Trends for 2012

According to my own online research, this is what I found for the hottest upcoming trends this year!
Spring Fashion: birds, pastels, baroque flourishes, drop waist, deep sea, digital imaging, matte satin, and abstract art.
Home: the color "tangerine tango," building green, warm wood furniture, textured upholstery, decorative wall murals, reclaimed wood, woven & knotted rugs, and second-hand decorating.
Beauty: luxury natural products, keratin treatments for sleek hair, magnetic nail polish for marbelized effect, and customized skin care for lifestyle instead of age or skin-type.
And my own predictions for Handmade/crafts: elaborate cupcakes, and even more handmade scarves, cowls, and jewelry.
Looking forward to 2012 and a Happy New Year to you!
~ Rebecca

After Christmas Sales: how to make your dollar s t r e t c h

My sweet mother in law gave me a $10 Kohl's cash and off I went! "Cash" in hand and $10 budget in mind, I decided I wanted to get stuff for the kids this time. I found a girls shirt for $5.39 at 70% off. Then I let the 2 oldest pick an ornament each for next year's tree. One for $2.39 and one for $1.49 also at 70% off. I then quickly scanned the jewelry section on the way to the checkout and found a set of earrings for $1.20 at 90% off in case I had any Kohl's cash remaining. My total before the earrings came to $9.27, after the earrings I owed a whopping 51 cents!
When my mother in law gave me the Kohl's cash, she said "Sorry it's just $10." I said, are you kidding?! I'm famous for what I can find for $10!
Thanks for playing the Kohl's Cash Game with me today :)

Merry Christmas.
- Rebecca

Dollhouse Reveal!

It's done! Today I finished the "candelier" for the kitchen and everythings all ready! Now it gets covered up and patiently waits for two little girls to fall in love with it Christmas morning.
Besides buying the house (Circo brand from Target) I only spent about $4 on fabric for the kitchen. Everything else was hand me downs or a few pieces of furniture they already had. It's fun because alot of the stuff I used as a little girl. And some of it was used by my mom and passed on to me. Like the white bed my grandfather made for her. The fireplace was made by my father. I made the dining table. Since I had the blue kitchen and the orange (70's!) chairs, I searched until I found the perfect fun fabric incorporating all the kitchen colors together. I believe it's from the Robert Kaufman confections line of fabric. And I made a matching apron to go with it!
I hand stiched the bedspreads and made the bunting all from scrap fabric. The chandelier, clock, and pictures are all from Pottery Barn catalogs (of course, my favorite!) I also made the pink flower wreath, lamp, and recovered the little side table with coordinating scrapbook paper- all from stuff I already had. My friend gave me some carpet samples for the living room. And I used a whole lotta hot glue!
Well, here it is! I love it and can't wait for Christmas morning.

Christmas Present Sneak Peek: {dollhouse}

I have been working on this for awhile. I kept all my Barbie stuff and have been toting around a big bin full of it since I was 14. Then when my first daughter was born I wondered when the perfect time would be for her own dollhouse. We have hidden it in the back of a deep closet since October and I started working on putting it all together- the Interior Decor, that is. Last night after the kids were fast asleep, we finally built the house, and I am so excited! I just have to put the finishing touches on it and then it will be ready in all it's glory. I hope they like it as much as I do!

I Can Make That: West Elm Crafty Christmas

(sorry for the cruddy pics, I snapped them from the actual catalog). I saw these in the latest West Elm catalog and thought they would be so fun and easy to make: a hand- stitched pine branch pillow and hand-cut snowflake ornament from felt. Easy peasy and full of style!
Have you seen anything lately that you think you could make from a name brand?

Our Christmas Decor 2011

Just thought I'd show a few fun pics of our home this holiday for your viewing pleasure. I do all my blogging from an iphone and it only lets me do it 5 pictures at a time... So enjoy these next few "posts" all together and have a great weekend!

Christmas Graham Cracker Candy Houses

This is a fond tradition I did growing up and now continue with my own kids. Since they are still quite young, I constructed the houses for them ahead of time then let them do the rest ( with adult help and supervision of course).
The secret to making this a success is simple: the right icing recipe. It's like cement. It works perfectly. And then all your candy house dreams can come true :)

Royal Frosting for Christmas Houses (works for gingerbread or graham crackers).
Beat together for 1 minute 1-1/2 large egg whites, 1/8 tsp cream of tarter, dash of salt. (I use hand mixer). Then slowly add 2 cups powdered sugar until well blended. Beat on high speed until very stiff and satiny about 3-5 minutes. Keep bowl covered with wet cloth while using to keep from drying out.
Makes enough for about 3 basic small cracker houses or 1 big gingerbread house. Can easily double recipe with 3 egg whites.

Thrifted TV Stand: Before & After

Do you remember my Goodwill Dresser? I had originally bought it for little boy's room but we've been using it for a TV stand. It was working great until little boy discovered how to open the drawers and pull all the dvds out. And the dresser is a little low, and on a few occasions he practically pulled the TV clear off!
We were going to make a new stand with some Ana White plans with the cost of lumber @ least $40, which is pretty good considering the cheapest "wood" stand at Walmart is about $150. But then I spotted this in a thrift store for $20. It needed some TLC but for that price? 20 bucks, bring it home, clean it up and we're done? Yes, please.
Notice the awesome brass hardware (what was left of it) and the major chips in the very bottom right corner. It was like that all the way around. I ordered new hardware off ebay for cheap. My options were very limited because the existing hole spacing was an odd size (2-1/2") and standard is 3". I decided to go with the black because I didnt want to spend any more $ and we already had black spray paint for the hinges. So I replaced the hardware, removed, sprayed and replaced the hinges, then I mixed some red and brown paint I had to match the finish and hide the chips, then wiped her down really good..... and Voila! New TV stand for us! What do you think?

Two Minute Brownie {warning: addicting chocolate fix!}

This recipe is my new favorite quick fix and it's so fast and easy. It's done in the microwave using basic ingredients. You can use a mug, bowl, whatever.

Two Minute Mug Brownie
In microwave safe container, stir together 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, and a pinch salt with a fork until no lumps remain. Stir in 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp milk or water until you have a thick paste. Microwave on high for a minute, checking it after 30 seconds. It will be done when springy on top but a bit gooey in middle.
( picture of triple recipe ).
Enjoy warm!

Unicorn and Rainbows Party {part 2}

Unicorn and Rainbows Party {part 1}