Favorite Clearance Finds

Last night I found a few amazing clearance items at Target. Run to your local Target to see if they have any left!

So today I wanted to share a few of my favorite online clearance finds!

1. Mongolian lamb fur pillow cover - amethyst - 16x12 - $44.99 - West Elm or check out Anthro's bold yellow version here
2. Large Ikat Polka Dot napkin - 20x20 - set of 4 - $15.99-$20.00 - West Elm
3. Ruched White Coverlet - Twin X-Long only - $24.99 - Target 
4. Striped Guest Towels - set of 4 - $13.96 - World Market (In Store only)
5. Oasis Stripe Pillow - $13.96 - World Market 

Happy shopping! :)

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P.S Google Reader is going away on July 1st, so if you follow there, make sure to find another reader. I've heard great things about Bloglovin' and Feedly. Also, they allow you to transfer your Google Reader feed, which makes it so easy! I also post most of things on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter if you're interested in following there too :)

I finished the round table makeover, but haven't taken photos yet, stop back Monday to see what we came up with!!

Hope you have a great weekend!! We have so many projects going on, we can hardly walk through the garage! Hopefully we'll get a lot done! :)

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Destination Nursery | Dream Nursery or Kids Room Makeover Giveaway!

Recently I was approached by Tana of Mom's Best to team up with her and some other amazing blogger's to present a Dream Nursery or Kid's Room giveaway. {1} lucky winner will be given a room makeover full of fabulous products! So if you're expecting or already have kids read on to see how to enter!  If you don't have little ones, make sure to spread the word to your friends (if they win, they'll love you forever!)   

Take it away Tana!

Delighted to present the 2nd Destination Nursery, Dream Nursery/Kids Room Makeover! One of the most exciting parts...ANYONE can now enter in the US and CANADA as we are offering the option to choose a Nursery or a Kids room makeover for your boy or girl for 1 lucky winner! Mom's Best is happy to present this opportunity with 5 other talented and very amazing bloggers, Leann from Elle Apparel, Abby from Twist Me Pretty, Isobel from Holden on Baby, Sarah from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, and Merrick from Merrick's Art. A very special thanks to all of the amazing brands for their wonderful generosity in donating all of these items for 1 LUCKY WINNER! You will have a chance to check out their sites and follow them via social media as you complete the items for entry. Please read all of the details carefully below and honestly complete each item...we will double check the entries. To increase your chances for winning be sure to check out all of the other blogs and follow them. Thanks so much for entering we can't wait to pick another winner!

1-3. Young America Kudos Crib, Mix Panel twin bed, & Mix Double Dresser, 4 & 5. Marqee Letter & Arrow from Junk Art Gypsyz, 6. Sunrise Chevron Pillow from Neon Vintage, 7. Quinn Rocker~Best Chairs storytime series, 8. Rhapsody Rug from Dash & Albert, 9. Baby Camel, 10. Teepee by Clemmie Sue, 11. Dream Catcher from Modern Maven Mercantile, 12. Custom Bedding and pouf's from Fingers and Toes (bumpers, sheet, bedskirt, or Kid Duvet, Pillow case and Shams+floor Pouf).

As you Enter to Win the kids room makeover, you will also be entered to WIN these special delivery items for you and your child....we have hand picked some of our favorites just for you! 

1. Lisa Leonard Jewelry, win a $50 gift card, 2. Win a 1 year quarterly toy box subscription from Little Pnuts. 3. stack-able rings by Jessica N designs, win a set of 3, 4. For the mama~ a body pillow from Bump Nest + a set of matching beanies for your little one. 5. House of Mia organic apparel and accessories Winner will choose between, 2 pairs of leggings for your child, or a pair of leggings,swaddle blanket & a beanie for your baby. Don't forget the boy's nursery/kids room option it's one of our favorites...

