Kirsten Elizabeth Designs

Homemade Picture Display

2011-12-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, I know I did! One of the highlights of my Christmas day was getting to talk to my brother and brother-in-law who are currently serving missions for our church. We had sent a package to each of them a couple weeks before Christmas so this was one gift that I had finished well in advance of the holiday rush! I made each of them this fold-up personalized "picture frame" that they could set on their desks in their apartments. They both turned out really cute and I think they will like them.

The first thing that I did was cut squares out of mat board to become the base for my pictures. They have pre-cut kits at the craft store that you can buy but I had some of this leftover from another project so I just cut my own. I then covered the front and back with paper and punched holes in both sides (except the front cover and back cover which only need holes punched in one side.) I then mounted my pictures in the center of each page and tied them all together with some twine.

The final touch that made these really personal was actually on the back. I put these little envelopes so that each person could write a note to them and put it on the back of their picture. This way they could always have a little piece of home with them!

These turned out really adorable and were pretty simple to make. You could certainly embellish them more than I did but they're boys and I figured in their case the simpler the better. The best part about them is that they fold up and so they are really easy to store and move around. I hope you all have a Happy New Year and can't wait to see what new adventures this year brings!

Christmas Goodies!

2011-12-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

This week I was helping my Dad get gifts together for the people he works with. I found these awesome little goodie boxes at my local xpedx store (I love that place by the way, they have just about every kind of bag, box, envelope, or paper you could think of. I'm like a kid in a candy store there!) We decided to fill them with some home made cookies and some fun holiday candy. I decided to use some of my personal favorites including, peanut butter cups, almond roca, and peppermint balls.

After the cookies had cooled I wrapped them in some plastic wrap and tied a piece of ribbon around the top. I put them on one side of the box and then added a piece of tissue paper to hold our other little goodies on the other side. I ended up using 6 peanut butter cup, 6 peppermints and 2 almond rocas along with 5 cookies per box.

After we had finished assembling them we simply stuck a tag on the top of the box and they were ready to deliver. It ended up being really simple but turned out so cute!

I wanted to share my cookie recipe with all of you also. I love this recipe, I got it years ago and have been making them this way ever since.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 cubes butter or margarine

3 eggs

2 cups chocolate chips

6 cups flour

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 cup oatmeal

Cream together sugars and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Then dry ingredients. Mix Well. Then add chocolate chips and oatmeal. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

(I make these in my Bosch mixer but I'm sure a kitchenaid would work also.)

Happy baking!

DIY Peppermint Topiary

2011-12-10T13:00:00.001-08:00

The other day I came up with this fun idea for a homemade topiary that looks like a peppermint. My Mom needed an idea for gifts to donate to our local festival of trees and using what we had around the house I came up with these. They turned out really cute and only took me about an hour to make! We used foam core board, a bamboo skewer, pages from an old book I use for crafts, a little bucket, and some red paper. First I cut a circle out of the foam core the size of the peppermint, then you take pages from the book and tear them into small pieces (the trick is you want them to be small enough that you can't read whole sentences but big enough that it doesn't take a ton of time to cover your circle). Then you glue them onto the front and back making sure that you cover the whole circle. I didn't worry if the paper went over the edge because it was really easy just to trim it after the glue dried.

The next step is to cut peppermint swirl shapes out of your red paper. I eyeballed the first one and then traced it to make the rest. I ended up with 5 "swirls" on each side (so 10 total). Then you glue those on top of your paper covered circle. I then modpodged on top of the whole thing once everything was glued on.

You're almost done now! Next I stuck the skewer in the bottom of the circle and then stuck it in a piece of floral foam that was glued to the bottom of my bucket. To finish it off we also modpodged some vintage Christmas pictures to the bucket, but you could use any type of container you wanted. We also added a piece of ribbon around the skewer and glued some red twine around the edge of the peppermint because it gave it a more finished look.

