(Not) Doing it all

Every once and awhile I like to pause and show you the “real” around here. Sometimes I show you in pictures, but today I also want to tell you how very much I don’t have it all together. :) I’ve mentioned a few times that our house rarely looks perfect. OK, let’s make that never. Well, OK, maybe about five minutes before a party, but that’s it. So that would amount to about 15 minutes a year.

Green Thumb Decor - Emreen

Joining in the Green Thumb Décor series is Emreen from Liven Things Up ….

The mantra is - Take a lovely and colourful ceramic bowl - put the plant in (I mostly have devil's ivy or any succulent as they last for a year or so) - cover the soil with some pebbles... Embellish with something that adds beauty to it... I have used a beaded dragonfly (dragon fly tutorial), ceramic frogs (originally they are incense holders) and a terracotta horse... You can also have coloured shells, snail shells etc.!!

The Green Thumb Décor series is on for March & April… so send in your entries to torresp27@hotmail.com or link in to our party ...

Visiting 6th Street

   


This week, I participated in Kirsten's fun series "Confessions of a Designer" over at 6th Street Design School. 






I, along with six other designers/bloggers shared our thoughts on what makes the ideal client, how you should choose your designer, who we would hire to do our own homes, and more. 

Most of you are probably familiar with Kirsten's blog. . . . We only met briefly last fall, but I think of her as a kindred spirit (although I have a few years on her!).  We both started our design businesses around the same time, are both technicaly "stay-at-home" moms, and am pretty sure we both run around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to manage it all! 

She has a wonderful style, and I'm looking forward to following her latest project--her mom's guest room.  She just whipped this up for the artwork last week, and I can't wait to see more.

Welcome to my newest sponsor, 2dplan.com!

A great way to create professional, colorful floor plans on your own.  (And, you can download free samples to test out before you buy!)

Turtle Speed

I am a turtle when it comes to home improvement. While some can slam out a painted room in a day, I take it slow and steady.Perhaps it's because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I take my time cutting in my paint lines just right, without taping, just using a good angled brush and a steady hand.
Maybe it's because my family needs time to adjust to change. The most common question asked when I'm doing any improvement is, "Why are you changing that???" (When I reply that it's just because I want to, they usually walk away confused.)
Then there is my simple love of savoring change---somewhat like eating a delectable dessert as slowly as possible so it can be enjoyed to it's fullest. I savor those giddy feelings as I watch my project go from an idea in my head to a reality in my home.
Such is the case with my dining room wall. I am delighted with it's transformation from antiqued green to "Blacktop"---the most deep and luscious gray/brown/green.My shelf has been stripped and primed. The antique tin has been released from years of paint, rust, and grime; a look I once loved but am ready for something new. I am so excited to add the final layers of glaze to both projects but it will be done at turtle speed so that both my family and I can appreciate the flavor of change.
Are you a rabbit or a turtle when it comes to home improvement projects?

Giveaway from Cottage & Vine

    

Rene is one of my favorite bloggers and I was excited when she decided to open her Etsy shop, Cottage & Vine, late last year.  She started it with some of her own burlap creations: 

Burlap place mats

Burlap table runner

Since then, she's expanded her shop to include lots of fun vintage finds.

Chinese Porcelain Lamps

Vintage Japanese Lotus Bowls

Vintage Horse Head Bookends



Giveaway Details. . .

Ready to shop?  Rene has graciously offered to give one winner a $50 store credit.  To enter, simply visit Cottage & Vine, and leave a comment telling me which item is your favorite.  The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Monday, April 4th.

Saanvi's Jungle Party

I'm thrilled to share this with you..... from Naveena's Log Book... I simply loved the hard work and all the ideas that went into making this 1st birthday party a success.... For more pictures... and the complete details on this party... hop on to Naveena's Log Book...

I really wanted to keep the memory fresh forever about Saanvi's big milestone - Her 1st birthday party ...

The planning for the party started just few weeks before her party being the lazy us. I wanted the party to be very special and something that everyone including Saanvi to cherish forever.

We had a tough time figuring what theme we could have and finally decided to go with the Safari/Jungle theme for her party.

We thought Safari party was the most simplest to have as we could quickly buy some animal cut outs and make it look like a jungle. We were soo wrong , we had to create every bit of the party by ourselves. But, it all paid out , I should say ..

Decorations:

Saanvi's month-by-month chart: I made four canvases with jungle sketches and stuck Saanvi's pcitures for each of the 12 months. I loved the way it came out and going to have it in our room :).

I sat down over one weekend , had some pictures of these really cute animals . I drew them on chart paper and cut them out . The lion was the 1st one. I cut his body structure out and cut petals out of crepe paper and stuck it around his face to give the wild look.

