• Posts Tagged ‘decor’

    A Tiny Kitchen Gets Me Every Time

    by  • January 30, 2013 • Dear Diary

    kitchen1

    When I tell people I have a tiny kitchen, they don’t always get it. But, here you have it folks, my tiny, tiny kitchen. As a “blogger” there’s a lot of pressure to show the amazing life one lives. But, it’s not all roses and sunshine. Some of us have stinky feet, bad hair days and small (but not that cute) apartments. It’s true. Now, while the kitchen may be tiny, which I resented in the beginning, I’ve grown to love it’s efficiencies—I can literally get something out of the fridge and pop it right in the oven with a mere pivot.

    kitchen4

    Speaking of the fridge, here it is in all it’s apartment-sized glory. Postcards and photos make it the bright spot of this most compact kitchen.

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    Since drawer space is at a premium, we’ve taken to bringing our most often used items out in the open. Above the sink hangs tongs, measuring spoons, a corkscrew and a can opener (not pictured) along with several hand-me-down mugs. The way I see it, it’s better to have these hanging out in the open than the cat food piled up in a corner (that’s in the bottom drawer, don’t ya know?)

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    Just below these kitchen is the sink, as I mentioned, and the strainer… you know, for the dishes. The dishes that are all washed by hand. Oh yes. Scroll back up to the top friends, this high-efficiency kitchen doesn’t have a dishwasher other than yours truly & Mr. Gets Me Every Time himself. So, one of the newest additions to our tiny, tiny kitchen is Fresh Infusions Lime Basil Dish Soap. It smells fantastic. And it (duh) cleans the dishes. Bonus—the bottle is not bad looking either.

    kitchen3

    Across from the sink (in the windowsill) sit all the other things that would be stuck in otherwise used drawers. And the plant! All this (and not much more) lives in our cozy kitchen. And while it’s far from the kitchen of my dreams, thank you Pinterest, it does the job. Do you have any small kitchen tips? We can use all the help we can get.

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    Palmolive Fresh Infusions did not pay me to mention their new soap in today’s post. I do love them though. Influenster gave me these soaps complimentary to test out in my tiny, tiny kitchen. 

     

    A Place To Rest Our Heads Gets Me Every Time

    by  • October 4, 2012 • DIY Decor, Gallery, Made It

    You guys. I made a headboard. And not just any headboard. An upholstered, tufted headboard. In a sunny marigold color. Made it. With my own two hands, twenty some teeth and endless frustrations. Plus one staple gun, some help from a friend and lots of encouragement. Here’s the full frontal. (headboard guys, get your heads out of the bedroom.)

    If you think back to when I revealed that DIY lyric art, the Mr. and I didn’t have a headboard. So I did the ol’ scouring of Pinterest and came up with this tufted gem. Which, as it turns out, was a little easier dreamt than done. If I were to do it over, here’s what I would do differently than the DIY.

    1. Not use pegboard, it’s hard to staple into. And a little heavy. Maybe a piece of foam core, or a big canvas covered with foam could have achieved the same effect.
    2. Gotten the heaviest of heavy duty staple guns rather than try to get by with the crafting staple gun. I ended up having so many issues with getting the staples in that I actually tied the thread together on opposing rows to create the tuft. Yeah. That happened.
    3. Not made my own buttons. Sure, they look nice, but… They would look nice if they were a complimentary color too, perhaps. This step takes patience, especially if you’re using a heavyweight fabric.
    4. Paid closer attention to the draping of the fabric. It was hard to get it to lay flat and I could have done a better job.

    Overall, it was a fun project and I’m proud of it. Might not tuft next time, but I have a feeling there’s more crafty goodness in the near future.

    A (G)Old Fan Gets Me Every Time

    by  • September 21, 2012 • Boston Love, Gallery

    Remember when I went to SOWA a few weeks ago and picked up something from the vintage market? Well, this is it. A lil retro metal fan. I promise I took some before photos of this guy, but I cannot seem to find them, so you’ll just have to take my word for it when I tell you the base was a rustic light green color. Well, most of it was. The other parts of it were bare metal that was starting to get a little rusty.

    So, I grabbed a can of spray paint, and voila. I was originally going to use a golden yellow, but I thought the metallic gold really classed it up a bit. A $20 retro fan given new life. Thanks SOWA Vintage Market!

