Woodland Baby Shower

 My friends threw me the cutest baby shower to match the Woodland theme of the baby's nursery! Since I know so many of you have been following the process of decorating the nursery, I had to share these cute ideas from the shower with you as well!

It is really all about adding outdoor textures! Here you see twigs, birch logs, moss, pine stems, etc!

Love this idea of using a story book and having each of your guests write a note to baby inside! And how cute is the title of the book?! "This Moose Belongs to Me", perfectly fitting to the theme of his room!

I always love a banner across the mantle for any type of event! This one done in burlap and showcasing his name is so perfect!

Don't you just love this deer head made of pine cones!? It was part of my MIL's Christmas decor, and you will soon see it in the final nursery reveal!

33 weeks preggo with this 'big' guy! 

Finger Foods

Pretzels to look like twigs! What a genius idea!

Dessert Table

Fruit in waffle cones

How adorable are these cookies and cupcakes that my SIL hand made!?

I really can't get over these squirrel cookies! Almost too cute to eat!

I hope you have been inspired by all of my friends' wonderful ideas! And don't forget to follow along for the final Woodland Nursery Reveal! 

Blank Space Turned Cozy Breakfast Nook!

 

I am always a fan of before and after photos, but my absolute favorite ones are when the before is a completely blank slate! What a transformation!

This is the design inspiration board I did for my client.

Rug

Before the space was just a blank corner. It is a little nook off the kitchen and informal dining room.

My original idea was to use an L shaped couch/bench and have a custom buffet with shelving hutch built. My client even had the genius idea to add a side door into the buffet for a dog kennel! I LOVE when design can be functional and beautiful at the same time!!

This was an old mirror that my client already had and it just needed a little love!

This is the mirror after I painted it and gave it a faux gold finish! I try to incorporate thoughtful details into every space I design. Not everything has to be pre-made or store bought. Shop your home first and see how you can customize pieces to fit your space! Check out some of these other "shop your home" projects I have done in the past!

Doesn't this little nook just make you want to curl up with a cup of coffee and a book?!

I love this unique color palette of Navy, Orange, and Taupe!

Pillows and a throw blanket always add warmth to a space!

I really love styling bookcases. You can have so much fun with books, small décor items, picture frames, color, mementoes, etc. My design rule is to play with quantity and scale until you find a composition you like! Treat each shelf as its own space.

 

How gorgeous are these sconces?! I love how unique they are and how they help to fill the wall space!

When shopping for bookcase décor, I always like to buy more than I need and after I style the items the way I like, I will take back anything leftover.

Decorating with odd numbers will never steer you wrong! 3 pillows, 3 table décor items, etc...

My inspirational find from Michael's, "Do one thing everyday that makes you happy". What a great quote to live by!

The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift Basket!

*This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LoveOurVDay #CollectiveBias

How to Build the Perfect Valentine's Day Gift Basket!

My husband and I have been married for almost 9 years now and we have celebrated 11 Valentine's Days together! Of course before we had kids and full time jobs, Valentine's Day seemed to come so easy! But now, as parents of 3, homeowners, and full time careers, we have to find creative ways to build intimacy in our relationship! I am sure so many of you mamas out there can relate! I have read books, articles, blog posts, etc. all sharing ideas on how to keep that closeness and passion in your relationship.
What I have found works best in my relationship is to show my husband how significant he is! I try to take little notes on my phone if he ever mentions needing or wanting something, as well as mental notes when he says he likes something. So, when I went to build this Valentine's Day Basket for my husband, I wanted to keep those things in mind. This way he would be pleasantly surprised by how personalized the items in the basket were to him!




Let's get started!

I hit my local Target store for inspiration and gift items to put in my basket!
I always start my Target shopping trips in the very front of the store where they have their Dollar Spot deals! (If you have not shopped this little section, you are SO missing out!)
The very first thing I spotted was this wooden basket. I knew this was the perfect basket to hold my gifts. It felt a little more masculine than your traditional Valentine's Day basket.







Then I worked my way back to the Valentine's Day section. This year they are calling it LOVETACULAR and you absolutely cannot miss it in store!

I found this Valentine's trail mix and knew immediately that it had to be one of my gifts. My husband loves trail mix! I decided to place the trail mix in a mason jar (for a more masculine feel) and then wrapped some candy striped rope (also found in the Dollar Spot section at Target) around the top.

This candle was also in the Dollar Spot section, and who doesn't like a little candle light to set the mood? My hubby also loves chocolates, so I chose these little pre-packaged hearts. 

