{ heart knob }

I came across this idea a while back in Sommerset's Home magazine and loved it - I thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day.  I found an old door knob with a fairly flat surface for the holder and then used some old thick wire for the heart shape.  I was able to bend the wire with my hands but a small pair of pliers would also work well.

I think this would make a great place card holder for a head table or even a special dinner party. 

I was thinking this would also make a cute gift that can be used to hold snapshot photos.

{ burlap covers for lamps }

Good Monday morning.  We had a wonderful trip this past weekend to the coast with our kids - the only way we relax is when we are out of town and away from our phones - I'm sure many of you can relate. 

Right before we left I made these cool burlap covers for my bedroom lamps and one for our living room lamp.  I had seen this idea in a magazine and really liked it.  I wanted to share it with you because it was easy and inexpensive and I thought someone might like to try it.  Here is a picture of my lamp with its original shade.

Here is the finished lamp with the burlap cover - I think linen would work great too.  I used bias tape in neutral colors and sewed it to the burlap to make a loose tie.  Along the top and bottom edges I just turned the burlap under and sewed it.

This is a small IKEA lamp that I picked up with a very plain and bright white shade - now it is toned down and seems warmer.  We put this small lamp on our fireplace mantel.

{lamp face lift}

My kids and I had a great day yesterday just being home getting "stuff" done.  One of the many decorating projects that I worked on was updating this fun lamp.  I had found this really cool carved lamp last week at Urban Salvage - the owner said she hated it and gave it to me for free!  I told her she just made a customer for life out of me!

My encouragement for you today is to look past bad paint jobs, dirt and grime and look for pieces that are built well and have interesting features.  This lamp happens to be huge, heavy and has some serious charm.  The carving is very unique and goes well with my style.

To update it I gave it several coats of cream spray paint.  Then as luck would have it when I went back to US later that week and found the perfect burlap-ish shade for it - that only set me back 3 bucks -- as you can imagine I am thrilled with my new desk lamp.  And my husband is thrilled it isn't in our living room! 

{reclaim, recover, redeem...reuse}

I am very excited to talk about a downtown Fresno store that I have been visiting lately.  If you know me, you know that I love salvaged building materials to use in our home and garden.

{Urban Salvage}specializes in vintage building materials but also stocks lots of fun antiques and collectibles.  They are open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  My good friend Kiley and I were finally able to get our schedules together and made a "big" trip downtown with our kids to check out thrift stores and Urban Salvage.  We had a blast!

We found these cool suitcases...

I picked this one mainly due to the initials...M.E.C. rest assured that I will cherish and love your suitcase!

I love my friend Kiley - and I love her home - it is warm, inviting and stylish - even with 3 small kids and Farmer Dan!  Not be deterred by a parking ticket and dog poo on her daughters shoe - Kiley went back the next day to US and snagged these two awesome suitcases for her family room.  I love it when one small purchase wakes you up early in the morning and spurs you to move all your furniture and rearrange your "stuff".  You go girl!

{Urban Salvage ph. 559.439.3176 at 1515 N. Broadway Fresno Ca 93721}

January 21, 2012 - Sami and Michael

Working on this beautiful wedding for Sami and Michael was the perfect start to this year for us.  Sami envisioned a garden inspired wedding using creams, navy blue and chocolate brown.  For her bouquet we used cabbage "David Austen" cream roses, ivory "Vendella" roses, white lisianthus and white spray roses with a touch of variegated petto greenery.

The bridesmaids wore gorgeous navy blue dresses and carried simple yet elegant bouquets with ivory roses and greenery.

Sami and Michael celebrated with family at the Clovis Memorial building in downtown Clovis.  The ceremony was in a large airy room overlooking a beautiful park setting.  We used our silk cypress trees with white lights to define the ceremony area.  We also used our standing shepherds hooks with hanging french wire candle holders - we added silk ivory peonies and long ivory ribbons. 

For a few of the guest tables we used our iron candelabras with soft florals and battery candles.

Vintage cream bird cages with silk flowers were used on a few of the tables.  Thank you to my friend Kiley for loaning me this beautiful cage.

For the remainder of the tables we put together this fun and fresh arrangement of white stock, ivory roses and soft greenery.

El Matador

I love art in our home.  And I love thrift stores.  So, as you can imagine, it was to my delight when I discovered a magazine article that talked about purchasing affordable art from the Goodwill!  Basically the Goodwill Industries of America has a website much like ebay where you can bid on many home goods.  Their section on art is always changing and has some very interesting items.  I love it because so many things are really cheap!  I found this awesome painting of a Matador last year.  The painting cost me about $45 and it is about 3 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide.

Check out their website at http://www.shopgoodwill.com/ and see if you can't find something fun for your home too!  Happy Hunting!

Creative Chalkboard Ideas

Over the past couple of years we have seen a major fascination with chalkboards - what used to be found only in schools has now become so popular for our homes.  Chalkboards are fun, easy to make and give us a creative surface to make lists and doodle. 

I wanted to share my own chalkboard project that we have in our entry.  I purchased this old door from Habitat for Humanity's "ReStore".  You can check out this interesting store for old doors, knobs, window frames, tiles and many other home improvement remnants.  They are located on Clovis Avenue behind Lowe's at Shaw. 

One thing I love about this door is that it can be moved around the house when needed.  For the chalkboard part I used black chalkboard paint from Lowe"s.  I applied 6 coats and let them dry for one day in between.  To hold the kids chalk I tied a tin bucket painted gold to the open door knob hole.

I have also found this amazing chalkboard paint called "Annie Sloan's Chalkboard Paint."  It comes in many shades and can also be used on furniture.  It can be purchased locally from Vicki Shoemaker at the "3 Oaks Studio" in Clovis.  Their phone number is (559)974-3208

{anniesloan.com}

A really cool idea for a door - hung sideways over a desk.  I love this idea for a weekly calendar.

{serendipitous-life.tumblr.com}



I also found this door covering a storage space...love the old school green chalk paint used.

{thedesignbistroblog.com}

Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing a chalkboard door for your home. 
I would love to make one for you!  The price will run between $50-$80 each.