Birthday Bathroom Re-Do

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago and People were kind enough to send me gift cards. Our Bathroom style did not coincide with the rest of our home and it was something that I had been wanting to fix for quite some time. I took advantage of the fact that I had gift cards to burn and re-did the bathroom. 

Shower Curtain: Target $20

Bath Towel: Target Sale $7

Frame: Home Goods $10

Art: Free Printable

Rug: Home Goods Clearance $15

Canisters: Home Goods (already owned)

Soap Dispenser: Target $10

Flowers: Target Clearance In Store $8

Candle: Target Clearance $5

Grand Total: $83

Deck the Halls

No this isn't a Christmas post, this is a small celebration for me however. My husband is active duty military and we just found out recently that we get to remain in this area for another SIX years (this is almost unheard of for someone in this lifestyle). Because of this, I get to finish decorating our home INCLUDING purchasing and hanging wall art, a ginormous luxury for a military spouse. I'm still browsing and making inspiration boards but here are some of the things i'm looking at doing. 

Pretty Botanicals

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A buck mount (my husband shot one that looks similar to this one)

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Some fun Shabby Chic Mirrors

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If I get really adventurous I may even paint an accent wall, I'm loving Sherwin-Williams' Rainwashed at the moment. 

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What is your favorite way to freshen up your walls?

Happy Friday!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. Yesterday I was sitting around staring at my hallway and trying to figure out how to improve it when I got out my scrapbook paper and had a little fun. Here is what I came up with. 

I used google for the state shapes, printed out a map of both states in the same size, cut them out and then traced it onto scrapbook paper. Since there is glass on the frame I simply used regular clear office tape to attach the states and the word "love" to the background. 

Palmolive® Soft Touch™

As a blogger I sometimes get the chance to try new products, Influenster was nice enough to provide me with two bottles of Palmolive® Soft Touch™, one to try and the other to share with a friend. I kept the Aloe and shared the Vitamin E. I am often a skeptic when it comes to trying new products due to my extensive list of allergies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't irritate my skin and that my hands didn't smell like red sauce after cleaning a HUGE pot that had been full of it. Generally products do one thing or the other, they either get my pots clean or make my hands smell nice. I am pleased to say that Palmolive® Soft Touch™  is Tough on Grease, Soft on Hands.  Palmolive® Soft Touch™ is available at Walmart.

I received products complimentary from Influenster. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own. 

Lampshade Makeover

I was looking around our living room at the transformation progress (this is going slowly since I'm trying to keep it as budget friendly as possible), and I saw our VERY modern lamps. I had a glue gun, some burlap ribbon and scissors laying around so I decided to experiment.

Start out by gathering the needed supplies. I used a glue gun with lots of glue sticks, burlap wired ribbon, and scissors.  And of course the clean canvas of a lampshade. 

Step 1: Cut your piece of burlap ribbon to size for the lamp. Let it overlap or be too large so you can trim it true to size after gluing it down. If you do not, there is no room for error in the gluing process.

Step 2: Repeat with each side until you have all of your pieces cut. 

Step 3: Gently glue your ribbon down, I started with the bottom and then worked my away around the ribbon in a circle to eliminate "Kinking" in the ribbon or any wrinkles. Gently smooth the ribbon as you lay it down on the glue to further help you avoid wrinkles. 

Step 4: After you glue down each side, carefully cut off the excess. Be careful not to trim off too much, if you have a good pair of sharp scissors you will be able to take off a little at a time. 

Step 5: Repeat with each side. 

I ended up painting the lamp base too.  I used 2 coats of Krylon Spray on Primer, 2 Coats of Krylon Satin "Almond" color, and 2 coats of Krylon "clear-matte" spray paint. Voila!

Wedding Printable

As I was getting ready to upload photos for a post on my lamp makeover (coming soon I promise), I started playing in Picasa and made this fun printable with my friend who's getting married soon in mind. Feel free to share/download and enjoy! 

Download

Shabby Chic Letter

Front Door Makeover

Inspiration: Carolina Moon Crafts

For this project you will need: 

A wooden letter (I got mine at hobby lobby)

A dark acrylic paint color(for the cracks in the crackle)

A lighter acrylic paint color to overlay 

Crackle medium

Clear sealing spray (to waterproof the finished product)

Paintbrushes

Burlap Ribbon

BEFORE YOU BEGIN! Watch this video, I had no idea where to start with crackle medium. 

Begin by painting your base color onto the letter. 

I used Martha Stewart "Vanilla Bean". 

It is VERY important to let every layer dry COMPLETELY before painting the next. 

Next use Folk Art Crackle Medium and paint generously, don't glob it on, however don't go too light or you won't get the desired crackle effect. 

After letting the crackle medium dry completely, paint on the top color, I used Folk Art "Vintage White".

It is VERY important to go evenly and with the grain or it will not crackle properly, also, do NOT go over spots if you "miss" them or your crackles will fill in. 

To waterproof your letter (if you plan on hanging it outside), use a clear sealing spray. I used Krylon Matte Finish because I didn't want a glossy sheen distracting from the antique finish. 

After the Matte Finish dried, I finished off the letter with a burlap bow.