Since Christmas is just 71 days away, I’ve decided to share my Friday Favorites part 3. Not every Friday, that would be a lot of things. However, I promise that quite a few Fridays will be filled with wonderful things that I love. I’m hoping that a few of you love them too!

Christmas Ribbon

Around this time of year, if I see ribbon I love, I am buying it!

Not only do I wrap presents with it, I also use it on my tree.

I’ve learned the hard way that if it’s cute, it doesn’t stay in the store long.

These beautiful ribbons came from WalMart!

They had me at chenille.

And plaid.

And while I wold love to tell you that the beautiful red and white ribbons were the only ones I bought, I’d be lying if I told you that.

Is it considered a problem when you can’t pass up pretty ribbon?

These cute rolls of ribbon came from Sam’s Club.

At $6.99 a HUGE roll it’s a serious bargain.

And they are so cute!

Apple Watch Band

I’ve had this watch band quite awhile and whenever I wear it I always get compliments on it.

I love that it’s leather as I’m not a big fan of the plastic bands that come with the watch.

A watch case comes with it, but I’ve honestly never used it.

This band is under $15.00  and you can find it here.

These keyboard stickers make me so happy every time I open my computer!

They were out of the ones that I have on my computer, however I did find these that are very similar.

I cannot tell you how much I love them!

Leopard Chuck Taylor Sneakers

Anybody who knows me knows my love of Chucks!

These sweet little leopard Chuck Taylors are just what any little girl needs.

I bought them for Beep and I can’t wait to give them to her.

I’m resisting the urge to add a little bling to them…

Gel Food Coloring

About a year ago I went to a cookie decorating class.

And fell in love with it.

However, there is one thing that I’ve always hated.

Using the gel food coloring when making the icing.

Most gels com in pots and you are suppose to use toothpicks to get the gel out.

WHAT. A. MESS.

This AmeriColor gel food color is in a squeeze bottle and is quite frankly amazing!

I used the black, which usually takes a ton of gel color to make, and only used a few drops for the blackest of black color.

Love. it!

Sleep Pants

These are by far my favorite of favorites!

Can you say soft?

And comfortable?

Yes, please!

Made from Bamboo for the softest light weight sleep pants you will ever wear.

Even if you don’t sleep in long pants, these make great lounge pants.

For under $20.00, you can’t go wrong.

Tip – size down.

I normally wear a medium and bought a small with plenty of room to spare!

Suitcase Organizer Bag Sets

Some of you may be the Queen of packing and organization, but I am not.

I’m fairly neat, but as my vacation goes along my suitcase tends to get messier.

These organizer bags are the bomb and help keep things separated, sorted and easy to find.

With the holidays coming up and travel imminent for some of you, these would be the perfect solution for the suitcase challenged.

They come in many different colors and patterns and are well under $20.00.

That’s it for Friday Favorites part 3.

Hopefully you found something for you or maybe even the perfect gift for someone else!

Until next time….

                                                                    Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Did you know that a group of crows is called a murder? Truth. And boy do I have a murder of crows in my dining room. I couldn’t be happier. I’m loving my Murder of Crows Halloween Table!

It all started when I was setting my table  for Halloween.

I put down a black polk a dot table runner, added a mercury glass  pumpkin.

Next, the spooky place setting.

The orange placemat reflects the orange dots in the table runner.

Purple glitter chargers were added for a little bling.

You all know I love me some white plates!

To top off my plate stack I added 4 different lacy black and white Halloween plates.

The finishing touch was the napkin and spider napkin ring!

At this point, I knew something was missing.

It needed just a little more fun added!

Adding vintage looking crows for place cards seemed to be just what my table needed.

Using white cupcake stands for my  base, I added cut up cupcake liners to the flat top.

Then it was time to dress up my crow.

For his neck ruffle, again I used cupcake liners as well as coffee filters.

I simply cut them down to the width I wanted, and using a needle and thread, sewed a  running stitch close to one edge.

After gathering the stitched ruffle, simply put it around the crows neck and sew the ends together.

Now, my crow needed a few embellishments.

I added hats, rhinestones, stickers, wooden tags, and crowns.

Anything that looked like it belonged on my crows.

Then, at the base of the cupcake stand I added preprinted cut out names.

The perfect place card  holders for my Halloween table!

Not only were the crows fun to make, but I think that my Halloween table turned out pretty cute too.

I also added a few blingy spiders and glittery decorations to the chandelier.

As well as a few scary things to  my buffet as well.

My murder of crows Halloween table couldn’t be more fun.

Let the Halloween celebration begin!

Until next time….

                                                        Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Yes, it’s $10 on The 10th. This month’s theme is Harvest. So basically anything that is Fall. When Fall rolls around and it finally cools off here in Texas I love a warm mug of what we call Fall Spiced Tea. Y’all can have your pumpkin chai lattes, for me it is spiced tea from October until March!

I always try and keep a few gifties available for friends who need a pick me up, to welcome a new neighbor or an “I was just thinking of you today” gift.

Spiced Tea is perfect for any of those gifts and more.

However, to take the gift up a notch I like to make sure the packaging is super cute.

No plain jar for this girl!

Supplies:

Jar – I bought mine from the Dollar Tree

Felt

Wooden Tags- I bought mine here.

Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

Scissors

Hot Glue  Gun and Glue

Buttons

Scissors

Pen or pencil

Card stock

Step 1:

Since it’s Fall, what could be more perfect for a decoration on my jars than Fall leaves?

I found some free clip art of leaves, printed them off and cut them out of card stock.

Step 2:

Trace your leaf template onto felt.

Step 3:

Cut your felt leaves out.

Step 4:

After your leaves are cut out, lay them out like you want and hot glue them together.

Then, add a button for a little bling!

Step 5:

Add more bling.

I could have stopped with just the leaves and the button.

They are cute just the way they are, however I wanted to add a little more warmth and detail.

Using a metallic gold paint, paint on the leaves details.

Makes such a difference!

Step 6:

Make a tag.

I found these unfinished wooden tags awhile back and bought a package of them.

I use them all the time.

Paint your tag using watered down acrylic paint.

Quickly wipe the paint off with a paper towel.

Now, your tag is ready!

Step 7:

Make your Fall Spiced Tea.

At the end of the post I’ll share the recipe with you.

It’s super simple and oh, so yummy!

Fill your jar with spiced tea.

Step 8:

Decorate the jar.

Tie orange twine onto the jar.

Be sure to add your tag at this point.

Hot glue the leaves onto the twine.

Your Fall Spiced Tea is finished!

Cost:

Jar: $1.00

Spiced Tea: to fill this jar 2.78

Felt -.90

Wooden Tag – .14

Everything else I had on hand in my craft closet.

Total cost: $4.82.

Not bad for a  super cute and easy gift!