1-3. Young America Kudos Crib, Mix Panel twin bed, & Mix Double Dresser, 4. Aztec Pillow from Neon Vintage 5. Bright turquoise Aztec Pillow 6. Tiger Watercolor Art, 7. Quinn Rocker~Best Chairs storytime series, 8. Diamond Platinum Rug from Dash & Albert, 9. Marqee Letter & Arrow from Junk Art Gypsyz,, 10. Water Color Feathers 11. Teepee by Clemmie Sue,, 12. Custom Bedding and pouf's from Fingers and Toes (bumpers, sheet, bedskirt, or Kid Duvet, Pillow case and Shams+floor Pouf).   *Mom's Best would like to bring a design team to your area as we make over your nursery/ kids space. You could be a part of our mini-web "Reality" series...as we travel to the next 4-5 winner's location! Watch for our campaign launching later this week via Kick Starter...raising the necessary funds to travel to each winners location...details coming soon! Will you be our next destination?

 To ENTER: 1. First check out the behind the scenes video here to see exactly what can go into creating your dream nursery/kids space!

 

2. You must complete all items listed below in Rafflecopter ...all entries will be verified so please be honest in completing all of the items. There are a couple items you can share and do daily to increase your point score and chance for winning! Once you are complete now be sure to visit the other fantastic bloggers while dreaming about how much you are going to love your new dream nursery/kids room make over! 3. On July 10th we will randomly pick 5 people...these 5 people will then be asked to submit a quick 30 second video clip. Then for 3 days, the public will have the chance to vote on their favorite video, you will have the chance to help us pick the final winner! Best of luck! Winner Announced July 15th! 4. The only restriction to enter...you must be at least 21 years old and either 6+ months pregnant or already have children...we are offering a kid's room space for a child of any age. Anyone can enter that fits this criteria. Open to US and CANADA residents only. 5. You may not enter to win these items with the intent of donating some or part to someone else. This is meant solely for the winner. Thank you! **This is a nursery/make over with design help...you will be expected to paint,prep, and assemble the space with items received in the prize package within a specified period of time... We will require before and after video footage from which we will create a mini video to share with destination nursery readers.

 ***All items listed will be donated to 1 lucky winner Best of luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway      

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DIY in 1 Hour or Less | Removeable Jersey Lampshade cover

Today I'm sharing another DIY in 1 hour or less! A removable lampshade cover is the perfect solution if your current lampshade doesn't work with your room, but you want a quick and cheap temporary solution.   

When we took pictures for our final CWTS project, we had to get all new accessories (since photos were submitted anonymously), including a lamp because every bed needs light. Not only is it practical, it helps add height to your nightstand, which helps balance the height of the headboard. We had to return the light that we used (we kept a lot of things that we used too) and make our existing lamp work.

Instead of buying a new shade I decided to make a removable lampshade cover that wouldn't damage the shade, in case I decide to use it again.

Jersey is the perfect solution - especially for a tapered shade because it stretches and conforms to the lampshade. It is also great because it requires minimal sewing - only on the connecting end. The top and bottom don't need to be sewn since it doesn't fray.

It is translucent, so white wasn't the easiest choice, but I'll explain how I fixed that in a little. 

 Here's how I did it!

1. I measured around my lampshade (about the center but closer to the top) and calculated the amount of fabric I would need. ~46" to go around the shade and since the height was 10" I would need about 11"-12" for each layer. For 2 shades (3 layers of jersey each) I purchased 2.5 yards and had some left over.

2. I cut 3 - 46" long and 12" high (to be safe) sections. I wrapped one layer of jersey around the shade, pulled somewhat tight and pinched the top (on the line where I would sew), and pinned in on the top and bottom. 

** Once cut, the jersey curls one way, when I was pinning, I made sure that the curl would go in the inside (on outside while sewing and then flip so it's on the inside) so it would curl around the inside of the lampshade. 

 

 3. After doing a normal stitch and it bunching because of the stretch, I tore out the stitch, looked online and found that the stitch has to zig zag. I put my sewing machine on the zig zag setting (#3) and started sewing (make sure not to back stitch, I had to start over one more time...)

** I did slightly taper my stitch so that it was a little wider at the bottom. The jersey is pretty forgiving and will stretch, so this probably wasn't necessary. Getting it tight at the top is the most important and then it stretches a little more at the bottom.

