Seasonal Decor

10.26.2015

Dining Room Christmas Makeover

I’m excited to share my dining room Christmas makeover today. This post brought to you by At Home.

The content and opinions expressed below are that of sincerely, sara d..

My dining room now looks like a Christmas wonderland.

Are you familiar with At Home? It is the one-stop-shop for Christmas Decor – and the store where I found all my holiday decor. (And they have much more than just Christmas decor. They have enough stuff for you to design your entire house – every single room.) The Christmas section is unbelievable. At Home has a separate section devoted entirely to artificial trees – 101 varieties. And they have holiday decor – both indoor and outdoor. I filled my cart full of so many pretty things thanks to At Home’s everyday low prices.

Here’s my supply list of decor items from At Home for my dining room:

Sparkling Tree Branches
Vintage Looking Ornaments
Fluffy Feather Bunches
Burlap Ribbon
Burlap Embellished Leaves
Pine Wreaths
Pine Mantel Swag
Pine Garland
Simple Candles
Ceramic Bowls

Here’s what my dining room looked like last week…

…before the Christmas wonderland took over.

And if their Christmas collection could get any more amazing, At Home has 15 different decorative Christmas themes. My personal favorites include Crystal Chateau:

And Lavish & Luxe:

I combined Crystal Chateau and Lavish & Luxe to create the perfect look for my dining room. It has some natural elements with a touch of vintage and glam. On the table, I put feathers in the bowls and added the candles. Pine garland, sparkling tree branches, and the embellished accents surround the three candles.

The mantle garland went on the buffet along with the embellished pieces and the ornaments. I hung the wreaths with the burlap ribbon.

At Home offers plain wreaths as well as a large variety of decorated wreaths.

I am so in love with these vintage-looking ornaments.

You can see all of At Home’s Christmas Collections HERE. Which one is your favorite?

Go create something!

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Paint

10.21.2015

HomeRight Paint Sprayer Tutorial

For someone who loves painting as much as I do, would you believe I have never used a paint sprayer? Today I’m going to share a HomeRight Paint Sprayer Tutorial because this is a must-have!

I was recently gifted a HomeRight Finish Max sprayer, and I can honestly say that it’s a total game-changer. I tested it on a simple chair, and it worked great. I can only imagine how helpful it will be on larger, more ornate painting projects.

The sprayer comes with very detailed instructions, and the first thing I did was test my paint using the included viscosity cup. You dip it into your paint and time how long the liquid takes to drain. The instructions include a thinning chart, and you compare your time with the chart. I had to thin my primer with water (I used a latex primer and paint).

Once you have the consistency needed, fill the sprayer container with your paint.

You need to make sure the pick-up tube is inserted into the cylinder and facing the correct way (it’s labeled really well). Attach the container to the sprayer and plug it in!

Here’s what I was painting – a simple chair from IKEA. (I bought a bunch of these chairs, and I’m in the process of using different types of paint on them. I’m excited to share this with you soon!)

You can adjust the spray pattern to horizontal, vertical, or cone. You can also set the paint flow by turning a knob on the sprayer.

Now you’re ready to pull that trigger, and it is SO fun!

Make sure you paint 4-10 inches from your piece and keep a stiff wrist.

I was surprised by how few drip marks I had (The sprayer is strong and smoothly blows the paint). However, I just softly rubbed in the drip marks while they were still wet.

Once you’re done (I washed my sprayer in-between primer and paint), just rinse out the container and any extra paint it may have.

Once cleaned, fill half the container with warm water and soap (for oil-based paint you’ll need to use a cleaning solution recommended for oil-based paint). Plug the sprayer in and spray for several seconds until all the paint has passed through. Dump out the extra cleaner.

And that’s it! I hope this HomeRight Paint Sprayer Tutrial was helpful.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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*This post contains affiliate links and is a sponsored post through HomeRight. I received compensation in the form of product in exchange for my review. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored, all the opinions are my own.

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Decor

10.14.2015

Master Bedroom Makeover

I’m excited to share our master bedroom makeover with you today.

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

I’ve slowly been making over our master bedroom. It’s been fun to finally give the room we spend the most time in some (well deserved) attention!

One thing I’m embarrassed to admit? We have had the SAME mattress since we were first married – 14 years ago. Horrifying, I know. We decided that the most important thing in a master bedroom makeover had to be a new mattress.

