Show Off Sunday Party

Happy Sunday!  I hope that everyone got to enjoy an extra hour of sleep this morning, thank you to day light savings.  

My favorite project from last week is:

The bench make over from Christina's Adventures 2010.

This bench is such a great make over and the total cost was under $16.  Can you believe it? 

http://christinasadventures2010.blogspot.com/2010/10/cinderella-story.html

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!!

Halloween Decorations for Under $50

While taking down my Halloween decorations this morning.  I realized that I never shared them with you.  With our move I didn't have a lot of time to put together too many Halloween decorations, but I did go to the store to find a few good pieces.  I gave my self $50 to spend for my holiday decorations.  I went to Michaels Crafts, TJ Maxx, and JoAnn Fabric for all my decor.  I also had some gargoyles from Target that we got last at the after Halloween sale. 

I got this pumpkin at Michaels, they had a 50% off sale.  He was under $5. 

Another shot.

The gargoyles we got for $5.99 each at Target last year. The monster hand was $3.99 at Michaels.

Another clearance item from Michaels, the sign was under $5.

More clearance items from Michaels. All under $5.

The pumpkin on the door was $10.99 from TJ Maxx.

Another angle.

I hope you liked my Halloween decorations this year.  Where did you find your Halloween decorations?  Did you find any good deals this year on Halloween decorations?

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 7th Show Off Sunday Party!  Happy Halloween!!  I hope everyone has a great day of fun!

My favorite project from last week the is the kitchen island from Cristie-Its Just My Imagination.  I love this make over.

http://cristie-itsjustmyimagination.blogspot.com/2010/10/kitchen-island.html

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!!

Bathroom Organization Tip

Have you ever been digging through a bathroom drawer looking for something in the morning rush, but can't find it.  That is the story of my life every morning.  I usually can't find things in my bathroom drawers and I waste time every morning looking for things, which sometimes causes me to be late. :(

Well I decided that for the first time ever I am going to organize my drawers so that everything has a place, so I won't be in such a hurry in the mornings.  I want to stop and enjoy my mornings. Plus I generally buy extras of products and make up because I can't find what I am looking for or forget I have something.  Which is not a good habit plus it is a waste of money.

With moving into a new home and being able to start over I decided to dump out my drawers and go buy some organizers.  Why haven't I found these great little things before?  I went to target (they had a better selection than Walmart) and bought some great plastic drawer organizers and a few baskets.  I went with plastic so I could clean them out regularly.  I use mineral make up and it tends to get all over the place from time to time, so the plastic is key for me.  But regular baskets would work as well.

This is what my drawers looked like before my shopping trip, be cautious its scary and embarassing. 

I have tons of eye shadows so I picked out a organizer with a few medium sized spaces.  I also needed two longer organizers for brushes and eye make up (mascara and eye liner pencils).  I settled on one clear organizer from target with 3 spaces for $6.99 and these two plastic white baskets for $1.27 (for both of them) from Walmart.  My total was under $10 for this drawer, not bad to gain my morning back.  

Here is the before again.  YIKES!!

Here is my make up drawer after picture.

Isn't it pretty.  Love it!!  

Next is my hair brush and accessory drawer.  I pulled out all my jewelery and hung it on the wall in my closet, as I have previously showed you.  I also put my headbands and  hair accessories in a little brown travel bag so I can easily throw them in my suit case (I rarely use them but on trips when I need to do my hair fast).  Next was a organizer that had room for my brushes and a few little things.  I bought a plastic organizer from Target for $8.99 which worked perfectly.  I also needed something for my contacts and their accessories.  I picked up these great little white baskets again at Walmart, you can't beat the price $1.27 for three.  I gave two to my husband for his bathroom stuff and kept one for my contacts.  Again I organized this drawer for under $10.

Here is really bad before.

 

And the pretty after. 

I don't know about you but it is so nice to have organized spaces, and when everything has a place I find that my belongs tend to stay organized.  So get out there and tackle your messy drawers, who knew that less than $20 would bring me so much happiness and save my mornings.

Next is under the bathroom sink.  :)

My New Office Part 1

Well we have lived in Virginia a month officially today.  WOW!  How time just flies bye.  We have had our furniture in the house a little less than that (we had to live a week without furniture.)  With that said I figured that today was the day to get some of our extra rooms upstairs semi finished.  I thought I would share my slow progress with you.

