Steal this Idea*: Ribbon on Rollar Shades

Its Friday (yippee!) - time for another Steal this Idea* feature - a tiny show of appreciation for a well executed tutorial.

Today's idea is actually a two-fer of cheap and easy ways to elevate affordable store bought roller shades into tasteful decor. If you are a regular reader, you know how Im all about the cheap window treatments already but these two techniques are far more simple and classic.

The first comes from Elisa of What the Vita who added a gorgeous touch of orange to roller shades and took them to a whole new level. (I did something similar a while back in my guestroom but I like Elisa's version much better)



See what I mean? Read the whole how to over at What the Vita.


And the second is from a blog I've been reading since the very beginning and just happened to be the very same that inspired Elisa in the first place. None other than Janell of Isabella & Max Rooms. She used some simple rick rack to add a little pizzazz to her daughters room.


Read all about it over at Janell's place.

postscript: *When I say steal, I really mean borrow nicely and give proper credit!

**If you have an idea/tutorial you would like me to consider for a feature, email me. I'd love to see!

Boo: What's Brewing

I know, I know. It's still September and I'm really trying to hold myself back from non stop Halloween chatter until October but I do have a tiny sneak peek for the die hards.




Since Halloween falls on a Monday this year, I wasn't quite sure what to do in terms of a party. I went back and forth and ultimately decided to have a little party on Halloween itself and forgo a grown up only version on the Saturday before. In other words, the festivities this year won't be as big as the last few where Halloween has fallen on a weekend but we'll still be having people over, getting dressed up and decking the house out as usual. More to come next week.

30 Sucks Bouquet

Last week I came home to find a surprise box filled with martha stewart craft supplies. As someone who spends far too much time fondling craft supplies (I'm kinky like that), this was pretty much a dream come true.

Of course I wanted to try them right away and I had just the project. Completely inspired (or stolen!) by this project from sisters stuff that I ran into on pinterest, I got to work.



I started with two Martha Stewart colors (cloud and holly berry), these fabulous Martha Stewart paint dauber tops (that meant I didn't need to use any paint brushes - yea!), a small clay pot, some floral foam, 2 inch helvetica sign stickers purchased at Staples and a mix of tootsie roll pops and dumdums.




I did a very quick and rough first coat of the lighter shade on and let dry. Considered how little care and time I put in, I was happy with how it covered the clay and the color stayed true.

Using the sign stickers, I laid out the "30 sucks" around the clay pot.


Then switched the dauber from the blue color to the red and covered the pot in this bright shade. I let dry and then removed the labels to reveal the blue underneath the leters.




And there we are - a fun little surprise that will be left on a friends doorstep this week.



Shhh - don't tell her!

Little Room Complete!

In my nearly 5 years of Brooklyn Limestone, I don't think I've ever called a room really and truly finished before. There is always something I want to add or change. Well guess what? I'm calling one done.




Thanks to my favorite find at Brimfield, I'm feeling pretty happy with how my little room looks now. Sure, its not perfect. I never got around to getting a big glass top made (but I'm not sure I need it since I've been using it without for so long) but enough is enough.

Here it is before and during the renovation


Even though its tiny, I've put quite a lot of time (but not a lot of money) in making it what I wanted: A little bit old but feminine. If you missed the sporadic updates over the past few years, here are the cliffnotes: After we renovated, I had to beat back my internal slob, then I made a new friend, then I turned a found door into a desk workspace , hung a birdcage, laid a flor rug and finally, made an ephemera inspired window treatment.

Of course the ultimate irony now is that I'm fully planning on changing it up in here to solve card catalog "problem". That means the desk is going to get cut which means the art work has to change configuration (at least) and who knows what else I'll do in here. But that is definitely a 2012 project. Now if I could only feel as complete with the rest of the house!

Featured: Personalized DIY Art

The lovely ladies over at The Nest were kind enough to include my passport art project in their round up of 10 Personalized DIY art projects. Some really clever ideas in there - go check them out.


ps i made this ideas to steal alexa stevenson first time fancy and more!

The Good Mood Board {Master Bedroom Edition}

When Cassidy of Remodelaholic asked me to play along in her Good Mood Board challenge, I thought what could be more fun than imaginary decorating without budget constraints? So of course I said yes.

Since I kind of already love my master bedroom, I didn't want to start reimagining that so instead I came up with an alter ego who would just happen to have a pretty fabulous bedroom. She'd be single, live in a fabulous spacious rent controlled loft in Gramercy, have an obscene closet full of amazing shoes and clothes and spend lots of time traveling the world while living off a healthy trust but love to come home to lounge in her apartment entertaining all of her fabulous friends and lovers. Oh and her name is Ava. Can you tell I got into this just a tiny bit too much?

Ok, come on in.



So what do you think? I know I would not mind living here. How about you?

Now that you have seen whats lurking in my head, go on and check out the other lovely ladies who participated in the challenge and let me know what you thought of them all. Click on the banner below to take you to the next good mood board.

Photo Book 2010

Maybe this is a little crazy but I sort of miss the old days of having boxes of prints and albums to go through rather than having all of my photos organized on to my computer. I mean, logically I know this way is much better and cheaper in a myriad of ways but not having the actual prints in my hands to reminisce over is something I miss. Of course I don’t want to have boxes of prints all over the house either.

