Colorful Urban Girl

For Christmas one of my client's gave their daughter a gift certificate to spend 2 hours with me to brainstorm about ideas for her bedroom. What a fun idea for this cute 13 year old girl.

This room was our inspiration and we are going to try and replicate it. She also had the above poster in her room which she loves so we are going to frame it and incorporate it into the space. She would like to add an urban feel to this room so we are going to paint the ceiling grey and replace the bed in this picture with a couch/bed. She has some fun t-shirts with some of her favorite slogans so we are going to make them into pillows.

We had a lot of fun together and I sent them both she and her mom off to Ikea to start their shopping for the things I suggested. It will be a process from here but oh what a fun one this will be!

I found these cute boxes and I'm going to put them on a metallic shelf in her room so she can store all her jewelry, hair accessories, cd's, etc.

We also thought it would be fun to add her name in block lettering to her drapes.

Decorating kids rooms is so much fun because you can let your creativity go wild. You can also find some awesome things at garage sales and thrift stores. Adding a coat of paint to items can make it so whimsical and fun, fun, fun.

Volunteering at Grace

Today the girls and I served at Grace here in Grapevine. When I told the girls this morning what we were going to be doing, they were very hesitant. I often visit the Graceful Buys Store and they know all about that because we have found some great treasures there.
I told them that we were going to get to see behind the scenes as to how all those items get into that store. I explained to them the concept of a charity and how the $$$ from the store goes to about 1,500 families in Grapevine who really need it. We arrived at Grace's donation center and they showed us around. It was fascinating to see how many people it takes to run this charity. There were at least 40 volunteers there doing everything from accepting goods, sorting clothes, pricing, bagging toys, sorting linens, mending clothes, sorting books & videos and the list goes on and on. I had heard that they needed floral arrangements made and I thought the girls and I could have fun doing this. We actually did! We made about 20 arrangements all "using what they had". They had about 10 bins of greenery and floral stems. Now this could be overwhelming to some but because I LOVE to make something out of nothing we had a blast. The best part was we got to price everything and they got to add up how much each arrangement would sell for. They began to understand how it all worked and how their effort was going to contribute to a needy family. We had a great day serving together doing what we do best! Knowing someone else will enjoy them made us leave happy! The girls got in the car and said "can we do that every Saturday, that was fun?"

The pictures aren't the best because I had to use my cell phone. At least you get the idea.

They were so proud of their work.

Antlers

There are so many things you can do with antlers. These I found a while back and decided to put them in this floral arrangement. The arrangement is a little formal in it's design and adding the antlers adds an eclectic twist. The urn its in also makes it feel more casual because of it's "gardeny" feel. This room has a cow hide rug on the floor so the antlers are one more thing that pulls the room together. I realize that antlers aren't for everyone but thought you would enjoy some fun "eclectic ideas". These are a few I found. In the right home and place, these would be stunning focal points.

When you are "thrift " shopping try to find natural treasures. Adding a little rustic element to any style really changes it up and makes it noticed instead of typical.

Get inspired, happy treasure hunting! Think outside the box!

Kids "thrifty" Valentine Idea

I was at a thrift store yesterday doing my weekly walk-thru to find treasures and found these wallpaper borders. My girls asked me if they could make their own valentines this year. I LOVE that they are creative and always get inspired with them when it comes to projects. I thought they could cut out the hearts from these borders and just wet and stick on their card. Easy and fun. The most enjoyable part for them was cutting out all the hearts. Best part of this project for me was that their valentines cost me $1.00...Now that's what I'm talking about....

Africa Trip Recap

As some of you know, I went to Africa this past summer to attend my Grandfather's funeral. I have 6 cousins that live there and most of my aunts and uncle's are there too. The trip was amazing because I got to catch up with the cousins I grew up with. I didn't ever get to blog about this trip because we moved this summer as well and life got a hold of me.

I was priviledged to have my cousins take me around to so many amazing places. One of my favorites was this dairy farm. We had an incredible lunch outside on the patio. It seems that every restaurant in Africa is focused on outdoor eating which is perfect because the weather is so beautiful. We ended up in their bakery and I purchased an amazing bundt butter cake that we had after our curry dinner that night.

Another favorite time for me was tea at my aunts house. Of course tea is served all day long. This tea was our late afternoon tea and we had every kind of yummy cake & scone you could think of (better scones than Starbucks and they are my favorite). The beauty of it all was the way it was all set up outside again and we had a lace table cloth (my grandma's) and beautiful tea cups. Of course we had milk in our tea, yum.

After tea we decided to go for a walk because when we drove into the neighborhood I was going nuts over the houses. They were all so unique and different and I had to check them ALL out. My cousins were laughing at me but I was determined. Here are a few pictures of the homes on our walk. You won't believe they are in "Africa".

I LOVE the thatch roofs. Maybe it's because I grew up living in one. When we lived in S. Africa we had a beautiful thatch house and I have fond memories of it. I love all the angles on these homes.

This house looks like it had a garage addition added. You can see the new thatch. It turns dark with time.

Yes, this is a house...not a hotel.

Just about every house as a pool and of course one of these cute little thatch huts. I got so inspired that one will be going up at my house sometime. They have so much character and I can't wait to sit underneath it with my cup of tea (well maybe my ice tea here in TX).

It was an awesome trip! My cousins took me shopping and I bought a beautiful African tablecloth and some great jewelry for friends and family. Of course I shopped for clients as well. I even got to see all three houses that I lived in as a kid. So much fun to go back in time. There is something about seeing the home you lived in while growing up, such a connection there.

We also drove all around town so I could find a tea pot that doesn't drip. Yes, I am still drinking tea a lot and it is in a china tea cup.

Thanks for letting me share.