The New/Old House: The Girl's Room

After many months of painting, upholstering and assembling, the girl's room is finally done!

Although it's a large room it was tricky making it work for two girls. The beds had to go in this bay window area and since things are tight, it was important for the beds to be sleek and not take up any more room than they had to. I made the upholstered headboards from two inexpensive Ikea Fjellse bed frames. The wood blinds came with the house...they were dark brown and I spray painted them white!

Because the desk and bulletin board had to fit exactly into an existing fireplace, it was custom made using Ikea legs and a file drawer unit.

You can read how I made it here.  The white dresser is large enough for both girls—it was a Craig's list find, originally dark brown which I painted white.

The duvet covers from Land of Nod was the inspiration for the colors of the room...

The mirror frame was also dark brown painted coral to match the beds, the chair was found at Hotel Liquidators.

Since the original gold foil name pillows I made were peeled off by Miss Zelda, new gold metallic embroidered pillows now take their place.

I hope the girl's love their room as much as I do!

Personalized Napkin Rings

Here's an easy (and cheap!) way to add personalization to a special dinner. 

Our friend's son is having an Aufruf this Shabbat and I am hosting everyone here for Friday night dinner. I wanted to add something special to the place setting and this easy napkin ring did the trick.

I designed it on Pic Monkey and printed each one on parchment paper on my home printer. It cost pennies to make but I think it really adds a lot to the table.

How about a bumblebee for Rosh Hashanah or a turkey with the date and message for Thanksgiving in colors of the season?  Birthdays, Chanukah dinners...the possibilities are endless!

The New/Old House:Table turned Bench

This used to be a beautiful mango wood coffee table but since the wood was damaged and extra seating was badly needed in this room we turned it into a bench.

Here's how:

1. Mark the table to determine where the tufted buttons will be.
2. Drill a hole for each button.
3. After covering the tabletop with two layers of foam, cover the top with batting, using a staple gun.
4. Next, cover the batting with your fabric, keeping the fabric tight and corners neat.
5. Cover the buttons according to the directions on the package. We found the upholstery fabric was too thick and had to use thinner cotton gray fabric instead.
6. Using a long upholstery needle, pull the button though the hole you drilled. We used thin wire in place of thread to keep it extra strong.

See the photo on the mantle of 770? It's huge...38 inches wide but only cost $6.00 for an engineer print at Staples!

Birthday in a Box

Here's a fun way to send a birthday present if the recipient lives far away....birthday in a box!

Our son celebrated a birthday recently and since we couldn't be together I sent his gift in this box I put together.

Instead of using packing peanuts or bubble wrap I used balloons. (These had his name on them but solid balloons would look great too.) Just blow them up partially so they are small and nestle the gifts in with some shredded paper. The balloons keep the gifts from shifting around in the box and protect them from being bumped around.  

Wouldn't you love to get a package in the mail and find this on your birthday?

Come Tour Our Home

Today I'm over at JewishLatinPrincess where I will take you on a little tour of our home.

In the two and a half years that we've lived in this 1950's ranch there hasn't been a surface left untouched, and I'm still painting!  Come a take a peek at what we're done so far and how Jewish tradition has been woven into many parts of our home.

Shabbat Shalom and have a great weekend!

A Colorful Ball Garland

In case you haven't been following the trend in children's rooms, ball garlands are all the rage. They are often made from felted wool—beautiful, but a large size ball can get pretty pricey. Here's how I made mine for just a few bucks for the girl's recently completed room.

I used Smooth Foam balls. They come in lots of sizes (I used the 2 inch) and they can be painted, cut or glued.

1. These Smooth Foam balls are easy to find at most craft stores.
2. Paint them the color of your choice...I used acrylic craft paints.
3. After they are dry it's time to string them.
4. An embroidery needle and thread were used to run through the ball. I found that slowly turning the needle worked better than just shoving it in (which cracked the foam.)

I love how they add color to the white painted blinds and a touch of whimsy!

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Although it's only a two-hour drive from our home, the beautiful Rhode Island shore seems like worlds away.

Beautiful beaches.

The Towers in Narragansett are remnants of the old Pier Casino that was built in the mid 1800’s. It was once popular as a summer resort but was devastated by several fires over the years and only the stone structure remained. It was restored in the 1960’s and now holds various exhibits.

View from the rooftop deck of our hotel...

And speaking of hotels, we stayed at The Break and I was oohing and ahhing over the fabulous  interior design every where I turned!

I loved the attention to detail...

and I was always looking up at the ceilings...

checking out the awesome lighting in every room!

We're back home but still thinking about beautiful Rhode Island. :)

A First Studio Apartment

Our niece Peri is finishing grad school this summer and moving into her first "after-college" place—a studio apartment she can call her own. Although the budget is tight she still wants it to look chic and needs to divide the one room into a living and a bedroom space. Here's what I planned for her...

1. Instead of a bedside table she'll get more bang from a small desk like this Norrasen desk from Ikea. It can be used as a vanity table or a desk. Pair it with a vintage Craig's list wood chair painted a fun color in high gloss paint.
2. You can't beat Target for accent tables and this Hourglass Accent table in a copper finish will add glam while the round shape works well in a tight space.
3. Floor lamps will work better than table lamps in a small space like this Hektar from Ikea. 
4. Armless slipper chairs are perfect for small apartments and this Ravenna Chair from World Market is now on sale!
5. The Chloe velvet sofa from Macy's is beautiful and since the fabric is actually polyester it holds up so well. (I should know—I own one myself!)
6. The Kallax room divider from Ikea is the workhorse of this room. I would add a plywood back for privacy and paint it a fun color (both sides). One side can have an art wall and the other will add a peek of color to the back of the cubbies. 
7. This Safavieh vintage rug from Overstock looks expensive but it's only $166!

Here's the floor plan...across from the sofa is the TV which can sit on a Craig's list dresser (easy to find) painted a fun color.

Can't wait to see photos of the finished apartment!

Balloon Table Runner

I'm putting together the table for Zelda's birthday party. It's just the family but we've been talking about it for so long, she'd be disappointed if it wasn't the "pink party" I've been promising her.

Since the rule for a centerpiece is to keep it low so that guests can see each other across the table, this idea is perfect.

 Start with blowing up lots of balloon in various sizes...

Mine is held together with masking tape to keep them from rolling around the table.

Having a Fourth of July dinner? This would be perfect in red, white and blue!
Happy Fourth and Shabbat Shalom!