We bought a Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress from Big Lots, and it is AMAZING! Not only is it incredibly comfortable, but it sits taller than our old mattress and box springs. This adds to the elegant look I’m going for with our bedroom.

We took a family trip to Big lots and tested out the mattresses. They have a large array of quality mattresses and most are in stock.

While we were there, I had to pick up some new sheets so I could dress up the new mattress.

600 thread count = luxury!

I’m a huge advocate of making your bed every day, and I think it’s worth a couple of minutes of your time before you run out the door. It’s a way of clearing the clutter and starting fresh – what a great way to start your day, right?! And when you make your bed, here are four tips to making it extra special:

Sheets are an important piece to a pretty (and comfortable) bed. I believe one of the easiest ways to make a pretty bed is to fold down the sheet and duvet/comforter. It looks inviting and adds an extra touch – and the fold requires only a few extra seconds.

Also, I’m a huge sham fan – they are both pretty and functioning. I use them when I’m sitting up and reading. Throw pillows are the final touch. You want enough to make the bed special but you don’t want so many that it’s over the top. For me, three seems to be the magic number.

Besides the mattress, the final piece to finishing up our master bedroom makeover was figuring out what to do with the blank wall when you first walk into the room. We’ve been wanting to create a small desk area to use with our laptops, and we found the perfect solution.

We created a work area with a beautiful desk we found at Big Lots.

It’s traditional with a modern twist, and it’s the perfect solution for my blank wall and need for workspace.

And, the added bonus? There are plugs and USB hubs on the back of the desk!

I bought the mattress and desk on two separate trips, and I have to tell you that the Big Lots employees were incredibly kind and helpful. They quickly let me know if my items were in stock (in both cases, they were!), and they helped me load them into my car.

During a visit to Big Lots, I found this pretty wine-inspired candle and monthly view calendar (styles and assortment vary by store.) It’s amazing what all you can find at Big Lots, and you can click HERE to see more!

And the flower vase was yet another great find from Big Lots!

My bedroom is comfortable, inviting, and functional now thanks to the furniture and home decor items I found at Big Lots! Check out Big Lots on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. What do you think of my master bedroom makeover?

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Decor

10.12.2015

Kitchen Hardware & Seeded Glass

It’s amazing what some new kitchen hardware and seeded glass can do for a space!

My kitchen has gone through a slow makeover since we moved in two years ago.

I painted the cabinets, painted the floor, added subway tile, and removed the cabinet doors. To see what it looked like when we first moved in, click HERE.

I love the look of the open cabinets, and we liked the ease of grabbing a dish or glass without opening a cabinet door. However, the dust drove me crazy. And the dark gray I painted on the interior showed every speck of dust that ever landed on it. So, I put the doors back on – only this time with glass!

I LOVE the new look! It still gives the open look without the dust. I need to give a special thanks to my friends at Delaware Glass & Mirror in Muncie, Indiana for these amazing cabinet doors. (Delaware Glass & Mirror also helped me out with my Anthro-inspired IKEA dresser makeover. To see all the details, click HERE.)

I had seeded glass put in. I fell in love with our home because the exterior has a very timeless look. This glass keeps with that timeless charm I love.

No more dust on my dishes! And besides the seeded glass cabinet doors, I’m thrilled to have new hardware. A couple of months ago, I was in competition with several other bloggers to makeover an IKEA dresser. Thanks to your votes, I won third place and new Hickory Hardware for my kitchen!

These were my old knobs. I really didn’t hate them, but I didn’t love them either. I had SO much fun picking out hardware for my kitchen. I used Hickory Hardware in Lena’s bathroom makeover, and I used their beautiful gold bar handles. The only problem with them is that they need to be on cabinets that are perfectly straight. My kitchen cabinets have a lot of the “charm” that I love so much – which means the doors don’t all hang straight. Since the beautiful gold bar handles would draw attention to my crooked doors, I went a different route and selected three different pieces of hardware for my kitchen.

The knobs are Hickory Hardware’s 1-1/4 In. Tranquility Veneti Bronze with Light Almond Cabinet Knob. I put them on all my cabinet doors except for my three extra-long ones.

The extra-long doors received Hickory Hardware’s CASE PULL ASSY.

And all the drawers have Hickory Hardware’s Cup Pull.

