Fresh Find for Baby O.

FRESH in the mail from Berkley Illustration, it’s the fantastic Mr. “Red Fox“.

Isn’t he swell? This gorgeous print is part of a collection of the most fun, and whimsical prints from Berkley Illustration. Find them on their Etsy shop, and to learn a little more about the Illustrator, check out their recent interview here.

Oh, I can’t wait to get him up on the wall in Olivia’s nursery in a fun photo grouping!

Before and After: Fireplace Vignette

Remember this little guy? Well, he’s found his home.

This was alright. Pretty simple, but not really doing it for me. Time to get a more layered eclectic look. So…

Ta-da! See the little greyhound working hard holding up our family albums and books? Going up the wall has given us the opportunity to include some family photos, and the framed sculpted paper art, makes it a little more special.

The vase, “E”, and floral tea light holder were already there, the books migrated to the mantle, and some natural branches add an organic touch. Let’s take a step back and enjoy shall we?

The 12″ depth of the mantle leaves it open for a few different options.

So there you have it. A very simple before and after. Hang a couple of photos, add a few books, but a very different look no?

C’mere little doggie!

As soon as I laid eyes on this handsome devil, I knew he was coming home with me. Can you believe he was $13 at Homesense? Yes, thirteen. His little bandana collar is killing me.

The only thing that could be better… is if there were two! You knew I couldn’t leave his partner behind. Time to put these guys to work, and I know just the job…

After all the hard work we’ve put into the fireplace mantle, we need to do it justice with a little more personality than this:

Okay. But we can do better. Stay tuned… we’ll reveal the little doggie’s new home tomorrow!

Time for the kitchen sink to grow up

This is what my kitchen sink usually looks like. Half finished bottles of dish soap and a greasy lotion bottle working overtime to get us through the dry winter months. Hmm. Looks like a bachelor’s apartment (minus the mac and cheese pot soaking in the sink). Time for my kitchen sink to start acting its age… or my age rather.

Step one, find some pretty glass or ceramic bottles. Check. Peel off any labels and stickers. Check. (If you have a problem with extra sticky labels, try a little paint thinner on some paper towel, rub over the area, and presto! All gone.)

Next, enter the clear mailing label. Something like this or this. Check out Avery’s free templates here, so there’s no guessing when it’s time to print. It’s so simple! Just create your labels with your text and fonts of choice. I decided on “Wash your hands.”, “Do the dishes.”, and “Moisturize”. Print out your labels and apply to your fancy grown-up bottles, and…

Voilá! So pretty! Tip: Apply a second clear label overtop, to protect your work. When working with inkjet printers, your ink will run if wet!

So much better right?! But how about that tray?

Well, if you’ve got some left over Christmas chocolates, you might just have a tin box hanging around the house. Something like this perhaps?

It’s the perfect size, but I wasn’t diggin’ the brown chocolate swirls on the outside.

So, I taped off the inside leaving a small metal border around the inside…

Applied some creamy spray paint (suitable for metals of course)…

Let ‘er dry, and peel away your tape, and…

The perfect sized try with a mirrored effect on the inside! Free of cost, with materials already found around the house! So be sure to hunt around in your cupboards and under your sink. Who knows what you’ll find to reinvent into something useful!