Greetings to my fellow Petalumans who are reading this today!  You can learn more about me here and browse the Project Gallery and Style Files for plenty of inspiration. Perhaps I’ll see you around town (I’m the gal with the paint in her hair). Thanks so much Lynn (and the Argus Courier) for the great article!

.

My influences for this collection are detailed at the Joss blog and I hope you’ll enjoy browsing the sales event.  Each and every one of the pieces I’d place in my own home, if I had the space!  You’ll spy a few of the accents I already own, and I hope you’ll find something you love too.  

Hop on over to shop the event at Joss & Main, available for a short time only.  I’ll be there with you, I’ve got my eye on a few of the decorative accessories.

disclosure: I do receive a small referral fee if you sign up and make a purchase, just like anyone else (including you!) who refers new members.

.

.

A month ago, I was asked to curate a sales event (I know, pinch me) which meant I got to go virtual shopping and hand select 60+ items that reflect my personal style. It was so fun! I gathered up all sorts of stylish finds for you, from gorgeous home accessories under $50 to bigger ticket items like rugs and furnishings. The big sales event is next week ~ here’s a little sneak peek of what you’ll find in my curated sale.  

If you’re not signed up yet to get the emails announcing all the sales, here is a personal invitation from me* so you won’t be placed on a wait list.  It costs you nothing, you sign up with your email, and then you’ll have access to various designer decor that goes on sale daily.  *Note, I do receive a small referral fee if you sign up, just like anyone else (including you!) who refers new members.

You definitely don’t want to miss my curated sale next week filled with so many gorgeous things all personally selected by me, you’ll love it!  Look for the sales event next Tuesday, December 13th over at Joss & Main. 

.

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.)

Once I had the chair stripped down to the wood, I gave the edges a rub of dark Minwax ‘Walnut’ stain, then spray painted it with Krylon’s ‘Ivory’ in satin.

A sanding wedge rubbed up against the dark stained edges revealed just enough to give it a subtle distressed look. 

After the spray paint was dry, I gave the chair a coat of poly. This is one of my favorite products for a quick protective coat. It’s water based (holla!) Varathane satin finish polyurethane. It’s applied with a rag just as easily as another favorite, Minwax oil based wipe on polyurethane (which is best for stained wood, not painted wood).

This water based poly dries super fast, so you must work quickly.  If you ever see this wipe on version at your local home improvement store (I buy mine at Orchard Supply & Hardware), grab some, do not pass go and do not collect two hundred.  This can be used over any latex or oil based paint and it’s absolutely fabulous.

Next came time to add some character and texture. Instead of a ladderback chair with a traditional rush seat, I inverted the idea, and gave the ladder part of the chair the “rush” look by wrapping it in jute twine.  Many many yards and a lot of hot glue (securing the twine at the base) later, it looked like this.  I really cannot say enough good things about jute twine.  Really, what can’t you wrap in jute twine and transform into something awesome?

I also added some 1” foam to pad the seat then wrapped it in old T-shirt batting. For the finishing touch, I found a grain sack print from an Etsy shop and reupholstered the seat with this printed linen to give it that French farmhouse feel.

Then I snapped a pic of it before shipping it back to BH&G.

And there she is!  On page 41of the Winter Issue of Do-It-Yourself Magazine. 

I have one extra piece of cotton poly fabric printed with the same grain sack image.

Want it? It measures 22” x 22” so it can become anything you envision, a tote bag, a pillow, a seat cover, whatever!  Leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner at random. 

Sending out a very big thank you to BH&G Do-It-Yourself Magazine for selecting me be a part of the Winter Issue.  It’s filled with a ton of inspiration (as always) plus other makeovers from five other bloggers, including these two, who I think you already know. 

Grab a copy on newsstands now. 

In the mood for some Christmas crafting?  I certainly am.  That’s next.

xo,

.

The Holiday Guide is filled with over 200 pages of inspiration including a gorgeous Christmas spread styled by Emily and also her extensive gift guide. But that’s not all!  There are so many other original contributions from many talented bloggers (full list here).

My contribution is a perspective on classically elegant lace which often gets a bad rap as too ‘granny’. I take issue with that notion and offer a few suggestions for using lace in holiday décor, but still keeping it fresh, like the pairing of this modern Marimekko gift wrap along the back of a cabinet with classic white lace used as a decorative liner.

Ever considered using lace as a stencil?  This gift wrap was an easy DIY project, read the one step how-to in The Guide. 

Anytime you combine colorful lace with modern patterned paper (this aqua one from Papyrus) you add panache but also a nostalgic touch to your gift.

