Guest Post: Summer Reds, Whites, and Blues

Thank you to Anna and Mari from Arcadian Lighting for contacting me to do a guest post on my blog! I am honored to host this beautiful article full of gorgeous pictures and great ideas. Check it out...

Hi, all! I'm Mari, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, a fantastic place to discover sparkling pendant lights, chandeliers, and lighting fixtures of all styles and finishes online. I'm so excited to be visiting here at Rebecca's Roundup today with a guest post about reds, whites and blues for summer.

The Fourth of July has come and gone, but its colors lively red, white and blue are here to stay through the summer and beyond. I've brought along eight images that illustrate my take on summer reds, whites and blues. Please enjoy!

What says summer more than a visit to the beach? Here a lovely retro kitchen in red and white opens onto a wide deck and the blue waters of the ocean beyond.

Reds, whites and blues are just right for a cottage porch that's all set up for a bit of relaxation and a refreshing drink. A pale blue quilt and striped textiles are charming additions. Can one ever have too many potted blooms? I love the shiny blue pots!

Not all red, white and blue rooms belong at the beach in a cottage, this stylish living room shows just how chic that color palette can look. Aren't the blue and white patterns gorgeous?

Rooms for children, both boys and girls, are wonderful places in which to go red, white and blue for the summer or all year round. The blue on blue plaid carpet is charming and so is the striped fabric used on the window shades and pillows. A beautiful Moravian star pendant light tops off the room's design.

This lovely feminine bedroom is decorated in faded shades of red, white and blue that give the whole space a soft gauzy feel. This one may have a beachy theme, but it's a distinctly creative and original look.

Don't want to commit to red, white and blue all year long? This traditional kitchen illustrates a quick and easy way to add red and blue to an all white space for a look you can enjoy for a day, a week, a month or more. Slipcovers, textiles and accessories will do the trick nicely.

Here's another beach cottage room that uses stripes to great advantage. Joining twin white lamps is an unexpected green ceramic one. The white-fringed slipcovers are something I want to tryósuch a great look!

We leave you with a summer dream in reds, whites and blues. This beautiful tablescape may be set on a yacht with an ocean backdrop, but it would also work beautifully for a summertime gathering on a city patio or country porch. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

What do you think of these red, white, and blue designs? Let us know your thoughts below, and visit our website for more ceiling fixtures, wall sconces, and other lighting fixtures!

Before and After: Master Bathroom

I have been working on our master bathroom. I was going to wait to post pictures until it was COMPLETELY finished, but who knows when or if that's ever going to happen :) Ideally, I would love to change the light fixtures, frame the mirror or put up a different one, add beadboard, replace the floors, do some stenciling in the little toilet space and replace the door with a pocket door. But for now, I love the way it turned out.

Here are some BEFORE pictures we took before we bought it:

This was when I decided to paint and had to make sure I got a pic of that lovely purple flower wallpaper border before I took it off!

This was the first coat of paint. When it comes to wall colors, I love neutrals. I'm not a huge blue person, but I loved the idea of a blueish gray for the bathroom. I fell in love with Benjamin Moore's Glass Slipper, however that is an old color which I couldn't find a paintchip for. So then I saw a picture of Woodlawn Blue on pinterest and someone had written that it was a good substitute. I did have a paintchip for that one so I decided to go for it. This is how it turned out :

A little too bright blue and not enough gray for me. Not what I was going for and hubs didn't care for it either. So I went back to my paintchip stash and found one that I had originally liked before we even moved in when I was picking colors, one that my dad had picked out for me. I should have listened in the first place to dear old dad :) 

This color is Benjamin Moore's Coventry Gray and we LOVE it. I was nervous because it looked very gray on the chip and in the store and I'm not a huge gray person either. But once it was on the walls, it's  very blueish gray. It looks great with black or espresso, it feels very "metro" and modern to me. You could also go the other way and do very white, silver and beachy.
We did replace the towel bar and hand towel rings with a satin nickel finished, beaded hardware. It looks really great. (You can see the bar still in the package in the pic below :) ) They are Better Homes and Garden brand and were on clearance at Walmart. (Score!) I still have not got the guts up to buy the matching vanity light sconce for $45. I'm just SURE I can get one cheaper on Ebay!?!?

