Hang It Up

My daughter has a HUGE collection of jewelry. She's already filled up the jewelry frame I made. For Christmas she received so many necklaces that I told her that I would make her a necklace holder. Almost two months later, I finally decided to cross that project off my list. Here's how I made it.
First, I found some pretty fabric.I took out the mod podge and picked out some drawer knobs while hubby cut a board to size and drilled holes to fit the screws for the knobs.I painted the board black. When it was dry I placed it on top of the upside-down fabric and traced around the board. I cut out the fabric. I brushed mod podge onto the board and applied the fabric piece.Then I brushed a layer of mod podge on top of the fabric in one direction. When dry, I brushed on another layer in the opposite direction.Lastly, I poked holes in the fabric to screw on the drawer knobs, then added the hanging hardware.And there you have it! A pretty necklace holder, or towel holder, or apron holder, or whatever-you-choose holder.

A Great After

BEFORE:

A Wasted SpaceAFTER:
A Pretty Place
I'm so happy that I was able to transform
this dead end closet
using things I already had.


P.S.

I'm hoping that you wonderful readers can help Katie. She e-mailed me trying to find a certain post in blogland: "It was a tutorial on how to make your own hand painted signs-I think the lady used receipt paper to trace the sayings onto painted wood pieces?....does this ring a bell? I have a toddler and I really wanted to make him a sign for his b-day"
***Edited to add: Thanks for your help! Katie found what she was after and more!

Comfortable Chairs & Lounges from Jessica Charles

We like furniture that is made in the US. We just do. There are two reasons for it: 1) we are patriotic and 2)they are just made better.

Jessica Charles, a division of Hancock and Moore, is one of those. They specialize in only one thing, chairs (which include dining chairs, lounge chairs and occasional chairs) and oh they do it so well...

Here are some pretty things from Jessica Charles:









As always, email us if you need help with any of these items.

Dining Chairs We Love-Jessica Charles

We love these chairs from Jessica Charles. They are so well-made! We have chairs that are 15 years old and they are still in super good shape.

Here are some new styles that are totally adorable. The chairs are expensive (ranging $600-800 per chair depending on fabrics), but we think they are worth it.

You can see the rest of the collection at the Jessica Charles web site. In addition to chairs, they make fabulous chaise lounges and occasional chairs as well.

If you need help with any of the products shown, drop us a line...

Plan B

PLAN A:

*Take eight dollar thrift store table
out of storage.
*Sand off ugly gold paint to
reveal original mahogany finish
(this should be easy since the previous owner
didn't properly prep table before spray painting).
*Leave just enough gold paint patches
to give the table an "old world" finish.

*Pair table with old mirror.PROBLEM:

*Removal of gold paint reveals
several scratches on tabletop
(likely a reason the previous owner painted it).

PLAN B:
*Sand tabletop to remove scratches.
*Tape off mirror and molding.
*Lightly sand mirror frame.

*Break out the, ever dependable, black spray paint.When doing makeovers,
it's good to have a Plan B.

Music For The Eyes

At the end of the hall in my basement is a funny little space. I have never understood what the builder was thinking when he built this spot. Originally it had a bi-fold door on it, leading a person to think that it might be a closet. But who builds a closet that is less than ten inches deep? Even if they would have taken the time to build shelves inside, what items would you store in such a small place?Finally, after years of being annoyed with this dead end, I decided to do something with it. I knew with a little creativity, I could turn this worthless spot into a place of interest and beauty.
I found a book of accordion music at the thrift store for a dollar. It has handwritten dates inside of when the owner played some of the pieces. They were dated 1954! The pages show their age. I love how yellowed they are.I tore out the pages and adhered them to the inside of the "closet", using wallpaper paste, overlapping the pages and adding parts of pages for interest.I knew I achieved my goal when one of my sons walked by and said, "That's interesting." To which I replied, "Interesting is much better than what it was before." Now, the fun begins! I'm off to find some things to put in this interesting place.

So Chic, So Cool-The Mercer Collection from Safavieh

We just go back from the Las Vegas Furniture show last week. These shows are usually really fun. It's a chance see new things and old friends.

There are a few vendors that we really like this year. We'll be writing about them in the next few days....

The first vendor you might want to check out is the new Mercer Collection from Safavieh. Known for their rugs, Safavieh has expanded rapidly into furniture the last few years. They are doing a pretty good job with it. Here are a few that we really like (and if you are into the Hollywood Regency look, we think you'll love this collection).

If you need help with this line, drop us a line...

Fabulous Stationary

People don't mail anything anymore, do they? But don't you just love getting a hand-written note once in a while instead of email? A real invitation instead of an evite?

Here's this adorable stationary company that makes wonderful, modern stationary. They are not too expensive; and they are so chic, so cool. It's a great line to use for invitations and personal note cards...We particularly love the personal calling cards--they're like business cards, only more glamorous...

Fabulous Stationary.com