Lamp Revamp

A while ago I mentioned finding matching lampshades while thrifting for $1.25 each...and in great condition.  A rarity around here!

 I decided they would be perfect candidates to replace the floral shades in EB's nursery.  I wanted to spruce them up a bit first, though.  And I was itching for a bright color for the lamps themselves.  Here's a close look at the lamps and shades before. (Click here to see what I did with those flower shades.)

First I cleaned the lamps well, sanded down some cracks in the old finish, and taped off the parts that didn't need paint.

This Zinsser primer is one of my favorites, and I chose Krylon Watermelon for the color.

As far as the shades go, I had something like this in mind for the inside:

Source: elledecor.com via domesti on Pinterest

Gold leaf lining!  Of course, lining them in actual gold leaf would cost a fortune.  After seeing Tiffany's idea to spray paint tin foil, I knew I had to give it a try!  This is what I did: 

And, voila!

I ended up gluing a band of thin ribbon around the top and bottom edges to give it a more finished look.


 I love the wrinkled, papery look the foil gives.  And the gold just glows! For just a few dollars, I think it really elevates the look of the shades. 



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Spring Flowers

After a week away, we came home to blooming flowers!  This was the first time we've had winter pansies.  I planted them in the fall and have enjoyed them all winter.  They're on their last leg I think, but I'm loving it while it lasts.  And our tulips popped up!




Happy Spring!


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Our House: Master Bedroom

Well, it's been a while, but I'm sharing another room in our house.  This is our master bedroom before we moved in, with the previous owner's furniture:

And here it is today:

I know many designers are anti ceiling fan.  For us, it's a must!  There's nothing better than windows open and fresh air on temperate days, and we have fans in every room to keep that air moving.  I've started choosing the simplest white fan for rooms, though, as it's less noticeable.  We got this fan before I figured that out.

We created the wall of curtains, inspired by YHL's and Bower Power's.  It was a simple, blank wall before (it's not hiding windows or anything).  The crown molding really finishes it off.   I made the simple window cornice with a long board, batting, and fabric.  We hung it high, to create the illusion of higher windows and ceilings.

I chose a neutral for the walls, but painted the ceiling a very pale, pale blue.  It brings a subtle calm to the space, and is pale enough that it doesn't compete with other colors I bring in.  The bedding generally stays white, except for the euro shams.  That's where I really play with color. 

The furniture is a set we got when we first moved in together, eight years ago.  It's a nice, well-made set, but the pieces are quite big for the size of this room.  You can see we removed the huge mirror that came with the long dresser, so it wouldn't block the whole window (on the left, below).  There are very few ways to arrange the furniture in this room.  Believe me.  I've tried!

As my style has changed and evolved, I've learned to appreciate furniture that doesn't match.  I would love to piece together some smaller, more unique items to replace this set one day.  For now, it works well though.



To replace the big mirror, I found a small round one.  I left one of the brackets that was intended for the big mirror, and used it to hang this smaller one.  I couldn't quite figure out how to get a pic of this dresser head-on, with all of the light from the windows streaming in. 





Below you'll see the white door to our tiny master bath.  I mentioned it in our 2012 Home Goals.  I love having a bathroom here, but it's in serious need of a complete overhaul.  With the new porch, though, this will have to wait for 2013.  (The photo below gives the best representation of the ceiling and wall colors.)






Thanks for taking a look around.  Let me know if you have any questions! 

Oh, and just so you know....I'm sharing a little organizing tip over at Living Savvy today.  If you haven't checked out Tiffany's blog already, you must do so today!  She's dedicated the month of March to getting her home organized.  And, each day there's a contributing blogger sharing an organizing tip.  Today that contributor is me! 

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1st Birthday Celebration

You guys, I feel almost guilty.  This weather is so incredible, and we are just having such a fun, relaxing time.  I'll give you a little look at our babe's birthday celebration and I'll try to keep the text light.   

