decor – Page 2 – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

My Fall Decor

Published on October 5, 2015October 13, 2015 by JennaLeave a comment

At last, I’ve finished decorating for fall and got some nice daylight shots to share. I started with the mantel, which I kept very natural and neutral with a little pop of orange from the DIY pumpkins I made last year.

Next to the fireplace I continued the neutral theme on the media cabinet. I found the free feather print online and added a green urn filled with tiny yarn pumpkins I DIY’d years ago by wrapping orange yarn around and around to form a ball, then adding a small stick as a stem. On the other side I kept the wooden tool box filled with hydrangeas from my summer décor and added a doily wrapped pumpkin – another DIY from years past using a doily to cover a basic green plastic pumpkin and covering the gathered ends with twine I wrapped to form a stem.

My yellow and orange zig zag pillow covers made the throw pillows I was using for the summer more appropriate for fall and I added a couple of clearance pillows I found at Michaels to tie in the neutral colors I’d used elsewhere. I also picked up a white striped pillow in the same pattern as the black ones and have it on the chair next to the couch, although I somehow forgot to take a picture of it.

On the side table I placed a ceramic lantern and pumpkin in a metal tray and finished it off with a cute little wooden crow I’ve had for years. The lantern and tray were both recent Michaels finds. And the arrangement leaves just the right amount of room for the TV remote to be stored in the tray where it can be found.

The metal table between the chair and couch holds my favorite thrifted find, a little owl lantern with some orange mums in an old crock and a pretty glittery green pumpkin I found at Walmart for under $1.

I put my little scarecrow on top of the curio cabinet, where his little button legs are safe from puppy teeth. I like to display him with them dangling like I did last year, but now that the dogs are home alone for a longer portion of the day I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

I kept things simple in the entry way, using more of my DIY wooden pumpkins and an old wood tray I got at the estate sale this summer.

I filled the tray with a variety of green and neutral colored pumpkins and gourds, including several I painted white with chalk spray paint after seeing one of my favorite bloggers create some for her home the same way, although I painted the stems of mine green and brown for a little contrast. I added a berry spray I got at Michaels around the base for a little extra color.

I also DIY’d this gold pumpkin, which picks up some of the golds in the pumpkins in the wooden tray. It was a super simple project using craft paint I had on hand, but I’ll share a recap of it in the next few days.

On the other side of the entry table, I used a textured wooden pumpkin I found at Target. I’ve seen them all over blog land and there were only a few left at my store, so if you want one you better hurry.

Over in the dining room the buffet became home to a mix of old and new pieces with a variety of textures.

In the center is a new copper lantern I found on sale at Michaels. I paired it with a birch log stand and a piece of the berry spray I used in the entry way.

I found this little fox at Fred Meyer and knew he had to come home with me. I loved his graceful curved tail and adorable face. And since it was a BOGO half off sale he made a cute green ceramic pumpkin only a $1. The pumpkin ended up in the wooden tray in the entry way.

Another new find this year was this rustic crow. He’s super sturdy with his strong metal feet and his distressed colors blend perfectly with the rest of my décor this year.

And here’s the whole scene with the candles on and flickering. I’ve set them all on a timer so they automatically come on about the time we get home each evening and I’m enjoying the pretty warm glow they create.

In front of the buffet I put together this little basket of harvest goodness. This was another revamped DIY piece created from a wooden tray I found on the local buy/sell page. I’ll share that project tomorrow.

FallTable So that’s my fall décor. October is shaping up to be a very busy month, including a work trip to Southeast Alaska, so I might just skip decorating for Halloween this year and leave these pieces up through Thanksgiving, but we’ll see.

Rustic Humble Sign

Published on October 2, 2015October 14, 2015 by JennaLeave a comment

I spotted this large sign at an estate sale we attended this summer and immediately wanted it. Unfortunately, the auction was done “by the pallet” and it was the only thing on the pallet I wanted so when the price went up I bowed out. When I spotted the winning bidder sorting through the rest of the pile I figured it was worth a shot to ask if they wanted the sign and if they would be willing to sell me just that item. He replied with “$20 and it’s yours.” Needless to say I quickly dished out a $20 and practically skipped away with my sign.

