Keeping Calm & Carrying On

Styling a Shelf

Decorating at home is definitely one of my favorite things to do. Because I have so many different styles that I love I tend to move things around and switch things up often. Plus, over the past few months I've enjoyed printing wedding pictures and scattering them throughout our home.

 

 

I bought this beautiful bookshelf from Pottery Barn a while back and have been holding off on mounting it, because it came with a bunch of heavy duty hardware. The shelf itself is almost 10" deep and weighs more than 15 pounds for sure. Once I got it leveled off I collected pieces for it. Amongst the engagement and wedding day photos is a painting I purchased in Puerto Rico a couple of years ago; A destination Steven and I have both enjoyed and a place where some special friends that mean a lot to us live. It's a wonderful reminder of those times and those friends as well.

A vintage camera, a flower frog and some flowers inside a painted mason jar added a pop of color. The shelf is hung in our front living room, above the sofa. I love the fresh light that comes in from the large windows on the west side of the house. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

DIY: Altered Kitchen Pin Board

I purchased a burlap push-pin board with a boring white-was wooden frame at my local Marshall's/Homegoods store recently and wanted to jazz it up for the kitchen. I thought it would make a great memo board for Steven & I because we don't have anything like it yet except for all the crazy things stuck to the fridge as reminders. I forget to take a "before" photo, but you get the idea...it was just the white frame with the burlap inset.

Here's the finished product hanging in our kitchen now. I "junked it up" with a bunch of embellishments and incorporated colors used throughout the house in my decorating and painting. First I used the new Pony Dictionary patterned Sienna alphabets (chipboard from Bella Blvd) and spelled "S-M-O-K-O-V-I-C-H" along the top, centered and distressed with some brown chalk ink. Added plenty of hot-glue and wham bam!

I've been holding on to this old lacey table cloth I bought a while back from Goodwill. I loved the netted-texture of it and knew I'd find a use for it at some point. So I cut a few strips of it, along with a couple paper doiles and hot glued them down as my bottom layer. Next, I hit up my scrapbooking stash of Prima and Bella BLvd flowers and buttons. The hot glue gun became my best friend as I layered chipboard, paper and fabric flowers and buttons atop one another in the upper right hand corner of the board.

About three quarters of the way down I wanted to make the board appeared wrapped. So I cut another very long strip of the netted table cloth and tied a bow along the left front-side. Then, because I have a lot of turquoise in the house I added another wrap of Prima's floral ribbon. Then I went to town again, "junking it up" with lots of flowers, and a Jillibean Soup stick pin too :)

One more small cluster near the middle of the board is glued down and not going anywhere ...

The cluster of 3 flowers (Brown ones are Bella Blvd Blooms A Bella with Bella Blvd wooden buttons in the center) and the canvas printed photo of Steven and I (left) are secured to the board. This picture will also be on the board, forever and ever! 

Believe it or not, the most tedious part of this DIY project was creating these button tacks. I picked a bunch of small Bella Blvd buttons from The Button Market and threaded them all with embroidery floss and/or Twine. Then I hot-glued them to the tops of flat white thumb tacks. So cute, right?! Now, even if there is nothing pinned to the board, the button tacks are sweet little embellishments! So, what do you think?! Next time your scouting out pieces for your home, think about how you can change it up, what you can add to it----or even what you can takaway to make it unique and your very own little creation!

New Feature: Around the House

Because one of my passions is decorating, I thought it would be fun to create a new feature around here where I can show you bits and pieces of the home that is soon-to-be ours. Just last week I shared a D.I.Y project, Wall Art, that showed a glimpse of the kitchen-that post could have easily been shared within this feature as well.

So...welcome to "Around the House" where I'll share with you home decor, color ideas, transformations, season decorating and more! This time of year it's always fun to change out the decor inside a home as we transition from Halloween, to Fall/Thanksgiving and then to Christmas. I've been collecting these little pets for quite some time waiting for fall to bring them out to play!

Meet my assortment of Owls. They sit on a ledge just above the kitchen sink and make for a happy little display of fall colors and different textures. The green one is actually a candle holder, although I have yet to light it.

