Trick-or-Treat Halloween Mantel

Happy Halloween! My kids are so excited to dress up today as a pink fairy and Iron Man for their school costume parade and then head out trick-or-treating this evening. I hope I can keep up with them! I'm 38 weeks along now, just waiting on Baby Girl to make her appearance. 

A few weeks ago, I finally got the "Halloween decorating bug" and did up our dining room mantel. Hazel and Owen had fun helping me and making their own decorations too.

Mainly, I used items we already had, decorations from previous years, and some crafts we worked on together. The only new purchases were all of the pumpkins and gourds.

Here is what we put together…

Although I MUST WARN YOU!! Before we venture ahead…

Eclectic Fall Decor Ideas

Fall is finally here! After the hottest summer I can remember, I am thrilled that cooler weather has arrived in my neck of the woods. The leaves are changing, we've actually had rain after one of the driest seasons, and the humidity is finally gone. I love this time of year!
Decorating for this season is one of my favorite things to do, and I love being inspired by the cozy fall homes of others. I've gathered together some of my personal favorites from my own blog and from fellow bloggers, each with their own unique style and take on autumn decor.

Dollhouse “Princess” Girl’s Room Reveal

Today is the final installment of Dollhouse Therapy! I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this miniatures challenge with my co-hosts Cassie, Emy and Anu for the past few months and hope you have too! Today, I am sharing all of the extravagant details of our "princess" themed girl's room, done to my soon-to-be-five-year-old Hazel's specificiations. Her birthday is on Thursday, so I thought this was the perfect week to get this room finished for my own little princess.

Also today, Miniatures.com is sponsoring a giveaway for one lucky reader! You can enter on any of the co-hosts blogs for a chance to win $100 to Miniatures.com!

Dollhouse Girl’s Room Plans

If you are still following along with the Dollhouse Therapy challenge we started back in March, I have some new room plans to share today! Your co-hosts: Cassie, Anu, Emy and I are all working on ideas for our next room reveals which will happen on the last Tuesday of this month, when we will also be giving away $100 to Miniatures.com for those who have been joining us in the challenge!

Today, I am sharing my basic plans for the girl's room. Hazel has the "girl's room" and Owen has the "boy's room." It was tough deciding which room to do first, but I chose to focus on the girl's room first because Hazel's birthday is on June 30th…right after I get it done. I thought it would be a fun birthday surprise!

Dollhouse Living Room Reveal

It's another reveal day of #DollhouseTherapy! This awesome dollhouse renovation challenge was started a few months ago by my friend Cassie of Primitive and Proper. She, the other co-hosts (Emyand Anu) and myself are revealing our chosen rooms with you today and invite you to share your own mini reno projects with our link party at the end of this post!

So here we go…let the miniature fun begin!

I finally…finally...got the dollhouse living room done. If you have been following my progress with this fixer upper, you might know that I intended to finish this room first way back in March, but it didn't happen. I am pretty much over the moon happy with how it came out, though, so I think it's all good that it took me a little bit longer. I love it so much I wish I could shrink myself down and move right it! Let's pretend that's what we are doing right now.

Find yourself a little bottle that says "DRINK ME" and we will head on in…

Dollhouse Living Room Plans

Hope you aren't sick of hearing about our dollhouse yet! It's basically the only thing I have motivation for these days. Forget the real house…this little one is wayyy more fun! And this is month two of our #DollhouseTherapy challenge. It has been so exciting to see everyone who has joined in with us for these mini makeovers! Today, my co-hosts Cassie, Emy, Anu and I are all sharing our plans for this month.

I had hoped to get the living room done in March, but it didn't happen. I shared some of the original plans in this post, but today, I am sharing more details on how I hope to finally get this room done by the end of this month.

Dollhouse Kitchen Reveal

I have partnered with Miniatures.com for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own. This post also contains some affiliate links. Full disclosure.

I'm so excited to share our dollhouse kitchen reveal today! It's the first fully finished room in the house and both the kids and I love it. I hope you enjoy the "tour" today and if you are participating along with us for Dollhouse Therapy, be sure to link up your own posts with our link party below. I can't wait to see everyone else's miniature transformations!

