Napkin Pillows

Napkin Pillow

Do you have a couch or chair that is lovely to look at but not so comfy to sit in?  Well, these adorable pillows will help give any space a comfortable and relaxed feel!  I love how easy and unique they are too!  Just click on the link under the photo and it will take you right to the directions!  Have fun being creative!!

Joanna LaVan

3 Ways to Dress Your Easter Table

With Easter fast approaching, I thought it might be good to give us some ideas on how to "dress" our Easter tables this year. These are NOT original ideas with me, but they are ones I have found that I want to pass on to you! If you are like me, you are always looking for a unique idea for table settings. Especially on an Holiday, I like to do something extra special to set the mood. If you don't have the exact items these place setting require, you can always just use it as an idea starter! Sometimes looking at other ideas gives me a jump start on planning my own design.

Eggs in a Basket style

Fun with Daffodils

Eggs in a Nest

Start thinking now about your Easter table! It will save that "last minute stress" when your scrambling for ideas! :0)

DIY-FUN!

Recently I have done a few DIY projects in our home, specifically the nursery. In preparing for our little bundle of joy to arrive, we have been working on setting up her room etc. I thought I would share with you a few of those ideas, just in case you wanted to incorporate them into your home decor somewhere. They are ideas that can be adapted for use in several different rooms of your home, not just a nursery! :0)

First off, I'll share how I changed plain old outlet covers into beautiful pieces that actually MATCH the decor of the room! (the original idea for this came from Pinterest). All you need is the outlet cover, Mod Podge, a brush, and an Exacto knife.

Stage 1 of the process

Stage 2-after covering and drying you cut out the holes

Stage 3- Put up!

For this next project, I bought plain brown and pink Wall Art dots, then painted (with acrylic) dots and faces on them to look like ladybugs (to match the theme of the nursery).



Here I "made-over" an old wooden house that holds knick knacks. I had ribbon to match the decor, and hot glued it into the design pattern I wanted.

This project was probably one of the most time-consuming, however, I was happy with how it turned out! We started with plain white letters; added the ribbon where I wanted it; then painted ( 3 different colors) dots onto them!


This last one, was a simple idea. I needed curtain tie backs for her curtains but didn't want to spend my life savings.... So, I bought ribbon that coordinated with the room and curtains, and tiny stick-on hooks. After sticking the hooks into the correct place, I simply tied the ribbon and hooked it back! EASY!!


Again, any of these ideas can be adapted to whatever room your trying to "make over". Just use your imagination, and have FUN!

Hang in There!

Have you ever wished your pictures and art work would just hang itself? If you are like me, and want things done "just so", it can be a frustrating process sometimes! It invariably is just a tad crooked, too high, too low, not the right spot...on and on it goes...well, I have discovered THE answer to your hang up! :0)

Next time you need to hang a wall grouping (or even if it's just one picture), here is how to accomplish your goal without stressing out!

Lay out your gallery arrangement. Flip frames over. Mark hanger/nail spot on several pieces of wax paper taped together. Flip waxed paper over, tape to wall, nail into wall where indicated. Remove waxed paper. Hang photos! It's THAT simple!! (Now, again, I cannot take credit for this brilliant idea... I discovered it through Pinterest. It is from a blog called Roost. So if you would like to check out the photo, you can find it there.

Joanna

Customized Spring Centerpiece

Original picture found on Pinterest

With Spring fast approaching, I thought it might be nice to post something that would help us to get in the mood! I found this centerpiece idea while browsing Pinterest, and thought this would be the PERFECT way to do just that! I could just picture using this idea for a centerpiece on Easter or even for an every day table setting during the season. It just depends on what flowers you choose to use, as to how "fancy" it may be!

All you need to make these gorgeous centerpieces for your table, is: distilled water, silk flowers, and vases. (Most of which you could just pick up at your local Dollar store!) After choosing which flowers and color scheme you want to use, just put your flowers in the vase and fill with water! For some added demension, I might add some ribbon to mine. There are a lot of possibilities and room for your own creativity in designing your custom centerpiece!

Now, go use that creative mind of yours, and design that gorgeous centerpiece for your table!

Joanna

Coffee Filter Wreath

Visit Lovely Crafty Home to view the original tutorial

I found this beautiful crafty wreath, and decided I just HAD to share it with you! It seems actually pretty simple to make (although I have not yet attempted it, since I just found it!). You could choose any color scheme you desired, and even add seasonal bits and pieces to it to create a custom wreath that fits your decor.

Here's how to make it...

Choose the paint colors that you want your wreath to be (you may want to dilute and/or mix until you get a color you like). Then dunk each filter in a color, squeeze it out, and hang it up to dry. For added touches, add brown or more pink to change the color of the paint water as you continue dying the filters. For a light creamy color, you can use strong brewed tea. To get a cool natural gradient look you can use a paint brush to dab different colors on the edges of the filter.

After they are dry, cut a spiral shape, roughly 1” from the outer edge. The result will be a long strip, roughly 1” wide by 36” in length (don’t worry if it’s longer or shorter, just know your going for a long skinny strip). Think of the strip as a piece of ribbon. Starting at the center point of the filter, stick it to the edge of 12” piece of masking tape, leaving 1” of tape available at the end. Continue down the strip, pleating/gathering as you go. Pleating/gathering, pleating/gathering, pleating/gathering…Continue to pleat/gather down the strip. Just squish it, no big deal. Once the strip is finished, take that first empty inch of tape and wind it around the tip of a drinking straw. Continue to wind the tape around the end of the straw. Add another 12” piece of tape to the base, on the diagonal. Wrap the tape around the straw to make a stem. Then stick it (or glue it) onto the wreath you have chosen to use. (For more detailed instructions and pictures, visit Aunt Peaches blog).

This particular tutorial suggested using a floral wire wreath instead of a foam, and wrapping it in strips of burlap secured with hot glue. Then begin gluing the flowers on, clustering some colors in certain areas, but also keeping it a bit random. It won't take long for it to really come together and look amazing. You can finish it off with a wide ribbon or whatever best suits your particular style.

I hope you enjoy using your creativity to make this gorgeous wreath! Let me know if you tried it, and how it turned out! I'm sure many of you could come up with a gorgeous original design!