That one on the far left is actually a Halloween owl by Pier 1 Imports; Instead I paired him up with the others in different colors to create a fall family instead of spooky Halloween. Don't they make you happy!? In case you're wondering, the others came from TJ Maxx, Marshalls and a random find at my local Sendiks food store a while back in the gift/season section.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

DIY: Wall Art

It's been a while since I've shared a Do-It-Yourself project around here, and today I have a relatively simple one that is great to decorate your home with: Canvas Wall Art.

Here's my final wall---in my kitchen. The 7 block pieces are all handmade wall-art. Then I added just two accents: a fabric covered "S" from Anthropologie and the vintage colored clock from Francescas.

First step is to hit up your local Michaels or JoAnns craft stores for the 1" Deep gallery wrap canvases. I prefer these deeper canvases because they have a classier, more finished look to them.  These are the canvases I used. I found them at my local Michael's Crafts. They come in a huge array of sizes which is fun, and is a great time to use a 50% off coupon from a weekly advertisement.

 

Step Two: Order matte photographs in corresponding sizes and get them printed out. I also designed some of them like the one you see above with my soon-to-be last name, and the one below made a cute quote for a home. Get those printed. Note: If you are printed yourself at home, be sure to use a matte, watter soluble photo paper so that when modge-podging later the ink doesn't bleed.

Step 3: Easy Peasy. Buy a large bottle of matte finish Modge Podge (also at Michaels) and some cheapy foam brushes. Add modge podge to the naked canvas, then to the back of your photo/print. Next, lay your photo/print on top of the canvas and modge podge some more. If you aren't familiar with modge podge it is basically watered down glue. It will dry clear. Trust me. The fun thing about it is it does dry with the brush texture/direction that you use. I love this sealed, handmade texture it leaves on the finished product. If you look closely you can see the streak-style sheen on the canvas above where the light hits it.

Step 4: Allow time to dry. The more modge podge you coat over your print/photo the longer it will take to dry. Once dry use some of your favorite mix and match paint colors and finish by painting the sides/edges of the canvas. I also like to brush a simple, messy frame along the edge of the photos/prints too. Allow time to dry and the pieces are complete! I've made several of these around the house, but this kitchen wall is the most recent! What do you think? Is it easy enough for you to give it a try?

DIY: An Art Fair Project

It's that time of year, when my sister and my nieces call me up for help with the grade school's annual Art Fair projects! It's secretly something I love...probably even more than the kids do. ha!

This go-around, it was Madelyn's turn, and trust me I know how these things go. The fourth graders show up with these MIRACULOUS projects that "they did all by themselves." You mean to tell me that you hand-cut, carved and painted that wood bird house? I don't think so. I know that YOU KNOW what and who I'm talking about!

So, it's important to me that this project is completed BY MADELYN, on her own!

YARN LETTERS! LET'S MAKE YARN-WRAPPED LETTERS!

This was such a great project for her to do because it requires TIME and patience. Plus, you can do this anywhere anytime. Madelyn has been looking for things to decorate her room with and so we bought brown paper mache letters from our local JoAnn Fabrics store, spelling out her name.

We brought her pillow case with us to JoAnns and picked out perfectly matching colors of yarn for each letter.

Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, one roll of fluffy plush yarn can cover 1-2 letters.

So we went shopping together and I sent her home, giving her ONE WEEK (that's one letter a day) to wrap all her letters and with yarn and told her after they were done we'd get together again and "embellish" them.

So just a few nights ago she came over with her letters all wrapped up and I had pulled out a bunch of scrapbooking cotton and paper flowers from my stash including Bella Blvd's Blooms A Bella flowers, some handmade Etsy embellishments I purchased a while ago and some Prima paper roses...all that coordinated with her color scheme.

After the hot-glue gun was all warmed up, we worked together (so that no flesh was burned in the making of these darling letters) to cluster them together and glue them on. 

After the Art Fair they're going to look so adorable on a shelf in her bedroom, don't you think?!

Sock Monkey Mommy's Day: Part 2

Earlier this week (On Monday) I reveal Part 1 of the Sock Monkey Mommy's Day I hosted for Allyson, who's a expecting her fourth little girl.

Welcome to Part 2. Today I'm going to share with you all the details of the dessert buffet, and some fun group photos we took towards the end of the party.

