Weekend Project: Hang a Garland

On the weekends I will post a weekend project post.  It will probably be easier than you ever thought to make an impact to the entrance to a public space in your home.  The living room space is a place for everyone to gather in, especially over the holidays.  In this photo I am showing a ready made garland I bought at a home improvement store.  I hung it over my living room's entrance with 3M's Command Adhesive Decorating Clips.  You can hang a garland with the clips I used or with the smaller clips they make you can hang a string of lights.  It is really simple, just clean the wall surface, apply the adhesive strip, apply the hook as directed, and wait one hour.  The packaging on the hook does not recommend using the hooks on delicate wallpaper.

    One tip:  If you are hanging against trim; as I did to hang this garland, you need to put the adhesive strip upside down so you can pull it away from the trim to remove it.  Otherwise removal may damage the walls.  You can't pull the adhesive strip at an angle to remove, you have to be able to pull it straight up or down.

Happy decorating! 

Holiday Greens

The holidays wouldn't be the same without our evergreens.  Natural greens such as holly and ivy have been linked to Christmas decorating as far back as the 1500s.  I grew up on a farm where we went into the woods in search of the perfect tree.  It was always exciting to choose a tree.  I also would enlist my Dad's help in cutting spruce, pine, and holly boughs to hang on the mantle, bookcases or whatever surface I could attach them to.  In this first picture I have used pine boughs, ornaments, and a bird's nest to make a statement on a large entertainment cabinet.  I first cut out a plastic garbage bag to fit the top of the cabinet. This will protect the cabinet from any dripping pine sap.  I then laid the pine boughs on top of the plastic and began decorating them.  

                                                                                   

In this next photo, I placed a wreath in the window decorated for the holidays.  When the view out of the window is no longer green, it is nice to have this festive wreath to draw the eye.  The greenery reminds us that the view out of the window will once again be beautiful.

Gingerbread Art

We spend a lot of time in our homes in winter.  Christmas is the highlight of these dark nights.  I often have the fondest memories of the atmosphere created in the home or a memorable meal.  By decorating and entertaining you can make wonderful memories.  Make some memories with children by creating these gingerbread art ornaments.  They look great on a tree, a present, or a wreath. 

Gingerbread Art

Dough ingredients:

6 3/4 cups of bread flour
1 TB ground cinnamon
2 TSP ground ginger
1/2 TSP salt
1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup margarine

Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.  On medium heat, combine margarine and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan, melt together with brown sugar.  Add warm liquid to dry ingredients mix well.  If dough is too loose, add flour.  If it's too stiff, add water until the desired consistency is achieved (like play dough).  The dough should be firm and elastic.  Remove dough from the mixer and wrap in plastic, to keep from drying out.  Roll to the desired thickness (about 1/4") on the desired work space.  Place rolled dough on a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator.  This will allow the dough to stiffen and not stretch when cut out.  After cutting the pattern, bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees  for 10-15 minutes or until edges turn light brown.  (About 12 minutes works for me.)  Also, don't forget to put a hole in the top of the ornament.  I use a straw to punch out just the right size hole to hang them by.  
Important:  Let the gingerbread dry out for several days before you begin assembly.


I painted the eyes, hair, mouth, and buttons with bright white shiny dimensional fabric paint.  First, I dust all traces of flour off the cookie and the paint sticks really well.  Storage method would depend on the success of keeping them. 


Another choice for decorating them would be Royal Icing.


Royal Icing:

This will also harden to a bright white color and stay that way.


Ingredients:

 3 TB meringue powder
4 cups powdered sugar
6 TB water


Mix ingredients at low speed for 7-10 minutes.  After mixing, keep the bowl covered with a damp towel to avoid drying out.

Our Dining Room: All "Done!"

(Above, some nuts in a vintage jello mold.) Well, since Jonie showed the evolution of our dining room in her recent post, I thought I would share our finally "done" dining room with you! As you might remember, here's what it looked like when we first moved in:

And here it is now:

I finally made & hung my last set of frayed linen curtains & ordered Sears' roman shades in 'natural' for all of the windows:

I went with a totally white scheme with a few hits of green. I wanted it to be insanely neutral so that I can do whatever I like on the table & have fun with colors:

Right now I have my painted white thrift store bust sitting on a stack of magazines. We use the dining table a lot as a place to just hang out: read, use the computer, etc..

The chairs are from Ballard Designs & of course they're machine washable slipcpvers. (No other type of whit would last in this house!) The thing I love most about them is that I got the ones on casters & they are So convenient!!! They're great for pulling out one-handed when you've got something in the other hand and for pulling into the living room for extra seating. I didn't even know how much we'd love them.

And notice the little gray goat skin on the left chair... (above & below) Dave tried to surprise me for our anniversary with this "rug." He ordered it off of ebay & was thinking it would fit under our lucite coffee table before we had anything under there. Not knowing, this I came home with the cowhide one day and he told me that he'd ordered me a rug for an amazing deal (like $40 I think?) & could I return mine. (I couldn't.) He said his was a goat. I asked if it was a really big goat?? He said he guessed so. Anyway, I felt really terrible until the "goat" arrived & it was about the size of our dog. So now it just gets moved around the house like the rest of our stuff. And below, I'm finally 100% satisfied & loving my cocoa bead chandelier. It really nheeded the heft of the skirted parsons chairs underneath I think:

Thank you all so much for the wonderful emails & comments & "gifts!" Have an awesome weekend!!!

xoxo,

lauren

The Generosity of Christmas

The generosity of Christmas, is the labor of love to find the perfect gift, make a fantastic meal, and open your home to family and friends.  I am amazed when I visit with loved ones and I see all the trouble they went to to have us over, especially during the holidays.  What a good time is had when you enjoy entertaining and you have people around you to share it with.  Here is one more way to wrap a festive present using the gingerbread art recipe. 

