Repost of Linen Napkins

This is a repost of the linen napkins that I made for my mom for her birthday. I used the speckled eggs graphic from Graphics Fairy. They turned out really cute and they were very easy to make. Thanks Karen for sharing all your wonderful pictures.

Five Minutes on the Soapbox

Okay this will be my five minutes on the soapbox. Here we go...

Tuesday I went to my local favorite flea and antique market. I won't mention the name. I love walking in the door and the gentleman who helps you carry the big stuff ALWAYS greets you with a smile and offers to help should you need it. The staff is just as nice. It was going well, I found two small painted prints for a collection that I'm working on. Feeling pretty awesome about my finds I happened upon a silver serving tray with a faux wood inlay. Cool! It was marked $15. Not too bad...I picked it up and looked it over closely. Then I flipped it over to the bottom and there I saw the grease pencil price from Goodwill!!!!! I was....hmm, should I say bad words right now? No, I'll remain calm. Anyway the price on the bottom was $4.25! $4.25!!!!! This booth owner wanted an additional $10.75 for something that she/he got at the Goodwill store located approximately five miles down the road.

Now I know that times are hard and every now and then we pay way more for something than its actually worth. However, an increase such as this was not right. Not everyone at the flea and antique market price their treasures this way. You can find some really good deals.

Okay, I'm done now and I left the market empty handed.

Spring Napkins

Here is my little project using the sweet speckled eggs graphic from the Graphics Fairy. I bought the linen napkins from Home Goods ($4.99 for 4) and then just transfered the graphic on to them. Yesterday I popped them in the mail and sent them to my mom for her birthday!

"Hi my name is Rene' and I shove stuff in drawers"

How many of you have closets and drawers filled with "things" that need to go? We all have those places where we shove stuff. I'll be the first to stand up and say, "Hi, my name is René and I shove stuff in drawers." Spring is that time of year for me when I can purge, organize, and donate without the guilt.

Just the other day I was on the phone and needed a pen. I couldn't even get the drawer open where I kept the pens because of all the junk (pencils, loose change, paper, rulers, phone chargers, etc.). Well one hour later and a trip to Pier 1, I have a beautiful junk drawer (sounds like an oxymoron). Here are a few good ones that I found on Martha Stewart. If you have any good ideas I would love to hear from you.

In the Bath:


I already have the roll-out drawers but what caught my eye is the hooks on the cabinet door for your hair styling equipment.

In the Kitchen:

Here are tension rods used as dividers for cookie pans, servers, etc. Not a bad idea for less than $2 a rod.



I already do this with my recipes. I actually have three (main meals, desserts, tabletop decorating).

For the closet:


If you do not have the cash right now for custom closet storage this is a great idea to get your boots off the floor and out of their boxes. It is wooden boot shapers with coffee cup rings screwed into the tops.

Happy Birthday

We have three birthdays in January and here are a couple of the cakes to celebrate the occassion.

This one was my daughter's request for a purse cake. We took a couple of ideas from a Juicy Couture purse and made it our own. She had a sleep over and this was a huge hit and a huge cake!


Three celebrations on one cake. For each person I made a musical design representing their favorite artist. My husband's was Johnny Cash, my daughter's was Justin Bieber (where did this kid come from?), and my sister-in-law's was the Rolling Stones.

I'm Bored

Two posts in five minutes, be still my heart! I'm going to see a client tomorrow about making panels for her children's playroom. I designed two options; option 1 is tab top panels and option 2 is a rod pocket. Wish me luck!

There's an App For That

With this yucky weather we have had for the past few days, I have done a lot of web surfing. I mean a lot...hours...days...years (well maybe not that much). My husband said the other day, "What can you possibly look at after 5 minutes?" He's never been to Blogland where you can just click your way from one side of our planet to the next.

Anyway, I was catching up on the Minutes Matter Studio forum and somebody was asking about apps for the iPhone. I don't have an iPhone (I'm a Verizon girl) but I did appreciate the following handy and nifty apps out there for people who do have iPhones. Enjoy and grab an app!

Note: I linked you through a blog or website because the iPhone website was so painfully slow.

For Paint
Sherwin Williams ColorSnap (it's free), here is the link.
Benjamin Moore Catch A Color app, here is the link.

Measuring
Converting Measurements, here is the link.
Drapery Calculator, here is the link.

For Fun
For I.D. wood flooring, here is the link.
How about a font, here is the link.

Window Bar Stools

My neighbor snatched up four of these little beauties the other day. They are divine in her kitchen. I "test drove" one of them and it is really sturdy. They felt solid and well constructed. My neighbor's eat in area is right next to the kitchen (open concept). With a dark wooden table and six leather chairs the bar stools needed to be sleek and airy. CB2 sells acrylic bar stools (Vapor Stools) but they were about $200 each. Yikes! Overstock sells them for $229.99 (set of 2). And, shipping is usually just $2.95.

Home Tour- Atlanta

I enjoy home tours. I like new home tours but I really enjoy going on tours in homes where people actually live. Homes that are lived in, laughed in, cried in, and celebrated in. The only down side is that you can't take pictures (because they are private homes) so I always bring a pencil and small notebook in my purse for sketching. The tour features five homes in the Metro Atlanta Area.

This year is the 39th Annual

Cathedral of St. Philip Antique Show and Tour of Homes. All proceeds of this event go to Cool Girls, Inc. Cool Girls is a non-profit that helps girls in low income communities through education, mentoring, and support.

The antique show and tour run from January 20-25. I hope you get an opportunity to check it out.