Easy Easter Eggs

I don’t have a lot of patience for crafting, yet admire and covet the end result, so if I'm willing to give a go, you know it has to be easy.

Photo Credit: Philip Friedman/Studio D

I bet you already have the needed supplies on hand to create these beauties. Use masking tape sliced and positioned to make stripes or plaids. The wavy stripes are cut with craft scissors. To step it up a notch, use paper punch-outs (available at craft stores) on your masking tape to make letters or shapes. Apply the tape to raw eggs making sure to eliminate any air bubbles. Then simply drop your eggs in a standard egg tint (like Paas). Once the eggs are dry, blow out the yolks (use a pin or wooden skewer to make a hole at the bottom and the gooeyness should slide right out). Then remove the tape to reveal your design. Snazzy!

bathroom remodel

Our hallway bathroom was a blast from the past. True to its 1950′s heritage, it evoked a “love it” or “gag me” reaction from most visitors. For me, it was a little of both. I loved the vintage styling, fun color combo, laundry chute, storage, and half wall for the kids who are too busy to shut the door, yet need their privacy, please.

However, the crumbling plastic turquoise tiles, icky linoleum flooring and rubber trim (a mid-80′s upgrade?!), a tub that left you knee deep in water after a 5 minute shower, and a toilet seat with rust marks that appeared, er, questionable...this all culminated into a dire need to remodel!

Ick, that floor was gross! We took the bathroom right down to the studs. Here’s what we found under the linoleum:

More linoleum! But at least this pattern makes sense with the original yellow and turquoise tile. I’d always wondered about that. I actually kinda like it a little.Our yellow toilet found a happy home, too.

Apparently our curbside toilet disposal was an intriguing opportunity among our neighbors. When it lost its allure as a comfy reading spot, one neighbor actually put it in his pickup and drove off. I guess our trash really is someone else’s treasure.

We’re almost done with the remodel. Here are some sneak peak shots.

{This tile is like a favorite pair of jeans. It goes with anything. Love it!}

Stay tuned for the big reveal which is TBD since my finisher (read: husband) would rather ski than get this project done! Any bathroom doozies in your house? Remodels on the horizon? Do tell.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

Decorate in stages

Ever since I started decorating for pay and blogging about the topic, I've been slightly paranoid about my home. I'm worried people will walk in and expect perfectly appointed rooms, styled just right without a dog hair or pile of school papers in sight. I do have visions of how it should be, but time and money seem to make it impossible to pull it all together today! Is that true for you too?

So to make us all feel better, let’s get a little perspective and break this down into smaller stages. At each stage, the goal is for a room to look and function well. To illustrate, we found images of  a family friendly living room with great potential.

Stage 1: This room is overly neutral, but has the makings of a great space: a cozy sectional, a nook for office space, and great architectural details like the French doors that open to the foyer and the fireplace.

Image from bhg.com

Image from bhg.com

Stage 2: With the addition of some fun striped drapery panels, a color palette is emerging. The round table formerly in the office nook is now replaced by a more functional desk. The table now finds its home the opposite corner. A rug anchors the seating area, and some whimsical accessories liven up the mantle.

Image from bhg.com

Image from bhg.com

Stage 3: Now, some of you may be thinking, “Stick a fork in it; this room is done!” But watch what happens when new paint is splashed on the walls, and some new furniture pieces are acquired.

Image from bhg.com

The pale blue color on the walls makes the formerly boring beige sectional really pop now. Additional throw pillows bring some new patterns into the room.

Image from bhg.com

The office nook now sports a custom desk and bountiful concealed storage. The pumpkin color on the wall differentiates the area, but still works well with the blue on the surrounding walls.

Image from bhg.com

A new coffee table and TV stand have been added, and the former TV stand now functions as a console behind the couch with storage for games and other family room essentials.

Hopefully you’re now breathing a sigh of relief. It’s great to walk into a room that’s “done”, but for most of us, decorating is a process. So take your time, change your mind, stop and start; do it in stages. That's my plan on the homefront, too.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

Keep a design diary

Ever find yourself fingering a new towel set or enchanted by lovely drapery panels when you’re out and about, only to wish you could remember the exact shade of blue you’d painted that bathroom? Returns are no fun, and you never know when you’ll stumble on that well-priced must have item. Should you pull the trigger or not? Dilemma solved. Start a Design Diary for your home.

