Posts Tagged ‘decorating’

help for wood

Monday, March 28th, 2011

We had a giveaway over the weekend. Congratulations to the winner — Julie B. Nashville, Tennessee! Julie, register at ReneePearson.com with a user name and password. Then email Laura your ReneePearson.com User name (not your password) at laurav@reneepearson.com so she can get you registered for class. Congratulations!

…..

Do you have wood furniture that may be showing some signs of wear and tear? Notice the scratchy-looking fine lines in this end table.

I am no expert with wood. But remember our friend John who did some custom wood-based projects in our home? (See some of his brilliant work that he did here and here and here.) Anyway, he is an expert with wood and we trust him. John recommended this product — Briwax. You can find it here in my Amazon favorites.

I realize some of you have probably heard of Briwax, but to some of you, this is new news. It’s cool stuff. It works. I like it. And with this Spring weather, I do recommend opening a window for ventilation. It has a strong (not bad; just potent) smell. Just sayin’.

Here’s the context of that end table by the way. It’s in our family room and usually has a pile of books on it, which of course I left off just so you could see the beautifully touched-up surface.  : )

I  know you guys like to inquire, so …

End table & leather sectional: both from furniture stores that are likely not even in business anymore.

Ottoman: Home Goods

Pillows: Home Goods, Target (just the yellow rosette one)

Lamp: Lamps Plus (on clearance quite a while ago)

Zebra print blanket: Target

Basket: Another Target find; holds various little scrapbooks from over the years

Side note: I have been wanting to paint the end tables for quite some time. I’m thinking distressed white. Just waiting one two things: time and bravery.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in DIY, home, products, style & design | 22 Comments »

spring decorating

Friday, March 25th, 2011

I found this chick at Home Goods recently. Something about this little guy was irresistible. Maybe it’s because we really don’t have many Spring-specific decorations. Like – at all. Plus, Arizona usually skips Spring altogether (not this year – it’s been gorgeous!) and gets right to Summer. Anyway, I knew the kids would love this happy symbol of Spring. He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?

No offense to the chick, but I wasn’t a big fan of the gingham ribbon. No problem. I just dug through my trusty collection of ribbon scraps to find something a little more suitable for my taste.

Ah, yes. Black & white polka dots. Bold. Fun. Adorable.

Remember: Whether you already have something that just needs a little updating, or you come across a great find that isn’t quite “just right” … you can always change something little to customize and improve it.

…..

By the way, that little touch ties in nicely with the other black & white-ness I have going on these days. I love accessorizing with that classic contrasting combo. This fantastic bowl was around $10 or $15 at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx (I can never remember which one).

This faux fur zebra blanket from Target has quickly become our family’s absolute favorite. It’s ridiculously soft and perfect for snuggling. And again — that touch of black & white is so much fun.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in DIY, holidays & seasons, home, style & design | 15 Comments »

Christmas prints and a mini Q&A session

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

In the 1st Video of Christmas, you may have noticed a few prints in our holiday decorating.

The green quote by Thomas S. Monson and the black “Merry & Bright” are both available as free downloads in the FREE STUFF section for anyone to have and use. They’re both available in 4 different sizes for your convenience. As for printing, I recommend doing it just as you would print any photos. Just upload the JPGs with your next batch of photo printing. Feel free to share as gifts or include as inserts with your Christmas cards.

This print is one of many beautiful pieces of religious art on lds.org. The link to this specific piece is HERE. I just right-clicked on the image, saved it to our desktop, edited the color for our own personal use, and uploaded the JPG to Costco to have the enlargement made.

……………..

A few other questions asked from that 1st video (I can’t get to them all, sorry):

Q: How do you keep your kids from messing with all the decorations?

A: My top 3 tips:

1. They have their own little mini tree that they decorated all by themselves (Mom & Dad weren’t allowed to help).

2. They were involved in the Christmas decorating so it’s not like they’re being restricted from touching anything. They learned what was fragile and what they could play with as we unloaded items from storage bins, one thing at a time.

3. Most of the decorations are up on shelves and counters. And even stuff at their level doesn’t really get messed up. Maybe I’m just lucky? (I know some of you are nodding.) We have other little kids over all the time and it’s still fine.

Q: Where did you get that green jacket?

A: Blogged about the $6 find here.

Q: Where did you get those black & white lamp shades in the family room?

A: On clearance at Lamps Plus sometime earlier this year.

