Project Organization- My Gift Wrap/Crafting Station

I don't know about you but gift wrap and crafting supplies seem to be one of those things that I can never find when I need it.  I always think I've put it in one closet or basket or another and I end up spending more time looking for it than I care for.

I thought of several ways of trying to keep everything organized but this system seems to be working for me.

The first thing I did was buy a pantry organizer.  You can probably pick these up from a lot of places but I got mine from Bed Bath & Beyond.  The next step was figuring out where to hang it.  I wanted to use a door in a room that is out of the way and not used a lot so for me it is the closet in the guest bedroom.

The nice thing with the hanging pantry organizer is that the shelves are adjustable.  So the ribbon has it's own shelf as well as various crafting tools.  

I used the bottom shelf to hold the actual gift wrap as well as gift bags, tape and labels.  To save space I used curtain clips with hooks to hang my tissue paper, envelope liners and stencils.

And that's it! Pretty simple.  What do you think?  

Project DIY- Gold Silhouettes & Fabric Covered Mats

I don't know about you but one of the hardest parts for me in designing a room is thinking of suitable artwork.  I know what I like and what I don't like but for some reason I get to a point after decorating a room that I feel stumped.  And that usually always comes to choosing art.

One type of art I do like is the silhouette.  I especially love them grouped together as it's a nice twist to the traditional family portrait.  I especially love the ones in bright colors after I first saw in Jonathan Adler's store.  I figured it was a good project to try to DIY.

I decided that the best place to hang this would be in our playroom/office.  The room is painted a bright tiffany blue (which was a mistake by me- but more on that later).

First, I tackled the silhouettes.  I was able to hunt down photographs of each of us taken of our profiles.  I then copied and pasted it in Microsoft Word, cropped them and enlarged each to 7x9.  (I lack fancy photo editing software so Microsoft Word is my go-to).  Next step is to print them out and carefully cut out the silhouette.  After that, I painted over each paper-photo with gold acrylic paint I already had.  And your done- easy peasy.

Next I went to frame them using Ikea Ribba frames but I didn't like how the white backing blended with the matte and frame.  So I got the idea to add a pop of color by covering the mat with fabric.

I bought a half a yard of fabric from Hobby Lobby and went to town to cover the mattes.  I don't have photos of this process but it's pretty simple- I cut out a piece of fabric the same width and length of the matte and glued the edges down so it totally covered the matte.  Then I cut a hole in the center of the fabric and carefully cut diagonally up to each corner of the matte.  When you're done with this, you should be left with four triangles.  I then cut the tip off of each triangle and glued the remaining part to the inside part of the matte.

And here's the finished project- what do you think?

Overall I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, especially for an afternoon of work.  What do you all think? Have you ever tried diying silhouettes?

2014 Pantone Color of the Year- Orchid!

I love the 2014 color of the year.  Here are a few ways to infuse it in your day to day...

1. A fuchsia chair gives a nice pop of pink to any room.  This one reminds me a bit of my own.

2. This clutch will brighten up any outfit.

3. I need these flats...

4. If adding furniture is too much, these coasters is a nice way to add some color to your decor without too much commitment.

5. These space saving hangers will instantly transform any closet.  I have these and they are the best.

6. I'm pretty much obsessed with these earrings and they can be casual or formal.

A touch of pink...

I finally decided on the fabric to slipcover our chair and I ended up going in a different direction than my initial thoughts...

Pink! Well fuchsia to be exact.  I was a little hesitant to go with it for a couple of reasons since it's a really girly color but my amazing husband was ok with it.  I've also always tended to steer clear of color in the past so it was a bit of a risky move but I love how it turned out. 

Irene with Interior Touches did a great job.  Here's an idea of what the living room looks like now-

I love how the chair pops but the room is far from done.  I need to add some throw pillows and window treatments.  What do  you think?