Thinking "Beach..."

Good morning, friends! My alarm went off at 5 am so I could take my son to football practice at 5:30.  School hasn't started yet, but our schedule certainly has!  As the days are racing by, I'm feeling the urge to hold onto summer just a little longer.  Fancy Little Things is posting all things "beach" during August and I'm thrilled to be part of the fun.  Join me over there for this easy peasy beachy candle project.  Everytime I light these, I'm thinking "beach"...

Happy Monday!

July's Favorite Things {Day Late and Dollar Short}

Good grief, friends, I am STILL catching up after our "mac daddy" road trip to Texas!  We travelled 2700 miles in 10 days, squeezing in visiting and some fun among 46 hours in the car and not a lot of sleep.  Once we got home, I was immediately immersed in shopping and packing my daughter for college, shuttling to football practices, doctor's appointments, summer reading, and prepping to get back to teaching.  Ok, so those are my excuses for not getting this up sooner!  Thanks for forgiving me. :)

I have a little round up of my favorite things from July... hope you enjoy!

Dog Days of Summer...
If you read my personal blog, you might know that we had to put our sweet 16 year old pound puppy to sleep in June.  During our July travels we were blessed to love on the dogs of our friends and family.

Barnabus

Kona and Trooper

Honey

Chocovine.  Run, don't walk, to your local grocery store and pick up a bottle of this deliciousness!  Premium Dutch chocolate combined with a little Cabernet Sauvignon.  Super yummy chilled and sipped slowly. My new go-to hostess gift!  Visit their website to find out more.



Centsational Girl's Peacock Blue Bamboo Chest.  The photo says it all.  Gorgeous.  Click here for her blog post reveal!

Next week I'll be taking my daughter off to University of Georgia (sniff), but I'll be revealing the little wooden desk I painted a couple of weeks ago, so stay tuned.

What's your favorite thing from last month?

Happy Decorating!

Match Made in Heaven

Just back from travelling and now I've got to catch up, but first I gotta share this good news! I don't know about you, but when I heard that Ballard Designs was teaming up with Southern Living magazine to decorate the 2011 Idea House it was like hearing that Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged!  I've been a Southern Living girl my entire life and a Ballards Designs stalker (and outlet shopper) for most of my adult life.  To me this is an entirely logical (and exciting) partnership.

This year's Idea House is located in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, a gorgeous lake front community in the Hill Country. If you've never been to this part of Texas, you're missing out... book your trip asap!  In the meantime, we'll all be poring over and dog-earring the pages of the Idea House, right?

Because I'm a floor plan lover:


Look at all the courtyards!

Southernliving.com has some peeks at the construction process. Loving the use of salvaged wood in this house... seen on the dining room ceiling here.


Click over there to check it out if you haven't received your SL issue yet... the blue doors are divine!

AND, you can shop all the fabulous Ballards pieces they used in the Idea House HERE
.
Like...


This yummy Suzanne Kasler Seaglass lamp (did I mention I heart her?).  And...




This delish Ogden Mirror...  love the dreamy ocean blue. And...




This gorgeous and versatile Padova Accent Table (she's on my wish list!).  And...




These sweet little Bird Giclees (set of 6).  I'd love these for my family room Lighten and Brighten project!

Okay, but before you get to shopping, how about a $10,000 room makeover from Southern Living and Ballards Designs?   Click HERE for the details... in addition to the room makeover, you can win a trip to see the 2011 Idea House! I know I'm entering!  Now, should it be the master bedroom, the dining room, master bath....?

Happy Decorating, Idea House Drooling, and Sweepstakes Entering. :)  You're welcome!

Two Sales You Can't Miss!

I'm travelling today but it's your lucky day!  Who doesn't love a bargain, especially when it comes to home decor and antiques?

First up, don't forget that my friend Tricia at Avolli is having an early retirement sale on her incredible inventory of Swedish antiques.  You can get 75% off her gorgeous heirloom quality pieces now!!  Yes, you read right-- 75% off!   So don't delay, click over to her website and you can score these awesome antiques:


This beautiful 19th century antique sewing box




These beautiful iron wall sconces,



This gorgeous pine chest of drawers from mid-19th century Denmark.

Now, here's another cool thing about Tricia's sale: help spread the word and be entered to win $100 cash or merchandise!  Visit her blog for details.  I've won TWICE so far (please don't hate me!)!.

***

And for twice the fun, don't forget my incredible July sale on over 100 Willow House products, too!  Lots of goodies have sold out, but there's still some incredible deals to be had.  Think Christmas, hostess, birthday gifts...


Scrollwork pillow only $12.96!




Continental Kitchen Pot Holders only $6.96



Sweet little Lollie Lanterns only $9.96 for the pair.

Head to my e-store to order by clicking HERE!  And... the new Fall catalog will arrive any day now, so stay tuned for sneak peeks at the new lines and old favorites.  Thanks for looking, and Happy Shopping!

