Fun with Photoshop

I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to redecorate a stranger's home.  I looked online for a listed house that was unfurnished (easier to edit) and found this 1980 Texas split-level with amazing Mexican hex tile.  The same tile was used throughout the ground floor of my dad's hotel when I was growing up, and I always thought it was so cool.

Here are the original pics of the listing followed by my magic!

This would be such an inexpensive update!  Paint the walls a warm white, paint the built-ins (I had to just grab some image online because I couldn't figure out how to change the color of the wood), remove the mirrored wall and replace with some accent wall paper that mimics the geometric floor, replace the two ceiling fans with Mediterranean-style lighting and keep the stained molding.  I actually would totally keep the molding around the window too but it was too difficult to keep it in the edit.  I love the nailhead trim on the club chairs but the leather ottoman is weird in the light of day.  Maybe a big barn wood coffee table would be great.

 

Can't tell what you're seeing up there?  That weird wrought iron thing next to the stairs actually looks through to the floor of the kitchen.  I wonder if that was original to the house?  It's so strange.  Cover it up with a big ol' vintage map of Texas and maybe some wainscoting on the other side in the kitchen.

How great is the existing woodwork and the tiling on the wet bar?  I added the same geo wall paper to the inside of the bar and replaced the mirrored back with more decorative tile.  It's a little much but I had fun playing with it.  Maybe some colorful glass tiles with some metallics mixed in to mirror the aluminum bull skull on the opposite wall... I keep forgetting this isn't real life! :)

I just did this to pass time but it turned out so pretty that I had to share it!  Of course it's completely wonky and the later the night went on the more sloppy I got with the editing, but I'm so into this style that I just invented!  Does it have a name?

In love with my nursery!

BEFORE

AFTER!

It's funny – in some ways it's similar to the virtual nursery I made a while ago, but in other ways it's completely different.

I didn't put the finishing touches in there until a couple weeks after the baby came home.  I took a look around and instantly thought, "vintage!"  It wasn't really my goal, but it totally worked out that way and I love it.

Shall we take a tour?

This mirror came from my grandma's house.  My aunts gave it to me when she passed away.  It's made out of plastic.  I love the gaudy gold pop it gives the room.

The craft hoops are filled with leftover fabric I had after making the birds you'll see below.  The silhouette is of my mother-in-law at the age of 6, I believe.  I used a stamp to paint the face of that hamper, which I've had for a long time. If you can see the ivory pillow on the bed, that's made with with two Pier 1 napkins sewn together.  The little white shelf holds a bud vase of my mom's and my dad's silver baby cup and rattle.  The infamous sewing table sits beside the bed and is normally stacked with dirty bottles!

I spy a baby below!  Above her hangs my homemade mobile.  It turned out completely different than I intended, but I like the dimension that the branches add to the room.  I found the pattern for the birds here.

Like the crib skirt?  The look was inspired (stolen) from this website, but the pattern on that site made no sense to me.  A gal from high school emailed me a step-by-step of how she made hers, and I found that much simpler.  Not simple, but simpler.

This hand-stitched quilt is more than 60 years old!  It was my dad's.  It's pretty worn, but it's (mostly) clean and soft and has held together beautifully.

Here we have a gift from Kate's great-grandma, an owl from Pier 1 that I am obsessed with, and a little lamb from my friend that prays "Now I lay me down to sleep" when you squeeze it.  Kate doesn't sleep in the crib often.  Once she starts, I'll clear this stuff out.

 Here are my beloved grandparent photos!  I love the way the concept turned out, even though we're still missing one.  Workin' on that!

Austin made the little K above the dresser.  Before she was born I handed him a wooden block, a wooden K, fabric swatches, scrap paper, Mod Podge, paint, a staple gun and more.  He was instructed to do something -- anything -- to contribute a personal touch to the nursery. (Other than replacing that awful brass ceiling fan. PTL!)  He chose a sparkly gold knit to cover the block and painted the K yellow and gold.  Cute!  I wish the lampshade showed up in the photos.  It's killer.

And that's it.  What do you think?

Autumn wedding bells!

My beautiful, blushing friend Emily is tying the knot in an outdoor wedding this fall!  She has asked me to make the ring bearer pillow and we've talked about a couple other handmade things as well, including a bow tie.

