re-DESIGN-ing the kids' bedroom post Christmas presents

So Christmas has come and gone... But all those old toys remain and now there are oh SO many more!!!

I took advantage of the kids spending the night at my in-laws to go through every inch of the their room. Three overstuffed garbage bags and a full day later, you can actually find the floor- yippee.

We live in an old home with big rooms and high ceilings, but there are only two feasible bedrooms. Therefore, I had to find a gender neutral theme for my young son and daughter. With the last name of Boatright and a family love for the water, a nautical theme seemed obvious.

There are a lot of different REAL simple DIY ideas in this room, that I will share in the future... Today's project was the wave edged rugs. It only took me a year to fulfill my vision, but knowing I was facing the REAL-ity of thinning out post Christmas, I checked the local hardware stores for some inexpensive carpet. I got lucky and found a large scrap piece of dark blue, indoor/outdoor carpet at Home Depot. For around .30 cents a sq ft, I got cheap, durable, won't break my heart if the kids destroy it, carpet. I took the large piece home cut it into two equal pieces and then folded over the one edge. I then proceeded to hand draw the wave shape on the back of the rug with a marker and then cut it with scissors. Waves have a natural inconsistency to them, so don't get caught up in making them perfect, just have fun with it.

This one element has given new life and warmth to the room- a simple re-DESIGN can take you from dreading walking through the door to feeling like spending extra time sharing the space with your kids.

Time to start setting the holiday table

We will be holding Christmas brunch for the extended family at our house this year... First of all this is the first ever brunch and second of all this is the first ever for me to have to make and TIME the majority of the food- wish me luck! Typically my parents are around for these big events and after years of hosting family holidays and owning a bed and breakfast the cooking is left to them and the decorating to me, but not this year. So I am trying to stay ahead of the craziness by going ahead and setting up the various food, drink and dining tables.

I kept with the silver theme of the dining room by tying the silverware in napkins with pretty silver ribbon (Michael's 70% off). Next I added these great sparkle ice skates that I purchased at the gift wrap factory store. They are really gift tags but in this case they add that little extra touch to the table. I used silver doilies, also from Michael's to add some extra texture and shine. Lastly, I was not impressed by a white plate on a white tablecloth, so thinking on a budget and outside the box I unfolded the cocktail napkins I bought and placed them under the plates. Even though chargers have become extremely reasonable, I just could not justify buying 12, so napkins it is.

Remember it only takes a few extra touches to take a place setting from ordinary to extraordinary!

Great idea for thinning out the kid's toys before Christmas

Check out this great idea from www.designdazzle.com, for leaving old, broken or outgrown toys for Santa to pick up on Christmas night and bring back to the North Pole for the elves to fix and give to other boys and girls.

My daughter is a classic "hoarder" she can not even throw away a paper menu from a restaurant, but this idea worked!!! We have officially started our bags of toys to leave for Santa. Such a great idea and just in time for all those new toys!!!

I love you SNOW much- Fun Christmas DIY project for kids

Today was my daughter's kindergarten Christmas party and I was in charge of providing fun projects for the kids to make.

The chalkboard ornaments I posted a little while back were an obvious choice, but coming up with a second easy to do project, was a bit more challenging.

I came across the saying "I love you SNOW much" and just had to figure out a way to to use it. So I came up with a paper snow globe project. I found precut circles at Michael's (I used my 50% off coupon that you get via email and the best part is there is no need to print, just show them your phone). Next in Microsoft PowerPoint I wrote the text and inserted a trapezoid shape. A couple of copy and pastes later I had 6 per page and printed them on green paper. I cut them out, hot glued them to the circles and brought them to the class. There each child was told to color a picture within the circle, then take a glue stick and spread glue wherever they wanted snow. Lastly, I placed the the snow globe on a small tray, sprinkled fake snow on top and then shook of the excess.

The result, these REAL simple, REALly cute pieces of artwork to take home to the one they love snow much.

A family ornament DIY tradition

Every year I try to give close family and friends an ornament that includes a photo of the kids (of course somehow I always forget to include one for us in the count).

This year I took inspiration from our Christmas cards. I purchased clear, plastic ornaments at Michael's.

-plastic is always better when "helping hands" want to join in on the fun of making these treasures.

-purchase them early, when Michael's first starts their holiday sales. I went today for a couple more and although they
were now 70% off instead of 50%
there was absolutely no selection left to choose from and at $1.99, 50% off is still a great price.

I then printed the photo of the kids and used an exacto knife to cut close to their profile. The kids helped sprinkle in some fake snow and paper snowflakes to add a little extra touch. Next I tied some ribbon to hang it from and put the date on the back.

Always remember to date your ornaments even if it is just one you bought at the store to give as a gift. It is always nice to remember the times of the past when you decorate your tree every year.

Cotton: the "snow" of the south

Well we might not have a snow white Christmas here in Southern Georgia, but we do have our own fluffy fields of white- cotton fields.

I just love driving by the huge fields of white fluff in the late fall; if I squint my eyes just right, I am brought back to my days in Upstate New York when the first flakes would land, creating a beautiful landscape of snow on the last remnants of the fall harvest.

