DIY Floral Arrangement

Supplies:

Bowl/vase

Floral foam

Filler (flowers, sticks, etc.)

Something to cover the foam

Directions:

Step 1:  Fill your vessel with floral foam.  I just grabbed this bowl from the kitchen because (1) it was white, (2) modern lines, and (3) it was there!

Step 2:  Start inserting the main pieces.  I trimmed branches from one of my bushes outside last year and spray painted them white after they thoroughly dried out.

Step 3:  Once the main filler is all in, add in the special pieces.  I used two peacock feathers that I trimmed down to size.

These are cute glitter-covered gold branches that I cut apart into little sprays and added in all over.  They went in last as they were the shortest.

Step 4:  Cover up the floral foam with something cute!  Marbles, moss, fruit, pebbles... the possibilities are endless!

Here is the finished product!  (Yes, more decor for the bathroom!  I have to put something in there while the plans are coming into place!!)

Linking up with some great parties!

Change Table to Closet Organizer

My hubby built a beautiful change table for our second and it has been a dumping ground for quite a while now since our babes is out of diapers!  I couldn't bear to send it to the basement, so I figured out how to keep it in her room, plus actually make it work as something other than a change table.  Here is the final result!

It was a lucky fit!  The change table just fit perfectly in her closet with less than a foot to spare.  She doesn't have enough room in her closet to fit her clothes (single rack only at this point), so we bought a dresser for her.  Still not enough room.  So I grabbed all of her baby baskets that we used for bedding, socks, wipes, etc., and repurposed them for new storage in the middle and on the bottom level. 

 The top level was relegated to shorts, leggings, pants, and bloomers.  Short sleeve shirts, underwear, socks, and pj's all moved to the dresser.  Short dresses hang on the rack and longer dresses hang on a pant hanger down the side of the change table. 

Tutus and pettiskirts go up top with other miscellaneous things.  And it all fits!  :)


And last but not least, I made some cute tags to identify the contents of each basket.  For now, she has to look inside each basket (or try to remember what goes where) since she doesn't read yet.  But she loves it and I love it!  Click here to make the tags.

Linking up with some great parties!

Closet Organizer Tags

Supplies

Cardstock

Ribbon

Scissors

Hole punch

Directions

Print the tags onto cardstock and cut out.   This file (above) is letter size.

 

Punch a small hole in the top of each one and insert ribbon.  

 Tie where desired!

 

Thrifty Foaming Hand Soap

By accident, I found a way to get my favourite hand wash for pennies instead of dollars!

I bought the regular foaming hand wash pump bottle for $5.99 and it lasted quite a while.  But I have three bathrooms and the kitchen needing hand soap, so I bought a bottle for each.

I also bought the gel hand wash refill bag (maybe $6.99 or $7.99?  I can't remember...) since I couldn't find a refill for the foaming hand wash.  I found out that a 1:1 ratio was way too thick for the foaming pump.  So was a 2:1 ratio (water to soap refill).

Now I just pour in a tiny amount (maybe 6:1 ratio) of the gel hand wash refill and add water to the top.  A gentle shake and I have a new bottle of foaming hand wash!

  gel by itself

I am still on my first bag of the gel refill and it is at least half full.  I regularly refill 3-4 pumps and I expect I have saved at least $50 so far.  Texture and smell of the foaming soap is the same as the original pump.  Plus, I am being green by buying the bag refill instead of all those bottles.

An important note about refills: the refill must be gel, not a cream soap.  I tried this using a creamy B&BW hand wash and the results were nasty!  I actually had to throw out the bottle (well, recycle it) because the soap and water separated and got the pump all clogged up.

Also, it helps if the pumps are all the same scent as the refill.  Then no one will guess it is a thrifty soap DIY!

after water has been added and a gentle shake

Add more or less gel soap as you wish!

Linking up with some great 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!!

On My Mind: Chairs

I can't figure out exactly what decor type is me. I have taken a bunch of the tests and I usually get pegged as contemporary, glam, urban, metropolitan, or modern. I agree sometimes, but I think those quizzes don't ask enough of the right questions.

I love luxe glam, I love aspects of modern (but usually more on the contemporary side of modern), and I even love aspects of both traditional and mediterranean decor. Oh, and throw some art deco into the mix too, just for fun. I guess I have to label myself eclectic.

Here are some of the chairs I am loving right now.

