Natural Christmas Wreaths

I just love those Christmas Wreaths made with natural elements.  Here are some great examples, try your hand and making one yourself!

 Source: Southern Living

Large and small pine cones wired onto a grapevine wreath with christmas tree springs nestled in between.

 Source: Southern Living

The acorn wreath.  Acorns and nuts hot glued onto a wreath and finished off with magnolia leaves!

 

source: Etsy 

Boxwood Wreath.  Adorn your door with a natural boxwood wreath.  Save trimming from you box wood bushes and wire them on to a grapevine wreath.  Finish it of with pretty bow!

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Arranging Living Room Furniture

Living rooms serve different purposes for different people. In some homes they are the main gathering area for family, in others they are only used when company comes over. Either way, there are certain issues that always come up when trying to arrange living room furniture.  Here are a few tips to use when arranging your furniture in your living room.

 via: pinterest

via: pinterest

 Make sure to establish a focal point in your living room and arrange your furniture around it.  Many people have fireplaces and that becomes the natural focal point of the room.  If you don't have a fireplace create your own focal point with a large piece of furniture like an armoire.  If is is your family room, you may decide to use your television as the focal point of the room.

 via: Bunny Williams

Create conversation areas in your space.  People should not have to strain their necks or shout to talk to one another.  If you have a very large living room, create several conversation areas.

 via: Lauren Conrad

Consider traffic flow when you arrange your living room.  Leave enough room for people to walk around furniture so they can easily get from one side of the room to the other. 

via: cote de texas

Move your furniture away from your walls.  Having furniture in your room with their back touching the walls is a big mistake.  Moving the pieces away from the walls creates a more intimate space.  If the back of the piece of furniture is finished off there is no reason not to show it off.

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Inexpensive Ways to Decorate a Dorm Room

It is that time of year again, and as many of you head off to college and are trying to decorate those boring dorm rooms I thought I would share with some of my ideas to make your room a bit more like home.

Decorate Your Walls:

Use vinyl wall decals to add a bit of color to the walls.  Its an easy way to decorate without damaging the walls.  They are peel and stick decals and when you are done simply pull them off and you would never know they were there! Vinyl wall decals can be found on the web or at your local craft store or even at Target. 

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Use 3M Command hooks to hang a collection of your favorite items that you use every day.  In this picture purses were hung on the wall and it adds a pop of color and interest.  Another idea would be to hang hats or ties!  With storage an issue, what better way do store your favorite collections. Again 3M Command hooks go up and come off easily without damage to the walls.

Curtains:

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Purchase some inexpensive curtains and hang them to add a bit of warmth to your room.  And YES you can use those trusty 3M Command hooks to hang those rods!


The Bed:

Make the bed your focal point. Find mix and match bedding at Marshalls or TJ Maxx so you dont spend a fortune. This cute bedding set was found at Target for only $39.99!

Lighting:

Lighting is key, and if you've only been using one fluorescent overhead light plus a desk lamp, do yourself a favor and bring in a lamp. Look in your parents' garage or resale shops to see what's possible. Sometimes just adding a new lampshade can make all the difference to an old lamp.  Lamps help soften the space and make for more flattering light and a warm ambiance.

Plants:

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Bringing a little bit of life inside makes a world of difference. Add easy succulents to your room for  a bit of color and texture. 

Keep It Simple:

This is may be the best tip of all.   IN a small space, it's not always about cramming it full of stuff.  Sometimes simplifying your possessions is what actually makes your living space more liveable. And since a dorm room is usually your home for no more than 9 months, take advantage of living simply.

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Update a room without making a commitment!

I love the idea of wall decals.  They are such an easy way to update a room without making a commitment.  The vinyl decals go up with ease and when you are tired of them, simply take them down. They are a great alternative to stenciling a wall or wallpaper.  You can find so many of these decals out on the market today, one great place is  Dali Wall Decals.  Have fun and transform a room this weekend!

source: bhg

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Show Off Your Silver

Are you are like me and have so many silver pieces you received as wedding gifts stashed away in a closet somewhere?   Pulls those pieces out and let's put them to some good use!  Let's decorating with them!  Here are a few ideas that you can use to put your silver to use.  Think outside the box, be creative and come up with a few ideas of your own!

Use small silver cups as vases.

Place fruit, round Christmas ornaments or grapevine balls on top of silver candlesticks to make a beautiful table scape.

Use silver teapots and creamers as vases.

Finally, use a silver tray to set off a collection of potted plants.

photo credits: Daisy, Candle Sticks, Creamer, Tray

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Let's Have A Halloween Party

Who would not want to have a halloween party with these great party ideas! Maybe this will inspire you to invite some friend over for a little Halloween Cheer!

 Yummy Caramel Apples!

May I hold your lollypop please???

 Halloween cookies made out of refrigerated cookie dough!  My kind of cookie!

 Turn a pumpkin into a chip holder!

image source: cupcakes, apples, lollypop holder, candy corn cookies, pumpkin bowl

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