Im back with a lampshade tutorial

Posted on May 15 by Sarah

Hey guys, sorry I have been gone for so long. A lot of things happened in my personal life. School took over my life for a while. But, I am happy to say I once again have balance and can get back to designing.

So here we go, today I have a lampshade tutorial for you.

The picture isn’t great, but if it were you would see that the pattern of the lamp shade is drawn on this roll of post office paper (yes I have books everywhere holding it down).

The best way to make the pattern is to wrap the paper around the shade and reach inside the shade and trace the circles at the top and bottom. Then you lay the paper back flat and I took and measured and extra inch all the way around to be safe.

The next thing I did was cut out the pattern and place it on the fabric (Again collecting books to hold it down). I then cut the fabric out around the pattern.

The next step was to iron the fabric so there would be no wrinkles in my completed lamp shade.

After I ironed the fabric I cut a little off each end to create a straight edge for the seam.

I glued the fabric to the seam with fabric glue, but soon realized that hot glue worked better and faster. I wrapped the material around the shade, pulled it tight and hot glued the other seam down.

The next thing I did was cut the excess down to where there was only enough to wrap over the bottom.

I then glued down the excess to the inside of the shade. After gluing the excess to the inside of the shade I went back and glued a ribbon over the excess seams to finish the look.

Here it is all done…..

If you love this shade but don’t have the time to do the work, I would be glad to do it for you. Check out my shop at https://www.etsy.com/listing/99838414/fabric-covered-lamp-shade-decorative

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me while I have been gone. I hope to bring a lot of new posts to you soon!

Spring Wreath

Posted on April 22 by Sarah

I want to begin tonight’s post by congratulating Kailyn Shippee on her win of the TJ Maxx giftcard from this blog’s anniversary giveaway hosted by Six Sister’s Stuff.

I also want to apologize for not posting very much lately. As you know if you have read the about me section of this blog, I am also a doctoral student in psychology so things get hectic around semester’s end. I have a couple more weeks and then I can get back to posting regularly again for a while.

That being said, I do have a project for you tonight. I made this wreath today when I should have been working on a very long paper. I have a pesky procrastinator in me, I will have to work super hard to make up for the time I lost shopping and crafting today.

The supplies for this project were super inexpensive. I bought the Styrofoam wreath shape and yarn at JoAnn’s..definitely get their app on your phone for coupons. I bought the flowers at Michaels. They were left over from this project.

To start I marked the styrofoam to divide out where I wanted the grey and yellow. I used a piece of paper to make the sides even, but I eye-balled the amount I wanted of each color. If you wanted to be precise you could measure.

Then you start wrapping…and wrapping…and wrapping. I used a hot glue gun to glue each end of each section of yarn. You have to wrap the yarn really tight to make sure that known of the green shows through.

The final steps involve creating a hanger and adding embellishments. I took a small piece of material and used the hot glue gun to fold over the sides and to glue it together at the top. I then used four pushpins to secure the hanger to the back of the wreath. You could use any embellishments, but I had these daises left over from another project and decided to use them. I simply cut the stems down and pushed them into the Styrofoam.

Here’s the final product…

Have you made a similar wreath? I would love to hear from you!

Lets talk table lamps

Posted on April 12 by Sarah

As you know I am working on redoing my bedroom in yellow and grey. Well I have decided to throw a couple more colors in just for fun. The room will contain some black and teal tints. One thing I plan to do first is to re-paint my lamps solid black. I am then going to buy some inexpensive shades and trim them in ribbon to get this effect:

If you want this shade without the work, you can get the one pictured at target.

While I was researching ideas for lamps, basically what I wanted to do with the ones I already had to update them, I found that lamps can be terribly expensive.

I made a goal of finding beautiful lamps for under $40 and what I found is that Target is the best place to go if you want gorgeous lighting on the cheap (no, I am not endorsed by Target, just a fan).

Check out these beauties for under $40:

This beauty barely made the cut at 39.99, but compared to what these can go for at other stores, its a steal!

