Glitter. Customized Art. No artistic skill needed. That’s what this post is all about today. Something easy and dramatic that you can make say anything you want! It’s not holiday related but now my mind is just buzzing with ideas on how you can make this glitter word art into fun holiday messages. But first – the sun room.
I had left you recently with an almost complete sun room, which is good since the sun doesn’t shine as long these days and it is frightfully chilly outside at night. I had a few last projects to finish up in the sun room before I kissed this room goodbye until the spring. It had to do with this vast expanse of gradient wall (which I fall more and more in love with every time I look at it).
It was screaming for artwork. I knew it had to be staggered to make the most of the wall and the awkward outlet placement. Then it hit me – glitter word art.
It started with picking out a statement to say in wooden letters (snagged at Michael’s but AC Moore has way more inventory).
Then I got scrapbook paper to cover them (ba-ba-blingin!).
Before the wooden letters were ready for paper I quickly painted the edges (since they were going to be exposed) a nice gold.
Then I Modge Podged the letters and slapped the whole sheet of scrapbook paper on them.
I let those dry overnight and then used an exacto knife to cut around the edges. [Funny side story – my poor little delicate hands got a little ole blister on them from using so much exertion with that exacto knife. Maybe it doesn’t need all that much. Just saying.]
The final step is to hang them! Since I was hanging these outside I checked out a few different products in stores, trying to find one that would survive Virginia temperatures. I decided to give U Glu a try since it works outside, on vinyl, in temperatures from 0 to 150. I snagged it at JoAnn Fabric’s with my coupon for $3.50. After a few days they are still hanging!
I think it adds the perfect pop to this space – although be warned, this definitely got the “Whoa this is girly” comment from Eric. Oops! Although in holiday decorations this glitter would fit right in – just like it does in the extension of the Mego Cave that I am calling the sun room.
I love the pop of color your glitter wall art gives your porch wall and I also love “Be Bold”. I’ve eyed the same glittered scrapbook paper but haven’t yet thought of a use for it.ReplyCancel
Thanks so much! Isn’t that scrap book paper just so alluring?! I just want to buy at least one of every sheet when I wander through that aisle! Buy a couple – I think you will be surprised that you just end up finding uses for it.ReplyCancel
Megan, we absolutely adore this idea!! And we love your choice of letters… who doesn’t need a little reminder to BE BOLD every once and a while?! Thanks for sharing! Xo, Bridget & Casey @ DIY PlaybookReplyCancel
Thanks so much you two! So good to hear from you! I loved meeting you at Haven (if you remember me 🙂 ). Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to BE BOLD!!ReplyCancel
Do you have that bathroom? The notorious room that is nested in the innermost workings of your home and without a window? That dark and sometimes coziest room of the house? Yup, most of us do, including us Rapps! It can be quite the little troublemaker too. It’s dark, maybe a little small (ours is), and needs all the bright, light, and color injection it can get!
One of the tricks that we used in our inner bathroom was to pick a shower curtain (albeit plastic) that had some cutouts to let light into the shower and to not just be a wall of fabric when you look at it. However, plastic shower curtains lack of the convenience of being able to toss them in the wash – and the bathroom is definitely a place where everything needs to be washed (not for the obvious reasons – I’m moreso referring to moisture!).
The day had come to replace our lovely blue checkered shower curtain (originally bought by my man and only my man for his apartment pre-Megan – he’s so good). However, unexpectedly I came across two wonderful options!
The first option came to me by the Goodwill in Williamsburg (cause doesn’t everyone go to Goodwill while on vacation?!). It was a beautiful ikat print (a Target Threshold for $2.99!). Here is what she looked like:
It is definitely a more traditional look that really dresses up the room. The fabric is quite the stunner.
Option number two came from JCPenney (basically my one stop shop – love that place). They had a major sale and a majorly good coupon so I picked up this little lady for $10. How could I resist this modern color curtain?
I love how the color splashes mimic the idea of artwork on the opposite wall.
They really seem to have some union going on. This one is definitely more in line with the modern feel of the room and is definitely brighter.
I know my favorite – what is yours? Sound off on the poll below!