Image from seejanework.com

It’s an easy practice to start. Pick up a purse (diaper bag, backpack, small suitcase, whatever you’re carrying these days) sized notebook. We like these from See Jane Work.

In your diary you can designate a few pages for each room. Make a list of the items you’re searching for (window treatments, art, towels, bedspreads, lamps, furniture, accessories, etc.). If you’ve painted already and are happy with the outcome, tape the paint chip from the paint store right on the page. Staple in any fabric swatches. (No one will ever notice the small cut from your dust ruffle!) You can also attach pictures from magazines and catalogs that inspire you. That way, when you find yourself at HomeGoods with only 10 minutes to spare before your lunch hour is over or you need to pick up the kids, you can consult your design diary to determine whether that bath mat you’re contemplating will work with your colors, and whether you actually NEED it.

You can also use your design diary as a record for work you’ve had done in your home, and as a place to collect business cards from quality contractors whom you’d like to call again should the need arise.

It’s easy to tailor this concept to your home’s design needs, but making it portable is key. When you have it at the ready, you can avoid the whole “seemed like a good idea at the time” kind of buyer’s remorse that sends you straight back to the returns lane.

style your bookshelf

For a recent client, I recommended that she pare down from two domineering bookshelves in her living room to one with a less imposing design. Editing her book collection and then restyling the new bookshelf seemed like a daunting task to her, but it’s really not so hard if you follow these simple steps.

Edit down your collection

Remove everything from your shelves and start sorting. Sell, donate, or recycle any popular fiction, cookbooks, business or reference guides and children’s books that are either outdated, unused, or damaged.

Keep your prized possessions

Hold on to any books that have sentimental value to you. I have an old copy of Gone With The Wind that my grandmother gave her father for Christmas in 1936, for example; it’s a keeper. A book may have real value if it’s been signed by the author so you’ll want to keep it for sure. Also, hang on to any children’s books written before World War II because they're valuable too. Ultimately, it’s your space, and you’re the one who will be looking at the shelves most often, so keep the books that mean the most to you and reflect you and your family.

Find your shelving style

Once you’ve determined your keepers, you have lots of options with how to display them. Keep in mind, there is no right way to do this, just work it until it feels right to you. Some ways to consider are to group by color, size, or subject matter.

Image courtesy of colourlovers.com

You can shelve your books by varying the heights to achieve a skyline look. You can stack them horizontally; this works especially well for heavy hardcovers on lower shelves. Or, you can go for the traditional staircase style.

Add some accessories

Scour around for some objects that could be used as unexpected bookends. Choose other items you have to showcase–small vases, decorative boxes, picture frames, objects from nature–and work them in so that the sizing of the objects is in proportion. A small vase with a single flower looks great placed on an oversized hardcover book.

Make it work for YOUR home

Designate a basket of children’s books on a lower shelf to keep that often messy hodge-podge looking stylish and accessible. Lean a painting or framed photo on the back of the shelf for a simple and elegant look. Most of all, make it work for your family. And if you get bored with the look, it’s one of the easiest and cheapest things to makeover next week!

style your coffee table with these simple steps

One of my favorite reads is the Thursday email I receive from The Washington Post Home section. It always offers good eye candy and relatable articles about dwelling. Today’s article features a local D.C. area antiques shop owner giving tips about how to makeover your coffee table. Inspired, I glanced over to my bare living room coffee table and decided I would try out the simple steps to see if it was as easy as it sounded.

It was, and you can do it too. Just follow this easy formula:

Step 1: Start with a plant

Or fruit, or fresh flowers…something living is the idea here. I’m momentarily stumped since my budget doesn’t allow for fresh flowers, and I do have that black thumb affliction. But then I remember that my one surviving plant might work, so I add it to the table.

Looking better already!

Step 2: Vary the heights

Ok, well I’m just working with one item here, but I’ll keep that in mind as I add more. For now, I am liking the spiky tall leaves on my plant, so step 2, I guess, is complete.