Again, 39.99, and again, a steal. I can see this lamp filled with sand and shells from the beach or maybe dried flowers, colored marbles, even postcards, so many opportunities for creativity.

Gotta go to Walmart for this one, but at$13.97 its a great deal and it comes in a variety of colors.

I really like this lamp a lot (we’re back at Target). At $19.95 its a great deal. I have picked this lamp out for if I decide against my current lamps in my design!

I love the lines on this one for $27.99.

This owl lamp would be the perfect conversation piece. I am breaking my rule a little here, this one is $41.99 but completely worth the extra $1.99!

This lamp would look fantastic in a nature or beach themed room. At $39.99 this lamp is very cost effective compared to ones like it at Pottery Barn for example.

This lamp is so simple and clean, lovely for $23.99.

Just beautiful at $31.99.

I can see this on a refurbished buffet…only $35.99.

This lamp is so unique, I had to include it for just $31.99.

Any of the lamps above would add an amazing touch to any space and not break your bank. Let me know which ones you like best!

I’ve been featured!

Posted on April 10 by Sarah

Beach Theme Bedroom Reveal

Posted on April 5 by Sarah

I am revealing the beach theme bedroom tonight as promised, but this theme is on its way out because I am going with a yellow/grey theme. I worked really hard to make the beach theme work and I think the room turned out cute, but I just didn’t love it. All is not lost, I have used a lot of the accessories in other rooms and I will post pictures of their new locations later on. I got the pillow shams in for my new bedspread today and they are fabulous…can’t wait to share all my updates for the yellow/grey theme!

But, lets show the beach theme bedroom some love for now…here we go…

I absolutely love this bedding. I got it at Target a couple years ago. Although my look is changing, I am keeping this quilt. I can’t bring myself to part with it.

For details and a before and after on this table click here.

Check out where this nightstand table came from here.

More details on this dresser here.

Want to see how these frames came together and what the writing says? Click here.

Love these original art pieces? Visit Pam’s Crafty Creations on Facebook to commission some original work of your own (full disclosure Pam is my cousin, but I would find her work to be amazing even if she wasn’t).

Now onto the little touches that make a room….

This rug came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I got it about a year ago for around $30.

I got these shell hangers for $.75 a piece at TJ Maxx.

I got this door hanger at The Christmas Mouse in Williamsburg Va.

So there you have it, my beach theme bedroom. What do you think?

Check out the etsy store tab above for more products!

More Makeovers!!

Posted on April 1 by Sarah

I have a big makeover and and two little ones to share tonight. I finally redid my nightstand and I love how it turned out.

Here’s the before…

I bought both pieces around the same time, click here to see what happened to the other cabinet!

Here is the after…

I am loving it…take a look at the quote on top…

Click here for information on the stencil used for this quote.

There’s more…

Here’s the before…

Please overlook my mess. I was prepping to make my lamp look great and letting some brushes air dry. Oh and the rabbit has a brand new home in my office!

Here’s the after…

The napkin isn’t part of my styling. I have the lamp resting on the napkin to make sure it gets completely dry before sitting on my table. I love the way it came out. I am going to spray another lamp I have in similar shades and make them matching shades. I have decided to abandon the beach theme bedroom in lieu of making a yellow and grey bedroom.

Did those gray jars catch your eye? Can we do one more before and after??? Sure we can!

Here’s the before…

Yep, this project began at the grocery store. I love Izze, its a sparkling water type beverage. I like it because it is better for you than soda/pop. I finished drinking one day and looked at the bottle and it just hit me…vases!

Here’s the after…

Cute huh? Going to have to do something about those droopy daises though. The lamp you can sort of see is the one I am going to paint gray and get a new shade for.

So what do you think? I would love to hear from you!

Fun with Spray Paint

Posted on March 31 by Sarah

I had been planning on updating a few things for my kitchen and the weather today was perfect for spray painting. So here are a couple of my before and afters and one sneak peak of my counter tops..a full kitchen reveal will happen soon I promise!

I got this tray at the salvation army thrift store for less than a dollar I think (gotta love the painting chair)…here’s the after:

The glossy black paint updated it quite a bit I think.

