Follow Up

As promised in my "Return to Blog-Land" post, I am making good on my New Years blog resolution and following up on projects in the works from last year's posts.

Remember this beauty? Yes, I know it was a long time ago. Reach deep into the memory bank... or click here for a quick refresher. It was a beat up old Welcome sign purchased at a garage sale. After removing the worn vinyl lettering, a light sanding and a few coats of 50 cent Oops-paint, it was ready for some freehand lettering and design.

All I did was download a free font that was swirly and unique, draw a light line to get the letters straight, and then freehand drew the letters lightly with a pencil. I then used paint markers to fill them in. One was regular size and the other was a fine tip. I just love paint markers. I have them in every color I can get my grubby paws on. But that will have to be a post for another day.

(don't know why this picture is so dark...)

The scrolly thing below didn't come out as even as I would have liked... but repainting and waiting to redraw it was just out of the question. Why? I wanted to use it right away. Simple as that. I was too excited to use it in my harvest tablescape. Maybe someday I'll get around to repainting it. But for now, it's imperfectly beautiful!

I'm linking this post up to Cottage Instincts "Make it for Monday," 

Between Naps on the Porch "Metamorphosis Monday," and Making the World Cuter Monday.

Be sure to head on over and check out these lovely blogs!

Photos from top to bottom: old welcome sign pre-transformation, the finished result, & the harvest display in our home from Fall 2009. (And yes that is a bunch of junk next to the table. Please avert your eyes. )

The Dreaded Blank Wall

So while this may only seem like a decorating post, I am adding it to Chatting at the Sky's Tuesdays Unwrapped. And here's why: my design dilemma of filling an empty wall turned into a walk down memory lane, reliving the 14 magical days spent on vacation with my amazing family. Today, I am unwrapping memories and then wrapping my wall in them! Head on over to see what other people are unwrapping today.

Every home has one... the dreaded blank wall that no matter what you do you just can't seem to find the right design element that will fit the room's scale and decor. Here's my dreaded wall:

It's one of the walls in my bedroom. And to make maters worse, it's the first thing we see when we wake up in the morning. The only decoration on that wall is this iron work vase. I absolutely LOVE it. It matches the old world, tropical theme is our master bedroom, plus it holds the dried buds from two of the bouquets by dear hubby gave me. Their colors of the buds are a lot more vibrant in person - I tried to fiddle around with the camera settings to capture it better, but am still feeling a little woozy from the bronchitis and called it quits after a few minutes.

But you can kind of see it and get the idea, right? So here is the reason that I never placed anything else on the wall to accompany it: I was waiting for that one perfect painting or wall hanging. Every other wall in the room is just right. I love the way the pictures and sconces look around the rest of our room. But as this was the last wall to tackle, I realized that I needed to put something on it that would balance out the room a bit and tie in the different old world, jungle and palm tree prints.

So I waited for that perfect piece...for six years.

And yesterday (after watching too many hours of HGTV, one of the nice parts of being sick), I decided: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I am ready to take the plunge and place some art on that wall. There are only two requirements:

1. It must be inexpensive. That way I can swap it out if at some point we grow tired of it, or if it simply does not tie in with the rest of the room.

2. It needs to be BIG in scale, but not necessarily in actual photo size. Keep reading, I'll explain.

For too long, I have held out for one BIG piece. But today I decided to take 4 or 6 prints from our last two Mexico vacations, enlarge them to at least 5x7 (maybe 8x10), and frame them with a chunky, textured mat. That way each photo is still a medium size, but the visual impact of grouping them together will say BIG! And that is what I need to fill up my last little empty bedroom wall.

(the turtle is a lot clearer in photoshop)

So I'm posting some of the potential candidates for these new art pieces. All of the photos you see on this post are from our last two trips, and I'm asking you for some help in picking out your favorites.


Not only will I be completing a project that I have put off for too many years, but I will be preserving a few more memories in a practical, beautiful way.

So take a look and let me know in the comments which two,

or four,

or six,

or eight I should use.

And what size do you think they should be?

5x7

8x10

mixture of both?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and solutions for this master bedroom dilemma. Thanks for stopping by... and check back soon to see the unveiling.

And don't forget to head on over to Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Basket-A-Holic

Are you a fellow basket lover?

There should be support groups for people like us!

