Smart Shelf Ideas

I'm am a collector who never seems to have enough storage, which is why I LOVE smart shelving ideas!

1. Art Shelf: If you're someone with a large art collection, or who has a hard time putting holes in your walls, the art shelf is a great solution. You can layer all your art pieces, photos, and little do-dads to make a lovely little collage. I love how this home owner used a clamp lamp on the edge of the shelf! It's such a smart solution when you may not have room for a table in the corner but still need some light
2. Little Corner Shelf: This is such a great solution when there isn't enough space in a bedroom for a side stable, this little corner shelf gives you just enough room to hold a light, a book and a glass of water! 
3. Over the Door Shelf: If you have a small bathroom like me, this little shelf over your door is a smart way to take advantage of unused space
4. Ski Shelves: My Poppop loved skiing and we have a couple sets of antique skis and I have never had any clue what to do with them. I love the idea of turning them into shelves! It keeps the house from feeling like a mountain lodge but still incorporates a fun element of surprise into an art display! 

Travel: Moscow, Russia

So I'm back from my quick trip to Russia. It was very much like what I expected and at the same time, not what I expected at all. Winter in Moscow is grey. Very grey. The architecture was not at all what I expected. The city center is really amazingly beautiful, and the architecture is a lovely mix of styles, and  Red Square is pretty amazing. I missed a crazy protest in Red Square by just one day (it would have been a crazy story to have seen that!). I bought myself a beautiful set of Russian nesting dolls which are now living among with my other travel nick-nacks. I just have to say a little something about all these pictures too:

1. Saint Basil's Cathedral: thats me, I really cant get over how cool this Church is, I just love all the detail and color.
2. The buildings in Red Square are amazing, just look at that brick work! 
3. So I had to snap this pic, you can see a little rainbow hidden in the mural on that building. I like to think it's a little gay pride despite all the persecution going on there at the moment. 
4. I love the lamp posts on this street, I also love wide walkways like this where no cars are allowed. You never find streets like this in America, a place catering completely to pedestrians. 
5. Me and a co-worker getting a pic with Stalin and Lenin looks alikes, just because it's ridiculous that there are people dressing up to make money from tourists like us.
6. Spotted this man walking his dog with his itty bitty kitten sitting on his head. 
7. My perdy new nesting dolls! 

Winter Wedding Details

1. Winter Cake   2. Car Wreath   3. Winter Berry Place Cards   4. Cotton Centerpieces   

5. Cotton and Pine Cone Bouquet   6. Fur Wraps

Winter weddings never seem to get much press, but there are so many lovely wintery elements that you can work in to make your wedding special and memorable without just falling into the obvious snow flake trap. I love the idea of bringing in leafy wreathes, cotton elements, wood pieces, winter berries and fur wraps to create a cozy and wintery feel!

Hand Lettering: "Follow Your Heart But Take Your Brain With You"

I love this saying. It appeals to my practical & dreaming heart!

I just got home from Russia late last night, I'll share some photos with you next week!

I'm getting excited for the official start of the holiday season! Because even though they are already playing Christmas music on the radio, I refuse to start listening until AFTER thanksgiving! I'm hosting Thanksgiving in our new house this year for the first time! Have I ever cooked a Turkey? No. I'm more excited about decorating and making it all look pretty. The turkey can't be that hard right?

Sneak Peek: Save the Dates

I've been toiling away on some save the dates, we're making sure they go out BEFORE the holiday card onslaught. It's a photo postcard, so most of it is done on the computer, but to give it a little something special, I decided to hand letter their names and wedding logo. This is a little pic of me working on it while Lincoln snoozes on the couch. The full reveal will be in the next couple weeks!

Fireplace Fillers

1. White Books   2. Colored Books   3. Log Ends   4. Log Sides   5. Miscellaneous Whimsy   5. Bones

We have one fireplace in our house, and unfortunately, it's not in the living room. It's in the man cave. Also, when furnishing the mancave, we kept our old, VERY comfortable couch. Alas, that couch has is a lounge sectional and the only place in the room that couch fits, puts the lounge extension part  in front of the fireplace, which means we will pretty much NEVER light a fire in it. So, I've been trying to think of fun things to do with it! Because it's the man cave, the bones are calling to me, but I fear that our Mastiff Truman would decide to gnaw on them, so I think the logs or the books would be the best idea. I've got to give this some more serious thought!

DIY Book Profiles

I don't know if I've said this before, but I LOVE books. I love the feel and smell and curling up with one for hours. That being said, I have a plethora of books, even though I've more or less converted to the kindle, books still seem to accumulate in our house. I had some old books that would never be reread, so I decided to do a little art project.

I have a thing for silhouettes, and I saw these book letters at Anthropologie, and decided I could do something similar but with profiles of me, the hubby, and the dogs! I think I like the dog ones the best! something about their profiles just works better on display. I think these would make great DIY Christmas / Holiday gifts for family members and friends! They could also be a great addition to a wedding display!

Supplies:

1. Old books
2. Pretty paper, I bought mine from Paper Source and decided to stick to a metallic and neutral color pallet
3. Modge Podge 
4. Paintbrush
5. Sandpaper

Tools:

1. Bandsaw (though I imagine you could do this with an exacto blade, the bandsaw is just faster!)

Process:

1. Make profiles of the people or animals you plan to use, scale them to fit the book and trace outline onto the cover
2. Cut out profile using a band saw or exacto blade
3. Sand edges of the book cover
4. After cutting the edges, the were browned by the band saw, so I decided to lux them up a bit like really nice books and spray paint the page edges gold. As you're covering the books, just go crazy with the spray paint and make sure the book edge is fully gilded. Give it about an hour to dry. 
5. Trace new book shape onto the paper you plan to cover the book with. Cut around the edges leaving a 1/2 inch boarder.
6. Brush Modge Podge onto the paper and smooth it onto the book. Do it one piece at a time, i.e. the back first, then the spine, then the front, smoothing out the paper as you go.
7. Fold the extra paper over the edges of the book, you will need to put slits in the paper to accommodate the curves. 
8. To make the inside cover looks finished, Modge Podge the first and last pages to the cover. 
9. Cut a 3 inch piece of paper the length of the spine and Modge Podge it onto the book, curling the ends around the edges of the book.
10. Let dry and display!