4. I sewed one line and cut off the extra fabric. So easy, once I figured out the right settings!

I put the seam of the cover on the seam of the lampshade and then repeated so I had three individual layers. I decided to do the layers separately since it was easier to sew that way (at least for me :)

After the third layer, you could still see through to the shade underneath. I decided that a thin piece of white paper (like normal printer paper) would work well underneath the jersey to hide the pattern.  Since the shade is tapered, a large piece of paper would be needed to get one continuous strip. I didn't have any on hand, so I placed a layer of paper towels between the lampshade and the jersey. I couldn't get it out of the height of the paper towel, so they are layered and taped inside. It isn't pretty, but the layers of jersey smooth it out.

Super easy!

The jersey hugs the inside lip of the lampshade perfectly! 

The hydrangeas from last weekend still look great!

We are using our Ikea Lack upholstered tables temporarily until we built new nightstands that won't hide the grasscloth + nailhead feature wall.  They aren't perfect in the space, but they will work for now!

I purchased the jersey from Fabric.com -  it looks like the exact fabric is no longer available, here is the gray version. 

This is such an easy way to (temporarily) update a lampshade! I may add a ribbon trim a little later, but for now I'm loving the white.

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I spent all day in the garage yesterday, and I'm almost finished our round table ... photos soon!!!

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Weekend in Photos: vintage furniture, swapping lights, and beach time

David's brother and his wife moved to CA earlier this month and this weekend they came to see us! We had SO much fun spending time with them - going to a few of our favorite places!

Before they got here, we stopped by one of our favorite shops (I guess you would call it a vintage boutique?) Ruby Rose. They have a wide variety of collected items, such as this awesome old motel sign.

David found a money bag and I added a few more letters to my collection. 

We haven't had a pendant in our room since CWTS in March (We took it down so it wouldn't be in photos for the final week). So we finally got around to installing one! We grabbed the the guest room pendant and put the one that used to be in the office there. I'm always moving stuff around :)

Friday night we relaxed under the outdoor heater's and had dinner at Custom House and Saturday we all relaxed on the beach.

After dinner we visited  the seals / sea lions on the pier

and took photos near the water.

Sunday afternoon while we were picking up a few supplies for projects we stopped by a consignment store. They had a pair of chairs that I got for $20 each! The caning is in great shape and the wood (oak) looks great too! I'll probably sand and re-stain them. The upholstery is old, so that will need to be replaced. I wasn't really looking for more chairs, but these were too GOOD to pass up!! Love them!

Every weekend doesn't include great deals on furniture, nice drawn out meals near the water and tons beach time, so we'll enjoy and celebrate when they come! After all, we'll be moving at the end of summer/fall so we better enjoy it while we can!

We didn't finish a project this weekend BUT we made design decisions on a lot of things!! For now, I'll say that our round roadside find table is looking A LOT different! Can't wait to share it with you soon! I see a lot of time spent in the garage in my near future!

Hope you had a great weekend!

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DIY Coral Upholstered Headboard with Curved Arms

Today I'm sharing how we built our coral custom headboard. If you missed the tutorial for Creating with the Stars, read on to see how we made it! 

The headboard was kinda a spur of the moment decision, I went from a wood headboard with nailhead (prior to deciding on the nailhead wall), to a black or white upholstered headboard, and then finally I decided that the room needed a punch of color. Using a coral drapery panels from Target was perfect because it was fairly heavyweight and readily available (perfect on short notice!) 

We made a plan and gathered our supplies.

1/2" plywood (1 sheet cut to width of bed frame, the 8' side was cut to 62.5", 4' side left as is)

2x8" (x2)

1x8 (x2) 

1x3 (x4)

coral curtain panels from Target

heat n' bond

batting 

I drew a few diagrams for the basic construction and dimensions of the headboard. See below for some the specifics on the upholstery. Measurements are for a queen bed frame. Note: make sure to measure your bed frame first, in case yours is different! You want to make sure that the frame will fit inside of the arms. 

For the arms, we screwed a 1x8 and a 2x8 together, measured and drew the circle with a lid. We then followed the line with a jigsaw to cut it out (we did remove any screws that were in the way first!). 

