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Burlap & Bling Embellished Mason Jars

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Amy

Hey everyone! I am hard at work this week sprucing up my screen porch {the before is HERE} so while I scrub, sew pillows and fluff out there I am popping in with a quick easy mason jar project.

I recently saw something similar to this for sale in a store for the ghastly sum of $20 a jar, of course I tucked the idea away knowing I could make them for myself for almost nothing.

All you need is some mason jars, some burlap scraps and some jute twine. For the top you can use any embellishment you already have. I had picked up two of the toppers at Michael’s {the blue flower and the jeweled flower}, then thought to ask my Mom if she had any vintage jewelry she wanted to part with and she let me pick from my grandmother’s costume jewelry “stash”. That one {below} has much more sentimental value then the ones from Michael’s!

After I made them, I displayed them for awhile in my hutch/cabinet.

Then I decided to move them to my desk, and filled them with paper clips, some stickers and such.

Wouldn’t these also make a nice gift, or be perfect in a guest bathroom to hold cotton balls, q-tips etc?

I think the directions are very self-explanatory, but in case you are curious as to the details, I just cut a square of burlap, fringed the edges evenly and tied it with the jute around the top of the mason jar {so it can open}. Then I hot-glued {or in the case of the broach, pinned} the embellishment on. Super quick and easy!

Hope your summer is off to a great start!

{While you’re here, don’t forget to enter the $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway HERE!}

XO,

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Posted in Crafts, DIY, Gifts, Office | Tagged Burlap, embellished mason jars, jute, mason jar crafts, office storage, organizing with mason jars, vintage jewelry | Leave a comment

From the Archives–My Very First Post Ever–Week-at-a-Glance Wall Chalkboard

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Christy

I thought it might be a little fun this Friday to repost my very first blog post, ever, from November 27, 2010. My, how things have changed since then! Bear with me on the formatting and pictures, but it’s still fun to see how much 11 Magnolia Lane has changed along the way. My Type A/OCD tendencies haven’t changed at all, though!

Happy Friday!

Week at a glance wall calendar

I am an organization addict. Combine a Type A personality with only-child syndrome and throw in a touch of OCD, and this is what you get! I have owned every Day-Timer and Filofax ever made, and for awhile there I was really good about keeping my schedule in my Blackberry, but now I am back to a good old-fashioned wall calendar that gives me the month at a glance and allows me to plan WAY far in advance (a must for every military wife and homeschooling mom). But for the current week, I have–drumroll, please–my chalkboard calendar on my kitchen wall!

Everyone laughs at my wall calendar, but I know that they are secretly jealous. They feel flattered if they “make” the calendar and then get to see their names prominently displayed in my kitchen. Since I have to write down every move that I plan to make or I will forget it, lots of people make my chalkboard in a week’s time!

The panels are simply chalkboard-style Wallies, the peel-and-stick wallpaper that can then be easily removed when the time comes. By the way, I haven’t tested that claim yet, so I am hoping that when we move they do peel off that easily, because I already will have enough nail holes to fill! Anyway, I bought the Wallies online from Amazon (click HEREto order them through our affiliate program), and I just measured and stuck those puppies on my wall. I suppose you COULD use tape and chalkboard paint, but that would obviously be a more permanent approach and our frequent moves make me more of a “temporary” than a “permanent” person.

Since there are eight panels but only seven days in the week (I know you know that, but sometimes I schedule enough for eight!), I have one panel left over for NOTES, where I keep a handy running to-do list of things that I have really been putting off for a long time (like make a new will and schedule our flu shots). My real, daily to-do list gets written on paper and stuffed in my purse, but that’s another post for another day! I also start my week on Monday, even though my pastor tells me that Sunday is the first day of the week, because I need to see the weekend days together. Of course, the beauty of the chalk board is that on Sunday, I wipe the whole thing off with a wet paper towel and get to start it all over again.

I should resolve that I will put more things on my calendar like “massage” or “lunch with the girls, “ or my personal favorite, “shoe shopping,” but unless someone creates that eighth day in my week, I’m not sure if I’m going to have time for those things before January!

Thanks to wordpress for featuring this post on FRESHLY PRESSED and for everyone who visited us from it!

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Posted in Office, Organization | Tagged calendar, chalkboard, organization, wall, week at a glance | 4 Comments

Office Space

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Amy

A few months ago one of those exciting emails popped into our email shortly after I shared this post on my chair makeover(s). An editor from a magazine was asking for more pictures of my office and could she maybe submit it for possible inclusion in a specialty shelter publication?

