Lazy Sunday Giveaway

**This Giveaway has ended.**

I have a wonderful giveaway for you today!  Danielle from The Conservatory Girl makes some wonderful items that she sells in her Etsy shop.  Danielle is offering up one of her items {up to a value of $12.00} to the winner of this giveaway! 

Here are just a few of her items and she will be  adding more this week!

Beautiful headbands ~ for girls of any age!  These colors are great!

Onesie’s just in time for Easter.  How cute is this?!?

To enter, visit Danielle’s Etsy shop and then come back here and let me know which one of her items you might like.  For additional entries you can:

• Post about this giveaway on your blog or put it on your sidebar and come back and let me know in a separate comment; and/or
• Tweet about this giveaway, come back and let me know in a separate comment with your @ name.

If you do not have a blog, you can still enter; you just have to leave an email address so you can be contacted.  This giveaway is open to U.S. residents.

This giveaway will run through to Thursday, March 4th, 8:00 p.m. EST, and the winner will be chosen via random.org.  Winner will be announced shortly after that time and have 48 hours to confirm or an alternate winner will be chosen.

This Little Light Of Mine

When I first got this lamp {oh, about 10 years ago} it was something I had to hunt down.  It is wood and it came unfinished; ready for you to paint and decorate it!  I had seen it in a magazine and it took me months to find it.

 

I wanted it so badly because I wanted to coordinate a lamp to cornices I had made for my son’s room.  Even then I had a fleur fixation!  I painted it the colors that were in the fabric of the cornice and it sat nicely on my son’s dresser until about three years ago.  It was then banished to the basement never to be seen again.  Until . . . one day this January I was in the basement looking for something else.

I knew I was going to need a lamp for the desk in the living room to replace the brass one I would be getting rid of.  This one.  So back upstairs it came!

 

Perfect to paint black and use some scrapbook papers on.  The shade, unfortunately, could not be reused.  I hot glued the fabric on there so good.  Too good.  That baby is not coming off!

I gave the whole thing about three coats of black spray paint.  I got a great black and white scrapbook paper book from Hobby Lobby online {yay!} and picked out a Harlequin pattern paper. 

I measured the area on the lamp where I wanted to put the paper.  I decided to leave a little of the black paint showing on each side’s edge. 

I also paid homage to the fleur I had originally stenciled on it by painting a small wood fleur and attaching it to the front.

After searching online for lamp shades, I finally found one that I not only liked, but that didn’t require me to take out a second mortgage.  I got the shade from Etsy seller Boopsy Doodle’s Boutique.   

An attractive lamp to provide some much needed light at my desk and all I had to buy was the lamp shade!

Linking up with:

Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered

DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land

Make It Yours Day at My Backyard Eden

Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Be Inspired at Room To Inspire

 

Cute Mini Clipboards

I had bought a few of these mini clipboards a week or two ago from Target’s dollar section for $.70 each.  I knew I was going to cover them with scrapbook paper and I utilized two blogger’s tutorials for this project. 

 

Hold on ~ let me just check my Blog Projects binder so I can tell you who . . .

Ah, here they are ~ Amanda from Imperfectly Beautiful {I just realized Amanda did the mini notebooks, too!} and Controlling My Chaos.  {See how handy that is? And I can give proper credit to the blogs I saw them on!}.

 

Just so you realize that not every project comes out perfectly, I believe that because these mini clipboards are shiny it made it difficult for the Mod Podge to stick.  Two of the scrapbook papers I used were thick and one was a bit thinner, and I had the same problem with all three papers coming up.  Even after I did a top coat of Mod Podge!   I wound up redoing the areas that were coming up, putting Mod Podge all around the edges, as well as another coat on top, and that seemed to keep them adhered.

Here are the three of them.  All three are different as far as color and design of the papers used.

I did one with the pink damask that matches the prayer candle and mini notebook I covered a few weeks ago.  I’m thinking of adding some more pieces of ribbon to the clip part.

I did one with a Paris Eiffel Tower paper and added a Paris tag that I had purchased off Etsy several months ago.  The colors work so well together!

The last one is a little different and I haven’t added any tag or anything {yet}, because I thought the paper was enough by itself.

The pink damask clipboard will be joining it’s friends and will become a set that will be going for auction at one of the local school’s Fashion Show and Auction, along with one of my gift certificates {good toward a one hour interior redesign consultation}.  How does that look?

Apparently, they make up huge baskets to auction off, so this will probably go in a basket with some other, related items that someone will bid on.  I think something like this makes a nice gift set on its own as well.

Linking up with Weekend Wrap-up at Tatertots and Jello.

 

My Local Decorating Class

The Mount Sinai Adult Education Program booklet for Spring 2010 is out!

I’m revisiting a class I first did about three years ago, which many people in my recent classes had indicated an interest in.  Here is the information from page 8 of the program booklet:

Colors and Patterns for Your Home
Ms. Kathy Passarette HS 107
Certified Interior Decorator

Not sure how to pick colors and patterns when decorating
your home? Making interior decorating choices
can be overwhelming and stressful. This class will
help you make those important choices. Learn how to
select colors and patterns for your home, how to mix
more than one pattern in a room, and the latest color
trends for 2010.