So I have added some of our fluffy white to my holiday decor. Again a great way to add some rustic into your chic.

Use tulle to add some chic to your rustic Christmas tree

Everything these days is about texture layered on texture, about hard lines against romantic ruffles, about rustic marrying chic...

What better way to continue this trend in your home, than using .99 cent tulle from the Dollar Tree, cut in pieces and tied randomly to your Christmas tree. The juxtaposition of soft tulle folds, against the sharp green needles of the pine, creates a beautiful compliment to your favorite ornaments. Furthermore, the glow of the lights further enhances this wonderfully inexpensive, holiday reDESIGN.

Others are re-DESIGN-ing their REAL-ity!!

Here are some great pictures of someone's REAL-ity that has been re-DESIGN-ed!!!

This follower was married this past October at her beautiful Upstate New York farm. The wedding was full of great vintage finds and classic details.

She took these great finds and re-DESIGN-ed them into amazing holiday decor.

Can you find some examples from my past posts; windows, shutters and those great burlap swags are all included in her wonderful vignettes.

She continued her great creativity and created a magical snowman with grapevine wreaths- what a great rustic chic detail for a beautiful Upstate New York in the winter! Love it and I am so proud of this follower for using such creative energy. I have a feeling she is extremely proud of her decorations, in her new home with her new husband, this very special Christmas.

Silent Night after a day tragedy

SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE... All of the young, innocent,children that had your lives stolen and all of those that survived, but will be forever changed by a bad dream that no mommy or daddy can ever make go away.

I heard silent night played on the radio tonight right after a discussion about today's events. My heart broke and my eyes teared and the words of the song never sounded so strong. I will never again hear the Silent Night of yesterday, from this point forward I will only feel the depth of words established today.

As the mother of a kindergartner and a former Fairfield county Connecticut elementary student myself, the event that took place today will forever resonate deep within my heart and soul. We can not take away the pain that the families touched by this tragedy are feeling, nor can we assume that we are immune to the horrors that exist in the world today... But what we must do is create amazing life moments.

It is time to live with a focus of what it is truly important... The definition of family can be so easily lost in today's hectic lifestyles. Bring back family dinners, game night and family projects. Give back attention, love and patience. You will receive back memories that you can cherish for a lifetime.

Money saving tip for holiday shoes for the kids

If you are like me you enjoy finding new outfits for the kids to wear for the holidays...But you don't enjoy all of the cost that goes into an outfit, that at most they may wear two or three times. So last year at an after Christmas department store sale we went ahead and purchased the kid's dress clothes for this year. However, not only do the kids not fit into their clothes from year to year, but their shoes too.

So I found myself on the hunt for little boys dress shoes... Would someone please explain to me why little boy's dress shoes have to be so ugly?! They look cheap, oversized for their feet and cost as much as my husband's shoes. I went to one store after the next, searched on Black Friday and even got as far as bringing a pair to the counter to purchase.

In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do it; spend all that money for shoes that once again have a life span of hours. It was in my most desperate moment that an idea came to me; dye a pair of suede shoes he already has in the closet. I bought shoe touch-up dye (yes, the one that says do not use on suede) for a few dollars to see if my idea would work. Sure enough, a couple of coats of dye and his old, tan shoes are now charcoal and ready to wear for the holidays.

Here is a picture of him wearing is newly reDESIGNed shoes for his school play.

Creative, budget friendly gifts for all those extra people on the list

The holiday gift list seems to get longer and longer each year... Family, teachers, bosses, employees, the list goes on. So if only we had endless budgets to spread the cheer.

The REAL-ity is we must remain cheerful and get creative... And that is just what I was busy doing this morning.

These teachers gifts are a simple, practical and fun, not to mention extremely reasonable. I bought a multiple pack of clipboards from Office Depot . To be honest I wasn't crazy about the traditional brown, but sometimes we must let practical needs outweigh creative desires and in the end I think it turned out just fine. For the ribbon I relied on some of my existing resources and a 50% off sale at Michael's. Just create a layered bow, hot glue it to the clip (being sure to not interfere with the tip of the clip for functionality reasons) and then personalize as you wish. I used the teacher's names, but a simple generi message such as #1 teacher, would work just as well.

Have fun and be cheerful, because you can now cross a few gifts off your list!!

Using architectural salvage for holiday decor

Check out these creative ways to use salvaged pieces as part of your holiday decor.

I used a set of old shutters as a back drop for my back door, holiday vignette. Also notice how I have once again used those great 99 cent glitter letters from Walmart- love those!

Old windows seem to be everywhere these days, so why not use them in your holiday DESIGNs?! I used the Silhouette to cut out the Merry Christmas and holly. But once again paint pens or the great glass markers that I posted about last week, would also be great ways to create your own messages.

Sometimes a great idea finds you

Do you ever lay awake at night trying to think of creative new ways to reDESIGN something in your home?. I know that I do and some nights great ideas are born and others nights-nothing... but then every once in awhile a great idea finds you.