Easy Peasy Lamp Shade {How To}

I am loving my new lamp and lamp shade combo in my Mom Cave...er, home office. :)  I know I have to share the space with the other four peeps in my household, but it's slowly evolving into more "mine" than "theirs."  Thoughts?

Anyhoo, the lamp shade I revealed over the weekend was a super easy project that makes a big impact when you walk into the space. 

Start to finish, I spent about 50 minutes on this.  And maybe $5 tops.  The lamp and shade I purchased with a Target gift card I'd received for my birthday.  The craft paint and sponge brushes I already had.  The stencils came from the WalMart craft section (a favorite haunt of mine) and cost under $5 for the package.

I decided on the large damask stencil and gray craft paint.

I started on the back of the lampshade where the seam is.  I figured if I was feeling my way with this, better to goof on the side that would be facing the wall anyway!  I wanted to see a full damask pattern in the center of the lampshade all the way around and parts of the damask on the top and bottom.  So the full one came first.  I totally eyeballed the middle of the shade (my scientific method you know), used two simple pieces of masking tape to hold the stencil and got started!

Notice I left the edges of the tape loose so peeling them up and removing the stencil was a clean and easy motion.  I used the paint sparingly, brushing lightly to fill in the blanks.  If it looked too light or I could see the fabric through the paint, I went back and dabbed lightly.  This stencil has lots of curly q's, so I had to brush in different directions very gently for even coverage and clean lines.  I also wiped the stencil off with a wet rag periodically (especially the back side) to ensure no extra paint went awry.

By the time I had worked my way around the entire lampshade, the paint was dry enough to start on the bottom layer.  Again, I just eyeballed placement of the stencil so pattern would look even (or close to it!).  Notice I added a piece of tape at the top to help further secure the stencil. The painting here was a little trickier since the edge of the lamp shade was involved, but again, slow and steady was the key.

You can see how I ended on the back seam of the lamp shade again.  The lines are not as precise due to the seam here, but again, this side will face the wall. :)

Once I had the bottom row done, placement of the top row was easy peasy.  I simply lined them up.  This time I started on the seam and began working my way around.  Slow and easy.  Looking good!

And here is the finished product!  The gray and white look super crisp against my purple walls and I adore the damask pattern.

Love, love, love!

So, there you are -- what do you think?  Easy peasy way to jazz up an inexpensive lamp shade!  Loving the bang for the buck on this project.

Linking up in these fabulous places:

Home Stories of A to Z {Tutorials and Tips}

Between Naps on the Porch {Metamorphosis Monday}

The Mustard Ceiling's Mix and Mingle Linky Party

Happy Stencilling!

A Great Reason To Thrift...{Catalog Finds}

Howdy, friends! I'm thoroughly enjoying time with family and friends in West Texas.  My camera is working overtime, so I'll hopefully have some wonderful pics to share when I get back... nothing like wide open spaces and friendly faces with a little Texas twang thrown in!

During my travels I've been catching up on catalog perusing and magazine reading {the beauty of having teens that can help with the driving!}.  In the last Pottery Barn Bed and Bath catalog I got hung up on this shabby summery vignette.



Do you love it??  Me, too.

What I don't love?  Sticker shock.  I seriously had to pick my jaw up off the floorboard of my Expedition.  The ledge alone is a whopping $449.  Yikes!  Granted, it's solid mahogany but gee whiz!
Throw in those fabulous chippy frames for $129 and you're suddenly in the poor house. 

Just me, or is that a great reason to go thrifting?

Happy Decorating... and hopefully Thrifting, too!

What I've Been Up To {Home Office Update}

My home office is slowly but surely evolving into the Mom Cave I've always wanted!  Though I'm anxious in a way to get it finished, I have to admit I'm enjoying the process, too.  Of course, having my desk up and running is key to this enjoying-the-process mindset. :)

This week I tackled the lamp on the desk.  Remember this?

It's one of a pair of buffet lamps I bought several years ago... not loving it on my new desk!

So I headed to Target and used a gift card I'd gotten for my birthday to pick up this lamp and a simple drum shade.

The balls are actually acrylic, not glass, but I love the modern clean look and the price was right! On a side note, the desk top photographs a pale yellow, but it's actually a creamy white (Porter Paint Velvet White).  I wasn't sure what I'd do with the lamp shade, so I toyed with some different ideas (cover with fabric? add some trim?) and finally decided to break out my paints and stencils.

TA DAH!!

Hello, Lover!  I'll be sharing the super simple how-to next week. 

 Plus, I got an urge to paint this $15 flea market purchase {from 10 years ago} as part of my on-going lighten and brighten the family room project.

The brown stain wasn't working next to my chocolate suede sofa so it's time for change!

It's been a busy week, but more to come.  Enjoy your weekend, friends!

 

Happy Decorating!