I picked up this sad little candle holder on the same thrifting trip as my tray.

A coat of black paint did wonders!

So this is your sneak peak. My mom and I are going to make curtains soon and the room will be complete and I will be able to reveal the whole thing!

Changes to the Beach Theme Bedroom

Posted on March 25 by Sarah

I have been seriously considering abandoning the idea of the beach theme bedroom and going with the yellow and grey color scheme that seems to be gaining popularity right now. So, I thought I would share with you some inspiration photos that I have collected to see what you think.

Dwellings by Devore

This bedroom is gorgeous I think.

Tator Tots and Jello

These pillows look amazing!

Target

Got to love this gorgeous quilt from Target!

Design Sponge

I love the contrasting blue on this dresser. I am going to have to put some blue on my dresser of the same color.

What do you think? Should I take the plunge?

Join the email mailing list to receive “10 Steps to a Total Room Makeover” absolutely free!!

I Love Doing Laundry!

Posted on March 20 by Sarah

Okay, maybe love is a strong word, but I did have fun trying out a line of detergent products from Roux Maison. I was contacted by a representative from Roux Maison a couple weeks ago and asked if I could review the product. It wasn’t a hard decision, someone wants to give me free laundry detergent I am going to take it.

Now, I am allergic to everything, so I was skeptical going in. But, I have used all three detergent products and I have to say I am a convert.

Don’t these towels look fluffy? I wish you could smell them to. Roux Maison’s products come in unscented, ambrosia, and lemon and they all smell wonderful. I washed my throw that I leave on my couch in the ambrosia scented detergent (made for delicates) and it came out super soft and smelling so fresh.

Roux Maison comes in 16oz full size bottles and 1oz travel size bottles. The full size can do (according to the Roux Maison website) 40 machine washes and 80 hand washes. I can totally see that, take a look at this pic:

This cap is tiny and it only takes two of them to do an entire load of laundry. This detergent is super concentrated.

Here are some more details straight from their website:

Created for all typical laundry needs such as sheets, towels and everyday clothing
Non-abrasive and rinses clean with no residue
Highly concentrated – 40 machine loads or 80+ hand washes per 16 ounces
Hypo-allergenic
BPA-free bottles

Last but not least they also have a detergent specifically for swimwear:

I haven’t tried the swimwear cleaner, but if it is like the other products it won’t disappoint.

I feel kind of weird reviewing a product and then not offering a giveaway, but I contacted the company and they were not in a place to do a giveaway. Luckily, for the value, Roux Maison is priced really well and I don’t think you would regret giving them a try!

Cabinet Redo Details

Posted on March 18 by Sarah

Where to start…hmmm… this turned into a lot (A LOT) of work. I guess I will start at the beginning I was out thrifting and found this gorgeous cabinet at Good Will. It was in excellent condition, but I could not leave well enough alone. Can any of us bloggers do that?

Here is the cabinet in its original form:

I will spare you the pictures of the more mundane details. I started by removing all the hardware and spraying the front knob black. I then lightly sanded the piece and gave it a couple coats of white paint/primer combo paint. Here it is after the white:

I did this over the course of a week, so the white was left alone for a while. My next step involved the interior shelving. I decided to mod podge some scrap booking paper to the shelves to give them a standout look. This step was easier said than done. It took an act of congress to get the ends of the shelves to hold the paper. Lets just say super glue was used.

In the above pick, the shelves are drying on my washing machine and I was freaking out about the shelf that I papered wrong (remember that facebook friends?). Luckily, I was able to tear the paper and use a back up sheet and it turned out well in the end. I learned a lot about contingency plans while working on this piece.

Back to the rest of the piece. I decided to glaze the piece to give it weathered look. Here is what the piece looked like after the glazing:

The piece was already looking cute, so I absolutely couldn’t wait to put the finishing touches on the piece.

Once the glaze dried, I applied Mod Podge to the front and put my scrap booking paper on it. I waited for the paper to dry, then I put all the original hardware back on and and a new magnetic clasp for the inside.

Here is what it looked like after all the work was complete:

Again before….