Monday, June 23, 2014
Nail Polish of the Day
I love this color by Sinful Colors called Endless Blue. Bright and vibrant! What a great summer blue.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Hydrangeas in My Garden
First I have to say, happy (official) first day of Summer! One of my favorite things to do is to watch my garden grow. (I just aged myself by 30 years...oh well.) Seeing everything start to take off and really flourish is so rewarding.
Today I have two tips for planting or designing a flower bed that are really simple and will save you some headache (and heartache) later on.
1. Look to see what kind of sunlight your garden gets. Is it full sun (8 + hours) or part sun or both? This will make a huge difference in the type of plants you get and where to place them.
2. Once you purchase your plants place them in the spot where you want them while they are still in their buckets. Don't plant them right away. Sit back and see if the color goes, if it gets as much or as little sun as it needs. Take a couple of days to decide.
We mostly have full sun in our backyard. While this is great for growing a vegetable garden it's not when you want to grow flowers and other more shade friendly plants. After we trimmed up our lilac bushes we noticed that we had a part sun area! WOOOOHOOOO! See how excited I am. Now I am finally able to have hydrangeas.
Here are the beauties in my cart at The Home Depot:
Here is a before:
I really wanted to add some color to this area.
Here is after:
Next to the giant lilac bushes they look dinky but they are actually quite huge.
Now I have some gorgeous flowers to look at after my lilacs are done blooming.
Today I have two tips for planting or designing a flower bed that are really simple and will save you some headache (and heartache) later on.
1. Look to see what kind of sunlight your garden gets. Is it full sun (8 + hours) or part sun or both? This will make a huge difference in the type of plants you get and where to place them.
2. Once you purchase your plants place them in the spot where you want them while they are still in their buckets. Don't plant them right away. Sit back and see if the color goes, if it gets as much or as little sun as it needs. Take a couple of days to decide.
We mostly have full sun in our backyard. While this is great for growing a vegetable garden it's not when you want to grow flowers and other more shade friendly plants. After we trimmed up our lilac bushes we noticed that we had a part sun area! WOOOOHOOOO! See how excited I am. Now I am finally able to have hydrangeas.
Here are the beauties in my cart at The Home Depot:
Here is a before:
I really wanted to add some color to this area.
Here is after:
Next to the giant lilac bushes they look dinky but they are actually quite huge.
Now I have some gorgeous flowers to look at after my lilacs are done blooming.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Happy Flag Day!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Bookcase Revamp
One of my favorite tools to use to "revamp" something is paint. I have talked about this before and believe I have shared something like this with you but I couldn't resist sharing this bookcase I repainted.
I painted it in my all time favorite color Antique Earth by Behr. First off, this color is amazing in all sources of light, it blends in with anything and can make something look like a classic piece of furniture.
Before I get to the photos I wanted to share a few tips that I have picked up along the way from using this "revamp" method, and from painting my rooms a million times over.
1. When choosing a color whether you're pairing a piece of furniture or a room look to see what color "payoff" you are going to have. What I mean by this is take something pink and something yellow and put them against your color swatch. What comes out the most in it? Do you want those colors coming through? Then think of how much light you get in that room. For instance, my office (where the bookcase is) gets a ton of a lot and sees the evening sun while it sets which generally gives off pink hues. Some colors are very neutral and don't give off a particular color.
2. Think about the sheen you want your paint. Flat, Eggshell, Gloss, etc. will make the color look different. Ask your paint counter person at your Home Depot what would look best in the area or on the object you are painting. They have been through class after class on these things and can give you great advise.
3. Don't skimp on brushes. Yes, I know I am the cheap one saying this but it's true. Especially if you are painting something in a glossy finish it will make the biggest difference. Now, I am not saying you have to go and buy professional grade brushes however, buy something you will be able to wash and reuse.
These are not "rules" by any means it's just a few things I have learned along the way after many many home improvement projects. So, without further ado....