On a side note before I show you my office in progress, I want to say I am sorry for not being a very good blogger this past month.  I know I haven't been putting too much time into my blog lately but with all the changes and work around the house, time just got away from me.  Plus the week we spent driving cross country was hard, I didn't always have access to the Internet.  And the additional week of living at hotel in Virginia didn't help my creative side.

Today I am officially back!  Here are some pictures of how the movers left my office after a long day of moving and how I have left it for almost the last month. 

Now the finished product for right now.  I still have a lot of work to do.

Sadly my printer has to stay on a chair until I find a buffet type piece for it to sit on.

I love my Ballard Design Mail Sorter Knock Off.

I still have a lot left before my office is finished.  I need to hang the curtains.  Find a piece of furniture for my printer to sit on and find a few more great things to hang on the wall.  I also have to install a light fixture and finish making my shelves for above my desk.  There is so much to do that I think I will be busy with this room for a long time to come.  I hope you have enjoyed my new office as much as I currently do.  Stay tuned for more picture as I slowly finish my office.

The Hammered Alchemist Blog

As you know I am a former Military Wife and I believe in supporting my Military Wives.  A friend of mine and Military Wife just started a new business making amazing jewelery.  Her company is called Hammered Alchemy.  You can purchase her amazing pieces at.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hammeredalchemy

She also started a new blog showcasing her jewelery as well as a way to express herself during this part of her life.  I hope that you will follow her fabulous blog as she navigates through mothering 4 beautiful children, surviving her husbands deployment and while making it through her mother's battle with cancer. I think you will find her blog very inspiring. Please stop by and become a follower of her blog.  

http://thehammeredalchemist.blogspot.com/

TV Show Opportunity For My Followers

Have you ever wanted to be on a TV Make Over Show?  Would you like $25,000 to make over your home?  Do you live in the LA Area?  Well I have a great opportunity for you.  I received the following e-mail today from a casting producer from TLC.  If you are interested in being on a new TLC show please read below and respond to the casting call.  

I wish I could do this new show it sounds like fun but we don't live in the LA Area, but if you do please sign up.  You never know what could happen.

Good Luck! 

TLC NOW SEEKING COUPLES
FOR $25,000 HOME MAKEOVER
The TLC network is looking for fun, outgoing couples who
live together in the Los Angeles area for their new home
makeover show “Our House.”
The concept: We give you $25,000 and three weeks to do
whatever you want to your homeʼs interior. You can re-floor, refurnish,
break down walls, install extreme fixtures and make it
your dream house. And you have to do it all YOURSELF! (with
a little help from your friends and the occasional plumber).
We're looking for married couples, dating couples, new home
owners, long-time residents, couples who are strapped for
cash and couples who just need a change. Whatever your
story -- as long as you own your house and want TLC to pay
you to re-invent it -- we want to hear from you!
Please send an email to OurHouseCasting@gmail.com with:
 

1) Your names and ages
2)Your best phone number(s)
3) Your houseʼs location
4) Photos of you both
5) A brief explanation of why you want to
makeover your home.
CONTACT PRODUCERS TODAY !!!

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 6th Show Off Sunday Party!  Can you believe that Halloween is only a week away?!?!  I hope that everyone has their decorations out and their costumes ready.  It is amazing how time just seems to be flying by, Christmas will be here any day.  I am already planning our Thanksgiving Dinner and Black Friday Shopping.  YIKES!! 

My favorite project from last week the Ruffle Pillow from It's Toile Good.  On a side note love the name of the blog.  The pillow is a great idea of taking two items of clothing that she is no longer using and turning them into a new item.  The pillow is really pretty and it hardly cost a thing to make, what a great way to re-purpose. 

http://itstoilegood.blogspot.com/2010/10/ruffles-and-real-life.html

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!!

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 5th Show Off Sunday Party!  First off I wanted to thank all my followers for following me for the last few months.  I can't believe that I hit 100 followers!

This week I am looking forward to seeing the great projects that my followers have done this week. There were a lot of great projects last week, but my favorite project from last week was Kitchen Accomplished by Green Gracie Home.

http://greengraciehome.blogspot.com/2010/10/kitchen-accomplished.html

Her new kitchen is amazing!  My favorite part is the new shelving unit that she installed, it looks great!