I like the Ikat one! And yes, that is what I do ALLLLL the time: visit the thrift store while on vacation! I like to see what other thrift stores are “workin’ wit.” HAHAHA Great choice!
Thanks Serena! It’s good to know that I’m not alone on my Goodwill trips on vacation. I live in a smaller town so it’s awesome to go to bigger cities where they get more “treasures” through!ReplyCancel
What happens when something about a room just isn’t right? You like it but you don’t love it. It works, but doesn’t operate like a well oiled machine. You stand there staring at the room thinking something is just off. We’ve all been there, and sometimes narrowing down why we are there can be a challenge. This is a feeling that I have experienced in most of the rooms in my house, so I thought it would be fun to dissect it together and learn how to take the “hmmm” out of the room and insert the “ahhh” of a satisfied feeling of a room well done.
Let’s use the example of the Mego Cave – a room that is a multi-function odd-ball room. We probably all have one of those. It used to be a carport that the previous owners converted into a real living space. It started like this:
Currently it looks like this:
There’s been a lot of progress in the room including:
It has definitely come a long way but it just isn’t there yet. It’s just a feeling I have when I look in the room. As my dad said when we were sitting in there chatting while he was visiting a few weeks ago, “It’s [pause] eclectic.” Eclectic I love – but I think his pause really spoke more than the eclectic. I think it is a little scattered and busy. It needs something to bring it all together.
I thought I would remedy this by mentally ripping it down to a bare room and then rebuilding it. In the beginning I didn’t have a plan like I did with the sun room, and I know that rooms ebb and flow with random finds and such, but I am all into planning a room to help bring some unity to the room.
Let’s start at the very beginning (it’s a very good place to start). I started by asking myself a series of questions.
What do you want the room to feel like? More importantly, how do you want to feel in the room?
I want the room to be bright and happy – but not too bright that it isn’t welcoming. Cheery comes to mind. I want the room to embrace color but in a softer way – so I guess this means I want a softness in the room that envelopes me, makes me want to stay. I want to feel inspired but relaxed, happy but not hyper. Motivated.
What items help bring this feeling into the room?
• That blue chair. It wasn’t what I originally picked for the room but having the hubby so excited about finding it on the side of the road for me brings up so much love every time that I think about it that it bubbles up. I want to keep the item that makes me feel loved. I also LOVE the navy blue pop.
• Both light fixtures. They are beautiful, bright, happy, and a little blingy. I always want to feel sparkly in my room.
• The picture shelves. I picked those out with my Mom in her first trip to Ikea and I think the artwork is the perfect vignette of what I am wanting this whole room to look and feel like – bright, happy, and inspiring – with a whole lotta love.
• The Roman shades made from mini-blinds. My favorite.project.ever. It’s perfect. It makes me feel inspired, motivated, and empowered since this was one of my first sewing and more involved DIY projects.
Here are items that I love the concept but perhaps not the execution. They may detract from the room’s feeling.
• The China cabinet: I love that there is so much storage in a beautiful manner. But is it too heavy? Too dark? Too wood? I don’t think it is adding the qualities of bright cheeriness I am looking for.
• The bookshelf: I love me a good bookshelf but this one may be adding to the clutter I am feeling. Perhaps I just need to tone it down? Get one with doors? Make it less of a focal point?
• The loveseat and its side tables: This loveseat is SO comfy. It’s a hand-me-down present from my Mom. I love the feeling it gives but the look is something I am on the fence about. I think this will be one of the last items I change because of the feeling it evokes – but I also am a big advocate of not getting so sentimental about “Stuff” that it clutters your life. Also, the side tables just don’t feel right.
• The desk: I fell in love with this desk on Craigslist BUT it might be a little too chunky rustic. It also doesn’t offer a whole lot of clean lines and storage that may help this room feel less cluttered.
• The ironing board: Random. But I may lose thing battle. Eric needs a good ironing space for his shirts and if this is where he needs to iron then so be it. I think that adds to the love in the room right?! • The table: I think I’m on board with this table – it is gorgeous but maybe the table cloth is just wrong for the room.
What do you want the room to function as?
• First and foremost I want it to be my desk/creativity zone/craft room/project room. That needs storage and a big work space. That means I need a nice big desk – INSPIRATION ALERT – perhaps the dining room table could be my desk?! Heck, we’ve used it once a year at most in the past three years. I could clean off a desk once a year. Wow, real time ideas flowing right now.
