Simple Inspirational Artwork

I think that at some point everyone struggles with finding a piece of art that inspires them. Sometimes you just have to create it yourself! I had the same difficulty with the inspiration for our master bedroom until I saw this piece of paper.

This is the art that now hangs in on the wall opposite our bed. I love that it looks like a large medallion from that distance with a cool, refreshing color scheme.

With the help of your trusty home improvement and craft stores, it is a simple project that can be completed by the end of nap time.

Materials:

2' x 4' x 1/4" thick piece of MDF board

12" x 12" scrapbook paper (4 pieces)

Modge Podge

Taking advantage of the cutting service at both Lowe's and Home Depot, I had the MDF board cut into 12" x 12" squares to match the size of the paper that I was using. Get creative! If you share my love for symmetry, you could use the traditional 2 by 2 block pattern that I used or try your hand at an eclectic arrangement of different sizes and shapes. Keep in mind that they usually charge about $0.25 for each cut.

At this point, you can paint the edge of the board or leave the natural color. It is also important to measure your paper against the board. The board can often be slightly larger or smaller than expected. Trim the paper, as necessary.

So, I have a not-so secret crush on Modge Podge. Also known as "decoupage", it is super easy. (For another great decoupage project, check out my fabulous friend, Sarah's page!) Place a thin, even layer of "podge" on the board and on the back of the paper. Now the tricky part is to place the large piece of paper on the board without getting "podge" everywhere. There are approximately 3.2 seconds to slide the paper into position. Okay maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. To avoid the wrinkly raisin effect, it is best to wait about 5 minutes for the glue to dry before applying the top coat. Once it has dried, apply a thin top coat to the paper. I found that for the first coat the thinner, the better. After the initial top coat has dried, you can apply a second coat liberally.

Allow to dry at least 15 minutes before handling to avoid damaging the paper or inadvertantly adding a texture to the surface of your podge.

When the podge is completely dry, you can add the picture hardware to the back the each board. Now you can enjoy your new beautiful unique (and inexpensive) artwork!

Ladies Luncheon: Celebrating Sarah's 30th Birthday

Courtesy of BA Photography

This is Sarah. She is one of my dearest, sweetest, and most special friends. Isn't she beautiful? Uh yeah! But the best part of Sarah is that this beauty goes down to the depths of her soul. She is an amazing woman that loves deeply and passionately. She cares about others more than herself. She encourages you to be creative, to go the extra mile for others and to be a better wife. And Sarah's love for the Lord is contagious. 

This year was significant because it was her 30th birthday! And as with any birthday milestone come special party plans.  So when her husband asked my sister, Kimi and I (aka "RoMaglio"~ where your dreams become a reality) to help with the party planning we jumped at the opportunity. Yes, we have created a party planning business for ourselves. No, it is not real. Well, unless you want it to be...

Anyways with a little "creative communication", we set the bait. We enlisted Sarah to help us host our sister's bridal shower. Like I said, Sarah is so willing to help others that she didn't think twice and agreed to help right away. Our plan was a go! We wanted to recreate the feel of a traditional ladies lunch complete with formal attire, a special menu and fabulous company. Here are the details...

The Location:

Four Season Room in the LoMag Residence

Kimi's home is the perfect party location. Their four seasons room is surrounded by windows, so no matter the time of day, it feels classy. And at the risk of sounding hoity-toity, it looked classy too.

A collection of our dining room chairs surround the table

Bright and sunny tulips

The Menu:

Ina Garten's Curry Chicken Salad

Traditional Chicken Salad (my recipe)

Spinach, Strawberry, & Pecan Salad

Corn Chowder (Mamasita's recipe)

Cheese Tortellini

Cheese Tortellini

Keurig coffee and Cadbury mini eggs

Personal Fruit Pizzas

Mini Cupcakes

The Favors:

Soy Candles

The Guests:

The lovely ladies and the Guest of Honor

Not only did we have fun putting the details together, but in the end, Miss Sarah was surprised and speechless. Success!

Happy 30th Birthday, Sarah! You are loved and we wish you many more wonderful years ahead. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life.

Love & Hugs!

Writing on the Wall

Since we moved into our home (4 years ago), I have envisioned having a magnetic chalkboard wall somewhere in our basement. I have many memories playing and laughing in our basement with my sisters. So of course, I wanted to pass on that kind of fun to my family.