Once I sat down with it I realized it wasn’t a true antique. Instead it was a paper print on a metal base and because the auctioneers had taped across it to secure it on the top of the pallet the original buyer had realized that the tape was ripping the paper decal as you tried to take it off. I was pretty bummed but decided to give it a shot. I slowly worked the tape off so it wouldn’t damage any more of the decal and was able to get the entire strip off without further damage.

Once I got it home I Modge Podged the ripped section, which left a thin white line on either side of the tear. To disguise that I took some wood stain and applied it lightly to the area wiping it off quickly. A few coats made it blend right in. You can still spot it if you look for it, but otherwise you’d never notice. I decided to hang it in what will become our Foster Child room above the closet. Being up high helps hide the blemish and I thought it was a great sentiment for a child’s room.

I’ve got some other exciting revamp/DIY plans for getting this room set up. We need the room to be gender neutral, so I’m going with an industrial/vintage style that can be personalized a bit for whoever comes to stay with us. I’ll be sharing those details over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Shared on Knick of Time’s Vintage Inspiration Party #209!

Rustic Windmill Becomes Art – The Plan

Published on September 30, 2015 by JennaLeave a comment

So it should come as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of the show Fixer Upper, and if you’ve watched it at all you know Joanna Gaines’ penchant for using windmills as wall art. I loved the look and decided to make the same happen in our home. Luckily, we have a fantastic local antique store who does picking trips across Canada and the lower 48. So when they asked if anyone was looking for something in particular I made sure my request got on the list. It must have been fate because they found one in Wisconsin! Unfortunately they didn’t have room to bring it back that trip, but they were able to store it at a partner’s warehouse until the next trip when they cut it in half and wedged it into the trailer with all their other found treasures.

Usually they have a big one day sale a few days after they return from each trip where the items they pick are available, but since it was a special pick just for me, I got to come pick it up as they were unloading. It’s definitely a large scale piece, measuring about 8′ wide and 4′ tall! The picture above is a shot of it on our big flatbed trailer in the yard. It’s so large that I had to take the photo vertically and rotate it because I couldn’t get high enough to fit the whole thing in the frame! Although they brought back the better half for me, it is missing half of two of the blades, but because they are in the center it doesn’t bother me much. And how can you not love the amazing patina this thing has?!

The plan is to mount this massive piece of rustic art on the dining room wall, which I’ve cleared in preparation. The small yellow stickie notes are an approximate of the size for reference. I’d like to have a white plank wall (another Fixer Upper inspiration) behind it so that has to happen first because I have no intention of making the hubs help me move and mount this mother more than once. He loves me, but I’m not sure he loves me enough for that! 😉 I’m hopeful that we’ll get that done before December so I can clip all the holiday cards we receive to it, but life might get in the way of that, so we’ll see.

For now I’ll just envision it there above the buffet, which includes a sneak peek of my fall decorating that I’ll be sharing soon – including a few DIY revamps! I’ll be sure to share both the plank wall install and final look with the windmill in place, so stay tuned!

The Royal Carriage

Published on September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 by JennaLeave a comment

Recently I was editing client photos in the office and heard the sound Luna makes as she’s falling asleep nearby, but she was no where to be found. I looked around and soon discovered she had curled up in the antique baby carriage I’d recently brought home as a newborn prop and put in the corner of the studio. Not only was she a perfect fit for the little stroller, but she seemed so comfy she didn’t even open her eyes when I moved a box sitting next to the carriage. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pull the carriage out a bit and quickly put up a backdrop to capture a few shots.

I might not have newborn shots of all my fur babies, but this ranks right up there with that! Her siblings were fairly concerned that their kitty was snoozing in this contraption and each took turns checking on her.

Eventually Tequila laid down to keep watch while her kitty cat slept – or perhaps wonder why we don’t have a stroller she could fit in! 🙂

Eventually, the Princess arose from her beauty sleep and posed for the paparazzi (aka – mom). Seriously, could she look any more regal sitting in a stroller, lace draped out the side with a glittery gold backdrop?!

And this isn’t the first time she’s shown her approval of my prop and décor finds. She also declared this antique wooden box suitable for her royal hinny!