Recipe:

2 cups Tang

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Instant Tea

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container.

SERVE: 2 heaping teaspoons per cup of hot water.

To really spice things up I add Red Hot candies.

Now please join me in visiting all of the other $10 on the Tenth participants to see their fabulous inspiration!

With the holiday season approaching I’m  going to start posting a few of my favorite things on Fridays. Friday Favorites.  Lately I’ve found a few things here and there that I love and thought that you might like them too!

Number 1:

Colorstreet Nail Strips

These nail strips are amazing.

The last time I bought nail strips they had to be heated to adhere to your nails.

Not great, at all!

These nail strips  are so easy to apply AND they stay on an average of 10 days.

Want to try a set?

Let me know and I’ll share my consultant.

P.S.: They have the CUTEST Halloween sets that just dropped!

Coming soon are their Thanksgiving and Christmas sets.

They also have a huge selection of plain, glitter and french nail sets.

LOVE them.

Number 2:

For those of you who travel this silicone heat resistant sleeve is amazing.

You can immediately put your iron into the sleeve and cannot feel the heat on the outside.

Which makes putting it into your suitcase when it’s hot a breeze!

I use mine on the bathroom counter to keep the heat away from the marble.

Works like a charm.

Number 3 and 4:

Bath and Body.

I LOVE their new Halloween and Fall scented hand soaps.

My favorite?

Candy Corn Treats.

Not sure that it smells like Candy Corn, but it does smell yummy!

Another favorite – This Wallflower plug in.

It doubles as a night light and is so pretty all lit up!

Number 5:

If you haven’t tried this balsamic glaze, you don’t know what you are missing.

My favorite use for it  is on a salad.

Lettuce, avocado, tomato, a shake or two of Everything But the Bagel, and a drizzle of Nonna Pia’s and you have yourself the best low cal, healthy lunch!

Number 6:

St. Augustine Distillery makes this hand sanitizer that is just the best!

I found mine at Total Wine and More.

I like it because it sprays on, has no scent and disappears immediately when you rub your hands together.

Make sure you get the spray, their gel has an unusual scent that is not my favorite.

That’s it for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Next week I’m sharing my favorite clothing.

HINT: I found the most comfortable lounging/ sleep pants for under $20.00!

Until next time…

Welcome to October’s DIY Challenge.  If you are coming here, from  Corine’s Junk to Gems, I’m so happy that you are here! This month Terrie of Decorate and More With Tip asked us to give all of you lots of pumpkin inspiration. So that’s just what we did! Today I’m sharing  how to make a Faux Sweater Pumpkin.

I’m sure all of you have seen those gorgeous  sweater covered pumpkins.

So pretty.

All you have to do is cut up an old sweater and cover the pumpkin.

But what if you don’t have an old sweater?

Well, you create a pumpkin out of yarn!

Here is how you turn a plain little Dollar tree pumpkin into a beautiful faux sweater pumpkin.

Step 1:

Remove the pumpkin stem.

Which is super easy as it is only attached with a toothpick.

Step 2:

Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin.

Step 3:

Paint the Pumpkin.

I recommend painting the pumpkin a color close to the yarn you will be using.

Your yarn will leave “holes” where the pumpkins color can peek through.

Step 4:

Braid the yarn.

I started off by cutting 9 – 26′ pieces of yarn for each braid.

Gather the 9 strands at the top and tie them off.

Then divide the 9 strands into 3 groups.

Keeping the yarn flat braid the 3 groups together.

Tie off the bottom of the braid just like you did the top.

You will need approximately 10 – 12 braids per pumpkin, depending upon the yarn you use.

Step 5:

Apply the braids to the the pumpkin.

Put one end of the braid into the hole of the pumpkin, then wrap around the pumpkin and place the tail of the braid into the hole.

Keep doing this until the pumpkin is completely covered in braids.

Step 6:

Give the pumpkin a stem.

Add a wine cork or tree branch to the top of the pumpkin.

Just stick it into the hole, the braids will hold the stem in place.

Step 7:

Add leaves to the pumpkin.

I chose to add these felt leaves, but really any leaf would do.

To attach them I cut out the felt, gathered the end and hot glued it to a piece of wire.

Once dry, I stuck the wire into the pumpkin hole.

As with the stem, the braids will hold the leaves in place.

I made a couple of the faux sweater pumpkins.

One with a variegated yarn and another with a chenille yarn.

Both are cute, but the variegated is my favorite!

It really does look like a cable knit sweater.

I’m a big fan of the faux sweater pumpkin.

No more looking for sweaters to cut up and it’s fun and easy to make!

Now, I hope that you will join me and visit Carol at Bluesky at Home.

I can’t wait to see what pumpkin inspo she’s cooked up!

                                                    Remember, If you love it, be sure to Pin it!

It’s Reveal Day! Week 5. This has been one crazy month of painting, painting ,more painting, sewing and did I mention painting? I was painting until this past Monday, but I am so thankful to be done and sharing the $100 Room Challenge Reveal with you!

A quick thanks to Erin of Lemons, Lavender and Laundry for hosting this challenge.  It’s such a great way to get a room makeover done in one month, for $100 or less.

Goals for the Guestroom

This is the “before” room.

Not bad, just a lot of beige and it needed to be pulled together.

My goal was to add color and make it feel more like a room a guest would be happy to spend some time in.

Week 2

Week two was when all the painting started.

We started with the ceiling and  finished up with the walls.

Week 3

Week 3 we added a new/old chandelier that had been gifted to me.

New curtains were hung and  I started painting the artwork.

Lamps, curtain rods and accessories were all painted.

Week 4

Week 4 we added a focal wall!

I am so glad that we did.

It’s subtle, but oh what a change it made!

We started painting the nightstands.

Finish:

And this is where I finished!

Remember I said that I painted, a lot?

I painted just about everything in this room except the bed and the chair.

Nightstand, dresser, mirror, lamps, curtain rod, accessories, the walls, the ceiling and the art work.

It makes me tired just thinking about it.

I have to say that this room took me WAY out of my comfort zone with the color.

I wanted to leave everything white.

Truly!

However, the room begged me for color.

And boy, did it get it!

Want to know a secret?

I’m not even a big fan of green!

How weird is that?

But, when it came time to paint this was just the color that was right.

For years we called this bedroom the pink flamingo room, so there was a ton of pink with the navy.

Hot pink and navy are my two favorite colors!

The pink was great, there just needed to be a little less of it.

While this isn’t a very big room, now it sure lives big.

A friend told me that it was no longer one big beige room, now it was a happy room.

Who wouldn’t want guests to stay in a room that makes them happy?

So how did I do on budget?

I’m so relieved to say that I did great.

I spent a grand total of $89.58.

Paint:  $40.34

Bender Board:    $24.75

Curtains:   $14.50

Accessories:  9.99

Which left me with $10.42.

