set design:: pallet wall art

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By now you probably know my obsession with pallets. One of the main reasons I love them is that most of the time they are free. And who doesn’t like free, especially free decor?

For one of our sets/walls in our video room at work, we were needing to figure out what to put up on the wall. After seeing some pallets in our mailroom, I thought, why not try and make some sort of wall art from those? After all, we are on a tight budget.

So here’s what we came up with.

The first step in making this was to take one of the pallets apart. For this particular pallet, we weren’t able to use a hammer to ply the nails out. The wood would start to split every time we tried. So we 2 guys at work, used a recipricating saw to cut through all the nails.

We wanted the finished product to be as large as possible, so we didn’t end up trimming any of the main boards down. We  A guy at work, just trimmed down three of the pieces a bit and drilled them to the back. {I promise I actually helped with this project. I just didn’t do much with the power tools this time around}.

We wanted the pallet to stand out against the wall so we started by painting it all white.

Then I found a bluish/grayish color that we brushed on top of the white. We made sure not to paint over all the white, but allowed some of the white to show through.

Then on top of the grayish/bluish color, we lightly painted on a gold/tan color.

It looked great with all the paint, but it was a little too ‘pretty.’

To rough it up a little more, we added a dark brown wax.

Looks yummy, huh? ;)

We used a cloth to wipe it on. Be sure to wipe off the excess on a scrap piece of wood otherwise you’ll just end up with a dark blob {trust me}.

Here are some of the spots up close that we swiped with the wax. Gives it a nice aged look.

And here’s the finished product up on the wall again.

To hang it, we just used a picture wire and made sure to get one that would hold something heavy.

So far it’s done the trick!

We had a band come in last week and we used this set. It still needs some tweaking, but in the meantime, I hung a few of the wire baskets from the recent bird cage set I worked on to add a little something else visually.

What do you think? Any suggestions on what else we should add to the wall?

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I’ve got high hopes of getting a lot of projects done this weekend. I have some of my own pallet wood that’s calling my name. Here’s to having a productive weekend!

Linking this up to::

Thirty Handmade Days

Filed Under: DIY, set design, tutorials Tagged With:

Inspiration:: Outdoor Living

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Summer is almost here! Can you feel it?

One of my favorite things to do when the weather gets warm is to eat outside. On the weekends when my friends and I are deciding on where to eat, the top priority lately has been whether the restaurant has outdoor seating or not. I don’t know what it is about eating outside that I love. I think part of the reason is because I can’t do it all the time {it’s weather dependent} and the other part is that I’m a cold natured person so there’s nothing better than getting to eat outside in the warm sun instead of a freezing restaurant. :)

At our new house, our outdoor patio area won’t blow you away, but it is definitely larger and nicer than the teeny tiny deck we had at our apartment before. Really all I need is a table and a few chairs and I’m a happy girl {plus, we do have a hammock in our back yard, which is a nice bonus}.

But, one day I would love to have a nice outdoor area in my backyard as a place to hang out and eat outside on warm summer nights.

Here are a few amazing outdoor living spaces to give us all some ideas and something to dream about.

Outside rooms contemporary exterior

Hanging strands of lights from trees in my backyard is a definite must in my future house.

 

Can’t you just imagine lots of family dinners being eaten outside at this table?

 

I love how cozy this space is. And the wine barrel side tables are such a cute idea!

 

An outdoor fireplace is also a must.

Source: bhg.com via Megan on Pinterest

 

I love how this space is just an extension of the main part of the house.

Now I’m in the mood to eat outside tonight :)

Do you love eating outside as much as I do?

Filed Under: decorating, houzz, inspiration, pinterest

1 Year Blogiversary

May 14, 2012 By 3 Comments

A year ago yesterday I decided to take the plunge and start this blog. I really had no expectations for it and had no idea what I was doing when I started. I knew the basics of blogging, but I had no idea how much work it would require. For one, writing blog posts takes a lot more time than I thought. You not only have to come up with content ideas, but then you have to take or find  pictures, edit those pictures and then there’s the most important part, putting it all together in a well crafted spectacular post that thousands will want to read. :)

 

And then there’s maintaing the back end of things on your blog. With WordPress now, that means dealing with having my own server, backing up my blog on a consistent basis, managing & adding plugins to improve functionality, making sure I’m maximizing SEO in each post and maintaining the look & design of the blog.

 

And finally, there’s the most important & most worthwhile thing about blogging: making connections with others within the blogging community. This means getting to know you guys by responding to some of the sweet comments some of you have left on posts. It also means reaching out and encouraging other bloggers with my own comments.

All in all, it’s a lot  of work if you’re wanting to be serious about it. But through blogging I have learned a lot about myself.

From day one, I knew I wanted to have consistent content and wanted to post on a regular schedule. Afterall, I’m an all or nothing kind of person. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it {95% of the time}. So when I decided to start blogging, I wasn’t going to just write posts sporadically here and there. I was really going to dive head first into it. For the past year, that’s been posting at least three times a week {Monday, Wednesday, and Friday}.

In the beginning I was not only terrified of putting my thoughts out there on the interwebs, but I was also afraid that I would run out of things to say or projects to show you guys. But, I had to learn early on not to put too much pressure on myself. I’m learning that it’s ok if I don’t have three posts scheduled each week and it’s ok if I don’t have some spectacular awesome diy project with a full step by step tutorial with pictures on the blog every week. Life will go on.