We decided to make our long drive from the mountains (of NC) to the beach (of NC) close to EB's bedtime, to lower the chances for pit-stops.  Just before we left, the mild 70F weather turned on us, and brought a freak hail storm.  I've never seen anything like it!



Then on our way out of town, we drove right through the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Serendipitous for our St. Patty's babe.



Our late-drive plan worked, and we made record time. Before we knew it, we had a good night's sleep, and were out on the beach enjoying the sunshine.  The Bean was a little hesitant to relax on the sand at first.  She wouldn't let both legs touch at once.  



While she napped Saturday afternoon, we steamed up some local oysters on the deck.



We just had a few family over to celebrate, but the pile-o-presents was huge.



I've been taking a photo every Thursday since her birth, so I went ahead and made a Picasa collage of all 52 and printed it out for the family to see.



Only one of those gifts was from Frank and I.  We ordered an adorable stuffed cat from Etsy.  Simon and Cool was so great to work with.  They hand-made our cat to order, to look like our own Charlie P.



Elsie loved it, squealing and kicking her little legs.



She was quite the polite little party girl, oohing and ahhing over her each of her gifts.





Once the cake came out, she was fascinated by the candle flame, then pinched off small bites of cake.



I made a strawberry cake, combining this recipe with regular white cake batter to make the varied shades.

 



Of course, the recipe had a 5 star rating, and it certainly lived up to it!

The banner and garland brought a festive touch to the occasion.



Look at that little star, soaking up all of the attention.  Isn't it incredible how much love babies are shown?



After a photo shoot on the beach...





...we put the Bean to bed and enjoyed Shepherd's Pie.  Not something I've made before, but it was a delicious "Irish" meal. 



It was a lovely day, full of laughter and love.  I had hoped for, but hadn't planned for this great weather.  I hadn't even packed our bathing suits.  So, yesterday I picked some up, so we're ready for full-on beach time now.  We're breaking out the shade tent and beach chairs today.  Gotta love it!


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Simple Felt Garland

We had such a great birthday weekend!  The weather at the beach has been absolutely gorgeous!  I'm putting together a little post about it for Wednesday.  In the meantime, as I promised last week, I'm sharing the super-simple steps for making this fun felt garland.  Read on to find out how you can turn these...

Into this:



I saw this idea last year at LEAF, and immediately knew I could easily replicate it.

The Barn at Camp Rockmont

I love the way they kept each strand a single color.  Hanging so many really filled the space and created a statement in this huge barn.

The Barn at Camp Rockmont

I purchased 1/3 yard each of four different colors, for a total of $6.  One evening I sat and cut all of the circles while I watched some TV.  Speaking of...all of the hype about Downton Abby is spot on.  What a fantastic show!  I'm just a few episodes in, and I'm hooked!  Anyway, cutting the circles was the most time consuming part.  I used a drinking glass that was the diameter I wanted, about 3", and simply traced and cut.





When I was ready to assemble, I laid the circles out to decide on a pattern.



I set up my sewing machine with upholstery thread and a strong needle, to increase the strength of the garland.  I'm hoping to use this baby for more than one soiree.





I started sewing by simply folding the circle in half, and eyeballing the center.  Be sure you leave a nice long length of thread at the beginning and end of your garland(s).



After the first few, I kind of got the hang of it and found a speed at which I could grab and fold the next circle while I was sewing.  I allowed the circles to bump up to each other, but not overlap.

I realized I could sew more quickly if I stacked my circles into piles of the pattern I had chosen: 4 whites, 4 lime greens, 4 kelly greens, 4 forest greens, then reversed.







To store this so it won't tangle, I grabbed an empty cereal box, and cut a slit for the end of the thread.  Grape Nuts!  My favorite cereal!




I wrapped it all up, and did the same for the other end.









Here's a look at another way you could arrange the felt:



Isn't the simplicity of this garland fabulous!?  I'm thinking of making a version with smaller circles for our Christmas tree this year.


Thanks so much for stopping by!

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At the Picket Fence,  Serenity Now, and Making Lemonade