I was stunned! Of course, I staged {and cleaned up!} the space and sent her some photographs. We did several iterations with color “pops” but sadly, the powers that be decided not to include this room.

I can’t admit to even being surprised. I don’t even have a rug in here yet so I kind of didn’t really ever think it would get picked. I can honestly say in this case, it was fun to be “nominated”. There are so many projects I would like to do for this space, I just can’t feel upset that at this stage it wasn’t selected.

I love working in this space. I have a gorgeous lake view out the window and a space where my daughter does her little art projects right next to my desk.

In addition to the workspace in here, we added this IKEA chair as another reading spot for our kids and they have a TV in here where they can watch or play video games away from the rest of the house. With kid at different ages, separation is often essential to my sanity!

Almost everything in here came from IKEA. I put this room together several years ago when I started my wedding invitation design business {now closed}. I wanted something similar to the Pottery Barn “project” desk so I made up my own with three Expedits and 2 long black desk tops. I have tons of storage for all the paper I use/used with my graphic design business.

The armoire where I store gift wrap and other craft supplies is tucked behind the doors, out of the way.

So even though you won’t see this room when you are flipping through a magazine in the grocery store check-out line, I still love working here each day.

Thanks for stopping by…

Stay in touch with us….

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Posted in Home Inspiration, Office, Real Spaces | Tagged black and white, home office, Ikea, office organization, workspace | 1 Comment

Organizing Life {Gift Wrapping Station}

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Amy

I finally did it…I organized my gift wrap into one place. I pulled everything together in my office armoire.

I have used this armoire in my office for many years. I do graphic design and used to have a business designing wedding invitations {you can see my old office here} so I have paper, paper and more paper to store. Now that I focus more on blogging and less on weddings, I was able to free up this space to create an organized spot for all things “wrapping” related.

Through this process it made me think that it’s not just organizing what you have to stay sane, it’s making sure you have what you need. I am due for a stop at Hobby Lobby–hands down the best place to buy wrapping paper–but I pulled together all the other supplies like tape, scissors and ribbon into this space as well.

So much less anxiety at birthdays now!

I labeled the drawers and stored all my tissue paper, ribbons and cards.

I used this plastic set of drawers I have had forever in the other side. I covered the fronts with scrapbook paper and just mod-podged the paper on. I admit that the small floral print is making me crazy {it may get changed} but it’s what I had on hand. Yes, more chalkboard labels, they are changing my life! {I order them HERE}.

The extra drawer space that got filled with other crafty supplies like paint and glue.

I used a simple tension rod to hang some of the ribbon. In my old office I had hung gift bags off the built-in hooks but that never worked very well. If I needed one bag, I had to take them all down to get it, then tediously put them all back up. Now I store them in one of the boxes in the cubbies in my desk right next to this armoire.

It took me a bit of thinking to figure out how to store the rolls of wrapping paper. I remembered I had this tall, narrow box from IKEA and it fit perfectly. It contains the tall rolls and uses up the little bit of extra space along the side of the cabinet perfectly.

Years ago I painted the inside of the door with chalkboard paint, I used it to keep the wedding projects I was working on organized. Now it’s the perfect spot to keep up with all the coming birthdays and gifts I need to buy.

And, it’s so nice that I can just close it up when I don’t need to use any of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing at~ Serenity Now, A Thoughtful Place

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Posted in Crafts, Office, Organization | Tagged craft closet, Craft Room, gift, Office, organization, organizing life, wrapping station | 9 Comments

Kids’ Learning Center Reveal

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Terry

I am so excited to reveal our Kids’ Learning Center as “Part 1″ of my Basement Office/Kids’ Learning Center/Craft Station Makeover. As some of you may recall, the gals at 11 Magnolia Lane listed out our 2012 Home Goals earlier this year and I am thrilled to mark this off the list. I guess I cannot mark it completely off my list at I am still working through the details on My Office (Part 2) and the Craft Station (Part 3) but that just gives us something to look forward to . We really have come so far, check out what our basement used to look like (you can see more here).

Basement prior to installation

My husband and I couldn’t be happier with how the built-in desks and shelving turned out. Our contractor went above and beyond our expectations with the fancy sliding drawers that even close on their own. What a treat to have such quiet (and distraction-free) cabinetry.

Both our children have their own desk space for homework and projects. I personalized their space with their initials, photos and artwork. I love using their art to decorate my home. I think it is so important for kids to see their creative works on display, plus it adds some much needed color in this particular space.