Step 3: Add books and stack them

Well that’s something we have a lot of! The idea is you switch out books based on seasons, or the interests of your guests, but since I’m the only one home right now, I’ll choose a few of my own home decor faves. Note to self: later must switch to BBQ cookbooks and a gnomes/fairies/Star Wars combo to meet the needs of the other residents and their after school play date guests.

Step 4:  Place an object on top

This step leaves A LOT of room for interpretation, but I’ve seen enough to know what we’re looking for here. The article suggests a non-scented candle. (Why? Scented candles are bad? I did not know this!) I only have a scented candle handy, so I try it.

Remember Step 2 about varying the height? I’m not loving the way my candle is looking on the stack of books; it’s too stumpy (although it smells lovely, so there!). I go for a little black vase with a little feather ball thingy conveniently already in it. I like the height better. Don’t you?

Step 5: Use odd numbers

I do the math so far. Three books, one vase, one plant. As far as I can tell, my grouping is filled with odd numbers, and since I’m a whiz at first grade math lately, I think Step 5 is complete! Check!

Step 6: Keep proportion in mind

Proportion? Scale? This is definitely more like middle school math, so I reflect on my arrangement. Is it in scale with the table? I think so. Is it in proportion to the room? I think so. It doesn’t look overwhelming or oversized, so I think I’m good here. But that’s all a matter of interpretation; you have to trust your own instincts on this one. So ambiguous, I know! With all this talk of mathematics, don’t you just long for the “right” answer?!

Step 7: Keep it all on one side

Whew, we’re back to basics on this step! The idea here is if you keep your display to one side, then you have room for a tray of goodies when you’re having company. I don’t have anyone coming over today, but I pretend I do. Here’s what my imaginary guests and I are having…

Step 8: Use the space underneath

Honestly, I’m more in favor of this step if you have a base to your coffee table. I like the sleek lines of my coffee table without something below. But not to be one to deviate from directions, I find a basket and cover its contents with a throw.

Step 9: Keep it interesting

Although most of you might not find much interesting here except that bottle of wine, the point is, if you mix things up and include objects that are interesting to look at or touch (photos, books, found objects, etc.), then it becomes an appealing display that is easy to modify as long as you keep the basic steps and principles in mind.

I do think that my coffee table looks a lot more interesting now, and the steps were really easy to follow and required no purchasing of new swag. But I honestly don’t know how long that plant or vase will last with my dog wagging her tail around, and I know my kids will mess up that stack of books within minutes of arriving home from school. As for the wine, anyone want to come over for a clink later?

reuse your holiday scraps

{Image courtesy of Kelly Wilkinson}

About this time of the holiday season I find myself surrounded by piles, rolls, and heaps of discarded wrapping paper. I save the cast offs in the hopes that the perfect little bauble box might find it’s way into my to-be-wrapped pile–a pile which seems to multiply at night while the sugarplums are dancing merrily in my slumber. Somehow that little box never materializes, and I’m left to ponder whether to fetch the recycling bin or shove the scraps back into the holiday wrapping storage bin. But today, right here in my inbox, is a nifty little craft project that uses recycled holiday paper, or any paper for that matter, for a simple, stylish and festive decor idea. It comes from Kelly Wilkinson who is a contributor at The Washington Post (which publishes one of my favorite regional home and garden sections). Check out Kelly’s clever crafty blog at makegrowgather.com, and read on to learn how to make this holiday garland step-by-step.

try a faux finish with spray paint

My sister-in-law found some beautiful candlesticks for her decadent (and I mean jaw dropping) master bath. Their only drawback was that their zinc coloring did not suit her old world Tuscan decor. An expert faux painter she was using elsewhere in the house suggested this technique which I tried out on the candlesticks during my visit.

Step 1: Gather your materials. You’ll need old rags, a paper plate, a drop cloth, spray paint in a neutral base coat (we used an off-white), and two more spray paints in different metallic finishes.

Step 2:  Apply the neutral base coat thoroughly.  It’s best to apply several light coats rather than a few heavy coats (less drippage).  Do this outside if you can to avoid fumes and accidental wafting of spray paint.

Step 3:  Lightly layer on one of the metallic paints.  Do not cover, leaving lots of the neutral base coat exposed.

