Amazing Weekend Finds

I have been quite sick for several days. Toady is my first day out of bed. I certainly wasn't going to leave you cringing, biting away at those pretty fingernails, wondering if there would be a blog post. While I have a couple of drafts going, I thought this morning I would take it easy on myself, yet make it exciting for you. Today I have a collection of some of my favorite finds from my time on bed rest. We have style inspiration and decor inspiration for you to feast your hungry eyes on. 

1. Learn how to tuft and reupholster a sofa over at Classy Clutter. Honest to goodness, her living room made my heart swoon! I want a gray lounge chair in my living space, so this was just the right inspiration I needed for a future DIY project.

2. With summer almost in reach, many of us are working on getting ourselves bikini ready. Yesterday I nearly gasped at this scalloped one piece from Nasty Gal. I also love this suit because it gives the right amount of coverage for my self-consciousness. I do not like to flash my stretch marks and this one covers that area exactly while still allowing me to feel great in my skin.

3. Last week I stumbled upon the sister duo Jeans and Teacup after Jessica linked up to Funday Monday, which I co-hosted. I was instantly impressed by their blog, so I stayed awhile and browsed around. I was so glad I did, because I found this amazing emerald skirt Jessica flaunted. What a statement!

4. I honestly could not say what it is about this rancher hat from Anthropologie that makes me happy, but it just does. I love hats!

5. One of my favorite magazines is Better Home & Gardens. I am always browsing through a mag or on their site, looking for new inspiration. And they never disappoint, like this decorative floral mirrors made from egg cartons. I think I will be saving the next few dozen eggs I buy!

6. Have you ladies heard of Ace & Ivy? They are an up-and-coming discount beauty boutique, and just this morning I saw these darling floral wayfarer sunglasses posted up for only $6.99! How cheap is that? I already snatched myself a pair, so head over and get yours too. They are only available at this price for a brief period of time.

What goodies inspired you this weekend?

XO,

Steph

DIY Geometric Cork Board

First I'd like to apologize for the lack of personal posts. Sadly, my rechargeable batteries have gone caput. They will no longer hold a charge. These are the last photos I was able to get out of it. It's very saddening. My camera gets so much love, and now it is feeling so very lonely, sitting there upon my desk all alone, neglected. Single-mom's Budget Syndrome has prevented me from being able to spoil it and buy it new batteries. I've had to put what extra money I have into some health expenses. Hooey is what I say!

Okay, I'll get to the task at hand now, this lovely diamond painted cork board I hung in my studio. I was inspired by this blog post from The Happy Home when I stumbled upon it on Pinterest. Oh, good ol' Pinterest! I had picked up a pack of cork tiles at Big Lots over the summer and they had been sitting here for months. Then Ms. Belinda came to my rescue and was just the right inspiration for me!

All you'll need are:

Pack of cork tiles

Painters Tape

Paint

Brush

Simple enough, tape off your lines. I did a mix of skinny and thick, because both are beautiful and can complement the other lovingly.

 Make sure all your lines match up. This is also where I would recommend taking an extra piece of tape and labeling each square 1-4. The reason I say that, is I didn't and they got mixed up, then I had to play a puzzle game to get the lines matched up again. Good thing I like puzzles!

 And it is reasons like this I love Folkart. I have mixed metals all throughout my house, so I used Pearl White and Royal Gold.

Yeah, that's a shout out to my girl, Julie at Julie Ann Art. Buy her cards. Seriously. People die laughing when they read all the cards I buy for Logan. I already have his Valentine's Day card ready. Her new cardstock is like magic. 

I finished off my little corky space with some tacks I DIY'ed. Those are just scrapbooking embellishments I super glued onto tacks. Now I have fancy tacks to hold up all the junk that would normally get thrown on my cutting table.

And there ya go. An inexpensive and easy DIY to add a pop of geometric style to your plain white apartment walls. 

Love and that jazz!

Steph

Summer Decor Inspiration | Modern Romance

I'll give you one guess where I spent my weekend. I was at Michael's. I had stopped in Saturday for some paint for a project I'm going to be doing this week. The signs for 90% off holiday baskets reeled me toward the back of the store. And would you believe what I found when I turned around? They had begun putting out the new Ashland Summer Collection. This years signature accents collection is called Modern Romance. I just had to share it with you, in case you haven't happened upon it yet.

I spent a good while Saturday oohing and ahhing over everything, saying to Logan's mother, who was with me, "I want that, and that, and that ..." as I pointed to each new thing I saw that delighted me. It is simply one of those collections that you can't help but feel serenely happy in.

I adore those pink apothecary bottles. They had them displayed in the store with pink and white feathers in them. They were darling! I also have those chandelier style candle holders on my wish list.

Way to class up an owl! So chic!

More importantly, however, is I want that pink vase with the rhinestone starburst on the front. I actually picked up a couple pieces of crystal at TJ Maxx just before hitting up Michael's, and I think it will go lovely with them.

Ooh, wait. I just noticed something as I'm gazing at this photo. That planter to the left is a decorative storage box. What a unique way to use it. I'm thinking perhaps some of my storage boxes need some flowers adhered to the lid for an extra pop in my studio.

After thinking on this set all evening Saturday, I went back Sunday for a piece. I picked up a bouquet bundle to go in a hand painted vase I had previously purchased from Hello Awesome. The bouquets are on sale for $4.99 this week. Start your romance collection!

I hope this inspires and delights you this Monday morn. 

All images courtesy of Michael's.com

Au revoir!

Steph