That's me, Maxine the Mommy Sock-Monkey, and the Guest of Honor-Allyson. Gotta love the props for the photos, right?! We couldn't help but give some Monkey Kisses ;)

In the dining room everything was about desserts, desserts, desserts. I planned ahead for candies that matched Allyson's sock-monkey color scheme, ordered cupcakes from Gigi's and even packaged some munchies to go!

The secret to a good candy buffet is: it's all in the details. To each jar I added ribbon or tulle, and a paper label (printed and then punch with scrapbooking punches). At the far left end of the buffet are clear bags and ties for guests to make a treat bag to take home with them, and for their kiddos too.

I've been collecting apothecary jars for a couple  years now, so I'm always all set to rock-and-roll for a party like this...I just have to search out the perfect candy contents. Another tip: It's nice to have packaged candy inside the jars. It makes for easier, mess-free clean up. I've learned this the hard way a few times! I tried to do my best with monkey-themed things like Animal Crackers, Monkey licorice stix, tootsie rolls, Sour Monkey Tails.....and more.

It's important ot urge everyone to make a treat bag, otherwise I can solemnly promise that you will be eating and snacking on candy for weeks to come because it will be sitting around your house.

I designed some Hershey Bar wrappers and came up with these "Monkey Bars" :)

These mini chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes were heavenly, even better than I imagined. I created fun little cupcake sticks by printing some of the elements I designed for the invitation, punching them out with a circle punch, and  popping them back-to-back on top of a toothpick.

I couldn't help but make some puppy chow, or "Monkey Chow" as I re-named it. Because it's such a powdered sugary, messy treat, I pre-bagged them all and created some paper toppers by folding over (covering the zip-lock) some of my Sophisticates patterned papers and finishing off with a "Monkey Chow" paper seal. 

These were great grab and go kinds of treats. Last but not least I wrapped the water bottles with some paper wraps I designed.

 A couple weeks ago I shared an Instagram photo of my Nana and I working on a fabric project. Well, the fabulous seamstress that she is helped me hem-up the pink gingham table runner you see above, and also helped be sew these adorable little fabric pouches that were goodie bags that each guest left with on their way out...

I found the directions and tutorial via Pinterest, by Martha Stewart. I picked up the fabrics at my local Walmart's fabric section and bought some travel size lotions and hand sanitizers from Bath and Body works for each guest. These fabric bags are super re-usable too! I love them!

Three generations....Grandma, Daughter and Baby on the way....

A good friend from Canada even scheduled a trip to Milwaukee just so that she could be here for Allyson's Mommy Day! Allyson and I had a great time showing Jennifer around Milwaukee throughout the weekend!

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful friend like Allyson. She truly is a super awesome friend, an organized mommy, and a great wife too. I only hope someday I can juggle everything like she does in her household!

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and following along.

With a career & business that has a very demanding (& revolving) task list, it's important that I am able to keep myself truckin' along. As a result, welcome to the next edition of "What makes me tick Tuesdays" where I share glimpses into what keeps me sane and brings me happiness.

Today's Tick:

Decorating, I love Decorating.

It's been a long-time in waiting, ever since Steven bought his first house a couple years ago we have been wanting to re-model the main bathroom. I am so excited to say PROJECT COMPLETE!

Today I'm going to share with you from beginning to end the remodel. Here is the official "BEFORE photo". I love using my fish-eye lens for photos like this! What were the bathroom's problems? 

Problem No. 1: Ugliness

Problem N. 2: Cracked floor tiles

Problem No. 3: Scary "peep" window above the toilet...just weird, right?! 

Problem No. 4: De-colored (yellowing) plastic shower-surround and hideous white and navy wall-tilling.

Problem No. 5: Leaky tub faucet

Problem No. 6, a result of previous no. 5: Rusted tub.

So a few weeks ago we hired John Bieringer of C&J Services to demolish and remodel the bathroom!

And the demolition was underway...

It was pretty crazy how quickly everything came apart. I soon became one of "those neighbors" with a toilet sitting in the garage ;) The tile was ripped out and the flooring too. Then the drywall was re-patched.

Then the old tub and shower surround game out.