 

 

I’m also learning to let go of the fact that I can’t do everything. There is so much more I could be doing when it comes to blogging {and in life in general}. I could comment on more blogs, I could email more bloggers, I could have awesome blog series lined up, I could work on more projects, I could tweet or post on Facebook more. You get the point. But, trying to achieve everything comes at a price.

Blogging is something I enjoy doing, but for me, real life relationships are more important. I don’t want to look back a few years from now and wish I had lived in the moment more. Balancing everything is something we all struggle with and I’m certainly not perfect at it. But, I’m learning to put the computer down more often. That’s why almost after a month since switching my blog over to WordPress I still have posts with missing pictures, extra pictures and weird spacing. But, I’m learning that it’s ok to take things slow. Things will get done eventually.

 

I never want blogging to be a chore. It’s been a great creative outlet this past year and I plan to continue blogging for as long as it makes sense. But, bottom line though, it’s not a race. Rome wasn’t built in a day as they say. I’ll get to my goal eventually. Life is precious and I want to fully enjoy life outside of the computer as much as possible. It starts by learning to let go.

Any of you bloggers out there have any advice on how to deal with the pressures that come with blogging?

P.S. If you read this whole post I’m impressed! Sorry it was a little long winded. Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. And for all you ABC Bachelor fans, guess what premieres tonight? That’s right! The Bachelorette. Let the drama begin!

Filed Under: blogging

Easy Update:: Replacing Hardware

May 11, 2012 By 2 Comments

Sorry I’ve been MIA this week. This week was a lot busier than I had anticipated and I didn’t have as much time to work on blog posts as I had planned :/

But, I did manage to carve out some time to write this post! Lucky you! Today’s post is all about a quick & easy update.

My bedroom furniture set was my first ‘big girl’ purchase after moving to Nashville and getting a job. At the time, I hadn’t really honed in on ‘my style’ and was just looking for something nice. I ended up with a dark wood matching set from American Signature. The furniture is great and has held up really well over the last 4 years, but now that my style has changed, it’s not what I would go out and buy for myself today.

I would ideally love to paint it all white and give it a distressed look. But, since my taste is still changing, I don’t see the need to do anything drastic just yet {plus painting it all sounds like a whole lot of work that I’m not ready to commit to yet}.

Part of what I don’t like about the furniture now is the hardware. It’s perfectly good hardware, but it’s a little too modern for my current taste and doesn’t necessarily fit in with the look I’m going for in my new room. But, changing out the hardware is an easy thing to replace.

Updating Hardware on Furniture

I found these knobs at Hobby Lobby that I liked.

I thought the bright white would be a good contrast against the dark wood.

I replaced a few of the knobs, starting with the nightstand, to see if that would help me to love the furniture a little more.

After living with it a few days, I decided that the new knobs definitely helped brighten up the furniture a bit, so I went ahead and bought all the hardware they had in this style currently in stock and ordered the remaining quantity I needed {I need a total of 27}. {Sidenote: Hobby Lobby usually has all their hardware on sale for 50% off which is a great deal when you have to buy a large amount}.

I’m still waiting for the rest of the knobs to come in, but can’t wait to see what it will all look like with all the hardware updated!

While I was at Hobby Lobby, I also went ahead and looked for new knobs for my closet doors. My closet had small brass knobs. Not like the pretty antique brass knobs, but like 90s style super shiny brass knobs.

Again, they are totally fine, but I figured why not spend a few bucks on something that’s easily changeable and replace them with something I like much better.

I found a style of knobs that were similar to the ones I’m using for my furniture, but just a larger version.

Since we’re just renting, I’ve saved the old knobs and plan to put them back on when we move.

It’s not a drastic change, but the closet no longer looks like it came straight out of the 90s now. :)

Easy, quick & affordable=my kind of decorating!

To all you mothers out there, I hope you have a Happy Mother’s Day this Sunday!  I hope you feel loved & celebrated this weekend!

Filed Under: decorating Tagged With:

Sheet Music Dessert Table

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My roommate and I last week were asked to bring some desserts for a worship conference here in town called Inspire.

Being the overachievers that we are, we couldn’t just bring some simple desserts. We had to go all out and I of course had to include some decorations.

Some of you may have seen me tweet a picture of it, but here was our finished product.

For desserts, my roommate made some delicious red velvet cake balls.

I ended up making some Ghiradelli chocolate brownies.

And The Pioneer Woman’s Oatmeal Whoopie Pies.

I had some leftover old sheet music that I had bought at a local market this past fall. I ended up making a paper chain out of them, along with some paper rosettes and a banner for the front of the table.

Here’s the full shot again.

Do you get the banner saying? The conference was called Inspire and our banner said ‘Sweet Inspire{ations}.’ Cute, right? {That was all my roommate’s idea. Thanks Kelsey!}.

From what I heard, the dessert table was a hit, so going overboard was worth it :)

Confession time, I did consume some of these desserts last week. Clearly they don’t go along with my new healthy/no less sugar lifestyle. But A) I had to test them to make sure they were edible (right?) and B) I can only resist a room full of sweets for so long before caving. Whew! I feel better now.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Filed Under: crafts, parties, recipes Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts