Etsy Find: Local Artist with Big Style!

I love Etsy. And I especially love finding local talent on Etsy! Wendy is an area artist whose Etsy shop Earth Art by Wendy is one to watch. She uses reclaimed wood and barn beams to create coasters, wall decor and custom wall art that has a rustic mid-century modern vibe.

Check out some of her work. 

Coasters. 

This is a set of 70 oak barn timber beams that can be hung in any pattern to create unique wall art.

This is a one-of-a-kind custom reclaimed wood wall art creation.

And if her talent wasn't enough to make you fall in love with her, she is an equally vibrant and lovely person! Check out Wendy's Etsy Shop! 

{Erin}

Spring Porch Updates: Taking My Own Advice!

In my last post, I gave 5 inexpensive ways to update your porch or patio for the spring. I put my own advice to work and incorporated several of those ideas into my own outdoor space. Here are the results!

I sprayed painted my pots black to coordinate with the outdoor fabric I used for my pillows.

Since it's still too early around here to plant my flower boxes, I added color with some ivy, a fern and spring tulips. I also DIY'd a wreath for my front door for about $25! 

I made new covers for my outdoor pillows with fabric I found at Hobby Lobby for $8/ yard.

And added sheet moss to my planters for a more finished look with the spring tulips.

The best part is that the entire spring overhaul cost me less than $100! 

Happy Spring Planting!
{Erin} 

Our Feature on "Thrifty Decor Chick"...Boom!

If you didn't catch our Facebook & Instagram post on Friday, we had a pretty great start to the weekend when Sarah from Thrify Decor Chick featured our little ol blog on her BIG ol blog! If you don't know Sarah's blog you may need to crawl out from under the rock and go check it out! She is famous for her fabulous DIY skillz! She is funny and you can tell her background is in writing as she has a way of making all her posts fun to read! Check out a couple of my favorite home transformations in her space! She is amazing and proves you do not have to spend a ton of money to have a home that is full of character and has all the details that make a house a home. 

I love the drama she created in her bedroom with this moody gray color and the trim work she DIY'd with 13 pieces of mdf she got for $80 from Lowe's!

 This next project is genius as she used kitchen cabinets to add storage and organization to her closet! This for sure beats the cost of a closet company coming in to build out your closet! You have got to go over and see the before pics of this project! Love the chandy in there too! Every girl needs a feminine touch in the space where they get ready, right?

Love this idea she completed from an old closet space in her little guy's room! So stinking cute and a great cozy use of the space!

 This next project you have to go read about as the details and planning were executed so well! They turned their unused dining room into a library space and built in this entire library wall! Love!

And of course she details step by step some awesome tips for styling a build in bookcase! Amazing! I'm sure you are catching my drift on how great she is and probably wondering the same thing as we were...."how did she find your blog?!?" Lol! We are still peeling ourselves off the ceiling today!:)

So what's coming up?! I am knee deep in nursery planning for my secret nursery! If you didn't catch the post a couple weeks back I am designing a nursery behind closed doors in a friend's house for their new baby! I'm the ONLY one who knows the sex of the baby so am so excited to be sneaking around and sneaking in and out of their house to start my install! I would show you some teasers as I always like to but I have not one item that I could show you that would not blow the surprise! It's gonna be good though and I can't wait for the big reveal in a few weeks. 

This weekend I got my two thrift store chairs sprayed and now I just need to reupholster them, get the rug and coffee table for in there and I am DONE with my front room project! Twas great spray painting weather this weekend.. finally! And back to rain today:( booooo

If you are a new follower you can read more about this 
L-O-N-G front room and dining room overhaul in this post! And by the way, thanks to all our new followers this weekend! We were blowing up over here with all the love and hope you enjoy the blog! And here are some pictures to refresh you memory on where we are at to date! 

I got my table for the dining room which joins this front room and I LOVE it! Not ready to give the full reveal but wanted to show off the progress. I got my mom's old art deco chairs back with the new black & white fabric I picked out! What a difference from the pink fabric that was on them before...no offense mom! 