There’s a few more examples on the pages, be sure to take a peek at all of the inspiring tips and decorating ideas!

To read Emily’s Holiday Guide cover to cover, go here !

And just yesterday, yet another inspirational Holiday Issue was released, this one by my friend and designer Janell from Isabella and Max Rooms and founder of House of Fifty. 

Check out the Holiday 2011 Issue of House of Fifty here.

Ho ho ho, let the holidays begin!

.

Holiday Magazine with Matthew Mead will be sold on newsstands later in the season, however there is an expanded keepsake issue ready right now for purchase. The keepsake edition is bigger and contains additional pages of beautiful holiday ideas, recipes, and projects.

The expanded issue can be ordered online to arrive directly in your mailbox before the newsstand edition is available.  Expert stylist Matthew Mead creates a simple yet spectacular holiday for you with creative ideas for handmade crafts, unique gifts, elegant decorations, and scrumptious edibles. This special issue includes so much inspiration from the Christmas cookies to seasonal home makeovers to exquisite paper crafts. Inside you’ll find contributions from bloggers including Stephanie Nielson (The NieNie Dialogues), Tricia Foley, Living Locurto, Savour Fare, Brooklyn Limestone and me! 

I was so honored to be included in this issue and to work side by side with Matthew. For the magazine, I recreated our New Year’s Eve buffet table in a fresh color palette of vivid pinks paired with lime green. You’ll read about our New Year’s Eve traditions and a party that’s incomplete without the three C’s: cheesecake, chocolate, and champagne.   

I created some simple party horns just for Matthew with bubbly inspired scrapbook papers (you’ll see some of my other DIY crafts too).  

Inside the magazine, you’ll find even more Christmas inspiration from my home in shades of pink and green – we know you’ll love it!  Who’s that handsome little elf?  I think I know him…

I do have more pictures and a behind the scenes look at our photo shoot, but I’ll save those for later in the holiday season.  This video shows you a glimpse of everything else you’ll see inside the pages of Holiday with Matthew Mead.

The good news is you can purchase the expanded keepsake version of Matthew Mead Holiday today, right now, right here.  

Matthew also has a new collection of decorative items for entertaining for sale – his online site is opening very soon. This is the lovely Three Tiered Stand from his collection.

Want to win it? 

Share the video on your blog, your Facebook page, or on Twitter, then leave a comment here on this post stating you did so, and you’ll be entered to win the tiered stand above. Giveaway ends Wednesday October 5th at 8 p.m. PST, one winner chosen at random. 

FYI, the Fall Craft Link Party will post tomorrow, 6 a.m. PST – see you there! 

  .

You might recall that week in late February when I was in a complete frenzy prepping the house for the crew and the shoot. They sent me a list of all the shots they wanted to take for the magazine and of course they all required greenery.  

Because all the fresh garland from Christmas was dried to a crisp in early January and I had disposed of it as a fire hazard, I called on Lynch Creek Farm who came to my rescue. They shipped yards of cedar garland and several fir wreaths too just two days before BH&G descended on my house. 

That same morning I was making more felt poinsettias in my kitchen with my morning coffee before the crew arrived.  I’d made several that season but gave them all away so at the last second was making more white versions. 

I was also wrapping “presents” for under the tree.  Look how I’m such a cheater… didn’t cut a big enough piece but hey, who cares, ain’t nobody gonna see it!  Okay, well you gals and guys see the imperfection so the truth is out.

Here are those poinsettias pinned on mere minutes before the shot . . .

From the furniture placement below you can see how the loveseat was moved closer to the mantel and fireplace, the chair was moved forward, closer to the sofa, and the Christmas tree wedged behind my velvet chair.  To get just the right shot, all the furniture was tweaked a few inches in one direction or another and a quick fire lit in the fireplace.

Inside the magazine, you can see the final image is not taken from this angle, this is my own image I snapped on that day.  All the close ups of the mantel you can see here.

Here’s a close up of another shot that didn’t make it into the magazine but is oh so pretty.  That’s the stenciled and painted ’noel’ pillow in the background. 

King Au was our professional photographer – he’s completely amazing. I wish I could follow him around for a month just to better my skills. He’s worked for BH&G for a long time and also works for Pottery Barn Kids.  We ended up tucking the fur trimmed tree skirt underneath because it was deemed a little too shmancy for the room shot.  Here is King snapping a close up of some of my handmade ornaments.

All images were checked, double checked, and triple checked on King’s computer with his highly advanced software (wish I could recall which one, anyone know or care to tell me?)  It was so exciting to see the beautiful images as they were shot! 

