my little boy's not a baby, anymore!

My little boy is 3 and 1/2 (or closer to 3 and 3/4!).

We've decided, that in our next home, he deserves a real, big boy room.

So we'll ditch the crib and changing table/dresser, and start from scratch.

Except

I have NO IDEA what I want it to look like.  And if you ask HIM, he'll probably say "spiderman" or "batman" or "ironman" or something else he knows equally little about. 

So here are the images I've found looking around the internet.   Looks like I'm leaning towards navy, red, light blue and black.

Or maybe light brown or off white walls with the navy, red, blue accents?

But no boat bed...I draw the line at that!

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we invited several families that John works with over for lunch.  One family has just moved to Denver from India, and so it was nice to give them the typical, American Thanksgiving experience!  The other family is from Mexico, and although they have lived in the States for a while, it was nice to have their perspective on Thanksgiving as well.  We enjoyed Indian Samosas to start, turkey and all the American sides, and Mexican flan for dessert!

Here is my table, all set! (minus the kids' Gobble Gobble paper plates that I added later)

 My grandmother always served Thanksgiving on these Johnson Brother's turkey plates (the pattern is His Majesty).  Last year I ordered some for myself, to continue the tradition.  The best part is that mine are microwaveable and dishwasher safe!  Yay for easy clean up!

 Doesn't the wreath work well in here?

 The kids pulled the wishbone before all the guests arrived, and while John was carving the bird.  These aren't great pictures, but I love how Grayson realizes before Caroline that SHE got the bigger piece.  No photos of the crying that came later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Coffee Filter Wreath

Only 2 days before Thanksgiving, I decided not to clean the house, but to make a beautiful wreath to decorate our dining room for Thanksgiving.

Can you say "procrastination"?  I'm an expert.

With the kids down for nap, I gathered the materials I had purchased earlier in the morning:

-14" straw wreath form (half price of $3.47 at Hobby Lobby)

-200 natural coffee filters (99 cents on sale at Target)

-hot glue gun

-glue sticks (LOTS)

-scissors (didn't end up using)

-ribbon for hanging

I found A LOT of tutorials around the web for coffee filter wreaths.  And I picked and chose from the several I read to make up my own version.

I started with a straw wreath form, but I left it wrapped in the plastic cover.  I had read about this on a tutorial from The Nester.  The plastic wrap provided a nice even surface to attach the coffee filters.

 Then I covered the entire wreath with a solid layer of coffee filters.  I picked up this tip from Jones Design Company.  I was worried that if the coffee filters didn't completely cover, I didn't want the straw/plastic to show through.

 Then I started attaching the filters.  I don't have photos of this part, but I folded the filter in half, then in half again, then in half again (is that eighths?).  At first I was cutting the triangular end of the filter off to create a flat surface, and then attaching with hot glue.  (see it here)

This is about as far as I made it with that method.  It was just too hard to keep the filter folded up, standing up, and attached.  So I stopped cutting, and just folded that little end piece over, and using that to glue the filter to the wreath.

 Here you can see my little flaps glue down.  Despite having that little flap to adhere...I still burned my fingers on almost ALL 200 filters.  Ouch.

 About halfway done.

...200 coffee filters later!

I simply tied a brown satin ribbon around the wreath (you could attach with hot glue or pins) and tied the ribbon around my curtain rod in the dining room.

I had considered hanging it on the mirror along the opposite wall, but I was afraid you could see the ugly back in the mirror's reflection.  Plus, simply tying it on the curtain rod was SO much easier.

I'm very pleased with how the wreath looks with my goldenrod drapes from Restoration Hardware. Next, I'll show you how it looks with my Thanksgiving table all set!

Entry stairs

We've all heard "First impressions are lasting impressions" right?

So, I'm now drawing inspiration for a grand entry area in our new house. 

