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August 3, 2015

Ivory Parisian Coffee Table

Happy Monday my friends!

I hope you all had a good weekend! I spent mine painting the trim in my hallway. It doesn’t sound like a bit project, but by the time you get it all taped off, remove hardware from where the doors are, and get three coats of paint on it, it consumes your whole weekend. I have one touch up coat to do today, and I’m finished! I can’t believe how much better it looks with the white paint than the honey oak … which I’m so over.

After the trim is finished, I can get started on the fun part which is painting the walls! The bad part is that I’m going to have to start the whole taping process all over again! Does anyone know how long I should wait to let the trim dry before I am able to put the painters’ tape on? More than a day or two? I know the “ins and outs” of furniture painting, but walls and trim I don’t do often.

We also went over to my brother’s house for awhile since my aunt was in town. She passed some family heirlooms to my brother, myself, the unnamed child, and my little niece. I received my grandmother’s wedding ring, which was really special, and the unnamed child got her great, great grandmother’s brooch and one of my aunt’s dolls from childhood: a Chatty Cathy (that sill talks)….

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July 30, 2015

How to Build an Eclectic Gallery Wall-Decorating Challenge

Today I have a project for you that has been under wraps for quite a while.

After we installed our new carpet in the basement, the first thing I did was build my new gallery wall. One of my favorite things to look at when I go into people’s homes, virtually or in real life, are their gallery walls. I think they reveal a lot about the homeowner’s personality.

I have been ~~hoarding~~ gathering items for my gallery for a long time, and until recently they were just setting in my storage room.

I started by taking some masking tape and taping off the size of my TV and the top of the wall. I then played around with my items for the wall until I was happy with the placement.

I laid out a giant piece of butcher paper, the width and height of the area around my TV (like I did with my other gallery wall) which was where my gallery was going to be living. I then used a marker and filled in where my TV would be, so I would have a focal point, and everything else would be based around that.

Once in the right spots, I then traced around all of the art with a marker.

After I was finished, I taped my paper to the wall and used a combination of nails and 3M Command Strips to mark the spots where my pieces were going to go.

Lastly, I hung all of my wall art, and that was that! Using the paper template saved me from having Topher nail 1,000 holes in the wall because things needed to be moved over an inch or I changed my mind about the placement of an item.

I turned a long retro dresser into my entertainment console, which I showed you here.

I used a combination of mirrors and frames that I picked up at yard sales and gave them a quick update with some spray paint. The piece with the cherubs on it is a heavy iron ring that was a rust color. I have no idea what it is, but I got it at a yard sale for $1, and I spray painted it with Rust-o-leum’s Pure Gold.

I added in some turquoise velvet fabric that I got off of Amazon and added a pretty, pink broach that I got yard saling with my grandma when I was a kid.

The Grow Where You Are Planted sign I got from Rustic Wild Arrow on Etsy.

The vintage silhouette I got from a vintage sale, the pink deer came from Joss & Main last year, and the oval frame around it came from a yard sale for 50 cents last summer, and it got a coat of the Pure Gold spray paint also.

One of my favorite things on this wall is this tiny pet portrait of Kitten. As you know, my sweet cat of 21 years passed away last year, and I got this portrait from GoodNaturedByDani on Etsy. This uber talented woman makes portraits using individual fibers of wool. I sent her a photo of Kitten, and she knocked it out of the park with this exact replica.

I can’t wait to get one of Baxter soon.

This is the Pallet Wood Arrow that I made in the same shade as the tv console.

The little mirror was from a thrift store for $2, and the marquee arrow light came from Michael’s. It was a little kit that you had to assemble, and it was originally white, and I sprayed it with Rustoleum’s Berry Pink. My Kansas Pallet sign was a Christmas gift from Topher from JunkArtGypsyz.

The framed G picture was a metallic placemat that I received during my Swap It Like It’s Hot Tour. The metallic leopard stripe is a bit washed out in this picture and the thrift store frame was spray painted in Rustoleum’s Satin Aqua.

The blue egg nest photo is one from The Handmade Home’s Art for the Traditional Home I believe. I have several of their art books, and I believe that’s the right one.

My basement gallery wall doesn’t have any family photo’s in it since the one I have in my living room does. I just updated that one, and I will be unveiling it to you next week!

As you know, with the rest of my house, I have basic wall colors, but I add in fun pops off color with accessories.

