St. Valentine's Day Mantel

This year I decided to create a St. Valentine's Day mantelscape...BUT...I didn't want to spend any money or have it look too contrived. So I went around the house collecting anything I could find in red, white and silver. 

Then last night while I was over partying at the blog Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, one of Jann's features was this beautiful Valentine mantel from a blog called Thought's from Alice.  Well this creative gal Alice went ahead and incorporated stacks of books into her mantelscape and I thought it was a fabulous idea as a way to add loads of texture to mine. Plus we have tons of books because Mr. RL is a real to life bookworm!!!

So I stacked them at varying heights. I also turned a few vertical for more interest.

I did want to incorporate my freshly made spaghetti sauce heart candle jars (try saying that three times fast!) into the vignette. To see how I made these cute little candle jars just click here.

The darling sweetheart garland is just draped over the entire vignette. I created it a couple of years ago with my daughter Gracie. It is super easy and fast to make...all you need is jute twine and some colored paper plus glue, stapler, scissors and a hole puncher and BAMO!!! You've got  sweetheart garland!!!

  For the tutorial click here.

My burlap wreath I threw together using different color burlap, basically because I didn't have enough of any one color to cover the entire wire frame. It adds a touch of whimsy don't you think?

The mercury  glass vases are actually fakes...I made them last summer with old glass vases, you know the kind you get flowers in from the florist, and a can of Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint. To read up on how to get this, I think pretty authentic mercury glass look, just follow the link here.

And that is my St. Valentine's Day Mantel for this year!

 I was really happy to take my pictures with the bright white light streaming in from the outside winter wonderland. We had another inch of snow on top of the foot we got last week. It looks like it is going to be cold one for this year's Super Bowl!

Are you ready for that special someone on sweethearts day in just two weeks???

Wishing you all a great day!!! 

XO

Sharing this post at link parties over at these wonderful blogs...

Style Sisters

Common Ground

FRENCHCOUNTRYCOTTAGE

The Thrifty Groove

Nancherrow

I'm Not a Trophy Wife

The Flying C

Coastal Charm

Elizabeth & Co.

Knick of Time

Bonfire & Ice ~ A Winter Celebration

Despite the frigid temperatures and abundance of snow we received this past week week, last night we attended an annual bonfire held a couple towns over from where we are in New Jersey The local fire department holds the event on the last Saturday night of January to burn all of the Christmas trees collected from its residents. We headed on over after a huge dinner out with Mr. Rosemary Lane's family. It was cold but the fire kept us nice and toasty, and just as we arrived they began their spectacular fireworks display!

Music Fireworks Food and Flasks

...a wonderful night with family and friends!!!

Wishing you a great start to your week!

XO

Master Bedroom Makeover / Progress Report ~ Room Elements

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday!! Wow I can't believe this is the last weekend of January...my goodness this first month of the year went by fast!

Well I think I have found the color I want for the bedroom. It is called Ivy Lane chip #523 by Benjamin Moore, part of their Classic paint collection. The color appears a little darker with a bit more of a yellow undertone in my photo compared to the inspiration room, but the color is pretty darn close it does match my valances to a "T"!

(my room on the left...the inspiration room on the right)

The next challenge is to come up with a horse picture to imitate the one in the House Beautiful photo. 

So I went back through some of my old pics from last summer's trip to Assateague Island. I had several pictures of the island's feral horses and I just loved this one of the stallion who was in our camp on the last morning of our vacation.

Using my favorite editing site PicMonkey, I cropped the image and added a few effects to make it feel less like a photo and more like a painting. Then I dropped the image into my account over at Art.com and played around with the frame and matting. My picture is not as refined as the designer's room wall art, but for me it brings back the memory of a wonderful week camping.

I am not sure whether I want to try to order a picture framed or just order the print and then frame it myself. I will have to see what corners I can cut by DIYing the framing.

Still on a quest for a dust ruffle, I accidentally found these sheets over at Pottery Barn's on-line store. They remind me of the set on the House Beautiful bed with the green trim, and the sheets are on sale!

Again not sure if I want to splurge or make due with what I already have which will work too. Trying to keep the budget as low as possible, but they are soooo pretty!!!

I am hoping this weekend I can knock out some of the painting starting with the room's ceiling. It is going to need a couple coats since we do have some water damage as the result of our old leaky roof. 

