I Made This Y'all!! Yarn Wreath

I had seen these very pretty yarn wreaths on Etsy a year or ago selling for about $50.  I filed the idea away for a rainy day, and wouldn't you know it, we actually had a rainy day!!  So I decided to make my very own yarn wreath and it could not have been easier. I got all my supplies from Hobby Lobby for less than 8.00, which was very exciting.  The base is a straw wreath which came wrapped in protective plastic, I left the plastic on.  I purchased one skein (have always wanted to use that word) of yarn and wrapped it around the wreath. This was the most labor intensive part and probably took about an hour.  Next I cut circles out of felt, I bought the felt squares for .25 or whatever they were and it took about one square per flower.  After I had the circles cut, I cut each one into a spiral and was left with a small round center.  I coiled each spiral from the place I started cutting and when I had the whole thing coiled I hot glued it to the felt round.  ThenI hot glued the flowers to the wreath.  Simple as that! 

Closet Freak

If you know me, you know I love clothes.  If you don't know me, I am telling you right now: I love clothes.  As previously blogged about, I live in a small urban apartment (as urban as you can get in San Antonio) by choice.  I really am trying to reduce my carbon footprint and quite frankly home ownership was not for me.  I tried it, spending all my time and money on such exciting endeavors as tree trimming and fence repair was too depressing for words.  My goal is to live as graciously in a 900 square foot apartment as one could in a 2000 square foot house. It's actually not very difficult, but lately my closet was making me sad every time I opened the door. Observe:

The closet is very small, but I wanted it to appear larger.  This would necessitate removing the horrid wire shelves furnished by the management company. I promptly removed all of them. Then I measured the space and drew out a plan.  Once I had the layout I liked I went to (where else?) Target and bought their laminate closet components.  There were many options to choose from, with my limited space I bought one super tall shelving unit, a medium shelving unit, a shoe unit, a cabinet with doors and a 3-drawer unit.  The most difficult part of the process was assembling the units, I have major callouses on my hands. The exciting part was next, setting up the closet!

Because I removed the wire shelves I had nowhere to hang my clothes, so I went to Lowe's for some rods.

This was so easy! And it only took me about 10 hours from start to finish, but that included trips back and forth to Target and Lowe's as well as a small lunch break.  Also, Rufus needed to go out a few times : ) 

Secrets of a Wanna Be Stylist

So a couple of months ago Emily Henderson of HGTV's 'Secrets of a Stylist' (you know she won last year's Design Star if you are not watching her show you absolutely should she is an adorable styling genius!!!) But, I clearly digress...anyway she did the coolest, easiest art project ever!  She enlarged this guy's vintage Coney Island postcards, blew them up and framed them. She shows it in her blog here: http://www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/episode-8-mood-board.html

I was totally inspired by her as well as my mom's vintage Hemisphere poster which I have coveted for years.  I went straight to eBay and found some vintage Hemisphere postcards and for about $7.00 including shipping I was the proud owner of these beauties:

A quick trip to Kinko's to have these enlarged to 24x36 inches, then to Target for poster frames (I like the brushed brass looking ones, I am having such a brass moment right now) and I now have two brand new pieces of spectacular art in my home.  What do you think? Is this something you guys would try? 

Beat the Heat

Before I moved to my little urban oasis, I lived in the hottest apartment known to man.  I was on the third floor with vaulted ceilings and a HUGE patio with glass door facing the sun.  No matter what I tried, I could never get my apartment cooler than 85 during the summer months.  In San Antonio, the summer months are April thru October so yeh, that was a lot of hot to deal with.  Poor Rufus would just lie around all day panting and drinking water while I was at work.  The huge glass door had blinds and also curtains but it may as well have had nothing covering it for all the protection those two items provided.  When I moved into my new place a year ago I was determined to not have the same issue.  Since I was still living in SA, I knew it would be hot and I had to come up with a solution.  I made my own blackout drapes, and it only took me a couple of hours.  They work like a champ, it was 108 degrees outside yesterday and I was crisp and cool all day.
I bought a set of drapery panels from Target, I just think they have such a great selection and the price cannot be beat.  I have been using their drapes for years and mine hold up as well my mom's Pottery Barn panels. Then I headed over to Lowe's to pick up two canvas drop cloths.  Back at home, I laid out the first drapery panel and measure the drop cloth to fit the lining.  I used that cut piece as my guide and cut the other drop cloth to the same dimensions.  Next, I ironed a 1/4" hem around each of the drop cloths and pinned them to the inside of the drapes.  Here is where it gets a little tricky, I pulled out my trusty sewing machine and sewed those drop cloths to the drapes.  It stays nice and cool inside all day and is also quiet as a church in my apartment (when my dog isn't snoring).  Oh, did I fail to mention this little benefit?  YES!!! In addition to insulating your abode from the ridiculous heat, these curtains also block out the unwanted noise. Below are my 'after' shots, I failed to get any during the process but this one is pretty straight forward.

ps -
My friend Brooke recently moved into a gorgeous brand new home.  She and her husband Shawn did a fantastic job furnishing and decorating their new digs.  Any man would be jealous of his media room/man cave; I mean he even has the second floor all to himself!! One complaint Brooke and Shawn have of their new crib is the noise level since they back up to a fairly busy street. Living in a very busy and urban area myself I can certainly relate.  I was so excited to share with them the solution to this annoying problem and I think they are going to give it a try.  If they do, we will post pics!!

Labor Day Idea #2: Cheap and Chic Table Decor

You may have noticed the charming tablescape in the deviled egg post; at least I hope you did.  It was one of the most simple and downright cheap ideas ever.  We picked up a vinyl tablecloth at the dollar store for (you guessed it) a dollar.  Next at the Target dollar aisle we found this great wrapping paper, red with white polka dots.  I could go on and on about the delights of the dollar aisle at Target (or as I like to call it the best place on earth) but I will refrain for now. 

To achieve this fun look, we just layered the wrapping paper over the table cloth and voila!

There are so many things you can do with this idea.  You could start with a fancy tablecloth and then add a swath of butcher block paper and top it off with a bouquet of seasonal flowers. But the beauty of the vinyl tablecloths is that you can just ball the whole thing up and throw it away after the party! Is this something you guys would try?  Let me know!