decorate Archives - A Storybook Life

Who Says Decorating Your Home has to Cost a King’s Ransom & Your Firstborn Child!

September 24, 2013January 9, 2008 by Pearl Sanborn

I wanted to share some simple ideas with you, to help get you excited about your home during this new year!

Have you heard the old saying “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”? Well, I’ve always thanked God for the opportunity that I’ve had to develop my creativity in a very special way 🙂

As a teenager, I remember a gal who would go into a very expensive department store and buy a whole room display. Then, she would comment on the “deal” that she was able to get, because she bought the whole thing! Of course it cost thousands of dollars, but to her, it was something that looked beautiful – and it was already “pulled together” for her. For some people, having the “work” done for you is a huge relief, but for some reason, I couldn’t be happy doing things this way! I think it’s because, although the end result is wonderful, for me, the creative journey of getting there is still such a thrill!

For many, the cost factor of “pulling a room together” keeps them from even getting started!

Well, no more!

I’m here to tell you… that you can have a beautiful nest the same way the birds do… by going out and finding beautiful tidbits here & there… and then weaving them together into one beautiful nest!

Something to remember

Your “I found this for only $” might be a very different price point than my “I found this for only $” price!

Example: I was talking to a person who was sharing their excitement about a recent find they had made. It was a vintage pine cupboard that they “only paid $1000” for. Although that was probably a GREAT price for that particular piece, my mind was wandering back to the 2 vintage pine cupboards that I had picked up – one was $2 at a yard sale, and the other was $17 at a local auction. Also, sometimes you find great deals like the ones that I found, and other times… not so much. The point? Use what you have, and find the best deals possible.

For this mantel display I brought in several elements from the cottage garden.

Try to have places around your home, that you can “re-decorate” very quickly & inexpensively.

This helps you put off the urge to “re-decorate” a whole room, while still giving you that fresh look you crave 😉 Here’s a small example from an office in our cottage. I have a few things on a shelf that “speak the same message” – paper weights, black picture frame, a small tin with the same colors as the paper weights, and a black & cream toile covered inspiration board. This shelf changes very often depending on the holiday, season, or my mood 🙂

This is the space during the summer – but between holidays.

Here’s how I changed it up this Christmas.

I have a box of different paper items, vintage post cards, broken pieces of jewelry, and other little bits & bobs that I can quickly pick through to change up the inspiration board. Keeping pretty little things doesn’t cost any money either! If I get a card that I like, I’ll be sure to keep the front, and write who it was from on the reverse side. Most of the time, people don’t write to much inside of cards but their name, but if they do, you could keep the whole card. I’ve been known to keep gum wrappers (especially the “5” brand – such beautiful metallic colors!), bits of wrapping paper, cut little pieces of calendars, etc., to use in my displays.

Here is a grapevine garland that I made using vines from my yard, then adding a few little clip on birds that I had in my Christmas decorations. Cost? $0

In my previous home, I decorated the ceiling around my chandelier by using some bits of craft paint that I had left over, a few pictures that I cut out of a magazine, and some stenciled grapes. Cost? $0

You can make a beautiful natural looking display on a table top or end table by grouping several things that “speak the same thing” – such as these clay pots, some plants, an old watering can, a cast iron bunny, and a basket. They all seem to say… life… well, to me anyway 😉

Here is a display made of items that are mostly from the $1 store, thrift store, yard sales, and discount stores. I some of my favorite items that were similar in color & theme. This is a Spring display.

Here it is in Fall

And last Christmas

Here’s a little display that YELLS Spring. I used a little greenhouse that I picked up for a couple of dollars at “Big Lots”, an iron bunny, a few plastic eggs, a doily found in the bottom of a $1 auction box, and a picture of roses found at the thrift store for .99!

You might remember seeing the bunny’s sister in the clay pot display or in the picture above? That’s because… I’ve learned, that if you really like a piece like that and you can buy it for a reasonable price, you should probably pick up more than one. That way you can use the second one in other displays around the house.