Q: Where did you get that felt nativity set at the end of the video?

A: My sweet parents picked that up for us at a Christmas market in Finland (where they’ve been serving a mission for the past year and a half). We love, love, love it so much. It’s called needle-felting I believe, and is a very popular art there. My mom even learned how to do it.

……………..

A few questions asked from my 2nd Video of Christmas:

Q: Where did you get that grey sweater?

A: My friend Karolyn’s closet. She got it at TJ Maxx. I borrowed it for family pictures because nothing in my closet was working with the rest of the family’s outfits. Thank goodness for good friends with great taste and cute clothes.

Q: Where did you get that flower necklace?

A: Borrowed that from Karolyn too. So fun, huh? She got it from a friend’s boutique.

Q: Where is David? Why isn’t he in the pictures?

A: Okay, so no one really asked me that question except one friend. Just in case anyone else wondered … he was nearby, hanging out with our friends while Kara photographed me with the kids for a couple minutes. This video was shot at the end of our mini family photo shoot. I promise he was in all the other pictures. He’s the best looking one in the bunch but the least-likely to jump in front of the camera.  : )

…………….

A general question: I am deaf and can’t hear the videos.

A: I will look into getting someone to type up some transcripts to share.

…………….

And a question that I have for YOU today: Are you being merry? And bright?

(You don’t ‘have to answer. Just a reminder to go out there and make someone’s day this weekend.)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in holidays & seasons, Q&A | 28 Comments »

1st Video of Christmas

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Music is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, sung by Colbie Caillat.
And here is a print for you — a festive reminder of simple wisdom.

For the transcript, click HERE for the PDF.

Four sizes available in the Free Stuff section (top of the sidebar). Know what else is in the Free Stuff section? Holiday card templates all ready for you to just drop your picture in — 5 designs to choose from.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in holidays & seasons | 82 Comments »

fall decorating

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Happy September! In Arizona, we’re absolutely not seeing the temps drop yet, but we can sure celebrate Fall inside our home. We can and indeed … we are. (Hard to tell which is my favorite season, I know.) I’m going for fresh, clean, and light. Not so much the traditional darker tones that we typically see this time of year.

Note: I’m personally not into the gory, scary, icky, dark side of Halloween (at all). You won’t see any spiderwebs and bats hanging from my ceilings any time soon. I know. Call me un-fun, but it’s just not in me. Anyway, this decor will last through all of Fall, including Halloween and Thanksgiving.

John Broderick, personal friend & woodworker extraordinaire, made the lazy susan. That’s not seasonal. It’s there all the time, but I wanted to mention that since I keep getting questions about the lazy susan. More on John in this post about our pantry.

All the glass containers are from Michael’s (using a 40% off coupon) and Home Goods (usually great deals). These are terrific for switching things out each season or for special occasions. They’re great year-round. Ornaments in all colors are now available everywhere (seems to early, but that’s just how it is). I picked up the orange ones at Hobby Lobby and already had the green ones from Christmas decorating over the years.

Got those little green foam bead things at Hobby Lobby and these pretty, sugary little pumpkins at Pier One Imports.

Below: Found this giant green pumpkin at Home Goods and I had everything else from over the years. Notice the use of candlesticks here. Not for candles, but to elevate stuff. A fun technique that can be used for all sorts of decor, seasonal or not.

We always have a few pictures around the house from our childhood. I want our kids to remember that we were once kids too. Plus, I think we need the reminders ourselves sometimes.  : )

Above: That sprig of green was not originally part of this pumpkin. More on this later. And that candlestick? It was blah & black and I gave it a little facelift with white spray paint. Of course. (If you missed it, click here and you’ll see a free download of spray-painting tips, down on the right side.)

Below: Candlesticks and pumpkins are Home Goods finds from this year. Love that place. I can already see how the candlesticks will look come Christmastime — giant ornaments on top. Or something like that. Fun.

This here is a niche in our kitchen that has these 2 TVs that always rotate through our pictures. This was David’s vision (he’s genius), which John carried out and built earlier this year. Naturally, the pictures are all Fall-related right now.

This wreath was one of my favorite Target bargains. I scored it on clearance last year. Or two years ago? Can’t remember. Doesn’t matter. It’s a fun splash of just the right colors.

Below: I think these black & white candlesticks are great year-round too. I think I picked those up at Hobby Lobby last year. I think they still carry them.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in holidays & seasons, home, style & design | 77 Comments »