Last year I put my favorite 2009 travel photos into a blurb photo book (read more here) and was pretty pleased with the results. So come January of this year, putting a 2010 book together has been on my to-do list. Well it only took 9 months but its done. Sheesh. Speedy I am not.

Want to see what it looks like?

Away We Go 2010 | Make Your Own Book

You’ll notice I never quite got around to putting a book together of all my non travel photos. That is still very much on the to-do list but I’m going to combine a few years into one so I’m being even more lax on that side.

FYI: I'm not being paid to promote blurb (I can't even find a coupon!) - I just happen to like the product. But if you have other book printers you prefer or you use another way to organize your photos, I'd love to hear about it.

Brimfield Flea: The goodies

Maybe some of you were wondering just what I brought home with me from the mega flea market that is Brimfield.

I swear, I didn't mean to bring home a little school house collection but that is exactly what happened. I guess my preferences are rather predictable.



I spent a totaly of $92 for these treasures. I mention that because I as a lover of flea markets, I often wonder what people pay for their finds. Certainly some sellers want major bank and I'm almost always floored. Are there that many shoppers who dig through junk piles to pay top dollar? As I mentioned, I wasn't overwelmed by the deals on offer at Brimfield but there were some items at reasonable prices and this was my little collection.



My favorite find is this great old P. Derby & Co. chair. It will replace the Ikea chair in my little room. Don't you think this is a much better fit? And for $25 I could not go wrong.

The globe is going to the basement where Mr. L's 'man cave' awaits some serious attention. All in due time.

I'm thinking the tray will make it down to the shore to live on the coffee table or maybe even our dining room table?

The metal sign is for the hubs' office. Can you believe this very same sign was going for $275 at another booth? HUH?

And the giant ruler (longer than a yard) is going to be used for - gasp!- measuring fabric. Hard to imagine using something old for its intended purpose but I like to live dangerously. $5 seemed like a little steep but I just liked how it looked and how it was oversized so it seemed okay to go crazy with a fiver.

So what do you think of my goodies? For those that attended, what did you bring home?

Steal this Idea*: Monogrammed Mugs

Its Friday (yippee!) - time for another Steal this Idea* feature - a tiny show of appreciation for a well executed tutorial.

Today's idea comes from the amazing Gabby of Design Mom. Yea, thats right - she has 6 kids and a hugely popular blog. Impressive.

Since I don't have children, I don't normally stalk family blogs but this one is worth an exception. Its such a simple and great idea that can be repurposed a million ways.

She started with these plain mugs...


...put the family to work and made these:


Don't you want one?

Read all about it over Design Mom.

postscript: *When I say steal, I really mean borrow nicely and give proper credit!

**If you have an idea/tutorial you would like me to consider for a feature, email me. I'd love to see!

Yum, ugh, yum, ugh...

The other night, I totally ignored my long to-do list and decided to do something I have been wanting to try for ages. Make caramels! I admit that until recently I had a) never tasted a fancy caramel - it was those kraft squares or bust and b) didn't even realize I could make them at home. I thought they might be a good candidate for my Christmas mailing this year so why not give them a trial run?



The ingredient list is a bit scary - butter, corn syrup, brown sugar. Yes, you are getting fatter just looking at this post! I had fully planned on sharing the recipe and how I made them but I didn't get it quite right and they are too soft even though I boiled until the hard candy temp. I'll have to try anothe recipe.

And despite their issues, OMG - they are so delicious! I can't stop eating them. Ugh, yum, ugh, yum. So in other words: DO NOT MAKE CARAMELS. You will so regret it.

India?

Rarely do I experience as strong a reaction as when I share I tell someone I want to go to India. Everything from enthusiastic praise on the incredible shopping to dire warnings about terrible diseases I will contract to squinched up faces mixed with confusion. Everyone seems to have a strong view about the place.

On the outset, it seems like an amazing place to experience, photograph, and shop. Sign me up. I won't lie - the horror stories do give me pause but I'm still itching to go! I know lots of people who have been on business but that doesn't really compare to a proper vacation now does it?


This amazing photograph via travelshooters

So what do you think? Have you been? Have you blogged about it? Lay it on me.

And if you have any suggestions great shops, restaurants, sites in the Golden Triangle area, please share.

Brimfield bounty.

Guess where we spent this Friday and Saturday?? Exploring the seemingly endless tables at the mother of all flea markets in Brimfield Mass. To be honest, I didn't even know it existed until I started writing this blog and some of you alerted me to it years ago. I've always wanted to go but something had stopped me up until this weekend.



There is almost nothing I enjoy more than a good flea and this was not a let down. If it exists, it can be found here. Everything from complete junk that you wouldn't want to touch to high end furniture was all on display here.





More than buying I love to look - the displays, the collections, the styling, the good and the bad.



It wasn't all roses and sunshine. For one thing most items were too expensive but there were some gems if you looked hard enough. Some sellers were quite nasty (one nearly attacked me when I wanted to take a photo of her booth.), some were out and out fibbers (one claimed a mirror was from the 17th century when it was made out of plastic! Huh?)



All this is par for the course when it comes to thrifting so it didn't bother me too much. I did come home with a few treasures that I'll share with you in another post.




I hope to go back to Brimfield next year!



Who else was there with me?