heirloom piece

ahhh, one of my loves. i LOVE getting to work on family pieces. this piece was in the owners' baby rooms when her kids were little. it has managed to stick around her house over the years. the home owner was inspired by blue, age and pattern. what a fun concept. here are the results:

i forgot to take before pictures. here we are in progress:

then i added a little more detail to the front for the finishing touch:

and damask to the side. i've always loved damask print:

and there you have it:

hand painted letters

I am constantly telling clients about hand painted letters. They are great for kids rooms and nurseries. I encouraged my sister to have them in her baby boy's room so that she will have a piece of her firstborn's nursery with her forever. After Avery is too cool for hand painted letters in his room (gulp), Abbe can have the first letter of his hand painted letters framed in a shadow box and a little plaque made with his birthday and name. How cute would it be to have a hallway of framed letters and birthdays reminding you of the first room your little babies stayed in? Personally, I wouldn't mind having an entire hallway full (hehehe!) Here are some I've done recently.

I made these letters for my friend, Molly, and her little muffin, Titus.

This precious picture was taken by the fabulous, Rachel Debell. Check her out!

These are Walkers. Walker is the sharpest dressed man I know!

Betsy Marie took these photos. She specializes in maternity, newborn and children. Soooo talented! Be sure to visit her site also.

These are Owens. Dear Owen, please hurry and get here. Aunt Linde is dying to meet you!!

bachelor chair gets some love

The Mr. and I didn't have much between the two of us when we got married in the furniture department. The Mr. brought along this gem.

I loved the shape, but the white pleather cushions were yuck, as was the chipping finish. I sanded and restained the wood, and then had the cushions recovered. I am a huge fan of Amy Butler and her fabric designs. I decided to go with something simple, and to rely on throw pillows (to be purchased) to change things up.

If you live in the DFW area and need a great, affordable seamstress, let me know. I use three that are fabulous!

dresser

Here is a before and after for you.

Nice white dresser with beautiful shape! Think storage...

after

This client wanted a clean, streamline look. I typically start with a light base and add darker detail. However, I thought dark with simple light accents, would give a cleaner more simplified look. The darker base is a touch on the masculine side, too.

Enjoy!

Whoooo Me?

Hey everyone! I have decided that I will be a quarterly updating blogger. I have ten posts that will run twice a week for the next five weeks. I love to journal, but never want to turn my computer on at the end of the day to blog, so I think this system will work. Hope you guys enjoy and are inspired (kidding!) over the next few weeks.

I recently made these onsies for my SIL's shower. Her husband wanted owl's in the nursery, and I felt bad that I didn't end up putting any in there so I decided a onsie was in order. If you can draw some shapes, and iron on some wonder under you are in business. Super easy and personal. I have to say, it is a little weird giving family stuff you make. It kind of feels like, here is my 4 grade art project, but we are going with it.

The Owl

Whoooo me?

When Jeff and I were dating, I went on a trip with his family to Florida. I was in the car with his whole family driving (for 10 hours). We kept passing nail salons that all had the same name (Nails by so and so). Steve, Jeff's dad, had the kids all go around and say what their nail salon would be. We heard more things like Nails by So and So. I was on the spot and got nervous. When it got to me I said the first thing that came to mind and had the word nails in it. Out came, "Snails." Uggggggg! Jeff followed it up by saying my salon would specialize in speedy service. Nice:) So, the second onsie commemorates Aunt Linde's genius comments, or lack there of.

Hope you guys have a good Tuesday!

Back in Action!

After getting some good time with family

Celebrating this

And just taking a break from things, I am back in action.

I'll start posting soon with a little bit of what I've been up to in the design world!

Stumped

Ever get STUMPED about what to do with a specific area in your home? ME TOO! The hubs and I recently got a king size bed. My mom told me over and over before I got married that wiggle worm + tall husband = king size bed. Well, turns out she is SO right! I was sleeping on the couch about three nights a week and then on the floor when the couch hurt my back, so we finally caved. When our new bed arrived we realized we needed to move it to the adjacent wall for everything to fit. With the new arrangement, I lost room for a bed side table. What to do? I am not up for buying anything new because we are renting, and I want to wait to invest in pieces that I know will have a more permanent home. Soooo, I got to thinking and looking for inspiration, and came up with this... a STUMP.

(please excuse the mattress on the floor. i am almost finished refinishing our now converted (from a queen to king) head board)

**It does look completely ridiculous when you have a STUMP in the back seat of your car when taking your bestie to the airport. AND, the hubs just sighs when I call to say that their might be a tree STUMP in the back seat of the car. But, it is so worth it.**

I saw these STUMPs in different catalogues. Don't buy these babies, go get em from the curb! Just wait until beloved bulk trash day and you will have tons of options....ahhhh bulk trash day.....

And as a side note, lift with yo back not yo knees (i just looked up a link to put here with the "you can do it put your back into it" song. not appropriate. just sing the appropriate version in your head here. and don't stop get it get it until you finish singing the whooooole song:))

Good luck finding creative solutions to the areas that STUMP you in your home.