Deciding on the location was the easy part. There was a small wall between our many storage closets that was begging to be used. It was close enough to the "man cave" part of the basement so that Daddy could keep an eye on Maddie and friends. Then...it literally took me months to decide on the size of the space. I finally realized that little ones need lower access to the chalkboard and therefore landed on this layout. 

After taping off the wall with green Frog tape (it really is the best painter on the market), I used Rustoleum's Magnetic Primer and Chalkboard Paint because I am a huge fan of their product. I read a number of reviews and would have to agree with the results. After using 3-4 coats of the magnetic primer, I have patches of varying magnet strength. It was disappointing, but I was expecting similar results based on the feedback. In hindsight, I should have bought 2 containers of the primer to ensure that I got the correct coverage. Luckily, these inexpensive plastic magnets are light enough to still hold.

The chalkboard paint was really easy to work with. It is very thick and leaves the surface with a texture. One of the products had a VERY strong odor. It actually took a few days to dissipate. Overall, it was a quick and easy project that I was able to complete in the course of 2 nights after Maddie went to sleep. 

The project was well worth the time and effort. We have spent more time in our basement as a family. Maddie loves watching us draw pictures of animals.

If your not ready to commit to painting a wall in your home, here are some alternatives:

Paint the top of a coffee table

Source: diyideas.com via Christina on Pinterest

Use an Oil Drip Pan

Source: Apartment Therapy

Use a Cookie Sheet

Source

Man Cave: Side tables

My husband loves sports. Baseball. Hockey. Football. Basketball. When we discussed the feel for his Man Cave, he wanted it to be sports-themed. NY sports themed. He is a huge fan of the NY Yankees, NY Giants, Buffalo Sabres and NY Knicks. Therefore he wanted to include each of those teams. In my mind, "Man Cave" read as something totally different. Panic ensued as I started to picture our basement filled with bright orange, red, navy, gray, yellow and royal blue. Ladies, you are seeing the problem, right? THOSE COLORS DON'T MATCH! I wanted to scream it from the hill tops and it took all that is within me not to put up a stink about it. Ok, I may have made a little stink...No, not that kind!

So we began to gather sports memorablia for his cave. More often than not, our eyes were drawn to Yankees gear - signs, pictures, penants, pillows. Great, right? Gray and navy is classy. (Just like the NY Yankees...that's right Jeter!). I figured that if I could represent the various team logos in gray it would be subtle and cohesive.

I started by printing the NY Yankees and NY Giants logos on 8.5" x 11" paper. The logos were simple and transfered easily to the contact paper by tracing it with a permanent marker.

Using an X-acto knife and scissors, I cut out the logo. This left a stencil on the contact paper. I had forgotten how low tack contact paper was so I had to use a bone folder to trace the perimeter of the stencil so that the paint did not bleed.

Next, I covered the exposed surface with newspaper. On my first attempt, the overspray got under the paper and onto the table. This made for some creative spraying to cover my mistake. My recommendation would be to use tape to cover the entire perimeter where the paper contacts the stencil.

See my mistake?

Here is the final result! For a project that took under 1 hour, I was extremely happy and my husband was impressed too. Success!

A Little Bit (of Linen) Goes A Long Way

Thrift stores are always a great source for frames. Many times, the size is right but the color and mat are all wrong so I paint the frame and throw out the mat. With my new picture ledges, I wanted to salvage the  few odd mats that I had laying around. 

My first attempt was trying to paint the mat (see the white mat below) - epic fail. So I figured that I would try covering them instead.

I used some scraps of linen that I had on hand and trimmed the linen to about an inch around the mats.

I used 3M's General Purpose adhesive spray, but you could use whatever you have available - tape or glue. Spray the front surface of your mat and place face-down onto your fabric. Press firmly and smooth out the fabric.

I snipped a small X in the center of the mat opening and cut flaps in the fabric. These flaps can be trimmed down so they cover the back of the mat.

Spray additional adhesive on the back of the mat. Pull each flap tight and lay flat. You may need to clip the corners to remove some of the bulk of the fabric. And that's it!

My second project was to update an inexpensive matted print and old frame. 

 Taking some of my remaining linen, I trimmed the piece to about an inch around the print.

Following the same process as I did in the first project, I sprayed the entire front of the print with adhesive, centered the print face-down on the fabric and pressed firmly.

I flipped the print over to smooth the fabric out. Using my putty knife, I was able to press the fabric into the edges of the mat and achieve a sharp corner.

Next I smoothed out the fabric out over the mat. You can faintly see the picture through the fabric, but I wasn't too concerned because I knew that I would be placing a picture over top of it.

