Grosgrain All Around

Hi everyone. Welcome to the mansion. I wanted to share a quick and easy decorating idea with you all today. As it is a frugal decor idea, I am linking up to a new blog that I found...Finding Fabulous. There you will find tons of frugal ideas for Frugalicious Friday.

Grosgrain ribbon all around your room!

Our walls are really tall in this house. I keep trying to think of ways to break them up in the different rooms. On one of our trips to see the in laws, I noticed that my mother in law's "decorator" had attached grosgrain ribbon to the tops and bottoms of the walls in her kitchen. It looked great. The professional had secured the ribbon with wallpaper glue and the professional had charged a great deal of money to do the job. I am "anti-glue" and "anti great deal of money!" So, I promptly bought some grosgrain ribbon at Hobby Lobby (50% off) and got myself a jug of liquid starch. I LOVE liquid starch.

This is what I did with it...
It is difficult to take photos of a large portion of the walls at one time...sorry. But, I starched the strips of ribbon to the tops and bottoms of the walls. I left two inches of painted wall above the ribbon which is also two inches wide.

Here are some on the bottoms of the walls...



And one more top...



The key to success with this project is to buy your ribbon in one long piece. ( so you can cut the exact length of each wall) After you cut your wall length of ribbon, dunk the entire piece into the liquid starch. Then, stick it to the wall. Smooth the ribbon out with a sponge. Wipe off the excess starch. After the starch is dry you can clean up the wall with a damp sponge.

When you get tired of the ribbon border, just pull it off. Wipe the walls with a damp sponge, and it is like it was never there. NOTE: don't do this on flat paint....it doesn't clean up like satin or semi does.

And that is that. I have also seen this done in a little girl's room with wide pink grosgrain ribbon around the center of the room. Cute!!!

For other DIY wonders...visit A Soft Place To Land.

You can also see some super metamorphosis ideas at...Between Naps On The Porch.

Toot YOUR horn over at ...Silly Little Sparrow.

Yall have a great day.


Laura

Everything Old Is New Again!

Hello Ladies. While browsing over at RealSimple, the website, I found some great ideas for using old items as new things. Take a gander....

All of these photos and their stories can be found at http://www.realsimple.com

For those of you with little girls...this is just too cute. They used an old stool and added a tutu. Walaaaa:bedside table.

Here is a cute table made out of a step ladder. I like.
This one is a covered cake pan that is used as a writing caddy. Could be great for the kiddies too.

And last but by no means least....wine glasses are used here as little candle holders. Just stick the candles in some sand or pebbles. Tada...

Hope you can find something old in your mansion to make new again.

Laura

Let Me Share My Chair....

Hello ladies. Welcome to the mansion. Let me share my chair.... Ever have a chair that you would like to use, but the color is just not right? Well...as I prepping to move to the new "mansion" in two months, I found myself in this same quandary. The denim rocking chair that now sits in the playroom is going to be put into the craft room in the new mansion. The craft room, in my mind, is taupe, black, and white. Denim would just never do. So....off I go to Hancocks for fabulous fabric to match the craft room. I found the fabric you see on the chair above. Love it.... Then, I had to cover the chair. These are the things I used for the project... First, I made a pattern by putting paper on the sections of the chair and drawing each piece. Then, I cut the pieces out. Waaalaaaa: Pattern. Next, I started to cut the pieces out of the fabric. As each piece was cut, I laid them on the chair where they would be. OK. When all the pieces were cut out, I started sewing them together. After each sewing, I would set the fabric back on the chair to make sure that everything was going well. I saved the back of the chair for last. I decided to make the back into two pieces with a velcro closure. This would allow for easy on and off. And there ya go. This "camo" project took one day. The total cost of the recover was 80.00. Not bad compared to the cost of paying someone to reupholster the chair or buying a new chair. I love my new chair. I can't wait to see it in the craft room. Here are some pics of other revamped chairs from flicker....

Thank you for letting me "share my chair." Have a great day. Laura

A Flower A Day...

Hello ladies. Welcome to the "mansion" today. I noticed this morning that everything in the yard is in bloom. What a fabulous discovery. Just looking at all of the flowers makes me feel happier. And, it's not just me. According to Country Home, a Harvard Study shows that placing small bouquets of flowers around your "mansion" increases feelings of compassion and decreases feelings of anxiety and worry. How many of us couldn't use some of that kind of FLOWER POWER?

Not only are flowers beautiful and evidently effective for our psyche, but they are also cheap. If they are growing in your own "mansion" lawn they are FREE. Pretty flowers can make a room as well. Take a look at this pic... What do you focus on?

My eyes go directly to the vase of flowers. So...let's see what is in the yard and see what we can do with them...Here are some buds growing in my yard right now.

Here is the top of my cupboard in the breakfast room....BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Now, let's clip some buds and pop them in.....BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Are you smiling as big as me?????????? Go outside. Cut some flowers or some pretty weeds. Put them in a vase or a jar or a cup. Smile. Do you feel the anxiety level dropping already? Have a blessed day ladies.

Laura

The St. Pat's Day "Gatherer"

I recently saw an article comparing men (hunters) and women (gatherers). We evidently go about things much differently. Duhhhh..... Let's say my husband and I are each given a mission....BUY PAPER TOWELS.

Husband: Roger that....Go Go Go....Must get paper towels.... The "hunter" husband drives to the nearest, and most expensive, grocery store. The hunter enters the store, zeros in on the paper towel aisle and heads straight there. The hunter turns onto the aisle....TARGET SPOTTED. Paper towels in his sights, he grabs the first roll within reach. Never you mind that the roll cost 5.75. Never you mind that the roll has embossed brown butterflies and pink mushrooms. Never you mind that the roll is NOT select a size. Never you mind that wife (gatherer) will hate that particular roll of paper towels. He has the paper towels, and he is off to the check out. He zooms home and presents the paper towels to his frowning wife.

Me: Got it. Come on kids let's go. I (gatherer) head to Wal-mart... the mecca of all things cheap. I cram the kids into the buggy and head for the paper towel aisle. I then scour the aisle looking for the least expensive roll. Target spotted. The Wal-mart brand ...white, select a size, 1.98. Fabulous. I head for the check out and spot a clearance end cap....the heavens have opened up and rained down blessings on me at this moment. White pillar candles are on clearance 3 for a dollar. I "gather" three, very pleased with myself, and head on out. I head home with the perfect paper towels and three perfect candles for a mere 2.98.

I don't know about all women, but I am truly a "gatherer." Over the years, I have learned that there are some things that MUST be gathered. If these items are gathered successfully, one can decorate for just about any holiday or themed get together. These "must gather" items are as follows...

The previously mentioned white pillar candles

black picture frames (print something out and put it in the frame)

colorful half marbles

plates in all shapes and colors

mardi gras beads in all colors

pretty ribbons (to tie around the white pillar candles)

short vases

plate hangers and stands

As St. Patrick's Day is soon approaching, let's see how these things work for the house "camo."

Here are some print out pic examples for the frame...



So..there ya go. I am a gatherer. You are most likely a gatherer too. Gather wisely, and decorating for any holiday on the fly is no problemo.


Laura