We were originally going to leave the arm square, but then decided that mimicking the edge of the nailhead design would tie in with the wall and give it a custom look. 

For the foam, we cut a 3" camping pad in half and attached to the plywood with spray adhesive.

Next we upholstered the back piece by wrapping in batting and then fabric. To make sure that the top was pulled evenly, we attached a thin strip of scrap wood and pulled tight. This made it much easier to get an even look! 

We cut the fabric to wrap around the entire arm, starting at the inner part of the arm, we put a few staples in (on the inside so it stays in place while you attach the arm), we cut little holes in the fabric at the pilot holes (where arms attach to the frame). We then installed the arms with heavy duty screws (we used cabinet anchors) and attached it to the 1x3 frame. 

Sorry for the late night, low light pictures (proof that we we're working late into the night :) The top left image shows after the fabric was placed between the center section and the arm (fabric hanging loose) then the arm was secured to the center section with cabinet anchors. The top right image shows the fabric wrapped around the arm, then it was pulled tight and stapled. The excess on the top was cut about .5"-1" (making sure not to cut too close to the edges that would show) above the top of the arm, folded over, stapled and ironed. It doesn't have to be pretty on the top because that will be covered next. 

We cut a band of fabric the total height of the arm (accounting for the bends) plus a few inches and the width (2.5") of the front of arm plus enough fabric to fold under (at least .5" on each side, so at least 3.5" total). We folded the raw edges under and pressed with a hot iron so that the edges were crisp and attached the band to the arm with no sew adhesive (my preference is heat n' bond) and a hot iron. Finally, the top and bottom ends were stapled to the back of the arm.

and that's it! 

I finished the bed off with a few DIY pillows. The euro pillow shams are made from a white table cloth and a mint polka dot scarf from World Market (March 2013). Since the scarf was translucent, I doubled it up with the white table cloth. The throw pillows are white shams from Ikea, I then painted a border using painters tape and BM Bali latex paint with fabric medium. The bolster pillow is a kitchen towel from World Market (March 2013) and the left over headboard fabric. 

Finally, here's where we got everything!

Headboard: Fabric Coral drapery panel from Target (x2), Batting, 3" camping foam from Home Depot only $20! Wood: 1/2" plywood (1 sheet cut to width of bed frame, ours was 8' side was cut to 62.5"), 2x8" (x2), 1x8 (x2) , 1x3 (x4) Home Depot

Bedding: diy Euro Sham - mint and polka dot scarf from World Market, accent pillows from Ikea border painted with BM Bali with fabric medium added, bolster pillow - dish towel from World Market (like this, but in coral), Duvet cover, West Elm Organic Chevron 

Want to see how we built the grasscloth + nailhead feature wall? Check out the tutorial here 

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Grasscloth + Nailhead Feature Wall Tutorial

I realized that after Creating with the Stars, I never shared the full tutorials on how we built our grasscloth + nailhead feature wall and our custom upholstered headboard. So today I'll be sharing how we built this massive feature wall and tomorrow I'll share the headboard.  

Living in a rental makes it nearly impossible to install classic wallpaper and nailhead, so we decided to build a seperate feature wall! 

We wanted to incorporate two of my favorite materials, nailhead and grasscloth wallpaper. I love the texture of the wallpaper and the dimension of the nailhead. So I was determined to find a way to make it work! 

Want to know how we built the wall? Here we go! 

We purchased three sheets of plywood from Home Depot and had them cut to 7' high. Since the feature wall is 12' long, it would need to be built inside of the room. We designed it so that it could easily be dismantled into three pieces to be removed. We tied the seams together with 1x3s and built a frame on the back with 1x3s so it was extra sturdy and straight. We then flipped it over and primed it so that they wall paper adhesive wouldn't soak in. **side note: it was SUPER tight in the room, we basically had about a foot on all sides to walk around and yes, that is the mattress shoved into the bathroom, it barely fit!) 

Once dry, we cut the wallpaper to the correct height, placed it to the side and rolled wallpaper adhesive over the primer. We then used a wallpaper smoothing tool to remove any bubbles. The steps were repeated with 4 rows across, lining up the seams. It was helpful to have two people so that it could be adjusted as needed!