With this gallery wall, I can mix and match and add whatever new fun goodies I pick up at yard sales.

Make sure you head over to see the other lovely ladies in the challenge gallery walls too!

Artsy Chicks Rule

Confessions of a Serial DIY-er

Our Southern Home

Top This Top That

Refresh Restyle

Fox Hollow Cottage

Make sure you join our Decorating Enthusiasts Forum on FB to share your gallery walls with us!

You can also go to my Instagram page here and share your Gallery Walls using the #DecoratingEnthusiasts hashtag, and we will be selecting one winner that will be featured on all 7 of our feeds!

Can’t wait to see what you’ve got!

Parties I Link to:
Cedar Hill Ranch – Common Ground – Cupcakes and Crinoline – Debbiedoo’s – Design, Dining + Diapers – DIY by Design – DIY Showoff – Domestically Speaking – Elizabeth & Co. – French Country Cottage – Funky Junk Interiors – The Girl Creative: Project Inspire – Home Stories A2Z – Liz Marie Blog – Miss Mustard Seed – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Redoux Interiors – Savvy Southern Style –The DIY Mommy– The Shabby Nest – Smart School House – Tatertots & Jello – Uncommon Designs

July 28, 2015

Tuesdays With Topher: How to Hug a Blogger

Hi there!

As you probably know by now, Shanna attended a blogging conference earlier this month in Atlanta.

This was her third round at Haven, and each time she returns, she is so full of energy, and recharged, and ready to take on the world. After spending three days with her peers (in the real world … not through a keyboard), she’s reinvigorated because she was surrounded by people that understand what it’s like to work on a web site from home, and these friends understand how challenging it can be when numbers dip, or how frustrating it can be when a time-consuming project receives a lackluster response, or how stressful life gets whenever the site is unavailable, or how annoying social media can be when algorithms change and your exposure is squelched.

Not everyone understands that.

I didn’t — and I’m her best friend and hear her talk about these anxieties at least once a week.

For the longest time I didn’t get it; I couldn’t see how the “abstracts” in her business could itch at her like the leftover crawling sensation of a spider you crushed (or released to the wild if that’s more your speed).

But now that her and I are further down the blogging-as-a-business road, I’m at a much better vantage point for seeing when she’s having a rough day because a vendor is not responding or a surprise deadline snuck-up a little faster than expected….

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July 27, 2015

Haven Recap 2015

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I hope you all had a good weekend! Mine was not nearly as productive as I had hoped.

As I mentioned last week, I am getting ready to re paint the entire upper level of my home. I have been living in the Land of Beige for the last 10 years, and I am so over it. I am now going with grey, but I had no idea what an ordeal it would be. I went all over last weekend, going from store to store, buying samples of grey paint. One was too blue, several too lilac, some too white, some too tan, and so on. My hallway looks like a preschooler’s version of an abstract art piece with all of these different shades of grey. I finally figured one out, but by then it was Sunday evening and too late to start painting.

So you can guess what I’ll be doing this week.

Last week I told you about all of the reasons I love the Haven Bloggers Conference that I just attended in Atlanta last week. Today I thought I would show you a little more of what we did there.

Myself, Our Southern Home, Artsy Chicks Rule, Confessions of a Serial DIYer

When we first got into town, the lovely ladies from Porch.com hosted a fun get together for all of the Porch bloggers. It was at a cute little pie shop where we took part in a calligraphy class. After the class, we were able to sample all of the yummy pies the shop had to offer … along with some champagne.

After we got settled into the hotel, there was a meet and greet where we were able to have cocktails on the terrace and meet some of the new bloggers along with catching up with old friends.

Cindy (GoodHaus Design) and myself

After the meet and greet, a group of my friends and I went out to dinner at Maggiano’s for some delicious Italian food.

I then went back to my room where my lovely roommate Susan, from Living Rich on Less, stayed up with my, talking for hours.

The next morning was a speech from our keynote speaker Jon Acuff who was fabulous and hilarious.

The first class I attended was one on making videos. While making videos is not something I feel entirely comfortable doing, it will be something you will be seeing from me in the near future.

We then had a wonderful lunch hosted by Rustoleum, and then I went around visiting with some of the sponsors, such as Kreg, Ryobi, Moen, GMC, GE, etc.

After lunch, I attended an affiliate advertising class as well as an Instagram class from Liz from Liz Marie Blog.

