Photo Hanger

I have no headboard. No art above the bed. Just a bed. Plain. Boring.
I live in the desert. I miss the trees.
So I put one in the bedroom :)
Well, a branch anyway.
This is an easy way for me to display all those tiny snapshots of my husband and I.
My dresser can only hold so much.

Branch
Nails
Wire
Framed photos
String

I wanted to dress it up a bit more so I made some cornstarch clay ornament and tied ribbon of the same color to attach them to the branch <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

( 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 cup baking soda, 3/4 cup water. Bake at 175 for an hour or so ( I colored them with powdered china paint and sealed with an acrylic spray.)

My House Smells SO Good!

I bought a bottle of Scentsy Washer Whiffs the other day from a friend and I am in LOVE with how good this stuff makes my clothes smell!
I thought people were crazy for spending $12 in a bottle of pink crystals that make your laundry smell nice.
It smelled so good that I thought I'd mix some up in some warm water and put in a spray bottle to make my house smell good and it's worked great!
I put 1 teaspoon in about 1/2 cup of water and microwaved it for about 30 seconds to dissolve the crystals. I poured the liquid into a spray bottle and filled it the rest of the way with plain water. Sprayed on my kids bedding, dog kennel blankets, curtains, rugs & pretty much any fabric surface I could find! Lol
It makes my home smell so good and the scent lasts a long time!!
I've made fabric freshener from liquid fabric softener and baking soda in water, but it always clogs my spray bottle. As long as the crystals are dissolved, this seems to work great!!
Enjoy!

My Cowboy Corner

Or should I say Cowboy and Indian corner?
Anyway,

Yes, I have a saddle in my living room. It was my husbands grandfathers saddle the was made especially for him. I've even used this saddle to ride my own horse.

I had some old Jim Stuckenberg prints that my mother in law had given us and finally framed them.
The peace pipe my brother Bill had made for me years ago and the cute little dream catcher was made by my oldest daughter years ago. Added a couple of my husbands old hats, a gold mining pan and our huge collection of "special" rocks and I am really liking this space.
The "Little Chief" figurine was my mothers and the pocket knife my fathers.
The painting behind the little Indian is a thrift store find and the photo is myself and my husband from 20 years ago. (I worked at an old time photo studio and made him take a photo haha!)
<3 data-blogger-escaped-br=""> I added a few branches behind everything too.
If I had more room in this corner, I'd probably put one of my guitars there!

My Mantle Decor

Every few years I get a bug to rearrange my rooms...I think it comes from being in one place for over 5 years, after moving at least once a year for the 15 or so years before.
I usually don't buy much, but simply rearrange or pull out stuff that I've had stored away or even repaint & make old things new :)
Here's what I've done lately:
My mantle- I love my mantle at Christmas and have a huge Nativity set with garland and lights and sparkle and it fills it up! After Christmas I put a few family photos there and wasn't very pleased. SO, I gathered MORE and more photos!! I put them in similar frames and still wasn't happy. I remembered a gift a friend had given me a few years before- a cute photo holder that read FAMILY. Perfect! Except for the fact that it was typical brown shiny finished and didn't have much character. So, I painted and distressed it. So much better!
Add a vase, some twigs...wait, it's unbalanced...sigh!
So I found an old picture frame I've held onto for years and turned it on its side for height and balanced the mantle decor out. BUT... It looked weird.
A very nice lady gave me a wicker heart that had been painted baby blue (I have nearly no blue in my home...) so I painted it a color I liked and tied a scrap of muslin on it and hung it from the frame. Then I stepped back and looked....the fabric was too white! So down the heart came and off came the fabric. I put the fabric in a cup of hot tea and let it sit for an hour or so til I liked the color. I let it dry and put the heart back up and I love it now :D

Butterflies!

This was fun!
I've been wanting to add more to Jessica's room, especially to the empty wall behind the vanity.
I have seen many photos on Pinterest of butterflies seemingly flying up the wall and thought it'd be perfect!
I'm on a very tight budget so there is no way I can pay $20 for a dozen of these made by someone else so...once again I saved a box ( Sprite 24 pack) and cut it open to use the cardboard.
I drew a few butterflies and cut them out to use as a template and just traced around them so all the butterflies were similar.
After cutting them all out (I got 26 out of one box!) I took them to the garage and spray painted them black.
Let them dry, flipped them over and painted the other side. Let them dry once again and brought them in to stick on the wall.
I folded the wings up to add dimension and stuck them randomly on the wall with tape. (thinking that double sided tape might stick better to her textured wall!) I'll probably save another box to add about 15 more for the effect I want. She loves it!

I also added a branch/stick I have painted black and put nails in to hang her necklaces and such on. Still need to add about 15 more butterflies!

I wasn't liking the bulletin board under the branch, so we decided to hang some small picture frames with pink ribbon ;)

Magazine Holder

Jess has been wanting something to keep her magazines in but I really didn't want to spend a lot, so I spent nothing! (Ok I bought the cereal and wrapping paper for other purposes but would have normally thrown away what I used)
Very easy and matches her dresser!
I took a cereal box and cut the sides at an angle from about 5 inches from the bottom and just wrapped it like you would a gift.
I also covered one of her old science fair project boards with the same paper (it was a big roll!) for a bulletin board :)
I know these wont last forever, but she's 13 and her tastes are bound to change again and again.
2 end tables left to paint and this kids room is finished!

Decoupage Dresser

I like how this turned out for Jessica's room, but I think I can do better next time :D
This is the first time I've really played with decoupage so it was a learning experience. She loves it so that's all that really matters!
We also put her desk in the closet so she's got more room now.

I added a lamp to her desk since the above photo was taken. Jessica says she can concentrate better with her desk in the closet as it blocks out noise and distractions.