Bargains in Black and White

If you're jumping on the black and white bandwagon, here are 5 hand-picked finds--each is priced under $20.


















At $12.99, this black and white ticking stripe pillow cover from Pottery Barn is an affordable classic.















This set of 4 vintage sheet music coasters from Etsy seller A Happy Home would make a fun and unique gift for a music lover. The set is priced at $13.95.















Cling to summer with this set of two white wooden birds from the JC Penney Online Outlet. The pair is on sale for just $16.99.











You can cover a lot of decorating ground with 15 yards of black and white checked ribbon from Ballard Designs, which is on sale now for $4.99. One idea: use this ribbon as a mat for black and white pictures.
















This set of 4 black and white medallion napkins from World Market is $11.96. Matching place mats are available.

Happy shopping!

Wallpaper Alternatives

I've noticed a trend recently in design magazines and on the Internet: wallpaper is making a comeback. Now, I don't want to be a wet blanket, a party pooper, a killjoy, or any other uncool idiom, but I have to throw my opinion into the mix. I think wallpaper has lots of great decorative uses...but gluing it to the wall is not one of them!

There; I've said it. Now you may be thinking that I'm very uncool. You may be thinking, "She doesn't like wallpaper?! No wonder she was always picked last for P.E. teams in school! It's because she's so uncool." But you're wrong there. The reason I was always picked last for P.E. teams was actually because I once accidentally scored a goal for the opposing team in floor hockey. Plus, I was a pretty slow runner. And I had a tendency to duck whenever a ball was kicked, batted, or thrown in my general direction. Even a ping-pong ball. So, you see, it had nothing whatsoever to do with my views on wallpaper.

And the truth is that I do like wallpaper--in smaller doses. You can frame it, collage with it, decoupage it to the front of a dresser, use it to line drawers, cover storage boxes with it, line the back of a cabinet or a bookcase with it, or make cards with it. There are so many great things to do with wallpaper. Just don't glue it to your wall!

The thinking behind the recent resurgence in wallpaper's popularity goes something like this: "Today's wallpaper is different: it's pretty!"

Oh dear. This is dangerous thinking. Dangerous. Need I remind you...

What was "pretty" in the 60's?

















What was "pretty" in the 70's?






















What was "pretty" in the 80's?
















My biggest beef with wallpaper is that it can be so hard to remove. Just ask anyone. I think a great icebreaker activity at a boring corporate training would be to have people discuss their traumatic experiences involving wallpaper removal. That would really get people talking.

I once helped a client remove this wallpaper: (Note: this particular client is also a good friend, which explains why I would sacrifice my sanity in this way.)



















May I tell you how tiny each piece of wallpaper was when it peeled off of the wall? Confetti-sized. The size of a Post-It-Note designed for dwarf hamster. Maddeningly minuscule.

Now, you may be thinking, "I don't care if trends change! I will always love this beautiful wallpaper." That may be true, but unless you are 100% sure that you will never, ever have to sell your home, installing wallpaper is a risky move at best. Because wallpaper can be very intimidating to buyers, many of whom will have had negative experiences with wallpaper removal in the past. Even if you have impeccable taste and chose the loveliest, most expensive wallpaper on Earth, there's a good chance that your buyer's taste will be different from yours.

So what are you to do if you want to give your walls some pizazz without gluing wallpaper to them? Here are some wallpaper alternatives...or "wallternatives".

How about using a paint technique? One of my favorite faux finishes is this linen look (called strie) which is created by dragging a dry brush through a glaze mixture. You can find an instructional video here.















You can also use stencils. Cool stencils, not the corny country apples and mama ducks that you remember from the 80's. Have a look at this lovely room by Patty Henning of Fabulous Finishes. Patty used both a strie technique and stencils on the walls. The fun stencil on the ceiling is a nice touch. I also love the use of beadboard on the ceiling.





















You can paint your own wallpaper freehand like the patient and talented Britt at A Penny Saved.














Or use glaze (over a painted base coat) to create bold stripes. You can find simple DIY instructions here. (Image below is from Barbara Dalton's website).
