Be sure to visit my co-hosts as well to see all of their room reveals today. Check them out at Primitive & Proper, Nalle's House and Semigloss Design. Now on to the kitchen reveal!

DIY Monster’s Inc. Birthday Party

This post contains some affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for any sales made through them. Full disclosure.

One of the things I am notoriously bad at here on this little blog of mine, is posting my children's birthday parties relatively soon after the event. My son Owen turned three last September…and we had a fun Monster's Inc. party for him. He is obsessed with Monster's Inc. and Monster's University! I wish I had shared this sooner, but alas…better late than never, right?

I must admit, I completely missed sharing his second birthday party here, which was a super cool car party. {Insert embarrassed emoji face here} Maybe one day I still will. Till then…here is how we did it up for him turning the big three!

DIY Miniature Faux Fur Vanity Stool

Okay, so I will freely admit it…I am hooked on miniatures right now. The Dollhouse Therapy Challenge has gotten me so motivated, not only to get our dollhouse renovated, but to make lots of lovely little creations for it. Today, I am sharing a super easy DIY vanity stool that could work for a dollhouse (or Barbie if you prefer like my Hazel does).

If you are a die hard miniaturist this is obviously not to 1:12 scale, but for our purposes, it works. The little dresser we have is actually smaller scale and the stool is probably a bit larger. Our dollhouse, that I shared a "before" of here, was a handmade yard sale find and wasn't made to scale anyways, so we aren't bothered a little mixing and matching. Goes with the whole "eclectic vibe" we are going for anyways.

Miniature Fixer Upper {a dollhouse makeover ‘before’}

We are used to having a fixer upper to work on ever since buying our first home back in 2010, but when my husband brought home a handmade dollhouse that he found at a yard sale a couple of years ago, I was instantly smitten and knew we needed to show this home as much love as we have our own. Today, I am showing you the "before" pics and sharing the progress we have made thus far on our "other fixer upper."

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been enamored with dollhouses and miniatures. I would literally save up my money to go to a craft store called "Pleasures & Pastimes" that had a large aisle for dollhouse aficionados. The store eventually closed, but my love affair with dollhouses and their accessories never has.

7 Sweet Valentine’s Day Ideas

I'm excited to join seven other bloggers today to give you some inspiration for Valentine's Day! It's just around the corner and will be here before we know it. (Which reminds me that I better get the cutesy decor out asap, OR my pink, heart loving, girly girl Hazel will be pretty disappointed. She reminded me about it just the other day!)

 

DIY Advent Calendar & Festive Holiday Mantel

I have been sponsored by Command Brand and received product for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own, and all additional products selected were chosen by me. This post also contains affiliate links*. Read my full disclosure. 

Decorating for Christmas has always been a favorite pastime of mine. Some years, however, I let the pressure to have a "perfect holiday home" get to me, and lose the joy the season brings trying to get it all done. This year, instead of trying to tackle decorating our entire home and going over the top everywhere, I decided to focus on what would bring my children joy and fill their little hearts with wonder. What better way than a homemade advent calendar?

Today, I hope you are inspired by how I made it with some simple materials and I'm also excited to give you a glimpse of our festive mantel.

Swap It Like It’s Hot #4 {easy thrift store upcycles}

Do you ever feel like creativity is seriously lacking in your brain? Mine has been dormant for like…awhile. Not sure what happened these past few months. The role of mom is turning it into Swiss cheese or something. But when Charlotte of Ciburbanity invited me to join in for #SwapItLikeItsHot round four I said yes anyway! I love these challenges where bloggers send each other inexpensive thrift store finds to get made over.

Unfortunately, even getting some awesome thrifted goods from Bee of Windgate Lane did not kick my brain into gear. I have mulled over it ever since the items arrives, wondering what to do with the cool finds sent to me and the only thing I REALLY wanted to do with them, was leave them as is. But I know…I know…that would not make for good thrift store upcycling inspiration would it?

Vintage Bohemian Fall Decor Ideas

Fall is my favorite time of year, and it's just around the corner. I am already getting excited to prep my home for the season and share my fall home tour with you next month! Until then, I thought I would share some simple ways to add vintage bohemian flavor to your fall decor from seasons past. I hope you enjoy these!