• Secondly, I want it to be a relaxing, hangout, no-TV room. I want there be enough seating for a conversation area and comfy places for a snuggly reading space (for me) or napping space (for Eric). That means at two separate pieces of furniture – like the chair and loveseat.
Based on the questions above, I thought it would be helpful to determine a color palette to help build the room again and make the room feel cohesive. I thought I would start with the items that are staying in the room: the chair, the light fixtures, the rugs, the wall color (although negotiable).
• Neutrals: dark wood, grey, mint green (Tempered Spring by Valspar)
• Pops: navy blue, pink/fuchsia, gold/metallics
Now I can move forward with those elements in mind and build one cohesive room, not a room with lots of different segments around it.
What’s my plan now?
1. Empty out all the contents I don’t love. Get ’em outta there! Sell them, donate them, give them new life elsewhere in the house. Then you will see what you love and slowly begin to fill in again.
2. Really sit down and brainstorm and talk it out with my man. It always helps to be in the space, sit down and sketch, move things around, and talk it out.
3. Write a list of items to buy and items to make.
4. Do it!
So this isn’t going to happen right away (why hello holiday season) but just the process of breaking down the room and identifying the problem areas, what I love, and how I want the room to feel makes me have direction and purpose. Isn’t that really all we need to get a room into tip-top shape? So I will be sharing it each step of the way as I transform it from good to gee-golly-wash-I-love-it. Cause darn it, that’s how each room should make us feel!
I love all of the things that you love about this room. The light fixtures are so fun and I adore your roman shades. I think you should keep your desk and table but take the table cloth off. Would you consider painting your china cabinet white? I think it would brighten up that area of the room if it were white. Ironing is a necessary evil. Wonder if you could talk your husband into keeping the ironing board in the closet?
You are lucky to have so much space to work with!ReplyCancel
Thank you so much for your great ideas! I think I want to try all of them…I really want to paint the china cabinet but it is a hand-me-down/gift from Eric’s side of the family. If I were to buy something like this off Craigslist I would paint it immediately, without second thought, but I’m not sure if I could get away with painting this family item. Maybe the ironing board can be the tradeoff?ReplyCancel
I enjoyed this post because I, too, am struggling with a specific room in my house, and you might have driven home the reason–too much light can be uninviting. It may be time for me to invest in some new window coverings so we might spend more time in there. But to be honest I like your eclectic room. It has a lot of personality of all of your family members, and you give good background and history. Can you imagine stripping the room of personality and then having company? You wouldn’t have that blue chair story to tell or the old china cabinet to point to, or to grin about the ironing board. I love this space. 🙂ReplyCancel
Thank you so much Jeanette! Your comment just blew my mind a little bit! You are soooo right. I do not want to strip any personality out of the room. That would be crazy!! I really appreciate your honesty and thoughts. I am definitely going to be pondering your comment a while and try to find that right blend in the room. I’m also so glad that you found it helpful! I hope to also achieve just the right balance in your room! Thanks again for the super helpful comment!ReplyCancel
[…] convinced. [PS – Put that on a t-shirt.] They are delightfully fun, comfy, colorful, and can push a room into greatness. They are also so easy to change out as your style evolves or even as the seasons change. They also […]ReplyCancel
The other day my email dinged with a happy email from a friend passing on a super simple, 4 ingredient peanut butter (chocolate) fudge recipe (courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction). I was so touched that she knew my incessant urge to always be devouring something peanut butter – and chocolate of course (good thing this recipe calls for add-ins). This could also be a trouble maker recipe with its super simplicity.
This Veterans Day on my day off, I decided to whip up these lovelies to enjoy and share!
Ingredients
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 cup add-ins, such as chocolate chips, peanuts, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (optional)
Directions
Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished fudge out.
Melt the peanut butter and butter together in a large bowl. Slice the butter to make melting easier. Stop the microwave and stir the mixture every minute until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the microwave and stir in the vanilla using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Add the salt if you prefer a salty/sweet fudge. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and stir until completely combined. The mixture is very, very thick and resembles cookie dough. If using any add-ins, fold them into the fudge while it is still warm.