And then the fun part began.....the new shower surround tiles were placed...and the new tub was installed too...

So exciting...it couldn't get done fast enough...I loved coming home from everyday to see what was "new". Then the piece of the puzzle that inspired this entire project was laid.....

The Penny tile flooring! I was inspired by so many bathroom pictures I found on Pinterest with penny tile. I loved how this old-vintage flooring is still trendy and used today! That's where all the inspiration and planning started.....around that flooring!

Then the tape was removed and the grout was added in the shower. A "new task" for me was choosing faucets and shower heads, etc. I've never shopped for those things before and definitely learned a lot from the knowledgeable employees at my local Home Depot. They advised me to skimp and cut corners on costs of certain things BUT NOT shower heads. Because I'm a girl that NEEDS strong water-pressure because of this thick head of hair ;) we spent the money and bought Kohler. I must say: worth. every. penny.

I was finally beginning to see the room transform as the shop-vac cleaned up the dust, the texture and then paint color was added tot he walls, and the custom-built vanity was placed. The bathroom is very narrow, so in order to get us as much storage space as possible John helped us get this vanity made to fit within the door-swing/opening. I got that mirror on clearance at Kirkland Home for only $39.99....steal of deal, right?!

I picked out fun decorative knobs at my local Anthropologie, and then the counter top was measured, cut and installed along with the lighting and toilet.

woot! woot! So exciting!

I've heard that a lot of people have buyer's remorse after remodeling and/or doing large scale projects like this. Not me, let me tell you!

If anything, it has made Steven and I feel EVEN MORE CONFIDENT with our decision to remodel. We love the new bathroom. As spoiled as I am, we even installed a small tv for me...because I love watching The Today Show in the morning as I get ready and am usually blasting the volume on the living room TV so that I can hear the interviews as I get ready for work. 

Well, no more of that this little bad boy is going to be wonderful once Direct TV comes to hook it all up ;)

I'm still searching for the perfect shower curtain. I want a yellow chevron patterned one....anyone have any references or suggestions????

I'm accenting the aqua wall-color with yellow and hot pink. I picked up those pretty plush towels at Anthropologie as well.

Added some reading material ;), a clock (so that I'm always on time) and some of my fragrances to the counter-top decor!

We added two small IKEA shelves and decorated with artwork, flowers and more. It's pretty amazing how quickly something like this can transform with the help of a great team. All in all, the project took about 3.5 weeks. It probably would have been a bit quicker, but Steven and I were in Puerto Rico for a week and the "house was closed" ;)

Here's a couple more before and afters:

What do you think?

Sock Monkey Mommy's Day: Part 1

That I love to host parties and get-togethers?

Recently my girlfriend, Allyson, found out she was pregnant with her fourth baby girl! Can you believe it, four girls! Wow! I am so happy for her and know she probably doesn't need anything, especially a baby shower....so instead I threw her a "Mommy's Day."

Allyson's baby has been named Alayna and Allyson has been brainstorming and creating a beautiful baby's bedroom for her with a sock-monkey theme....so what better way to celebrate that with a Sock Monkey themed Momm'ys Day! Here's the invitations I created and mailed out:

Today is Part 1 of the Sock Monkey Mommy day where I'll reveal the decorations and games we played. Let's start here at the front door!

I've been collecting sock monkeys from here, there and everywhere for the past three months knowing I was going to throw the party. I found this super cute idea on Pinterest to wrap styrofoam wreaths with yarn. It was time-consuming but not strenuous to do at all while catching up on Days of our Lives and the NCAA tournament.

There's the mommy, Allyson ;) Dresses perfectly in matching colors ;)

I created three different wreaths, in three different sizes and the colors that match Alayna's nursery. Post-party all the decor and props were gifted to Allyson.

I had so much fun with the yarn that I made paper mache wrapped yarn letters too spelling

A-L-A-Y-N-A, but I don't seem to have taken any photos of them....crazy!

When guests arrived they were greeted by "Mommy Maxine" and her sock monkey babies. The invitations asked everyone bring some funky socks for Allyson, because she's a funky sock collector! She went home with this big basket of cute and adorable socks from everyone.

