Welcoming in the New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Do you have any resolutions? This year I'd really like to get things organized and get rid of a lot of clutter. I'm also aiming to do a lot of new projects, including a bedroom and a dining room makeover to start the new year off with a bang!

 {welcoming in the new year with some pretty red doors - a house for sale a town over from mine}

 I received some Visa gift cards from my family for Christmas ($250 in gift cards to be exact, I was so surprised!) and I'm determined to stretch my new "budget" to the limit on decor items. I've already purchased a few things but I have a lot to go yet so I'll check back in and let you in on my findings!

Hope you all have a great night!

Merry Christmas!

I'm heading off to visit family for Christmas, hope you all have a wonderful day!

Since I didn't post earlier, here are a few of our around-the-house decorations and our humble Christmas tree. I love this time of year!

Room with a Twist

This room is not only calm, serene and modern, it has a secret. Can you guess what it is?

It's modeled entirely in 3D! Pretty neat huh? Images courtesy of Pixela

Nice Room

My friend Sarah sent me this tumblr link the other day and I thought I would share some of this eye candy with all of you! Thanks Sarah!

Pretty in Pink

Here's a small Christmas decoration I put together using mostly thrift store finds.

My Style Formula

Thanks to Nicole at Sketch 42 for this fun link party! My style is still growing so I suppose the following photos make up my style "wish list."

One part curiosity {source unknown}

One part mountain lodge {skiingbc}

One part white {Name 5 Things}

One part glamorous {Knight Moves}

A hint of industrial {Knight Moves}

One part romantic {source unknown}

One part folk/kitschy {Cottage Living}

One part cottage {gostocaipira}

Part traditional {source uknown}

One part hotel/spa {Pottery Barn}

One part secret {Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles via Heidi Claire}

One part bold {Mary McDonald}

One part Candice Olson

One part fairy tale {Hamleys}

One part trendy (if you can call this that?) {decorpad}

I'm quite a mix! What's your style formula?

Rooms With A View

I'm loving these rooms with a view from Rocky Rochon Design in Seattle.

 

Tutorial: Christmas Pillows From Shirts

With Christmas coming up I thought my bed could use something a little more festive. Sweater pillows look so cozy and since I already had all the materials on hand I set out to make my own (technically - a sweater pillow, t-shirt pillow, a tube top pillow & a leftover fabric pillow).

I started with a white cable knit sweater I got at a thrift store for $3 a while ago.  The green and white striped pillow was a t-shirt I had (and was about to donate since it was rarely worn) and the red and white striped knit pillow was a tube top straight from the 70's (woo hoo mom!).

I began by cutting the white sweater straight across, just under the arms. 

I then turned the "pillow case" inside out and stitched up the sides, leaving enough room on one side to insert my pillow form. Sweaters/shirts are handy for making pillows because two of the sides are already stitched for you so the sewing goes by a lot faster.

 

I turned the pillow right side out again and inserted my pillow form. Thez form was quite a bit larger than the pillow case, but the knit sweater stretched and it was no problem fitting it on and getting it to look right. I then whip-stitched the open end and that was it! I followed the same method for making the t-shirt and tube top pillows as well, and the little white furry pillow was one I made using leftover fabric from an old project.

I really love the Christmas-y colors the pillows add and I would definitely do this project again!