Freebie! Home sweet home printable

It's been a while since I have made anything free- and it's about time! Drum roll please.... Check out the "Home sweet home" printable! If you print it off I would LOVE to see how you used it! Feel free to repost... it is a great joy as an artist to see people spread the love!

Click here for the download!

Chalk Obsession

So my husband Greg laughs at me. I admit it. I am obsessed. I love chalk paint. This is my latest creation:I spray painted a 1970's framed print. Yup, spray painted the whole thing! I like the thick molding on this frame and I thought it would be fun to be able to add cute dashes and chalk all around it.

DIY Earring Holder

Behold, the vintage shutter. A.K.A.-- earring holder.

Picked this beauty up for about $3 at a local antique dealer. I knew exactly what to do with it when I bought it- earring holder. I kept it as-is with it's well worn scrapes and bruises, that is of course the beauty of buying antique. Although, I made one modification- I hot glued one of the shutters so that it wouldn't flip down when I hung my heavy earrings on it.

This is one of those five min projects that you can do to add a little spruce to your earring displays. You could also replace the knob or hot glue a vintage cameo or button over the current knob.

My previous "earring organization" was a couple of cardboard jewelry boxes. But sweet earrings like this shouldn't be thrown in a cardboard box! They deserve the royal treatment.

Definitely a fun project to do over the weekend. Your earrings have been waiting for this kind of treatment!

Drawers as decor

Two of the girls at the non-profit my husband and I founded made these adorable drawers into some amazing decor! They picked up knobs from anthro and purchased the drawers for $2 each. Add some chalk paint and a little pizazz and voila! Something amazing happens!

The week has gotten away with me

Ahhhhh!!  I have so many things to post!  I made a cute downloadable party favor for you- I just haven't had ANY time to post!  Blogging is a fun hobby of mine, and I try to be faithful to post regularly- there are just a few days a year that no matter HOW HARD I try- with the business, the non-profit, the humanitarian projects, the internship and the laundry-- there is NO free time.  I know excuses, excuses.  Wasn't it Ben Frankin who said, "He who is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else?"  

The nice thing is that the other things that I am involved in are very rewarding and I enjoy it very much.  I'll try to squeeze in a few posts before I leave to Panama, otherwise you may not hear from me until July.  However, you can follow what I and my group are doing in Panama here. 

{Photo via here}

One quick thing, and then off to my whirlwind day.  I love this little closet office.  I once had an office in my closet when I was 13.  I had a picture hanging in it and one day my best friend knocked it over and it split my leg open.  I begged my family not to take me to the emergency room.  I still have a nasty scar on my knee from it. 

Have a fab day.  

More Grey Interiors

Been really drawn to interiors with grey colors in them lately.  I'm typically not a grey person, my husband doesn't really like it either- but it's fun to look!  

Check out the website of designer Heather Bullard here.

{Seen via Tha Hotness}

What about you guys? What decor colors are you drawn to this season? 

Grey interiors

{Seen Via Apartment Therapy}

Sawadee Kha!

I thought it would be fun to post some photos of this bathroom I saw at the Marriott resort when I was in Thailand in 2008.  

I love the exotic elephants, the rocks in the sink, and the yellow glow from the lighting.  The one part of this bathroom that I wish you could experience is the lemon grass oil that they had burning.  It was so aromatically ammmmmmazing. 

{That's me!}

 Don't you love to travel and experience the different sights and sounds of other cultures?   When Greg and I were staying in Thailand we had the chance to cross off one of our Top 100 and get side by side massages at a resort.  

They had vats of rose petals that they washed our feet in, cozy robes and little orchids that they placed in turquoise bowls under our massage table.  

If you ever get the opportunity to go to Thailand, make sure you check out the Marriott.  Bye-khona-kha! (That's bye-bye In Thai.) 

Leaves on the walls

Have you seen these walls?  These leaves are super trendy and oh-so-cute.  Check out the rest of the post here on Apartment Therapy. 

