Halloween - A Twist on the Jack O'Lantern

Looking for something different this year? Try out some of these fun twists on the Jack O'Lantern!

How cute is this ghoulish bunch?

Halloween topiaries - all the glow without the mess!

Absolutely love these! I will definitely be giving them a try next year!
Mason Jar Jack O'Lanterns and Monsters. To see how it's done go here

and here.

These little guys are the cutest!

There you go - a week's worth of Halloween in a day!

School's out for a five day weekend and I'm spending it with my kids - see you Wednesday!

Halloween - Decorating with Candy

Over the years certain candies have become synonymous with certain holidays. Which is why I always love to incorporate some into my holiday displays.

One of the nice things about living in a dry climate is that I use the same candy over and over again! Something that is disappointing to those guests who manage to stick their hands past my thorny branches to the candy corn below. If the thorns wont keep them out, at least the stale candy will!

Halloween - Sign me up!

No matter how you say it - Halloween is just plain fun!

{Trick or Treat}

{found on etsy and inspired my sign here}

{found on etsy}

P.S. Sorry for the bad pictures - my scanner isn't working and I had to take pictures of some tear pages. Next time I wont use a flash!

Home Goods and the Mom Cave

When I think of the word "cave" I think of bears. More specifically hibernating bears. Which makes me think of my room. Out of all the rooms in my house my bedroom is the only place that is truly mine. My husband works different hours so the nights/days he works he sleeps in a different room. (Not the norm, but it works for us!) This is where I come at the end of the day to unwind. I take stock of my day, organize the coming one and recharge my batteries in hopes of being better. Here is where lie awake at night and dream not only of the home I want to create, but the person I want to become.

However, it is completely lacking in design and inspiration.

The only nice thing about it is my Home Goods mirror!

I would love to have a chaise, small settee, or comfortable arm chairs.

Floor - ceiling curtains

Large dresser

Interesting accessories

Cozy throws




Bedding - the variety of pillows Home Goods offers would provide numerous choices

Foot of bed seating/storage

Bed side lighting

With Home Goods help I could create the type of Mom Cave this Mama deserves!

Recreating Van Gogh

I had this idea for my daughter to create some art to hang in her room. She loved the idea and insisted that one of the paintings had to be Starry Night, by Van Gogh, her favorite painting. I thought that was a great idea and suggested that she recreate different paintings of Van Gogh. I tried to let her to the bulk of the work and then I would go in and add the detail. We had a lot of fun doing this. We still have some paintings to complete, and we can't wait to hang them up!

She, of course, had to take a little artistic licence.

Sometimes because she said she liked her own design better.

And sometimes because she forgot what the original painting looked like!








This painting still has some details to add.

And this one is our masterpiece. This is the first one we finished and by far the best! Both my daughter and I were amazed with how well it turned out.

This was a great project to do together and we are both excited to do some more!

Wallpaper and Stencils

When I was a kid I hated wallpaper. To me it was the ugly stuff that my mom picked out to put in the room my sisters and I shared. And somehow I was the only one that ended up helping her put it. If I had to stare at it while falling asleep shouldn't I at least have some say it what it looked like? Apparently my mom did not think so.

I grew up thinking that wallpaper was an outdated design tool with small flowers and subdued colors. Or eagles. That's another story. I just knew it definitely was not for me.

Oh design world you are changing my mind! Wallpaper is full of pattern and color.

It's bold and new

It can be used to accent a wall and had texture to a room.

It can be art.

But for a commitophobe like me wallpaper presents one challenge - permanency. Not to mention it's often expensive price tag. The perfect solution? Stencils! Thanks to a wide variety to large scale stencils you can create the look of wallpaper with the ease of paint.

Three Men and a Lady's stenciled bathroom ceiling. Pretty amazing!

And my favorite? This look was created using a gold sharpie! Seriously.