making bedskirts better

having a custom bedskirt made, or making one your self?

here are two tips to make your bedskirt better:

#1:

consider buying an additional flat sheet that either matches or coordinates with the fitted sheet on the bed, to use  

as the decking for the bedskirt. 

when the covers are off, or the bedskirt slips out of place,

it will still look great!

(these photos are from my son, gradys room.

his sheets are ralph lauren's aragon collection,

and were purchased at marshalls)

 #2:

line your bedkskirts.

just like in window treatments, lining helps a bedskirt to hang better and gives a more finished look.

 (the duvet, bedskirt and large plaid pillow were made by my friend tara.)

a view of grady's room.

***

and just for kicks--here are some of the

weird poses that i have found my little

man in....

huh??

how is this comfortable?

looking at these always makes me laugh!

hello, yellow

one of the most difficult transitions for me in moving 
from the south to the west is the
weather during SPRING. in tennessee, the leaves are  
budding on the trees, the grass 
is green, and the flowers are all in bloom. 
here in utah, it snowed on monday.
however, one of the bright spots of my day yesterday, 
was when i spotted the first burst of a 
yellow forsythia bush, just down the street.
it made me so happy! and i know that although spring in tennessee
is a few weeks ahead of us here....it will eventually make it's way to utah.

 today i thought i would post some pretty things
that can give your home a burst of happy yellow:

yellow pagoda chandelier
(yeah, i know this is a total budget buster, but with some
yellow spray paint, and some careful watching on ebay, you
could get a similar look for a  fraction of the cost)

katsugi fabric.

(oh, how i would love to see some

roman shades made from this fabric

in the kitchen window of house #6!)

 

yellow lamp

 pintuck pillow

coventry armless chair

yellow nixon duvet cover

yellow striped boardwalk rug

triana yellow dinner plates
(how cute are THESE?)

benjamin moore's showtime 923

here's to hoping spring hurries up and 

gets here already!!

fresh fabric find:victoria larson

not long ago, i was contacted by victoria larson about 

the launch of her new textile line.

when i visited her site, i was

really pleased with what i saw:

her fabrics are fun, graphic, unique AND eco-friendly.

i had a hard time selecting a favorite...

 "buzzed"

 "corinthian"

"bloom"

 "garden stool"

 "buzzed" in black

 "school of fish"

i have to admit, that this one

might just be my fave.

 "garden stool" in navy + "corinthian"

"school of fish", "sticks", and "pod".

she also has some amazing pillows:

 "heads"

 "tails"

(i am dying over these...

aren't they clever?

must have...)

"anenome"

 fabrics are available in a heavyweight cotton suitable for upholstery, 

or an organic sateen,

and, for a small fee

 can be CUSTOM colored! 

i love this news! 

you can check out victoria's entire line of fabrics here.

confessions of a designer

be sure the check out kirstens new series:

starting today, and everyday this week, several designers,

including MOI will be answering some interesting questions about 

working with a designer.

me!

Janell from Isabella and Max Rooms

Abbe from Studio ten 25

Caitlin from Caitlin Creer Interiors

Emily from Emily A. Clark Interiors

Amanda from Recycled Consign and Design 

Bryn from Byrn Alexandra Interiors

i am thrilled to be in the company of such amazing and talented

designers + bloggers, and i think this series will be informative and

take some of the fear that people have of working with

an interior designer.

also,  thanks to brianne for featuring me on her blog last friday.

she asked me some pretty interesting questions, and if you want

to see my answers, click here.

tutorial: anthropologie lampshade

as promised,

the tutorial:

this project is really easy!

i promise.

what you will need:

and old lampshade. 

(i bough mine for $1 at the  downeast clearance center.

it has a few scratches and bumps on it, but this technique 

covers a lot of imperfections and is very forgiving)

a cricut, or other personal cutter

(or, if you want, you can cut the circles by hand)

heat + bond/iron-on fabric stabilizer

2 yards of fabric

(i used 1/8 yard of 6 kinds of linen, and 1/2 yard of another,

but using 100% cotton will give you cleaner edges)

trim

enough to wrap around the top and bottom of your shade.

i bought my trim at joanns, and used 2 yards.

repositionable spray adhesive

glue + foam brush

 the first, and most time consuming step is to cut out your circles.

i used my cricut, and cut the circles in sizes ranging from 2 1/2" to 5".

before you can run fabric through a cricut, you need to stabilize it. i used heat and bond.

this video tutorial was super helpful:

here you can see some of the circles, all cut out.

i lightly sprayed the circles with a repositionable spray mount, and began placing them on my shade.

if you are more daring than me, you

can start applying your circles with permanent glue.

the repositionable adhesive lets you move things around, so you can move any circles you want as you go.

i found myself moving things around quite a bit...

i tired to alternate the colors, sizes and textures of my circles as i went.

be sure to leave some circles hanging off the edge. this gives a more random appearance, which is what you want.

once all you circles are in place, carefully 

trim the excess from the edge of your shade.

then, using a brush and some glue, i glued all of the circles down permanently.

i just went around the shade, and gently pulled up the edges of the circles and 

spread the glue on the backs with the foam brush.

taking the same brush, i applied the trim to the top and bottom of the shade.

at the end, i folded the edge of the trim over for a neater look,
 and to prevent fraying.

all done.

thanks for all the comments on the shade so far!

the best thing about this shade is that you can customize it for

your home.  i used more neutral colors for mine 

because i knew it would work better in my home...

but don't you think this technique would

look amazing in just ONE color?

or in a kids room with several brighter shades?

if you decide to attempt this project on

your own, be sure and send me pictures!

i would love to see the variations that

y'all come up with.


i'm linking to: tatertots and jello

anthropologie inspired lampshade

forgive me for not posting yesterday. i just got SO busy!

you see, in addition to design work, and blogging, i also get to do

glamorous things like clean the toilets, do the laundry and try to

figure out what's for dinner. again.

sometimes, i just get a little swamped.

one of the little side projects for the den that has kept me busy is my version of an anthopologie lampshade.

when i spotted this lampshade several months ago,

i was smitten.

 i loved the circles, the different textures.

i loved it all.

except for the colors.

so, i decided to make one that was a 

little more neutral....

i'm not gonna lie....

it was pretty time consuming.

i fretted over where to put each and every circle...

 

when i first started cutting the circles out, 

i thought i had  WAY too many.

 but i ended up using every single one.

 it took about two yards of linen, 

and two yards of trim.

 i'm very happy with the way it turned out.

it's whimsical and textural and unique.

and looks really fun with the light on!

and my gold leafed lamp finally has a shade.

i will be posting a tutorial sometime this weekend.

see you soon!