Browsing "Design Steps"
Advent Calendars are one of my favorite things about Christmas. What kid doesn't love a treat every day while they count down to Christmas Day? I came up with my own advent calendar with ornaments that can be used year after year and customized each time!
Supplies:
25 small gift boxes
Scrapbook Paper
Ribbon
Glue Sticks
Accessories
Chocolates
Any other Scrapbooking supplies you have on hand
I found natural brown kraft boxes from Xpedex (they also come in white if that fits your decor better). Each one is 2"X2"X2" square. Check the wedding favor department of a party supply store if you don't have an Xpedex store by you.
As you can see, you can easily fit 6 Kisses in one box, perfect for my family of 6! Once you have your boxes, start decorating each one. I found scrapbook paper Read more [...]
As a child I remember gazing upon my grandmother's costume jewelry Christmas tree. It was so shiny and the Christmas lights made it mezmorizing. My grandmother was very crafty, she made hers at a church activity. This was a popular craft back in the 1970's.
There was a magazine produced with instructions back then!
(here is an excerpt)
Check out that tree, wait the hair is what is really amazing about this photo! Ha, ha.
Years later I decided that my kids deserved the a magical Christmas tree like the one I had enjoyed.
My grandmother was an avid crafter. She had homemade ornaments, stockings, and more supplies than you could imagine. When she passed away my mother brought box loads of mixed up crafting supplies. It was too much for even her to handle. I offered to take it Read more [...]
So I saved the best, or at least my favorite, for last. Growing up in San Diego I loved going to the beach. Once I moved to Utah for school I missed it desperatly! We decided that one of the boys rooms would be a surfing theme and since we visit So. Cal they would love it too. It worked, we've had two boys trade off being in the surfing room and both loved it.
(NOTE: If you haven't read the other parts to the series, check them out here: Part 1 World Map, Part 2 Star and Stripes, Part 3 Arches)
I started out looking in the Pottery Barn Teen catalog at their wall mural posters. There were a few surfing themes but they weren't large enough for the wall I wanted to cover and they were $99, plus shipping. Not gonna work.
Internet searches for beachy images didn't turn up much. Then I went to istockphoto.com and Read more [...]
I've been poking around on Pinterest loving all of the amazing front door wreaths. I decided to make my own. After a little inspiration I opted for a pine cone wreath. I went to the park in the center of town where we have an arboretum (fancy for a lot of different trees in one space). It is very well maintained so I doubted my little buddy Will and I would find any, but to my surprise there were loads! Under the pine trees the landscapers left a a large circle untouched. Under all of the pine trees there were pine needles and some had pine cones. We went in November in Utah and about half of the pine trees had cones under them depending on the variety. We chose cones from three diferent species of trees to add texture and variety. We gathered three grocery sacks full of free pine cones in about Read more [...]
If you haven't read the other Mural 101 series, check them out first. Part 1 & Part 2
Have you been to any of the U.S. National Parks? We have several here in Utah, but one stands out amongst the rest. Arches.
It is so beautiful with the red rock, arches, and blue horizons. It is so loved here in Utah that it is one of the options for a license plate (perfect for our 3 Jeeps and Discovery)!
I've taken trips there with roommates, my hubby, and a few years ago my kids and sister's family. There are easy trails and beautiful scenic drives that all ages can enjoy. It's very hot in the summer with temperatures easily reaching 100 degrees in the summer. This brings me to my mural. In my basement we have a "storage" room that we converted into a workout room. There are no windows, it is rather Read more [...]
If you couldn't tell by now, I heart funky lighting. When I saw this fixture at Urban Outfitters, I knew I could make something of it.
At just $39 this little beauty can add a lot of
punch for not a lot of cash.
I purchased the white version at our local Urban Outfitters. 12X12 scrapbook paper is almost large enough to cover each
1/8 of the chandelier so I bought 16 papers total.
