Pirate Themed Room

I'm not a huge fan of rooms that are this themey but when I saw this nursery on {Design Dazzle} my mind started racing.
It's a total Pirate nursery, which is fine if you like themes. But what really got me was this ceiling:
Yeah, it's a treasure map.

How creative is that! It really got me thinking about playrooms. I mean, you could paint a floor like this in any playroom and it would be so much fun - and probably a lot cheaper than any other kind of flooring out there. Little boys would love this.

Travel Bags

{Katie Did} just posted about what she did to entertain her kids in flight. I think they're great ideas. My favorites are:
-NEW coloring books and NEW crayons, which are totally much better than used ones.
-their very OWN snacks individually wrapped in pretty paper, so as to take more time to unwrap them.
-their favorite book.
-dvds of home videos of them - kids love watching themselves, right!!??
And they carried all of these things in their own back packs. I love it. Check it out.

Bow Holder

I LOVE this idea from {Nannygoat}.
Get an awesome frame from a thrift store:

Spray paint it the color of your choice:
Hot glue ribbons to it about 2" apart at the top and bottom of the frame:

And look what you get!!!:

A cuter than anything I've ever seen bow holder!!

Oh, I just love it! Then, you just hang it in your bathroom. Nannygoat also hung boxes on the wall next to it to store ribbons in. What a cute idea.

Here is the tutorial on {Ucreate}.

The Perfect Livingroom

I have a hard time transitioning my home from Winter to Summer. In the Winter time I always want things to feel warm and cozy, so I use a lot of dark tones to decorate. In the Summer, I always want things to be light and airy, so I want light tones around. So, I'm a little conflicted because I want things to feel different in different seasons, but I don't want to have to redecorate all the time. Well, this room designed by Candice Olson is the perfect fit for me. I wish I could find other pictures of the finished room, but this is it. Although I don't love some things about it, like I could do without the huge TV, or at least have it hidden, and I'm not in love with a fireplace with no hearth or mantle, I still love the feeling of this room. I just love the mixture of whites and browns, of light fabrics and heavy fabrics. I think this room could really rotate well from season to season and year to year. It's light enough to feel good in the summer, but cozy enough to feel good in the winter. It will be my inspiration.

Keyboard Cake

I saw this on Party Perfect. What a cute cake idea! Candice Drew, the one who made it, said "I baked two cakes in 9x13 pans, then trimmed the edges to get the shape that I wanted. Placed them together end to end on the cake board, frosted the whole thing, scored the frosting with dental floss, then used kit kat candy bars for the black keys. VERY easy!" I'm in love with this idea!!

Master Bedroom Design Consultation

Here is a Master Bedroom Design Consultation I just completed. I use pictures that I get from my client - that sounds so official right! hah - and make a "drawing" so they can see what their room will look like once it's complete. This client was a little nervous about doing a brown bedroom, so it really helped her make the leap. She is still in the process of finishing the design, but I think this pictures look great so far and I'm so excited with how everything is turning out!

Before:

My Virtual Design:

After:

Before:

My virtual Design:

After:

Before:

My Virtual Design:

After:

Before:

My Virtual Design:

It has been so fun helping someone redesign their space! I have loved every minute! If you'd like help redesiging your space, click {here}.

Black, White and Red

I'm loving these images of creative spaces I saw on {White and Wander}

Something about black, white and red thrills me. Isn't that a cute clip board!? And those red paper clips are too cute in that jar on top of that adorable white shelf.

Love these black checkered curtains hiding organizational bins and drawers...with red labels of course!

I love those letters from Anthropology and that black cd storage tower is so cute!! I've never loved cd storage so much. Love the punch of red in the throw on the chair.
And this one is of course my fave. Look at that cute red storage!!! I love it! Especially with the black and white accents on those shelves. That red striped pillow is adorable on that white couch. And I lvoe the curtains hiding the area beneath the desk. So cute. I also love dark wood floors paired with so much white. This looks like such a fun space to work in.

Baby Food Lid Memory

I've posted some ideas for some memory games on this blog before {here} and {here}, but {Homemade by Jill} just had this great idea. And I like it because it's using something you would probably otherwise throw away. She made a memory game out of baby food jar lids. I love it! Why stop there, you could use jam jar lids, too. Very durable and cheap. :) Check out the link above, she has a PDF you can download if you want those shapes. I think it might be fun to put pictures of people they know in the lids. That would make a fun and personal memory game.

Pink Bedroom

Many times people try to achieve the pink room look but they completely overdo it and it turns out looking totally barbie, bubblegum, hot pink. They key is to use softer pinks, as Potterybarn did in this cute pink room. There are so many things I love about it. Let's start with the cute painted pink stripes. LOVE them, but I especially love how they're not on every wall, and they're not even on a full wall. There could easily be too much of them. But, they've done it right here. I also love the so so soft pink roman shades lining that beautiful bay window area. The canopy is really cute and I love that it's done in white. Not pink. That would have been a bit too much. I love how the bed and furniture is a cream color. It also softens the pink. The pink bedding is great. But what could be my favorite part, is the rose lamp shade. Oh my gosh! How cute is that!! Potterybarn doesn't sell it, but it looks so easy to make with ANY lamp, some white spray paint, some pink roses and some hot glue. Oh so cute!

Drop Cloth Drapes

{The Lettered Cottage} has a wonderful and cheap idea for tall drapes. Use painters canvas drop cloths! Why didn't I think of that!!? You just pick them up for $10 a piece at the hardware store along with a few of these curtain clips: They come in many styles, colors, and sizes.

Then you hook them up and get a curtain rod. Bam! Really nice long drapes with a very small price tag.





Or, here is another way to do it. This image is from {Lola B's} and this room is amazing, so click on that link and go check it out.




I believe she got these drapes from {Ikea} where they're only $20 for the pair of 96" long drapes. Pretty good deal. But, you could also make these using the drop cloth idea and just finishing the top off with tabs made from strips of the drop cloth. Easy and so chic!!

And lastly, here is a great tutorial from {A Penny Saved}. She made Roman shades out of drop cloths and a few other supplies.

So Potterybarn! And from the looks of the tutorial so easy!

Table Runner Pillows

{Thrifty Decor Chick} had this great idea.With this, she made this:

Aren't they cute!?

Great cheap idea. it seems like you could also do it out of placemats. So awesome!

Calm and Peaceful

These images are from Robb & Stucky. I just really like the feel of these rooms. This dining area looks so comfortable! I love the table setting. I love the flowers on the table and the limes at each place setting. Very summery and cute.
I also really like the transom windows. They let in so much light! And the beams on the ceiling in this living room are lovely! I love those two archways connecting the rooms, too. Doesn't that couch look so nice??! Great colors.

Side Table Make Over

Start with an old side table like this:

Add some this:

And some these:

So it begins to look like this:

And then screw these to the top:

Do you see where it's going yet? All you need is a little paint and a cushion and you've got a four poster doll bed.
Or cat bed...whatever. I think it's a pretty cute idea. See full instructions at {Junk Camp}.

Amazing Play Tent

Ok, this tent seen on {Ikat Bag} is just amazing!

It has it all, including very cute windows.

And drapes that can be drawn up.

Oh it's so cute! She did such a good job.

It even has a flower holder, and a room for their dolls.

Complete with a window, of course.

I can imagine this producing hours and hours of play time!! She even tells us how to do it. What a gal.