Here's What I'm Thinking... Monogram Love!

Here's what's got me thinking...

I love monograms. And after moving to the south, I've found my people. Southern folks also love monograms. They monogram just about anything you can , and I love, love, love it. I'm way past monogrammed shirts, hats, bags, that's too normal. After starting Motor City Embroidery Works in 1996, I've monogrammed my share of apparel. What's got me thinking is how cool it is to use monogrammed pieces to personalize your home. Not an original idea, I know, but so many people are missing that little touch of you in your home.Well, I looked around my home and found a lot more than the ever popular Initial that you see gracing bookcases and gallery walls ( including my own) in magazines and on Pinterest. You can read about my unique B here.  I am really thinking about and loving the images I have seen of monogrammed chairs and more. Here are a couple of my favorite monogrammed chairs..

                                                           I love these dining chairs.

via

via 

This was my office chair.

I also am loving these: 

What a cool shower curtain! 

                                                                              via

                                                              This bed is awesome.

and I really think I'll be putting something like this bench  in my Etsy store soon

 This color combo may not work for everyone, but the style is great.

                                                                            via

                               What a great combination: an upholstered headboard and monograms.

                                                                   via

                                       A wonderful addition to your gallery wall. Another great piece from Etsy.

                 

                                     What a great place to put a monogram, totally unexpected!

Well these are just a few of the examples of ways you can use monograms to personalize your home. There are many more and hey, I might just do a part 2 and share those with you too!! Cause, I'm thinking I just can't get enough of monograms!

Budget Friendly Bathroom Encore Part 2

Hi all,

In my last post I shared the beginning of the budget friendly bathroom encore. After finding a way to get custom washcloths for a great price I was in the home stretch. The wrought iron pieces that were on the wall had no place in this brighter bathroom. I really wanted something very similar to the flowers in the shower curtain.

What's a girl to do?

Well, if she could draw or paint she would create 2 canvas art pieces with these flowers on them. And, if she can't draw a straight line with a ruler, she fakes it!!

Remember the paint by number kits that  everyone got for Christmas? Well, here's my version, paint by letters.  Using a 12 x16   Artist Loft  canvas pack from Michaels, and a pencil, I got busy.

             I sketched the flowers and indicated with a d = dark, m = medium and l = light for the shade that was to be painted in each section. I was so eager to get started I forgot to take a pic before I started painting.

You can see that the details aren't that exact, so I crossed my fingers and kept painting. To create the 3 shades I used the acrylic paint straight out of the bottle for the dark, added a little white for the medium and even more white for the light shade.

                          To add the final details I used a brown marker to outline the petals.

                                                 Smaller flowers and leaves were added.

                       Here are the two finished pieces. What do you think? I'm still deciding if I want to frame them or not.

I "shopped " my house and found two candle stick holders and scored a couple of candles super cheap at Ross ( $2.99 each) and finished with a turquoise mercury glass piece and flowers from my dining room.

                            I finally found somewhere to use 3 turquoise finials I've had for a few years.

Ross was really my saving grace when it came to finishing touches for this bath room. I found the 2 bathmats for under $14.00 

.                           This bathroom went from drab...

                                                                     Dated and grab...

to...

  All is all, I'm pleased with the encore. Do you think you'd try a paint by letters or numbers piece for your home?

Budget Friendly Bathroom Encore Part 1

Hi all,

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen a little teaser about the bathroom encore that was in the works at my house. If not, ("or really now Tina you expect me to remember"!!), here it is:

My daughter has been asking me to change the color of her bathroom for sometime now. Since the bathroom that she lays claim to is also the one used by guests, I spent some time really thinking about the colors. After 4 years and two different houses later, with the same blue and brown color scheme, I really wanted to brighten the room .If I owned this house, that room would be getting a major budget driven gut, but since it's not mine to do as I please... I have to change what I can.

 

                                                    This color combo has a dated look to me

                                                            

                               The wrought iron pieces have relocated to an apartment in Nashville!

Having selected a deep coral and turquoise ( yep, more turquiose, it's my favorite) I went in search or towels and a new shower curtain.  I spotted towels on sale at JCPenney. The towels were the perfect color (Intense Coral) and a great price, on sale for  $7.99.  Armed with a coupon for an additional 15% off,  I was feeling really good. The shower curtain was also on sale. Arms full of towels, shower curtain and bath mat I reached for the washcloths. WHATTTT! The 13x13 wash cloths were on sale for $5.99!! Let's look at this closely, a  30x56"  towel for $7.99 and a 13x13" washcloth for $5.99, anybody else see what's wrong here? 8 washcloths would cost me $40.00!! No way,

So here's what I did, I bought one extra towel, cut 8- 13x 13 washcloths. I planned to turn them under twice when hemming them, but decided to do something a little different. I bought a turquoise and white cotton print and cut 2" wide bias strips

 

 This fabric became double folded bias tape. 

 

 

 I double folded the bais strips and finished oiff the edged of the washcloths.  The fabric for the bias strips cost me $1.63

To personalize it a bit more I embroidered a combined monogram for Cassie and myself on a towel hanging up in the bathroom. You know the just for decoration one!!

                                           A combination of both our first names and last = CBM.

Remember, I was trying to brighten up this room. with a budget friendly encore. I got 8 washcloths for less than $10 in materials. The time is hard to calculate because I basted the bias strips while watching the Friday night lineup of Bride shows ( Say Yes To the Dress, etc) with my daughter. I stitched them on the machine when I sat down to make some pillow covers. I can say it didn't take more than 30 minutes at the machine to finish them.  In my book that's a great deal. What do you think?

