Paper Evergreens

I really enjoyed making these sweet evergreen trees with my nephew!  He caught on quickly and had as much fun as I did, and even added some snow and a beard.  :)  I found old spools in the perfect sizes and colors at the local thrift shop, so that made them even more special.  Click on the Martha Stewart link below for directions.

http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/paper-evergreens

Birthday Window Treatments

What better way to spend a birthday than stitching new kitchen curtains!

I was tickled to find this 100% silk fabric at the Calico Corners outlet in Lancaster for only $5.00 per yard!!  It was the perfect match for my kitchen wallpaper, and coordinates nicely with the new laundry room paint.  There was just enough to do three Roman Shades.  Silk is a wonderful fabric for window treatments - I love it!!  These are basically stationary Roman Shades.  They can raised and  lowered, but the pleated design makes it tricky to lower them, then get the folds back in place neatly, so I'm content to leave them be.

 

Laundry Room Makeover

I'm so pleased with how the wainscoting turned out in my laundry room! I wasn't sure just how high it should go. We chose to use the rule of thirds and ran it 64" high, which worked out perfect - 64" is 2/3 of the standard 8 foot (84") ceiling height as well as 1/3 of the cabinet height. I wish I had a before picture of the papered walls to show you - this is a huge improvement! I love wainscoting - the glossy finish is so much easier to care for than painted walls with a satin finish, and it certainly looks better than wallpaper. I also love the coral color - I wanted a fun burst of color, and knew it wouldn't be a big deal to paint over it if I tired of the color at some point.