time to enjoy them before the holidays.

James wanted to make it into one photo. And also just now noticed that the wreath on the right is crooked. I just fixed it.

How have we never met?

Today I stumbled upon Serena & Lilly for the very first time. How have I never been to this website before? They have everything I love - bedding, fabric, baby stuff and unique finds. I am in love. If you have been living under the same rock I have, go online and order a catalog. I am so excited for it to arrive so I can study each photo, item description etc.
Here are some of my favorite things I found online -


The Rye crib bedding is so cute. Too bad bumpers are considered not safe anymore. I think James would love the blue indian print.

I have a weekness for stripes. I love the pink-ish color of the duvet cover, but not so much of the green. They also have this fabric by the yard that I am trying to think of a use for. Headboard slipcover and bed skirt? Hum...

I still have not made pillows out of my Vera scarves. It it is like painting beautiful wood, just cannot alter my scarves. However, if someone else has already done it for me then it is OK. This was made from one of Serena's scarves.

Finally something I know Nick would also love. The black portion is chalkboard paper. I would totally frame this for James's room for when he gets bigger. Or would be really cool in our living room too.

On a pillow kick.

So before James was born, I purchased SeaCloth fabric off Ebay. I think I got 5 yards for under $50. I knew I wanted to use the fabric for pillows on our sofa and measured and cut the fabric right away. When it came time to sew pillows with zippers I lost confidence in my sewing abilities. I contacted a woman to do the sewing for me, but that never worked out. Since then the pillows moved to my basement in a pile of someday projects. Well this weekend I decided to forego the zippers and do an envelope back instead.


I really like the final pillows. They give the couch more impact with very little investment. Sorry the image is so dark, no matter what I try I just cannot get it brighter. If you click on the image you get a better view.

Don’t judge we yet on the white walls, curtains and sofa. Our den is a long work in progress. I plan on making new curtains, but have not been able to find fabric I like at a reasonable price. In our laundry room I installed and inspiration board. Since it is a narrow room it is hard to get a good picture, but the upper right is my inspiration for our den. Don't tell Nick since there is more pink than he would be willing to agree with using.

Finally, here is another pillow I made from fabric I bought at the thrift store years ago. There was less than one yard, but I was able to cut around the good areas to make one pillow.

Someone an artist?

So last night we had an HVAC company give us an estimate for a new furnace. After coming up from our messy basement the very nice man asked if someone in our household was an artist since our decorating was so unique. I tried to explain that neither my husband nor I are artists, we just have a passion for making our home reflect our personalities. I guess I take it for granted that not everyone has a file box of inspirational tear sheets sorted by room/project or spend five years obsessing over purchasing the perfect sofa. I did not tell the man about either of these facts since I am sure he already thought we were odd. Oh well, I totally take it as a complement that our house is completely different from all the other houses he has been in over the years.

TaDa!

Today I was able to find an extra 30 minutes to finish hanging the artwork in the living room. Using the craft paper template made the process so much easier. After I measured and placed nails on the right side of the desk, I just pulled the paper down (carefully) and hung in the matching location on the left side and placed nails in the existing nail holes. Now looking at this photo I think they might be a little too close to the bookcase, but is so much better than having a blank wall.

Organizing Books by Hue

I keep my favorite and most referenced books in our den bookcases flanking the fireplace. I have tried many different combinations for organizing the books, but always hesitated to group by color. I have seen color grouping that I loved (Kevin Starkey's office bookshelf) and others that I did not like so much. I decided to give by hue it a try and actually really like the result. It is great when little 15 minute tasks create such a difference.

Hanging Art Thanks to Help from PhotoShop

So another small project on the to do list has being hanging artwork in the living room. Over a year ago we moved around the furniture, but never took the time to put artwork back on the walls. We have a set of 6 1950's model home watercolors that were hanging on this wall that now has the bookcase. I want to flank the watercolors on either side of the bookcase, but not sure the best height and position. Using PhotoShop and measuing on craft paper I have made a template for where I want them to be positioned. Now I just need to find another 30 free minutes to measure for the nails and hang. (And maybe another 30 more minutes to pick up the room).