For the design, I was inspired by this fantastic headboard by Annie Selke. We created the design in Illustrator, and calculated the distance between the nailhead and printed it on two sheets of 11x17 which were taped together (You can download our version HERE, print on two sheets of 11x17 - design overlaps so use the extra design to help line it up before taping). We then punched little holes through the dots and used a felt tip pen to lay it out on the wallpaper. 

Nailhead isn't the most fun thing to apply, but once you hit a rhythm you move pretty fast!  Here are a few tips that I found helpful as I went. 1. To help protect my fingers from the hammer and to grab the nailhead more easily, I used rubber finger tips on my thumb and index finger (you know the ones that they sell in the office supply stores for sorting paper and such?) When I did hit my fingers, it hurt a lot less, and they weren't even sore when I was done! 2. If your wood is soft enough, push a few in with your finger first and then hammer. This saves time since you are putting the hammer up and down less frequently. Since our plywood was soft and hard in different spots, this wasn't always possible, but it helped when we could! 3. Lastly, this feature wall took about 2,000 nails. Wow, that's a lot of nails! So it was helpful to have two people or if you have the time, break it up over a few days. Total install time for the nailhead with two people was about 8 hrs. 

We installed the trim (we painted first) before the nailhead reached the edge, so we knew exactly where to stop it. We used finish nails to secure the trim and then filled the holes with wood filler , sanded and painted once dry. 

Next, we decided that we wanted the wall to sit just above the trim, so we cut legs to height out of a 1x12 and secured it to the back frame. We then installed a few cabinet anchors through the trim into the wall to make sure that it was firmly attached. 

This wall was pretty massive! Almost the length of the room, but I LOVE the impact that it has on the space! Just because we are renting doesn't mean that without a little creative thinking we can't have a statement wall!

I love how the grasscloth slightly shimmers depending on the lighting.

The nightstand is from World Market, the sphere from TJ Maxx and I picked up little letters (to spell his and hers) from a local antique store, books were wrapped in paper from the Paper Source.

Hydrangeas and Ranunculus are two of my favorite flowers!

This week was sponsored by Home Goods, and if you read my blog, you probably know that I'm pretty obsessed with the Home Goods/TJ Maxx/Marshalls brand! I love the thrill of the hunt, designer names and the affordable prices!

I picked up a cute accent chair, fluffy white rug (my puppy love it too!) and the white sphere!

Finally, here's where we got everything! (headboard resources tomorrow)

Feature Wall: Grasscloth wallpaper, Nailhead (we used about 2.25 boxes), Trim- I found 2.5"wide synthetic trim from Home Depot on clearance for $4/8ft board

Accessories: Night stand (World Market - not on website), decorative sphere (TJ Maxx), His and Her letters (local antique shop), Throw pillow on chair, chair (TJ Maxx), lamp and lamp shade, duvet cover

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DIY in 1 hour or Less | Fabric Mousepad

Yesterday I was looking down at my mousepad and it I was thought, why have I left it this ugly for so long?? Do you ever just have to fix something right away?

I grabbed a few supplies that I have on hand and 10 minutes later I had a brand new mousepad!

Here's how I did it ...

I did it two ways, so here's the first.

I tore off the top of the mousepad (it was loose and came off easily, but it could have stayed on) and then I traced the mousepad with a pencil on the fabric.

I cut along the pencil marks with an xacto knife.

and then took it outside to spray the top of the mouspad with spray adhesive. I laid the fabric on top and trimmed any stray fabric. To help seal the edges I applied a little Mod Podge (any clear craft glue would work) with my finger along the edge. 

For the second mousepad I decided that it would be easier to not trace the mousepad and cut the fabric separately, but to apply the spray adhesive to the mousepad and then put it on the fabric (right side out). I then simply cut carefully along the edge with scissors. To finish, I used Mod Podge to seal the edges. I'd recommend this method since it was faster (maybe just 5 minutes), but both methods were super quick, so either would work well!

Here they are in their new homes! 

Such a great way to use extra fabric and match your space!

Total Cost ZERO - since I had everything on hand! Aren't those projects the best??  

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