i'll be home for christmas

My favorite holiday of the year. I've been listening to Christmas music since the day after Halloween. I love everything about Christmas.

it's in the cards ~ shutterfly.com

It's in the cards...Christmas cards, that is! My favorite time of year, not only because of the true meaning of Christmas, but because of the family time together, the gift giving, and the anticipation of receiving Christmas cards. It is always a challenge for me to go out and find the perfect Christmas cards to send out, but this year I have found the perfect idea...and it's at Shutterfly.com.

One of my fond memories from my childhood was seeing my picture on my parents Christmas card...usually my brother and I sitting on Santa's lap...or something reminiscent of the holidays. I still have some of those cards, and I put them out every year. So, I wanted to do a photo Christmas card this year.

So many different cool, modern designs to choose from. That will be the challenge this year. What size, what colors, what font, which picture? You can't go wrong at Shutterfly.com. Here are some of my favorites...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

It's going to be fun designing this card. And who knows, it might become an annual holiday tradition! Shutteryfly.com also offers many other cool things besides holiday cards. They have calendars, photo wall art, birthday cards, and thank you cards.

If you are a blogger, our cool friends at Shutterfly are offering a great deal, 50 cards for free! Check it out here-
http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Happy Holidays everyone...and get busy designing on Shutterfly.com!!

fall

My favorite time of year.

lola & uma

Last year for Christmas, my Mom had her best friend Carole Canino paint a watercolor of Lola & Uma for me. It is a very, very special gift. Carole captured every bit of their personalities!

welcome home

My front door is really cool, but it has been hidden by the ugly black storm door for many, many years. So I gave it a facelift, removed the storm door and painted the door orange! Also added some modern numbers. The neighbors are loving me...seriously! One even knocked on the door to tell me how much they love the way I have changed the house...how nice is that?

end of summer

Hot...the perfect description of Summer 2010. I'm welcoming Fall with open arms. My little house has come so far in just 9 months! I absolutely love it.

orange you glad

Believe it or not, I have had this material for about 10 years. It has served its purpose in various forms....christmas tree skirt, table runner, etc. I decided I wanted to use orange as an accent color on the front porch. Mom and I looked everywhere for some cool fabric to make some pillows, but just didn't have much luck. I remembered that this super cool fabric was packed away in the attic. Orange you glad I found it?!?!

kitchen curtains

I put Mom back to work at the sewing machine. I ordered a really cool track from West Elm (www.westelm.com), which makes the curtains very easy to open and close. Pretty cool!

more pillows

I think the pillows for the window seat speak for themselves. We got really creative with these. Mom outdid herself, once again!

living room curtains

I loved the material on my window seat so much, I thought it would be the perfect finishing touch to use the same material for panels in the living room. It was tough getting more of that material, but Ginger at Cynthia East Fabrics made it happen! Mom sewed them in a jiffy, and I think they look amazing!

pillows

While I was gone on my trip to Chicago, Mom went to Cynthia East Fabrics, bought the material we had picked out, made my pillows and they were sitting on my couch when I got home. Is she amazing or what? Thanks Mom....great job!

cabinet hardware

When Bill was here painting, I had him paint the kitchen cabinets white. The cabinets were fairly new when I moved in, but I didn't like the finish...they looked dingy. It's amazing what some white paint and satin nickel hardware will do!

spring

Ahhh....Spring is here, bringing many surprises in the yard! This tree is in my backyard, and it was a pleasant surprise to see it bloom. It was absolutely beautiful at its peak. Many other things are springing up in the yard...when I moved here in December, everything was dead and it was hard to tell what was what.

curtains

Mom finished the curtains for my bedroom, and all I can say is WOW! She did an amazing job. Thank you Mom...the perfect finishing touch, made with love!

dining room

This has been another fun transformation. The chair rail had a metallic gold stencil below it (I believe it was done free hand). I'm not sure if the light was original to the home, but it was definitely old.

There were lots of different colors and textures going on this room.

The ceiling had some serious cracks, horizontal and vertical...so the whole room received a makeover. I had the walls and ceiling sheet rocked, which created a huge dusty mess, but now everything looks so new.


I changed out the light, and my friend Thom arranged and hung all of my black and white pictures. I love the way everything turned out.

living room

Ahhh, the living room. I finally have a living room where I can get cozy on the couch with the dogs, and just relax. It's been a while since I've had that.

The plaster walls and ceiling had some extensive cracks in them, and I was advised to sheetrock both. I wish it could have been done before I moved in, because it was an absolute mess! I still find things covered in sheetrock dust.

It's still not finished, but close. I am in love with the way it turned out. Mom will be making some panels for the windows, and I will post pictures as soon as they are complete.

window seat

The dining room has an amazing window seat with lots of shelves on both ends. Before, it was done in some sort of faux finish that to me, makes it look dingy. The cushion fabric was jewel tones, which if you know me, is very opposite of my taste.

Mom and I found some amazing fabric at Cynthia East, and there was barely enough left on the bolt to make what I wanted. It was a sign that this was the PERFECT fabric! An amazing transformation.

bedroom

So, my bedroom had two-tone walls. All walls were painted beige, except for the one accent wall which was done with a camel faux finish. Nice.

As you can see, the floor has not been refinished or stained (looks like they started to do something with it and never finished) and will eventually need some help. But, I kinda like the raw look of it, and the bed will cover it up. The ceiling fan had to go bye bye!

With the help of the most creative mother in the world, this is what the room has been transformed into. She made my bed pillows and dust ruffle...and is currently working on curtains which I will post once they are up. It's going to look amazing!