Before:
After:
I love this bookcase and the color is incredible in my office. Hope you enjoyed this post and my little tips to help you.
I painted it in my all time favorite color Antique Earth by Behr. First off, this color is amazing in all sources of light, it blends in with anything and can make something look like a classic piece of furniture.
Before I get to the photos I wanted to share a few tips that I have picked up along the way from using this "revamp" method, and from painting my rooms a million times over.
1. When choosing a color whether you're pairing a piece of furniture or a room look to see what color "payoff" you are going to have. What I mean by this is take something pink and something yellow and put them against your color swatch. What comes out the most in it? Do you want those colors coming through? Then think of how much light you get in that room. For instance, my office (where the bookcase is) gets a ton of a lot and sees the evening sun while it sets which generally gives off pink hues. Some colors are very neutral and don't give off a particular color.
2. Think about the sheen you want your paint. Flat, Eggshell, Gloss, etc. will make the color look different. Ask your paint counter person at your Home Depot what would look best in the area or on the object you are painting. They have been through class after class on these things and can give you great advise.
3. Don't skimp on brushes. Yes, I know I am the cheap one saying this but it's true. Especially if you are painting something in a glossy finish it will make the biggest difference. Now, I am not saying you have to go and buy professional grade brushes however, buy something you will be able to wash and reuse.
These are not "rules" by any means it's just a few things I have learned along the way after many many home improvement projects. So, without further ado....
Before:
After:
I love this bookcase and the color is incredible in my office. Hope you enjoyed this post and my little tips to help you.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
DIY Puff Flowers
Recently I redecorated my office and I was going for a natural, laid back look. Natural, earth tone colors have been my thing. I love to change things so keeping things neutral makes it easy.
My shelf above my desk needed some sort of floral element but I didn't want a typical flower. Does that make sense? My husband and I have been obsessed trying to find these one kind of flowers to add into our garden. They are round, purple, snowball like flowers. Well, that was my inspiration with this project so I decided I would make my own version for my office but in my favorite colors, and this is how I did it.
What you need:
1. Yarn
2. Scissors
3. Sticks of some sort (I found some from my yard)
4. Hot glue
How to make the puff ball:
1. Start by wrapping your yarn around your fingers (see picture below)
2. You want to wrap the yarn pretty thick so that you can have a nice full puff ball.
3. Once you get it to your desired thickness remove it from your fingers and tie a piece of yarn in the middle making two ends with multiple loops like this...
4. Now cut all the loops and then fluff! You have now made a puff ball.
5. Glue the puff ball to the end of the stick and put them in a vase.
I really like the natural element from the twigs and that it's different from other flowers you would find in a store.
You can buy a tool that helps you make puff balls (which I do have) it works the same way.
I hope you enjoyed this project.
My shelf above my desk needed some sort of floral element but I didn't want a typical flower. Does that make sense? My husband and I have been obsessed trying to find these one kind of flowers to add into our garden. They are round, purple, snowball like flowers. Well, that was my inspiration with this project so I decided I would make my own version for my office but in my favorite colors, and this is how I did it.
What you need:
1. Yarn
2. Scissors
3. Sticks of some sort (I found some from my yard)
4. Hot glue
How to make the puff ball:
1. Start by wrapping your yarn around your fingers (see picture below)
3. Once you get it to your desired thickness remove it from your fingers and tie a piece of yarn in the middle making two ends with multiple loops like this...
5. Glue the puff ball to the end of the stick and put them in a vase.
I really like the natural element from the twigs and that it's different from other flowers you would find in a store.
You can buy a tool that helps you make puff balls (which I do have) it works the same way.
I hope you enjoyed this project.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Gardening Tip: Save Your Plant Tags
When I was younger I always admired how my mom could tell me what a flower or plants name was. Once I became a homeowner and started to garden and plant flowers I wanted to know what I was planting and know how to perfect my green thumb just like my mom.