One last look at the new guest room.

It makes me happy, so I’m calling this $100 Room Challenge Reveal a success!

Now, please join me in visiting all the other participants.

I can’t wait to see their reveals!

                                          Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Can you believe that October is only days away? Some days this year seems to be flying by and on others it seems to crawl. Luckily I’ve been able to keep busy with lots of crafts, reading and decorating the past few months. One of the crafts I worked on was this Spooky Halloween sign. It is so easy, fun and versatile that I just had to share it with you!

I found this super cute sign at Hobby Lobby.

Did I know what I was going to do with it?

No, but it was so cute I couldn’t resist!

The ribbon is from Hob Lob also, but the cute metal Spooky cutout and the sweet little wooden cutouts came from the Dollar Tree.

Step 1:

Take the sign apart.

That’s right, I removed the sweet little wooden beads so that I could paint them.

The wooden signs tray would need a little paint too.

Step 2:

Painting the beads.

To paint the beads I put them on a wooden skewer like I did  when I made these mini signs.

If you missed it, you can see how I made them here.

Putting the beads on a skewer is a game changer.

Step 3:

Before I painted the sign, I cut the ribbon to fit the tray.

Then painted the sign black and added purple glitter to the frame.

Step 5:

Once both the sign and the beads were dry, I reattached the beads to the sign using new twine.

Step 6:

Next, I glued the ribbon that I pre-cut earlier onto the the sign.

Step 7:

Now, paint the witch hat and ghost cutouts.

If you aren’t comfortable painting the cutouts, I think that they  would be super cute covered in Halloween themed scrapbook paper.

Step 8:

Glue the painted wooden and metal cutouts onto the sign.

Add a cute, simple bow made from Halloween ribbon and your Spooky Halloween sign is finished!

I added my sign to my coffee bar for some much needed Halloween decor.

So cute!

I love how easy, inexpensive and fun this project was.

It was a quick afternoon project that cost me under $8.00!

My kind of craft!

Until next time…

Every year about this time I start sharing great Christmas finds with you and where to get them.  I’m here to tell you that the Christmas decor at Big Lots is the bomb this year!

So grab you pumpkin spice latte – or whatever you drink – and curl up in a cozy chair and enjoy all of the wonderful items I’ve got to share with you today!

Random Decor

Let’s start with this Believe sign.

For $8.00  this would be great on a table, on the wall, or even on a wreath!

And this pillow?

Can you even???

If you love this truck as much as I do, you better run down to your local store and grab it.

I promise you it won’t be there long.

I have FOMO about this sign.

Loved it, but didn’t buy it.

I have a blank wooden sign that I’ve been hunting for something to put on it.

This would be perfect!

So cute…

Lanterns.

They had two that really wanted to go home with me.

This reindeer scene lantern, complete with greenery, is just beautiful!

The second lantern, and my favorite of the two, was this red one.

It comes complete with greenery, bow, candle and trees.

lIt’s the complete package.

I have a large red lantern that I put on my front porch at Christmas that would look awsome with this smaller lantern next to it!

Snowmen

Apparently snowmen are one of my favorites this year because I fell in love with a couple of them.

I can think of several places that this snowman would look awesome in my house.

And that Christmas present?

Totally adorable.

So in love with this sweet little snowman.

He’s cute from the bottom of his furry little body to his red and black buffalo check hat.

The co-ordinating tree is just perfect, too.

Tabletop

This insulated cup had me at “merry”.

It’s a nice size and I’m thinking it would be great for not only hot beverages but cold ones too!

We all know that black Labs are my favorite, so are cookies.

Add those together and you get the best cookie jar ever!

Isn’t this Jingle table runner just the happiest?

And the bells have the sweetest sound.

Ornaments

These wooden bead ornaments are very on trend right now.

Not only would they be pretty  on a tree, but I’m thinking that these would make great napkin rings..

Maybe even added to the top of a present?

This cut little red truck is super cute.

I’m thinking of taking the “Merry Christmas” sign off the bottom and using the truck as a decoration piece on a sign.

This is my favorite thing in the entire Christmas isle!

It’s made of metal and has the cutest tree magnet that you move to countdown the days til Santa visits.

I can just see one of the Littles moving it in anticipation every day.

That’s all of the wonderful Christmas decor at Big Lots, but I’m not finished yet…

Our local Wal Mart has just started putting out thier Christmas decor.

Both of these are just the prettiest little decorations.

And did you see the prices?

If the rest of the decor lives up to these pieces, then Christmas Decor at Wal Mart is going to be awesome.

Last share, I promise…

Gliz & Glamour Boutique is an on-line shop based out of Texas that has the cutest little girl boutique clothes at great prices.

These pajamas are just the cutest!!!

They come in green and red.

For an additional fee, they will even put your child’s name on them.

That’s it for today.

Stay tuned for more fabulous finds as we get closer to Christmas.

Until next time…

                                                                    Remember, if you love it, be sure to Pin it!

Welcome to week 4 of the $100 Room Challenge.  I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since we started the challenge! If I had to name last week it would be Guest Bedroom Focal Wall. Why? Well, we will get to that in a minute.

If you missed any of the previous $100 Room challenge weeks, you can see them here:

                                                                Week 1/ Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Reveal

The past few days have been rainy.

Which has made it hard to take photos and paint!

My plan for the week was to paint the dresser and nightstands  and finish up the artwork and accessories.

But, every time I walked into the guest room I kept thinking that the room still needed something more.

And then it hit me, I needed a focal wall.

After a little research,  I thought that a focal wall featuring wooden strips would be perfect.

The design could be kept simple, as this is a small room, and it would keep the cost low.

I decided to go with 2 foot squares that were sectioned off with strips of bender board.

Bender board allowed us to put it right on the wall without having to remove the moldings.

The Hubs looked at the design, measured, cut the boards and had them up on the wall in less than 2 hours.

Once the bender board was upon on the wall, it was time to caulk and paint.

Honestly, I was  shocked at how easy that turned out to be.

This entire wall took a half a day to install and paint.

We used 9 – 8 foot x 3 3/4″ x 1/4″  boards at $2.75 each.

Next, I started painting the nightstands.

Honestly, I went WAY out of my comfort zone here.

Instead of leaving them white, I painted them a bright emerald green.

I know...

So far my sister and my BFF are loving it, but I’m reserving my elation until I see the dresser completed and everything is put together.

The wall sconces are installed, however still need to add my CordMates to hide the lamp wall cords.

Finally, my guest bedroom focal wall is perfect!

This next week is going to be a busy one for sure.

I may be working down to the finish line!

Budget:

So how much have I spent?

This week I spent $24.75.

Which leaves me with a grand total of $10.57 to finish up the rest of the room.

Wish me luck!