I put together this little virtual inspiration board so I won't forget what we discussed.

The bridesmaid dresses will be made of a taupe/champagne Dupioni silk and the flowers will be a variety of bold autumn colors.  While looking up trims and fabrics online I happened upon a few plum options, which is one of the colors she mentioned loving.

I can't wait to get started!  It's really far in advance, but that gives me plenty of time to raise the white flag and offer to buy her something on Etsy :)

Free stuff free stuff free stuff!

Valspar is giving away 1,000 free paint sample kits each morning, starting at 9 a.m. CST.  I signed up for mine on Thursday or Friday and the FedEx truck just showed up!

I got so excited I attempted my first stop-motion movie.

I'm a sucker for pretty much any free stuff, but this might take the cake.  You get an 8 oz. sample of any color of paint (and don't think I didn't break out into mini-hives when it came time to choose), a miniature tray, roller and replacement roller head, and a $5 coupon for a gallon of Valspar at Lowe's.  They also sent an envelope with a bunch of complimentary paint colors.

I decided on a warm Birchwood White and the included paint chip looks really pretty!  The gob on my favorite pair of black pants, however, does not.  I wasn't being careful.  I was trying to hurry up and finish the stop-motion because the sun had already set and because I was sitting on the floor.  I'm too old to sit on the floor!

You'll also notice that the camera accidentally caught my hand a couple of times, and apparently my dog was standing there for a while and I didn't notice!  I thought about removing the snafus in Photoshop but that's just too much work.

According to my timestamps, I started taking photos at 5:54 and stopped at 6:09.  See?  Too long to be sitting on the floor.

Enjoy!

Call me strange...

Nearly every time I walk into the ladies' bathroom at work I get these Ke$ha lyrics stuck in my head:

I've got a sick obsession / I'm seein' it in my dreams

Why?  Because I have a sick obsession with this amazing piece of furniture sitting in the two-stall bathroom.  It's filthy – covered in dust (and who knows what else) but it's so beautiful!

It would be perfect in a hallway or even as a small sofa table, because it's only about 10 inches wide.  I do have enough personal restraint that I have not measured it.  I did open the doors (by pulling on the mismatched hardware, mind you) to see what kind of storage it offers, and my oh my do I regret that decision.  Let me tell you, Ke$ha probably has some creative lyrics about that kind of pot o' gold, too.  Not only does it seem that someone was tired of wearing her undergarment, it seems she decided to store it in the public bathroom for safe keeping.  I think I also spotted some hygiene products that aren't even in production any more.

But, moving past the Ugly of this Ugly Duckling...here's how I imagine it blossoming into a beautiful swan!  Can't you just imagine?  I can.  Remember, I'm seein' it in my dreams.

 

From Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss

For the birds

I hate real birds. I think they're pretty gross. It might have something to do with the terrible grackle infestation at my college and the abatement process that had me dodging 7-8 bird carcasses every morning on my way from Mozart Hall to the GAB.

I adore, however, this new bird silhouette trend that's taking over right now. I'm convinced it's a fleeting trend (groan), but that's not going to stop me from jumping on board. Check out this adorable baby's room chandelier on Living with Lindsay. I can't stand how much I love it.So I got the bird itch this week and flew to Hobby Lobby on my lunch break today (ok, I'll stop) to pick up some scrap book paper and some frames. I had a very specific color and pattern scheme in mind -- butter yellow, gray, stripe, damask -- but the selection just wasn't right. Did that stop me, though? Did I leave with a plan to see what Michael's had on my way home from work? No. I settled. But I think I'm happy with my selections and will leave you with these two inspirations that I plan to turn into something beautiful (well, acceptable at least).Ok, I'm also inspired by the real-life ground nesting bird that set up a nursery in my front yard this season brooding over her four adorable speckled eggs. She's actually pretty sweet, even though I feel she's taunting me. If those things hatch on Mother's Day I will be super peeved.

Most Boring Post Ever

I haven't been very creative lately. Right now I'm busy working on a video/slide show for my Confirmation class and another top secret video for this summer's Mariapolis retreat (top secret is actually a hint). So I guess maybe I've been creative in a sitting-in-front-of-the-computer-so-who-cares kind of way.

So, just for fun, here's a pretty, pretty Pier 1 pillow that I wish I'd been the one to design and sew and ridiculously overprice.