Step 4:  Spray paint directly onto your paper plate, and using a cloth, rub the other metallic color on in various areas.  In the picture below, I did a second candlestick with both metallic paints just following this Step and eliminating Step 3.  The goal is to use the dabbing technique to achieve the type of faux finish that you want.

Step 5:  Clean up and you’re done.

Here is the grouping of the three faux painted candlesticks by the edge of the sunken tub.  Don’t they look pretty?

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

That’s the magic of Kindergarten isn’t it? Check out what the kids in my son’s class did. They gussied up these plain pine chairs for their school’s Home Tour and Silent Auction.

Ok, they did have a little help, but this project was pretty easy. The hardest part was to make sure all 75 Kindergarteners got to participate!

First, we procured some simple pine kid-sized chairs and did a coat of primer. Then, we painted each chair the base colors, black for the boys’ chair and periwinkle for the girls. Both of these layers took seconds because we used spray paint.

Then, we were ready to get the kids involved. We taped off a checker board pattern so the boys could use white paint to make their checks. On the girls’ chair, we traced circles in multiple sizes and had the girls choose either light or dark pink, yellow or green to fill in a circle. Then back at home we “cleaned up” the checks and circles and embellished each chair with more patterns on the sides and backs. We also added finials we found on the cheap at Michael’s to give the chairs a whimsical look.

For the seat designs, my mother-in-law found some images online of the cheshire cat and tea party scenes from Alice in Wonderland. Because she’s a great artist, she copied the images right onto the seat freehand with a Sharpie, but if you’re not so artistically inclined, you could trace the images directly onto the chair. Then, it was simply a matter of filling in the lines with a few layers of acrylic paint.

Once the design was complete, we sprayed the chairs with a few layers of clear spray paint. This forms a protective layer between the paint and varnish and keeps the paint from smearing when the varnish is applied.

The last step was a final coat of Minwax water-based polycrilic protective finish, and this adorable couple is ready to be auctioned off to the highest bidder!

Easter Craft Ideas

Yikes, where has March gone? And with Easter falling in early April this year, it’s likely to bite us in our big chocolate booty.

Image from cafepress.com

With the kids home for spring break this week, we’re looking for some easy and fun projects to do. Luckily, these just landed in my inbox. With a quick jaunt to our local crafts store, we’ll be able to knock some of these crafties out AND keep the little fingers busy for a few hours, bonus!

But first, a key point. Instead of hard boiling our eggs to decorate (which always results in broken shells and bizarrely veined eggs that no one wants to eat anyway), this year we’re going to follow this advice from Debra Steilen, Senior Holidays Editor at Better Homes & Gardens: “Eggs are easier to decorate if the shells are empty, so start by blowing out the contents. Use a long needle to prick a small hole on both ends of the egg. (Break the yolk with the needle to make it easier to extract.) Blow through one of the holes until the contents come out the other end.” My kids will LOVE this last part.

To make this lovely Easter Egg Garland, click here.

A trip to your backyard could be all you need for your own variation of this project.

Finally, something to do with all those outgrown baby socks! For materials and instructions, click here.

Hope these family-friendly Easter projects keep you and your crew inspired this week.

use leftover fabric to make cheap art

My mother-in-law is a genius!

Now, honestly, how often do you hear those words uttered? Come on, give it some thought. Those poor mothers-in-law are one of the most abused stereotypes ever, even though so many of them help with our kids, do our laundry without even asking, and put six meatloaves in the freezer while we’re out getting our nails done. (Okay, this is what my mother-in-law does, and I wish you the just same!)

But, I kid you not, on my in-laws’ recent visit, I uttered that phrase directly to my sweet mother-in-law (so it went something like this, “You’re a genius!”). In what context, you must be wondering, would I shout out such accolades?  Well, we were discussing window treatments in my master bath. I showed her the dust ruffle I’d been saving from my Anthropologie bedding and mentioned that I wanted to turn it into some kind of panel in the bathroom to bring in the green.  (To see the bedding, click here.)

“No,” my mother-in-law said, “I think the bamboo shade looks just fine as is.” (I will suggest that she’s a woman who’s not afraid to share her opinion.) “But what you need, Lisa, is something over here (pointing to the bare wall). We could cut out this pattern on the dust ruffle, glue it on some burlap, frame it, and you’d have some nice, inexpensive art in here that would bring the green in from the bedroom.”

