Ad Inspiration

Almost every time I post a photo of my fireplace, I get comments about how much you like it. Did you know that it's not the original fireplace? I looked through a gazillion photos and can't seem to find a good "before" picture, but I can give you a good idea of the original fireplace.
This is a photo of what the front of our home looked like before I redesigned it. See that wall of rock? Now, imagine that exact same rock wall as a fireplace. What you may not be able to see is that some rocks jut out so far that my boys would literally rock climb the fireplace (as well as the front of the house). There was no mantle, and because of the strange rock formations we couldn't hang a picture. I managed to hang a huge wreath off one of the protruding rocks, but it wasn't centered in the middle. It also had an over-sized, rock covered hearth that stuck out an additional two-plus feet into the room. Just getting rid of it gave us a lot more usable space.
We tore that monstrosity down all by ourselves. Our three youngest sons did a lot of the work. It was our practice run for tearing down the rock on the front of the house. It was a HUGE, dusty job! We re-purposed all of the rock into a dry stream bed in our back yard. We hired a friend to put up sheet rock and then my husband and I built the mantle. We used this picture, that I had torn out of a magazine, as our inspiration. Do you do that? I can't throw a magazine away until I've gone through it and torn out anything and everything that interests me. Right now I have three stacks waiting to be sorted through and torn apart. Magazines are a wonderful idea source for making improvements in your home.

Am I Alone?

Please tell me that I'm not the only one
who continues to add layers to holiday vignettes
up until the day of the holiday.

Fancy Eggs

While I was on an egg roll (pardon the pun), I thought I'd take some ordinary paper mache eggs and make them fancy. First I gave them a quick coat of paint, then I tore some scrap book paper into pieces and applied it using mod podge. They seemed a bit plain so I applied more mod podge and covered them with sparkling crystal glitter.

The glitter looked so pretty that I covered the remaining eggs using only sparkling silver glitter. Once dry, I placed them into a tarnished silver basket along with the chalkboard eggs.

Who says Easter eggs only look good in pastels?

Eggs-ellent Idea

I saw this idea on a local TV show
and immediately thought,
"Why didn't I think of that!"
Just because I didn't think of it
doesn't mean I can't share it with you.
Although I really should have thought of it
because it involves eggs and
black spray paint.
Don't do this with boiled eggs you'll eat.
Use wood, or ceramic eggs,
or hollowed out real eggs.
There is only one thing better
than a spray painted black egg . . .

a spray painted black chalkboard egg!If you don't like them in black,
chalkboard paint can be tinted almost any color.
Wouldn't these be wonderful
for place settings at Easter dinner?Now, you're probably saying,
"Why didn't I think of that!"

Uplifting Words

I have a collection of quotes that inspire and motivate me. I like to surround myself with words that uplift my spirit.
I have a bunch of quotes on a vintage chip clip rack in my bathroom.
A couple of reminders are hung on bottles in the bathroom window sill.Manilla tags are a fun and easy way to post a quote.
This metal word reminding us every day to "Celebrate" is on a chair as you go into the family room. I found it and the "Blessed" sign (in the bathroom) in the greeting card isle.
This little tag reads "Live Love Laugh." It was a key chain from the dollar store. I tied it onto a candle that sits on our kitchen table.
This one is next to my computer.I like to add sayings to lampshades, that way I read them when I turn the light on and off.

What words inspire you?

A Little Egg-stra

A LITTLE MORE EASTER DECOR

Easter's On It's Way

In years past, decorating for the holidays meant removing all of my regular pretties to set up entire holiday vignettes. This year I've changed things up a bit. I've decided to save myself some time and energy when it comes to decorating so that I have more time and energy for other projects. I just nestled many of my Easter decorations into the existing decor. I like the way it has come together. It's a little more subtle---not a holiday explosion. Okay, it probably still looks like a holiday explosion to you, but to me it's hoilday decorations with less stress.