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gallery wall part I

Hanging things on the wall gives me some sort of crazy anxiety. Anxiety mostly because I can’t be bothered with measuring and leveling. I like to use my eyes and wing it and in the past this method has left the walls with unnecessary holes that require patching and painting.

Now that the living room has been painted it is time for me to officially start hanging things. My love of gallery walls of course made this my first project. The thought of having to measure out and level a 3 X 3 grid almost made me want to return the frames I purchased in bulk from Michaels, but I pushed through and with a few mishaps, and curse words my gallery wall is slightly straight and level.

Please don’t look too hard.

Meet inspiration:

Source

About a month ago Michael’s had a sale where these frames that were normally $9.99 a piece were on sale for $2.99.

I took that as my sign it was time to start preparation for the gallery wall. I ended up having to purchase them online and instead of the 9 I needed I ended up having to order 12. Those extra frames have come in handy.

Don’t ask.

Wasn’t even really sure where to get started. I ended up measuring the space and doing some janky math that I couldn’t share with you if I wanted to, to come up with the amount of space needed between each frame. I hung based on those measurements then went back and leveled.

Three hours later, one broken frame including the glass and I have a somewhat straight gallery wall.

Again, don’t look too hard.

Now comes the hard part of deciding whether to use black and white or color prints. As if that decision wasn’t stressful enough add on whether or not to keep the matte making the print 5X5 or removing the matte and using a 10X10 print.

Lawd.

I’ll be back in a week or so with the results. I have ordered colored and B/W prints in 5X5 from Walmart to see the quality of the prints. I want to finish off the area with a rug, so I can move on to my next project.

Are you working on any home projects right now?

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Front Porch Refresh with Big Lots

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

I jokingly said to my husband a few weeks ago it is definitely Spring in our neighborhood. I know this because Saturday mornings before I can stumble to the coffee maker and make sense of my day I hear every piece of lawn equipment known to man ruining the silence of a Saturday morning.

Curb appeal and porch décor in this established neighborhood is of utmost importance and the state of my porch left a ton to be desired. However, usually all that’s needed to fix the state of our porch is a tidy up of the flower arrangement and some new outdoor furniture. A friend of ours recently got some outdoor furniture from Brosa.com.au, and while we’re not looking for anything too extravagant for our front porch, the quality of her new furniture looked brilliant. We recently had some limbs cut down on the larger trees in the front to open up the house, and in the next few days we’ll be cleaning out the beds and planting new flowers so it was only right I got the front porch together.

Oh porch. It had seen little love since Christmas.

I went to Big Lots to pick up some additional seating and cushions to go with my existing rocking chair. I figured the kids were tired of sitting on the steps when they follow me out there for my quiet time. Big Lots had a very good selection of high quality outdoor furniture as well as lawn and garden products, including gazebos as well as seating and decor that I was able to mix and match to meet my needs. They have a great value priced selection of items to help decorate your outdoor space.

I really want this. Not sure where to put it but I’m thinking long and hard

Left Big Lots with my seating and cushions. I’m coming back for you pergola 😐

Front porches can be seen as extensions of the inside of your home. To keep everything cohesive I decided to pick colors that were complementary to the colors in my living room, and I also added in some patterns as well.

Here a a few things to keep in mind if you want your porch to flow into your indoor living space:

1.Keep the Same or Complementary Color Palette: Use this color palette with seasonal patterns, pillows and decor

2.Use Greenery: Plants in homes bring color, and in some cases clean the air. Be sure to add a little color and life to your porch with live greenery. Consider the amount of light your porch receives when selecting your plants. Add these plants to large statement planters. If your porch is too small for seating and plants, I would say go with planters.

3.Put up Hanging Decor: This can be a fun sign, or a picture. The walls of your porch need love like the walls inside of your house.

Once you’ve refreshed your porch you’ll see the instant lift it gives your curb appeal, and you won’t have to worry about the neighbors driving by your house wondering when you are planning to do something with the place.

After it was all said and done I have an amazing space that is warm and welcoming to our guests.

I use my outdoor space as a getaway on Summer evenings and as a perch on which to sit and be nosy! If you need some inspiration for your space be sure to visit Big Lots. Keep in mind styles and assortment vary by store.