I’m so glad she approves. Her parked rump is much more appreciated than the dog’s use of my couch throw pillows as dirty paw rests! But such is life with pets. And we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Ballard Knock-Off Laundry Room Decor

Published on September 26, 2015October 25, 2015 by Jenna1 Comment

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2015/10/link-party-palooza-and-two-project-bag-giveaways.htmlI’ve slowly been re-decorating the laundry room to have more of a rustic/industrial/farm house feel to coordinate with the decor around rest of the house. I loved these over-sized vintage looking safety pins from Ballard Designs, but I wasn’t liking the price and was pretty sure shipping to Alaska would only make me like it less. So when I saw some similar pieces on the local buy sell page for $10 each I decided to DIY myself a set. Here’s what they looked like seconds before their makeover began.

And here’s what they look like now! I put them on the wall where I’d recently had the metal organizer we got on our recent trip down south. We hadn’t been using it at all so it didn’t make sense to keep it there. I’ve stashed it away for now since I really liked it and might find another spot for it later on.

I like how the black plays off the other elements in the room, but am considering adding a bit of rusty color or grey with some distressing to create more depth, but haven’t decided yet. When we get the countertop installed on the cabinet the black in the stone should play off the color well, so I’ll probably hold off until then to make a final decision. What do you think? Leave them as is, or add a bit of texture with a second color?

Shared on Tatertots & Jello’s Link Party Palooza.

A Whale of an Update

Published on September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 by Jenna3 Comments

Although it’s quiet here on the blog, we’ve been slowly completing little projects in-between work, a rush of photography clients and daily life. One of those projects was creating a collage of a whale breach sequence I shot several years ago while my family was visiting Alaska. I recently had a client request a framed print showing the sequence of the breach and I liked it so much I decided I needed one for our home. I found the frame at Michaels and ordered it online for a better price, but it arrived very damaged due to poor packing so I had to wait a few days until I could do an exchange at the local store.

Once it was all complete I hung it in the guest room so visitors can enjoy it while staying at our home. It fit perfectly on the small wall next to the closet, complimenting the fox fur my hubby got long before I came around. Another item that’s new in this room is the large crock you see in the corner there. We picked that up as a set of three at an estate sale this summer. This was the largest of the three.

I’ve ‘interviewed’ it in a few spots around the house since buying it but I think I like it here best. I plan to fill it a large fern – probably a faux version because I’ll never remember to water it in this room! I still need to figure out a night stand for this side of the bed. I have a project table in the garage I had planned to use here, but I think it might need more repair than revamp so I’m watching the buy/sell pages for an already finished option instead.

Now that we’re starting to get the spare room set up as a foster-child room, I moved Roomba’s dock into the guest room. He fits perfectly beneath the sewing table nightstand, yet still has room to leave and return to the dock for charging on his own. Although he’s very visible from this angle you can’t see him from the door, which keeps things looking clean and simple. You can tell Luna is sooo impressed with my mad skills right? 🙂

There are changes coming to the dining room as well, so the lamps that used to live on the buffet needed a new home and I think they look great in here. I added a little wooden tray I picked up for a few dollars while thrifting earlier this year so guests can keep track of the little items that often get lost when traveling. I love how it plays off the colors in the lamp and contrasts with the cherry top of the table.

The room is definitely still a work in progress, but it’s starting to look a bit finished now. I’ve got a few other small projects lined up to share soon, so stay tuned!

The Sickness

Published on February 25, 2015 by JennaLeave a comment

Hi, there. After a lengthy battle with “the sickness” – a nasty, allergy-induced, head cold – I’ve finally returned to feeling human. The hubs was amazing through it all. He drove two hours to pick me up at work and bring me home early because I car pooled the day I got sick and then took great care of me until he came down with a bug himself. We’re both still fighting some congestion, but at least we’re back in action. And now begins the game of playing catch up since I spent my long holiday weekend, including Valentines, hacking up a lung instead of making progress on my to-do list.

One of the items on that list was sharing my Valentines décor with you. I know it’s now passed, but I wanted to share what I did anyway. I had this grand plan to make a sweet X & O like this, but things didn’t pan out quite how I hoped. I bought plain white X and O letters at Michaels with the rest of my no-spend January return gift card.