Barrymore Furniture - Brooke chair

Structube Furniture: Amalfi armchair

Christopher Guy: 30-0007

Christopher Guy: 30-0011


Christopher Guy: 30-026

Christopher Guy: 30-029

Christopher Guy: 30-045 (back of chair shown)

Barrymore Furniture: Townsend chair

Barrymore Furniture: Coco chair

Decorium: Hector chair

Decorium: Zoe chair

DeBoers: Zebra chair

Zgallerie: Zack accent chair

Zgallerie: Alister chair

Zgallerie: Loft chair (front view, back view)

Zgallerie: Concerto chair

Zgallerie: Harper chair

Lovely eye candy, isn't it? :)

Progress on the Deck

This is one of the fabulous planter boxes my hubby built for me. Or, rather, for the kids. I told them they could have their own garden with herbs and veggies. I may be more excited than them, but not by much!

We (me direct, hubby do) piled all the nasty clay-dirt in the bottom of the planter to take up space, then nailed in landscaping fabric to keep the weeds out. Up next: fill the planters with dirt (sorry, Mom, soil) and let the kids help with the planting. Can't wait for garden fresh veggies and herbs!!


Here is the planter box on the left side of the steps. The wood covered box in the top left of the photo is the sandbox. Another "we" project. You know what I mean.


The planter on the right is much taller. Hubby put rocks in the bottom to take up space. The only part missing is the top ledge that go on this coming weekend.


View of the new wraparound steps! I am in love with these!! Maybe even more than the super loverly weather we've been having! :)


How was your weekend?

Deck Sneak Peak!

Hubby has been We have been working on the deck over the past little while since we have had all this wonderful weather (except for this past weekend when we had hail. Yes. I said hail.) and I am sooo excited to get this finished!

We have a small backyard so I designed a low deck with some extras for visual interest. I did do want rails around the deck as that would break up the view and I wanted a seamless integration in our small backyard. I am hoping to get this project finished within the next month, flowers and all, and am planning a reveal around the middle to end of May.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of the skirting that my hubby installed last week. Goodbye, bunny family! Now you will have to move to someone else's yard and eat their plants.

The Basement Has Begun!

I have been soooo busy the past few weeks. I made my daughter a dress (tutorial coming soon!), ran a ladies' conference, staged a friend's house for sale, tried to organize my life, made my first piece of actual jewelry, convinced a friend to get a passport, directed hubby where to lug some super heavy rocks laid out super heavy rocks for a garden, planned the rest of the backyard, pulled a few weeds, dug out baby clothes to sell, bought cute storage boxes (pink! quilted!), etc...

Did I mention I am trying to organize my life? Yeah. I am an organizer by birth, but lately have noticed the lack of places to put things. Anything! Any tips would be appreciated. I am thinking built-ins.

Here is what I need:
(1) Something easy to follow for others in my family. I am very anal about things like this so they need to be able to follow easily. Happy wife = happy life!
(2) Something cute and not bum ugly. No beige, tan, or greige.
(3) More sleep for moi. Sighhhh.

On another note, the royal 'WE' are starting on the basement. In its earlier life, it was several bags of concrete. Four walls later and here we are. The floor plan is done. The dreams are in place. And the framing has started. Hallelujah. (Still trying to convince my hubs that black would be a fabulous home office wall colour. Keep your fingers crossed for me!)

What to Do When...

What to do when you have no available laundry baskets, the dryer is drying, and you need to get another load in the wash:


A dump truck would also likely work.

House Reno, Part 1

I love reading DIY and renovation blogs, so I thought I would post one of my own.

My hubby and I undertook a total house reno a couple of years ago (a complete flip), although we had no HGTV or TLC camera crew following us around. We bought our first house while we were pregnant with our first, and moved in three days before he arrived. In the summer. Without air conditioning. Yikes! Let's just say it was a hooootttt summer!

My two favourite parts of the house reno would have to be the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen. Just for a little background: the house was built in the 60's and was the builder's model home for the neighbourhood. It was purchased by someone who lived in it for about twenty years, then turned it into a rental. (This was not disclosed to us by our agent, but the TV and telephone cables in every single room - even the dining room - should have tipped us off about something.) It was also on the market for one and a half years, which was also kept from us not diclosed to us. We ended up using the same agent to sell it after the flip, but after three months on the market and no offers, we changed real estate agents, and the new agent told us about the rental situation and the 18 months on the market, plus he sold the house in eight days!
The house was so nasty that I didn't even want to go inside for a tour. My hubby convinced me to go in, even though I was totally disgusted.

This was the hallway on the main floor. I don't even want to think about what was ground into that green carpet. Yuck. Totally just cringed as I typed that! LOL

Nothing had been updated at all. About 45 years of grossness (is that even a word?) and super nastiness was all in one package! Yay for us....

 

This was the upstairs bathroom. I think they cleaned it for the walk through. 

Part 2 coming later...