Press the fudge into prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spatula or spoon. The top will be somewhat oily. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and chill for at least 4 hours or until firm. Cut into pieces.
Store fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Fudge may be frozen for up to 2 months. To thaw, simply transfer to the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
*I recommend using 1.5 sticks of butter. Mine was much too buttery.
I say this recipe is just in time for those last minute holiday treats! Enjoy!
Need some other great holiday dessert recipes? Check out these:
This looks soooo good, Megan! Why did I think it had eggs in it…? I’m vegetarian, and although I will eat eggs that are baked/blended in, I generally prefer not to eat them. So to see this without eggs–I’M PINNING 🙂
Thanks Serena! I’m excited to find out that you are a vegetarian. I am too! Not vegan though so I do the whole dairy thing. So glad that this recipe helps you out with the no eggs though! Woo hoo! Vegetarians unite!ReplyCancel
These had me a peanut butter and chocolate! I can’t wait to try and freeze…just take one out on occasion so I won’t eat the whole batch at once!ReplyCancel
Haha! We think the same Christy! I would probably try anything with chocolate and peanut butter! Freezing is a great idea! I had to share these because they were dangerous in my house!ReplyCancel
As you saw in my last mantel post, I have been all about finding inspiration for our mantle. I have longingly gazed at other people’s’ mantel masterpieces and asked why couldn’t mine look like that? Well, really there’s no good reason that it couldn’t! I decided to take this first self-induced mantel styling challenge by shopping our house (read – no buying). I am thinking I want to be that person who constantly changes up the mantel on my mood or the season, so this is my first shot before it becomes a glorified Christmas mantel.
Here is what the mantel looked like before I cleared it for a clean slate.
The first step in any styling challenge I do is to gather a mass of items that could possibly work on the mantel. It really helps for me to just pile them together and then start playing with them – placing this here and then there. Stacking them and then grouping them until it feels right.
Now, after my playing and using what I have, here is the golden result.
But here is where it gets real. I have a finished product that I am very happy with. But just because of one inspiration post I am not a mantel styling master-woman (shocking, right?). I’m still learning. I have more ideas and it’s not perfect. But hey, life’s not perfect and that’s more interesting, right? Even though it’s not perfect, I’m perfectly happy with the results! I love looking at the mantel, gazing at it’s sparkly goodness. The best thing is, the more I style and redesign it, the better I will get (and the more eye candy you will get).
While I did share an inspiration post with ideas on how to style a mantel, I learned a few more things along the way with Mantel 2.0.
First, a color scheme really helps tie unlike items together. It just happened that I had a lot of gold items around and that gold just looks amazing with that rich red wall. Foe example, the succulent pot wasn’t tying into the rest of the items but a band of gold ribbon helped bring it into the fold.
It’s really important to mix item sizes, shapes, and items that are horizontal or vertical. I realized that I had recurring themes of round and square. I didn’t like all the same shape together so I would try to mingle the shapes – but the color scheme kept it together. I did have predominately round items and I know that some decorative stacking boxes would be divine on the mantel. I will need to keep my eyes out for some pretty ones!
So what do you think? Are you team Mantel 1.0 or Mantel 2.0?
I love the pop of color your glitter wall art gives your porch wall and I also love “Be Bold”. I’ve eyed the same glittered scrapbook paper but haven’t yet thought of a use for it.
Thanks so much! Isn’t that scrap book paper just so alluring?! I just want to buy at least one of every sheet when I wander through that aisle! Buy a couple – I think you will be surprised that you just end up finding uses for it.
I like it! That was a creative idea
Thanks so much Jamala!
Very cute ! I love anything and everything that sparkles 🙂
Nancy
Thanks Nancy! I totally agree!
These letters are a great addition to your porch! I love! ~Christy
Thanks Christy! They make me smile all the time!
Megan, we absolutely adore this idea!! And we love your choice of letters… who doesn’t need a little reminder to BE BOLD every once and a while?! Thanks for sharing! Xo, Bridget & Casey @ DIY Playbook
Thanks so much you two! So good to hear from you! I loved meeting you at Haven (if you remember me 🙂 ). Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to BE BOLD!!