Best of 2011

Sometimes when blogging, you get so wrapped up in all of the other great posts you are reading of mind blowing projects that you get down on yourself.  You think you don't post enough, or when you do post, they are nothing in comparison to blogs with five and seven thousand followers with book deals.  That is why I love this post idea so much.  It gives you a chance to look back at your year (my 1st year in blogging) and see that you really have worked your bottom off!

Here's what kept me busy in 2011!  (All photos link back to the original post)

January

I debuted by 1st major project with my Pottery Barn Hundi Light Knock Off.

February

I got creative and turned an Ikea Ribba Frame into a shadow box for this skeleton key.

March

I jumped head first on the trend train of decorating this spring with my original farm ladder.

April

I won a major contest with my tutorial on how to stencil curtains.

May

I tackled another Pottery Barn Knock Off when I made this faux clock.

June

We got all personal in June when I posted about our extra jobs and our little family!

July

Big month!  We redid our guest room with the hot and trendy faux board and batten look and put up a hallway gallery wall.

August

In one marathon night, one of my students and I crafted up all of her dorm room decor.

September

In September, a new obsession began.  Milk glass!

October

I splurged on live decor with these bold pumpkins used in my tablescape.

November

I wrote my 1st sponsored post for Plaid Craft Paints and Martha Stewart where I made this Christmas Typography rug.

December

This Christmas, I decorated with fresh garland that I beefed up with some free tree trimmings.

When I look back at my Home Goals 2011 post, I know that there are a few things that I didn't get to in 2011, but I think I squeezed in a few more projects than originally projects.  Somehow, in my twisted mind, this balances out to me.  Bring on 2012!

Look back at your year...I know you accomplished great things!

Linked up at Southern Hospitality Blog.

 

How To Tie Duvet Ties

On Christmas Eve, I opened some pretty amazing gifts!  One of the was this beautiful duvet cover and two Euro shams from West Elm.

I just love its pattern and knew it would look killer with my Gray Matters by Sherwin Williams master bedroom.

Now, I have had MANY duvet covers before, and I always fight trying to get them on and fight trying to keep them looking polished.  I decided that the living room would be the best place to spread everything out and tackle it.

 

First, I lay out the comforter insert on the ground.  Next, I turn the duvet inside out and lay it on top of the comforter.  As I go to grab the corners to "flip" the duvet over the comforter, I saw these:

Duvet ties!  I have never had a duvet with ties, but I went to tying them like so:

After I had all four corners tied, I just flipped everything inside out and buttoned her up.  The comforter filled out the duvet perfectly, and it is looking great on the bed.

 

I can't wait to show you the whole master bedroom.

 

What about you?!  Are duvet ties old news to you?  How do you keep yours in place?

Christmas Home Tour 2011

Even though I have had my Christmas decorations up since Thanksgiving, I am just now getting around to hitting post for you.

 

Enjoy some eye candy of what we got to enjoy for the last 4 weeks.

This has been the most relaxing Christmas break ever.  No lie.  I don't know what is has been about this break, but Rusty and I have been both productive and super connected by spending lots of time together on the couch and under the Christmas tree lights. 

 

I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas!

How to Make Christmas Garland

As teachers, we live our lives from break to break.  The last day of Thanksgiving break, I dabbled in outdoor holiday decorations for the 1st time.  In about 2 hours, I transformed our front porch into a scene of tasteful Christmas bliss.

The best part about my project was that it only cost about $10.00!  Here is what I started with:

I bought rolls of 15' Whit Pine garland from Home Depot at $7.00 each.  I grabbed nails and 28 gauge wire (from this project) out of my craft box.  I then took all of our tree trimmings (and a truck bed load's worth since HD gives it away for free!) and got to creating Christmas.

 

I first tacked up some nails and swagged some garland.  I trimmed off the excess to save for my railings.

Then I used my supplies to add on some of my FREE trimmings to beef up the garland.

Here's a snapshot of what it will start to become....

After finishing, I just strung up some lights...

I went on to use the rest of that roll plus about 8' of the second roll to affix to my railings with twine.  I strung some lights around the railings and the corner bush.

I put out my peace rug!

And even UGA got a little Christmas makeover. 

I even slaved for hours to trade out my plants in my window boxes....

Just kidding...I cheated!  But no one can tell.

I used the other 7' or so of the garland to gussy up my mantel which I will post all about tomorrow!

 

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

 



Ombre Paint Chip Art

This was such a quick and easy project for my living room gallery wall. 

Yes, I still have empty frames in a mini gallery wall I put up 1 year ago!!!

I just get creeped out when I see tons of posed couple photos or wedding photos in a couple's home, so I was waiting for just the right idea to come along to fill that larger middle frame.  There are so many tutorials online that there is no need for me to recreate it!

Here are the basic steps:

1.  Put your innocent face on as you walk into Home Depot to score free paint
     chips

2.  Punch out  your circles using a 1" circle punch (purchased at Michaels using a
     50% off coupon)

3.  Start at the bottom and work your way up hiding the tape under each layer

4.  Go back to Home Depot and grab a few extra paint chips in the colors that you
     did not grab enough of in the first place

5.  Go back with double sided tape and tape down any flaps that are behaving

6.  Frame and hang

The colors aren't the best in the picture, but my chips range from (top) creams, (middle) purples and (bottom) grays.

What do you put in those larger frames?!

Get Inspired!

Rusty and I have been out of school all of this week.  We have spent so much time cuddling on the couch watching movies, but we have also put in some serious work in the cleaning/organizing department.  And know what we ran into?  An old binder full of torn out magazine sheets that we found almost 10 years ago when we began dreaming about our first house.  Let's just say I am SO glad we lost that binder since it was filled with authentic cabin looking decor!

In the days of Pinterest, we can get lost online pinning to our little organized boards, but what do we do with those magazine pages that we rip out? 

Apparently, I have a system.  I didn't really know I had a system until I ran into about 5 pages thrown around my house.  I tape them to the areas that I am planning on transforming!  I live by the mentality of putting those dreams/goals/desires out into the universe, lol!

Here is what I have done with some of those magazine pages:

Gallery Wall

 

Click here for my Gallery Wall post.

Guest Bedroom

I have had this taped to the back of the door.  My makeover is almost done, and I'm not too sure I stuck to any of the inspiration.  But, hey, it's still pretty!

Click here, here and here to read my guest bedroom posts.

And here are some projects that haven't come to fruition just yet:

Office Desk

This one is an easy transformation since it is basically just staging with things I have.

Click here to read about my office.

Open Kitchen Shelving

This is taped to the inside of my current cabinet that I plan to take down for transformation!

Christmas Decor

Here is what I had tucked under a pumpkin on my last mantlescape waiting to transfer it to Christmas!

Garden Tub 

I bought all of the supplies for this lighting project this week and hope to have it up soon!

So - as a tip from me to you - hang some inspiration around your home and be amazed at how much faster you will end up getting the projects done!

Isn't it so funny what you learn about yourself when you just step back and analyze a small pattern that emerged?!  Do you still find tangible inspiration outside of Pinterest?