Now, I hope that you will join me in visiting all the other $100 Room Challenge participants!

                                                           Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Painting Fall pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do.

Every year I find something new to paint on my pumpkins whether they are real, faux, wooden, plastic, canvas or styrofoam.

Really, with pumpkins, the possibilities are endless!

A few years ago I shared how to paint a pumpkin, if you missed it you can see how to here.

I recently found the perfect blank wooden pumpkin for a front door hanger at Hobby Lobby.

I couldn’t wait to get started painting!

Step 1 was to remove the twine loop at the top and give the pumpkin a light sanding.

I won’t bore you with the painting details, I’ll just give you the highlights.

If you want to see how to paint them in detail, hit up the link I shared earlier!

Starting on my left, I paint in the shape of a “C”.

I continue each “C” until I hit the middle section, where I paint an oval shape.

Then on my right side I work my way to the middle painting reversed “C”s.

This creates the indentations on the pumpkin.

 TIP:

When painting my pumpkins I rarely clean out the brush.  For this pumpkin I used a dark turquoise, turquoise and white.

By not cleaning my brush it creates many different colors of the turquoise which gives it depth.

Once my turquoise was painted, I added some white and orange highlights.

Then, it was time to paint my stem.

Again, I used a dark brown, medium brown and white.

There are several ways to add the word “welcome” to my door hanger.

I could have used vinyl, however I didn’t have any permanent vinyl on hand so I decided to paint it on.

So, I did what I did in grade school when I wanted to transfer a design.

I drew the word welcome, then flipped the paper over and ran a pencil over the back of the paper where the word was written.

Once that was done, I flipped the paper back over and placed it where I wanted the word to be on my pumpkin.

Then, using a stylus, I traced the word.

After that it was just a matter of painting between the lines!

Once my paint dried, I reattached the twine and added a few burlap leaves.

At this point, the only thing that my pumpkin needed to be finished was a colorful bow!

My door hanger was ready to be hung.

Of course, I couldn’t just paint one!

I painted these smaller pumpkins using the same technique, only this time I painted on leaves and on the smaller one a fun leopard design.

Painting Fall pumpkins couldn’t be easier or more fun!

Until next time….

                                                           Remember, If you love it, be sure to PIN it!

 I’m so excited! I made a Halloween Tear drop! What’s a Tear Drop you ask? Well, we will get to that momentarily, but first a little back story!

Remember a month or so ago when I shared my Halloween Dollar Tree haul with you? Ever since then I’ve been adding things here and there to my stash just waiting for the right time to use it all. And then one day I was on Miss Cayce’s Christmas  Wonderland site and fell in love with Tear Drops.

This is one of Miss Cayce’s Tear Drops.

Isn’t it the cutest?

The base is an upside Christmas tree shaped “swag” of pine branches.

If I lived closer to Miss Cayce’s I would definitely take a class or two on how to decorate a Tear Drop.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to do with their Youtube tutorials!

Normally I would wait to share my finished product with you until the end.

However, this may be how my Tear Drop looks now, but it certainly isn’t what it looked like to start with.

My Tear Drop arrive a few days after ordering it.

Nicely packed with a personalized note inside.

I quickly took it out of it’s package, fluffed it up and added these cute black and white floral picks to the top and bottom of the Tear Drop.

Next, I added these cute witch hat picks, again at the top and bottom.

Now this is the part I was so excited about, I added a black glitter cat!

I had made this, along with a ghost and pumpkin from my Dollar Tree haul.

I knew  it would be the perfect focal point for my tear drop.

Just like Miss C’s tutorials, I added balls and bows.

Shiny curly things, as well as glittery spiders with webs.

And when I was done, I took a few steps back to admire my lovely glittery black cat with the bows and all things shiny!

All I could think was:

This is not at all what I had in my head!

The cat doesn’t show up at all…

I sat down at my studio desk to roll around in my disappointment and my eye caught a shiny little ghost sitting on the  worktable.

And I knew.

While I loved my glittery black cat, my shiny white ghost was perfect for my Tear Drop.

His glittery shiny white self just pops off of the greenery!

My Tear Drop isn’t nearly as cute as the ones at Miss Cayce’s, but I think it’s pretty cute.

Even without my black cat.

Now, I can’t wait to hang it.

Bring on Halloween!

Until next time….

It’s week 3 of the $100 Room Challenge. I can’t believe how fast it’s flying by! I got a lot done this week, although it may not look like it. A lot of tiny, behind the scenes stuff that you have to do, but really doesn’t show up that much.

A month or so ago I was at a clients home and she asked if I wanted an old chandelier.

Why, yes I did!

I love old chandeliers.

Can you say Granny chic?

I took this one home and cleaned it up, not really sure what I was going to do with it.

Until a few weeks ago.

The Hubs graciously hung the chandelier in the guest bedroom for me this past week.

I LOVE it!

So much better than the old beige ceiling fan.

I found new curtains.

Not exactly what I wanted, but they are cute, I couldn’t beat the price and my oldest son who is the one usually staying in this room loves them.

Sold!

I found an old black curtain rod hanging out in the guest room closet and decided to use it.

I sprayed it Rust-0-leum metallic gold and the curtains were ready to be hung.

The package said that the curtains were 95 inches long.

I used that measurement to determine the height of the rod.

However, once I hung the curtains they were not the same length all the way across and they were too long.

So I left them hanging, turned them up and pinned them the correct length.

Then hand sewed them.

So glad that’s done!

I couldn’t find artwork for the bedroom that I loved, so decided to paint my own.

This is my inspiration piece.

It would have been perfect except it’s got a black background, which won’t work in my room.

And it says “Gather”.

Not really for a guest room.

Cute, but I’m changing it up a bit to go with my room.

I’m not even close to being finished, but I did get started on it.

I have also started on a updating a few other accessories for the room, but still have a way to go to finish them up.

So how much have I spent so far?

This week’s total:

I bought curtains for $7.25 each,  gold metallic spray paint, and a faux plant for $28.49.

Combined with last weeks expenditures I have spent a total of : $59.18.

Which I feel like isn’t too bad.

I still have to make up my mind about what color I’m going to paint the dresser and nightstands.

Finish up the accessories and pull it all together in the next 2 weeks.

Fingers crossed!

So that’s it for week 3 of the $100 Room Challenge, if you missed week 1 or week 2 you can see those here:

                                              WEEK 1 / WEEK 2 / WEEK 3 / WEEK 4 / Week 5 Reveal

Now, please join me in visiting the other $100 Room Challenge Participants!

I’m so excited to have cooler temps here in North Texas! The cooler weather has me dreaming of fall and Halloween. So I finally dusted off the pumpkins and started decorating the front porch. As I was decorating, I realized that you only need 5 things for a fall front porch that is beautiful.

5 things that aren’t all that expensive and are  easy to do.