I love the interest they add to my kitchen.

A special thanks to Delaware Glass & Mirror and Hickory Hardware for making my kitchen a little more special with the new kitchen hardware & seeded glass.

Go create (or clean) something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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DIY

10.08.2015

DIY Fabric Bulletin Board

I’m excited to share this DIY Fabric Bulletin Board tutorial.

I had a large wall in my bedroom above my desk, and I wanted to fill the space. It needed to be something pretty but functioning,

I created a fabric corkboard. Not only is it so pretty (I’ve had this fabric for years, but I never could decide what to do with it until now), but I can tack up reminders or photos.

I started with a really large cork board I found at Hobby Lobby. (I used this same board for my travel chalkboard map. Click HERE to see it!)

I spray painted the frame gold.

Next, I laid out my fabric and placed the bulletin board on top. I cut around the bulletin board. Here’s an important tip for those of you who have messing cutting skills like me. I left one of the (factory cut) sides and the store cut ends alone. I only trimmed around the other two sides

This way I had to sides that were really close to being perfectly straight. It saved me a bunch of time later on.

I added mod podge to the entire board.

Using the two straight sides I mentioned earlier, I lined them up with the frame and rubbed the fabric to get out the bubbles.

I made sure the fabric was pulled as close to the frame as possible.

Then I cut the other two sides using a razor.

And my (inexpensive) functioning artwork was complete!

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Decor

10.01.2015

Inexpensive Glass Canisters

I receive questions all the time about my inexpensive glass canisters in our kitchen.

Years ago I decided I HAD to have class canisters similar to the ones I saw on Ella Claire: A Creative Blog. I think I’m drawn to the repetition and simplicity of these canisters.

Aren’t those canisters amazing?! They become art with all the colorful textures and patterns.

I loved the large size of the canisters in Ella Claire’s kitchen, but I envisioned only three of them in my kitchen. Also, I’m really obsessed with gold right now, so I wanted gold lids. I found my glass canisters on Amazon, and I spray-painted the lids with gold spray paint. Here are the affiliate links for the *canister(s) and the spray paint:

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

*I went with the 2 gallon size.

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The DIY glass canisters have been around for years now. They were in my old kitchen…

…and they made the cut and are in my DIY newly renovated kitchen.

I love the large size and the simplicity of the inexpensive glass canisters, and the gold-painted lids were the finishing touch!

I’m on a search for pretty gold or wooden scoops for them. If anyone finds a good source, please let me know!

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Seasonal Decor

09.28.2015

DIY Fall Leaf Garland

I’m excited to share the tutorial for this easy and inexpensive DIY fall leaf garland.

I wanted fall garland for my fireplace, and I made my own using leaves from the dollar store (I used two packages – a total of 100 leaves) and (thick) string. If you can’t find the leaves at your local dollar store, here is an Amazon (affiliate) link for the leaves:

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Here’s what you’ll need:

Fake Leaves
String
Needle
Scissors

I forgot to add a needle in the supply shot, so pretend a needle is there.

I measure my mantel so I knew how long of a string I needed and knotted the end. Then I just began hand sewing the leaves together. Just one big stitch in each!

Before long, I had a colorful and festive fall garland!

This garland would also look cute strung up over a doorway. The options are endless! And here is a little behind-the-scenes shot. While I was making this garland, my daughter was having a blast playing with the leaves.

*UPDATE* I ended up spray painting my garland gold to fit the decor in my family room.

To see more inexpensive fall decor ideas, click HERE. Happy Fall!

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Seasonal Decor

09.22.2015

Unique Ways to Decorate Pumpkins

I am so excited to share these unique ways to decorate pumpkins.

While you guys are all excited about sweater weather, leaves falling and pumpkin-spiced everything, I’m freaking out. I hate winter so much, that I have trouble enjoying fall. However, as I blogger it is a given that I share a few fall decor ideas. I must really like you because I’m sharing THREE different DIY pumpkin decor ideas…

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

For all three versions, I started with artificial pumpkins. You can find these at almost every craft store. (I learned my lesson last year. I painted and decorated real pumpkins, and they rotted a few weeks later.)