I originally planned to paint gold stripes on one and gold dots on the other, so I taped off the stripes and poured a bit of craft paint.

Apparently the finish on the letters wasn’t well suited for painting because the paint didn’t adhere well and bled, even with the tape.

I decided to try making the dots with the end of a large brush. That didn’t work out so well either.

Since I had limited time and didn’t feel like sanding anything, I ended up just wiping off the paint and leaving them plain, atop the curio cabinet.

The media cabinet got some love from a few of my recent bargain finds, including a super simple DIY glass hurricane candle votive, which I’ll share a tutorial for in my next post.

I was pretty happy with the mantel arrangement, which included another DIY glass hurricane votive, milk glass and a DIY lipstick heart framed art thanks to several of my gal pals donating their old unwanted lipsticks. They all thought I was nuts when I asked if they had some to donate, but thought the end result was pretty cool.

The side table held some faux tulips in a white crock (another fairly recent bargain find), paired with a long-ago thrifted gold heart votive candle. And my chair became home to my “Love you More” pillow.

I added a “Love” cover to a pillow I already had and it looked perfect on the bench near the entryway. Beyond that you can see the heart rose wreath on the wall in the entry.

The dresser in the entry gave me fits. I just couldn’t seem to make it work. I started with this set-up on one corner and really liked it, but that left the other side barren.

So I reworked things and ended up with this arrangement. Certainly not amazing, but it filled the space and didn’t cost anything, so I decided to go with it.

Clear and red glass heart ornaments, along with some pink ribbon brought my holiday tree to life. I used to have a topper for this holiday but it bit the dust last year so I just went without this time.

I kept the dining room simple, with two large felt hearts on the buffet lamp shades and a little bear holding the wooden heart the hubs mom brought back from Jerusalem under a cloche.

A flameless candle and some rose petals finished off my recent bargain hurricane for the perfect simple centerpiece.

There you have it – my 2015 Valentines décor. Just in time for me to switch it all out to for green St. Patty’s stuff! LOL. I’ll try to get that glass hurricane tutorial posted tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!

The Cutest Pumpkins EVER!

Published on November 24, 2014November 28, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Remember, last week when I said I had a little décor project to wrap up on the porch? Well, it’s finally done and I’m ready to share it with you! Wa-La! The cutest pumpkins EVER! At least to me anyway. 🙂

Besides being adorable, they were super easy to make. First, I spray painted some scrap pieces of 4×4 left over from our fence project. A couple coats of orange and they were looking like very square pumpkins. Now they just needed stems, so I went stick hunting in our woods, much to the dogs delight.

I let my pile of sticks “dry out” on the porch for a few days, ok, weeks – which caused several of them to fall victim to puppy playtime. But I digress. Once I deemed them “dry” I chose a few with interesting texture and curves and marked off sections for the hubs to cut. Yes I could have done it myself, but have a bad history with sharp objects so he came to my rescue.

Once I had all my stems ready to go I tested them out on the different bases and decided the combinations I liked best. A little hot glue and presto, stems!

Cute as they were at this point I felt like they needed a little softening, so I dug out some orange raffia I found at a yard sale long, long ago and tied some around the base of each stem. BAM. Delightful, rustic, recycled wooden pumpkins! On. my. porch!

They are the perfect finishing touch to my other fall decor on the front porch! Apparently Mother Nature didn’t agree because she added some little touches as well… LOL.

Thanksgiving Decor

Published on November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 by Jenna1 Comment

I’ve given ya’ll a couple sneak peeks of my fall/Thanksgiving décor and I’m finally ready to share it all. I kept things simple and used items I already had to create fun yet classic vignettes. You’ve already seen the entryway here, so today I’ll share the little holiday tree that sits next to the front door. It’s the perfect spot to show off my cute little jingle bell Thanksgiving ornaments – a turkey, scarecrow and a pilgrim couple.

Also in the entry way is the new welcome pumpkin I picked up on sale at JoAnns. It’s the perfect fit for the narrow space between the two coat closets across from the dresser and mirror. I’m loving the rustic feel and the contrast it provides with the wall color.