If you feel hopelessly compelled to adhere something to your wall, why not experiment with wall decals? There are a number of larger companies offering wall decals, but did you know that Etsy sellers also offer close to 14,000 unique wall decals in their virtual shops? Here are just a few of many fun (and removable) options. (Click on the images to be taken to each Etsy store.)

















































If you just have to hang something wallpaper-like on the wall, Wallbands may be for you. Wallbands just need to be dipped into water and applied to the wall in any direction. The manufacturer promises that these can be removed without steam or fuss--just grab a corner and gently pull the whole band off of the wall. I'm skeptical--these give me flashbacks to wallpaper border removal--but I think that the vertical application is an interesting idea.
















This post has been shared at Hooked on Houses, since I'm hooked on wallpaper alternatives.

Do you have any wallpaper stories--positive or negative--to share? Do tell!

DIY Old Book Photo Frame

Here's a unique way to display special photos. I would love to be able to say that this is a simple project, but in reality I found the concept to be a wee bit simpler than the process.

I saw this idea several years ago in a decorating magazine. As soon as I saw it, I thought, "These old book photo frames would make fabulous gifts! I'll just whip up a bunch of them for friends and family!" Please note that I had that thought before I attempted to actually make one. Now this was a few years back, so the details are a little bit hazy, but I do have a vague memory of almost setting our garage on fire with the Dremel. Almost.

If you would like to attempt one of these book frames, you'll have two main challenges to overcome:

Challenge #1: Finding an Appropriate Book to Carve Up. This is a challenge because you want to use a book that is attractive enough to display, but not one that is a priceless collector's item. I don't want to receive blog hate mail when you watch "Antiques Roadshow" and learn that the book you just diced up was worth more than your convertible. Also, if you value books and reading, as I do, you may have some qualms about chopping into a book. I was lucky to find a copy of The Prince and the Pauper that was lovely and old...but already ruined. When I found the book, many of the pages were covered in "scribble scrabble", so I felt OK about reinventing this book as a frame.

If you plan to make these as gifts, you can have fun selecting titles to match your gift recipients' hobbies, interests...and neuroses. Or you might want to match the title of the book with the theme of the photo (pair a love story with a wedding photo, for example).

Challenge #2: Completing the Rest of the Project
Make paper templates of your "mats" to trace onto the book's cover, endpages, and text pages. The endpages are the decorative papers on the inside cover of the book before the title page, and they make for a really nice "mat" if you don't goof up when you cut them...as did a certain blogger who shall remain nameless. (Hint: The name of her blog rhymes with "The Sled Bear Frog".)

Play with the layout to make sure that you'll see words all around your photo "mat"...and not just on 3 sides. (Another error made by aforementioned unnamed blogger.)

Remember that your largest opening will be on the book cover and the openings will get smaller as they move through the book pages toward your photo.

Use a craft knife with a really, really sharp blade...and extreme caution.

Cut the cover before you cut the pages, as the latter will be more forgiving of mistakes.

When cutting book pages, don't try to cut too many at once.

You may want to save the timeworn book pages that you cut out for card making and other craft projects.

Secure your photo into the book with double sided tape. You may want to use a color copy of your photo so you don't damage the original photo with the tape.

Have fun, and don't burn down your garage!

This project has been posted with other great DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land. Since I'm hooked on this project--whether it endangers my garage or not--it has also been posted at Hooked on Houses. Finally, since I made it myself, this project has also been posted for Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered and the "I Can Make That" party at Just a Girl.

Grandpa's Violin

This isn't exactly a decorating post. Nor is it an organizing post. It's a post about heirlooms. One heirloom in particular. And music. And my wonderful grandfather. Come to think of it, maybe I should change my blog header:






This post does relate to decorating in the sense that I believe that we should fill our homes (but not stuff them) with objects that we love. Music is an important part of my life. I'm in a music group, and when I can find some free time, I like to sing, play guitar, and write songs. My love of music is definitely reflected in my home. On the wall of my family room hangs the guitar that my mom played when she was pregnant with me. We also have (though not all of these items are out on display lest our house look like a shelter for abandoned musical instruments) two other guitars, a harmonica, a didgeridoo, and a 1908 cabinet grand piano. And then, in a league of its own, there's Grandpa's violin.

