DIY: What's Old Is New Again: Crepe Paper Party Decor

I am pretty sure that the last time I had crepe paper at a party was when I was about 3. I have never really used it for anything but my friend begged me on her hands and knees asked me to help her do a 65th birthday party for her mother. On zero budget.

So out came the crepe paper from the dollar store and here is what I came up with. I am calling it my "Crepe Paper Installation" since that sounds so artsy and fun!! Ha!

Here is a close up. All you have to do is cut matching lengths of crepe paper and tape them side-by-side. The wood is actually doors to a white board behind it - the crepe paper on the left door is all twisted one way, and the paper on the right is twisted opposite. I love how it turned out!

I am linking up with these parties!

DIY Custom Bling Card

Supplies:
1 package plain cards (mine came in an 8-pack for $1)
1 package adhesive rhinestones ($1)

Time:
20 minutes

Directions:
Just attach rhinestones to your card in a decorative pattern!

I made a crazy-looking 'M' on the envelope for the recipient's initial, and a '65' on the card for her age. Add a sweet, personalized note inside and you have a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind card!

I am linking up with these parties!

Last Room Painted!

We bought our home from plans. The colour palette from which to choose left us more than a little discouraged, but for the bargain price of $200 extra PER room, we could have any colour we wanted.

Ummmm, no thanks. I can paint myself, thankyouverymuch.

And last week, we finished our last room!! Our bathroom! Here is my very fabulous hubby cutting in all the corners and edges.


I painted the first coat after he finished, with some assistance from my handsome helper!


And the after!


All I have to do now is decorate it! And buy new towels...

Nemo/Panda/Polar Bear Orange Bedroom

Nemo and pandas generally don't go together. Never mind about polar bears added to the mix as well! But my friend's 9 year old daughter loves them all equally so I was determined to pull the 3 all together into a gorgeous bedroom.

This bedroom was much harder to initially begin than the other one. We started with an underwater idea (because of Nemo). Then that idea was tossed out to sea (knee-slapping jokester here, I know!) and we turned to a wildlife/jungle/bamboo idea. Again, no go.

As I was trying to get these animals together in my head, I thought that we should perhaps take a different approach. Bright creamsicle orange for the room with black and white accents everywhere, and somehow the 3 creatures will fit in. I hope. All together. Errgggghh.

Luckily, her daughter went for the idea and is madly in love with orange. Her last bedroom was orange as well.

Here is the paint:

And here you can see an inspiration pillow that will give you a clue as to the remainder of the room:

More reveal coming!

Purple Princess Bedroom

As I have mentioned previously, I am helping a friend decorate her new home. She has two lovely daughters, ages 7 and 9, and first up on the decorating list was their rooms. These two girls are super different in their tastes, so we knew that there would be no (a) paint color sharing, (b) style sharing, or (c) fabric sharing.

The younger girl wanted a princess feel and her mom wanted it to last several years (i.e. "big-girl-princess-turning-tween-princess"). So we didn't go crazy with Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, and Aurora (all nice girls, I'm sure!). First thing was to choose a fabric for the curtains. Originally, the 7 year old wanted pink since her previous room had a purple satin "Southern Charm with ruffles" feel. However, we found a gorgeous, light embroidered white cotton with purple, teal, lime, and dolphin grey flowers. Super gorgeous! But no pink to be found. And she loved it! So pink was out and purple was in!

Another thing to consider: we were trying to keep this room makeover as budget-friendly as possible. That meant the purple satin bedding was staying as well as the hand-me-down (but in wonderful shape) bedroom suite in dark cherry wood.

We decided to go with a grey-lavender wall color. The crisp white embroidered fabric was sewn into curtains (way to go, ME!) and a duplicate set of purple satin sheets was also sewn into curtains (once again, way to go, ME!) - one white and one purple per window side.

The curtains don't have enough tabs at the top yet, but at least you get the idea...

Stay tuned for more!!