Some Halloween Decorating

Long time, no post! I don't really have an excuse either. I guess, I just haven't been very motivated lately to write and upload photos. Still haven't completed the kitchen...:0/ Hopefully I'll get around to it in the next few months. 


But, I have been decorating for Halloween! Every year, my Mom and I host a Halloween party at my house. I think it's our favorite holiday besides Christmas. Shocker, huh? I think that's probably true for most people. LOL 


With some spooky special effects via Instagram, here's what I've done so far:

I made these candles look bloody by simply dripping red wax down them. 

The white treat bag was made using Martha Stewart's skull potato stamp tutorial. 

DIY Sunburst Mirror From The Nester

I found the most awesome DIY Sunburst Mirror tutorial from The Nester! Hers is, of course, perfect in every way (and taken with a better camera than mine! Hopefully soon I will have a nicer one. I've been using my iphone4 for all of my photos). Can you believe this was made with poster board glued onto a small mirror?! Genius! Here's my version:

Also, ignore the faux finish walls. I plan to paint those too. Along with almost every room in my house! *Sigh*

A Little Christmas Fun Around Here....

As we count down to C-day:

                                                       we've made a ginger bread house,

  

                                                          went to see a Christmas parade,

finished decorating the bushes with lights,

 crafted ornaments, made tons of cookies, and we even went star gazing with the Fort Worth Astronomical Society. We got to see Jupiter and four of it's moons up close. It was really fascinating! I hope you are having a great holiday too! 

More of My Master Bedroom

Well, as promised, here are some more views of my master bedroom progress. The only area that is done, except for maybe a headboard, is around my bed. Sadly, the rest of the room is bare! I will continue to update you on my progress, one craigslist or bargain find at a time!

First, I thought I would share the bedroom that inspired me. I fell in love with this amazing room on ratemyspace.

It captured everything I wanted in a bedroom. To me, it was the perfect blend of contemporary and traditional style. The paint color is so calming and I love the contrast between the dark furniture pieces and the crisp white bedding. Sigh. From the lamps, accessories and paint color, to the "B" detail above the bed. It's just perfect in my eyes. So, I set out on a mission to capture the essence of that room as much as I could on my VERY limited budget...

Here is my husband's nightstand. Those moss balls really helped add a natural element in the room and a little color. 

In the original room, vinyl decals were used. I decided to save some money by only buying the "A" circle decal and only because it would have been very difficult to replicate. I found an image of the scrolls online and  enlarged and printed it. Then, I traced and cut the design out. Finally, I taped it onto the wall. It doesn't lay completely flat, but I like the subtle shadows that are created. 

I'm happy with the results so far. I think the part I've enjoyed the most is using my creativity. I'm almost glad I have a limited budget! I know what you must be thinking: she's crazy. But I actually enjoy having to think and find different ways to make it mine. I hope you like it too. :0)

Some of My Artwork and Crafts

Today, I thought I would share some art and crafts that I have made.
I really love paper art, so I decided to try paper quilling. It's a technique using strips of paper that are rolled up using a special tool and folding them into shapes, usually flowers.

(Side Note: See how the soft grey background in this shadow box really makes the colors in the paper quilling art pop? I'm thinking this might be a nice paint color for my daughter's bedroom.)

I made this for my son's bedroom. I bought a piece of canvas, painted it black, folded red card stock paper into paper planes, used a paint pen to draw the plane trails and hot glued the planes in place. Super easy!

Gotta love those infamous candy lips! I whipped up this for my daughter's room by searching online and finding as many "candy lips" as I could and printing them off. Then, I glued them onto a piece of canvas. Instant "Pop Art". I also did some other collages from thumbnail images found online for my daughter's room.

I was so inspired by some pretty wreaths I found on etsy, that I decided to make a similar one for myself. I wrapped tissue paper around a foam wreath. I used miniature pin wheels, scrapbook flower stickers, and traced and cut the bird, butterflies and bicycle. Check out this amazing wreath maker's blog here!

Paper Butterflies, So Much Better Than Vinyl Decals

A few months ago, my friend Heather, a hair stylist, asked me to help her decorate her new salon space. She wanted something unique and eye catching with a sophisticated modern feel. She initially thought of buying some vinyl decals to use on the walls. But, we couldn't find any that we really liked and some of them were pricey.

Around the same time, I had discovered some amazing butterfly art done by Paul Villinski. He cut the butterflies out of beer cans he found on the streets of New York City. Heather loves butterflies and agreed that this would be amazing in her space. This is what we came up with:

She chose a soothing yet fresh paint color in Hydrangea Blue, and we decided that the butterflies should be white with a few black sprinkled in for contrast. I drew some of the butterflies by hand and traced a template for the others from pictures I found online. Since I have ZERO experience cutting beer cans, I used watercolor paper for the white ones and card stock for the black ones. The thickness in the paper is essential so that they don't start sagging over time. After cutting all the butterflies out, we hot glued them onto t-pins and arranged them on the wall. We wanted them to look like a flock of butterflies flying away toward the window.

This is soooo much more dramatic than a flat wall decal and it was amazingly cheap comparably. By using the pins and lifting them off the wall, it creates movement and dimension. Her clients were blown away and everyone wants to know where she bought them! With a little inspiration, we achieved high design for just a few pennies.

Decorative Moss Balls

Recently, I bought a glass apothecary jar and wanted to find something unique to put in it. I happened to have some leftover dried moss from another project and some foam balls. So, I decided to make some moss balls! Here's some pictures to show how I made them (very simply with hot glue) and how they look displayed: 

Simple, cheap, and decorative! I love these three words.