SPRAY PAINTED PUMPKINS

These are my Kate Spade-inspired pumpkins. They are so fun, aren’t they? Supplies for painted pumpkins:

Gold Spray Paint
Black Spray Paint
Cream Spray Paint
Painter’s Tape
Garage Sale Stickers

I began with spray paint (gold, black & Cream), painter’s tape, and garage sale stickers.

I painted the stems gold.

I’m not sure how I recently only discovered this, but you MUST buy an attachment for your spray paint cans. It makes spray painting even easier than it already is, and the attachment keeps your fingers from being covered in paint!

Once the stems were dry, I taped off the stem so I could spray the pumpkin cream or black (I did one of each).

After about two coats of paint, I let it dry. Once dry, I added the tape for the stripes and stickers for the polka dots.

I spray-painted each with the opposite color (cream was painted black and the black was painted cream.) I allowed both pumpkins to dry, and I removed the tape and stickers.

There was some seepage with the spray paint and tape (the ridges make perfect crisp lines next to impossible). So I fixed these lines with a sharpie.

MOD PODGE WRAPPING PAPER PUMPKINS

Supplies for Mod Podge Wrapping Paper Pumpkins

Wrapping Paper
Scissors
Foam Brush
Mod Podge

My supplies for this pumpkin were wrapping paper, scissors, a sponge brush, and Mod Podge. This was inspired by Susan’s amazing découpage pumpkins over at Between Naps on the Porch. You can see her full tutorial HERE. This is what I refer to as my happy pumpkin

TISSUE PAPER MOD PODGE PUMPKINS

This was the easiest of the three pumpkins – maybe because the tissue paper is so light and great for Mod Podge?

Supplies for Mod Podge Tissue Paper Pumpkins

Tissue Paper
Scissors
Foam Brush
Mod Podge

My supplies for this pumpkin were wrapping paper, scissors, a sponge brush, and Mod Podge.

I covered the pumpkin with Mod Podge and cut a hole in the center of the tissue paper for the stem. (This works great with the smaller pumpkins that one piece of tissue paper can cover.)

Put the stem through the hole, and you just work the tissue paper around the pumpkin.

You’ll probably have a lot of extra at the bottom. I just cut what I didn’t need, and I had a beautiful pumpkin!

I scattered them throughout my home.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Decor

09.17.2015

Ballard Designs Shower Curtain Knock-Off

Today I’m sharing a Ballard Designs Shower Curtain Knock-Off.

I recently shared my daughter’s bathroom makeover:

I LOVE Ballard Design’s Audree Pom Pom Shower Curtain, but I didn’t love the price.

I came up with my own version of the beautiful shower curtain:

Ballard Designs Shower Curtain Knock-Off

To DIY this shower curtain, I bought the Home Latitude Shower Curtain in White from Meijer and some pom trim from Amazon (affiliate link):

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I cut the trim (a little long) to fit the sides and the bottom of the curtain.

Then I used hot glue to adhere the pom poms to the shower curtain. It was so easy!

It adds little whimsy to my daughter’s bathroom!

Another way I updated the space was by replacing the bathroom cabinet hardware. (Please ignore the current state of my cabinets. The cabinets need to be refinished, but that’s a DIY project for another day!) Here’s what the before looked like:

And here’s the after!

I am IN LOVE with Hickory Hardware’s rose gold knobs and pulls. I used Hickory Hardware’s 1-1/8 inch Cottage Satin Rose Gold Cabinet Knobs and 128 mm Metropolis Satin Rose Gold Cabinet Pulls. They help modernize my 90’s cabinetry! I receive questions all the time about my inexpensive glass canisters in our kitchen.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

*This post contains affiliate links and is a sponsored post through Hickory Hardware. I received compensation in the form of product in exchange for my review. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored, all the opinions are my own.

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Printables

09.15.2015

Hello Beautiful Print

I am excited to share this FREE Hello Beautiful Print with you today.

I recently did a mini-makeover in my daughter’s bathroom. To see the full reveal, click HERE. I took the above photos of the artwork hanging in my office so I had some Pinterest images of the (free!) printable that didn’t include a toilet. Haha! However, the print permanently hangs in Lena’s bathroom – above the toilet.

I wanted my print to be a large statement piece, so I had it printed at Office Depot poster sized – 24″ x 36″. I had it printed, laminated and mounted, and I removed the glass from my frame.

I spray painted the frame with a metallic gold – one of my favorite spray paints ever! This paint sprays on so easily, dries fast and smoothly.