“Hello, my name is Emily. I am addicted to baskets.”

There would be snacks. Served in baskets, of course.

I can't tell you exactly when the basket love kicked into overdrive. It was kind of gradual, I guess. I've always liked them and used them for decoration. But somewhere along the way, I discovered their practical use. I'm not talking about the occasional magazine basket. (although I love my magazine basket too!) I mean EVERYDAY practical use.

Take for example, this large hefty beauty. I lug this one around almost everywhere. It has served for buffet tables, book transportation, a trip to the market, etc. etc. And the price? Just right at $3.99

Remember this basket from a previous post? 25 cents! I still need to find a permanent use for it. Right now, it seems happy to hold my linens while I sort laundry.

(Just want to give you a heads up: Next week we’ll be talking about practical solutions for the dreaded linen closet. Check back for the post “Wash Cloths, Bath Towels, and Sheets… Oh my!” We’ll be covering linen storage essentials. You won’t want to miss it!)

And of course, we can’t forget the magazine basket. This one is from Pier 1. I've had it for 6 years and it always stays by my current favorite reading spot.

How about in the bathroom? Stock that basket up with some smelly stuff and some good reading material. Are you short on bathroom storage? Get a pretty basket and throw in some rolls of TP, and save that under the sink storage for the things you really don’t want anyone to see when they first walk in.

(By the way, I usually don't keep the basket on the side of the tub. But the lighting was so bad in there, I had to get it out of its usual corner.)

This funky shaped basket was recently thrifted on a 50% off day. Care to guess the price? 99 cents. Woo Hoo! And it is in pristine shape. The black would look awesome contrasted with a colorful fruit and flowers display. Hmmm. I may just have to host a get-together to try out that idea. Wanna come?

And last, but certainly not least, let’s not leave out the sweet little baskets. So many uses. Some are purely decorative. Others are just right for catching the little doo-dads and what-cha-ma-call-its that collect on the desk, kitchen counter, livings room, etc.

Do you have stairs in your house? If so, place an attractive basket at the foot of the stairs and use it to catch all the stuff that needs to make its way upstairs. Not only will it help corral the clutter in your main living area, but it will eliminate multiple trips of hauling everyday junk back upstairs.

Do you have enough remotes to start your own Radio Shack? Find a basket that will fit inside an entertainment center, pile them in, and close those doors.

Do your kids (and I use the term “kids” loosely. Ahem, hubby. J ) have several controls for their video games and entertainment accoutrement's? Get them a magazine basket that will hold them all, yet still fits within your decor scheme. Don’t fret. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Just practical.

And if it’s the wrong color, just attack it with a coat of spray paint.

So you see baskets are not just for decoration. They have amazing potential for practical everyday use. Here at too Blessed to Stress, we have a goal of conquering the clutter and chaos. So go dig in the closets and garage for your baskets. Give ‘em a good dusting, air them out in the sun, and put ‘em to good use. If you’re in the market for a new basket but your budget is tight, head to the local boutique… the thrift store. There are all sorts of options at the boutique!

How do you use your baskets? Do you prefer small, medium or large size of baskets? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Oh and don’t forget to attend your Basket-A-Holics support group. I’ll be there. You’ll know which one I am right away. I’ll be the one with the snacks in a basket.

I'm adding this post over at Hooked on Houses as part of the Hooked on Friday Linky Party. head on over there and see what everyone else is hooked on!

Simple Yet Delicious

This last Monday, the women's Bible study group I attend had their summer farewell meeting. It was a great time of sharing, laughing and yummy finger foods. Each group was assigned a kind of food to bring (taco toppings, snacks, bagged lunch) and share with the class. Our class was assigned finger foods. So I sat up Sunday night fretting over what to take.

Normally, I wouldn't worry so much, except my kitchen is in disrepair while we do some painting/rearranging in the rest of the house. So I decided to make tortilla pinwheels. Super easy. Super yummy. Added some crinkle cut cucumbers and homemade dip for a little variety. Placed all on thrifted glass plates and added cute scalloped serving spoon.

Voila! A simple yet delicious finger food served on beautiful dishes. Perfect fallback for those times when you're in a pinch.

What's your fallback for a buffet/potluck? Salad? Dessert? Casserole?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

I'm adding the post to WFMW over at We are That Family. head on over and check it out!