My grandfather was 98 when he passed away peacefully in his sleep this past February. He was an amazing and inspirational man. A carpenter, he built over 14 houses with his own two hands. (Fifteen if you count the yellow dollhouse with the bay window and wraparound porch that he built for me when I was a little girl.) Grandpa's first car was a Model T Ford, and I have a great old photo of him sitting in that car grinning with his feet up on the dashboard. He was an avid gardener and photographer. He was tirelessly optimistic and had a great sense of humor.




















When my grandpa was 13 years old, he found a broken violin floating in the Neawanna River in Oregon. He took the violin home to his father, who rebuilt it! I can't imagine having the skill to build--or rebuild--a musical instrument like that. I love the symbolism: something that was broken and forgotten that would learn to sing again. Grandpa learned to play a song or two on it, but he mostly loaned it out to friends who needed cheering up. He was just that kind of person.

When I phoned Grandpa on his 96th birthday, I heard festive music in the background. It sounded like a party in full swing, but it was actually just a local fiddler who had come over to the house to play the old violin for Grandpa. I can picture my grandpa--who was legally blind at that time--sitting in his armchair with his hands folded on his belly, listening with a small smile on his face. Grandpa had what you might call an "impish" smile. He always looked like he'd just snuck down to the bakery for a doughnut. (Which, most of the time, he had.)

Here's a picture of the violin:




















I love how fingers have worn away the paint on the fingerboard and the finish is rubbed off where musicians have leaned their chins over the years. I don't play violin (yet), as evidenced by the fact that I forgot to include the bow in the picture, but I do love the sound of a violin.

The violin has a mysterious, spooky head on the scroll. I don't know what kind of animal it is. A monkey? A lion? Whatever it is, it reminds me of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. It matches the screeches that emanate from the violin whenever I attempt to play it:














Even the case is cool. It's covered in peeling paint, a few gobs of old glue, and traces of duct tape! I imagine Grandpa, with his Scandinavian practicality, taping the case closed to protect the violin. I love it!























What heirlooms do you treasure most in your home? Are they tucked away in hermetically sealed boxes, or are they out on display? This post has been linked to other heirloom-themed posts at Emma Calls Me Mama. If you like to read about special family heirlooms, stop over for a visit!

Fancy Shmancy Towel Fold Tutorial

Fancy shmancy towel folds are a fun way to welcome your house guests. Your guests may even be so impressed by your pretty towel folds that they will fail to notice the "free acupuncture" offered courtesy of the springs that jab them through the holes in your sofa bed.

To pamper your guests with the royal shmance treatment, you will need:

• 1 bath towel*
• 1 hand towel*
• 1 wash cloth*
• 1 towel bar OR a chair with a back
• tiny "tuckable" toiletries or flowers

*Note: Although luxurious fluffy towels are much more welcoming than thinner towels, the latter are actually easier to fold because they're less bulky. Using a bath towel and wash cloth in one color and a hand towel in a different color is a fun option.

Step 1: (Not pictured)
Fold the bath towel into thirds the long way, and drape it over a towel bar or over the back of a chair in your guest room.

Step 2:
Lay the hand towel flat with the front facing up.






















Step 3:
Fold the hand towel up from the bottom as pictured. (Note: the corner is turned down in the photo just so that you can see the edge of the towel--you should not actually fold the corner.)






















Step 4:
Fold the hand towel as pictured.










Step 5:
Flip over. (The towel, Silly, not you!)


















Step 6:
Fold the sides in, tucking one side into the "pocket" on the other side.






















Step 7:
Turn over (still referring to the towel here). (Note to Self: to become billionaire, must patent Towel Fold Twister.)























Step 8:
Drape the hand towel over the bath towel (not pictured).
Step 9:
Accordion fold the washcloth.







Step 10:
Fold the washcloth accordion in half so that it looks like a fan.

















Step 11:
Tuck the washcloth "fan" into the pocket on the hand towel.






