That’s my kind of decorating!

Step 1:

Clean everything.

This is the time to sweep the porch, clean your windows and doors, and if need be mulch the flower beds.

It’s amazing how a quick cleaning can make everything look so much better!

Step 2:

Add a pretty wreath or door hanger to your front door.

I believe the front door is one of the first things you see as you look at a house.

Making sure that it is clean, shiny and wearing a little bling is key.

Step 3:

And while you are at the front door, add a fun door mat.

I love all of the funny, colorful and inviting mats that you find today.

They come in a huge range of colors and sizes.

Normally my front door has a layered rug and mat combo, however this mat was so large that a rug under it looked like overkill for the space.

No worries.

I love this mat so much that I don’t even miss the rug!

Step 4:

Add fall flowers and pumpkins.

Right now my Summer flowers look better than they have in quite awhile, so I’m leaving those out for little longer.

However, that hasn’t stopped me from adding Mums to my front porch!

I never pay more than $5.00 or so for them.

That way when they are finished blooming I don’t feel bad about replacing them.

Also, I leave them in the plastic black pots they come in.

To spruce them up, I add a colorful bow to the front.

Sprinkle a few pumpkins around them and you never notice the cheap plastic pots.

Once the weather gets cooler I will get rid of the Summer flowers and add in more flowers and pumpkins.

Speaking of disguising the cheap plastic pots, I just had to share these cute little pails!

Aren’t they just the cutest?

And they were only $7.84  each.

Just pop a mum or fall flower in and it just screams fall and Halloween.

Step 5:

Now that your yard and porch are clean, the door is welcoming and you have your fall flowers and pumpkins out, it’s time to add the bling.

Just like a little black dress, when you add bling, it completes the look.

At my house, a garden flag welcomes you as you come up the sidewalk and head to the door!

A few colorful metal cornstalks are added to my summer planters for some added color and height.

My home sign is sporting a new fall charm.

And I’ve added fall pillows to my rocking chairs and other seating areas.

My front fall front porch is complete!

See?

Adding 5 things for a fall front porch is a super easy way to make sure that your porch is beautiful!

If you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

Welcome to 10 on the 10th!  This month’s theme is all things Fall.  Which I love because it’s all things fall here at the Castle. This month I’m sharing a blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin.

I don’t know about you , but I’m always on the hunt for smaller items to add to my seasonal two tiered tray. All those smaller knick knacks can get a little pricey.

So on a recent trip to the Dollar Tree I spied a few items, that with a little make over, would be perfect for my tray.

Of course, my blue and white pumpkin didn’t start out that way.

This is what it looked like when I bought it.

Well, without the white paint splotches.

(Note to self: Take the before picture before you start painting!)

Cute, but not my style.

So, I flipped it over and on the back side gave it  a couple of coats of white paint.

Originally, I was going to replace the stem with something a little more rustic.

However, I decided  to take a craft knife and mess this one up.

Effectively making this one very rustic.

Once the stem was done, I took some scrap material from my new kitchen valance and used Mod Podge to attach it to the pumpkin.

While that was drying, I painted a dollar tree leaf in a fall design.

After that,  I attached the leaf to the pumpkin using velcro.

A little raffia added to the stem and my blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin is finished.

Cost for my pumpkin?

Pumpkin: $1.00

Leaf:  There were 5 leaves in a package for a $1.00, .20 per leaf.

Fabric : free

Raffia: free

Mod Podge: free

All free products were already in my studio!

Not only was my blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin easy to make, but it looks so cute on my fall two tiered tray!

Now I hope that you will join me in visiting the rest of the 10 on the 10th participants to see what Fall things they’ve come up with.

Pandora’s Box

Decorate and More With Tip

The Applestreet Cottage

Cloches and Lavender

French Ethereal

It’s the $100 Room Challenge – Week 2. Boy, has this week flown by! Honestly, between the holiday weekend, a wedding, and #life I feel as if I didn’t get much done.

However, I did get a few things painted as well as a little shopping done.

So without further ado, here’s what I did get done!

I chose my paint color for the walls.

Honestly, I’m not a gray fan, but the color that I went with is a soft blue/gray color.

Sherwin Williams Misty.

It’s perfect because not only does it go with the bedding, it also compliments all of the other colors that I plan to put in this room.

Day 1:

Once the paint color was chosen, I couldn’t wait to get started!

I cleared the room of everything but the big furniture items.

I was just about to start taping the room off when I just happened to look up.

That’s when I realized that the ceiling was the same color as the walls.

How did I miss that?

The ceiling definitely needed to be painted before the walls.

Luckily, I had an almost full gallon of ceiling paint in the garage from painting the Library a few months ago.

So, the bedroom ceiling got painted first!

Day 2:

Bright and early the next day I got up and started painting the walls.

Boy, did they need it!

Unfortunately, the walls were previously painted in a flat finish.

So the walls sucked up the new satin paint.

I had a bout 5 square feet of wall left when I ran out of paint!

Instead of buying another gallon, I purchased a sample of the same color.

Did you know that Sherwin Williams samples are quart sized and they come in a satin finish?

Plus, they are only $8.69 each.

Since they are having a 30% off sale, my sample came to $5.65!

The room is completely painted!

Everything is put back together, except for one thing.

I forgot to put the vent over the bed back into the ceiling!

Oh, well. There’s always tomorrow.

I thought that I needed to paint the crown molding, trim, and doors, but once the room was painted they looked great.

 Budget:

So where am I on my budget?

Here’s what I’ve spent so far:

1 gallon satin paint: $25.02

Ceiling paint – free (as it was sitting in the garage from another project.)

1 quart of sample paint: $5.65

Which brings me to the grand total of $30.67!

That’s it for the $100 Room Challenge Week 2.

In case you missed week one, you can find it here.

Also, I’ll be linking each week up as we go.

                        Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 Reveal

Now I hope that you will join me in visiting all of the other wonderful participants in the $100 Room Challenge to see what they’ve been up to!

Welcome to the $100 Room Challenge. I’m so excited to be a part of the challenge this time around as it’s the $100 RC’s 5th anniversary! Thank you to Erin from Lemons, Lavender and Laundry for allowing me to participate and for hosting such a fun challenge.

In case you’ve never heard of the $100 RC, let me give you a quick run down.

One room.

One month.

$100 to spend.

Every Wednesday in September all participants will be posting their progress, with the reveal being on the last Wednesday of the month.

I love this challenge because with only $100 to spend you learn to get creative really fast!

This year my challenge is this really beige, really boring guest room.

This is what it looked like when we moved in almost 1 year ago.

A couple of mis-matched night stands, a white bed and a dresser.

Fast forward a few months and this is what it looked like.

Much better, but it had a few issues.