In spirit of the pink I thought I would add a punch of pink to the table with some linens I found this weekend. I know that these rooms started with the idea of being black & white and simple but you cannot hold a color girl like me down! The black and white plates I found on the super cheap at Ikea and the gold chargers were $2.99 a piece from World Market. 

  I'm now thinking of trying my luck at some rub and buff on some sets of inexpensive utensils (for table display purposes only, of course). I just can't bite on the West Elm ones yet as they are still like $30 per setting! Ugh... 

 I also am collecting these Crate & Barrel limited edition mugs that were designed by a personal friend and old co worker of mine, Penelope Dullaghan. She is an amazing artist and what a HUGE honor for her to have her design and her portfolio featured in Crate & Barrel and plus it was like they were designed for this room! Wouldn't you agree, that they match perfectly?! 
I also got my flowers started this weekend. And by started I mean they are literally just laying in the boxes in original containers waiting to be planted as I do this post instead:)! I like the aesthetics of landscaping and the color that plantings can bring to your home but I am the black thumb of death and generally just very uncreative when it comes to landscape! 

 My daughter and I spotted this diamond below! It was all alone among a bunch of hanging plants with lots of great color but I loved the look of this plant, the variety of which I have no clue! I love how unique looking the leaves are! Don't you agree?!

 And bonus if you look real close it does in fact have some color in these tiny little pink flowers! So cool! 

Hope you all have a great week! The hubs and I are headed to sunny Tampa with my sisters and their husbands (let the wine floweth...) to watch our soon to be step sister get hitched! Congrats to Meredith & Travis! Whoop whoop!

Cheers! {Laura}

5 Inexpensive Spring Updates for your Porch & Patio

It may be a little too early to plant all your window boxes or add annuals to your landscaping, but it's not too early to brighten up your porch or patio for the spring.

Here are 5 quick and relatively inexpensive ways to add some bang to your porch without breaking the bank. 

1. Spray Paint Tired Planters.
No need to buy new when you can spray paint your pots back to life. Here are some planters with pattern, color and texture that pop!  

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In addition to painting your pots, think about using plants that will look good the entire year. I use small boxwoods in my large porch planters that stay outside all year long. If your planter is large enough, they should stay mostly green all year - even in the harshest of winters. We got 80" of snow this winter but these babies stayed green all year! Here are my pots "before" their makeover. 

2. Use Moss.
Dress window boxes and smaller planters with moss until you can plant flowers or foliage. This stuff grows anywhere and it looks much better than a box of dirt. 

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Moss will also transition from season to season. In the spring with bulbs to the winter with bare branches. 

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3.  Hang A Wreath.
You can DIY or buy a simple wreath with some color just to brighten the space. Here is a DIY wreath made of painted, leaf shaped paper. 

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4. Update Outdoor Pillows. 
You don't have to buy expensive outdoor pillows to spruce up your patio or deck. These are made of inexpensive burlap and fabric paint. 

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And for those of you who don't sew on a regular basis, Ashley fom The Handmade Home recommends the ease of a hand held sewing machine. It is great for quick sewing jobs like making pillows, adding detail to curtains and hemming pants. 

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Here are two indoor/outdoor fabrics I found on Fabric.com for under $10/yard!

For those who have a sewing machine, here is a great tutorial on  how to make outdoor pillows with a zipper.

5. Paint A Rug. 
You can DIY your own outdoor rug with painter's tape, porch & deck paint, and a canvas drop cloth. Simply sew the edges of a canvas drop cloth to your desired size and create a design using painter's tape. You can sew a rug gripper to the back of the drop cloth for added weight if you want. 

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Or skip the tape and use a stencil on a sisal rug to create your design. 

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And for the bold and daring, paint a rug right onto your concrete using a stencil. For a complete tutorial, click here.

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I will be incorporating some of these ideas in my own front porch later this week. . . that is, after the snow melts!

Happy Creating! {Erin}