    Easy Art Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 8, 2012 • Gallery, Made It

    As we saw last week, when you give a writer an art project, she’s bound to put words on it. And that’s exactly what happened again this week. This statement (If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.) has become something like a mantra for me recently, so why not put it somewhere I can see it often.

    I had an old canvas board sitting around and I grabbed the same vinyl letters I used on my minibook a while back. I also grabbed a couple paint brushes, paint and an x-acto knife.

    I’ve seen projects on Pinterest where the whole piece was painted the same color, creating a cool monotone effect, but I wanted something more dramatic. So after the first coat of paint dried, I added another, in a nice, seafoamy, minty green.

    I carefully peeled the letters off (with the x-acto blade) BEFORE the paint dried. I read that’s what you’re supposed to do when making patterns with painters’ tape, so I figured the same logic should work when applied here—and it did.

    Do you think this is a good phrase to live by on the daily? Do you have one too? Let me know, or I’m sticking with “if you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.” Now, off to have fun.

    Sweeping It Under The Rug Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 6, 2012 • Dear Diary, Weekend Roundup

    No, I’m not talking about pushing things aside and forgetting them. Really, I’m not the type to do so. I’m talking about literally sweeping under the rug. The Mr. And I ordered a new rug last week and it came in record time. What do you think?

    We hedged our bets and went with RugsUSA.com, despite reading some negative reviews—no one can please everyone. But, we are more than happy with our gorgeous 6×9 wool rug (that we got at 75% off) that’s currently shedding as much as the cat. It’s a dark charcoal gray with a cream trellis-like pattern. And, it’s, perfect.

    Sorry folks, no before picture here, it was too much to bear. And sorry for the low-quality photos. The iPhone was in full effect, demonstrating how great a 2+ year-old iPhone is at taking photos.


    The rest of the weekend included lying on the new rug, crafting, cooking, fro-yo, painting, olympics, sushi and the regular weekend chores.

    Making A Statement Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 1, 2012 • DIY Decor, Made It


    It’s project time. And today, I’ve got something to say. Well actually, Arthur Freed has some words for us, but more on that in a moment. First, shall we discuss this inspiration?

    The great canvas above was actually painted with shoe polish—you know, the kind with the sponge tip? Check out all the details from Alisa, if you’re as inspired as I was.

    Now, onto what happened when I picked up a 4×2 foot canvas. But first, a look at the wall space that was looking for some love.

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    See what I mean? I was never quite sure what to do, so some fabric wrapped canvas boards were filling in. Until now. Until I saw Alisa’s awesome canvas. I had to make my own. Immediately I knew I wanted a more scripted look to my canvas, so I grabbed a few paintbrushes and started writing.

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    The words are the lyrics of “All I Do is Dream of You” by Arthur Freed. It’s a song you might recognize from Singin’ In The Rain. But, plenty of other great musicians have covered it too.

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    LikeDean Martin, Perry Como and Michael Buble. And since Mr. GMET and I actually danced to his rendition of the song at our wedding, it’s even closer to my heart.

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    I knew I wanted the script to look pretty natural, so I used a thin brush with very little paint on it for a first pass. I didn’t worry about it being perfect. I just wanted it to look like I, myself, no offense Mr. Freed, had just scrawled out these poetic phrases.

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    After the first round of paint dried, I went back with a heavier coat of paint on a larger brush to get closer to the shoe polish look of my inspiration. Then, I did it once more.

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    And the best part is, if I decide I hate it in a week, I can paint over it and try something else. But right now, all I can think is that if you give a girl some large scale type art, she’ll ask for a headboard to go with it. And just wait till you see what I have in store.

    Walls That Dance Get Me Every Time

    by  • July 26, 2012 • Dancin' Days

    | tap dancing class in the gymnasium |

    If you’ve been following along, you know that I love dancing. It’s in my blood. What’s more, I love tap dancing. Also, in my blood. And while I love all dancing photography, illustration and the like, sometimes it’d be nice to see some more tap-inspired art.

    Since I’ve shared The Ballerina Project with you, I decided to scour the internet for some tap imagery, like the photo above. It was taken by Jack Delano and it’s for sale over on Fine Art America now. Below, some more tap images to fill your walls.

    | tap dancing bear |

    | tap shoes |

    | Girls Tap-Dancing Troupe |

     

    | Tip Tap Dancer |

    I think all of these tap prints are great ways to make your walls dance. And while a HUGE part of tap dancing is the sounds created, I still think the visual side of tap dancing is just as beautiful as any other style of dance. Don’t you agree?

