Late-Spring Decor & Styling the Hard Way

The inspiration from this post came to me while flipping through the latest copy of HGTV magazine as I was waiting at the dentist. One of the articles contained a pair of bookends that caught my eye. Turns out they're beyond my budget, but I did come up with my own version of what they would look good with. [This wound up taking forever because not only did I have to find the right pictures, but I had nothing to work with but ms paint (yes, that makes me a looser, I get it) so each picture took multiple steps to add to the collage. That being said, I apologize for the lack of 'polish' in the following collage].

      About what you see below: The concept for this is a desk setting. Given the fad for bright painted furniture, this black Brookstone desk could get a modern update with a coat of "Honorable Blue" from Sherwin-Williams, with drawer trim painted a paler blue of the same hue. (The white desk below is another example--I liked it due to its more-contemporary rectangular drawers; however I was unable to find a working link for it). On this desk would be the objects that started this project--a pair of white chess bookends from overstock.com. Since the books and bookends are very solid, other desk accessories could be 'lighter' such as loose woven baskets (for storage as well as display) and/or glass bottles, candle holders, etc. (I spent quite a while looking for desk accessories I could provide good links to, but most of what I found was on weird random sites, and etsy xD )

Late Spring Decorating Ideas

A new year, a renewed blog

This blog has been left to sit too long, and I was eager to come back and fix it up. I deleted some useless posts, but now it looks empty and I just had to add something.
Here are a few things that came to mind:
- Today was this month's PG Library book sale, which they hold on each first Saturday to raise money for materials. I was only able to help them pack up this time, but they said it was fairly successful.

- I've been working on a website for local disadvantaged individuals. I've looked up some of this information in the past and found too spread out and difficult/time consuming to sift through. I've also run into people online (through Craigslist, etc.) asking were to get help. I'm hoping to mitigate this problem through the creation of this new site. (If you're wondering how someone in need could access the internet, most of the nearby libraries offer computer time to patrons, and are often gathering places for the people I'm trying to reach).

- On another note I've made a few small paper crafts, in a sort of preparation for Valentine's day crafts next month. This year my sister and I are hoping to put our heads together and make a whole plethora of things for the holiday. But I'll leave that for later. For now, here's what I've made so far:

       

I've been making paper crafts out of this recycled book when the mood strikes me. These paper 'ornaments' are all over the internet, so I decided to try my hand at making one. The dog shredded my copy of a J.D. Salinger book, leaving about 3/4 or so of it untouched. (I'd never cut up a perfectly good book; I'd only ever use one that's been damaged or was going to be thrown away). I used thread, ribbon and scrapbook paper I had laying around. The vintage seashell picture was from something I got from The Graphics Fairy and then changed a little between Picasa and regular old scissors.

^ Scrapbook notion?, or maybe a tiny bookmark? I just like making useless little things, I guess. I've been going through some craft supplies and found some scrapbook stuff that was given to me a while back. It wasn't really to my taste, but since I'm in a girly pre-Valentiene's Day mood I thought I'd see what I could get out of it.
The back was cut out of some old scrapbook paper. I made my own tassel out of embroidery/cross stitch  thread, then threw on a sticker and a heart-shaped key charm.

Gingerbread Houses and Ice Cream Cone Trees

I've realized that the title to this post sounds like a lost line from "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"; oh well, at least it's a Beatles song.
Last night I pulled myself together long enough to participate in the family tradition of making gingerbread houses, which originated with my mother.


My house this year:

Front

Back

I also attempted to make some trees, but this year I couldn't make a decent looking tree to save my life. I don't know if it's due to the weather, or the frosting, or just me. I think I'll make another attempt tonight.

A trio of ice cream cone-trees:

 (They're balanced on water goblets for display and to take the picture)

We usually use trees for the 'yard' of our gingerbread houses.