Step 12:
Add some goodies for your guests, such as tiny toiletries, flowers, wrapped candies, or a little note. By a note, I mean something sweet and welcoming like, "Make yourself at home!" as opposed to something like, "Mess up my towel folds and you're DEAD!"























That's it! I can almost guarantee that you can fold your towels in less time than it took you to read this tutorial! Fancy towel folds are great not only for pampering guests, but also for staging a home to sell.
























Love DIY projects? This tutorial has been linked to other great DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land.

The Alternative Home Decor Database

Years ago, I started collecting alternative home decor ideas. What qualifies as "alternative home decor"? I define it as anything unexpected that you can hang on your wall or prop on a shelf for decorative purposes. The roulette wheel in the photo above (from the most recent Pottery Barn catalog) is a great example. How many people think to themselves, "Let's see, now what should I hang over my mantle? I'm thinking either a mirror, a family photo, or a roulette wheel." I love design surprises like this. Leave it to Pottery Barn to have the chutzpah to pull this off.



















Because I like to organize things-- and because I'm just the tiniest little bit compulsive--I saved all of these alternative decor ideas in the form of an alphabetized list. I published the list a few years ago in article form, but quickly discovered that without images, the list wasn't very useful to the average home decorator. Turns out, most people don't just intuitively know how to decorate a wall with napkins, driftwood, or...zithers.

Now that I have joined the blogging world, it occurred to me to again share my list...but with a twist. I invite you to contribute links to photos (your original photos, or photos that you have found on the web). My vision for this post is that it can become an Alternative Home Decor Database (doesn't that sound delightfully nerdy!) in which every item on the list is linked to an internet image of that alternative item in a room setting. So for example, if the item on the list is an apron, and you have a framed apron above the stove in your kitchen, you can contribute a link to your photo.

If you would like to contribute, please leave a comment with your link and the name of the decor item and I will add the link to the list. If you have used an alternative decor item that is not on my list (or you have an item that is already linked on the list), please send it to me anyway! If I have linked to a photo of yours and you would prefer not to be linked, please let me know and I will remove the link. And now, with no further ado, I give you The List.

Decorative Items from A to Z

A-Advertisements, Aprons (vintage)

B-Blueprints, Board games, Baby clothes, Bandanas, Batik fabrics, Ballet slippers, Beach bags, Buttons (mounted in rows), Buckets, Baskets, Branches, Birdhouses, Birdcages, Birdbaths, Bottles, Banners, Books (stacked up or propped open to a favorite page), Bowling pins, Bells

C-Chalkboards, Canvases (painted a single color), Calendar images, Collages, CD Covers, Ceramic tiles, Curtains (not just for windows!), Candles, Coins, Clocks, Children's blocks, Charts, Comic books, Chopsticks (gathered in a vase), Calligraphy pieces

D-Driftwood pieces, Doilies, Dishes, Dish towels, Diplomas, Dictionary Definitions (enlarged), Doorknobs (displayed in a row as coat hooks or towel hooks), Dolls

E-Empty frames, Evening bags, Embroidered fabrics

F-Fans (wooden, paper, or silk), Flowers (fresh, dried, pressed, or silk), Fabrics (framed or stretched over store bought canvases), Footprints (in a baby's room), French memo boards, Flags, Finger paintings, Fruits (whole fresh or dried), Fiddles, Fossils, Folding screens, Flowerpots, Finials

G-Garden tools, Gold leaf papers, Greeting cards, Garden gates & statues, Garlands of Garlic or chili peppers, Guitars, Geodes, Gloves, Globes, Glass blocks

H-Hats, Handkerchiefs, Handprints, Horticultural charts

I-Ice skates, Illustrations cut from books (A favorite picture book can provide enough pictures to decorate a child's room-be sure to buy a second copy!)