Do you have a front porch? Have you dressed it up for the season?!

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DIY• Home

diy | dollar tree gold thumbtack wreath

When pulling together the area over my daughter’s bed I was baffled at what to put there. After a trip to Hobby Lobby I came across a few pieces of art. After getting the art on the wall I felt there was something missing. One day on my weekly trip to Dollar Tree I saw gold thumbtacks and knew I needed to have them and then it hit me to make a wreath.

It took me forever to make the wreath, I worked on it for about a month. Surely it could’ve been finished long before but I didn’t purchase enough boxes, and then it was a minute before I was able to find them in stores again. The moral of the story is purchase at least 7 boxes. I think there are about 2K thumbtacks in total.

You will need:

Styrofoam wreath

Gold Thumbtacks (at least 7 boxes. Each box at Dollar Tree has 300 thumbtacks)

When inserting the thumbtacks I found they went in better and stayed better when I stuck them in at an angle

To get the fishscale look as I call it make them overlap a bit.

Once you are finished try to handle it as little as possible as the oil from your hands will cause the gold to tarnish. I actually like the look of it but if you want it to stay gold and shiny keep this in mind.

Hanging it is super easy. I put a nail in the wall and just pushed the wreath onto it. Hello styrofoam.

Oh. Keep a handle on those thumbtacks lest the bottom of your feet become pin cushions.

Trust me.

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Pier 1 Outdoor Makeover

This post is sponsored by Pier 1.

Spring has officially sprung, and I couldn’t be happier. Porch sittin’ is one of my favorite pastimes, and having an outdoor entertaining area was on the very top of the list of must-haves when we were looking to purchase a home. I was blessed to get a front porch, a deck and a large screened-in porch.

All three of these outdoor spaces need some love, but the one that was high on my priority list was the screened-in area because enjoying the breeze of a warm night shielded from bugs is always a good thing.
We started with this.

The carpet was disgusting and there were webs and bugs everywhere. We hadn’t really used the space since we moved in nearly 2.5 years ago.
To start the transformation, we (and by “we,” I mean “he”) took up the carpet, pressure-washed the area and removed the plywood to reveal the wood underneath that we will eventually stain.

With a blank slate, I was able to venture out to Pier 1 for some outdoor furnishings and accessories to start decorating the space. First things first: Seating was at the top of my priority list. If you’ve come across my porch cocktails Pinterest board, then you totally get it!

This space will continue to be a revolving work in progress as I play with colors and additional Pier 1 accessories. Here is the current state of the outdoor space. I have been out there every night since the temps have been warm. I can hardly believe this transformation.

I’ve incorporated a few of my mother’s items, as I always do in our spaces. A great way to remember her.

This is certainly not the wicker of old. With the look of wicker, the quality on these chairs will make them indestructible. They are easily sprayed down. I just loved the coiling detail on the arms and the updated feel to the wicker design.

I am in love with the color and the softness of the seat cushions that I purchased for the love seat and chair. I wanted something that was a bit of a colorful neutral where I could change out the throw pillows from time to time. These work perfectly and I have managed to curl into a ball comfortably on the loveseat, and I am waiting for a rainy day to lay on it and read a magazine.

The throw pillows bring in the color of Summer, I’ve eyed some other options at Pier1 so don’t be surprised to see the throw pillows changed out as I make the space an extension of the living room with complimentary colors.

I went with this neutral rug to keep my options open for bringing in color with my throw pillows.

This outdoor rug was perfect for the look I was going for. I love the size and the quality, and I had quite a dilemma in the store between going for color or sticking with the neutral color and the neutral won out. It’s classic design and color work for defining the seating area.

In a few weeks, I’ll be throwing a fun party to show off my new outdoor space, and I will be adding additional Pier 1 accessories to include lighting and dinnerware! Can’t wait to share with you.

It’s time to get those outdoor spaces together. Whether your space is big or small, Pier 1 has what you need! With hundreds of exciting new decorating options, Pier 1 will help you create an awesome outdoor space that you’ll never want to leave. Explore their new 2016 collections here, and remember to share photos of your Pier 1 décor on Instagram with #Pier1Love.

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