shoestring sophistication

5/5/11

A Look Back to the Wedding: 1 Year ago

I thought it would be fitting to share with you some of our wedding details. We are coming up on our one year anniversary. I can honestly say that I think pinterest would have helped me in my wedding planning process, but nonetheless it was a great day that we will never forget!

Here are our Save the Dates. I ordered them from weddingpaperdivas.com.

I handmade all of our invitations. I used creamy cardstock, metallic paper, a gold flower stamp and gold text. The floral band was from Paper Source.

I also handmade our programs. I attached wooden fans to each one to help cool off our guests:)

Our guest book was also from Paper Source.

Here is the Honeymoon Suite at Circle S. Ranch where we got married. It was a beautiful setting.

We kept it simple with orange centerpieces.

My lovely cousin zipping me up!

I had this flower made by an etsy seller.

The bridesmaid dresses were from J. Crew and gold knotted necklace from Macy's.

Making the walk, getting ready for the ceremony!

The best little helpers!

He had to wipe his sweat off, off course!

It's official!

Now we are ready to party:)

Goodnight ya'll!

5/4/11

DIY Mirrored Furniture Anyone?

This was the easiest D&R project ever. Probably because all I had to do was drop off an old bathroom mirror at a glass cutting shop and have them cut it for me. I called to get a quote before I went and they said it would be $5 per piece ($15). Who knew it would cost $8 for each drilled hole ($24). Oh well, $42 later and this piece of children's furniture is as sophisticated as can be!

Before:

After:

Ta daaa!

PS - I picked up some free wooden pallets today and I can't wait to show you what we have planned!

5/3/11

You would think I was throwing a baby shower...

Because I am! And today I wanted to share with you a few of my projects for this special day.

I have made 3 fabric pom poms:

35 Owl favor bags (that will soon be stuffed with yummy chocolates):

A baby name banner:

And one centerpiece:

More fun stuff to come, I promise!

5/2/11

My Decorating Agenda: 5.2.11

I have had some projects piling up in my head and this week I plan to check some of them off the list.

First, I plan to take some old bathroom mirrors to a glass cutting shop to get cut. I saw this photo and realized that I have a few pieces of furniture that could use some pizzaz!

I have my eye on updating 2 of these...

And the colored panels in this piece...

I am very excited to get this project underway!

My peonies are getting ready to bloom and I think I need some gorgeous vases to display them in. What could be easier than some glass bottles with a drop of paint? Apparently all you need to do to make this beauties is put a dollop of paint in the vessel and twist & turn it until it is completely coated!

I have yet to share this last project with my husband, so we will have to wait and see if it comes to fruition. I need a place to get comfortable out on our deck and if some free pallets show up on my local CL you can be sure I will be making one of these!

Have a great day:)

4/28/11

White Bedding + 2 Dogs = ?

I love the look of clean white bedding, but have always thought it would never be possible for me to have. With 2 70+ lb. dogs (one black and one blonde = two different shedding colors) I was sure that white bedding would be a disaster. However, the more I read up on this topic the more I find myself talking myself into accepting white bedding to make its place in our room. Any bedding with color or a pattern cannot be bleached, so those muddy paw prints must be scrubbed out before you even consider putting it in the washer. With white bedding you can use bleach and those muddy paw prints will come right out! This is what has got me thinking about adding something like this to our bedroom...

I love all of these rooms and there is a reoccurring theme between them besides the white bedding. Almost all of them have a throw at the foot of the bed. Considering our dogs sleep at the foot of the bed this would make a lot of sense for us! White bedding with a gray throw (blonde hair + black hair = gray hair) at the foot of the bed. Now I just have to convince my husband that this makes sense. I'll let you know how that goes!

Have a great day:)

4/27/11

Gray Love

Let's face it, I have never fallen out of love with gray, but I am officially back on the gray wagon. For the kitchen cabinets that is. I watched Dear Genevieve this weekend and she used "Chelsea Gray" for the kitchen cabinets and it looked beautiful. I cannot find a picture of the room anywhere, but here is a swatch...

Here are some other inspiration pics I pulled together....

Now here is my dilemma. I have had my heart set on using Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations. I really don't want to do all that sanding! However, the only color they have close to Chelsea Gray

is Federal Gray

and to me it looks purple. I am wondering if they would be able to add some brown undertones to it to make it more neutral. Does anybody know if they will help you make a custom color with their kit? I am assuming they won't, but it never hurts to ask. If they won't do it I think I will just have to do my cabinets the old school way. I don't want to settle on a color I don't love just to use their kit. Hopefully I can make it to Home Depot sometime in the next week and ask all of these questions. I'll let you know what I find out.

Have a nice day:)

4/26/11

New Things!

First off, I must include one more picture of my beautiful niece. I crocheted this headband for her and added a flower to it. She looks precious if I do say so myself!

The other new things in my life are these ol' night stands (finally, the search is over!). I am not "in love" with them, but they were a steal, they are "white white" and they have a drawer. I can definitely live with that! We paid $60 total for both night stands (found on Craig's list).

I plan to add a simple mirror behind each one and obviously some lamps! I am thinking something along these lines...