Flowers

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Normally I should post something related to holiday decoration, instead today 's post is in absolute contrast to what is going outside my window: cold, rain and a crazy wind that has swept away everything that was standing on our porch.

As November was ending I realized that I hadn't made anything to decorate the house for fall. Too late! The living room looked to me boring but with Christmas approaching I had to bear with it until I started decorating for the holidays. Luckily Petridis put me out of my misery by sending me this amazing bouquet of mixed flowers!

The remains of a wardrobe part 2: the mirror

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Hello everyone!

It still feels like summer here at least in the morning so I admit I wasn't inspired to do any fall decoration at all.
Instead I will show you a mirror I made out of an old wardrobe door a couple of months ago. It is not a complete tutorial, more of a before and after post with some tips. Except I forgot to take a picture of the before.
 

Spring wreaths

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Come with me today to Etsy Greek Street Team blog for some spring wreath inspiration.

Meanwhile the craft goodies giveaway is still open.

Decorating with chairs

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Come along today to Etsy Greek Street Team 's blog where I share some ideas of how to use chairs to decorate your house.

Red pepper garland for the kitchen

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Last summer our neighbor gave us a lot of red peppers from his vegetable garden. It was impossible to consume them all so I decided to dry what was left. I didn't know what I was going to do with them but then I remembered that traditionally peppers are hang in a row to dry and be used in winter, so I decided to make a pepper garland to decorate my kitchen.

Time for some fall decoration

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Things are a little slow in our new home as far as it concerns decorating. We had to deal with more practical issues such as heating and waterproofing the roof. And since painting and furniture makeovers and choosing some new fabrics and curtains are delayed I decided to fool myself by playing with the details. In fact that has always been my favorite part. After deciding the place of the furniture (we were done with that early) and choosing colors and painting the walls, after deciding about curtains and throw pillows, comes the never ending game of making arrangements with decorative objects. I can spend hours grouping things together, steping back, take something off, changing an object's place or trying new combinations. I don't have an infinite collection of decorative items so this process helps me look at them with a new eye.

More palettes

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This weekend didn't have any crafting at all nor any home improvement work  since we had to attend two kids parties plus we are still looking what  woodstove to buy. We 're heading to the middle of October and I am afraid the first colds will find us unprepared. So Saturday morning we were on the road to find the stove. All of the shops selling heating stuff I have visited till now are just a step above a warehouse as far as it concerns decorating. But one of those I visited on Saturday was a very pleasant surpise. So I raised my mobile and took these shots to share it with you. Following the trend that uses palettes to make anything you can imagine, it proves that even a store can look pretty and appealing with little money and a couple of good ideas. The lovers of diy among you could possibly find some good ideas here to steal.

So here's my own addition to the endless list of diy projects with palettes on the internet:

ligth bulbls hanging from a palette

Cutlery for decoration

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Spoons and forks help us eat our food in a civilized way but they can also help us decorate our house with style. Here are some ideas to steal:

You can frame cutlery or make frames of it

 

An Oregon Cottage

Nursery painting

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Last summer one of my best friends gave birth to twin boys. Before that, she had asked me to paint their room. And so I did. We decided for a theme that wouldn't be just for babies, but one that, we hope, will look interesting to the boys until they go to school. Unfortunately the pictures are not good, but you will get an idea. The sure thing is I enjoyed it very much and hope the babies will live their first years in this room very happily.

What you probably won't see in the above pictures is that the blue clouds, the three little houses, the helicopter, and the three trees are made of thick cardboard covered with fabric, trims and fabric hardener for protection, which gives a slight three dimensional effect. As soon as I get the chance to take more detailed pictures, I will post them here, together with other kids rooms I have painted in the past.

Lights please!

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The lights I am showing you today have not so much in common but I like all of them!
The first case is a -literally- bright idea, lights made of vintage crystal decanters, after their bottom has been removed. They look beautiful in a cluster, the light sparkles as it  passes through the crystal, adding luxury and elegance to the room.

Made by interior designer  Lee Broomer, via Apartment Therapy.  

Here's a lamp that looks like a book, designed by My-Seung Kim and Myung-Seo Kang, found on HomeDosh. The light can be adjusted by opening the book more or less.

 The last one is a pair of lights made of wooden shoe trees, steel pipe and sphere lamps by Junction Products, a company that makes amazing things from stuff that people consider to be junk. I have a similar pair of shoe trees, I could try to make something like this.

I think all three ideas are very special and the addition of one of them in a room would immediately add character to it. 

Make with fabric scraps

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If you are a crafty person, most probably you keep a heap of fabric scraps in your closet, even if you are not a sewing expert. Good for you, because there are lots of things you can make with them and here are some ideas:

An easy  fabric ball necklace, just fabric and wire. Learn how here. 