Elephant was the 2nd guy , I love elephant's ears, they look so cool, especially when they keep flapping them . I cut out the elephant's ear with another sheet of paper and stuck it on them. It worked out .

Zebra was the 3rd guy. He was tough. I drew him, cut him out on the chart and had to literally cut thin strips of paper to give him his skin. My friend cut his tail out and gave the additional look to it :).

Giraffe was the last guy. He was easy , just had to draw, cut him out and stick brown dots all over his body.

We wanted a backdrop for the cake table. I visited all the party shops in the city and dint find anything impressive. I decided to create my own backdrop. I made a wide banner with brown paper, printed the same pictures of Saanvi's that were on her card, blew them up and stuck it to the banner. I cut some grass and trees of the crepe paper and stuck them . I also pasted the dollar shop foam animal stickers.We dint have Saanvi's name cut out until the last minute. One of our friends wrote it the curly style and cut them out for me. I had a garland of all the animals with the "Happy Birthday" on it.

Cake: I kept looking online for safari cakes and finally found this girl near my house who bakes amazing cakes. I told her the color theme of the party and the animals , I wanted on the cake. She baked the most amazing cake. We had two layers. The 1st yellow layer was a marble cake with raspberry filling and the 2nd brown layers was a ultimate chocolate cake. It had these tiny animals which matched to the animals , I had on my card and everything about the cake was edible. Everyone loved the cake.

Cup Cakes: We had 24 cupcakes in brown and yellow and I these tiny animals as their toppings , which looked super cute.

Party Favor: I searched online for like a month to find a good return favor. I did not find anything that went with the theme. I finally bought some wooden photo frames , as everyone can use them with their favorite pictures. I stuck few animals on them and designed a 'Thank You' note that was slided it into the photo frame. It was simple and sweet , atleast I thought so :).

Dont you simply love her ideas?? Read Naveena's Log Book for more ideas and details on this party... It is truly amazing... how she put this together!!

"What Would You Do?": Bay Windows

     

I'm kicking off my "What Would You Do?" series with a question from Sonja:     

Hi Emily,



I have a bay window that faces East that is also shaded. For almost 20 years I have had just the bottom half covered with lightweight curtains. I am sick of them and want something different, but don't want to block the little bit of light and yet I need privacy as the windows face the street.

Help.
Sonja

I decided to address this question first because I just tackled a similar problem in our breakfast area. Bay windows seem like such a great feature, but they can be a booger (can I say that?) to decorate. Here's what we recently did in our breakfast area. As with most of my projects, I was looking for an inexpensive--but stylish--solution.

Like Sonja, we needed privacy but didn't want to block a lot of light.  I used simple bamboo shades (from Home Depot) that we keep pulled up during the day but can lower at night.  The window never seemed "finished", however; so, I found 4 yards of one of my favorite fabrics (in a remnant bin) and decided to make curtain panels by using Stitch Witchery.

To hang the curtains, I used three inexpensive IKEA rods and sawed them to the desired length for each window, pushing the ends up against each other.

Since the curtains aren't for function, but just to make things pretty, I didn't have to worry about the curtain rings going over the brackets. In other words, I used shades for function and curtain panels to give the area some style.

The entire window treatment--rods, shades and curtains--ended up costing approximately $150. 

Back to Sonja's window for a minute. . . Although I used shorter curtain panels, I would actually opt for full-length panels (mounted close to the ceiling) on the sides of the windows here since she has the board and batten on each of the adjoining walls.  I think a shorter panel would make things seems a little "off" balance.

Hope this helps.  Now, it's your turn.  "What would you do" to Sonja's bay window?  Feel free to share your ideas or blog about it, leaving your link in the comment section. 

Have a design dilemma you want me to address?  Email your question, along with 1-2 clear photos, to info {at} emilyclark.com.

Green Thumb Decor - Laura

Oh... I love all those images coming in.. for the Green Thumb Decor series.. I really do!! I'm overwhelmed.. Thank you!! *hugs*

These are images from Laura who blogs at Pushing Furniture... Laura is a true decor addict.. her DIYs are amazing.. and always so so well planned... She is an artist, a musician, and a lot more.. Do visit her... and see what she's upto!! For now... I'm showing you.. her entry to the Green Thumb Decor.. The above image is Variegated Ficus tree and a Dracaena warneckii, plus some little bits & clippings in jars.... all over her fireplace !!

Laura's Buddha in the herb garden right off her back porch!

Another Ficus, and a large Bird of Paradise (left) over my meditation corner at one end of the living room!

and one more... in her bedroom... Aren't these images simply gorgeous... ??

Share some of your images on torresp27@hotmail.com... or link in to our Green Thumb Decor series...