Here’s an (affiliate) Amazon link:

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I could paint things gold all day long.

You can print out your own “hello beautiful” print! I have three different size options available. Just click on the size you like to open the PDF file:

hello beautiful 8×10

hello beautiful 16×20

hello beautiful 24×36

I also created another print for Lena’s bathroom. It’s one of my favorite verses (1Peter 3:3-4), and I remember reading it over and over as a teenager, and you can get your own copy HERE.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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*All Sincerely Sara D. printables are for personal, non-commercial use only. Use it, gift it, but don’t alter it, sell it or otherwise distribute the print or the file.

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Home

09.11.2015

For Real Friday

I’m excited to begin For Real Friday again.

This is a photo I shared earlier this year on my home tour. (photo credit: Carpenter Photography and Design) Look at my boys reading together in their perfect room… I know Pinterest (and blogs, magazines, and television) fills your head with beautiful images of perfect spaces. And although my boys’ room still looks pretty nice (I’m type A and pretty obsessive about our home – to a fault), it doesn’t look like the photo above because my boys live there and this is a real-life home. I went up to their room after the boys left for school, and here’s what I saw:

First off, notice the bed skirts (6 months later) are now navy instead of gray. The boys’ wrestling and jumping from bed to bed ripped the gray ones to pieces. There is an animal hanging from one lamp, dirty tissues on the nightstand and piles of junk in their soda crates. They’ve taped posters to the walls, stuck things on their lockers, and added (and I cringe as I type this) foam fingers to their headboards. And if the boys were home, one of them (if not both) would probably be on an electronic device – not both quietly reading in bed. So next time you’re looking at Pinterest, realize that people live in these beautiful images you see, and someone spent an awful lot of time and effort making that space beautiful and perfect for the shot you’re viewing. No one is perfect. I spend a lot of energy on making our home pretty, but I fail miserably in the kitchen (and in lots of other areas). We all have our gifts, and as much as I keep thinking it will change (maybe when I get a new oven my food will taste better?), I need to just embrace my gifts and be okay with the fact that I can’t do everything. Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Paint

09.10.2015

Stenciled Walls

If you want the look of wallpaper but don’t want to spend the money, stenciled walls are a great alternative!

You guys know by now that I am a HUGE stencil fan. (But I’m not talking about the ones you remember from the 80’s – I’m talking about all the amazing UPDATED stencils.) The stencils now are beautiful, and they look like wallpaper. I am obsessed with wallpaper, but (as I’ve said before) I have major commitment issues. I get tired of wallpaper pretty easily, so stencils are perfect for me. I can have pretty patterned walls but I can just paint over them when I grow bored instead of stripping wallpaper.

When I discovered the Myriad stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils, I knew I needed it in my house. I’ve loved all the dalmatian spots I’ve been seeing in home decor, and this is that same look with a little quirkiness. It was perfect for Lena’s bathroom. It’s fun and playful – just like her!

To stencil you’ll need:

a stencil
paint (I prefer flat paints since they dry faster)
painters tape
small sponge roller
level (there are levels that clip on to onto the stencil, and they are amazing!)

And to make the process even easier:

stencil brush (These are great for those hard-to-reach places that the brush won’t reach.)
spray adhesive (This has to be applied every use, but it is helpful along with the tape.)

When stenciling along the ceiling line, I always use painter’s tape to protect the ceiling. It’s so easy to paint the ceiling if you don’t. and the tape will protect the ceiling while holding the stencil.

I always like to begin my stenciling in the center of the room. If you know me, I love symmetry, so this probably has a lot to do with my crazy need for balance. Also, make sure you use a level when stenciling.

The Myriad stencil is great because it offers a lot of grace since it’s imperfect, to begin with. It would have been an easy stencil except for the fact that I used black paint to stencil with. I had to be SO careful to wait until the stencil was completely dry before I added another segment. There’s no hiding black paint on white walls. So patience was important.

I take the stencil off immediately after I’m done with the segment – while it’s still wet. This way, I can wipe away any mistakes while they’re still erasable. Baby wipes are a great thing to have on hand for projects like this.

Washing your stencil after your project is complete (it’s reusable!) is always a good idea, and it should be fairly easy to remove the paint if you used water-based paint.

Where would you love to add stenciled walls?

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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