• The bed was a full size.
• It was still all white and beige for the most part.
• Also, still very boring.
• Most of everything in this room was exactly how it was in our old house, and it didn’t work that well in our new house.

I knew things had to change.

My husband and I were sleeping on a fairly new Queen size mattress that just wasn’t working for us.

We bought a new mattress for us and moved our Queen mattress into the guest room.

The picture above was my inspiration for the new room.

New Guest Room Must Haves:

The room needed to be colorful, fun, a little masculine, a little feminine and most of all functional.

The inspo picture above was from Ballards.

Beautiful, but just the quilt and the shams cost over $400.

Well, beyond my budget for this room.

Then I came across this photo.

It’s almost identical to the Ballards quilt, except for the price tag.

It was under $60.00 with shipping and tax.

Sold!

Which brings me to what the room looks like today.

Don’t get me wrong… it’s okay.

In fact, it’s way better than it was before but it’s till needs a little something else.

Plans for the $100 Room Challenge:

I’m keeping the bed and the bedding because I like them and they are fairly new.

The pink chair stays because I love it!

The dresser, walls, trim and a nightstand ( maybe 2 nightstands) will all be painted.

Say good-bye to the ceiling fan!

I plan on adding new or upgraded accessories, artwork and curtains.

And if I’m standing at the end of all of that, I plan on cleaning out the closet and making it a bit more functional.

Right now it’s where I stashed artwork that I didn’t use when we moved in a year ago.

I know, it’s an ambitious list, but I think it’s achievable!

Be sure to check in every Wednesday to see how my room is coming as well as check in on all of the other participants.

You know you don’t want to miss this!!!

Until next Wednesday…..

Welcome! Can you believe that it’s already September 1? I would complain, but for the first time that I can remember I’m ready for fall. With the first of every month comes the DIY Challenge and I’m loving this months theme – Fall inspiration! Nothing makes me feel like it’s fall until I get my kitchen decorated. One of the things that I love best is pulling out fall themed kitchen towels.  Which is why I’m sharing how to make fall kitchen towels with you today!

A great big shout out to Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip. She’s our fearless leader and  I can’t tell you how much work she puts into hosting each month. Thank You Terrie!

Also, if you are visiting here from Blessings by me, I’m so glad that you are here!

Now, let’s get started!

I love cute flour sack towels.

Especially the ones that have fun quotes.

One teeny tiny issue though, sometimes they can get pricey.

So, I decided that I could make a few of my own.

In some ways this craft is so simple that I’m almost embarrassed to share it with you.

Simple, yet time  consuming!

Supplies:

1. Cutting Matt
2. Vinyl
3. Scissors
4. Iron or Heat Press Machine
5. Computer
6. Flour Sack towels. I found mine here.
   

   
   Step 1:

Before I go much further, I realize that not everyone has a cutting machine, however I plan to offer you what I think is a cute alternative at the end of this post!

I used my cutting machine’s software to upload a design for my kitchen towels.

Step 2:

Once my design was finished, I loaded my cutting machine with vinyl and let it do it’s magic!

This particular design has several colors.

Each color was cut out separately.

Step 3:

Iron on your design.

In my case I had 4 different colors, so each color would have to be ironed on separately.

Honestly, I know that there is a way to put all of the layers together before ironing them on, I  just haven’t had the time to watch a tutorial to figure it out!

I ironed mine on with my new heat press machine, however an iron works just fine.

Here’s how my Fall kitchen towel turned out.

I love it!!!

So much so that I think that I will be making some Fall and Christmas ones for gifts!

Now what if you don’t have a vinyl cutting machine?

I have two ideas for you.

Did you know that you can buy precut vinyl decals?

Well, you can!

You order, then simply iron on.

And what about stencils?

How simple would this be?

All you would need would be kitchen towels, paint and a brush!

I love making kitchen towels, but I also like that I can choose my design, color and theme to perfectly match my kitchen.

Making Fall kitchen towels have never been so much fun!

Now it’s time to head on over to visit Liberty at B4 and Afters, I can’t wait to see what she has made!

Also, be sure to visit all of the other DIY Challenge participants and their wonderful Fall projects!

Decorate and More with Tip

Jessica Simmons

Cloches and Lavender

Bluesky at Home

Bushra’s Lifestyle

Pretty DIY Home

A Vintage Flare Farmhouse

Blessings by Me

B4 and Afters

As always, if you loved it, be sure to Pin it!!

On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby, I was lucky enough to come upon their 90% off isle. It was suppose to be a quick run in, run out  trip, but I made the time for a quick stroll. I found several things that just had to come home with me, including the cutest bamboo candleholders ever!

Each candle One of the candleholders was missing a slat on the bottom for the glass cup to sit on.

However, I knew that would be an easy fix.

Each candleholder was$4.49 each.

I grabbed all four that they had left.

I love the look of bamboo, but I’ve never really known where to put it in my home.

While I think of myself as an eclectic decorator, bamboo always seemed a little too Gilligans Island in my home.

With the recent trend of gold bamboo picture frames, trays, and all things chinoiserie I knew that I could finally find the perfect place for a little bamboo.

Once the broken slat was repaired, I gave each of the candleholders a couple of coats of gold spray paint.

I was so excited.

Until I set the candleholder next to the picture frames that I already had.

The gold on the candleholder didn’t seem gold enough and looked really flat.

And even though the candleholders might never be next to the picture frames, the gold color just didn’t work for me.

My solution was to give the candleholder a quick coat of Rub N Buff.

The new gold color  had  the luster, warmth and shine that I had envisioned.

The gold candleholders pair well with my white pumpkin, fall leaves and berries.

I love this fall vignette.

My sofa table sits in a walkway, so I put potpourri in the glass cups instead of candles.

Less chance of a lit candle getting knocked off.

Plus, it smells heavenly!

I love this how well the gold looks in my blue and orange fall living room.

But I can’t help but wonder how they might look in a different color.

How about a bright hot pink?

Maybe a bold navy blue?

A deep emerald green might be nice!

No matter what color my bamboo candleholders eventually end up, right now they are perfect just the way they are!

Until next time…

Remember, if you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

For those of you who have been following along for a few years you know that Beep is my niece’s little girl. I can’t believe that she recently turned three! For her gift, my sisters and I decided to do an Ikea Duktig children’s kitchen makeover.

Full disclosure, it comes in an average size box that weighs a hundred pounds.

Slight exaggeration, but I suggest taking someone with muscles to help you carry it home.

Also, just so you know, it takes hours to put together!

NOT an exaggeration.

This is how it looks straight from the store.

Cute, but it can be so much better!

Step 1:

The first thing I did was decide how I was going to give it a tiny facelift.

Step 2:

Then I separated all of the many parts that needed to be painted.

All of the hardware was painted gold.

The countertop received a few good coats of white spray paint.

Step 3:

Once it was dry, I painted gray veins that resembled marble.

