Saturday's Spooky Spider Setting

In honor of Halloween we decided to do a Black & Gold Spider Themed Table Setting.  We wanted to keep it a little classy, but add a touch of Halloween craziness and of coarse we had to get creative to think of some inexpensive ways to create this masterpeice. 

The Centerpeice:
Everyone has some sort of clear vase in thier stockpile from getting flowers from your boyfriend or husband (or hopefully you do).  I don't have many as I have told my husband in the past I would rather have a cute shirt than flowers that last only days.  I guess fashion falls higher on my list than wonderful smelling flowers that make a room look pretty.  I'm weird like that.  I happen to have a clear vase with black and white stripes on it.  Perfect!  Ok, so then my handy helper Makenna and I went outside and cut some branches down.  I then spray painted them a shiny black.  Very inexpensive purchase at Walmart, along with some cob web "stuff" thanks to Tiffany.  I also bought some of those plastic spiders that are made to be rings.  It was the cheepest spider object I could find in bulk.  I placed those spiradically on the cob webs and around the candle holders that Tiffany brought from her house.  I have napkins thrown around the bottom of the candles to fill the space to add that splash of gold. 

The Place Setting:
On the very bottom is a sheet of scrapbook paper (way cheep!)  Then some gold chargers on top of that, and the way cute black and white plates on top of that.  We love layers!!!  For the napkins rings I took black pipe cleaner and wrapped them around the napkins and shaped them into little spiders.  The small ring spider tops it off and holds it all together. 

Happy Halloween Everyone!
Anna Landers

Fashion Frenzy Friday

Happy Friday Readers!  I wanted to share a resale shop I found today on my lunch break.  It is called The Family Place Resale Shop at Marsh & Forest in Dallas.  I had recently bought a Partners Card from a client of mine which gives you discounts at several stores that participate in the area, Oct. 28 through Nov.6th.  All of the proceeds from the Partners Card goes to support Family Place.  Family Place is an organization that helps reach out to help families and children of family violence.  Check out their website at http://www.familyplace.org/.  I was reminded on the radio today that the card started and to check out their resale shop also.  I happily decided to do so and was pleasently surprised at the deals I found, epecially because you can use your partners card at the shop also which gives you an additional 20 percent discount on top of their already discounted merchandise.  Plus, you are helping a good cause by supporting their store.  Love it!  Here is what I found for 48 dollars....

Don't be afraid to shop resale.  You may only find one or two great finds, but it is so worth it.  This jacket I bought was from Chico's and was under 20 dollars.  I would have paid over 100 for this in the store. 

Happy Shopping!

Anna Landers

Simple Stencil Sunday

OK. So first I need to give credit to my friend Alayna who gave me this idea.  She lives in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and is one of the writers of an online magazine having to do with everything from interior design, photography, fashion, cooking, and everything in between.  You should check it out at http://www.prairiehive.com/.  (did you like that plug Alayna?)

Here is the rug that I started with. Tiffany actually gave me this rug that she was not using anymore.  It is just a plain green sisal type rug that matched perfectly in my kitchen.  I just needed to spice it up of coarse.  I am a painting queen.  Anything that can be painted in my house is painted.  Ask my husband.  I just think it is a cheep way to change up something and you will soon learn I like change.  

 

First you need to pick out a pattern you like. I found my pattern on another site where the lady was using it to paint her wall.  If you would like to use the same pattern I used comment on this post and I will point you to the website where I got it from.  I printed it off and transferred the pattern to cardboard so the pattern would last longer. 

Next, I taped off the sides of the rug where I didn't want to paint and taped off lines so my pattern would run straight on my rug.  My daughter decided she wanted to help.  My mini me is a great helper with my do it yourself projects.

 

Then I found the center of the rug and started there.  Grab a small paint brush or foam brush and go for it! Here is what the rug looked like in the beginning stages.

For this pattern you need to lay the next pattern over the first so the negative space makes the same pattern. You overlap end to end also.  Don't worry about it being perfect.  I am in no way a perfectionist and somehow I made it work.  Any do it yourself guru can takle this one.

And here is the final product.  Love it!

 

A few tips I learned while doing this project:

2. Don’t soak your rug in paint, it will bleed through and not look as nice.

3. Clean the back of your pattern after each paint step so you don't transfer any unwanted paint from the bottom of the pattern.

Happy Painting!

Anna Landers

Tack Board Tuesday

Because my husband works for a construction management company building schools I always seem to find "school things" magically appear in the house or garage.  Sometimes these items prove to be very useful and sometimes not so much.  The other week, however, he came home with a pile of tack boards that were not being used in the school he was building.  This happened to work out perfect because I am in the middle of designing my home office.  I thought I could just recover the boards and make them not only functional but become a piece of art on the wall of my office.  Here's how I designed my tack boards:

These are the items you will need:
A tack board of course (any size you see fit, mine was 2'x5')
Fabric (I chose burlap)
Staple gun
scissors
nail heads (quantity dependant on size of your board)
measuring tape (optional)

Step One:

Lay your fabric out face down and place the tack board over it.  Cut the fabric around your board allowing at least one inch overlap on all sides (this may change depending on how thick your tack board is).

Step Two:

Pull the fabric tight over the edges of the tack board and begin to staple about every three inches.  Continue to pull tight as you work your way around the board.  Cut any excess fabric after stapling for a clean finish.

Step Three:

Push nail heads in the board about one inch from the edge.  I first pinned my corners, then measured out equal spacing between nail heads all around the board.  This is where your tape measure will come in handy.

You can use extra nail heads as tacks for your board...

In the end you will be left with a beautiful creation that's all your own!

Happy Pinning!!!

Tiffany