Is there a Craft Warehouse near you?

I was in Craft Warehouse this week and spotted these bags of acid free mats.  They are leftover pieces from framing projects.  The whole bag was $4.99.

They had all kinds of colors to choose from.  I think these will be great for shadow boxes, 

framing projects, wrapping fabric around - a multitude of projects :)

 Do you have a Craft Warehouse near you?

Thank you, Pottery Barn

I've said it many times, I love PB for great inspiration.  

The inspiration...books in a vase, who knew?

  I've seen the cording wrapped on books on several great blogs, thanks bloggers!

I'm partying with...
Cheap Thrills Thursday at Black Kat Design

Dragon Art or Architectural Piece

I purchased this dragon at Goodwill last year.  I think it was $2.99.

It appears to be carrying some interesting characters on it's back. 

Chinese dragons don't go with my decor, but I saw some architectural potential in this piece.  See it?

Front

  Back

 I drilled a few holes in it and added some odd drawer knobs I had on hand.

See the architectural potential now?

 

I can still see the dragon lips here.  I'm going to have to shake that off!

I don't know exactly where it's new home is going to be, but once I get our 

entry painted I'm considering putting it in there.

I'm linking to the following parties:

Inspiration Friday Party at Southern in my Heart

Inspiration thru the years

I love, love, love to thumb through home decor magazines.  I've been know to hang on to some that are favorites for years.  About 20 years ago, I started ripping out some of my favorite pages and keeping them in a binder.  It's fun to look at every now and then and see how my tastes have changed!

These are some exteriors.

 

I still have a thing for baskets.

 Even some Christmas pages.

 This garland is cute....I blogged over the holidays about a fabric one I made.  This one is like the construction paper loops my kids make.

 I still want a good mudroom.

 Love this towel rack in the bathroom.

 Great kitchen space.

 The page to the right has a couple of cute ideas; magnetic scrabble tiles and clipboard art.

 I actually painted my old dining room table based off this picture to the left.  It's gone on to another life now.

 Want to incorporate some kind of corbel in my current kitchen.  Really like the architecture in this kitchen.

 I've cleaned out the binder some and I'm planning to add to it this year.  Maybe weeding out a few magazines from 2008?!  I've even started a separate section for holidays.

Lovin' my new gallery wall

Gallery walls seem to offer a sense of comfort to a room.  Depending on the mix of artwork displayed, whether it be photographs of travels, a collection of botanicals, kids artwork, etc they tell a story about those that live there.

photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

It pains me to have artwork leaning against the wall in the attic or in a closet somewhere.  After the Christmas tree came down in our living room this year, I decided to do some rearranging.  The new arrangement left a large blank wall that is somewhat of a focal point as you enter the room.  I decided to make my own gallery wall.

This shot is looking down into the living room from the stairs.

As you can see a lot of the colors in the artwork are the same colors in the room.

The photographs are all photos I've taken.  This one is a tree in our backyard, loved the peeling bark.

These two photos are also in the backyard, after a rainfall.  If you look closely you can see the drops of water on the leaf.  The pear was painted by a friends mother and something I bought at the kids school auction last year.

Three of the prints are on old roof slates and were all wedding gifts.  They are prints of locations in New Orleans - Absinthe Bar and Royal Street.   

And, St. Louis Cathedral.

The last photos are hibiscus flowers.  One was taken in Mexico and one in Hawaii.

I like the idea of the two wall sconces thrown in the mix too.  Gives it a little character.

I'm linking to the following parties:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

I want to be a party planner when I grow up

My daughter turned 10 this week.  Double Digits!!!

I miss these days :(

Sniffle...

She's turning into a beautiful young girl.

She's celebrating with her 'peeps' tonight with a sleepover. 6 girls spending the night.  They're going to play 'Minute to Win It' fun games that we've prepared.  Have you seen that show?  I think it's on NBC on Wednesday nights.  Contestants go through various challenges that they have to complete, without mistake, in 60 seconds.  Each time they advance they earn more money, up to a million if they're lucky.  The challenges are pretty easy to re-create with household items.  These are some we'll be playing.

  Stack Attack

Players have to stack all the cups into a pyramid and back down to a complete stack in 60 seconds.

 Junk in the Trunk

 Players must wiggle their bodies to knock 12 ping pong balls out of the box in 60 seconds.

On the Hook

Players must hook 3 keys on their 'fishing rod' in 60 seconds.

Bite Me

Players must pick up 5 bags of various heights with their teeth while their 

feet remain on the floor at all times in 60 seconds.

Noodlin' Around

Players must hold a piece of raw spaghetti in their mouths and slide 3

pieces of penne pasta onto the spaghetti in 60 seconds.

These initialed bags are for treats to snack on while we're playing games.

Treats!

Goody bag items to take home - note journal, bubble gum scented pen, 

candy lipstick and, of course, a diamond ring!