    J Hill Designs Get Me Every Time

    by  • May 30, 2012 • Shop Love

    | all product photos via jhill design |

    He didn’t see it coming. No. Not the anniversary. Not that I would get him a gift. He never saw it coming that I’d buy something—anything—glorifying Boston sports teams for us. For our home. But I did.

    When I laid eyes on these four Boston sports team prints from J Hill Designs, I knew I had to buy them for someone. And when I realized I had a paper anniversary coming up, I knew I had to get them for Mr. Gets Me Every Time. So I did. And right away. Like I had them sitting under my desk at work for a few weeks, right away.

    The result? Mr. Gets Me Every Time loves them. And you know what? So do I! I love the colors, the patterns, the overall design sensibility. Who cares if I’m not the biggest fan of all these teams ? It just means I’ll have to get something to balance it out! (I’m good to go with the Red Sox and the Celtics. It’s just that I’m a Steelers & Penguins fan, not a Patriots nor Bruines fan at all. Maybe a Terrible Towel will look nice framed and hanging near these guys?)

    If you’re not a Boston sports fan either, J Hill Designs has tons of other great illustrations of “places she’s never been” like these landmark prints. DC, San Francisco, New York… surely there’s a landmark or city for you too. You also can get personalized state prints which would make PERFECT anniversary gifts!

    Last one, promise. Let Jennifer (follow her on Twitter too) design your wedding invitation suite. Her prints are gorgeous and come in so many colors. She’s got great things happening like full-service design and design/print options. Just check it out and get inspired.

     

    PS. Jennifer will be at the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival this weekend, so if you’re in the Brookline area stop by and say hello!

    ShopLocket + A Giveaway Gets Me Every Time

    by  • May 24, 2012 • Made It, Shop Love

    So, remember earlier in the week when I mentioned that I had a special item I made just for you guys. Well, it’s a one-of-a-kind item, and I usually only make these guys as gifts, so get it while it’s hot. Introducing the Metallic Sheep Treasure Jar, brought to you directly on the blog via ShopLocket.

    What is ShopLocket? (First, please pause and say that like your favorite microwave lunch/snack, HotPocket!) Yeah. You got that. Ok. So, ShopLocket lets me sell anything I want to you right here on my blog for a small fee. That means you don’t have to head over to my Etsy store or anything. You buy right here on my blog and I ship it right to you. Easy Peasy Squeezy.

    As for that giveaway, how about $100 to buy anything on ShopLocket? Sound good. Yeah. You’re right, it is.

    Here’s your chance to win:
    • First, check out everything they’ve got to offer right on their Pinterest board.

    • Then, simply tweet what you would buy using your $100 ShopLocket credit to @ShopLocket & hashtag it #ShopMyBlog. For instance, you could write @ShopLocket I would buy the rad sheep jar from @copykelly’s blog! #ShopMyBlog. I mean, there, I just did it for you. Copy & paste guys!

    • Tweet to enter from today (May 24) until Thursday, May 31. The winner will be announced Friday, June 1, via the @ShopLocket Twitter feed, so go ahead and follow along.

    • Finally, come back and tell me if you won!

    You think you got it? I know you do. But, as always, if you have question, just leave ‘em there in the comments! And don’t forget to check out the ShopLocket Pinterest Board!

    Stocking Up Gets Me Every Time

    by  • May 21, 2012 • Made It, Shop Love

    Elephant & Giraffe Toyidermy

    Happy Monday everyone. I hope your weekends were fabulous. The weather here in Boston was b-e-a-utiful and was definitely enjoyed. Aside from taking in some sunshine, I also updated my shop.

    Toyidermy on Etsy

    There’s some new toyidermy now available. (plus some more coming this evening!) And there’s some other new items. So, if ya don’t mind, check it out. Maybe you’ll find someone who needs a new home!

    Gold Zebra Statue on Etsy

    In honor of the new wares in the shop I’ll be having an exclusive one-item only sale later on in the week, especially for blog readers. Plus, word on the street is that there are a couple of giveaways coming up in the near future. More on that later. Here’s to another week!