All in all it was an awesome and inexpensive Christmas decoration! I love the vintage feel of it with the old book pages and vintage holiday images. If you would rather have it more modern you could always use a shiny metal bucket and just plain white paper, there are lots of ways you could personalize this project! Also a little tip I thought I might add, if you have problems using an actual book you can color copy the pages and use those instead. That way you don't have to rip up a book. And here is the finished product! I hope you all enjoy the tutorial and fill your home with Christmas cheer!

Getting back into the swing of things

2011-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know I just had a baby! Which is one of the reasons why this blog kind of got pushed to the back burner for the past year. My little guy was born in July and I think I'm getting the hang of this new Mom thing. I am certainly quite a bit busier then I used to be but I am enjoying it. I'm really excited to get back to this blog and am hoping to keep up with it. I'm going to be sharing DIY ideas, inspiration, life, and whatever else tickles my fancy. I hope that you all continue to check back often and enjoy reading what I have to say as much as I enjoy writing it! Well I'll see you all again soon!

My Lamps

2010-09-08T12:28:00.001-07:00

As I'm sure you all have noticed by now, I didn't get a post done about my lamps when I said I would. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to even think about it again up until now. I'm going to do better and as promised here is my post about my lamps!

So we have been looking for some table lamps for a while and I haven't found any that I really liked...or that I liked the price on. I've been watching at our local thrift shop known as Deseret Industries for a couple of weeks and I finally found the perfect lamps. At first I thought the bases were the same but as I looked at them I noticed that they were slightly different but both were adorable and in perfect condition. Then I started browsing the lamp shades to see if I could find something with some character and sure enough I found the two perfect shades, it must have been my day. One was an antique and the other was plain cream and just needed removal of some ruffle around the bottom. The best part...the price. Here is a rundown of my total cost for this project:

2 lamp bases- $6.00 ($3.00 a piece)

Antique lamp shade- $.50 (that's right 50 cents!)
Ruffle shade- $1.00

In total for two cute lamps that added some much needed charm to my previously bare living room I spent $7.50! I was ecstatic! After some quick cleaning they were perfect! And that ruffle was barely holding on so it only took me 30 seconds to rip it off. Enjoy the pictures!

Once I got my bird lamp on the side table it looked a little short, and lonely. So I quickly looked around the room and it wasn't long before I found some more accessories that made it look so much better.

Lamps

2010-08-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

I've been working on a project that I'm excited to show you all. I'm just finishing up tonight and can hopefully get pictures taken to post for my Fabulous Friday post this week! But to give you a hint about what it is I'm doing a post about lamps. Lighting is extremely important in any design. Lamps specifically though are something that are not too expensive that can completely finish off a design. With a lamp you can add color, drama, glitz and glam, and character to any room. They're also a lot easier to install then any other type of lighting, and are easiest to change if your tastes change. It's much easier to switch out a lamp shade or spray paint the base a new color then it is to remove a sconce or ceiling mounted light fixture. I found a few awesome inspiration pictures to show you just how flexible and vibrant lamps can be. Look back tomorrow for my own lamp project!Use them to add color to a peaceful bedroom.Try something different and put the lamps behind the couch instead of on end tables.Lamps can also add symmetry and a sense of balance to a room, so instead of mixing try matching!
Add a lamp to the entry of your home. Not only can it add character and something interesting, it also can light up a dark entry and make it seem much more welcoming.

Lonny

2010-08-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

The newest issue of Lonny was released this week. Be sure to go check it out, they always have some really interesting articles and the best part is that it's free! You can't beat that. I hope you're all having a fantastic summer. I've also decided to change the fabulous Friday post to every other week and then do more posts in between. I was spending all my time finding something for that one post that I missed all the other days of the week! I'm also working on some fun room's on polyvore so be sure to look for those coming up shortly. Enjoy!

Fabulous Friday

2010-08-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

This Friday I wanted to share some inspiration for some outdoor covered porches. Now that it's nice enough to spend the evening outside, I just can't help but wish I had one of these where I could just curl up in a chair and read a nice book while listening to the sounds of nature. I've been working with my very first client this week, they're building a house is a quaint country town and one of their requirements was that they have not only a covered porch out front but a covered deck in the back of the house. I hope you enjoy the inspiration I've found!