And that’s when it happened. The words just sprang forth. “Kathy, you’re a genius!” Wouldn’t you have said the same thing?  Think about it, this project involved no curtain rods to buy and talk my husband into hanging, no sewing machines to set up and thread, which often yields incredible grumpiness on my part.  No, this project would involve merely scissors and glue, and, hot damn, I already HAVE those things, and I even know how to use them!

So here you go:  a step by step process on making art on the cheap (and easy).

Step 1:  Gather your materials. You’ll need fabric scissors, fabric glue, spray tack adhesive, your piece of art (we used a pattern in the fabric), your fabric background (we used burlap), and a picture frame (we used one w/ a glass front because of the moisture in the bathroom). You can purchase all of these materials at a craft store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.

Step 2:  Cut out your art.

Step 3:  Cut out your background fabric. We used the cardboard insert inside the frame as a pattern.

Step 4:  Spray a light coat of spray tack adhesive onto the cardboard insert that comes with the frame to give your background fabric some heft. It’s easier to handle this way.  However, if you’re reusing a frame and don’t have cardboard, you can skip this step.

Step 5:  Spray a light coat of spray tack adhesive on your piece of art and mount it on your background fabric. The great thing about spray tack is that you can reposition your art easily.

Step 6: Glue down a ribbon border on the edges. This is another optional step, but it finishes the piece and prevents frayed edges of the burlap from creeping.

Step 7:  Place your new cheap art in a frame, hang it, and enjoy!

For the record, this project cost $10 for the frame (50% off at Michael’s) and $5 for a yard of burlap. (I saved the leftover burlap for another project, stay tuned.)  I already had the spray tack and fabric glue, but those purchases would probably be about $5 each, so for around $20-25, you’ve got yourself some original art that is customized for your space.

spray painting frames for a new look

Do you ever get your best ideas in the shower? You’ve got no pen, no access to any method of recording your thought, so you just have to repeat it (for 8 seconds, actually, in order for it to transition into your long-term, short-term memory, or something like that, according to our dad’s best secretary ever). So I got this idea in the shower of how to pull the art in my bedroom together, and I already had everything I needed for this little ditty of a project.

For a wedding gift many years ago, we’d received these black and white prints of the beach in simple, natural wood frames. This pair has graced the living room, family room, and bedroom of various apartments and iterations of our house in Chicago, and is now living in the master bedroom of our Denver house.  Prior to my shower epiphany, I had just framed a painting of pine trees in Keystone for my husband in a black frame, and was loving how it played off our black iron bed frame. But these black and white prints which flanked the bed sides were lost.  So I got out my can of flat black spray paint, leftover from painting the bedside lamps months before, and got shakin’.

When spray painting a frame, there are two possible roads to travel, and the path you follow depends entirely on whether you can remove the glass and print below.  If so, just pop everything out, lay your frame down face up on a drop cloth and spray light coats, allowing a minute or so between coats for drying.

Here’s the natural wood frame before…

and here’s the after shot of the same collection of frames.

 Now, if your frame does not allow you to pop out the glass and print or painting below, here’s how to protect the glass and get the same effect with the spray paint.

Step 1:  Use painter’s tape to edge the four sides of the glass.

Step 2:  Use newspaper or newsprint to cover the glass by attaching the paper with more painter’s tape.  Be sure to adhere to your tape border, not the frame.

Step 3:  Spray away using light, smooth strokes.  It’s better to recoat several times that to spray to heavily.  You’ll avoid drips this way.

Step 4:  After an hour or so, spray painted items can be handled. Remove the tape and paper and discard. Since these were hanging by our bedsides, though, I gave them a few days to off gas before hanging, so we wouldn’t inhale fumes while we slept.

I love how the black frames now tie the art together in the room.

The painting of a pine forest in Keystone that I had framed for Steve set this whole idea in motion.

And our grouping of wedding photos.  Since we’ve been married, we’ve always hung this collection in our bedroom somewhere, but in this room I got the idea to nail the group of eight together in order to hang them tightly.  Ah, we were such youngsters…

So there you go, can’t get much easier than spray paint.  Have you spray painted anything lately for a big or small transformation?  Give it up, stylista!