Zebra, Tigers, Cows Oh MY!

Lately I have really been obsessing over all animal print. I honestly have to say though, I only like it in home decor when its done right, and lightly. Its so easy to overdo and look childish? But I love them as accents, here are some fun pictures to share.

I really would love a rug like this in our LR

Fun animal print Decor:

I love the look of just a touch of animal print in a room like this,

I would like a bench like this but in brown zebra or cowprint for the end of our bed. Or a chair like this both are just adorable.

Love the candles, they would look just fabulous on a coffee table centerpiece.

The pendants, hmm not sure where I would put them if I would put them anywhere.

Just love the look!

My best inspiration yet, or where my obsession began all starts with the Pink and Polka Dot blog. Check out her animal print stuff! Love it all. For the life of me I can't get any of her pictures to post here so check out the links if your interested. I swear she had more but I can't find those either.

http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2009/01/zebra-chair.html

Love these lamps in on her buffet.

http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2009/01/zebra-chair.html

Christmas around the corner?

Ok not my creations or specifically budget friendly just some fun Christmas stuff to share. All of which, I believe would be pretty easily recreated at a decent price tag.


And the now almost famous Martha Stewart Ornament wreath.

I love this look for decorating outdoors! I wish I had a birdbath now!


Now all the ideas with the jars.

A cute centerpiece, I love the trees made from pinecones.

And this one, what's not to love! The color is great, its modern and not overdone.

I love that this one is traditional yet modern. Also not overdone.

Sunday Thrift Store goodies

My thrift store finds of the day; a metal wall art $4.99 (still had the price tag from homegoods of $19.99)



Now after a little bronze spray paint:

and a plain white lamp, $2.99


Getting ready to paint, I wanted the hardware to remain white.



Also after a little bronze spray paint, and a lamp shade ($13.97 from wal-mart)



Here is without the light on, no glare.

Now all together:


Pretty happy with my sunday thrift store finds. A nice way to help vamp up the Living room for less than $20. Later this week I will show you a nice before and after.

ABC Nursery Decor

Thought this was the cutest idea for any nursery, just tweaking the colors for gender or nursery decor variance.

I started out with a blank frame from Michael's for $3.99 (I believe), some spray paint from a previous project and some Alphabet letters also from Michael's $2.99. Shown below

After a little textured ivory spray paint...

Then I just placed the Alphabet stickers on the painted frame as shown below...

I then thought it would be more fun the adjust the letters around as shown...

I plan on making different ones with different color schemes for some friends.

Decorative Hemp Balls

I love the look of the decorative balls in either a bowl or basket as a focal point, just not willing to pay $14.99 for 3 at Target or as high as $9.99 a piece at Pier One. So why not make my own!?

The look:

So I started with a roll of twine/hemp from the dollar store, and then bought some styrofoam balls at Michaels for $3.99 for 6 balls.

Then I just started wrapping the Twine around each styrofoam ball, Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns

And tied the ends together and I now have my own decorative hemp balls for a fraction of the price. I did buy 2 different colors for variation. Now I have to find a bowl or decorative piece to put them in.

Next up will be different types of decorative balls. We'll see what I come up with.

Bejewled Lamp

Bejewled lamp made from Christmas Ornaments

If your like me you change your Christmas decor often and don't know what to do with last year's ornaments, how about an Elegant Lamp.

A simple drum shade and round acrylic base, both available from a lamp shop, round out this beautiful stack of ornaments. Each ornament was lightly sanded, brushed with walnut stain, blotted while wet, and sealed with water-base polyurethane.

Two 4-1/2-inch silver-color plastic ornaments
Two 2-3/4-inch golden plastic ornaments
One 2-1/4-inch golden plastic ornament
19-inch-long 1/8-inch IPS threaded pipe
100-grit sandpaper
Water-base wood stain (we used Minwax in American Walnut)
Paintbrush
Water-base polyurethane
Purchased 6-inch-diameter clear acrylic lamp base
Three knurled nuts
Lock washer and nut
Bushing
1/2-inch-long coupling
8-inch harp and harp retainer
10-inch-tall barrel lampshade with a top diameter of 11 inches and a bottom diameter of 12 inches
Brushed metal finial

Instructions:Cut holes in ornaments to accommodate the pipe. Sand the ornaments in a circular motion. Brush stain onto the silver ornaments and blot off; let dry. Seal all ornaments with two coats of polyurethane, letting them dry after each coat.

Secure the lamp base to the bottom of the pipe with a knurled nut above it and a lock washer and nut below. Fit bushing onto bottom of the pipe to protect the cord from fraying. Thread ornaments onto pipe. At the top, add coupling, secure the harp retainer with a knurled nut on each side, and wire and attach the socket. Add the harp, bulb, shade, and finial. Our finished lamp measures 30 inches tall.