It’s time to decorate the kitchen table for fall. I’ve been putting it off because I had such a hard time with the formal dining room.

Or maybe I am just waiting till it’s time to decorate for Halloween.

It couldn’t possibly be because I am lazy. Right?

I know..such a third world problem! I think that I am on overload with “stuff”. I am ready to simplify, but let’s face it that word isn’t usually in my vocabulary.

I wanted something different from what I have used in the past, I just couldn’t find it. So I decided to make the things I couldn’t find that I wanted to change. One of those things was the napkin rings. Once I show you how easy it is, I know you are gonna want to make your own napkin rings too!Since my kitchen is black and off white with hints of turquoise thrown in I went looking for napkin rings in those colors that I could use all of the time.

I found some awesome MacKenzie Childs black tie napkin rings that I totally loved.  However, at$18.00 a piece they were way out of my napkin ring budget.

Then I saw these unfinished ones at Hob Lob for $3.99, less my 40% off coupon. They were very similar in style. In fact, they were almost perfect.

Like my paint booth? Yep, I am a classy girl! I spray painted the rings black.

Once black, I got out the white and gold craft paint.

I started on the outside edges and painted some white stripes.

As you can see, they aren’t perfect, but that’s okay. I don’t really mind that they aren’t perfect, I wanted them to look hand painted, not machine made.

Using the end of a paintbrush, I dipped the end into the gold paint and made gold dots in the middle of the napkin ring.

I love Martha Stewart’s gold metallic. It is the perfect gold color and usually you only need one coat of paint. For a metallic paint that is almost unheard of!

These napkin rings rock!

Here’s the napkin ring with my old standby. Black with white polka dots. It’s really a $1.00 bandana from WalMart, but I swear the size is perfect and the more you wash it the softer it gets.

I think the napkin rings even look great with the crown napkins I made here.

These napkin rings were super easy and really cheap. Each napkin ring cost me less than 50 cents each. Paint included. You just can’t beat that. Is it as perfect as MacKenzie Childs? No, but I am pretty happy with the results.

Until next time….

                    Tammy

You can find me at these wonderful blog parties….

Savvy Southern Style – Wow Us Wednesdays

Northern Nesting – Share Your Style #33

Surroundings by Debi – Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

AKA Design – Weekend Retreat Link Party #139

I love Home Goods and HomeGoods ought to LOVE me.  ( No! They are not paying me for this post!) I personally buy enough there to keep their doors open forever.  I know – it’s a sickness, I’ll own it. Today I went to HomeGoods to buy napkins. Just napkins.  Not the only thing this girl bought. Shocking, I know! By the time I left, with multiple purchases in hand, I had already planned on how I was going to transform plain napkins into crown napkins!

So I saw this table runner. Had to buy it for multiple reasons. One – it was darn cute. Two – IT HAS A CROWN ON IT!  Three – it  was only $7.98!!! and finally – Four – IT HAS A CROWN ON IT People! You know I love me some crowns.

I found it when I was picking out my napkins. It was like a flashing neon sign was over it blinking “buy me, buy me”!

As I was walking away a woman saw it and asked me if there was another one?  I kid you not! Guess I am not the only one to love crowns. I turned to leave and ran right into an end cap with black and white dishes on it. DANG it! They were toile… and they had birds on it… to match my table runner that has birds and CROWNS on it! See how this happens?

I had this crown stamp – and a ton of others – in my stash of stuff and knew that it was perfect!

First thing is first… wash, dry and iron your napkin.

What you need to make your own crown napkins: a clean, ironed napkin, a pigment ink intended for multiple surfaces, and a stamp of your choice.

I tried my stamp out on a paper towel to make sure it worked before I stamped my napkin.. better safe than sorry.

Once you have tested your stamp and have laid your fabric out – be sure that you have something under your napkin to protect your table, then stamp away!

Here is my first crown napkin…I  love it. It has great detail and at the same time looks a little faded in a vintage sort of way…perfect! Once the napkin is dry, use an iron to heat set the the design. Your napkin is ready to use.

I decided to set my table using my new crown napkins, but couldn’t decide which of my table decor items to use with them. I could go with my standard go to black and white polka dots, crown and birds nest …

Or bring in a new black and white pattern with a floral arrangement.

Both options would look great in the kitchen eating area.

I have to admit that at first I wasn’t too thrilled with the red and yellow on the runner. I would much rather have had just the black and white. However, the yellow lets me add another layer of color and texture to the mix. Still great in the kitchen….

But what if I want to use this in the formal dining room where I have a mixture of blues? This blue napkin with yellow and white accents would be perfect to tie it all together.