I finished wrapping the fabric around the print like a present using the adhesive to hold it tight against the back.

To finish it off, I added these picture corners and double sided tape to hold the picture in place.

It helps that my adorable nephew is in the frame. He makes it look good! I added a few coats of white paint to the frame. It is as good as new!

I hope this inspires you to look at things around your home differently. I am sure there is something just waiting for you to bring new life to it.

Picture ledges

Picture ledges are popping up everywhere. They can been seen holding children's books in a bedroom, family photos in a family room or even decorating items in a hallway. I first saw these ledges created by Ana White a few years ago, but was hesitant to tackle the project. Once my sister, Kimi, and her handy husband whipped these up (in a weekend), I gained the confidence to proceed with the project.

I ended up using poplar rather than pine, so it was more costly than the $10 that Ana suggests, but the results were the same. The best part of this project is that it can be customized for any location and home use. I decided to use 4 ft section of the 1 x 4's to fit within the length of the sofa they would be hanging above.

I have to admit that this was my second attempt at this project. I got antsy and didn't think through everything entirely before proceeding, hence the scrap wood sitting in our garage. But I don't want that to deter you from trying these yourself. The steps are super easy to follow and the basic construction can be completed in about an hour. That is the length of an average nap! The painting took longer, but I was still able to complete the project in a weekend. 

Please ignore the pillow pet shoved into the cushions!

I am thrilled with the results! I absolutely love having pictures in my home. I smile every time I walk into the room and see pictures of the ones we love. Prior to this, we had a small scale picture gallery above the couch. I often struggle with having the motivation to update the pictures in a large collage frame. I am hoping that this project will promote an ever-changing wall of the people that are important to me.

Thankfully, I was able to round up all of these frames from around our home. I wasn't sure if I would like the varying color of frames and mats, but I really like the texture. It makes it even more interesting!

Favorite Finds

In a time when Pinterest is our main source of inspiration, I wanted to highlight some of the lovelies that I have found on my trips to the store. Some items are purely eye-candy. Some have been added to my home wish list (hint, hint Ben). While others couldn't help but to have found their way into Mi Casita.

Edison Pendant Light 

Allen + Roth 

I immediately fell for this gorgeous light in the aisles of Lowes. I literally gasped. It is a stunning statement piece that I want. I can't decide if it is "my style" or if it fits in with the rest of our home decor, but that doesn't change my feeling about it. A girl can dream, right?

Feather Wreaths

JoAnn Fabrics
(Original $39.99, Clearance $9.99)

Hello, can you say "Super Steal"?! I have to admit that the large red clearance sign that was beneath these beauties was the first to catch my eye, but it was the unexpected texture and hues that had me returning to them before I left the store. I almost put the teal one in my shopping cart, but I couldn't think of where to use it. They didn't seem like outdoor wreaths, but I couldn't think of where to put it inside my home. Until now...as I type this, I think that it would have been perfect above my mantle on my fireplace. Ugh! I doubt it will still be there. The horror - a super steal is lost...

Decorative appliques

Admit it. Your eyes were drawn to the bright red clearance stickers. THEN the adorable flowers. It's okay. I did the same thing. But after gawking at the $1 (and change) price tag and forcing myself to put back the other 4 that i had grabbed off the shelf, my mind was swirling with ideas for these pieces. Head bands? Hair clips? All it would take is a drop of hot glue on a simple clip or band. I can't help but smile when I think of Maddie's curls tucked under these pieces. 

Quartz Surface Countertops 

Allen+Roth
Lowes

Over the few months, we have been slowly updating our kitchen. We have lived in our home for almost 4 years now. The kitchen was never my favorite, but Ben has resigned to letting me do pretty much what I want to make our house a home. He really is amazing. He has few opinions about what I do. As long as it isn't too much money and it is cost effective. Same thing, right? Yeah, that's what I was thinking when he asked me to submit my expenditure proposal along with the cost benefit analysis with respect to my latest kitchen reno ideas. Okay, that may have been a bit of a dramatization, but we do consult on large home projects. The countertops are our next big venture in the home. I struggle to tie in different textures, patterns and styles so picking out counters that compliment our current tile (not tackling that project), current cabinets (while being flexible for updating with paint later on), and stainless steel appliances is challenging to me. I tend to be very literal which can translate into matchy-matchy. Nevertheless, I really like this texture and detail. Now will the price be cost prohibitive? Add it to the wish list!