It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here thanks to Mr. Bublé. After I bought his CD the other day (love it!), we’ve been listening to the sounds of Christmas, which put me in the mood to make things feel like Christmas. Yes it’s early, but I make no apologies. I’d like to blame Michael but really it’s my eagerness to get the decorating done early.  Just a little bit every day and I’ll have time to enjoy December!

I had an idea the other day for a craft project that I wasn’t sure would work, but in the end turned out so cute I had to share.  It’s an ornament tree made from dowel rods and marabou feather boas.  How fun is this?

To recreate your own, here’s what you’ll need. One wood bun foot; one ¾” x 36” dowel rod and six ¼” x 36” dowel rods from a home improvement store; white paint (or primer); saw to trim ¾” dowel rod; sharp clippers for ¼” dowel rods; power screwdriver with ¼” drill bit; hot glue gun; 12-15 feet of marabou feather boas from a craft store.  Optional supplies: craft glue, glitter, and tree topper. 

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Last spring, I received the Coolest Email Ever.

It was from one of my most favorite magazines in the universe: Do It Yourself Magazine.  Yes, the  Special Interest Publication by Better Homes & Gardens. The very same DIY Magazine I have looked forward to every three months for years and years and years and I always buy at the store. Every time I peruse the pages I am so inspired. 

So when I received the Coolest Email Ever offering me a chance to revamp a ‘mystery’ piece of flea market furniture for the magazine, I picked my jaw up off the floor and immediately replied “Yes!”.  The mystery piece arrived a few weeks later, with a note.   

It was a chair.  A greenish teal crackle finish chair.  What could I possibly do with this chair?  At first I thought, “Oh, I know, I’ll transform it into a planter!”  But that’s been done.

So I stared at it and stared at it and then it spoke to me.  No, more like it whispered.  The chair whispered to me and it told me this: it wanted to be returned to its roots.  So I listened.  Ladderback chair?  That’s classic French farmhouse.  Bring it.

The first part of the transformation involved getting rid of that crackle finish. For any other painted chair I simply would have spray primed and painted it again, easy peasy.  But the crackle finish would be apparent, so it had to go.  It was Citristrip to the rescue!  (I’ve been using Citristrip ever since I compared it with old school strippers, and I’ll never go back.)

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Hey all!  Guess how I spent my weekend?  Filling up those bookcases we built a week ago, yippee!  I love books, and I love decorative objects.  This new wall of bookcases allows me to combine the best of both. I’ve heard such great things about the convenience of Kindle and iPad reading, but for me, there’s nothing like a book to touch and smell, and for savoring the words on a printed page.

How best to begin this project?  I had to start at the back. Grasscloth wallpaper would have been major cool, but expensive and time consuming.  Been there, done that.  Wrapping paper or scrapbook paper might have been fun I couldn’t find the right one. Stencils seemed too busy.  One thing I knew, I was going to pack it with a book + collectible combo and I worried with all the stuff, the background would compete.

I finally decided to paint the back of these bookcases a rich teal color, because 1. it’s a color I never get tired of, 2. it showcases all the white accessories, 3. it coordinates with the colors in the window panels in the room and 4. it was just so dang easy. 

I started this adventure Saturday morning, coffee cup in my left hand, paintbrush in the right. Painting the backs was the easy part.  (Tip: use a good angled brush!) The hard part was later in the day when it was dry.  After I put all the shelves back in, I was staring at piles and piles of my favorite books, and deciding where they should all go.  Very daunting.  Worse, I was distracted with the piles of books because I can’t help but crack the spines or peek at the pages I’ve tabbed in the past or flip through to see what I’ve underlined.  Do you do that?  Underline and tab and bookmark your favorite pages?  I wasn’t allowed to when I was little, but I do it all the time now, I can’t stop.

I finally decided just to organize them by category, like at a bookstore or library (wow, original concept!)  It just makes sense to group them that way.  Fiction, nonfiction, reference, design, faith, travel, etc.  I was only able to fit about 75% of my books because it was starting to feel too crowded, but so be it. I’ll either donate the rest or put them back in a closet where most of them lived before.

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Greetings all, happy Monday! Hope your weekend was great! This morning, I’m very excited to announce that I’ve partnered for the second year with my blog buddies Layla, Rhoda, and Sarah to host another round of Holiday Home Link Parties!

These were so much fun last year, so we decided to do it again, but we’re mixing things up. This year, Layla will be hosting Table Decor on Monday December 5th and Rhoda will host Merry Mantels on Wednesday December 7th.  I’ll host Holiday Crafts on Monday December 12th, and Sarah will host her annual Christmas Tree party on Wednesday December 14th. 

Fun fun fun! We hope you’ll mark your calendar and share in the good times…

Be back in a few hours with some pics from my latest project, stay tuned!

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Hello! I hope you’re all enjoying this fall weekend. The forecast for us is rain which sounds perfectly lovely to me, since it’s a great excuse to make soup and lounge in pajamas for most of the day.  Meanwhile, shall we take a peek at some of the fabulousness that is going on in the blogosphere?  Abi and I team up this week to bring you our favorites, enjoy!

We women have our decorative favorites that make us swoon, but I love hearing the man’s perspective.  Have you read about the furniture men hate?  Erin from Elements of Style fills us in. 

Here’s a sweet girl’s nursery you won’t want to miss!  Pay a visit to Freckles Chick to see how this stylish mama pulled together one chic space.

How sweet is this ombre desk refinished by Natty by Design?  Love love love! 

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