By this picture, you can see that I decided to pick up more than one iron bunny, and several eggs (they look so real!). Now I have several to sprinkle around the house in different displays, yet they all help pull the current them together.

This works especially well if the two items have different poses, such as the pair of iron birds that I found for under $5. This display is a close up of one of the pictures above. The shelf was made by my husband, from an old board taken from a wall in our previous 1856 village home when we re-built that section of the room.

Here are some great ideas from others

Here is a beautiful kitchen island – made from a “found” dresser, with an added tile counter top.

Here is a beautiful bench made by Connie over at Life at Treetop Cottage. She used an iron headboard that they no longer needed, then added the extra pieces to make this beautiful bench!

Here’s an old quilting frame that was turned into a BEAUTIFUL curtain rod from Home Again Vintage Treasures

In this picture, several discarded suitcases were used as a new decoration – and new storage! Also notice the picture frame on the wall that now holds books!

Look at what was done with this discarded suitcase! BEAUTIFUL!

So don’t let the fear of getting started – or – the cost that others might pay keep you from pulling together beautiful rooms & displays in your home!

Our readers are so creative! Please share your ideas & pictures of your “nest” in our Home & Garden Forums!

Pink Roses That You Can Make

October 27, 2011May 10, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

Pink & red roses are in high demand this time of year, and as well they should be! After all, we are honoring the most important women in our lives – our moms!

With Mother’s Day being just around the corner, I thought I would remind you of a very simple way to decorate those pretty packages!

Pink tissue paper roses!

They are so easy – very inexpensive – and so beautiful!

I remember making this kind of rose when I was a child, except they were as big as a dinner plate! I loved them then, but for some reason, I haven’t thought about them again until today.

This morning I was wrapping my mom’s Mother’s Day gift so I could put it in the mail, when I remembered the paper roses I used to make as a child.

I decided to wrap part of the package like you would a piece of candy – with twists at each end. But instead of folding the ends & taping them as I usually do, I decided to make them into pink roses instead.

Here’s how to make the roses when you are wrapping a gift.

Wrap your gift using 2-3 sheets of tissue paper (I kind of roll the gift so there are several layers of paper at each end – this makes a nice full rose). Tightly tie a ribbon around each end. Be sure to leave several inches on each end, so that when you gather it tight, you will have enough paper left to “pull” into a rose. Then, gently pull each layer of the paper apart, and shape into your rose.

Here’s what mine looks like from the top.

You can also make paper roses without wrapping a gift first.

– Decide how big you want your roses to be, then add a few inches extra for gathering
– Cut 2-3 strips of tissue paper that length
– Roll the paper into a loose roll (you can wrap it tight to begin with to make the center of the bud if you wish)
– Gather at one end & secure with a piece of wire, or a twist tie
– Pull the layers of the paper apart to make your desired rose shape

Think about all the beautiful colors & patterns that tissue paper comes in these days! You could add a few different colors (or patterns) together for a great effect! And tissue paper is so inexpensive, that you could make a room full for a few dollars! You say your a shabby chic, country cottage, or Victorian kind of girl? Hey – why not use these little beauties to decorate your space!

Oh – the possibilities!

Great Blogs to Visit

October 27, 2011April 20, 2007 by Pearl Sanborn

We’ve received the Thinking Blogger Award

I want to thank Manuela at The Feathered Nest for choosing me to receive the Thinking Blogger Award! She has a great blog – take a minute to go over for a visit!

Once you’ve received this award, you are supposed to pick a few of your favorite blogs to give the award to. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Homespun Living
Deb shares tidbits of her families daily life on the farm. The posts are filled with ideas about recipes, crafting, gardening, and life in general.

The Decorated House
Donna shares lots of wonderful home decorating ideas. You’ll find lots of inspiration at this great site!

Daisy Cottage
I think you’ll love Kim’s little cottage… I know I do! She has a great eye for color & design. You’ll love reading her posts that cover many of her different interests.

Nostalgia at the Stone House
Read about life in Somorset (in the UK). This site is filled with wonderful pictures & ideas, gardening, and decorating ideas.