J-Jewelry

K-Kites, Keys, Kids' artwork, Kimonos

L-Leaves (fresh, pressed, or photocopied), Lyrics, Ladders, Lanterns, Lavender bundles, License plates, Love Letters, Looms

M-Mirrors, Marionettes, Magazine covers, Mantels, Maps, Masks, Mason jars, Menus, Mobiles, Musical instruments, Model airplanes, Marbled papers, Mr. Potato Head

N-News articles, Nests, Numbers (salvaged wood or metal), Napkins, Names (spelled out with individual letters or children's blocks), Negatives, Neckties, Needlepoint pieces

O-Oars 1, Oars 2, Origami papers,
P-Pie Plates, Plates, Player piano music rolls, Purses, Photographs, Poems, Postcards, Posters, Postage stamps, Paper dolls, Programs, Passports, Picket fences, Placemats, Pinecones, Pinwheels, Pennants, Pins, Puppets

Q-Quilts, Quilt squares

R-Rugs, Record album covers, Roller skates, Recipes, Religious symbols, Roulette wheels

S-Scarves (framed individually or displayed on hooks in a row), Seed packets, Sewing patterns, Saris, Sheet music, Scrolls, Shutters, Stained glass, Shoes, Sconces, Silhouettes, Shells, Sports equipment, Street Signs, Spectacles, Stones, Suitcases, Surfboards, Scrapbook papers (framed individual sheets), Spoons, Swimsuits

T-Teacups & saucers, Tablecloths, Tin lids, Trays (metal trays can be used as magnetic message boards), Ticket stubs, Toys, Twigs, Tin ceiling tiles, Typewriters, Telephones, Tricycles

U-Umbrellas

V-Vases, Valentines, Vintage fabric scraps & dish towels, Veils, Violins, Vests

W-Wallpaper, Windows, Wreaths, Weathervanes, Wrapping papers (framed individual sheets), Words (spelled out with individual letters or children's blocks), Windchimes, Wine labels

X-X-rays (hung in a window or pieced into a mobile in front of a light source)

Y-Yardsticks, Yarn Skeins (displayed in a basket or a wooden bowl)

Z-Zithers

I'll keep adding links as I find images and as you send them my way!

Photo credits: Roulette Photo: Pottery Barn, Purse Photo: Red Chair Home Interiors, Photo Border: Stock Xchng.

5 Minute Decorating: DIY Faux Preserved Botanicals

This project involves fake plants, so if you happen to be either A) Martha Stewart or B) A botanist with a collection of cherished pressed fern specimens adorning every wall of your home, you may want to look away now. Martha, surely you have something else to do--sculpting a dragonfly out of butter, perhaps, or cataloging your collection of Medieval leather doilies?

If you're an ordinary human who's "pressed" for time, here's a fast, easy, and affordable way to make some DIY faux pressed botanicals for your home.

Step 1:
Pick up some realistic-looking silk greenery from a craft store. Fern fronds work well for this. Not sure whether your greenery looks real? To help you decide, I've provided the sophisticated Faux Plant Self-Test below.

Faux Plant Self-Test

1. Are the leaves blue?
2. Does the plant resemble a fright wig?

If you answered "Yes" to either of the questions above, the silk plant in question does not look real. Do not buy it.

Step 2:
Once you have found a few realistic "specimens", arrange them in a mat and frame. You can use spray adhesive if you'd like, but you may not even need to--for the example above, the pressure of the glass was enough to keep the ferns in place.

Step 3:
Hang your frames on the wall with confidence. They look great in groups of three. If anyone asks whether they're real, just answer, "Yes". After all, they are real; if they were imaginary, no one would be able to see them, now would they?

Love DIY projects? This project has been linked to lots of other great DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land and The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Blue-Themed Bargains

Save a little green this summer with these blue-themed bargains:

This sweet little "Hush Baby Sleeping" felt door pillow is just $3 at Plum Party:























When the summer heats up, these Chris Madden Accent Pillows from JC Penney (3 styles available) are a cool deal at $11.99 each:















The Kidkraft Nantucket Blue Table Set is $67.97 (for all three pieces) at Smart Bargains.com:


















World Market offers the Madison Storage Basket in Light Blue. It's made from paper rope and priced right at $4.98:



















Here's one more "sighting" for you: the appropriately-named UFO Tealight Holder in blue is just 99 cents at Bed, Bath, and Beyond!