Next, I wanted to add a little extra surprise. I knew my husband would be incredibly shocked to see that I actually added something to promote even more intimacy in our relationship! K-Y® Love is exclusive to Target for Valentine's Day! Imagine the look on your hubby's face if he saw that you shopped for an item like this and added it to his Valentine's Day gift basket!!

K-Y® Love can be found in the feminine care aisle at Target. Mine is located near the pharmacy. 

And for all you Cartwheel lovers, they are offering: 10% off from 2/1-2/14 (if you are a Target shopper and you don't have Cartwheel, download the free app now...like right now!)

You can also learn more about these products here... Sensuality and Passion!

Last but not least, I added a bottle of Malbec, one of my hubby's favorite wines! 

I placed a little tissue paper in the bottom of the basket and then layered my items in starting with the larger items in back and smaller items in front. Wine, chocolate, candles, and K-Y® Love; what could be more romantic than that?! 

I love that this basket has the feel of Valentine's Day with traditional red and pink accent colors, but it also has a masculine feel, perfect for my husband! I know he is going to love these thoughtful little gifts and I hope he can see how much I love him on this Valentine's Day! 

Now that I have shared my Valentine's Day Gift Basket ideas with you, what would you put in a gift basket for your significant other? Mama's, how do you find time for intimacy in your relationship?

Ikat Curtains

Custom Ikat Curtains  

How gorgeous is this living/dining room!? I just finished these custom curtains for a good friend of mine and they give the perfect finishing touch to the space! 

If you have been following me for a while now, you would know that my very first suggestion as a decorator is always CURTAINS! To me, it is the fastest, least expensive way to add color and warmth to a space. 

My clients knew they wanted a printed fabric with a little color, so when I came across this Ikat fabric, I knew it was the one!

In order to save us money, I chose to do a store bought curtain panel in a cream linen and just add in the decorative fabric along the top. I do this version of custom curtains A LOT! Actually my close friends, family, and clients call them the 'Jennifer' curtain lol. It is the best way to save money, but you get a custom look in the end that no one else has!!

I decided to do the same panels in the breakfast nook and living room to tie the two spaces together. 

Since the store bought panels had these gorgeous grommets at the top, I just cut the grommet top off and spliced in the decorative fabric. This way you don't loose any of the original hardware!

My favorite part of this project is this custom door roman shade. I did this entirely in the Ikat fabric to pull a little more color and pattern into the room. I am just so pleased with the way it turned out!

With the left over fabric I did a few throw pillows to place on the couch. This again just helps to tie the spaces together and draw your eye around the room. 

What do you think? Could you use this style curtain in your home? 

Check out these other blog posts with the 'Jennifer' curtain!

Master Bedroom Retreat

Shabby Chic Living Room

Girly Nature Inspired Bedroom

DIY Mirror Makeover!

 DIY Mirror Makeover! 

I bought this solid black framed round mirror from Ikea over 8 years ago. It was under $20 and it has gone through many transformations over the years. I am such a huge believer that you can pretty much turn anything into what you want it to be, or at least try before you sell it or trash it!

The very first time I changed the mirror was back in 2009. We had just moved into our first home and I wanted something dramatic in our formal dining room. Of course I didn't think to take photos of our home back then, so this is an image of a mirror that I took my inspiration from... 

I bought a ton of tiny wooden dowels from the craft store, hot glued them around the edges, and then spray painted the entire thing gold. It was beautiful!

Then my style changed a little...I wanted a lot more white in my home, so a few years later I changed it to this!

I pulled all of the dowels off and gave it a coat of white spray paint. I then bought dryer hose clamps in multiple sizes and hot glued them around the mirror in an odd pattern. It was finished off with a coat of glossy white spray paint!

A year or so later, I decided to turn my dining room into my office. I removed the circles and left just a clean white surface. 

So, now we are caught up to date! We recently moved into a little farm house in the country and my style is much more vintage, shabby chic, and rustic. To say I love burlap is an understatement! After starring at my little round mirror in the garage for 7 months, trying to figure out what I would do with her next, it finally hit me! 

I began with a roll of burlap ribbon from Hobby Lobby ($5). 

Pick a starting point and hot glue it down. From there you just weave the ribbon back and forth in a zig zag type pattern, gluing each edge down as you go. This part probably took me about 30min. 

I noticed that the closer I got the ribbon to each edge, the more it looked like the ribbon was actually wrapped around the entire mirror!

And here is the final product! I am just obsessed with how easy this was and how gorgeous it turned out!

What do you own that could use a DIY makeover? I would love to see your projects, so please share them below! 

Want more?

Check out these other easy DIY projects that I have done in the past to up-cycle items in my home!

Just click the photo to see more!