Summer mantel

Our mantel is always a decorating issue, its not wide so you can fit big items on it, and there isn't much wall space. I'd actually love to have a bigger mirror someday, I'm always looking for one at yard-sales and thrift stores. 

I like the look off pictures leaning against the wall so I placed my bird art against a painted chevron lines on a canvas I had lying around.

I didnt feel like making lines myself so I found this website where you can print a chevron design. I printed it on thick cardstock and cut out the white to make it into a stencil. 

Here is where you can print your own

I used a aqua blue and a sun yellow paint. 

I used bright blue designer thumb-tacks to hold the banner in place.

I was also debating on painting the lanterns...

I picked these up at Target a few years ago for cheap, I love them, I used to have them outside on the table.

I also switched my pillows around on my chase lounge. 

The wintery look

Switch the pillows around and you get a fresh white pillow and a floral with lime green and blues. This is why I love using different fabrics on a pillow.

What summer decorating have you done?

Did you enter my giveaway?

I'll be sharing this at some great parties, check out where I party here

Around The House

I took some photos around the living room, hall, disaster kids room and wanted to share with you what I to do with the areas. 

It was of course a cloudy day again so the photos came out okay. 

First

The living room, this is a older photo because I just decorated the mantel today.

The couch sits in the middle of the room, before I had it up against this wall and I never thought it could work in the middle. One day I moved all the furniture around to make it work and its a lot better...plus were closer to the TV. My Ikea wall lights need cord covers, the kind you can paint. I just need to go get them but it just hasn't been on the top of my list.

I also would love to have some kind of storage against the wall, for books, magazines, places to hide kids games and what not. 

My lovely new table has a pile of things that need to be put away......

I have a little white shelf I repainted a long time ago sitting in that nook to make it look built in, behind that area are the stairs to the basement...so I always put things on the edge that needs to go downstairs.

This is the opposite side of the couch.

Even thought the piano is beautiful and antique...its just way to big. Yes it makes a lovely TV stand and our 55 inch fits perfectly on top but I'd rather have something that can hid the PlayStation and the Wii. I already have the perfect piece in the garage but this piano has to go and that's a problem. We dont know if its worth a lot or who would want it, and its extremely heavy.

Some decor up top on both sides need to go

dont look at my laundry...It got folded and put away after I took the photos.

We have tall ceilings, I need to paint the walls, I love the white, I defiantly want to keep it white or a very light neutral color. But these walls haven't been painted in years. I'd also love to have art on the walls. 

Zoey got a nice new fun print dog bed. 

Now on to the entry hall

To the left is two of the boys bedroom. It used to be a office, and before a bedroom and they put the opening in to make it into a office. I'd love to close it up and give them a closet, but I'd rather fix the basement up for bedrooms and use this as a office. 

The rug needs a makeover, I can imagine lots and lots of art everywhere and a new door, something moderns, since our house doesn't match the Victorian style door.

My lovely hall table, but the lamps still need lampshades that fit it, or I get smaller lamps, and the Vincent Van Gogh art is one of my favorites but my guy hung it up way to high and I'm just not so sure about it anymore.....I did only pay $10 for it. 

Now for the scary part

This is the hall behind the entry hall and it leads to the boys rooms and bathroom. I have plans for this area. I want shelves for books that are not wide and a chalkboard wall and pictures framed with the kids art. 

I still can't belive I'm showing you this but I'm going to redo this room next, after our bedroom gets done. 

They need light color on the walls, new rug, headboards, repainted dressers and a lot of storage.

I already picked up curtains in a tan,baby blue and orange and that's going to be the color theme. I was also able to get some oops paint in the same shades.

So that's it for the areas that need makeovers, our mudroom does also but its last on the list.

Tomorrow I'll show you my mantel, I finally decorated it today.

Did you enter my Giveaway yet?

Updateing some pictures in the same picture frames is easy

It took me a long time to hang pictures up in the living room by the TV and I wanted to do a collage and added prints and now I had to change them, I decided to do neutral colors and fun pictures of the kids and our family portrait. 

I have 2 more frames to add and the shelf is only there temporarily until the tree is gone.

I used leftover fabric and scrapbook paper.

I couldn't get a good picture of this without the shine but my sister Kim drew this, its a picture of my parents house.

This is a piece of 4 by 5 scrapbook paper i picked up at the craft store it came in a book of black and white designs.

I had these almost shadow boxes with a small picture in them I bought cheap at the Christmas tree shop along time ago and took of the back and added fabric with spray adhesive and made these flowers out of card stock and made a easy picture. I have a few more to make on the other wall along with changing the other pictures again the tree is in the way lol it needs to go this weekend.

this is the only picture I changed for the other side of the wall, its a piece of card stock I found at Michale's arts and crafts.

This is the only before picture. You can easily make your own artwork using scrapbook paper there is so much variety of designs at the craft stores. I use a ruler and draw the line were I want it cut and frog tape to hold in place  it does a pretty good job without ripping the paper is you decide to change it.

New pillows and starting a living room makeover

I'm doing little projects here and there and stuff around the house. I still need to put away Christmas decorations away. Having a puppy is a little tough, I cant just go downstairs and work on stuff. But shes great so certain things will have to just wait. I did make time to get new fabric that I saw to make pillows for the living room. Although I know how to sew and make pillows I was reading Isabella & Max Room's pillow tutorial and decided we needed new pillows. I want to change the living room and I'm starting with pillows first. We have high ceilings and white walls, wood trim and a very ugly green carpet, I'd like to put hardwood floors or even a new carpet would be better but with the puppy and not a lot of money that's going to have to wait. New paint and a new TV unit as well. Our 55 inch TV is sitting on a old box piano.

Here is a picture of one side of the living room (after X-mas) and see the carpet? This is through out the room and hall and through kids room. I was given a sideboard thats old and would like to turn it into a tv unit....or have my hunny build somthing, were not sure if were going to stay here for a long time so not sure what we will do. Anyways I'm planning on making a slipcover for the oversize armchair out of drop cloth like Miss Mustard Seed's tips on making slipcovers with drop cloth article. I'm keeping the black frames up but changing the pictures and updating decorations.  I feel like I'm writing to much about to many things lol. Here are the pillows I made. 

             The big pillow I did two different fabrics on each size, I used a 20 by 20 pillow form I bought at 50% off at Joann's Fabric.

 Our wonderful puppy had to get in the picture, she looks good with the pillows!

The floral design is the other side of the 20 by 20 pillow. I did 18 by 18 for the other pillows. I used a simple green and white design fabric. 

Here is a up close photo. I love the blue and green colors together the green seems to be a lime color. I also love the gray in the fabric. I am also going to be making a few more pillows since we have a big sectional couch using blue colors maybe in stripe? I dont want solids since it shows stains easily.

I made the mistake of not ironing the fabric, but I will try my steamer to get the wrinkles out

I did cording on one pillow and used a linen fabric I already had from other projects. It was difficult to do but I did it. 

up close of fabrics used