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!!

3M Hook Tip

TIP OF THE WEEK

I really love the long necklaces that are in style.  But how you to store them?  And how do you to keep them from getting tangled up and ruined?  I use 3M hooks to solve my jewelry and belt problems. 

I love these little guys.  They are so easy to use and they don't leave a hole in the wall.  Plus you can move them around or reposition them.  

I was looking for a place to store my jewelry and belts in our current home.  I decided to this extra space on the side of our shoe shelve.  It was right next to all my other accessories and the full length mirror that I use every morning to get ready.  Plus it was long enough to accommodate my belts and long necklaces.  

When we lived in our condo I hung my necklaces on the inside of our linen closet door in the bathroom with 3M hooks.  It was a great place to hang all my jewelry while saving precious space.

Are you looking for a place and a way to hang up your belts and jewelry but don't have a lot of space or money?  Are you thinking of buying one of those expensive jewelry cabinets to keep your jewelry organized?  Use 3M hooks instead!  You can place them any where; from walls, back of cabinet doors and to the sides of furniture. Use them to hang jewelry and belts. 

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 4th Show Off Sunday Party!  I am looking forward to seeing the great projects from this week.  I am sorry that we didn't have a Show Off Sunday last week, with the move across country things have been a bit crazy. I spent all week unpacking our home, I never knew how long it would take.  I still don't feel like it is our home yet.  I need to put a few more pictures up on the walls to make it feel like home.  My hope is that my life will become some what normal now.

I promise next week I will have more time and I will be able to post my favorites. 

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!! 

Ribbon and Wrapping Paper Tip

Happy Wednesday!!!

As scary as it is the holiday season is around the corner.  I don't know about you but I am gearing up for all the gift wrapping I am going to do in the next few months.  Not only do I have a lot of holiday gifts to wrap but I also have a handful of birthdays around the holidays that will also require some gift wrapping.  

I really like to keep my paper and ribbon organized and stored in a way that is easy to use and keeps it from getting ruined.  A few years ago I started creating a craft/wrapping area in my home.  Over the years it has changed from a closet to using an old entertainment center.  Wrapping paper is one of the hardest things to store, because there aren't many options due to its size.  You can either stick it in the back of a closet (been there done that), buy one of those expensive plastic storage containers for wrapping paper, or you can hang it like I have.  

I take an inexpensive tension rod to hang my wrapping paper and ribbon.  I have placed the rods in an entertainment center you could take the same idea and add the rod to a closet.  The rod will allow you to easily unroll the amount of paper or ribbon you need, it keeps the paper and ribbon organized, and it keeps everything from getting smashed.  

This holiday season make your own wrapping center.  Pick up a tension rob and hang your ribbon and wrapping paper.  I think you will love this way of organizing your ribbon and wrapping paper as much as I do! 

How to Store Ribbon?

This week I wanted to share another ribbon storage idea that I use.  I don't know about you but I tend to keep pretty ribbons that come off of gifts, gift baskets, or even packaging.  I also tend to have ribbon left over from different spools of ribbon, instead of throwing out that last little bit I keep them to use on another project.  Ribbon tends to be an item that can be easily reused to create a great gift or can be used in a craft project.

But what to do with all the odd lengths of ribbon?  I use an old jar to keep all my ribbon remnants organized.  I used this old jar from some decorative rocks I purchased.  Its a great way to keep all the ribbon in one place so its easy to find the next time I need some ribbon.

Not only can the jar be used for extra pieces of ribbon but you can also stack spools of ribbon in jars.  I use jars in both ways.

Trying creating your own ribbon jar, not only does it save time looking for those extra pieces of ribbon but it also an inexpensive way to store all of your ribbon.

 

Tip Of The Week - Post Poned

I want to apologize for not posting my weekly tip this week.  Due to our move to Virginia from California, I wasn't able to post my weekly Tip Of The Week on Wednesday.  Next week I will have a new tip for you.  Thank you again for your patience during my move. 

I will see you next week!

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 3rd Show Off Sunday Party!  I am looking forward to seeing the great projects from this week.  We had 33 entries last week, thank you again to everyone who linked up last week.  I am hoping to get to 50 this week, so please invite your friends to join us this week.