Fabulous Friday...Etsy Finds

2010-07-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! So sorry I missed the fabulous Friday post last week, I was enjoying a state holiday and relaxing with my husband. Anyways, I'm back this week and I'm excited to share some fabulous treasures I found on etsy! My favorite season is coming up in just over a month so that was inspiration for this post. Autumn! I love the colors, and the smells, and everything that fall brings with it. So here are some etsy finds that are getting me even more excited for fall to be here. Enjoy!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Fabulous Summer Beach House

2010-07-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this way cute beach house that is featured on House Beautiful this month. I love how bold the colors are. It is just so much fun and reminds me of everything that I love about summer. One thing that I really love about this house is that they painted all of the walls white and then added really bold colors and prints. It makes everything looks so clean and crisp and reminds me of what a beach house is supposed to feel like.

Fabulous Organizing Friday!

2010-07-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

This next week will find me deep cleaning and organizing my house and my shed in preparation for a yard sale I'm having on Saturday. In my personal opinion there is just something so rewarding about cleaning and organizing. Your house just feels so nice when you're done and I always feel so good about myself when I look at everything I've accomplished. So this week I decided to share some of the fun tips about organizing that I found ! Enjoy! Find a way that works best for you to organize your media area. The family room always seems to be the messiest in my house because so much goes on in there. Have labeled baskets for games, cords, gaming systems or toys. That way clean up is a breeze and everyone knows where to find exactly what they're looking for. Also if you have bookshelves, limit yourself to what will fit on the shelf. Your shelves start to look cluttered when you stack on top of books or movies and in front of them.Create an entryway, whether at your front or back door that is functional and decorative. If you can't find a bench like this one or don't have room, then try hanging decorative hooks and a shelf. That way they won't take up valuable floor space, but you'll still have somewhere to organize coats, hats and bags.
Label a stack-able bin for recyclable items. Not only does this keep everything organized, it takes up much less space in your garage or pantry then if you were to have individual bins.

I hope these few simple ideas will inspire you to get organized! The best thing to remember though is that it has to work for you in order for you to keep using it, so tweak these ideas to work best in your house or come up with your own. I'd love to hear what works best for you!

Fabulous Indepence Friday

2010-07-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence day everyone! I just feel like red, white, and blue decorations lend themselves to this month and what better to celebrate than our independence. So in honor of this weekend, here are some fabulous finds I found that you can incorporate into your celebrations. Happy 4th of July!

To make this adorable and unique floral centerpiece just use a foam floral ball and poke carnations in to cover the entire surface except the bottom, then fill a dish with water and set your ball of flowers inside. They should last up to a week like this.What a cute idea for a summer picnic! To get this look you simply need paper flag fans and then place them on the top of the place settings. What an easy and inexpensive way to decorate. Plus, if you or your guests get to hot, you all have your own personal fan.If you don't have an actual striped tablecloth then you can always find some fun striped fabric and drape it over a white tablecloth. I also thought it was really fun the direction that they laid the fabric, just added something different from what you would normally see.

[photos courtesy of Country Living]

Sugar!

2010-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

I have a friend in my neighborhood who has a personalized cake and cookie business named "Sugar". I was just checking out her blog and found out that she is doing a birthday giveaway! I was so excited and I knew I had to share with all of you! Be sure to head on over and check it out to see how you can get entered. Here are some of my favorites from her work, there were too many to just choose one!

Fabulous Finds Friday...First Summer Post

2010-06-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

This week is the first week of summer, and it actually finally feels like summer. So for this weeks fabulous post I decided to focus on outdoor living and decorating. I love being outside and there are so many fun things you can do when it comes to decorating your outdoor space. Whether you're having a fun party, or just want a nice place to relax, I hope these ideas will inspire you to get outside and enjoy everything there is out there. Think of your backyard or patio as an extension to your house.I love the idea of hanging bunting flags for your party. They're so festive but simple at the same time. I also love those cute sunflower cupcakes, and putting them on a tiered stand is a great way to display them.Remember that if you want to put a table and chairs outside there is absolutely nothing that says you need to get a matching set or if you do get a set make sure you make it your own. These tables have so much personality!