As my usual parties, it's nice to help out the "guest of honor" by having everyone self-address an envelope for the thank-yous she'll have to send later....

I found that super fun springy monkey pen at Pier 1: great little detail, huh?!

The house was decorated with sock monkey babies.

Because shower games aren't always the most fun, I just limited it to one game with two different rounds. We played Scattegories based on the popular family game, using the letter "A" (Alayna) in round one, and the little "M" (Meinholz-last name) for round 2.

Most everyone participated and two monkey-themed prizes were given out to the winners with the most points (Monkey/Banana salt & pepper shaker from Pier 1, and a Monkey patterned photo album that I snagged at Target!)

I designed fun little game papers, printed them out and even the Mommy-to-be got to play too!

Allyson opened several sock-monkey themed gifts from onesies to hats and this beautiful handmade quilt by her Alayna's Nana. I definitely learned a lot at this party---it makes sense to have a theme. It gives family, friends and guests inspiration for gifts....and Allyson received some awesome sock-monkey themed gifts!

This ends Part 1 of the party. I hope you'll stop back on Friday (May 4th) to see part 2 which includes several pictures from the dessert buffet and friends/group shots!

Here's a sneak peek of the dessert buffet that I'll reveal on Friday...

See you soon!

Shadow Box

I take no credit for this beautiful embellishment shadowbox. Isn't it delicious? One of my girls (Therese) put this together for the Bella Blvd CHA Booth display in January. The wonderful perk of owning the company is I get to keep fabulous creations like this!

It's currently in my scrapbook room at home waiting for a beautiful place to be hung. I just am in love with the new buttons, crochet flowers & stick pin flags!

Create some home decor with your random goodies! I dare you.

An Awesome Birthday Gift!

Look what I got for my birthday a couple weeks ago!

I'm in love with this fun little gadget, the Instax Mini 7S! On Christmas Eve my Uncle Gary appropriately named it "The Marshmallow Camera". So that's what we call it now!

I decided to make it an Instax Christmas and picked up a bunch of film at American Eagle for 40% off and enjoyed every minute of it this past week!

For those of you that haven't seen this camera in stores....it's Fuji's version of a Polariod but it takes "mini" photos! It operates on batteries and the photo dispenses vertically out of the top of the camera right after you take the photo.

I took lots of pictures with my Instax....check 'em out!

Now...what to do with theis fun stack of photos?! I've been searching Pinterest and found these cool ideas:

I could create a fun little mini book! (photo credit) or...

Clip them in a fun-colored hallow frame! (photo credit)

Check this pretty one out!

(photo credit)

or.....check out this amazing-ness!

(photo credit) This is crazy awesome!!!!!

If you haven't bought one of these I honestly DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WAITING FOR! It's so much fun....and if you have a hard time getting people to take pictures, this marshallow camera seems to cure that problem! Everyone seems to be so intrigued by it's uniqueness that they'll smile for you....even the little stubborn kiddos!

More cuteness coming soon!

A Beautiful Holiday Centerpiece

First off, I take absolutely NO CREDIT for this beautiful handmade centerpiece idea today! Just for the record.

On my birthday my dear friend Allyson walked in to surprise me with these beautiful roses.....with a handmade touch! Look at what she glued around the entire vase?! Omg....in love....and they are pink! 

I'm totally using it this weekend as my Christmas Centerpiece! What a great gift!

Allyson said it was pretty easy (once she got all the pink candy canes!), she just hot glued on a low temperature setting one-by-one and tied with a ribbon wrap. You still have time to make yours!!!!! Are you ready for Christmas?

LOCK DOWN

That's what I like to call my life these days. Do you know why? Because I'm in hiberation until I finish designing new products for Bella Blvd! It's the hap-happiest season of all!

I must confess: I am much more creative at night! Wish me look and send good creative juices my way! Poor Baby Mio is stuck working with me too! (He looks kind of annoyed, huh?!)

One more quick thing before I leave....today over at Bella I'm sharing a SUPER QUICK & EASY home decor idea! Stop by to check it out, but here's a peek for now!

Ciao ciao for now! Hugs...

New Feature!