I love the touch of green and the personalize art to add some color to our kids educational center

Pretty open shelving and I just love the work station sconces I found at Lowes.

We were on a serious budget with our remodel as we have two other expensive projects that we are trying to finalize prior to 2013 (check out our 2012 goals here). One of the main reasons we decided to do open shelving was to save money, with the hope of upgrading to cabinets next year. I have to say, I LOVE the open shelving and I cannot imagine changing them out now. These were custom-made by our contractor and I adore the style and design.

Pretty open shelving with work station sconces from Lowes.

I love the touch of green and how the personalized art adds some color to our kids educational center

My hubby’s main concern with open shelving was organization and clutter, which I can understand. It is hard to keep open shelving looking tidy without the proper storage containers and bins. I had to be very budget conscious with the project, so IKEA was my first stop, and I was lucky enough to have Amy shopping by my side for all my decorating dilemmas

The chairs and the storage boxes are all from IKEA. I am loving the chairs, even though it is not the dreamy designer chair I initially wanted. These are functional, adjustable, reasonably priced at $39 per chair, and simply perfect for our space. The storage boxes are also reasonable in cost, but they do take a bit of time to assemble. Once I figured out the instructions, it went pretty quickly. I love the black and white color scheme and IKEA really had lot of storage pieces to choose from. The black boxes are my favorite as they are heavy duty and have a fabric-like texture. I definitely feel so organized and tidy in our new space, which gives me such peace.

IKEA storage boxes, and tin containers for paint brushes and pencils

They jars were actually sprinkle containers that I repurposed for supplies

Kitchen utensil holders and jars are the perfet solution for color pencils and crayons, a must have in any kid space

I loved the idea of having a message board for each station so I found these great pieces of art from the local Salvation Army. I simply covered up the shoe & purse design with chalkboard paint and I love the final result–especially the green chalk initial. I ended up loving the black and white newspaper border and decided to keep as I thought it made the overall design more interesting.

Art I found at the local Salvation Army

Here is the final product…

Repurposed art turned into a chalkboard for our kids educational center

This is my favorite picture because my boys really love their new learning center. My youngest is heading to kindergarten next year which is breaking my heart but look at him work… I think he will be ready, don’t you?

Here is “L” hard at work writing his first and last name. Kindergarten here we come!!

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for your sweet comments about my son’s 7th camping themed birthday celebration. I am excited to announce the two winners for our Simone Made It Party Printables Giveway:

The winner is comment #4

Nicolle J. (who said)

“What a great party, Terry! Love all the details!
I would love some printables for my daughter’s November, election day, birthday. School is out that day and she has already decided that she’d like to have a Patriotic/Election themed party complete with a mock election.”

AND

The other winner is comment #8

Judiq (who said)

“I love that you even had logs around to have cut into cake stands.
Just celebrated my youngest son’s 18th birthday… no party…we treated him and a friend to a concert he really wanted to go that fell on his birthday. Now 18 is one that really takes your breath away and sets the waterworks flowing! Beautiful party..cupcakes look great!”

Thank you both for the kind words and I do hope you swing back and share how your next event(s) turn out.

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Best DIY Projects of 2012 Party at Southern Hospitality

Posted in Before and After, Home Inspiration, Home Tours, Office, Organization | Tagged area, basement, homework, Ikea, Kids, Office, open shelving, redo, room, study, work | 18 Comments

My Master Bedroom & Sitting Room (aka the office!) Redo Reveal

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Christy

This has been a long time coming–I’ve actually had the room painted since January, as this was high on my list of home improvement goals for 2012, but I just didn’t have time to decorate the room because I kept getting derailed by, well, life!

We’re fortunate to have a really large master suite that includes a bedroom with vaulted ceiling, a sitting area, two walk-in closets, and an en suite bathroom. It’s almost 950 square feet, which is more than half the size of our first house, so I fully realize that we’re blessed with great space. I wasn’t convinced that we were using our space wisely, though, especially in the sitting area, which became more of a “treadmill room” and a catch-all for stuff that I was selling on Ebay and Craigslist.

When we bought the house, the whole area was painted a vivid shade of green apple. I loved this shade of green, but I loved it about ten years ago, and it was looking a little dated. Here are a few before pictures:

Check out that green!

