Decorating Princess

Monday Madness 1. How many “people” pictures do you have displayed in your house?

I don’t have many, I just don’t like people looking at me. A few pictures of my nephews on the fridge.

2. How many times a month/year do you rearrange your furniture?

I try to get it right the first time cause furniture is heavy.

3. Do you check your email every day? If so, how many times a day?

Yes, maybe 5 times.

4. How often do you generally look at a clock/watch on any given day?

I don’t own a clock or a watch, but I do occasionally glance at my cell phone or computer.

5. How do you handle telemarketer phone calls?

I just don’t answer.

How many times have you looked at a piece of art and thought, I could do that? Well you are right, you can. Pick up a few canvases, craft paints and brushes at a craft store or Wal-Mart, and your career as an artist has begun. I will be creating a few basic art tutorials that are great for a beginner, or even a great craft for kids. I call this piece dots, because well there’s dots on it.

1. First, draw out the dots. I just traced around a glass to get a perfect circle. Make some of the dots overlap, or have them only half on the page.

2. Second, fill around the dots with color. I used two coats of brown paint so the background was very solid. Use a flat brush to get a clean, crisp line.

3. Next, fill in the dots with any color you want.  Think about what colors you would wear in an outfit, and use those.

If you want to you can crumple up a piece of paper towel, and sponge the dots with a lighter color. This will add texture. That’s all it takes. See, painting isn’t scary. Just pick up a brush and get painting. I framed my picture in a funky frame to give it an eclectic look. If you follow this tutorial please post links to your paintings in the comments.

This was one of the biggest challenges so far, could I decorate a living room for under $1000, and have it be my dream Tuscan villa? This would mean new furniture because I am too lazy to reupholster a couch. Every room in my fictitious dream home is being decorated in a theme of a different country or region. I decided that the living room should be Tuscan, because of the warm comfortable colors. I wanted this to be what welcomes people into my home. As always, I will be carrying my neutral color palette throughout the house to tie everything together, and keep it from looking like a Disneyland ride.

1. Sofa and Loveseat: I want a neutral comfortable sofa and loveseat that I will have for many years to come, so it should be something classic. I chose this mocha brown set. This was my biggest expenditure at $719 for both pieces, but it was a great deal because it was marked down from $1,799.

2. Rug: I’m using a soft rug with just a touch of burgundy in it for only $99.

3. Instead of a coffee table I wanted a bench that could be used as extra seating. This bench was the best buy for under $71, and as Edward from Trading Spaces says “every room needs a touch of black”

4. Like the rest of my dream house the living room will have a chandelier. This bronze chandelier matches the color palette, the scrollwork matches the Italian feel, and the price of $91 matches the budget.

5. I only have $20 left so I will have to really stretch my budget. I will spend the rest of the money on silk, or silk like fabric to make rust color curtains. I will bring in some dark wood side tables that I got at garage sales, and mismatched lamps that I’ve also purchased at garage sales. For artwork I want to mimic stucco walls. I will take big canvases and spread joint compound over them. Then I will make a light wash of yellow color. I will have three of these hanging next to each other, one red, one orange and one yellow.

So after shipping charges I may be just over $1000, but overall I saved thousands of dollars. You can get a great living room set that looks so much more expensive. The key is to purchase your big pieces first so you don’t spend all the money on accessories. Click on any of the pictures that you want more information about. What would your dream living room look like?  Have you decorate for under $1000, or do you need help?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Everyone has really cute pictures on their fridge, usually held up by free magnets from a realty place. I love the pictures, and then secretly despise whatever realtor or dentist is on the magnet, which is probably not what their advertising department was going for. My mom for years had asked for a matching set of magnets, but it was just one of those little things that got overlooked.  I was completely broke and needed a wedding present for a friend, and was looking around for ways to make pretty fridge magnets. I came across the idea of bubble magnets, I made 20 for less than $5 and had a lot of fun.

1. First, I bought those clear pebbles at the dollar store. I never had any idea what to use these for but they are pretty. They come in a range of colors and sizes.

2. Then I picked out the image I wanted to use. I was lucky enough to find stickers for a dollar. You can use just words printed from your computer, or even small pictures.

 3. I super glued the word to the back of the pebble. I then glued a small round magnet to the back. They were $1.39 for 8. I tried to use cheap strip magnets or cut up magnets I already had but they weren’t strong enough.

That’s all it takes, and they make great gifts. It makes me want to buy another fridge so I have more space. An easy variation on this would be to buy river rocks at the dollar store and just glue the magnets to the back. This would look great in a rustic kitchen. Check out other great Works-for-me-Wednesday” Tips at Rocks in my Dryer.  

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