My friends and I then decided to have dinner at the bar in the hotel, and I had a fun visit with Robin from All Things Heart and Home — whom I share a great deal in common with. We both have a menagerie of dogs who make our lives crazy and comical. It was so nice to know that we aren’t the only crazy dog people out there.

After dinner, Susan and I went to an “after hours” from Dan Morris. While there, I met Laurie from Passionate Penny Pincher, who was so kind, and I’m so glad I got to meet her. She has an amazing coupon blog, and if you haven’t visited her site you really need to.

The next morning started with a yummy breakfast hosted by Home Depot and Home Decorators Collection. I then visited more sponsors from Rheem, Shaw, Kirklands, Thompson’s, La-Z-Boy, etc.

Next I took a painting class from Amy Howard with Amy Howard Paint.

I then moved onto a Branding class, and we ended the day with a closing session from Mandi Gubler from Vintage Revivals.

My girls and I then went out to dinner at Southern Arts, and then we went back to the hotel for a dessert and dance party.

Artsy Chicks Rule, Our Southern Home, Me, Confessions of a Serial DIYer, The Hankful House, Sand and Sisal

After the dance party, my roomie Susan and I spent serious time trying to get all of our Haven swag into our suitcases.

We really put the durability of our suitcases to the test!

It was about a million degrees in Atlanta, and the humidity was about 99%, and there was the fact that we didn’t sleep for three days.

Those things were a small price to pay for getting to see all of my blogging buddies, getting pampered the whole time, getting to interact with all of the fabulous sponsors, and take some wonderful classes.

Haven is something I look forward to every year, and I’m already counting down the days until next year!

July 22, 2015

Haven Conference 2015

Hello my friends! I’m back!

If you’ve been following along, you know that I was in Atlanta for a few days for the Haven Bloggers Conference.

This is my third year attending, and I look forward to it all year.

Blogging is kind of a strange thing. Unless you are one, most people have no idea what they are. You have no idea how many times I have had this conversation:

“What is it that you do?”

“I’m a blogger.”

“What is that exactly?”

“I run a DIY website.”

“…….So that’s what you do for a living?”

“Yes.”

“What is a blogger? And do you make any money doing that?”

That is the conversation I have anytime I go somewhere other than my normal Lowe’s and Michael’s.

The great thing about being at this conference is that all of the people there do the same thing as me. We talk about the newest products, take some amazing classes, and are wined and dined by some big brands.

We swap stories about which companies to work with and which ones not to work with, what products are great and which ones suck, about how hard it is to remove paint from your hair, and to be wearing the only nice clothes you own when all of the other ones you own crunch from having so much paint crusted onto them. We discuss why it’s hard to work so hard on a project, and once it’s posted you get crickets, or have projects you put very little effort into be the ones that take off on Pinterest. We discuss how blogging has changed over the last few years and posts that used to get 30-40 comments now only get 2 because most people don’t even read the posts you poured yourself into, and there seems to be a trend where they only skim for pretty pictures.

We understand the hours that go into every project and every post. How we have all had to learn a new languages of “coding”, “photography”, “writing”, and every different form of social media under the sun. We empathize with working more hours now than we did when we worked full time, and how our family often eats cereal for dinner because we are still working on projects that are due at midnight.

At Haven we also congratulate each other for having our projects published for the first time, or making a deal with the company of our dreams. We are there to learn more, so we can recharge our batteries and bring back better content for our readers.

We are there to inspire and encourage each other.

At Haven is where I met my “tribe” — the women that I not only look to to vent, lean on, and support, but these four women are now some of my closest friends. Haven brought us all together. And for that I am grateful.

I’ll be back for more on Haven details tomorrow!

July 21, 2015

Tuesdays With Topher: Content

It’s been a couple of months now since Shanna graciously allowed me a recurring spot on her site, and during that time I’ve tried to provide some helpful tidbits on how to secure your blogspace, what goes into picking the right CMS, and how to design your site to suit your fancy.

And I’ve tried to weave in a few points that I want to write about in greater detail, and one of those points is content.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to beat the drum … content is king (or queen).

It really doesn’t matter how great your design is, how many concurrent visitors your host can tolerate, or how secure your database may be if your content falls short.

There are some easy points to follow about content that can make a huge difference. But, just like all other tools you’ve installed, they’re only helpful if you utilize them….

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