Step 4:

When all of the painting was done, I spent two evenings painstakingly putting it together.

Anybody who has ever put together anything from Ikea can relate.

It was already looking much better!

Step 5:

After putting it together, I realized that I could have painted more pieces white.

Just to give it a little more pizzaz.

To go with the kitchen I had made an apron, chefs hat, and oven mitt.

I decided to use the scrap material and mod podge it to the back of the cubbies.

The material gave the kitchen some much needed color!

However, it still needed something.

A backsplash!

Step 6:

The hubs cut out a thin board that fit the entire upper back half of the kitchen.

My first thought was how cute it would be to put peel and stick tiles on it.

After pricing the peel and stick tiles I realized two things.

1. It was pricey for our budget.
2. The scale of the tile was all wrong.

Instead, I went to plan B and painted the wooden board dark gray.

Then cut out heavy white poster board pieces to look like subway tile, then glued them to the board.

Once they were dried, I painted over the entire board with a clear gloss sealer which gave it the look of tile!

Step 7:

Now that the kitchen was all put together, it was time to add the jewelry!

This painted wooden knob was a perfect “hook” for Beep’s apron and chef hat.

A painted small 4 x 6 frame with vinyl kitchen art made the cutest little kitchen sign.

This next addition just may be my favorite!

Two coats of chalk board paint and a cut vinyl sticker made the perfect menu board.

The hubs made a chalk tray that rests on the countertop at the bottom of the sign.

A girls gotta have a place to put her chalk and eraser!

We also added a tiny little hook to the lower left side to hold Beep’s oven mitts.

Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of either.

I was so excited to be done that apparently I lost my mind…

While we were at Ikea we also picked up the utensil set and the pots and pans.

I think both of which were under $10.00.

They are so well made and stinking’ cute too!

I can honestly say that I love our Ikea Duktig children’s kitchen makeover.

Better yet, so did Beep!

Until next time…

Can you believe that September is just around the corner? With September comes all things fall. Pumpkins, sweatshirts,  leaves, Candy Corn and pumpkin spice everything! On a recent trip to Hob Lob I came across a few things in the Spring section that I thought would make great inexpensive fall decor. That’s right, I said things from the Spring section would make great inexpensive fall decor!

I found these cute little signs.

They had me at wooden beads.

However, as much as I love the beads, the artwork just wasn’t my style!

We all know that I love a good sale.

The Spring shop is now 90% off.

That’s not a good sale, it’s a great one!

It made these cute little signs .69 cents!

So, yes, I loaded them up and they went home with me.

Steps 1 – 4:

I knew that if I fixed them up a little bit, they would be perfect little signs to go on my two tiered tray in my kitchen.

Step 1:

Paint the entire surface with Mod Podge.

Step 2:

Lay pre-cut scrapbook paper on top of the  Mod Podge.

Be sure to gently rub out any air bubbles that you might have.

I use an old credit card to smooth mine out.

Step 3:

Put a coat of Mod Podge on top of your scrapbook paper.

Step 4:

After the paper had dried thoroughly, choose a wooden cut out to put on top of your sign.

What to do with your wooden beads

Step 1:

Flip your sign over and cut the knot holding the wooden beads to the sign.

I wanted to paint my wooden beads to match each sign that I was making.

To paint the beads, I load them onto a wooden stick and then paint them.

This makes it super easy to paint with little to no mess!

Step 2:

Once the beads are painted and dried, re-string them onto a piece of twine.

Step 3:

Take both ends of the twine and re-thread them into the hole at the top of the sign.

Step 4:

Tie the ends of the twine securely into a knot.

Your beads are finished!

Now for the fun part, decorating your wooden cut outs.

This is the time for you to get creative!

Add burlap, lettering, rhinestones, metal, paint, bows, raffia, paper or metallic paint.

Really, the only limitations are your imagination.

I made 4 signs in all.

This cute little fall sign cost less than $2.00 to create.

The leaf came from the Dollar Tree, 5 for a $1.00.

Everything else was leftover from another project.

Once again, my sweet little ghost was a 5 for a $1.00 Dollar Tree find.

Everything else I had on hand.

I bought this turkey cutout last year.

I’ve just been patiently waiting for the right time to use it.

Again, I think he cost less than $1.00.

The Christmas sign definitely cost me more than the other three signs.

I’ve had this Christmas tree in my stash and the sticker said that the tree was $2.00.

Right about now, I’m feeling like a big spender!

You know that you are making super cute, inexpensive fall decor when you can make all 4 signs for under $10.00!

That’s a bargain!

But how do they look on my two tiered stand?

I think they look pretty darn cute!

My head is spinning with all the possible decor that I can add to them.

Did I tell you that I love a good sale?

Until next time….

Remember, if you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

Lately I’ve been working a little outside of my home. I’ve been reluctant to do it because, #therona. But, when your BFF calls and asks you to help her paint a starry, starry night sky on her entryway ceiling, you say yes!

BFF Roxanne has been lucky enough to move into a house that she has been mooning over for over 20 years!

When you enter her house, you step right into  a library.

That’s her entryway!

To get an idea of how big the entry is, the table you see in the photo above will seat 4 comfortably.

And the ceilings are just over 12 foot high!

When Roxanne moved in, the ceiling had a beautiful painted map that spanned the barrel ceiling.

It was pretty, but in her mind the ceiling should be a night sky with stars!

Step 1:

Roxanne had her painters paint the ceiling a mid-tone blue for her night sky base coat.

Step 2:

We used a dark blue paint with glaze added to it to give it a faux finish that looked like a night sky.

This is what her entry way looked like after day 1.

We could have stopped right there, because it definitely had the highs and lows of a night sky, but we wanted more depth and color.

Step 3:

Fast forward a few weeks as her workers took over the space to put in new flooring.

This is where we started.

The plan was to make the center of ceiling darker, fanning out the paint toward the sides of the ceiling.

An added bonus was that the lights at the top of the book shelves already helped give it that illusion.

So we gave the center of the ceiling another pass with the dark blue paint and added glaze.

This is what the finished ceiling looked like finished.

Even though this photo of the ceiling is pretty, it is so much prettier in person!

It has the highs and lows as well as the depth and color that Roxanne was hoping for.

I just love when a project comes out better than you imagined!

Step 4:

Adding the stars.

Roxanne had found a stencil that she loved that had several different sizes of stars.

Using metallic gold paint, we (she) added stars all over the ceiling in a random design.

Tip: Using gold metallic paint to stencil the stars makes them look like as if they disappear and reappear as you walk around the room!

Because they tend to “disappear” it’s hard to get a good photo of them.

If you look closely, you can see them here!

This photo was one that I almost tossed out as it is so washed out.

However, I decided to share it as you can really see the depth and the stars.

It truly does look like a night sky!