Class:………………….Wednesday, April 28, 2010
(1 Session)  7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Fee: $10
FREE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

 

Although the booklet is mailed to Mount Sinai residents, you do not have to be a resident of Mount Sinai to attend any of these classes.  I’ve inserted a couple of links to the program booklet where you can access a registration form. 

I’m looking forward to presenting this program again and, if you live in the area, hope you will join us! 

 

I Need Some Privacy

In redoing my living room I had gotten some new drapes from Ballard Designs {on sale $59.00 a panel}.   One of the treatments I removed from the window was cafe-style curtains that I used on the lower half of the windows.  These are very long windows and just perfect for people to look into from the street.

So, I’m not comfortable just leaving them open like this.  I still had some of this fabric from the ottoman I made here.  Plus, I kept the tension rods that I had originally used in this window. 

I had just enough, in fact, to use it at the windows as an under-treatment to the panels.  These are a 3-window unit.  Each window measures 24 inches wide.   I didn’t want to go the whole way down, so I measured about halfway down ~ 31 inches long.  {Pardon the glare and my filthy windows}.

I cut the fabric, adding a couple of inches all the way around for the seams.  I ironed down the seams on all four sides.  I then used my Stitch Witchery iron on hem tape to secure the seams.  I incorporated a sleeve for the tension rods in the top. 

Here’s what I got.

For the bottom, I decided to try something a little different.  I found some wrapping paper rolls and stole their cardboard roll.  These rolls just happened to fit the width of these windows {this makes it meant to be in my book!}. 

Starting at the bottom I rolled the fabric up using the cardboard roll.  I added black ribbon on both sides to tie it up and I can let it down if I so choose.   I need to get another roll of ribbon for the third window.  I did not secure the ribbon to the fabric; it is just laying on it and I moved the tied portion around to the other side.

You could do different variations with this basic make-up.  You could take the ribbon and just tie each side up {without the cardboard roll}.  You could also use pins or whatever else to do the faux roman shade look like I did here.  Or you could just leave it down, although I would probably add a beautiful decorative trim to the bottom edge to finish it off.  {I’ll bet a black and clear beaded trim would look great}!

My windows used about 1 1/2 yards of fabric {total}.  The fabric was $14.98 a yard from fabric.com and I originally purchased 3 yards.  Best $45.00 I’ve spent so far this year!  The tension rods and cardboard rolls were free, since I had them already, and the ribbon was $3.99 a roll.  {I have a coupon for 30% off ribbon that I can use on the third roll}.

Now I don’t feel like I’m right out there in the open when I go into this room! 

Linking up to

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch

Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered

DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land

It’s So Very Creative at It’s So Very Cheri

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Giveaway Winner

The winner, chosen by Random.org is

Comment #29 ~ Calamity Anne!

Congratulations Anne!!

Please email your name and address, and the item of your choice {up to $10.00} from One Cheap B*tch’s Etsy shop, to kathyp{at}creativehomeexpressions{dot}com, and I will forward it onto her.

5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .

This week our 5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . . feature takes us to visit with Jen of Tatertots & Jello blog! 

Favorite music at the moment: I love anything upbeat and happy. I am loving Cold Play and Keane right now.

If you didn't live where you do, where would you live: I would love to live somewhere WARM! Like Hawaii :)

Favorite cocktail: I don't really do cocktails, but I love a ice cold Diet Coke!

Best advice you ever received: Not to sweat the small stuff...

Person you most admire: I really admire the blogger Nie Nie. She has gone through so much with such strength and grace. She is such an inspiration to me to be a better person and mom!


Thanks so much, Jen!  It's been great to find out a little bit more about you!


Don't forget to enter our current giveaway!  Ends Thursday, February 25th!

Going For The Gold

Going for it and painting over it!  I finally picked up some Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and I have to say that I love it just as much as the bloggers who’ve mentioned it.  

Just to give you a small sample, I bought these little ceramic fleur de lys pieces from Dollar Tree a few weeks ago.  Rather than go with white or black I thought I’d try the Oil Rubbed Bronze on them.

I love the way they turned out!

I found two pictures in my basement with gold frames and cherub-y type pictures that had been in my daughter’s room, and decided to paint out the gold with the Oil Rubbed Bronze.  {I thought I had before pictures of them, but I can’t find them}.  I also wanted to change out the pictures in these frames, too.  I found this picture/poster at Michael’s and used my 40% off coupon.  I figured I could cut it to adapt to the larger of the two frames.

Save the scraps; they can be used on another project {or as you will see below}.

Here is how it turned out.

Love it!

I had also picked up a couple of sheets of scrapbook paper and had actually purchased this one to do on one of the clipboards I found at Target.  {I’ve already cut out the image in this picture}.

Since it had a French design, and the picture I had just completed also had a French design, I decided to use the scrapbook paper as the image for the second, smaller picture.  It was a bit small for the frame, so I used the excess edging I cut off from the picture and used that over the mat area.  Here you can see the original image that I am going right over ~ mat and all.

I cut out the Eiffel Tower portion of the scrapbook paper and put that on top ~ centered.  I used double sided tape to attach everything to the original mat and picture.

I’m really pleased with the way both turned out!  I thought I was going to have a difficult time finding pictures to fit these frames, but it turned out well doing it on my own.

Now I just need to paint that gold mirror!

Don’t forget to enter the current giveaway!  It ends Thursday!