DIY Advent Calendar

Christmas is upon us! This year things are a little tight but I managed to get our Advent Calendar up and ready before the first.

I went with a simple, colorful design this year.

Each Advent is a scrap of 3" scrapbooking paper that I had, with a blank back for writing our sentimental sentiments on them. I decided against our usual advent to make things a little easier on us. Just a simple note each day. These are they types of advents I cherish the most.

Aren't the little clothespins the best?

The name of the game this Christmas is easy and fun and I think this meets those requirements. I'm still coming down from a delicious Thanksgiving with family but I'm looking forward to getting more Christmas up and out this week.

Cheers!

Beginnings of a Fireplace Makeover

I didn't mean to take the summer off, but between visiting family, my 29th birthday and the beautiful Seattle weather not much has been getting done. I have however managed to get a few more projects a little further along. This one is shaping up to be one of my favorites.

Here's the fireplace right after we moved in

and here's how it is looking today

 We are still working on matching the trim on the mantel but that should be getting fixed shortly (famous last words right?).

The rug is from Urban Outfitters. I love it.

We have plans to add some tile around the fireplace, replace the screen, and replace the hearth so I'm starting to get plans together. I'm thinking something art deco but in neutral colors.

This little sitting area is my favorite place in the house. It is the first thing you see when you enter so I love that it is fun and silly. It sets the tone for the rest of the place.

I'd love to recover the chair and eventually get the poster framed but i'm not in a rush.

So there you have it. A start of something great I'd say.

Cheers!

Building Built-Ins

The fireplace built-in project is finally catching speed. We've gone from this two months ago

To this

Sanding and paint is finished. I still need to calk the shelves and re-install the seats.

Look at all that storage! Out biggest hurdle at this point though is finding trim to match the fireplace mantel. So far I can't find it anywhere, so I'm pretty sure I'll have to end up tearing the original moulding out and replacing it all but I have yet to cross that bridge. A few more days of cure time and I can start loading those puppies up with books. Oh joy!

Who loves built in storage?? This girl!

Cheers!

Spooky Mantle- 2012 Edition

I've actually had the mantle decorated since mid-September (weird I know but it was a matter of convenience). I basically reused what I had last year and mixed in a few things that were already there.

Here is 2011's version

Now for 2012

I didn't go quite as crazy with the spider webs this year because it turns out Daniel was right, they do make it hard to have a fire (and it certainly has been cold enough for them)

I filled my egg jar with skeleton heads which I thought was a nice nod to the macabre (get it? Nod?)

The book page pumpkins got a second showing. They were just so cute last year I was glad they held up in the decoration box.

Just simple changes. I'm trying to settle on a mantle that just needs little tweaks to become festive instead of tearing the whole thing down every time there is a holiday. So far it has been much less stressful, which is key. 

I've got lots of wood to stack today but I have to say I am loving my new open yard. Can't wait to show you more!

Cheers!

Spring Mantel

I'm not a big Easter person (not being religious or 5 will do that to you) but I love me some sparkles. After seeing a few glitzy Easter egg tutorials I thought why the heck not? So I booked it to Target and bought me some pretty eggs (in the colors I wanted) and got going.

Spray adhesive worked really well for the project. I just slapped some clear tape over the holes in the eggs, grabbed my coordinating glitter (I love Martha Stewart's glitter line) and sprayed away.

After some spraying and rolling I had these lovely sparkly eggs.

I also had club hand.

Note to self, wear gloves when using spray adhesive. It took three days to get all of the glitter off. Accidents in glitter aside it took about 30 min to do and then I let them dry for an hour before arranging them.

I still think it could use a really big mirror or something tall to add height. Daniel is holding out for a nice piece of art work so we are using what we have for now. I like the subtle nod to Easter and Spring without it beating anyone over the head.

Here's an up close and personal shot. Look at them sparkle!

TJ's had these beautiful lilies so I snatched up a few. I love lilies.  Daniel's bagel scale got an upgrade too.

There you have it, something in my house that doesn't look like a disaster. Score one for the team! Now if only drywalling would go so well.

Cheers!