Here’s a link to see the rules, as well as how the award got started – Thinking Blogger Award

Lots of Creative (cheap ;) Fall Decorating Ideas!

September 24, 2013October 31, 2006 by Pearl Sanborn

With the colorful autumn season upon us, most of us get an inner urge to fill our homes with beautiful natural items that will warm our hearts during the cold months ahead.

This year, instead of spending large amounts of money on decorator items from department stores, why not use the very materials that are in huge abundance all around us.

I like to suggest that you grab a basket and take a long walk around your gardens and through the woods, and gather lots of things that remind you of fall. We call these items “Fall Findings.”

Here are just a few ideas that you can use to decorate your home for pennies using these free found items!

1. Bring in some of your terracotta flower pots & remove the spent summer flowers. Level out the top of the soil with an old fork. Then, lay some moss across the top of each pot that you gathered from your walk in the woods. Hollow out some apples, gourds, or small pumpkins & fill with small candles! These decorative displays will light up any fall table!

2. Go out & collect some beautiful leaves with the kids & use them for these great decorating ideas.

– Wrap leaves around a glass canning jar & tie with raffia ribbon. Use them for candles, pencils, kitchen utensils, etc.

– Press leaves between pages of heavy book to dry & make framed prints for Christmas gifts.

– Use a solid color shirt & fabric paint to make beautiful new designs! Take several different shaped leaves & paint one side of the leaf with fabric paint (you can use slightly different colors for shading). Gently press the painted side against your shirt, remove leaf & allow to dry.

– Make your own decorator drapes for under $4! Buy cheap fabric or sheets ($2 – $4.50), and use the leaf painting technique described above. Small grapevine wreaths make wonderful natural tiebacks!

– For an elegant look, spray paint leaves with gold or silver metallic paint. There are so many ways you can use these leaves! Here are a few examples:

– Add them to floral arrangements.

– Use as a placement tag for a dinner party (use a metallic pen to add the person’s name for a personal touch).

– Hot glue onto grapevine wreaths.

– Hot glue onto a grapevine swag to drape over cabinets or curtains.

– Line a glass plate with them & add a candle in the center. The glow of the candle will reflect off the silver or gold paint on the leaves.

– Hang them around pictures with picture hanging putty for a temporary display.

– An elegant fall wreath idea – buy a grapevine or twig wreath ($1.50 – $4), decorate with findings from your walk.

– Decoupage leaves onto natural papers to decorate picture frames, journals, or scrapbook covers!

– Give garden containers, walls, cabinets, etc. a slight appearance of falling leaves! Tape a leaf onto the object you’d like to decorate. Spray paint around the leaf. When you remove the leaf, you only have the outline remaining. You can do this in different patterns to create different effects.

– Give your walls an old cottage look! Use a left over tile, or buy some discontinued tiles natural colors work best). They only cost about .50 for a 12 inch tile! Spread some plaster mix (very cheap mix in the craft section) on the back of a leaf & press it onto the tile. Now you have a leaf imprint. Allow to dry, then rub natural paint colors on the leaf print area. These look wonderful framed in a shadow box frame. I’ve seen these types of frames at my local $1 store. This only takes a few minutes & gives a big decorator look for pennies!

Make several & give them as gifts!

3. Use sticks & twigs and gather them into a swag shape. Tie with floral wire and add fall findings or a nice ribbon bow.

* I used this idea for a breakfast nook in our home & I just love the way it turned out! I gathered some vines from the garden, used some wire to hang them up around the ceiling, then added a few white birds here & there – that looked like they were sitting on the branches.

You could choose, as I do, to leave this up all year round. For each season I add different decorative touches. For example, during the Christmas season, I use paperclips to hang up our Christmas cards. Simply punch a hole in the upper corner, insert the paperclip, and hang from the vines. Little white lights also add a great touch!

4. Make a natural twig candle holder. Put a rubber band around the middle of a glass. Insert twigs under the rubber band until the entire glass is covered. Tie raffia ribbon around the rubber band to cover it up.

I hope you & your family have “piles” of fun!