And here’s a full shot of the mantel with my pretty new painting made by moi! I picked up that amazing yellow ceramic vase for just $8 on the buy/sell page. I did my happy dance when I did because I’d been eyeing similar versions at different stores for months for WAY more. I filled in the rest with items I already had – antlers, pumpkins a couple gold votives, a little crow figure and some tall decorative grass in a tan vase. I finished it off with a fall colored ribbon garland I made, similar to the one in the entryway but with softer ‘harvest’ colors. Notice that one pumpkin on the floor? It’s the only one that the dogs aren’t interested in because it’s metal! 🙂

There are few other fall touches in the family room including a bouquet of orange mums in a small cream crock I thrifted earlier this year on the side table and a pretty pumpkin plate in the windowsill next to the fireplace. Somehow I neglected to take photos of those for this post, but I’m sure you can envision them. In the dining room, I paired a tall cloche holding a pumpkin and other natural elements with some gold votives on the buffet.

The windowsills in the dining room also got some attention. A metal owl thrifted last year gives a bit of contrast to my pretty purple plant and a small metal gourd on one side. On the other side I grouped a fall arrangement with a doily covered green pumpkin and my favorite little scarecrow.

I had grand plans to make a pretty centerpiece for the dining room table and a “Thankful” tree, but time is a scarce resource these days so I decided to table those ideas for next year in favor of other more important projects right now. I still have a simple craft project to wrap up out on the front porch and then I can share that with you, hopefully in time for Thanksgiving!I’d love to see how you decorated for Thanksgiving, so share a link to your site or leave a comment below and tell me what you did to show your gratitude this year.

Going Gothic for All Hallows Eve

Published on October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 by Jenna3 Comments

This is our first Halloween in the new house and I knew I wanted to switch up my decorating style to be more Pottery Barn ‘gothic’ than the typical ‘cutesy’ or all out ‘gore’ you often see this time of year. I purged my decorations and sold quite a few items on the buy/sell pages to fund the purchase of new items. But I ended up only spending about $18 for this new look!

I started by pulling out anything in my décor stash that was black or white and tackled the mantel first. A couple of candle sticks topped with flameless candles, a doily wrapped pumpkin, some spooky artwork, a skull and my pretty raven make up a simple, but spooky arrangement.

The artwork was a free printable quote from Michal Jackson’s “Thriller” that I found here and an oversized numeric cut out I made with my Silhouette. Both frames were items I already had on hand, so I just repurposed them. The skull lights up and was one of only two items I purchased this year. Originally priced $12.99 I got him on sale for 20% off, saving me a few dollars and the time I was planning to spend to create one that looked similar!

I wanted the entry way to feel like a witch’s potion brewing station, so on one side I filled a pedestal that I DIYed forever ago with several different size and style bottles holding various items you might expect to be in a spell recipe. I planned on creating vintage-looking labels for each, but ran out of time. So here’s what they are labeled in my head:

Full moon dust (sugar)
Goblin teeth (candy corns)
Eye of newt (white pebbles)
Black magic beans (navy beans)
Spider venom (purple glitter)
Toad tongues (split pea)

I added a little flameless votive in a small jar and a chalkboard sign to round out the vignette. On the other side I used another free printable, found here, paired with a fun little jack-o-lantern votive and a cast iron frog under a cloche. The jack-o-lantern is part of a set with metal hook posts that are meant to be put along a walkway, but I always worry that they will get blown off by the wind and break so this is a much safer option.

I finished off the area with a pretty orange and black bunting from my photo props and my ‘welcome’ ghost sign on the opposite wall.

Out on the porch, I added a new welcome mat with an adorable ghost and some spooky pumpkins. Pay no mind to that empty pot on a pedestal in the corner by the door. I had plans to add some painted branches to it with lights and spider webs, but I never got that far and at this point it just ain’t worth the effort for one day! Those spider webs are the other item I bought and since I didn’t use them they will be in my tub and ready for use next year!

In the dining room I used two more jack-o-lantern votives from the same set I mentioned earlier and paired them with my cherished “Boo” Ghost lantern.

So that’s my Gothic Spooky Halloween décor. It’s not much this year, but it’s a good starting point for next year. So what do you think? Is the old fashioned gothic look better than the cutesy scary stuff or do you prefer a more “goriesh” style for Halloween decorations?