Introducing another new feature I'd like to bring you regularly around here ;) Sometimes little projects.... & other times *larger than life* projects; I often am inspired to create something handmade. I hope this feature will inspire you to be creative, handy and thrify too ;)

When I saw these on Pinterest a while back I knew it would make a *great* project to do with my nieces and nephew! I was waiting for the right time!

I always think the "perfect Thanksgiving decor" is really hard to find. There's plenty of pumpkins and pilgrims, but nothing really "beautiful" that I'm proud to put around the house...at least that I've found so far.

Each year at Thanksgiving....the kids really enjoy helping prep the food, set the tables and be my little helpers, so we plan a sleepover the night before our big feast so we can get evetything ready, and wake up early to stuff the bird and get 'em in the oven! One of the challenges during the holidays is only having ONE oven. So, while things were baking we needed something to do! What a perfect time to create some Thanksgiving decor!

First, stop at your local craft supply store and pick up these brown paper mache letters, spelling out a holiday word, your family's last name, etc. (We bought ours at JoAnns Superstore). Then choose an array of yarn colors that coordinate with the holiday color scheme you are planning. I also purchased some stick pins to start and end the yarn with.

It's a fool-proof DIY project actually. I mean, there's NO WRONG way to wrap yarn around paper mache letters! It's a great idea for all ages!

Begin wrapping!

Keep in mind Carson is only FIVE years old.....he loved this because he could do everything that the big girls were doing too!

The corners are a bit tricky...need to be a bit more patient on those!

But some letters (like the "T" above) are super quick and easy.

Layer, Layer and layer. Keep wrapping, every which way!

I love the texture of the finished letter.We used stick pins to complete the strand of yarn. (You can see one in the photo above on the pink letter "A" near the bottom.) From far away you can't even notice them!

The letters made for great Thanksgiving Day decor on the mantle! Now I'm thinking about Christmas..........what word to use.....

wish

merry

ho ho ho

Any suggestions?

A Wedding Gift

Several months ago Jasmin called me up and asked if I'd help her with a project for her wedding. How could a girl so no? Of course, anything I could do to help! So we got together and she explained the idea for this Wedding Tree Canvas.

She brought all the supplies and we searched google and Pinterest for inspiration. Instead of a guest book for people to sign, instead they would choose a paint color and leave their thumbprint, creating a leaf on the tree.

She planned it just perfectly by choosing paint colors to match the living room in her house. 

Knowing exactly where it would go in her home.

You can see my blue thumbprint in the finished canvas below. I had to test it out early ;)

Then, Jasmin sent me this one post-reception. After "leafing" a thumb print, guests signed their names around their leaves. Here's the finished product:

I heard the wedding was perfect. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it, but am glad I was able to give Jasmin and Jed a handmade wedding gift that will last a lifetime like this! Thanks for thinking of me Jazz, and for inviting me to be a part of your beautiful day!

 

Wants vs. Needs

I want a new kitchen.

I need a new bathroom.

One might say, well you should get married & move-in first before remodeling Steven's house. But the truth is who wants to get engaged and move in to a house, then begin remodeling a kitchen? Seems a bit backwards to me, because then we won't be able to use the kitchen, cook dinner or host anything for weeks, even months until the project is done. So, I've been obsessed with Pinterest watching for great Kitchen ideas including color, flooring, white cabinets, etc. etc. These are some of my faves.

Of course I love the pink. Don't know if Steven would let me pull that off, but I also love the ruffle details on the cabinets.

Lately I'm all about color. color. color. I want to add more color to Steven's home. So far I've decorated in a lot of neutrals, adding pops of colors with pillows, etc. The photo above just makes me happy. It's a bit too punky-brewster for me, but it does cheer me up!

Now this is what I'm talking about! White cabinets!!! That's what I really would love......

Love this idea of implementing some color into the kitchen. And check out that ceiling...oh, if I had a million dollars!

Love love love the cabinets and the butcher block island top....

If I had TWO million dollars I'd add stone....omigosh I adore it....remind me of vintage modern, like Anthropologie. I'm definitely leaning towards these white/gray marbleized granite countertops. 

Lots of storage solutions in the kitchen above...so organized!

Do you have any suggestions or advice on a new kitchen? Steven and I are hoping to get this project underway sometime in the next twelve months. I'll be sure to keep you posted.