We realize that this night sky isn’t for everyone, but that’s okay.

Roxanne is thrilled with her starry, starry night sky!

And I’m thrilled for her.

Once she finishes decorating this area, it’s going to be a show stopper!

Until next time…

Don’t forget! If you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Hey y’all! I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a low key, laid back weekend. I dragged the fall containers out and did a little fall decorating. I’m so ready for fall! This year my decorating is a little different. I chose to go with a non-traditional color scheme in  a few rooms and a more laid back style. The breakfast room has not only  a different fall color scheme, but also a simple fall table design. We all know how I love to set an over the top table!

If you haven’t read about my breakfast room design saga, you can read that here.

The fabric I used  for the window curtain panels has  teal, turquoise, golden rod, navy and white colors in it.

So it only made sense that I use those colors for my fall decor!

I found this beautiful table runner here.

It matches my curtains perfectly!

Since this is my everyday table, I like using a runner instead of a tablecloth.

Easy clean up!

Next, I found these placemats.

Not only do they have the colors of the curtain fabric, but they also have the pretty steel blues of the area rug!

Next, I used my white hob nail dishes.

I know that I use these almost every time, but they are so versatile.

These striped golden cloth napkins are one of my favorites, however even thought they were the perfect size and color they were a little plain.

Adding the simple navy leather napkin rings helped, but they were still too plain for me.

I took some burlap leaves and spray painted them blue.

After bending the wire tail of the leaf, I tucked them into the napkin ring.

The folds in the napkin hide the wire!

These burlap leaves may just be my favorite fall accessory this year!

For a centerpiece I added three white pumpkins, then wrapped them in a fun light yellow berry vine.

Once again, I added a few more of the blue burlap leaves under the pumpkins to glam it up a bit.

Adding teal glassware finishes off my simple table perfectly!

Now, just in case you are wondering who I am and what I did with the old “Tammy” since my table is so simple, don’t worry!

We all know that a little closer to fall I won’t be able to resist breaking out the pumpkin plates!

And maybe some new gold flatware…

But, until then, I think that I’ll stick with a simple fall table!

Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

It’s not often that you have clients that are fun and want you to paint fun stuff. Fortunately, I have had the pleasure to work with Princess P’s Mom and Grandmother several times. They both put the fun into me painting for them. Painting for them this time did not disappoint. Princess P’s Castle was a dream to paint.

Before:

 The mural needed to be finished before my clients moved in,  so I begged my BFF Rox, aka former painting business partner to help.

You can see our Library painting here.

She is just the best!

This is where we started.

Not the best photo as these were snapped by the homeowner when they were looking at buying the home.

Miss P hasn’t moved into her bedroom yet.

So this was the perfect time for us to paint.

When I first visited with the clients about what the room would look like, the only criteria was that they wanted a castle.

Also, they wanted the bed to “fit” inside of  the draw bridge door of the castle.

And maybe a Unicorn?

This is what I came up with.

However, since I hadn’t seen or measured the room I let the clients know that there might be some changes.

Miss P’s Castle:

Once we got into Miss P’s room, we realized that the existing drawing would not work.

The castle draw bridge wasn’t nearly big enough for a queen sized bed to fit “into”.

However, we didn’t scrap the whole thing we modified it and this is what it looks like today.

Miss P also wanted one teeny, tiny thing.

A Unicorn.

Of course, we painted a unicorn.

Isn’t she cute?

Painting the mural took us three whirlwind days to finish Princess P’s castle, but I think it turned out pretty cute.

Luckily, so did Miss P!

Remember, if you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

Can you believe that it’s August already? In fact, it’s $10 on the 10th! Our theme this End of Summer. Gardening, home decor and back to school. Blogger’s choice. This month I chose  back to school organization.

Whether you are home schooling or actually going back to school this year, the one thing that we all need to start the year off right is a little organization.

Today I’m sharing a few things to help you get started.

Before I start, I just want to say that organizational items for school have come a long way from Trapper keepers.

So many things that are super cute and are functional as well!

Back to School Organization

Let’s start with a few things that you’ve may, or may not, have seen before.

However, by adding some personalization they become one of a kind.

A. Crayon Box Super Stacker -This may just be my new favorite! Add a vinyl decal and you have the cutest way to keep track of your crayons ever. And it’s only .99!

B. Glitter Pencil Box – I know these have been around forever, but there’s a reason for that. Super functional. Again add some vinyl to it and you have yourself a pretty cute box. Also .99!

C. Glam Pencil Bag –This one’s for the not so little kid in your life! What girly teen wouldn’t love her own personalized bag? The monogram is a vinyl heat transfer. Super easy to iron on! The bag was 50% off at $5.00, the matching pencils, also 50% off, came in right at $4.50.

 D. Art Box – This one may be more for homeschooling, but it’s also my favorite! What better way to coral your art supplies? I think it would also be great for a nail polish tote! This one is above my $10.00 limit at $11.99. However, if you use a 40% off coupon it  comes in at $7.20.  Can you say personalize it? Paint pens, stickers, and vinyl are all perfect choices.

E. Stackable Lap Trays – again this might be better suited to the homeschooler, but I’ve always thought these were fun. $7.49.

F. 6 Cup Crayon Caddy – These 6 cup caddies would be perfect for holding tons of things besides crayons. They are a steal at $3.99 and they had me at all the bright colors!

P.S. I found all of these at Michaels!

I saved the best for last.

A personalized memory box.

I was gifted one a few years ago and keep all sorts of fun mementos in mine.

What better way than to remember your school year than by making one of these to hold all your treasures?

Supplies:

1 photo box – $2.99

Scrapbook paper – I had on hand

Mod Podge- on hand also

Peel and Stick letters

Step 1:

Cut your scrapbook paper to fit three sides of your box and lid, leaving 1/4 inch border all the way around.

The front of the box has a metal slot for you to label. I left that one bare.

Also, for the top of the box, I cut two pieces of  co-ordinating paper for embellishment.

1 – 9″ x 2 1/4″

1 – 10″ x 3 1/2″

Step 2:

Next, apply the paper to all sides and top of the box using Mod Podge.

Once those papers have dried, add your two co-ordinating papers to the center of your lid, starting with the larger paper, then add  the smallest.

Step 3:

Once the paper has completely dried, it is time to add your embellishments.

I added my name and of course a few crowns here and there.

Tip: Don’t be like me and spill the glitter on top of the box!

Not a good look.

But it is original.

Here are just a few of the projects I made to make back to school organization just a little easier and a whole lot more fun!

And all were well under $10.00.

Now, it’s time to visit all the other bloggers in this hop.

I can’t wait to see what subjects, and projects, they chose!

Patti – Pandora’s Box

Anne – The Apple Street Cottage

Barbara – French Ethereal

Beth – Creatively Beth