Take for instance this great antique cabinet, that some friends/relatives of mine were so kind to part with... This great vintage, glass sided, cabinet came from a local auction for a great price. However, not only is the overall piece great, but it displays an amazing and REAL-ly simple idea; use old sheet music to line the interior of a piece of furniture- brilliant! However, I am sure whomever created this antique method of decoupage many moons ago, did so out of lack of available resources or maybe they were way ahead of their time and knew what an amazing concept they were implying for the future. Either way the piece is beautiful and the concept magnificent. This is one piece that I will cherish for years to come and will willingly accept the reason I came across it; to share this brilliant idea with others and to continue this great technique on other furniture re-DESIGNs!

REAL easy, REAL inexpensive decorating idea

This is one of those ideas that you can truly use all year, for so many different reasons. We all have mirrors around our homes and we all love how much words have made there way into some of the most popular home decor items.

The use of glass markers allows us to utilize items we already have and incorporate our own words into our decor for an extremely low amount of money.

This glass marker is one of the best I have tried and is available at Michael's for just a few dollars. Use it on mirrors or windows to decorate your home for Christmas, New Year's, Birthday's or just for words of inspiration.

Here are a couple of examples, enjoy and be creative... The dictionary is the limit.

Outside re-DESIGN with draped burlap

Once again, the challenge I faced inside, of so many homes in so few years, has proved true for the outside. Reinventing my existing decorations to make the biggest statement with the smallest budget made way for some new creative resources. The biggest one and also one of everyone's favorites this year-burlap.

I bought the landscape roll of burlap from Lowe's. I priced it out for my friend's wedding and this is the most bang for your buck- $9.99 for a 24 foot roll. I would have loved to keep the original width, but with so much porch to cover I saved $ by cutting the width of the material in half and then draped it along the rail.

My other REAL budget idea was taking an old, stained holiday tablecloth and cutting it into pieces to drape over my existing chair cushions and pillows. Changing your pillows and patterned, year-round, cushions into holiday accents really competes a holiday transformation, but the cost of buying new just for the holidays can quickly add up.

More DIY holiday DESIGNs

I was busy, busy, last night creating a few more fun, easy and very reasonably priced holiday gifts/decor... Take a look at these fun ideas

Holiday mantel #2 complete

Well the second mantel is officially complete. In contrast the neutral tones of the living room, the dining room is full of sparkle and color.

I began collecting vintage Christmas ornaments while still in high school and over the years I have developed a rather large collection. The problem is, with two young children, a dog and a husband, the idea of them crashing off the tree to an explosive finale of a thousand pieces on the floor is unbearable! Therefore, I have found that the best solution is to display these colorful gems in glass jars. I complimented their sparkle by hanging large foil stars (from the Dollar Tree). T

The Christmas cards have arrived!!

With all of the great websites out there for easy upload, pre-formatted, holiday cards; I often wonder why I still insist on DESIGN-ing my own. Again, it is a tradition that mother started years ago when we were young kids and colored paper and photocopies were as glamorous as custom cards came.

I owe a lot of my inspiration and creative energy to my mother. Along with the self-inflicted, yet highly rewarding torture that goes along with keeping traditions REAL and not "fully" store bought.

What are some of the traditions that you still carry-on from your childhood?

More DESIGN-ing for the holidays

The holiday decorating continues to the foyer... Since we have spent the past four Christmases in four different homes, the task of decorating has been a much greater process this year. First, there is the challenge of not knowing where things should go and having to repurpose or rethink their past use for a new location. Next, we have the issue of time. As we removed bin after bin and box after box out of the shed my husband could only say, "another one?". So many bins full of items that we have accumulated over time (why can we not seem to throw away even one ornament?! Old, broken and reflecting the taste of years that we are glad have passed and yet we keep it). With so many different locations over the years, what were once clean, organized, bins, have become tangled piles of chaos. So not only am I decorating and re-DESIGN-ing, but purging as well.

With a new home we would love a new selection of holiday decor, but with REAL budgets, we are forced to reinvent and recreate... We must re-DESIGN our REAL-ity.

Garage Sales are a great REAL budget resources for your DESIGNs

I have been going to garage sales with my mother, since I was a young child. And even today that tortuous, early morning Saturday (I am not and never have been a morning person) is well worth the possible great find.

Growing up in Upstate NY great vintage items at extremely discounted prices were often easy to come by. Here in the South our sales tend to be dominated by clothes and kid's toys, but if you look closely and don't become discouraged by the endless Lee jeans and bald Dora dolls, you just might find some great items for your home.

This morning the kids and I woke up early, packed a bag of snacks and headed out to the sales. They have actually become great sign scouts and almost seem to look forward to the search as much ad their mother. Here are a few pictures of our finds. The old drafting chair I got for $5.00, the metal sculpture piece was a splurge at $10.00 but it makes such a great statement either inside or out!

Garage sales are a great resource for DESIGN-ing your home on a great budget. Just keep an open mind and allow yourself to see beyond the piles of "trash" to find your treasure!