Julie's Decor

A While Ago I Shared With You My Mother's Decor, But Today I Want To Share With You My Sister-In-Law, Julie's Decor. She Bought A Fixer-Upper & It Is Amazing All She & Her Husband, Craig, Have Done! She Has So Many Wonderful & Inspirational Ideas! I'm Continually Impressed With Her Creativity!!


Her Entryway....

 

When You Walk Up To Her House, You Have To Walk Into A Patio Area To Get To The Front Door. Julie Not Only Decorated This Area Beautifully, She Created An Inviting Space Which Sets The Tone For The Entire House!

 

 

Her Front Door

 

 

 

A Closer Look. I Love The Chalkboard Sign Which Says "Welcome"!

 

 

 

These Steps Go To The Side Of The Home (but are also within that patio). She Created This Area To Also Be Inviting

 

 

Across From The Side Door Is The Garage & On Each Side Of The Garage Are These 2 Planters, Which Julie Made Sure Didn't Go To Waste & Planted Them Beautifully
 



Now Inside The Home....

 

This Is What You See When You First Walk Through The Front Door.  No Space Has Been Left Undecorated! It's So Welcoming

 

Here Is The Dining Room. I Love The Colors Of Blacks, Browns & Pops of Reds & Blues

 

 

This Hoosier Cabinet Was Our Mother & Father-In-Laws And After Years Of Nagging, They Finally Caved In & Gave It To Julie & Craig. What I Really Love Is The Piece Behind It.  She Has That Wood Piece Which Provides An Accent To The Hoosier! So Creative!

 

 

 

Here Is Her Living Room. This Room Is So Open & Bright. You Can Sit In It All Day And Feel So Relaxed. The Sign Above The Birdhouse Shelf Is A Memorabilia Of Their Family Dog Gennie Who Passed A Way A Few Years Ago. You Can See On The Left A Hook Which Is Where Her Collar Hangs From. So Sweet!

 

 

I Love What She Did With The Window Panes Here Only Putting A Few Photos In Each One. The Windows Came Out Of A Barn In South Dakota That Her Parents Used To Own. Some Of The Pictures Are Of Her Kids Looking Out Through That Exact Window From Inside The Barn!

 

 

More Family Room Decor

 

 

 

 

 

Here Is The Kitchen. I Love The Strip Of Wood Above The Kitchen Sink "You Are My Sunshine". I Also Love The Accent Wood Piece From Which The Light Hangs

 

 

 

The Back Splash Is Amazing! What A Wonderful Way To Use The Wood & Add A Modern Feel To Your Kitchen. The Browns & Blues In The Tiles Match Beautifully With The Wood Too!

 

 

They Took Off The Kitchen Cabinet Doors On This Section To Allow An Open Feel & Flow, Which It Does!

(pardon the yellow wiring. they are in the process of redoing the lighting) 

 

 

 

This Is A Fun Piece Next To The Refrigerator. I Have Seen Some People Paint A Whole Wall With Chalkboard Paint, But For Julie's Home, This Was Perfect Because It Still Gives It That Open Feel.

Notes, Comments & More Are Left On This 'Door' On A Daily Basis

 

 

 

Not Every Home Has A Laundry Room, But Julie's Does & It's Huge! She Was Able To Make The Most Of This Space Too.

 

 

 

I Adore This 1/2 Bath! The Bottom Part Is Plywood & The Top Is Metal Siding. Who Would Have Thought?!  What A Creative & Inexpensive Way To Decorate! 

 

 

 

This Sign Touches My Heart, Not Just Because Of What It Says, But It's The First Thing You See When You Enter Julie & Craig's Bedroom! 

 

 

 

Here Is A Shot Of Their Bedroom. Again, The Colors Are Cool & Inviting. They Really Make The Room Open Up 

 

 

 

When I First Saw This Bathroom, I Was Really Impressed.  I Love The Distressed Bead Board, But I Also Love The Separate Vanities.

 

 

 

The Lighting Was Done Well Too.  I Love The Way She Gave This Track Lighting A Homey Feel With The Wood Strip

 

 

 A Closer Look

 

 

 

This Is The Main Bathroom. Again, I Love The Use Of The Wood As The Bottom Half Of The Wall 

 

 

As Well As The Separate Vanities

 

 

A Closer Look 

 

 

 

 This Is The Spare Bedroom Which They Decided To Not Do Too Much Renovating Too & Look How Julie Made It Her Own! What A Creative Way To Use The Siding Ledge!

 

 

 

No, This Isn't Their Office Desk, But It's A Desk In Their Office Which Can Be Used For Good 'Ol Fashion Letter Writing. I Think The Shelves Are a Wonderful Way To Display More Photos, But Also Be Used To Hold Mail, Pens, Scissors, Etc.

 

 

 

Julie Is My Go-To Person When I Need A Little Nudge With A Lot Of My Projects, So I Wanted To Be Able To Show You Who/What I'm Working With.  Isn't It Beautiful?! So Creative! Julie & Craig Have Put A Lot Of Blood, Sweat & Tears Into This Home & I Can Say With Surety That It Has Paid Off.  It's An Amazing Home!

DIY "Time Out" Stool

When My Daughter Was Approaching the Age of 2, I Thought She Had Already Begun the "Terrible 2's," But No, I Was Sorely Mistaken!  It Wasn't Until After She Actually Turned 2 That it Really Kicked In! So, I Went Out And Created Her A Place For Her "Time Out"!