Thank you!!! Virtual Baby Shower!!

Yesterday morning I woke up to an email in my inbox from my friend Michele of My Notting Hill informing me that she'd hosted a "virtual baby shower!" She gathered a group of special blogger friends (I have more who weren't able to attend of course! ;) and they all picked out "virtual gifts" for "Baby Pure Style" (as some wrote- cracking me up!) & explained why they were giving them. Christian & I read the post in bed & it was so much fun! It was such an awesome surprise & I'm truly touched by everyone's thoughtfulness. Thank you so much Michele & everyone for joining her!! (I also started immediately following links to shop & can't wait to get the baby owl onesie from Michele, below. There are so many more things I'm thinking of getting too- it's amazing how well they nailed me- I loved everything!)

Jonie from Cote de Texas also wrote a very sweet (so complimentary she made me blush!) and hysterical baby shower post to join in the party. She "gave" me a new set of beakers for the baby's room so I don't have to steal the baby's beakers for photo shoots!!! hahahaha (The even funnier part is that I would love more beakers!! )

And here's the photo (below) of Betsy Brown's entry demilune that first sparked my beaker-love a couple of years ago:

I just feel so lucky to have met such amazing friends over this past year. I didn't even know what blogging was before I started & now I just can't imagine what it would be like without knowing all of you. Thanks so much for making me feel so special & for all the sweet comments. You all are the best & I'm just so thankful to have you.

I'll keep you posted on baby news- just a couple of weeks left!! And we'll be cranking out the projects until then!!

xoxo,

lauren

Here are links to the posts:

Michele's Baby Shower

Joni's post

Our 70s Split Redo Part IV: Our Toddler's Bedroom

It was really important to us for our little guy- Christian (2 yrs old)- to have a fun, happy & organized room when he transitioned out of the crib/ nursery to his "big boy bed" & new room this past summer. (And of course it had to be budget-friendly!) It's a TINY space and we decorated it with jungle animals & made a really big deal out of the move and he handled it perfectly. (Straight to bed and slept through the night from the start- wahoo!) Unfortunately I don't have any 'befores' of this room. Basically just picture it empty. With a combination of thrift-store finds, Ikea pieces, some DIY items and a splurge or 2, we got just what we wanted:

The inspiration for Christian's room came from these Ikea curtain panels. They reminded me so much of some of my favorite children's books: My Father's Dragon and The Saggy Baggy Elephant.

I decided to rip out the Saggy Baggy Elephant's pages & make a big story wall for him out of all of the different animals. (We used Michael's frames on sale for $10 each)

It's a super-easy & inexpensive way to treat a wall in a kid's room. Christian loves pointing out all the different animals:

Even his lamp is a macaw (below, by Arteriors Home- inspired by an Eddie Ross creation in a House Beautiful Weekend Shopper article.) I wanted this lamp from the moment I saw it (way before I knew we were going with a jungle room) and when it came time for a lamp I was so excited to get to include it!! (I'm often tempted to take it to other rooms ;)

The trundle bed with drawers & bedding is Ikea & I have to say how impressed I am by the green velvet blanket. I wanted to go with a crazy mix of green patterns & layers throughout the room to make it feel energetic & happy:

Our dog's bed is in here for now but she never uses it (she prefers ours- argg) & it's ended up as a nice hangout spot for Christian. The rug is from Dash & Albert & it's practically wall-to-wall because I'm just not that into our plain jane white carpet.

Christian has so much fun playing with his trucks & trains on it because its stripes are roads & train tracks for him.

And a fun addition to the room is the vintage wallpaper lion from Romp. -below- (They have so many great silhouettes- adorable!!) Dave hung him across the closet door & we slit him so the doors would open properly. He surprised me with the project being finished one day without asking where the lion was supposed to go on the door. (I'd originally planned for him to be walking along the floor at the bottom.) And I came in and he was floating!!! :) (and you really can't complain at all when your man is that sweet- so the only option was to make it work.)

SO, we decided to make a hill out of (what-else - we seemed to be crazed by it lately!) chalkboard paint!! Sometimes the "mistakes" end up being the best things in a space. Now there's a whole new activity area in the room:

I pulled out the red from the berries in the curtains by using this vintage bookshelf/ cabinet piece I found for $26 at a thrift store a few years back. (below) It's great because the bottom hides toys (it's a "garage" as Christian calls it for his trucks to sleep in) and the top houses tons of books. The alligator head used to live on top of it but it started SMELLING. (I am SO not kidding.) The room started to stink because of it!!!! It was awful, so he's bagged up & on his way out.

We're hanging the red chinoiserie mirror (below) in here too because it matches perfectly & has those crazy vines all over it (and got booted from the entry ;)

And one last pic (because you know I always go overboard with pics! ;) of the room, below:

Hope you enjoyed & can't wait to show you the nursery!! (I'm waiting on the finishing touches until the baby comes so I can do the boy/ girl thing -- Only a couple more weeks!!! :)

xoxo,

lauren