Click on the links at the end of each description, to check out the full posts with even more photos and inspiration!

Vintage Bohemian Wall Hanging

What happens when you take a thrift store doily, hang it from a branch, and add some feathers? You get a vintage inspired wall hanging with bohemian style! I've had this crocheted doily hanging in my upstairs gallery wall for several months but decided to give it a little tweak. It already had some boho flare with the fringe at the bottom, but I wanted to enhance it even more and finally did…

This was nothing too fancy, mind you, and 99% of the work was already done for me, which made putting it together super easy. I am always amazed by the skill and talent of people who can crochet like this. Such tiny, intricate detailing! Definitely not in my skill set. But embellishing? Now, that I can do.

How to Create a Rustic Bohemian Living Room {Source List & Inspiration}

Last April, I shared our living room redo with a new leather sofa. Overall the room has a rustic, vintage style with bohemian touches. Since I get a lot of questions about sources, I put together a list with several elements of the room, along with close alternatives for items that were vintage finds or not available online. I hope you enjoy this curated collection inspired by my own living room!

Note: Items are not shown to scale.

I am an avid thrift store, flea market and garage sale shopper, so many of the items that I decorate with are one of a kind or impossible to find online. This source list offers both items that I actually own, as well as close alternatives that have similar appeal.

DIY Felt Deer Antler Headband

When my daughter Hazel turned two, she was so fascinated with deer that we threw her a whimsical, woodland themed deer party for her birthday. I made her a sweet little felt antler headband to wear that day and always intended to share how I did it here. As life goes, it didn't happen, but I am finally sharing it now. Two years later…

I receive emails from time to time from other moms who want to make a similar antler headband but don't know how. If you are one of them reading this…my apologies for the delay in this post (bad blogger!). I have tried my best to explain how I made it in reply emails, but pictures always help, don't they? It is really a very simple diy project that only requires minimal materials. I am including a free antler shape template at the end of this post to make it even easier!

Coastal Inspired Altered Bottles {Making Memories from the Sea}

With summer in full swing, many people are heading to beaches and lakes to get away, so today I am sharing a project to keep some of the memories alive from those trips, while adding a coastal touch to your decor. It only requires an old bottle, some embellishments and letting your creativity flow. You could embellish these bottles with nature collected along the shore, pieces saved from trips passed or items that remind you of a previous vacation.

I made these "Ocean Relic" altered bottles, as I affectionately named them, for my online shop back in 2009. I shared a glimpse of them last week in a vignette I decorated back then, before they were shipped off to their new owners.

Altering vintage bottles into works of art was a pastime I thoroughly enjoyed for a long time. Back when altered art was all the rage…I couldn't get enough. I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning creating. I sold a lot of my art pieces first on eBay and then Etsy and my own website. Mixed media and collage art are still huge passions, but I don't get a chance to do it as often now. Since these are still some of my favorite creations, I wanted to share how I went about making them and inspire you to create your own.

Hazel’s Frozen 4th Birthday Party

I seriously never thought I would do character parties for my kids, but as they have gotten older and have their own interests, it would be pretty hard not to, right? So the challenge for me then? Still make it as creative and unique as possible, while keeping with the theme they love. For Hazel's fourth this year, she knew for months what kind of party she wanted. A Frozen party. And not just any Frozen party: an Elsa party.

I guess I just had to let it go about my hopes and dreams that she would choose a unicorn party (her second choice), and go with the flow of the Elsa Frozen party. 

Moments in Real Life No. 2 {a photography challenge}

Last week, I began a new series called "Moments in Real Life." This series is all about using your camera to find beauty in the every day all around you. Not staging the scene, but looking deeply at the one in front of you, to see if you could find a moment worth remembering. Something beautiful in it. Something real. Since my life is pretty deep down in the real these days, I thought I would pop in here and share round two already and challenge you to join me…

I encourage you to start your own journey if you are a person like me, who struggles with comparison from time to time. We are bombarded with the picture perfect all the time. Why not take the time to find the perfect in the picture? The real perfect. The perfect love. The love of your family, your life, the glorious every day details all around you. The stuff that makes you you. And your family special. That is my hope to accomplish as I embark down this road. And at the end of this post, I have a fun challenge that allows you to join in and share with me.