{Personalized Rug Tutorial}

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When I bought this rug I knew exactly what I would do to jazz it up. Since I love putting our last name on everything (see our half bathroom) I thought this would be a fun little project.

What you'll need for this project:
1. Paint brush
2. Stencil
3. Paint
4. Level
5. Tape
6. Scissors

First, I put stencil letters on the rug. Then lined up the laser level. Once they were lined up I taped down the letters.

I used acrylic paint I got at Michael's on sale to stencil on our name.

The rug now sits at the front door to greet our visitors.

White vs. Colored Christmas Lights

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This year in the Domestic Princess house we have had the great Christmas Light Debate: White vs. Colored Lights. 

Ever since the first year we started putting out Christmas lights, we have had colored lights. Each year we buy more colored lights so that the whole house is lite up with beautiful Christmas lights.

Credit

 But this year I wanted to try to do white lights and Chris is VERY objected to this. I thought it would be fun to do wreaths in the windows and white lights out front. More of a traditional holiday display.

What color light do you do outside?

Decorating: Pottery Barn Garden Stool

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I recently came across this stool at Big Lots for $20.

As soon as we spotted it, I knew exactly where I had seen it before: Pottery Barn. The biggest difference between them is Pottery Barn's version sells for $159. Yes, that's right I paid $20. 

Another Pottery Barn knockoff for the Princess. I think for now it will be used as a table on the front porch but it may end up in the backyard at some point.

 

One Year Ago

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We closed on our first house. I will never forget the amazing feeling we had as we walked out of the realtors office, knowing we were going to our first home. Chris and I were on cloud nine. Then we walked into the house and the chest pains began.  We remembered that we bought a work in progress. 

Here are some pictures of the house, the day we took ownership of it:

The Dining Room

The Kitchen

The Living Room

The Half Bath

The Hallway Bath

The Backyard

Click on the links and you'll see the current state of each room. It's amazing how far we've come in a year. We love living in our house and have already created such wonderful memories.

Do you remember how you felt when you bought your first home?

Decorating: New Accessories

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I found these books at Garden Ridge for $7 a piece and knew they would be perfect for our guest bedroom.

As soon I bought these, I headed right over to Target because I knew I had the perfect topper for these books. I have been stalking this Eiffel Tower for months.

I'm in love with my new accessories. What do you think?

Decorating: Finished Bathroom

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We are reveling in our newly decorated bathroom. It took some time and money but I think we have finally settled on decorations that will last more than a few months.

We made alot of small changes that amounted to a big change.

Mirror

I DIY'ed this picture with scrapbook paper

The new shower curtain hooks

Here's the breakdown of what we changed:

Paint: Sherwin Williams Relaxed Khaki $30

Mirror: Kirklands $29.99

Shower Curtain: Target $10

Bathmat: Target $7

Picture Frame: Target $20

Flower: Target $7.99

Shower Curtain Hooks: Bed, Bath and Beyond $15

Scrapbook Paper: $1

Total Cost: $120.98

And just like with any renovation, it sparks more things that can be upgraded. So, I think we will probably get a new light fixture soon.

Let me know what you think. Do you love it or hate it?

Decorating: Bathroom Preview

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Sneak Peek!

It's almost done, I can't wait to show you guys! Have a great weekend.

I will announce the winner of the $25 Ecostore Giveaway tomorrow.

Decorating: Martha Stewart Poms

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My friend, Amy, saw the mood board that I did for Mrs. Messi and fell in love with the Martha Stewart Poms that I included in her Mood Board.

So on Saturday while the electric was out for 10 hours, Christopher and I headed to Amy's house to borrow some heat and electric. Chris and Amy's husband, Bill, watched movies with their daughter, Addison. Amy and I, tried our hand at the Martha Stewarts Poms. These Poms will go in Addison's new Big Girl Room, once her new brother gets her in June.

Here's what we did:

1. You'll need 8 pieces of tissue paper, monofiliment, floral wire and scissors

2. Fan Fold the 8 pieces of tissue paper (about 1 1/2 inch folds)

3. Cut an 18 inch piece of floral wire

4. With the folds facing up, wrap the floral wire in the middle of the fan folded tissue

5. Cut the edges (round, pointy, etc)

7. Seperate the layers of tissue

10. Finish Fluffing

**Don't forget to register for the $25 EcoStore USA Giveaway**

Decorating: Baby Room Mood Board

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My wonderful bloggy friend, Mrs. Messi, contacted me wanting some help with her nursery. She is having a baby girl. Here is here email:

"I would love if you made a nursery idea board for me!

So far I am thinking blue walls, with some pink or white horizontal stripes...just a few, white bead board on the bottom half, "Dream" somewhere, white or pink curtains, white furniture, and pink accents.

You are so creative...and I just feel lost!"

Here is the breakdown:

1. Crib and Dresser are from Babys R Us
2. Curtains are from Target
3. Quilt is from Sandra Baby Quilts, this is where the inspiration for the room came from
4. Pictures on the wall are an I idea I saw at Spearmint Baby. I think you can make these yourself with scrapbook paper.

5. Lamp is from Target.
6. Diaper Genie I put in there for a realistic effect (he, he)
7. Poms are from Martha Stewart and here is the DIY instructions
8. Rug is from Pottery Barn
9. Dream is from one of my favorite blogs, Life in the Fun Lane but Target also has a cool wall decal
10. Glider is from Target
11. Paint (above beadboard) is Behr Blue Feather

Mrs. Messi, I hope this gives you some good ideas for your baby girls nursery. I'm so excited for you to meet your little girl.

**Don't forget to register for the EcoStore USA $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway**

50% 0ff Expensive is still Expensive

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I have been dreaming of something like this:

since we moved into our house. So on Thursday last week, we had Closets by Design come out and give our closet

their best estimate.

We wanted to compare DIY to a professional putting it in.

DIY WINS!

The estimate for our closet was $2730, that included 4 bar hangers, 14 shelves and a hamper in antique white finish. We have a 50% off coupon that would have brought the total to $1365. Whaaaaa?!

We haven't given up on a custom closet but have decided to explore more DIY options. Hopefully, this includes a trip to Ikea.

**Check back tomorrow for an exciting giveaway**

Decorating: Bathroom Redesign

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We have some DIY fail happening in our hallway bathroom. We were so frustrated with it, that we shut the door and forgot about it for 3 months. But it's time to face the ugly problem. This bathroom has been 2 colors since we moved in in May.

This was the first color: Sherwin Williams Greys Harbor. Blah!

With this color we didn't think about not having any windows in the bathroom. Ok, lesson learned.

The second color, I have no clue what it was. The mistake we made here is we just went to the store picked out a color and got to painting. We did not take into effect a color scheme at all. Ok, lesson two learned.

This time we are not going to make any of those mistakes. We have a plan:

We have picked out Relaxed Khaki from Sherwin Williams for the walls

I'm still thinking about pictures but I like this one:

but I may DIY some more scrapbook paper pictures. They are so cheap it's hard not to. We can't wait to get started on the bathroom. I'll keep you updated.

What do you think of our new plan for this bathroom?