Part 2 of this post, including  custom art work later this week.

The Liebster Award and the Next 11 Questions

If you are not familiar with the Liebster award, it’s an award that bloggers give each other as a way of discovering new blogs and learning about the people who actually write the blog. As a nominee I am asked to answer questions (from my nominator) and then create my own questions for the bloggers I nominate.   Hmmm, this should be verrry interesting. My good friend Shelly over at ConfettiStyle nominated me and I feel truly honored that she did. Here are the questions Shelly  asked me and a few other great bloggers to answer.

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 QUESTIONS FOR THE NOMINEES ARE:

1.    If you had to use three words to describe your style what would they be?

If I had to describe my style it would probably take more than 3 words, but the first three that come to mind are, colorful, eclectic, and glam. I like, colorful walls, not just “pops of color” in a room, I like so many different styles of furnishings that I think the word eclectic was coined just for me. The glam comes from a deep love of all things shiny. I love crystals, metallics’ (especially silver) mirrors and just anything that has a shiny finish.

2.    What’s the favorite decorative accessory you own?

My favorite decorative accessory is actually a set of accessories. It’s two custom made mirrors that I created a few years ago. They are two of my favorite colors, turquoise and silver. 

3.    What’s your biggest pet peeve?

I guess my biggest pet peeve is people texting and playing games on their phones when seated at a restaurant table together. I always am amazed at how far we have moved away from face to face conversation. It's sad.

4.     If you had the chance to be on a game show which show would you like to be on and why?

                If  I could be on a game show I think I would want to be on Family Feud. I think with  a
              team  made up of my kids and siblings we could win it all!!

5.     Name two things on your bucket list.

 The longer I live the longer my bucket list gets. And I actually get to mark things off my list every year. So far this year, I marked off zip lining and being in a flash mob. But two things that are still on it is:

 1. Shopping at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA

2.  Going to the Kentucky Derby. Yes, I want to sip a Mint Julep while wearing a fantastic hat designed by Mr. Song in Southfield Mich. I guess that’s 3 things isn’t it!! Oops

6.    What’s the best gift you’ve ever given and the best gift you’ve ever received?

I think the best gift I’ve ever given was a pink Kitchen Aide Artesian Mixer to my daughter Cassie as her high school graduation gift. I guess I focus more on the" it’s better to give than receive",  because I am having a hard time thinking of the best gift I ever received. If I had to pick one I guess it would be the brand new car that I got as a College Graduation/Wedding gift!! It was the first time I got to go to a car dealership and pick out all the options I wanted on a car.

7.    Stranded on an island, what magazine would you want to have with you?

That’s easy, HGTV Magazine. I could probably build a great little hut and furniture to go in it with the amazing ideas I see it. LOL

8.    You are throwing the dinner party of your life.  What famous people would you invite and why?

I would so invite President Barak Obama, his wife and her mother. I believe her mother has a totally different perspective on things than the President and First Lady, and I’d like to hear their views on the same topics. Like so many others, I would also like to get a glimpse at how Oprah and Tyler Perry view life based on where they began and where they are now.

9.    If you could hire one famous designer to build your dream home, who would it be and why?

I think I’d hire Tiffany Brooks, winner of HGTV Design Star. I like her style and use of color. See question #1!!

10.  What would you do if you won the lottery?

Assuming if you ask this question we’re talking about millions of dollars won, I know exactly what I’d do. Like most winners I’d eliminate every bill I have and take care of my family and the church I grew up in back in Detroit. My next move would be to create a program that serviced mentally disabled young adults who were trying to transition into the “real” (as in adult) world as successful independent adults. There are too few programs that address this group of individuals. I can also think of a couple of charities I'd support. Of course there would be some major travel involved.

11.  What one power tool or crafting tool could you not live without?

Who ever invented the glue gun was a genius. What can you not fix or make with a glue gun? Really, if you think of something that melts, you could probably use a low temp glue gun on it!!

Well now I hope you feel like you know me a little better or have confirmed that you knew me as well as you thought you did. At first glance these questions didn’t seem too thought provoking, but they actually were.

       

The next part of this process is to nominate other bloggers for the Liebster Award. The first couple that came to mind had already been nominated by Shelly ( great minds think alike, right). 

A great blog that I just recently started following is: USS Crafty.com written by T'onna Peters  aka Navy Wifely Peters states she’s a Navy Wife and she has mad crafting skills.

Another favorite blog of mine is Pneumatic Addict , well written by Elisha. I have learned a lot from her posts, check out her sections on tools.

Another favorite blog that really has nothing to do with home décor and DIY but has everything to do with creating wonderful fashion is Mimigstyle.  I have even purchased some of her clothing patterns and love the results. 

Now for my 11 questions that I hope these ladies will answer::

      1.      What has been your biggest source of inspiration (pre- Pinterest)? 
      2.      What is you favorite “non creating” thing to do?

3.      If you could visit 3 places outside of the US, where would you go and why?

4.      If you didn’t blog, how would you share your creativity with others?

5.      What one step or process was most beneficial to your blogging experience?

6.      If you could learn to do one new thing what would it be and why?

7.      If you had to choose between entree or desert which would win and what would it be?

8.      If you are into thrift shops, what’s your go to store and if you're not,  why not?

9.      Who would you take on an all  expenses paid shopping trip (including shopping money) to New Your City, and why?

10.  What’s one piece of furniture in your home, could you not give up and why?

11.  What color should be in every house or closet, no matter your style?

This has been a fun blog post.  I hope you’ll take a moment to stop by the blogs that I’ve nominated,  for the Liebster  Award to check them out and say hi.