Fabulous Friday

2010-06-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

So, this week has been pretty hectic. I just got back from a fabulous vacation and have been working hard on getting the house back in order. So for this week's fabulous friday post I decided to just go through my design file and share some of my favorite pictures I've collected over time. Sorry, I don't remember where all of these are from. Hope you enjoy! And have a Happy Father's Day!
Hmm, I must be in a kitchen mood today!

Fabulous Finds Friday

2010-06-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well everyone the new issue of Lonny was released yesterday and there is some beautiful design that is featured in this issue. I've already spent hours looking through it an will be going through it again and again I'm sure. I just picked out some of my favorite fabulous images to share with you, but make sure you go look through it yourself.

I love the use of color in this living/dining room. It's so fun but it's calming at the same time.
What a fun beach theme! It doesn't scream beach, it's classy and relaxing.

I think owls are such an interesting and smart bird. I think I would put one in a library or on one of my bookshelves if I could find one this cute.

I absolutely love that they hung a quilt on that wall. It's such a personal touch and can easily be changed out for something seasonal if you wanted to.

I hope you enjoyed these few favorites. Make sure you go read the magazine and pick your own favorites!

Polyvore

2010-06-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

I am in LOVE! I just found polyvore.com and trust me, you are going to want to check it out. It is extremely addicting and fun. On polyvore, you can put together sets of basically anything you can imagine. You can do interior design, outfits, wedding ideas, or whatever you want. The best part, it will save all of your ideas in your account and it's free! I think this will be one of my new Internet resources. Go check it out and prepare to be amazed. It also gives you a list of where to find all of the items you chose and their prices. Could it get any better? I think not. Check out the bedroom I just put together.

Lonny Magazine

2010-06-05T07:00:00.001-07:00

Yay! Check out what I just found in my e-mail. The newest issue of Lonny Magazine is set to come out on June 10! If you don't know what Lonny is be sure to check it out here. It's an awesome new online design magazine. You can subscribe and they'll send you an e-mail letting you know when the new issue will be released. (usually every two months) Be sure to go check it out!

Fabulous Finds Friday- Pillow Edition

2010-06-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Per request I have decided to dedicate this post to pillows. In my own personal opinion pillows are one of the most versatile, inexpensive ways to change your decor. Not only can pillows add class and color, but they can also make a room feel more cozy. Here are some of the fabulous ideas I have thought of on how to use pillows.

1. Pillows are a great way to add a splash of color to your decor. Add a bright colored pillow or pick one with a funky print. Pair these with some calmer solids and it will brighten up any room.

2. For a more traditional look use even numbers like 2 or 4 pillows that are placed symmetrically on the couch or bed. Also I would suggest trying to stick to larger square pillows to achieve this look. For a more eclectic look use odd numbers like 3 or 5. Also try to mix up the shapes, an oblong or round pillow thrown in with square pillows will create an eye-catching display.

3. Try making your own pillows. Or if you don't want to make a new pillow but have an old pillow that you're tired of then make a cute sham to go over it. That way you're saving money, reusing what you have and getting a cute new pillow. I also found this way cute idea on Country Living for pillow covers made from old button up shirts. You can find the directions here.

All in all pillows are an awesome way to add some creativity to any room. If you have anything you want me to post about feel free to leave me a comment and I'll be sure to post about it. Happy decorating!

[photos from House Beautiful and Country Living]

Fabulous Finds Friday

2010-05-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

I found this article on House Beautiful this week about 12 easy decorating ideas you can do in a day. It was so fun and they got me thinking how easy little changes are but how fresh they make your home feel. Now that the weather is getting warmer it's the perfect time to start those projects you have been putting off all winter. Refreshing your house can even be as simple as moving something from one room to a different room. Change is always a good thing! Here are some of my favorites from the article, you can find it in it's entirety here.Organize with trays- I love trays on coffee tables, I especially love them when they're on an ottoman that's being used as a coffee table. Think of how easy it is to keep your remotes, your favorite magazine or book and some fun flowers in a tray. Then if you need to use your table or ottoman, you just move the tray and it's instantly clear for you to use.Refresh your bathroom- This can be as easy as changing out your shower curtain and getting matching towels. It's amazing the difference a new shower curtain can make in a bathroom. You could also try adding some new fun artwork. Often times bathroom walls get left out, but I think they're one of the best places to try out funky colors or patterns.

