Stencil Project Complete

I've been eyeing stencils for a while, but thought it was way too much work for me.  When my sister realized that the wallpaper she wanted would cost her about $1,500 for one wall, I had to stop her.  Actually, this was before she decided to randomly move to Paris and find herself, and money wasn't really an issue.  So in the end, choosing a stencil was the perfect idea.  Here is an incredible inspiration photo.

Via Pinterest

We purchased the Donatella Damask from  Royal Design Studio. thanks to Vintage Revivals.  Mandi is a huge inspiration and her incredible tutorials.  We bought this one at 10% off.

We started with this giant wall with a fresh coat of paint.

We placed the stencil on the wall and painted. We used a small foam roller and tried to dry off as much paint as possible before rolling.

The small markers were so helpful in helping us place the stencil in the next spot for painting.

Here is the wall with the easiest parts done.  The edges were difficult as we had to bend and contort the stencil to fit the walls.

We found that having a fan to help dry the stencil was essential.  Although we would wipe off the stencil after each round, it still needed to fully dry before we placed it on the wall.

Here it is. 

We used a Martha Stewart metallic sheen paint for the stencil.  It gave the perfect amount of sheen to the wall.  Although, it took us like four painting marathons, it was completely worth the time and effort. The wall is beautiful.  Have you stenciled before?  It's one of those projects, that kills you while doing it, but is so worth it in the end.  My sister's wall is gorgeous. 

I'll be linking up to these parties

and Beyond the Picket Fence, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Showoff, Remodelaholic, Addicted 2 Decorating

Young House Love, Bower Power, House of Earnest

Adventures in Paris

My sister Ivette moved to Paris for 3, maybe 6 months on Friday.  It was a bold move and I am so proud of her.  She will be chronicling her adventures in Paris on her new blog...

She will be writing a book about  what got her to make this move. I'm so excited for her and I can't wait to see her discover this city.  I know Paris meant so much to me...twice.  The first time I went, was with a group of 6 girls/friends.  It was my first time in Europe and I was so excited.   I remember walking through the Louvre, right past the Mona Lisa into the next room.  I looked up at the ceiling and I was moved.  I realized at that moment, that there was so much more to life. So much I had to discover. I wanted to travel more, be stronger, and discover the world.  A short time later, I met Mr. J and he knew my story.  He knew how much I loved that city.  When we bought our house, I remember I would ask him, What's up, and he would say You're Up, and I would always say... Paris, Rome, etc.  It was our running line.  Well, a few months later, he took me on a surprise trip (literally told me on a Friday to pack a bag for the following Wednesday).  He took me to Paris and asked me to marry him.  What a city...

I hope she can be as moved as I was..well, hopefully she doesn't come back engaged to a french guy and decide to stay there.  I love that we will be able to follow her journey on her new blog.  Head over there and say hi!

Fabric Memo Board

Last week, Sister #3, my mom, and I spent the day crafting at her house.  My mom did crafts with the kids, while we worked on a few projects.  My sister moved into her house 3 years ago, with a 3-4 month old and shortly after that she found out she was having my niece.  Needless to say, the the house got some basic fixes, but decorating was last on the list.  In the past few months, they have been slowly transforming their house into a home.  They bought gorgeous furniture and reconfigured the layout of their house.  Little by little, they have started accessorising, and it is looking great.  She asked me for some help with some projects and I happily obliged.  First on the list, covering this old cork board for her new office nook (as she's calling it).

We added one layer of batting and just used a staple gun to attach.

Next we added a layer of fabric, pulling as tight as we could.  Her office nook is in her dining room and she wants to keep the same color scheme throughout.  Her colors are greys, pewters, and red accents.  We found this fabric at Joann's Fabric.

We then laid out pieces of ribbon to see what felt right.

Once we figured out how many would work, we measured it out to keep it perfectly aligned.

We hot glued the ribbon to the back (if trying this, make sure you keep the ribbon very tight).  We interwove the ribbon to keep it stronger.

We then added thumbtacks for some bling and to make the slots more user friendly.

 Here it is.  I'm loving the red, white, and grey/pewter color all together. 

