creation station

i had a few days off last week 

so I did a few upgrades to the decor in my life. 

Quick, cheap and pretty. 

Don't read into that. 

Remember that fabric I found at the thrift store? Well, I love it. Just as it is.

So much so that I made up a few throw pillows inspired by the fabric.

Gorgeous, GORGEOUS storm grey-blue LINEN. 

$19 a yard.

or, what I paid for it:

50 cents for the yard.

Tip: Go straight to the odds and ends scrap box in the back of the fabric store. 

This bit of beauty had 4 scissor cuts running down the middle. Sad.

Not really sad. More inspirational. 

Enter the pleat. Nothing wrong with some textured throw pillows.

What else did I find? Beautiful, natural white linen: another 50 cents. 

Part of what I loved about the natural linen was that it was the last part of the roll where the fabric makers mark size, weight and eventually sign off on their creation. I love it.
You can buy inexpensive pre-made pillows at the fabric store, in pretty much any size. Or, if you just happen to have some batting laying around and want some special sizes and squish-factor, which I just happen to, that takes the cost down to, yes, $1.00 for 4 pillows. That is something I very much like.

I'm searching for the right bed-side lamp for myself. I like to read at night. I also don't like to shine a giant overhead light... pretty much ever. After living in this house for about 2 years, I still don't have a bedside lamp. What I have been using is a battery powered camping lantern that might be the ugliest and most awkward late-night reading situation ever.
So, day off + kid movies + minor/temporary/frustrated creativity =

A temporary fix.

And, I might say, not an ugly one.

Yes, yes, those are coffee filters (just one of the millions of ways people use them) and those are battery-powered LED's left-over from christmas and its hanging from a ribbon I happened to have.
that makes this cost... lets seeee... free. $0. Which, for a temporary fix, you just don't get any better.

Well, that was Friday afternoon. 

Tuesday was a bucket of die, a leftover can of spray paint and voila:

Sad, old door mat is now a stripey and inviting one. Easy.

A no-longer-bland curtain

and a hanging bottle planter with a sprouting spider plant

(eventually this is going into the office

when I get around to moving that giant furniture... more on that later)

and this is Dani... helping... or just sitting in the shade, being cute.

and this is a quick, super-secret look into future projects:

because what is the best use for a giant mirrored closet door?

outlining new ideas with the man. He's pretty creative too.

go do something!!

-L

One of the BEST days.

Last week Laura and I had one of the best days that we can remember.  We met up in the early afternoon to explore some of my favorite thrift stores in the neighborhood, and ended up finding so many treasures at my local American Way that is was hard not to get back to the house immediately to decorate.  The wheels had started turning and we decided that my bedroom would get it's 2nd makeover! ;)  Yes, I know that I had just posted a blog about redecorating my bedroom but hey i'm a girl and we like change (that might be why i don't remember my natural hair color).  ;)

And the day begins... 

Laura found this great piece of fabric, I can't wait to see what she decides to do with it.  There were talks of making an ipad cover for her husband, but knowing her she will use every last scrap of that fabric to create some of the most wonderful homemade treasures. 

You know me and lace, I just couldn't pass this up at only 4.99.  This would be the design project of the day!

Pretty sure she has something in mind with this piece of fabric!  She also snatched an AWESOME hammock that I can't wait for her to show you!

Well once again this is the before picture of my bedroom... and yes it definitely looks lived in. ;)

And the AFTER! Whoohoo for lace headboards!  This was Laura's brilliant idea to make a headboard out of that lace curtain we found and i must say it adds the perfect amount of feminine to my room. I'm in love. 

We switched around the frames and tacked up a space for my hats on the  wall adjacent to the windows. 

We picked up these cute succulents at Ikea for only 1.99 and that silver pot was .79 cents, I thought they went perfect with my family photos!

We found this lovely Aloe plant also at Ikea for only 2.99, and the plant pot for only 1.99!

;)

This monster of a scarf man was in the corner of my room making it feel very small.  So I decided to give him a new home in my closet where he would be at home with the winter coats.

Now the corner is free to be a work space/desk.  I loove how open it makes my room feel!

I had been wanting to use this rug since I picked it up last christmas and it was Laura's great idea to put it at the end of my bed. i love it!   Hope this has inspired you to seek out some fun vintage finds of your own!  -V xoxo

Lazy Saturday

On Saturday I decided to do a little afternoon decorating.  I had previously purchased some incredible picture frames from a sweet lady off of craigslist and they were just sitting in my garage collecting dust.  So i thought hey why don't i bring them inside to collect dust?  So after cleaning the garage, going for a hike, running an errand at H&M (my fav part of the day ha) I got down to business.  It only took me about 15 minutes to set it all up and hammer everything into place.  Here's the finished product, I love it, it was simple and it gives the room such a different feel!

My "before" simple framed poster

And "after" 3 empty picture frames 

 I decoupaged pages from my favorite book of poems as the center art.

HAPPINESS!!

-V xoxo

Magnets aren't just for sewing anymore!

I got tired of always loosing my bobby pins so I decided my huge sewing magnet (where I kept all my straight pins) would be perfect for them.  Works like a charm! ;)

-V

I'm working on something...

-L

Frame It!

Here's a quick project for those of you who are looking for a way to organize your jewelry, or that of a loved one - you know you want to! I'm a big fan of organization and I'm also a little forgetful. This solved both, in that now I can see what I have and its very tidy!

Framed!

 Find yourself a frame. I loved how this one was on the small side and a little beat up. Secret: its actually the inside framing from an old painting that someone didn't like so much and ripped off. There's some old newspaper that was used as batting. Classic and awesome.

 Picture hanging wire. Less than 3 bucks and you'll find tons of uses for it!

(I had my man help, just for the fun it!)

Add one screw to each top corner, don't screw it in all the way, leave a little space to wrap your picture wire around it for hanging on the wall.

 Measure!! I put the first wire at 1 inch from the top and then used my longest pair of earrings as a guide to measure the height from the bottom of the frame for the second wire. Mark your place for the screws with a pen or pencil, cut the length of wire with wire cutters and get to work. Leave a little space when putting those screws in again and wrap the ends of that wire around them. 

Hang the frame up before you hang your jewelry on the wires. 

I really like the end result and I can finally see all of my lovely things!

Some other really sweet examples of frames-turned-jewelry-organizers:

Via cubly.com

Via squidoo.com

-L