 

 

  

This Is By Far The Easiest Piece I Have Created. Basically, Because All I Had To Do Was Purchase The Stool.  I Had The Rest Of The Supplies At Home Already!

 

 

I Purchased The Stool From IKEA For $7.99.  They Come In White, Green & Yellow.

Click Here To See Them.

 

Then I Created The Letters "T-I-M-E O-U-T" Using My Cricut!

 

  

 

After That I Used A Pencil & Ruler To Draw The Lines Where I Wanted The Words & Then I Stuck Them On!  Simple!

 

 

 

The Strangest Part Was That It Took 6 Days For Us To Use It!!!  If I Had It Earlier, There May Already Have Been A Hole Burned Through It!!!

Baby Sleeping Sign

When My Daughter Was First Born It Was A Challenge Keeping The Dog From Waking Her Up With His Barking When The Mailman Brought Our Mail Or When Solicitors Came To Our Door, So I Googled Signs That I Could Create To Keep Solicitors Away & I Found One Similar To This One...

 

 

At The Time I Didn't Have A Cricut, So, With My Mother's Help, We Made This One...

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Truly Simple. I Bought The Piece Of Wood At Michael's & Had My Husband Drill Holes On Each Side At The Top. Then I Painted It & When It Dried, We Put The Vinyl My Mother Had Cut For Me On It & Painted Some Mod Podge Over It To Seal It In. Then We Tied The Twine On & Hung It!  How Simple Is That?!  It's A Wonderful Idea & It Works 80% Of The Time (sometimes solicitors just don't pay attention!)

 

You Can Change Up The Wording Anyway You Want, But I Chose To Keep It Simple

 

Turkey, Brie & Cranberry Sandwich...Yum!

Over The Holidays, My Husband, Daughter & I Went Up To The San Fransisco Bay Area To Spend Christmas With My Family & One Afternoon My Husband & I Got Away For An Afternoon Date! We Went To A Movie & To Lunch At The Restaurant Across From The Theatre Called Buffalo Bills Brewery. That Is Where We Discovered A Wonderful Sandwich Called The "Brie And Cranberry Turkey." It Was Delicious, But Even Better, It's Something You Can Re-Create At Home.  So, I Did Just That & Here It Is To Share With You....
 

 

Ingredients are: French Baguette, Brie, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Sliced Smoked Turkey, Cranberry Sauce (whole berry), Mayo & Brown Mustard

 

 

Step One: Slice Your Baguette & Spread The Brie On One Side. Place In The Broiler For 3-5 Minutes

 

 

 

While That Is Broiling, Spread The Mayo & Brown Mustard On The Other Slice. Then Lay Out Your Turkey & Spread The Cranberry Sauce Along The Middle & Roll It Up

 

 

 

Next, Cut Up All Your Veggies

 

 

 

Then Pile It On! I Layered It As Follows: Bottom Slice Of Baguette (the one with the brie on it), Lettuce, Onion, Tomato, Turkey/Cranberry Roll & Other Slice Of Baguette (the one with the mayo & mustard on it) & Violá! 

 

Sooooo Delicious!!! Enjoy!

 

Easy DIY Gift Ideas

Since I Have Tapped Into My Creative Side This Year, I Decided To Make All The Christmas Gifts I Was Giving to The Adults (kids don't know what to do with the things I create).  Although I Would Like to Take Credit For Them As My Original Idea, I Can't.  I Borrowed Each Idea, But They Turned Out Great, Not To Mention They Were Greatly Appreciated. 

 

Allow Me To Share Them:

  

The First Gift Was To My Parents & My Sister & Bother-In-Law.  My Mother-In-Law Received A Gift Like This Years Ago & Now That I Have My Cricut, It Was Too Easy To Not Duplicate!

 

 

All I Had To Buy Was The Tile & The Stand, Since I Had The Black & White Vinyl. The Hard Part Was Deciding On The Font!  The "Est." Dates Are The Year They Each Were Married.

 

 

The Next Two Gifts I Borrowed From Shanty-2-Chic.  I Have Fallen In Love With This Blog (website) Because Their Ideas Are So Easy & So Beautiful!  Thank You Shanty Girls!!

 

 

 

These J-O-Y Signs Were Easy To Make Once I Had All The Pieces.  I Gave Them To My Mother-In-Law & Sisters-In-Law.  Since I Didn't Use Any Christmas Colors, They Can Be Used All Throughout The Year As Home Decor!

Here Is The Link To Shanty-2-Chic's Tutorial.

 

This Is An Easy Picture Frame Idea. I Combined 2 Different Ideas From Shanty-2-Chic To Create It. All I Did Was Take A Piece Of 2x6 I Had From The Previous Project & Glued A Wooden Knob I Bought From Michael's On Top. I Then Spray Painted It And The Clothes Pin, Black. When It Was Dry, I Distressed It With My Mouse Sander. Then I Cut A Piece Of Burlap, Sprayed It With Spray Adhesive & Centered It On The Piece Of Wood. Then I Made My Rosettes & Hot Glued Them And The Clothes Pin Onto The Wood. Finally, I Added Our Newest Family Picture & It Was Complete! Easy As Pie!!

 

 

 

All Of These Gifts Were So Simple To Make! If You Decide To Make Them Yourself, You Will Enjoy The Process & Love The Idea Of Giving Someone A Homemade Gift They Will Actually Want to Put In Their Home!