The monogrammed hand towels were from Kohl's on clearance which I bought with one of those awesome $10 Kohl's cash thingies you get in the mail. So they were basically free. I love the espresso wood frame above the towel bar, I think the brown and blue combo looks great. It is an art print of one of me and hub's favorite Renoir paintings which we saw in the Musee de'Orsay a' Paris :) The rug (you can't really see) in front of the vanity is one I got along time ago from Target that has the blue, brown, and black colors that works so well in here. 

So there you have it. And once again for kicks, here is the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

Meet my new bag. {gray chevron love}

Thank you to my sister in law Karen for helping me make this super fantastic bag. I got some new gray boots that I will be rockin' this fall and winter and I thought a gray chevron bag would be the perfect compliment.
I found the fabric from Hobby Lobby for $8.99 a yard, then you can use their 40% off coupon on top of that.
We used the tutorial for the popular Tohuko Tote from the original source here http://www.iammommahearmeroar.net/2011/09/tohoku-tote.html?m=1
There are so many options for switching up this pattern with a little imagination, the possibilities are endless! Karen and I have this thing about the inside of our bag looking cute too. She added the chevron to my pocket inside and I love it. But then again, I love everything about this bag!

Linking to:
http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2012/07/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party_18.html
http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2012/07/18/hookin-up-with-hoh-108/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2012/07/frugal-friday_19.html
http://www.freckledlaundry.com/2012/07/air-your-laundry-friday-textilefabric.html
http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2012/07/fabulously-creative-friday.html
http://www.impartinggrace.com/2012/07/grace-at-home-no-18.html
http://www.serenitynowblog.com/2012/07/weekend-bloggy-reading-link-up_20.html#more

I was featured on Pinterest Challenge!

My Triple Canvas Whale Art

was featured here:

Woot! I am honored :) 

You can check out my original post for the whale art tutorial by clicking here

and the Pinterest Challenge here

My past features:
PB Inspired Monogrammed Towels
Before & After Goodwill Dresser
Professional Interior Design Work - Accountants Office

Pinned & Tried: Home Fragrance Oil applied to inside of toilet roll {BUSTED}

According to this pin, you can make your bathroom smell amazing by putting a few drops of Home Fragrance Oil on the inside of a toilet paper roll. I have a ton of oils so I thought it was worth a try. The smell lasted about 5 minutes. And yes, I know that after a while your nose gets used to a smell and you can't smell it any more. But I put it on a new roll and I didn't smell it again when I was in the bathroom for the remainder of the roll. I probably put about 5 - 10 drops. Maybe it needs more but I wasn't willing to waste all my oil when I wasn't sure it was going to work, plus I didn't want to run the risk of the oil seeping through the cardboard and making the toilet paper funky. SO.... I would say this pin has been BUSTED!
How about you? Tried any pins lately?

Uncle Sam Hat {Wood Blocks Craft} and Happy 4th of July 2012!

Do you remember the Leprechaun Hat I made here?

Well now you finally get to see what I did for the other side!

Here is a picture tutorial for the Uncle Sam Hat. If needed, first check out this post to learn how to prep the wood blocks and use Mod Podge.

Then sit back and admire your super cute decoration and have a Happy Independence Day!

Owl and Cherry Blossom Themed Baby Shower {lots of pictures!}

I had the opportunity to throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Here is a picture journal of all the things I put together. It was a success and I had so much fun doing it!

The Invitations

Handmade cards and envelopes.

The Decorations

Here is the beginning of the diaper wreath. My sweet mother in law also found a ton of little owls, owl ribbon, cherry blossom stems, fabric, and dishes for the shower.

The Party Favors

I made Owl Cupcakes (using snack size oreos and reeses pieces) then placed them in clear plastic cups with cellophane and topped with handmade tags.

The Table Spread

I forgot to get a close up (darn!) of the popcorn bags I made (seen here in the top right hand corner). I made pink white chocolate popcorn and put it in bags that said "Ready to Pop!"

The finished and hung decorations.

The banner. You can see the tutorial for this here. I found the owl templates on Pinterest and I just printed, cut and glued the letters.