Some pretty things to look at

Today seems more like a Monday to me than a Wednesday.  I am oh-so-busy today!  There is so much to be done for our upcoming Panama trip. This time of year is one of my busiest.   I had to take some medicine because I have been fighting some major allergies, so I definitely feel better but allergy meds always make me feel soooo sleepy. I wouldn't mind relaxing in this renovated factory in Melbourne.  Doesn't this look so relaxing? 

A few more shots of the lovely renovation: 

The rest of this post is gratuitous eye candy.  Pretty rooms like this make me smile!  Lovely bathrooms seen via Brabourne Farm: 

Aren't these cute little birds nests?

{Via Decor8's Etsy Take five Tuesday}

Well, my dearlings, I hope that you all have the most lovely of days today! Comment and let me know what your plans are for this wonderful Wednesday that seems more like a Monday to me!

Sisal vase wrap

My dear sweet husband brought me home three roses last week and I am a stickler for trying to make his gifts last {Read this post if you haven't already}.  So, I decided to place a few of the ferns that we usually throw out into some old vintage bottles that I had laying around.  Then I spotted a sisal wrapped vase in one of my favorite catalogs  and decided to try to make my own.  Here are the directions friends on how to make your own sisal wrapped vase. 

First: the supplies. Sisal, scissors, and scotch tape. 

Next, wrap the sisal one time around the vase and knot. You will need to leave one end with about 6-8 inches of sisal.  Tape to hold it into place. 

Pull the loose end down to the bottom of the vase and tape. 

Continue to wrap the sisal around the vase. 

Once you have wrapped the sisal around the middle of the vase and it is the desired thickness that you like, tie the end to the bottom piece of sisal that you taped.  

Voila!  A lovely table arrangement for you to enjoy!  Simple and lovely. 

P.S.  The flowers that Greg gave me which inspired the post!

Indoor branches

Love this photo with indoor branches. 

{Photo above and below via desire to inspire}

I am a big fan of indoor branches and I have a few placed inside my own home. I found this one while driving.  It was just sitting forlornly in a parking lot. I whipped around the corner and popped it in my trunk.  {Placed inside my home office}

I snagged these bittersweet branches while driving to work one day.  They were growing over a fence.  I grabbed a set of clippers and a trash bag and made some lovely thanksgiving decorations with them.  Bittersweet will dry and hold their color for about two years.  {Photo taken in my living room}

Below is my favorite branch find of all times.  We had a big ice storm a few years back and the result was thousands of fallen trees.  I grabbed this one in a pile on 91st and Garnette.  I just drove over to the side of the road and started rummaging through this pile of branches.  I can't explain it, but it was almost like the branch was calling me.  (Now I sound a tad bit crazy!) It was the perfect addition to the living room. 

Photo Wall

Really like the contrast of the grey wall with the white photo frames.   

{Seen via alkemie}

Swing time

What a cute swing from hen and hammock .

Summer time

Love these breezy curtains that I saw on brabourne farm. (BTW- this is one of my new favorite blogs.  You gotta check it out!) These breezy curtains just  make this the perfect place to relax and enjoy the fragrant winds of spring! 

Lovely Laundry

{Photo's via Apartment Therapy}

Eye Candy

I don't know about you, but I had the most wonderful weekend.  I felt like I spent the entire time outdoors, which was lovely.  (Picnicking, reading in the grass, walking the lake, meandering through the country daydreaming about what it would be like to live there.) To pile blessings atop another- I don't even have to head into the office today!  We are preparing for a large trip to Panama which we leave for in less than a month, so we decided to pause all of our office work for one day and float the river with all of our interns. It will be a blast. 

Love these light infused looks and just had to share some Monday morning eye candy: 

{Seen Via Desire to Inspire}

Check out these tea cups from Mika 78

{ photo: shopscad }

Have a lovely Monday, get lots of work done with a smile on your face! Oh, and comment here and tell me what ya did this weekend!