Also on hand to help was Gayle, a long time stylist for BH&G who traveled all the way from San Diego for the shoot (not pictured). 

In the dining room was pure chaos, because I had pulled out every single accessory I owned which we might possibly have wanted to work with.  We used maybe 10% of it, but it was smart to have it all available just in case and in a place that wasn’t getting photographed that day.

After we styled and shot the living room, we moved into the foyer, with my little girl helping to add more greenery to the banister and patiently waiting to have her hair curled. She’s like me, her hair holds a curl for about 3 ½ minutes tops, so I waited till the last second to make it all fancy.

After the entry, we shot the front door wreath with my daughter – there’s King making her smile, what a pro.  Notice how she’s standing on a stool and we’re using my Swiffer to keep the door propped open! 

The last room we shot was the kitchen . . .

. . . but you’ll have to buy the mag to see it! 

The article tells more about our family and holiday traditions, with an emphasis on entertaining, which we do so much of in December.  Here’s a peek of the opening two page spread with my winter willow wreath and sweet girl ‘answering the front door’ like she would do at our annual party. 

Funny, the front door isn’t white anymore and looking at this, I miss it. 

It was an amazing experience and such a professional crew, and even though we’re all thinking of fall right now, including me, I just couldn’t wait to share the experience of shooting the Christmas Ideas  issue with all of you. 

We’ll be buying up a dozen copies for the kids and grandkids. Be sure to pick up your copy where you’ll also find a ton of inspiration, even more blogger’s homes, including Layla’s too – so fabulous!  Our article is eight pages, starting on page 92.

I still can’t believe that’s us, right there, in Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine.  Somebody pinch me. 

. 

Hop on over to take a look at the latest issue of House of Fifty for Fall 2011 and be sure to bring your coffee or tea, you’ll surely want to stay awhile.  There are tips for injecting color into your home, decorating with children’s art, easy entertaining, and plenty of other articles by favorite designers and bloggers.  You’ll find me on page 120 sharing my tips for better images, enjoy!   

And congratulations to Janell and her amazing team of editors and contributors for a second fantastic issue!

,

Last week I snuck out of town on one of these . . .

to take me here . . .

where I woke up extra early (3 a.m. California time) to make a second appearance with this mega talented charming fellow . . .

who I greatly admire. 

It was so incredible to see Nate again and work with his amazing team.  A huge thank you to Emma for handling all of the details and arrangements, I loved every minute!  I was invited back to the show to design a new family room, or a “House Proud Blueprint”, for a couple with two kids who needed design help.  You’ll have to watch the show to see my room design and the big reveal!  

I was going to surprise you all when it aired in April, but since today I’m a guest over at Style Your Life and talking all about a great go to travel outfit plus travel tips to live by, it seemed a great day to spill the beans. 

The show will air on April 7th ! 

Exciting, isn’t it?  I’m still pinching myself!

So today, stop on by to visit with me and Jennifer over at Style Your Life?

Traveling in comfort and style is the topic of the day!   

And be sure to set your DVR’s on April 7th to see my room design and reveal! 

.

I also stumbled across this sweet little book in the bookstore and had to have it! 

At first I thought it would be more of a novelty, especially with the illustrations, but after reading it found it is filled with the best sentiments.

Like cheapest isn’t always best.  Quality truly counts most when it comes to life and home improvement.  Consider that hiring a professional is part of the fee that goes with your education.  When you observe the experts you gain the knowledge and confidence to do it yourself in the future.  Couldn’t agree more.  Thank you Felix, thank you Ramon, for what you’ve taught me.  “When we choose materials, tools, and professional assistance that is high caliber, we are choosing goodness.”  Amen.

Mistakes in home improvement and life are lessons to be learned.  “We all want a makeover because it feels like starting over.  Yet we forget that real change requires planning and hard work.  Practicing self control rather than taking a hammer to counter on a whim is the mature thing.” 

Everything looks better in good light.  But of course!   “We can offer our family and guests an inner joy if we bathe them in the radiance and warmth of proper lighting.”  (Followed by tips for creating the best lighting in your home.)

Mostly I love this quote: 

“Home improvement becomes life improvement when we offer others the fruits of our labor.  Home improvement becomes life improvement when we see our house become a home through love.” 

Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

There’s lots more inside, you can pick it up crazy cheap right here.   

Finally, I’m so delighted to be a part of Cristin’s “What Would You Do?” series over at Simplified Bee today. 

Take a peek at how I design a room around a bench, plus three other favorite bloggers show off their designs too, so fun!  Thanks Cristin for including me, hop on over to Simplified Bee! 

.