Color Block Magnets

I grabbed these mini square canvas magnets at Walmart without actually having a plan for them & then just some simple color block inspiration came to me.

 I picked a seafoam green & coral color, and used paper hold stickers to create a scallop pattern & painters tape to tape from corner to corner.

 This gold pen is definitely my favorite because it actually comes out a shining true gold, rather than a matte yellow-ish color.  And it also covers very well, so use it before of after using your paint.

 If you're feeling extra decorative, add some lettering to them!  I wrote "Don't Forget!" on one & "hey, look!!" on the other to add some visual dimension.

 Ta-da! Throw them up on that otherwise boring fridge to add some color & shine!

Striped Canvas Artwork

This striped canvas is one of the easiest pieces of art you may ever create yourself.  But it's pretty enough you could sell it at Home Goods for 5x what it actually took to make it! Make it as big or as small as you want, just pick whatever size canvas you want!

 Spray paint the canvas gold, be sure to get the edges. Create a straight line to start taping.

 Tape, tape, tape, making the spaces any size you want.  For sanity (and no math) purposes, I just make every stripe the same width.  Be sure they're nice and stuck.

 Then paint away!  I actually changed the colors of the stripes a few times, so don't be afraid to 

paint over a color that just doesn't look right. Let it dry before you take the tape off.

I settled on mustard yellow, off-white, sage, light grey, teal, light pink, bright purple, light blue, & one dark strip of navy. I repeated some of the colors. Look at that metallic shine! And when people ask where you got your gorgeous canvas from, you can yell "I MADE IT!"...I mean quietly, humbly tell them that you whipped it up yourself.

School Desk Makeover

A few weeks...maybe even months ago...I jumped on a desk & chair that was being sold by a local interior designer on instagram.  I knew it would fit perfectly as my nightstand and little work area in our bedroom.  Here's a quick before picture:

And plenty of afters.... I chose a bright royal blue for the upper portion and a slightly matte gold for the legs.  I repainted the chair white and gave it a new cushion cover.

The top is my favorite part and it was one of those, "I-really-hope-this-works" experiments & it turned out even better than I imagined.  The faux-wood metal top makes me heart sing! I still want to replace the lamp, but I'm still waiting for the perfect one to pop out at me.

Snapshots of Summer

This summer seemed to fly by!  We were lucky to be able to go up to the mountains  a few times, thanks to wonderful family & friends who graciously opened their homes to us.  And a fun family retreat that we already can't wait to do again!  In between those trips we spent lots of time on the lake with family & thanks to my awesome brother, my son got to surf for the first time!

  We had swimming, birthdays, family time, my Air Force brother visit, and overall a great summer!  I hope you all had some relaxation time, as well & are ready to get back to school!

Back To School Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas....BACK TO SCHOOL!  It's been an amazing summer packed full of trips, lots of family time making memories, escaping to cooler mountain weather, and late nights.  But now we have to get back into early mornings and this year my little one is starting kindergarten!  I can hardly believe it.

I created a mantle to get me back in the mindset of learning and so we can hopefully ALL get excited about our new "big boy school" that I've been talking up all summer long.

 This table came together easily with things I already had in the house, and of course the giant ceramic apple from Target's dollar spot...which I may be planning on turning into a teacher's gift.