I'll be showing you some more projects that we've been working on when we finish them up.  Have you tried making a message board?




 

I'll be joining these linky parties

I Love Thrifting

Rashon Carraway from Mr. GoodWill Hunting organized a thrifting party for this past Saturday.  I was excited to be participating via Twitter.  My mom, sister, and I were exited to head out at about 9:00 a.m. that morning.  Unfortunately, when we woke up it was pouring rain.  My husband and I decided to go get brunch and I was able to convince him to drive me by a huge thrift store on our way out.  He stayed in the car, while I browsed.  I then dropped him off at home and headed out.  As I was walking around the Salvation Army, I got a text from my sister (#3) that she was ready to go.  I drove to her house and picked her and her little ones to go to our favorite thrift store about an hour away from us.  The kids fell asleep on the way there, and surprisingly, slept through all our shopping. We transferred them in and out of the strollers a couple of times and still out!

Here are my finds.  All of them for my youngest sister's (#4) apartment that I've apparently become a personal shopper for. I text her my finds and she responds with a yes or no.  It's pretty nice to shop with someone else's money.

This cute lamp will be sitting on her tiny nightstand.  It was marked $10.00, but all lamps were 50% off. So $5.00!

This little carved wooden box was $3.00.  It will be perfect for her vanity...that I will be painting next week. Not only am I her personal shopper, but apparently, I'm her personal painter too.

This copper tray was $3.00.  It needs some serious love.  If you have any copper cleaning suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Finally, these mirrors.  I LOVE them.  The two that are the same were $2.00 each and the smaller one was $1.50.  I think I'm keeping one for my office gallery wall and the other two will be heading to my sister's apartment.

All in all, it was a successful thrifting day.  We were hoping to find some furniture pieces, but no luck.  I really want to thank Rashon for organizing this event. It was fun to keep track of everyone via Twitter. I have to say, I was a little jealous of the big, organized parties going on.  Hopefully, next year. 

A Visit From Rapunzel

We celebrated my niece's 3rd Birthday on Sunday.  She loves all things Princess.  Her latest favorite is Rapunzel from the movie Tangled.  My sister-in-law put together a beautiful party and I wanted to show you what an amazing job she did.  Rapunzel came and performed a show for the kids. She was so engaging and had a beautiful voice.  

Here is the cake table with the tower.  The cake was made by her friend from work.  Her facebook page has some beautiful samples of her work.

Here is the yard set up before the party.  The lanterns along the hedge are actually chinese takeout boxes that she added a sun detail to. If you've seen the movie, the Queen and King lit lanterns for their lost princess every year on her birthday.  The suns were wall decorations that she spray painted yellow.  The small tables were art centers for the kids.  Paper, crayons, water colors, and markers were ready for the kids.  The boards along the hedge were cardboard boxes that would later be serving as easels for the kids to paint.

She printed these banners using these printables from Little Things Creations. 

These Wanted posters were all over the yard.  So cute!

This was the candy station.  The boxes were all labeled with each child's name. She did not miss a single detail.  I think my sis-in-law should be a party planner.

Here's another close up of the lanterns and sun.

The art wall was adorable. The kids LOVED it!

This moment was priceless. She was in aww of Rapunzel and gave her a huge hug. 

Happy Birthday sweet princess.

I love you,

Nina

Cocoa & Hearts - Sister Files

Have you all seen the launch of Jen at Made by Girl's new original art work, Cocoa & Hearts. I'm loving the colors in all her pieces.  I'm writing this post so my sister can get some ideas, hint...hint.  I think these would be perfect in her 'new' apartment that we are completely redoing.  Little Sis...go shopping.

My Sister's Vintage Light

My sister that lives in New York sent me these really cool pictures.  They bought this amazing vintage light that is just perfect for their loft. 

This next picture is a pretty cool shot of her husband installing the wiring for the lamp.  I love the shadows that are cast on him.

This last picture is one I took when I went up to visit in October. Her place is full of amazing vintage pieces and the ecclectic style matches them perfectly.  

I want to go and visit them soon and maybe check out some of these shops. What do you think?