Affordable Olive Buckets and Hydrangeas

March 30, 2014

Fresh cut large leaf purple hydrangea

Affordable olive buckets? If you've followed me for any amount of time you already know how much I love olive buckets -- and hydrangeas. My husband brought these gorgeous hydrangea bushes home for me the other day as a surprise. And even more of a surprise -- guess what I got to put them in!

Where to Find Inexpensive Pillow Covers

March 25, 2014

First of all I'd like to thank Marty from A Stroll Thru Life for cluing me in on this amazing pillow cover opportunity. Marty posted about changing it up a bit in her living room recently, and she shared her awesome pillow cover finds. 

Who knew that Hobby Lobby now carries pillow covers? 

Was I the only one in the dark about this?
Since switching out pillows is one of the easiest ways to change the look and feel of a room, I knew I had to check out my local Hob Lob and see if they had something to spruce up our master bedroom. I had already changed things up a bit to make the house "show ready," but I felt it needed something more. 
Here is the realtor's picture of our master bedroom before I added in my newest pillow cover find.


I know, it's a r-e-a-l-l-y wide angle.  Sorry, it's all about making your rooms look B-I-G when your house is for sale!  Ironically, this is a really huge room for real, even without the wide photo-angling.  


  I was going for a neutral color palette since:1) I happen to like neutral colors and 2) it's probably the best way to go when your house is for sale.
But like I said, being the pillow-monger that I am, I needed to see if they had something else to add to it.  And here it is.

It's the square one, back middle.  The colors were perfect, complimenting the lumbar pillow in front of it as well as the drapes and faux fur blankets draped over the end of the bed. It's a linen fabric with a raised applique.  I just popped that baby on over a pillow I already had, zipped it up, and I was good to go.


Not the best quality picture, I know, but you get the idea. 

I've decided that keeping the bedding mostly white is the way to go because then you can add decorative pillow covers, shams and throws in whatever colors strike your fancy.  I find that my tastes change pretty much with the seasons.  
I also got another pillow cover that I absolutely love.


Isn't this one fabulous?  I love the combination of the chair graphic, script and postage-like stamps.  It's very "me" right now.  My other new one is behind it, turned over so that you can only see the blank linen side.  Reversible!


I also just placed this one over a pillow I already had and voila.

Which one do you like better?
So, what did they cost?  

They were on sale at 50% off {booyah!} for a whopping $3.49 and $3.99 each!  Even at full price they are SO reasonable, you can't afford not to look.  I can't say what styles will be at what store (and I did not like the covers I found at Hob Lob online) but hopefully your local store will have some you like.  
I didn't realize until I was writing this post that Marty had written another post about her new pillow covers, here.  While reading that post I realized I bought the same linen applique cover that Marty had!  What's that they say about great minds....?  She really is a fabulous decorating maven and you should stop on over at A Stroll Thru Life and check her out!
 {This was not a sponsored post. I just wanted to share a great find with you all.}

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Spring Porch Decorating Ideas

March 20, 2014



Hello, friends

and 

Happy Spring! 

I am so excited to finally be able to say that! 

Since today is the first day of spring, I thought I'd talk a little bit about front porch decorating.  I'm no expert, but I did learn a few things recently when I turned to my Hometalk friends for advice.



As you can see from the question that I posted, I was in a panic about finding a quick fix for those poor empty urns on my front porch.  You know, curb appeal and all that!

Anyway, I was so glad I posted that question because I got a gazillion great answers!  They really made me think outside the box and got my creative juices flowing, so I thought they might do the same for you.  Kind of like a jump start into outdoor spring decorating, if you will.  So what did I ended up doing?  Read on to find out!


My main dilemma right now is the lingering chilly temperatures here in the Midwest.  So the most popular answer was, you guessed it: pansies!  I have to admit that I've never even planted them before since I normally don't get my act together until well into spring -- at which point I just plant any old flowering annual.

Pansies can bloom from spring through early summer and do well in zones 4-8.  I'm in zone 5b, meaning that our average annual extreme temperatures can range from -15 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit.  Yes, that's really cold.  So I'm sure they'd do fine with our current average high-lows in the 20's/40's.

If you'd like to find out your hardiness zone you can visit this USDA Agricultural Research Service Interactive Map and just plug in your zip code.

Another popular idea was to plant various evergreens, along with flowering plants.


Juniper is just one example.

Boxwood is another.
I think boxwood is my all-time favorite.
Someone even suggested rosemary, with some pansies planted at the base.  I think that would be fabulous!  I love the smell of rosemary.
Another suggestion I found helpful was to add height with things like pussy willows.


Maybe even tie some of them up with a pretty pastel ribbon?

So what did I do?  Well, I would have loved to go out and shop for just the right evergreen bushes and some pansies, but I had less than 48 hours to implement the whole process.  Plus, our big box stores' nurseries aren't even selling anything yet.  So I trekked to our local nursery and picked up some, you guessed it, pansies!


 While purple isn't my color, I liked that these arrangements had some height built in with the taller grasses already in the middle.  I also Iove the contrasting shades of green going on with the leaves, especially the trailing chartreuse vines

I added some faux forsythia for a bigger p-o-p of color and was pretty happy with the results on such short notice.

Obviously, I just plopped the pot right inside the urn.

One of my Hometalk friends said pansies would be great, but that I should make sure that they're the yellow ones because houses with yellow ones sell faster than houses with other colors!  Who knew?


I obviously missed the boat on that one but since I threw in the forsythia for good measure I think that counts!