There are so many amazing colors and designs that it was difficult to chose the right 16, but this was going in a teenage girls room so I let her tastes dictate the final selection. We decided on a bird theme with an Anthropologie vibe. The orange, brown, and hot pink trees were painted from a stencil Urban Outfitters used to sell.
Before assembling it I laid the chandelier so that
1/2 of one side was on top of the paper.
I Read more [...]
Welcome to my kitchen open house! I call it Midnight Beach. Growing up in San Diego, and then moving away for college, I love and miss the ocean. I decided to bring it to my Utah home. This is the color palette for our kitchen.
Black, Dark Dusty Blue, White, Warm Wood, Stainless Steel, Light Blue, Cream, and Dark Chocolate
An inspiration for the scheme came from the black rocks found on the beaches of So. Cal. While at first glance they appear solid black,
when dry, they have beautiful gray and blue tones.
The color scheme rolls on into the nook as you can see in this photo.
I actually painted the entire space a light blue but when
mixed with the warmth of the cabinets, it looked ice cold and cheap.
It only took a couple of days before I couldn't stand it enough
and had to repaint the entire Read more [...]
I'm excited to introduce you to Burlap & Denim's first guest blogger! Meet my sister, Amy Felin and follow along as she makes a beautiful Ruffled Dust Ruffle.
So I finally got the bedding of my dreams,
the Urban Outfitters Waterfall duvet cover in white.
I am redoing my bedroom and have had my eye on this particular duvet for a few years and they decided to finally make it for a King size bed.
Urban Outfitters, Waterfall Ruffle Duvet
I only ordered the duvet and not the dust ruffle because I already had a pretty, white one that I really like. But when the duvet came, it was much more cream than white. They really didn’t match
(and I love to mix creams and whites, but it was just too far off).
I liked what Urban Outfitters had to match the duvet, but it just seemed a little too much and expensive. Read more [...]
Hopefully you were able to read Part 1 of this mural series before you landed here. OK, now that we are all on the same page, here is Part 2.
Is that a mural? Well yes, to me it is. When I first moved into my house I had two boys that would be sharing a room. I knew I wanted something totally boy. We had visited a U.S. Air Force museum with my husband's family earlier that year and I was in love with the old graphics found on the airplanes. This one especially.
It was so clean, crisp and vintage. I later found out they put this symbol on the airplanes to make sure our allies didn't shoot us down at war. I decided on a vintage airplane theme. Yes, I do theme kids rooms. Why not? After all, I have four boys, they can switch rooms and have a whole new feeling. It drives me crazy when a TV designer says, Read more [...]
Seven years ago when my husband and I built our house,
I was in love with this chandelier.
It is a Kathy Ireland entry chandelier from Lamps Plus. Well, seven years is a long time in my design eyes and the love has faded. Even my husband was ready for a change. I decided that what I really wanted was a barrel shade over a chandelier. Maybe I could buy a shade and slip it over the existing chandelier. I searched the internet high and low but the largest shade I could find was 18" in diameter. My chandelier is 30"! That was not going to work. Even if there was one that was large enough, with the standard top X it would be too high to expose a little iron above and below the shade like I had imagined.
I'd have to make my own. What would I use for my stiff circle for the top and bottom? I drug my sweetie Read more [...]
There is nothing like a mural or accent wall to give life to a stale box bedroom. I am kind of obsessed with them, partly for their drama and partly because they can be so easy and cheap! I currently, as of this post, have 4 murals in my humble abode. I have painted each one. Now, don't get the wrong idea. I am not some fabulously talented artist, painter or magician. What I have learned over time is how to make murals simple, funky, and dramatic. Anyone can do this, seriously, anyone. I am going to do a 4 post tutorial, one post for each mural I have done. I will start with the easiest and they will progressively get more difficult. Ready for round 1? Here we go.
The Pottery Barn Kids World Map Outline Mural
I love opening my Pottery Barn Kids catalog and seeing what their set geniuses have come Read more [...]
Christmas, Design Steps, From Scratch 
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