How to Update a Lamp

Hi Folks, if you have any lamps you feel are outdated, instead of replacing them, you can try a fresh coat of paint in white or a modern color. You can also switch out the lamp shade with a new one. I found $10 large drum lamp shades at Tuesday Morning. To add a little texture, you can hot glue dress trim around the bottom of the shade. I bought black dress trim on clearance (under $3 for 6 ft) from Hancock Fabrics.

First, cut the ribbon the same length as the diameter of your lamp shade leaving an inch overlap.

If there is a seam in your lamp shape make sure you start gluing there. Put a couple of strips of glue about 6 inches at a time to make handling the ribbon or trim easier.

Work your way around the shade and overlap the two ends.

Here is what the result looks like.

Here is a lamp I updated with another drum shade and no trim in my front room.

How to display books

Good evening, today I reorganized my bookcase by "shopping" around the house to find things to brighten up the space. Here is how my bookcase looked before.....

If you want to give your books a fresh look try these easy steps.

First, only use your hardbound books, remove the sleeves off of the hard bounds and put the ones with pretty light colors aside, the remaining books recover with craft paper or scrap booking paper.

If you are using craft paper, roll out the paper and place three books vertically on top leaving enough room to fold the paper around the front and back covers. Then, trace the books with a pencil and extend the lines with a ruler to make the strips long enough. Cut out your strips and wrap around the books, crease all of the edges and handwrite the title.

I put my "pretty" colored books on a different shelf, here is how my craft paper books looked after..

After

A new idea for my fireplace mantel

I have been struggling with our fireplace room since we moved in. I painted the old maroon bricks a crisp white and the rest of the fireplace a dark gray. I love the way the clock looks in the picture below. I was going to make an old "cottage" style clock but this could be a little easier to create. I also love the driftwood sailboat to the left. If I ever make it the beach this summer and be lucky enough to find the "right" driftwood this could be a great little project. I will keep you updated. I have purchased the paint to cover our awful stained ceiling tiles and Styrofoam beams on the ceiling, just need to get a move on it!
By the way, I found these pics on....... www.frugalfarmhousedesign.blogspot.com

How to decorate a vignette

I have been wondering what to do with my big buffet but I kept seeing the same trends in all of the articles I found, "use odd numbers of a small grouping, a couple accents, lighting, blah, blah, blah...... but my little birds and egg holders and my hodge podge of things were not cutting it so i searched the internet for more. Good thing i did because I found a great blog that is very funny and entertaining to read. If you want to look at it, www.allbowerpower.wordpress.com. Here are a couple of examples she gave.

I actually took a tape measure and calculated my percentages, what a nerd! I hope you enjoy my table top vignette.

West Elm Comforter

Yay! I found an alternative for my $300 coveted bed comforter, this one is a duvet cover but it looks the same and comes in many colors for $99. Hummm, my bed might get a makeover after all!

Anthropologie!!!

Wish this was me! On a beach, enjoying the sun, in a fabulous bathing suit from anthropologie. I guess it could be, if I had an extra couple of hundreds of dollars........

Well, I might, after I start my new job!!!!! But first, I have been wanting, no, coveting this bedspread for years. Literally. I do not think it would be practical to have with two young children, however, they are hardly on the bed and they never sleep with us so......... a girl can dream!