And that's it for now. Once the cold weather lets up I want to take a good look at the coffee table I plan to turn into a weathered bench. It has to come up from below freezing sometime right?

Have a great day!!

XO

Thinking Spring

Hello my Friends,

During the past few days as we have been in this deep freeze  or "polar vortex",  and like everyone else my thoughts just can't help but to turn to spring. I was recently going through several of my favorite old photos looking for some spring inspiration, or "Springspiration" and I found this picture. I'm not sure where I pulled the image from but I love the tablescape. Not only because it is adorned with beautiful yellow forsythias and bright sunny chairs, mostly I love it because of its simplicity.

Just think...before we know it we'll be able to migrate back out of doors to feel the sun on our shoulders as warm breezes gently flow by. The air will be filled with a medley of bird songs and on the ground the sight of color bursting upwards as flowers begin to break through the cold earth, will soon be all around us. 

Hang in there everyone and enjoy a great weekend!!

XO

The Philadelphia Home Show ~ Spotlight on "The Painted Home"

A couple years ago I had the wonderful fortune to meet Denise from the incredibly creative blog  The Painted Home, for the first time down at the Philadelphia Home Show which is held yearly at the city's convention center. Well it didn't take long after meeting Denise for me to realize that her enthusiasm for what she does is as infectious as her sparkling personality, and I have to say that being completely blown away by her ah-mazing talent is an understatement!!!

This year I met Denise again at the home show and much to my excitement, I had the chance to tour her fabulous display

"The Crafty Camper".

Take a look at what this crafty and clever gal created for this year's show!!!

Yes it is an actual camper Denise bought and gutted for her ingenious "Mom Cave". Denise is so right when she says that you just won't want to leave!!!

I can't help but to become giddy when I see all of her darling bunting and bead board!!!

The camper is painted such a cute and whimsical color, don't you think?

Even my Gracie couldn't resist relaxing in Denise's Adirondack chairs!

The Philly Home show opens again this Friday January the 24th and runs through Sunday evening January the 26th. For more information on the show and all of its guest speakers and events just follow this link.

So if you are thinking about being in the Philly area over the coming weekend, stop by the Home Show and meet Denise and check out her camper...it is definitely a Must See!!!

Oh and if you plan to visit on Sunday make sure to catch Denise guest speak on the Home Show stage at 2pm. She will be giving out some great DIY ideas along with how you can create your very own Mom Cave!

Also you can check out Denise's wonderful blog The Painted Home, by clicking here!

XO

The Philadelphia Home Show

This past weekend my sister Kim, my daughter Grace and myself took a trip down to Philadelphia for their annual Home Show. And while there were plenty of vendors peddling their goods, our favorite part of the show was in Isle 1000, the interior design and decorating isle.

This little area with the beautiful dresser with the wonderful flowers popping out is a creation by one of my favorite bloggers, Denise of The Painted Home. I have more to share with you about Denise but I am saving that for another post. She had an incredible contribution to the show.

Other designers had some great spaces too.

Dona and Anna from New 2 You Home Treasures created this darling gathering place.

Just look at all of their clever ideas.

This space has everything for everyone in the family. From games and puzzles...

...to an ingenious way of organizing a drink station! I am so loving that butterfly print on the seat cushion.

Gracie fell in love with this space...she said it was her favorite part of the entire Home Show!

How about some inventive ideas using old doors? ReStore  challenged designers to come up with new ways if using doors found in their stores.

Work and or message station.

A comfy place to sit...

...or a very cool spot to hang your coat and store your shoes!

Here is another idea Grace loved...this flat screen which rose up out of a decorative trunk.  You can place it at the foot of your bed to watch TV in bed...then when you are all done just click a button on the remote and back into the trunk it goes!!!

Would you like to maybe shed a few pounds and feel a world healthier?

This box uses infrared light to promote the oxygenation of cells, eliminate toxins and speed up your metabolism for a healthier body. And you can do all this while you work on your laptop!!!

You can also eat a lot healthier by using the Vitamix blender to create ice cream and smoothies made with carrots and spinach!

You will find very cool ways of storing your wine...

...or you can just belly up to the bar for a glass.

The Philadelphia Home Show continues this weekend from Friday January 24th through to Sunday evening January 26th.

For more information on the Philly Home Show just follow this link!

Happy Wednesday all!!

XO