Spring Centerpiece

March may be the 'official' the start of spring,but in my neck of the woods April is more like it. It's the season to put away those heavy sweaters and bring out your bright colored dishes!

To create a simple centerpiece, spray paint random size bird cages in the same color(s) as your dishes and linens and spread along the center of the table.

After the company leaves and the extra table comes down, these cuties are going to be hung from the ceiling in a cluster of the dining room :)



DIY: Twine Wrapped Bottles

What do you get when you have leftover bottles, twine, and hot glue?


An easy, inexpensive DIY project!

I love how these twine-wrapped jars add texture and something natural to a room. (Side note: whether it be a wood side table, a bamboo place mat or a plant, I believe every room needs something 'from nature' in it.)

One of my favorite parts of design is mixing rustic, rough pieces with delicate items. Opposites attract...look how the pink flowers and twine complement each other :)



Mix it up by wrapping unexpected pieces such as wine glasses, use different colored twine on the jars, or gluing a strip of moss or fabric in between the twine.

What do you think? Have you ever made any?

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree...

 I have 4 Christmas trees in my home and this has to be my favorite. All the blue and silver ornaments glittering off the white lights makes it cozy, modern, and cute.

I love my tree, but there is one major problem with it. My two dogs seem to think it is their personal dog-toy tree.  I have 'lost' over a dozen ornaments and bulbs this year alone, only to find them shattered in pieces around the house or stuck halfway under the couch.

Evidence Below.

Mom, I'm not looking you in the eye because I know I'm naughty. I have to admit I feel a little guilty about it...

...But I just can't help myself!

Linking up to...

The DIY Showoff

Peacock Themed Christmas Tree

Every year I like to have various themed Christmas trees. Yes, yes, I have more than one, or two (or three) trees.  I'm surprised I waited this long to decorate one of them in one of my favorite themes and colors- peacocks!



It's a little sparse right now... but it will improve! :)



To pull off the theme, I wrapped the tree in purple lights, a purple and blue feather boa, and accented with blue and purple Christmas bulbs. Add feather ornaments, peacock clips, DIY feather ornaments (see photo below) and real peacock feathers and you've got one pretty unique tree!

 

To wrap it all up, complete it with a peacock tree skirt (DIY project!) and set over a purple, blue, or lime green skirted table.

How do you have your Christmas tree decorated?

Day 18 of 31 Day Spooktacular- Autopsy Room

This may look like a normal hutch...

but I like to call it my...

If you look a little closer, you may notice why.

Body Organs...Cockroaches...

Brains...Severed Fingers...Spiders...

Hearts... Eyeballs...

Specimen Bottles...Bugs...Bones...

Skeleton Pieces...

Potions...

Bats...Spiders...

It's a wonderfully gross display.

I'd love for you to follow along for the 31 Day Spooktacular! 

Catch up!

 Day 1 (Candy Corn Tablescape)

Day 2 (Costume Ideas)
Day 3 (GOURDgeous decor)

Day 4 (3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies)

Day 5 (FREE Halloween Printables)

Day 6 (Acorn Desserts)

Day 7 (Pumpkin Candle Holders)

Day 8 (Specimen Bottles with FREE Printables)

Day 9 (DIY Book Crafts)

Day 10 (7 Layer Dip- Halloween Style)

Day 11 (Skull Basket)

Day 12 (Fall Mantel- Guest Post)

Day 13 (Danger Sign)

Day 14 (Skeleton Centerpiece)

Day 15 (Vintage Cupcake Toppers)

Day 16 (DIY Halloween Goblets)

Day 17 (Snake Wreath)

You might find me linking up to...

Savvy Southern Style

DIY by Design

No Minimalist Here

Tales of a Bloggeritaville

The Shabby Chic Cottage

At the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

The DIY Showoff

Yesterday on Tuesday

French Country Cottage

Creative Kristi

Tator Tots and Jello

Nest of Posies

Rhinestone Beagle

Yesterday on Tuesday

2805

Ladybird Lane

Clean vs. Dirty Colors- My OWN Experience

I can admit, before I went to the wonderful Maria Killam's True Colour Expert workshop, I didn't know much about color.  I liked color, I used color (not always right), and I noticed color... but I didn't have confidence in why it worked to use one versus another.

At the workshop, one (major) concept we learned about was the difference in clean and dirty colors.  I remember reading Maria's blog posts at Colour Me Happy over and over, trying to understand it.
I didn't.
To solve that problem, I took a little jaunt over to Vancouver and attended the workshop.

While I sat in class and filled my brain full of information, I kept thinking about how wrong a few colors in my home were... and how my husband would wish that I never attended after I told him we needed to repaint almost, well,  everything. 

One of the colors that I knew was wrong was an accent wall in my living room.  (If you read my earlier post about accent walls, don't be fooled, I am not completely against them!) 
The living room is very nuetral with pops of bright blue, green, and turquoise. 

To tie in the bright blue accents, I painted an accent wall a wonderful blue from a piece of art in the room.   Bad idea. It wasn't wonderful on the wall.
 So I repainted it with a different shade.  Better, but still not great.

There was just something about it I didn't like. Too bright? Too blue? I didn't know and wasn't willing to keep repainting it.  

BEFORE: 



Before.
It really wasn't this bright in real life.
Camera flashes + horrible photographers = SUCKY photos.





Before. No flash.


  During the True Colour Expert Workshop, I sat in that classroom and realized why I didn't the color I had blindly chosen. It was way too CLEAN for the room. It screamed 'kids room' and made everything else look dirty. All I did was find a DIRTY blue that was already used in the room and repainted.

  

AFTER:

After. The dirtied version of blue.



Better, don't you think?



Before 



 After

The best part? My husband didn't even notice.

And if I didn't tell him I repainted, he still wouldn't notice.  

Now... all I have to do is replace my coffee table, paint the other walls, install baseboards, replace all the lighting, find a new lam.. (K, I'll stop now)

 

Linking up to...

Savvy Southern Style

DIY by Design

No Minimalist Here

Tales of a Bloggeritaville

The Shabby Chic Cottage

At the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

The DIY Showoff

If you need assistance with your own clean and dirty (home interior) issues, email me at coleyhueske@hotmail.com




Decorating w/ Battery Operated Lights

I inherited a liking for lights from my mom. She is especially fond of string lights, which can end up looking either really elegant (below)

Source

or just plain tacky (below).

Source

 I bought 3 strings of battery operated, mini LED lights for a different project but because it never panned out, I was left with these guys...

Source



I figured there was something I could do with them. I basically walked around the house putting the lights in random places (plants, vases, centerpieces, top of cabinets, etc.) to determine if it looked good or tacky.  Then I placed in my silver urn ...

and it worked perfectly.

Because it isn't a clear vase, it hides the wires wonderfully, and because it is battery operated, there are no cords! 

It creates a soft glow and adds warmth to my living room, all for a mere $5.00 :) 

Other ways you could utilize these versatile little things...

*Decorate a mantel

*Hide in plants

*Wrap around a wreath

*Use as wall art

*Illuminate under cabinets

*Place in vases

*Hide inside garland

*Hang behind a picture

What other ideas have you seen?

Linking up to...

Savvy Southern Style

DIY by Design

No Minimalist Here

Tales of a Bloggeritaville

The Shabby Chic Cottage

At the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

The DIY Showoff

Yesterday on Tuesday

Ladybird Ln