Refresh with new sheets- I love the feeling of climbing into bed right after I've changed my sheets. They're so crisp and clean. I love it even more when it's a pair of brand new sheets that I'm using for the first time. Bedding is a very easy way to change up your bedroom. Try a new color or go with all white.

Hope these ideas will spark your creativity!

Fabulous Finds Friday

2010-05-21T12:04:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, it's that time of week again. That's right it's time for another fabulous finds friday! This week I'm really excited because I'm getting a new piece of furniture. :) I'm helping my parents refresh their family room and they're getting rid of a really cute side table. I think it will look absolutely wonderful with a fresh coat of paint sitting next to my couch. So I've been looking around for cute ideas of how I could refinish this table. I haven't decided if I want to do a solid color, or if I should do a neutral or paint it some really fun bright color. I hope you enjoy!

Rug Dilema

2010-05-20T15:15:00.001-07:00

Our laundry room is one of two rooms in our house that isn't finished. It still has cement floors and only has sheet rock on half of the walls. Needless to say I try to spend as little time in there as possible. One of the reason is that it's in the basement and we currently only use our basement for storage and another reason is that I don't like standing on the bare cement floor. That has led me to the quest for a cute, inexpensive rug. I looked on pier1.com to see what they had to offer and here are some of the ones I found that I really liked.

Multi Floral Bamboo Rug 6'x4'
$39.95

Blue Diamond Rug 6'x4'
$29.95Medallion Hooked Cotton Rug 3'x5'
$47.96

So many fun choices and that's only one store. I am still looking around and I'll definitely post a picture once we decide. I love rugs, you can get so many different colors and patterns. Where would you put a fun rug in your house?

Fabulous Find Friday...Party Edition

2010-05-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well everybody, today is my birthday! So for this weeks edition of Fabulous Finds I decided to focus on a piece of decorating that sometimes doesn't get thought of. Party decorations! We all know that the right decorations can make or break a party, so I found some way fun stuff that would look good at any party! My tips for birthday party decorations are to:
1. Make it fun
2. Don't go overboard. A lot of times the simpler something is the better because then you won't be so worried about everything
3.Listen to what the birthday person wants. Even if you don't think it matches if it's what they want they will absolutely love it.
Don't forget to make your party exactly how you want it, that way you'll be sure to enjoy it! 1.2.3.

Fabulous Finds Friday

2010-05-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to begin my first themed post on my blog. Every Friday I will do a "Fabulous Finds Friday" post. In this post I will tell you all about something fabulous that I found that week. Whether it's a new blog, a piece of furniture, a great sale, or an awesome new idea. In honor of the very first fabulous finds Friday I thought I would dedicate it to Mother's Day. I thought the most appropriate gifts would be something family oriented. So here are some of the fabulous finds from Etsy that would be perfect for Mother's Day. I hope you enjoyed! Check out the links at the bottom to see where you can buy these and lots of other cute things!

1. 2.3.4.

Hello, Sunshine!

2010-04-29T12:03:00.001-07:00

The weather has been awful this week. It made me think how much I miss the sunshine. So I decided to do a post all about yellow. I love the color yellow, it's so happy and fun. You can do almost anything with yellow. You can use it as an accent color in a room or if you're really brave you can make it the main color. My bedroom is yellow. And I love it. It's so fun when the sun is shining through the window it just makes me want to dance. But then at the same time, at night it's so warm and inviting when I want to snuggle up in bed. And I love first thing in the morning when my whole room lights up as soon as the sun hits the walls. It's very peaceful. So in order to bring some sunshine into both of our days here are some fun ideas on how to use yellow when decorating.Add little accents. Pick up some yellow flowers or set out a fun bowl full of lemons. Not only are lemons an easy way to add some color to a room they last a long time so you don't have to worry about them going bad. I really love the yellow chair in this picture. If you have a chair that needs to be refinished consider painting it.I love these yellow lamps that they used in this room. Lamps are very important accessories that are often overlooked or left until the very last when a room is being re-done. But I am here to tell you that lighting can make or break a design. So next time you're in the market for new lamps remember to add some personality.Here is that painted furniture again. See how much pop those nightstands add to this bedroom. I also love that fun headboard. It would be easy to make this by painting it onto a wood headboard, but how much funner would it be to make it upholstered out of a striped fabric. You can find instructions on how to make one here.

