Christmas at Casablanca

Sorry this post took a while but here is the holiday home tour (finally)!
Dining Room

These cute trees are from ikea, same with the pots.  I already had the wreaths that fit perfectly around the base of the pots, I also added wreaths to the backs of the dining room chairs.

For the Kitchen hood I added a small berry garland and this framed printable.

The hutch didn't change much from last year - I just added the white glitter stars to each shelf and filled the red bowl on the top shelf with green and silver ornaments.

Hallway

I swapped out my normal pictures for Christmasy ones with red mats.  Below I found this cute angel door knocker at Home Goods and hung it above the kitchen arch entrance, I think it's so cute- I'll probably leave it up year round!

For my clock collection I just added a couple of Christmas sprigs (from Hobby Lobby) to the top of the black clock, total cost was just $1.50!

                 

Living Room.  For the First time in my adult life I have a mantel for our Christmas Stockings!  I used command hooks to hang them then put a green ribbon garland across the top of the mantel.

I just folded the ribbon back and forth then used a needle to thread fishing line through the whole thing so it doesn't unravel.

 Entryway

 Last year I hung garland from these two entryway arches and loved the look but not the garland!  This year I went with fake garland (it looks pretty real though).  I tried hanging it with command hooks but they couldn't handle the weight so I ended up putting nails in the wall, I'm hoping I won't regret that!

Sorry I don't know where the garland is from otherwise I would share that info!  I happened to see it in a store as part of their Christmas decorations and asked where they had bought it so I could get some and they said they would just sell me theirs!  Score!

 For more information about my Christmas Decor click Here.

DIY headboard

I was recently in a store and fell in love with a bed similar to this one.  We have a queen mattress in our new spare bedroom downstairs -but no headboard, time for a DIY!!!

Serena and Lily's Version - $1450

My Version - under $100

Here is the breakdown:

batting from Hobby Lobby - Full size, extra loft $15 each (2 bags, I got one 40% off) total $25

fabric from Hancock Fabrics $30 (2 yards)  - depending on your fabric this price can vary

36x60" piece of plywood - cut to size at home depot $22

1 roll of nail head trim (Joann's $19.99 - but I used a 50% off coupon) $10

You don't need to buy this much batting if you use foam.  I didn't use foam because I knew the nailhead trim would have a tough time going through foam.  Fold the batting in half- it will still be large enough to wrap around all the sides of the plywood (so with two bags of batting you end up with 4 layers of batting).  The nails went through 4 layers of batting just fine and that was enough batting to give it a nice soft feel.

Before beginning I researched a little on the internet and found some great instructions here and here.   It only took about 30 min. to lay down the fabric, then the batting then the plywood.  Wrap the fabric around the back of the plywood and staple in place.  

Next I drew out my design right on the fabric so that I had a guide to follow for the nail head trim.

The "real" nails only go in every 5th one so that makes for easy installation.  I found I could overlap the corners and nail through two holes of trim which worked out nicely!
The sides of my square measured 2.5" which allowed for a real nail on each end.

It took around 30 min. to get the nailhead trim in place.  Finally attach D-rings and heavy duty wire and hang on the wall just like you would a large picture or mirror.  

So total time - 1 hour!!!!  I had no idea what an easy and cheap DIY project this would be!!!  I don't mind spending some time on projects that produce a great result - but I REALLY loved this project because it took hardly any time at all and I got a great result!!!  I highly recommend trying this project out.  Again check out these websites for more instructions (click here and here).  

Because this is a guest room (and probably a future boys room since I have 4!) I went with a basic neutral headboard but I think a fun fabric would look awesome too.  If I ever do decide to change it out- I could easily re-use the batting and plywood and simply swap out the fabric for a quick and easy change that would only cost around $30!

 I sewed all the pillows for the bed myself.  I found the fabric at Hancock Fabrics.  It was on sale for 40% so ended up being $6 a yard.  I used 1 yard for each pillow.  So $6 a pillow was a great deal!

There will be more to come on this room (someday)- but for now it is ready for our first guests, my brother and his wife and new baby are coming to stay this Christmas and I'm so excited!

Mini Blinds to Roman Shade!

I needed some blinds for our downstairs family room area and when I found this great tutorial on Pinterest (click here for tutorial) - I knew what my next project would be!

Pottery Barn's version- $250

My Version- about $35 (and there is no sewing involved!!!)

Here is the breakdown:

Mini blinds from Walmart $20 (mine were 48" wide)

Merete Curtains from ikea $25 for a pair, so $12.50 per blind (you can use any kind of fabric though).

$2.50 for ribbon

and Fabric glue (sorry I forgot the price but I found a small bottle at Michael's and went through 2 bottles for all 5 of my shades).

The tutorial covers all the specifics of how to make these shades with any kind of fabric, I just included these photos to show you how I made them using the Ikea "Merete" curtains.  Just lay out the mini blinds on top of the curtain.

Leave a little fabric to wrap around the sides of the mini blind slats and cut the excess fabric away.  Then simply use fabric glue to fold the fabric sides over the back of the mini blind slats.  You also glue each of the slats in place on the fabric - mine are spaced 9" apart.  Make sure you are gluing the front side of the mini blind slats to the back side of the fabric!

I let that dry for a day then flipped the shade over and used fabric glue to add my ribbon trim.  

Finally - hang using the included hardware that comes with your mini blinds.

It took about 1 hour to make one.
So I did a little at a time and finished all five of my shades in a few weeks.

I'm pretty pleased with the results.  

They work great, pretty easy to make, they are cute, and they were cheap!

Love projects like that!

Once again check out the tutorial for complete instructions for how to make these shades.

Completed Gallery Wall

 Every frame is now filled!

For the last frame (below) I simpy used the paint I had on hand and put it "on hand"!
(blue paint- Benjamin Moore "Hale Navy", green spray paint - Rustoleum's "Eden")

I think I'll wait until my baby is one to add his handprint since he has a tendency to ball up his fists!

For more information about my gallery wall click here and here.