On Make It and Love It you will learn to make this framed initial which is perfect for a kid's room but for other rooms also, depending on the fabric's pattern and color.

If you have tiny pieces of fabric and are ready to throw them away because you think they 're useless, don't until you read this tutorial about how you can decorate a plain pillow.

Little strips of fabric can become a pom pom, perfect as party decoration or as a permanent decorative item. Read the instructions here. 
 

These yo-yos could make a pretty accent on your t-shirt, your hair or your purse. They are easy to make and Heather Bailey shows you how.

This is a beautiful idea. If you have larger fabric scraps you can make a gallery of fabric "works of art" to decorate your wall. Read how you can make them on Bella Dia.

On craftstylish I found these super easy and cute hair pins.

Aren't these fabric cuffs adorable? They require more advanced sewing skills but they are worth the effort. JCasa gives a free PDF to make them.

Again a no-sew project: a bouquet of fabric flowers for the days you don't have fresh flower in your vase. You will find the tutorial on Made.

A bunting is the perfect decoration for parties. Here you will find Purl Bee's version.


And of course you should never throw away your worn out jeans. Denim fabric will add extra style to your fabric scrap creations. Here are a few ideas:

A soft book for babies. Visit Thimbly Things to find the tutorial.

 

 A very original pair of earrings made with silk and denim scraps by Tomates d' Epingles.

A way to get organized with style, found on All Free Crafts.

I hope this post gave you enough inspiration to try and make something of your own with your fabric scraps.

Bicycles

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I 've been keeping my old rusty bicycle in the back balcony for more than two years, since the day I decided that I wouldn't use it any more, at least as a bicycle. All that time of course I was trying to come up with a way to upcycle - reuse it, partly or as a whole. Searching the web, I stumbled upon some projects concerning mainly the wheels, but I thought nothing matched my space. And then, when things showed the moment came for me and my bicycle to be separated for ever, as I intended to give it away to be recycled as metal, I came up with the idea: to paint it one color from top to bottom. In fact I copied the idea from a magazine, I don't remember now  if it was a fashion or an interior design magazine, there were some totally one color painted bicycles as a background in some pictures. It only took one and a half can of green spray paint.

I think it made a very interesting addition to my otherwise neglected, not so green balcony. And since I don't have much of a view I prefer to look at my green bicycle. At least it brings to mind some joyful, relaxed moments.


It seems that a bicycle can be very pretty inside the house too, like in this New York apartment.

via Apartment Therapy

a bicycle wheel can be turned into a pot rack

via Apartment Therapy

or a clock

 via Cool Buzz

or even a pendant light 

via designspotter

the inner tube can become cool jewelry

 

via try handmade  

bicycle freewheels and cogs can be upcycled into tea light holders

at Elsewares

and bicycle wheels can stand for feet to make a very special table -my favorite!

via Dude Craft

Like stained glass

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via craftster

What a great idea! To make this really original curtain old photographic slides were used. The making is rather simple, a drill was used to make holes and they were attached to each other with rings. Click here to see exactly how. I like how they look as the sun light passes through them, it reminds me of churches' stained glass windows.

Inspired by fall

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As we are in the last month of fall I'd like to show you some very pretty fall settings you could easily create in your home to make it feel warmer and more ambient now that the weather is getting colder. Warm oranges, browns and reds, dried leaves and fruits, bare branches and of course lit candles will create the right mood.

hgtv

boosalis bloggle

Penelope Illustration

Tiny Prints 

Jeanne Winters

My Cottage of Bliss

Renae Moore Designs 

Marie Claire Idees 

Marie Claire Idees 

How to make a wall hanging from doilies

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Despite my last post, I 'm still here. Moving was postponed, because due to the work it requires, it can't be done now. But still, I made some changes . I refreshed my blog's appearance and separated it to two sections, one with only English text and one with only Greek text. It looks more right this way and it' s easier to read.

I also made something to decorate my home. I thought I could use some of those doilies my mother kept hidden in her closets -she didn't like them much either. She was very surprised when I asked her to bring me some.

When I emptied the bag, I was thinking of what I could make with them.  Then I remembered of that wall in my dining room which is quite empty and decided to make a wall hanging to decorate it.

I boiled equal quantities of sugar and water

and after the syrup cooled down, I completely soaked the doilies in it,

then I laid them on baking paper and waited with patience for them to get dry .

 The method proved to be very effective, it stiffened the doilies without altering their appearance. Moreover, if you change your mind, all you have to do is wash the doilies and they return to their previous situation.

I used small copper rings, as they wouldn't show against my brown wall,  to link 5 doilies and just one pin to hang the wall hanging.

If you republish this tutorial or/and photos, please put a link back to this blog.