Don't you?

What do you have planned for YOUR front porch this spring?

Have a great weekend, friends!


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Super Easy DIY Easter Chalkboard Graphic Transfer

March 17, 2014




I know it's Saint Patrick's Day, but a girl's gotta think ahead, right?  That's why today I'm going to share with you my tutorial on how to transfer a graphic image onto a chalkboard.  Some of you might be able to just wing it and draw your image freehand.  Unfortunately, I'm not one of you.

 {Although I did manage to freehand one holiday DIY chalkboard that I'm pretty proud of here.}  

But relax.  Even if you're like me, you CAN do this.  I've been reading about how to do it for a long while on many different blogs and finally decided to dive in. And since there won't be the usual Easter decorating going on around here due to the fact that we're trying to sell the house, this is a PERFECT project: once and done.  After Easter I can just erase it and start again with something else!   





Well, after Christmas that beauty was erased.  

And here she is, just waiting for me to write something new on her.


Once again,I went for simple.  I thought a bunny would be perfect for the middle of the wreath and the words "Happy Easter" for the text beneath it. So I got to work.  Here's the bunny image I used.


I can't give you a specific link to this little guy. What I can tell you that I googled "bunny silhouette" in Google Images and this came up among many other bunny silhouette images.  This one appeared to be royalty free and I thought it was the right shape and size so I decided to go with it.

For the words, I just went to Picmonkey and created this.


I got the really cool chalkboard background over at Simply Kierste.  

She is totally awesome and talented, and shares so many of her cute chalkboard printables.  Hop on over there and get the background for yourself.  Just think of all the cute printables you can make with it!  
  
{You don't have to use a chalkboard background for this, but it's one of the ways I know how to make a printable. You can totally use a transparent background if you'd like as well. I'll try and share that one in an upcoming post.}

The font I used in Picmonkey was Special Elite.

Then I printed it out, jut like the bunny.

Now here's the fun part.

Materials

Printed image or images/typography
chalk and/or chalk pen
pencil
chalkboard
masking tape


Step 1. Take your piece of chalk and TOTALLY cover the BACK side of your image with it, being sure to rub the chalk back and forth over the entire image, like so.

Step 2.  Once you're done chalking the back side of the paper, blow off all the excess chalk
dust.


Step 3.  Turn the paper over and place it where you want that image to be on the chalkboard.  Then gently tape it down with masking tape.  Here's the bunny.


And here's the text.

Step 4.  Now take your pencil and trace around the outline of your image(s). Then go back and pencil it all in.


Here I've finished coloring in the word Happy and started outlining the capital letter "E."

Once you're completely done, gently remove the image from the chalkboard.  

You'll be left with an ever-so-faint image that you'll need to fully chalk in.  Here's what the bunny looked like.


As you can see, this is a really faint image of a bunny.  But it definitely beats my own image of a bunny if I freehanded it.  And that's the point.  You just have to fill it in darker and you'll have the image you want.

Here it is.


I'm very happy with how it turned out. And I won't have to "store it" once Easter is over. I can totally redo it again next Easter, or try another cute graphic.  I guess it goes without saying that I love boxwood wreaths. They're really so versatile for decorating.  I have a few hanging around my house (one over a mirror, one in a window) that I hope to share with you one of these days. 

As for this chalkboard project, what do you think?



Well, that's it until next time!

I hope you enjoyed reading about how to make your very own chalkboard graphic transfer. 

Thanks for spending time with me today! 


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 DIY home décor post!    

Vintage Pastels with Madonna and Child

March 11, 2014

Tarnished Grace.
That's the name of my handmade vintage jewelry line.  You can read about the origins of that moniker here, on my Etsy shop "About" page.  I think the name speaks volumes about me and the things I hold dear.

That being said, I don't think you'll be surprised to see my most recent vintage find that I'm absolutely, madly in love with.


Isn't it lovely?

I'm always on the look out for vintage religious statues whenever I'm thrifting, but rarely find anything even second-glance-worthy.  But this one's a keeper!


Just look at the detail!  And the colors, oh the pastel-ly watercolor colors.  This particular statue reminds me so much of one that we had when I was growing up.  And the best part?  It's chippy-shabby goodness.
Just look.


I love the soft blues, pinks and creams.

 

When my daughter saw this she said I should paint the base of it to make it look like new.

Uh, no.

Taking advantage of the elusive sunshine in these parts, I grabbed my camera and took a few shots of the Madonna and Child along with some of my vintage rosaries.








I'd love to put it out on display, but since we're showing the house and all, well, I think most people wouldn't "get it." They'd probably just walk away scratching their heads.  I do think vintage-lovers are a special breed of people.  Wouldn't you agree?

Once we finally move, though, it's going to be on display for sure.

Because it really makes me smile.


I can't believe I'm saying this but they're calling for another 4-8 inches of snow here in the Chicago suburbs tonight. As a result, it looks like our realtor tour/open house scheduled for tomorrow will have to be postponed. Grrrr.  Hopefully things will work out for the best.  

Well thanks for stopping by!  And don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think of my vintage, chippy, shabby, makes-me-smile Madonna and Child.   

I'd really love for you to stay connected and follow me via Google Friends Connect, Bloglovin' or e-mail subscription (all in my sidebar) if you haven't done so already.

I'd also love to see you follow Charm Bracelet Diva {at Home}'s Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter pages, too! Just click on those really pretty-colored icons below:

CLICK ON ONE OF THESE:)

Don't miss another thrifty DIY home decor post!

xoxo
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