I completely understood why the previous owners hadn’t repainted. The room is huge and the cathedral ceiling is about 16′ high, requiring an extension ladder (which I somehow have managed to survive without for all these years). What won out in the end is my feeling that I always neglect the master bedroom and it gets fixed up last when we move to a new house, and this time I wanted to make it nice and enjoy it for as long as we’re here.

I started with the bathroom, which I painted right before Christmas, because I didn’t have anything better to do (yeah, right). You can read all about that {here}. I love how it turned out, and I also love the color I chose for the walls, Benjamin Moore’s Pebble Beach. It looks gray on the paint chip, but it’s a blue gray on the walls. The cabinets in the bathroom are cherry, which I didn’t feel like painting after my kitchen redo {here}, and we also have a TON of cherry furniture in the bedroom that I also didn’t feel like painting, although it may happen one day if I can talk hubby into it. I’ve mentioned all that because, although I don’t really like dark wood anymore, I’m stuck with it in this space, so a pale blue is one of the best colors to set off the beauty of dark wood. You can see how it worked out in this picture of the bathroom:

Once I got all the Christmas stuff put away in January, I borrowed an extension ladder from our neighbor, bought two gallons of paint, and went for it. I covered everything but the closets (they are still on my to-do list and will be painted then). I also pulled down the flush mount ceiling light in the sitting room and replaced it with this chandelier I scored on Craigslist for $20. It was a rusty red when I bought it. I spray painted it white and added a ceiling medallion, a cord cover, and black shades that I found at Goodwill for $.99 apiece–can’t beat that!

After moving a few pieces of furniture around, I would up with half of the sitting room for my home office area and the other half for my treadmill and my husband’s armoire. The Barcelona chair in front of the window is the real deal–we have pictures of me when I was five years old sitting on this thing and there is also green shag carpet in the photos! It’s not my usual style, but it works in this room as a nice balance to the other furniture.

The white table and chairs were my mom and dad’s. I repainted them white about five years ago and recovered the chairs and enjoy them so much more now.

The little bookshelf below was a thrift store find. The tutorial on the chalkboard picture frame is {here}. The wire basket on the bottom shelf (from Target) holds my file folders, although I have fewer of them now that I have Pinterest! I love the polka dotted frame with the picture of me and my sweet goddaughter (Amy’s baby girl). When I see her picture, it reminds me to pray for her.

The infinity shelves were a freebie from a neighbor, but they sagged a bit when I hung them, so I bought corbels and hung them beneath. It was still less than buying or making shelves. The picture of me with my mom and son always takes the place of honor in every house. It’s been almost ten years since I lost my precious mother, and I love to look at her face and remember what an amazing gift she had for making others feel good about themselves.

I spent about $200 total on this room redo–mostly paint, curtain rods, and this black and white beauty. If you’re like my husband, you’re wondering WHY I needed a mannequin for my office? I’m not sure either, but I had to have her! She was $55 at Hobby Lobby.

Oh, of course, she can hold three necklaces to earn her keep! The cute white one is from Terry; she brought them to me and Amy when we had our fun girls’ weekend {here}.

I blog at the table, and find it very inspiring!

I was going to add black curtains with a white fretwork pattern, but even the ones at Target were $30 a panel. I had three pairs of gauzy white panels from Ikea (“Lill”) that I bought for $5 a pair and even though the color didn’t “pop” as much, I couldn’t justify the extra expense of the black panels. They do let in tons of light, though, and I love the way they puddle on the floor.

Since getting rid of the treadmill wasn’t an option because I actually use it I decided to do what I could to decorate the corner it takes up. I hung all my race medals from a hook and framed two Bible verses that are all about running (1 Cor. 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1-2). Hopefully they’ll give me inspiration as I knock out the miles!

**You can see the post and get your own free set of these printables HERE**

Moving into the bedroom, I have yet to add something above the bed; I am thinking about bringing down a tin-framed mirror from Pottery Barn that’s currently in the guest room, or something sparkly. Oh, and despite the fact that I have changed out several light fixtures for chandeliers in this room, please note that I left the ceiling fan above the bed in deference to my husband’s request!

The two sconces are from Ikea and I was so happy to hang them up and put away the lamps we had on our nightstands. They sell conduit at Lowe’s and Home Depot that can be painted to match your wall color, and then the cord just disappears.

Before conduit…

After conduit…

Here’s the view into the bathroom:

I’m so pleased with this room–it’s peaceful, calm, and soothing, just like a master “retreat” should be. And I’m even more pleased with the price, because for little more than the cost of paint (and my mannequin!), I managed to redo the room, proving that you don’t have to spend a fortune to update your space.