I just absolutely adore this bedroom. I love that really warm yellow, it's almost more goldenrod if you ask me. And how fun to put bead board around the bottom of the wall. Another thing I really like about this room is that they paired a really bright color with another really bright color. I think a lot of times we are afraid to do this but as long as you don't over do it, it can be so much fun.

Hope this helps to bring some sunshine into your day!

[photos from House Beautiful and Country Living]

Earth Tones

2010-04-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a post about one of my favorite color schemes. Earth tones! I always come back to this color scheme. It's so calming and relaxing. I love decorating in these colors because you can do so much with them. Nature is a great area to gather inspiration. So, next time you're out on a hike or a trip somewhere be sure to bring your camera and then incorporate your favorite colors into the next room you're decorating. Don't forget that earth tones aren't limited to just browns and greens. You can also incorporate those gorgeous fall oranges and yellows and the beautiful spring colors. What is your favorite color scheme?

[photos from House Beautiful]

Earth Day Post #3

2010-04-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone! Did you know that this is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I had no idea until I found this website. They have all sorts of neat information about Earth Day and about going green in general. Yesterday I shared ideas with you about how to go green, today I'm going to do the same but I'm going to focus mostly on how to go green while decorating or re-decorating your space.

1. Try to use a no- or low-voc paint. In short voc's are what causes that lovely smell that you get after you've painted something. You can now find paint without voc's and they're much better for the environment. When me and my husband were recently re-painting our house we used paint with low voc's. It was so nice because it wasn't any more expensive, the people at Lowe's were really helpful and even matched the color I found from a different paint company just so we could get the low voc paint. One thing that I think is awesome about no- or low- voc paint is that our house didn't smell like we had just painted for a week after. In fact it didn't even smell like we had painted at all. If nothing else, that was a huge bonus.

2. Buy used. This is one of the best ways to get that completely original look and help the environment. By first shopping local garage sales or thrift stores not only can you find something really unique but you're creating a look that is completely yours. No one else will have that table because you bought the only one. Often times you can also refinish these items to add even more character. I love a completely original piece because then my house feels like it's mine, not a model home.

3. Re-use what you already have. Making a quick change in your decor is really simple and can be really cost effective if you go about it the right way. By re-using what you have, you're saving it from going in the land-fill and you're saving yourself money. You can easily buy covers for pillows and instantly change the look of a room. Also, it's fairly simple to repaint furniture to get a new look. Check out this fun post from a blog I just discovered to see what I mean.

So next time you're getting tired with your current decor, try changing it the green way. Then you'll have an awesome new room and feel good that you were helping the environment. A win win in my book!

[photos from House Beautiful]

Going "green"

2010-04-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Today is day 2 of my Earth Day posts. Today, I just wanted to share a few ideas for how you can help the environment. These ideas are pretty simple but every little thing helps. For me being eco-friendly is more about making sure that our world stays wonderful for all of the future generations. It's like the saying when you go camping that you need to leave it better than you found it. That's what I'm trying to do. Plus in a lot of cases being eco-friendly is actually less expensive than everything else. So here is the first round of ideas for how to be more eco-friendly in your home.

1. Buy local whenever possible. By supporting our local stores or farmers not only are we supporting the local economy but we're also helping to reduce the emissions from shipping something from who knows where to where we live.

2. Use reusable grocery bags. Or as I like to call them my "whatever" bags. I use these things for everything. I take them to the library, pack picnics in them, carry whatever I need for a project in them. I don't know what I would do without reusable bags. (Also, did you know that some stores offer a discount for every reusable bag you use. I know for sure Target gives you 5 cents off your purchase for every reusable bag you use.)