For quite some years now I have been saving my plant tags and journal where I planted things and how they did. This is honestly one of the best tips I could ever give someone who is starting out gardening. Whether it's a vegetable garden and/or a flower garden this is extremely helpful. Now, I don't write in it every day, just when something happens...like when a plant dies, or seeing that my tomato plants are producing a lot.
These tags are chalked full of information like where to plant, how often to water, etc. I only save the ones that are new to me. In other words, if I planted it last year and I saved the tag I don't keep it for this year. How I journal each plant is really pretty simple. I write down where I planted it (I even draw a chart, no it's not pretty but it does the trick), I keep track of it's behavior and I write down what type of fertilizer I use. I will add pictures of my good work. The dead ones don't make the cut.
I hope this helps you in the future with anything you plant in your garden. Every year I look forward to doing it all over again and looking at the previous years. Now get out there and get in the dirt.
For quite some years now I have been saving my plant tags and journal where I planted things and how they did. This is honestly one of the best tips I could ever give someone who is starting out gardening. Whether it's a vegetable garden and/or a flower garden this is extremely helpful. Now, I don't write in it every day, just when something happens...like when a plant dies, or seeing that my tomato plants are producing a lot.
These tags are chalked full of information like where to plant, how often to water, etc. I only save the ones that are new to me. In other words, if I planted it last year and I saved the tag I don't keep it for this year. How I journal each plant is really pretty simple. I write down where I planted it (I even draw a chart, no it's not pretty but it does the trick), I keep track of it's behavior and I write down what type of fertilizer I use. I will add pictures of my good work. The dead ones don't make the cut.
I hope this helps you in the future with anything you plant in your garden. Every year I look forward to doing it all over again and looking at the previous years. Now get out there and get in the dirt.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Just to Blab
The past couple of weeks have been hectic to say the least. My means of transportation was limited and we had quite a few friends in town throughout the week during Memorial Day. I enjoyed every bit of it. Well, except the means of transportation thing. That sucked. However, a little down time gave me the opportunity to really amp up this month's posts.
I am so excited to share my projects with you and I am going to start doing the "every day" life posts. I have hesitated for so long because it is a little weird for myself to do. Not that I find it weird for other bloggers to do (because that's really what I find most interesting) but it's a "me" thing feeling weird. But, I will get over it.
In this month of June I will be sharing my gardening/landscaping tips and tricks, home tour, outfits of the days, favorites (I finally convinced my hubby to film with me), and much much more. Now, I am actually running into the problem of trying to fit it all but no worries there is always next month.
Being consistent is a bit of a challenge. What has really set me back from that is the thought in my head of, "I don't know if they would really like seeing that." Then I neglect to share the millions of pictures I have snapped of things I have come across to share. Now, that I have been told by quite a few of my closest friends to just share, I will. So, look out because I am about to open up my world of randomness but still sharing all the other stuff I have in the past.
Okay, enough rambling. I hope you are looking forward to it and I hope your day is going well.
I am so excited to share my projects with you and I am going to start doing the "every day" life posts. I have hesitated for so long because it is a little weird for myself to do. Not that I find it weird for other bloggers to do (because that's really what I find most interesting) but it's a "me" thing feeling weird. But, I will get over it.
In this month of June I will be sharing my gardening/landscaping tips and tricks, home tour, outfits of the days, favorites (I finally convinced my hubby to film with me), and much much more. Now, I am actually running into the problem of trying to fit it all but no worries there is always next month.
Being consistent is a bit of a challenge. What has really set me back from that is the thought in my head of, "I don't know if they would really like seeing that." Then I neglect to share the millions of pictures I have snapped of things I have come across to share. Now, that I have been told by quite a few of my closest friends to just share, I will. So, look out because I am about to open up my world of randomness but still sharing all the other stuff I have in the past.
Okay, enough rambling. I hope you are looking forward to it and I hope your day is going well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)