I am sorry that I won't be posting my favorite posts from last week.  I spent all week on the road driving from California to Virginia.  I promise next week I will have more time and I will be able to post my favorites. 

Thanks for coming to my linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!! 

Tip Of The Week

TIP OF THE WEEK 

This weeks tip of the week comes from my mom.  Whenever one of us kids moved out, she would give us one of these jars for our new apartments.  She even gave one to a close friend of mine. 

We call them magical jars of everything.  While the jars were generally decorated in some way, but they served more than a decorative purpose.  Each jar had a bunch of random things in it, from nails, screws, brackets, picture hangers, hooks, picture frame wire, drywall anchors, etc.  These are the greatest things ever, especially for someone who is moving out on their own for the first time.   When you move out you may not have screws or nails and didn't think of getting some prior to moving.  You never know when you will need a random screw to hang up a picture or fix something in your first apartment. 

I have had my jar for years and over the years I have filled it with additional random items as I have come across them.  I also have added a little organizer for all my screws, nails, hooks, etc. but I always go back to my magical jar of stuff.  

I am sure that when I have kids one day that are moving out on their own, I will pass down the magical jar of everything traditional to my children. 

See you next week! Have a great week! :)

Show Off Sunday Party

Welcome to my 2nd Show Off Sunday Party!  I am looking forward to seeing the great projects from this week.  Our 1st Show Off Sunday was a huge success.  We had 38 entries, thank you again to everyone who linked up last week.  I am hoping to get to 50 this week, so please invite your friends to join us this week.

My favorites from last week are:
My first pick is All Things Home Master Bath Wall Art. I love the use of empty frames as art work. 

My Second favorite pick from last week is Envy My Cooking's Artichoke Dip.  I can't wait to make it.

My third and final favorite pick from last week is Lemon Tree Creation's Fall Planter Box.  The color is amazing, great project. 

Next Sunday I’ll post my favorite projects from this week's party!


Thanks for coming to my first ever linky party!  Feel free to post anything you would like from: home decor, crafts, recipes, thrift store finds, great before and afters, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the not so fun part, rules.
Here are the simple rules: (I hate rules!)
* Add my blog or button to your link. Or don’t. Sidebar. Separate tab. I don’t care. Just put a link to my site somewhere on your blog so others can come party with us!
* Link directly to your post, not your blog. If you want to link to your BLOG, click here and link away!

Let the fun begin!!!!

New Ballard Designs Catalog

Did anyone else get their new Ballard Designs Catalog today?  My October 2010 catalog came today and I am in love.  As most of you know we are moving in a few days to Virginia which means I get a new house to decorate!!  I am so excited.  Plus I have an additional 1000 sq ft to decorate, as our new home is bigger than the home we are leaving in CA. 

I love going through different catalogs looking for inspiration.  I go through a magazine and circle things I like or rip out pages of rooms or looks that I really like.  I will take all the pages and put them in my idea binder.  I will have to show you guys that one day.  

While going through my October 2010 catalog I found a few things that I loved and thought that I would share them with you.  I especially love some of the new items from Suzanne Kasler, their new designer.  Here are the items or looks that I loved:

Page 7 ~ Green Bedroom

Page 13 ~ Sepia Botanical Canvases

Page 15 ~ Document Lamp Shade

Page 16 ~ Magnetic Boards

Dream Living Room

Another Dream Living Room

I have shared one of my favorite inspiration catalogs, whats yours?  Where do you draw your decorating inspiration from?

New Mirrors From Big Lots

While at Big Lots the other day I came across these great silver mirrors for only $5 each., what a steal of a deal!

I have been wanting something to place over my dresser in our bedroom, for a while now.   When I saw these mirrors, I knew they would be perfect to go with the silver sage and brown decor we have in our bedroom.  

I purchased two mirrors to place on the wall above my dresser, for just $10.  Usually you can't find one great mirror for under $10 much less 2 mirrors for $10.  To finish off my dresser I added two vases that I got at Home Goods for $11.99 that match the silver sage bedding that I purchased from Restoration Hardware.  I also found a little vase with white hydrangeas in the clearance section at my local Target for $4.  

This is one of my favorite corners of my home, I love the way the mirrors reflect the light in our bedroom and coordinate with the other decor items in our room.

What great finds have you found at your local Big Lots?