3. Use compact fluorescent bulbs. CFL's may be a little more expensive than a regular light bulb at first but they last a lot longer, and they use a lot less energy. Even if you don't use them everywhere in your house, try to pick a few where you could use them. At my house we have them in our porch lights. Also, they now make CFL's that put off light that looks just like a normal incandescent bulb.

4. Use your windows to your advantage. This time of year is really the perfect opportunity for this. In the morning open your blinds and try to use the lights as little as possible. Nothing is better than natural sunlight. Also, when it's nice weather, open a window instead of using the air conditioner. I love getting that nice spring breeze coming through my house.

So there are my four ideas for today, I'll share more with you tomorrow!

Earth Day

2010-04-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone! I love doing things green and am trying to be more earth-friendly in everything that I do. To start off my earth friendly week of posts I thought I would find some fun items on etsy. Check out the links on the bottom to find out where you can purchase these and check back all this week for fun tips on how to go green in your home!

1.2.3.4.5.6.

How to Hang A Picture Collage

2010-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

So my Sunday afternoon project this week was to create a picture collage. We've been living in our house for about 6 months but haven't gotten any pictures hung up yet. I looked for instructions on the best way to do this since I didn't want to have a million holes in my wall from where I messed up. I found these fun instructions on this blog and decided to create my own.

First, I laid my pictures out how I wanted them to look on my wall. We had these neat pictures from our wedding of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents that I've been wanting to do something with.Next, I traced each frame onto a piece of paper and made sure to make a mark where the nail needed to go.

Then I taped all of my papers onto my wall so that I could get everything lined up. Once I got everything up there I actually ended up completely flipping my collage to cover up a lovely hole that we had in our wall.

The next thing you need to do is put the nails in where you drew your dot. You can just nail straight through the paper. Then after you've done that you just need to remove your papers.

And here is your final product! A beautiful picture collage that is completely personal.

Recent Happenings

2010-04-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

I had my portfolio event last week and this week was graduation. For portfolio we had a project that we displayed but then we also put a lot more projects that we put in a book, I'm planning on getting more detailed photos of that for you guys this coming week. It has been a pretty busy couple of weeks but it was all worth it. Here are some pictures I wanted to share with you. Tomorrow I'll be posting about a fun project that I just finished in my house. I made a tutorial for all of you! I'm pretty excited about it, I hope you all are too. Enjoy!

Spring Fever

2010-04-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have been having spring fever recently and have been ready for spring to come for the past month. So I decided that I would share a little spring with all of you courtesy of Etsy. Hope this helps brighten your home!

Click on the links below to see where you can buy these and more fun items.

1.2.3.4.5.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

2010-04-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

So, I have this horrible bathroom mirror in my house right now, it has to go preferablly sooner rather than later. So I've been spending the week looking for mirrors that I can put over the sink in my bathroom. I think I've decided to do a mirror with a frame, now I just have to find one that I really like. Here are some of the inspiration pictures I found that I want to share with you.

[photos from House Beautiful and Country Living]

Peaceful

2010-04-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Today is my portfolio event at school. Life has been pretty hectic at my house lately trying to get everything ready. By seven tonight weeks and weeks of work will be on display for my family and friends to see. All I want to do today is find somewhere nice that I can relax and unwind. After tonight, school will be over and next week I'll be graduating. These are some of my favorite "peaceful" rooms. Enjoy and wish me luck!

[photos from House Beautiful and Country Living]

Why, Hello There, Nice To Meet You!

2010-04-06T12:38:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my design blog. I recently graduated from LDSBC and absolutely love design! I'm not an expert by any means, but I really enjoy design and I'm hoping that through this blog I will be able to share my love for design with everyone. There a lot of absolutely amazing blogs out there and I am hoping that I will have something to add to this world of design blogging. More than anything I want this to be somewhere that I can share my ideas and inspiration with all of you. Never hesitate to ask me a question, I am more than happy to share my thoughts with you.