{We all know this house does not yet exist, right}

Our house in Colorado does not really have an entry to speak of.  Oh, it has a front door, and a little patch of wood flooring before you're thrust into the formal living area.  But in my dream house, there would be a nice space dedicated to entering! 

There would be, or course, a staircase.  Preferably one with a modern, metal railing.

Also, a table.  Displaying things kids aren't allowed to touch! (or books and mail.  Let's be realistic!)

Maybe a picture gallery up the wall...or down the hall.

 White walls, brown wood flooring

 and plenty of gorgeous moldings!

Of course, since we mostly enter our home through the garage, maybe I should be focusing on the mudroom instead!

Caroline's Room

I'm not an interior designer.

Whew...glad we got that out of the way!

I've been working (in my mind) on some ideas for Caroline's room re-design, and I've gotten carried away with Joel Dewberry's fabric Dogwood Bloom in pink, maple and grass.

Here's my (amateur) version of a design board as a jumping off place.

She already has the bed, brown comforter, and lamp in her current room design, as well as a matching white night stand and dresser.  I think it will be an easy upgrade. 

But do you think a 5 year old would like it?

Happy Birthday to my Mother in Law!

So, my glass etching didn't turn out PERFECTLY, so my MIL is just getting the pitcher.  The glasses were a little less uniform.  I hope she'll be pleased.  I also added my newest craft craze...satin flower pins, as the "wrapping" for the pitcher.  I've been making these like crazy.  Here are a couple that I whipped up to wear to a Fall Harvest Festival on Friday:

You can find the flower tutorial here.

Blessings,  Michelle

glass etching

Quite a while ago, I found this tutorial for glass etching at Create Studio.

So I decided to give it a try and make a gift for my MIL...oh, for last Mother's Day.  I didn't get to it as quickly as I would have liked, and on the first go-round, I messed up the pitcher a little.  Good thing she and I share the same last initial, because I have a new pitcher with a slightly messed up "H" etched on it!

So the gift has been put off 6 months, and now her birthday is around the corner, and I'm determined to get to it again.

So, I'm going to give my hand at a pitcher (straight sides this time!) and 4 drinking glasses.  I can't decide if I want to etch all the pieces with the same "H", or if I want to use a different font for each glass.  My thought was, that if each glass was different, then you would never get confused as to which glass was yours!  I narrowed it down to 6 choices.

Here's what you (and I) need to remember:

-etching cream is EXPENSIVE, but also REUSABLE.  Be prepared to do LOTS of projects.

-pick a glass item with straight sides.  Cylindrical is ok...but not rounded or bulbous.

-be prepared for a little imperfection!

-check Create Studio for all her other tips as posts about etching.

I'll post some pictures when I'm finished.

fit for a king

Right now, my husband and I share a queen size bed.  It's SO comfy and a beautiful sleigh bed, but I'm ready for an upgrade!  Whenever we stay in hotels that have a king size bed, that extra space is very nice!

So, I think we may spring for a king size bed of our own (for a new house).  It may end up being a late anniversary present, although I don't think the gift for 8 years of marriage is "beds"!

{ok...I checked.  The anniversary gift for 8 years is bronze.  Or pottery, appliances, or linen}

So, here are just some design ideas to get me started.

First up: a bronze bed!  I probably wouldn't buy it, but since it's the 8 year gift and all...

 ...and from JC Penny...

 overstock.com...

 pottery barn....

 restoration hardware...

 and urban home...

I think I'm leaning towards something wooden.  I admit I'm drawn to a lot of upholstered headboards, but I just don't think they would last long with little kids around.  Grimy finger and all...  Wood is just easier to keep up.  But I did throw in that leather one as a compromise!  I also seem to be going for beds with low footboards. 

Here's hoping we find something WONDERFUL and at a great PRICE when the time comes.

A home in brown and white

Is is possible to design an entire home around white walls and brown furniture?  What if I throw in a little color for accents?  Well, this is the direction I'm heading for our new home.  Here are a few of my inspiration photos.