As you can see I really need to make up my mind before I can set the table. When I decide I promise to share it with you.

Until next time….

                   Tammy

Check out  Flaunt it Friday #267 at Chic n a Shoestring, Stonegable The Scoop #183, and Northern Nesting.

Top o’ the morning to you! I love St. Patrick’s Day. I do. Rumor has it I have been to a lot a few Paddy’s day parades. Some I may or may not have been dressed up like a gypsy Queen ( thank you Sweet Potatoe Queens!) I love the beads, I love green, I love how everyone just wants to have a little fun for one day.  I love the thought that I might find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow… I MIGHT!

I just don’t decorate for it like I do other holidays. I usually do my chalkboard and buy a few tiny gifts for the kids, hit a parade and call it even. This year I want spring to get here so badly, I thought I would make a little extra effort in hopes that it will come a little faster!  Today I am going to share with you my St. Patrick’s Day decor.

Remember these? I found these last month at HomeGoods and fell in love with them.  I don’t usually like green but I am kinda thinking that this emerald green is the bomb diggity! ( It may even show up in room redo later this spring…) If you read my earlier post you know that I bought these with no idea where or when I was going to use them. Well, this is it baby! Perfect for St. Paddy’s day!

Ta Da! This is my kitchen table where we eat everyday.

I started with some emerald green placemats that I got at Marshall’s last year.

Gold chargers – Get it? Gold at the end of the rainbow -what else?

Then my white dishes that I pretty much use with everything.

Followed by the new napkins. I used some of my parade beads for a napkin ring, just wrapped them around the napkins. I stuck a “lucky” coin in the beads for a little fun!

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on my decor and ya know that I love to use what I have when I can. So the parade beads were used along with the “lucky” green and gold coins that I have acquired over the years. I picked up a cheesy green pot at Hob Lob for a few bucks. I really wanted a clover  plant to go in my pot but I guess here in Texas people consider clover a weed so good luck finding clover at a nursery. Instead I went with another plant that reminded me of clover.  I love the tiny white flowers!

Of course I did a St. Paddy’s day chalk board art. I couldn’t resist adding various stuff from my parade days to the frame.

Not bad for spending  under $20.00 for my St. Patrick’s Day decor!

One last thing… my outdoor flag. I KNOW  – funny, but wrong. I couldn’t resist!

I will leave you with one last thought…

May Your Pockets be heavy

Your heart be light

May good luck pursue you

each morning and night

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

until next time….

                       Tammy

I wasn’t looking for Easter decor, it’s too early! I was in HomeGoods browsing and came across the cutest table linens. Usually I am lucky to find just ONE thing I love. And for those of you who are lucky enough to have a HomeGoods in your area , you know that if you find it, you had better pick it up NOW or it won’t be there when you go back. This is how my Easter decorating dilemma began!

The first thing I found were these awesome square polka-dotted placemats.  The turquoise would be great in my kitchen, but the light blue would be awesome in my dining room.  Maybe I should go with the coral for a contrasting color? Plus, they even had matching napkins.  Rick rack.. I love rick rack. Although I rarely do matchy-matchy stuff. But these were so cute….

And then I heard the Angels start singing when I found these . They all matched the polka-dot colors! AND THEY HAD RUFFLES on them. Sigh… Go Matchy-Matchy or go with a solid? Love the sherbet colors!

While I was pondering matchy-matchy or contrast napkins, I saw these really sweet seersucker napkins. AGAIN, they were the exact colors and I love stripes….

I almost had my decision made when I found these…. OMG! So. Darn. Cute!  The dilemma is getting bigger by the minute! Neutral tones go with everything.

It was bad enough that there were cute little bunnies, but then I found these with nest on them… I LOVE bird nests! Dang it!

And last, but certainly not least, I saw these. I immediately loved the color and knew that they would be awesome in my black and white kitchen.  I could just cry…

I gotta tell you that for a girl who usually knows her mind, I spent a lot of time deciding which ones of these to take home! I wanted them all. If I were a kid, this is where I would throw a hissy fit! PLEASE…CAN I TAKE THEM ALL HOME MOM???? PLEASE…. I NEED THEM…

What a dilemma! They were all pretty, all a really great price and I knew that they would all work in my home. But which ones to take home?

I spent a lot of time in HomeGoods. I figured after awhile I needed to make a decision before they though I was up to no good. So I flipped a quarter – several times- to help me make my decision. HEY! Don’t judge… I didn’t have my magic eight ball with me or I would have used that instead.

I am still not sure what I am going to do with what I brought home. But just like Scarlet O’Hara…As God as my witness I will think about that tomorrow. And then I will share it with you.

Until next time…..

                    Tammy