A mossy vignette

Well, if spring isn’t going to show up, I’m going to WILL it here. I’m planting my herbs tomorrow (inside), I’ve refused to wear my coat for the past few days and gosh DARN IT, I am decorating for it. And if you decorate for it, it will come. That’s my hope anyway. :) I wanted to spring bling out our foyer and the first project was an easy one. The inspiration came from Pottery Barn: Are

Sarah 101 Final Episode: Loving the Art Wall

Tonight is the final episode of Sarah 101 – 9:00 p.m. EST on HGTV Canada.  Where did those 13 weeks go?

In this episode, Sarah and Tommy created a lived-in, urban look in a brand new, generic condo with no architectural details.

When she walked in, Sarah immediately thought of black and white photographs as a feature on the long wall. This became the jumping off point for the colour scheme of black, white and grey.

Would you believe that Sarah took all of those photos herself?  She simply spent a few hours walking around Toronto photographing old buildings, churches, fences – anything that looked interesting.  She shot the photos in black and white which makes for a much crisper image than shooting in colour and then printing them in black and white.

I think you know by now how much I love gallery walls and this goes to show, once again, that art/photographs on a wall can transform a space.  She used inexpensive Ikea frames but had mats cut professionally.  In the episode,  fast moving frames of how the photographs were arranged on the wall were shown. Sarah started from the middle and placed them randomly with uneven spacing between each photograph.

The gallery wall is dramatic yet so doable!  I’m sure most people have photographs of trips they have taken but if you don’t, spending an afternoon shooting interesting images in your city, is all it takes.

See the art hanging in the hall in the photo on the right (above)?  Well, Sarah and Tommy painted it using vintage printmaking letters dipped in black paint and pressed onto an inexpensive primed canvas from an art supply store.  It was then professionally stretched and framed – ingenious DIY!

 

A contractor was hired to scrape off the stucco ceiling – very reasonably priced too!  (You can do this yourself by spraying on water and scraping it off but it is a messy endeavour.)

I loved the vintage pendants hung in front of the window and the gorgeous 12-light chandelier over the dining table.

So, what were some other lessons from Sarah?

• use a mix of new and vintage furniture pieces to add soul to a basic space. Every piece of furniture was found at vintage stores except for the new sofa.
• when buying vintage or used upholstery pieces, check under the seat cushion for the label of the manufacturer to see if the piece is worth re-upholstering.  Oh, and a tip from me – make sure that you replace the foam too!   (Have seen many DIY upholstery makeovers where the gnarly foam isn’t replaced.)
• use grey to temper the black and white and only use black as accents on side chairs, cushions and throws
• bring in warm wood tones and natural elements when using a monochromatic colour scheme
• have vintage pieces professionally refinished and repaired
• rub wool together to see if the fibres pill – good test to see how it will wear as upholstery

I thought the condo was perfect for its single, male homeowner.  What did you think of tonight’s episode or the show in general?

If you missed any episodes, you can watch them here.  You can read previous posts on the show here, here and here.    And, stay tuned for Sarah’s House 4 which airs in the Fall.  I have seen the house in person and it is stunning!

Adding a Few Coats

The weatherman has predicted warmer weather (finally!).

And while many will be shedding their coats,

this area of my home is calling for me

to put on a few coats today.I'm so happy to finally be able to do some painting!
Do you have happy plans for today?

Book Art

    

I hope you'll swing over to the Goodwill blog to read my latest post, "New Uses for Old Books."  I'm sharing some obvious and not-so-obvious ways to use old book pages in your decor.

Woman's Day

   
I recently took my own advice when I needed some quick art for our very blank canvas of a playroom.  Since this room stays in upheaval most of the time, I wasn't looking to invest a lot of money in artwork.  Instead, I scoured my kids' bookshelves and found this beautifully illustrated train book.  (I also had this canvas train painting that I bought off Ebay a few years ago and never used. . . )

After convincing my six-year-old that the entire family could enjoy his book if we cut it apart and hung it on the wall, I went to work.  I also discovered a new favorite IKEA frame.  Although I usually recommend the Ribba, I tried the Stromby and really like the thin frame and the price for the size--just $10.  (Is this new?  It's not listed on their site.)

The frame doesn't come with a mat. And, since I told you this was a quick "cheap" project, I just flipped the paper that came with the frame over to the white side and put my art right on top. (It's a playroom, not an art gallery, after all.)

 
 

Once I got the hang of the clips on the back of the frames, I was in business. (It should tell you something if the frame comes with instructions. And, notice that all IKEA "directions" start with that dumbfounded guy calling for help.  That's a bad sign from the get-go.)

 

I'll be showing you more of this room soon.  For now, you can read more of my ideas for using book pages here.