{Quote of the Week} Merry Christmas!

Here's a quote I've always loved from childhood.  I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas day with your friends and family members!  Thank you so much to all of my readers this year!  Without you guys I wouldn't have had the courage to start this blog this year, but I'm so glad I did!  Thanks for taking the time to read Re:fresh Design Studio this year.  We have lots of fun changes coming in 2010 and I can't wait!

Merry Christmas!

{Inspired By} Large Prints

 I'm loving these enlarged horse prints that are showing up everywhere.  What a great way to create a focal point in a room.  Now this wouldn't have to be a horse, it could be a flower, another animal, your child.  The cool part is that it is blown up large!  Hope you guys are enjoying Christmas Eve!

Apartment Therapy 2009 Homies Award

Hey Friends!

I'm so excited to see that I was nominated for a Homie award from Apartment Therapy!  I'm nominated along with a bagillion other AWESOME design blogs so I have no doubt that I won't win, but it is still fun to see some votes for me.

So if any of ya'll out there love my blog as much as I love writing it, please go here to cast your vote for me after signing in to an account you can create!!  It's super easy and quick!  Thanks, loves!  I truly appreciate all my readers out there.  You are why I do this!!

Here are the details on the voting schedule:

{Designer Tip} What a Gem!

SHOP AT THRIFT STORES!

I found this pair of nesting side tables that I am now using as my coffee table in my living room.  When I first saw it I was attracted to the bamboo-like legs and glass top.  I figured I would paint it once I got it home, but now that I've been living with it for awhile, I really like it the way it is!  There are some rough spots and the color is chipping off so I might go over it with some bronze paint to take away some of the shiny gold-ness of it.  My point is, if you can't find something you like in the mass stores, head to your local thrift and you might just hit gold!   ;) 

How about you guys?  What is the best thing that you have found in a thrift store?  Or what have you been searching for that you just haven't found yet?

{DIY Idea} Petal Pillow

This DIY project idea comes courtesy of  Do It Yourself Magazine.  I saw this pillow and just thought it was so cute.  It would be a fun way to spruce up your sofa or bed and I think anyone could do it!  Here are the step by step instructions from DIY mag:

Step #1:

What you’ll need:
Plate
Felt
Tailor’s chalk
Rotary pinking cutter
Cutting mat
Needle and thread
Pillow

Get Started
1. Using a plate as a template, trace a circle on a felt piece with tailor’s chalk.

Step # 2:

From the outside edge, draw a 2-inch-wide spiral into the center of the circle.

Step # 3:

On a cutting mat, cut along the line with a rotary pinking cutter. Careful! The cutter is sharp.

 

Step # 4:

To start your flower, fold the circular center of the spiral up and over. Secure the base with several hand-sewn stitches in a matching thread.

Step # 5:

Complete several inches of running stitch along the spiral. Holding the thread, gather your fabric and secure it to the flower’s center. Continue stitching, gathering, and securing until you have a rose. Finish with a simple whipstitch, and trim off the leftover felt.

Step # 6:
Repeat Steps 1 through 5 to construct a second, smaller rose from your trimmed leftover felt. Secure the felt roses to the pillow.

Step # 7:

For the stem and leaves, hand-stitch small wood beads to your pillow fabric.

DIY Tip: Save time -- and your fingers -- by hot-gluing a strand of fun beads to the pillow. A simple running stitch of embroidery floss or pearl cotton is a great alternative to beads.

And there you have it!  A cute, cheap pillow to give your home some fresh color during the winter.  Now, you may be thinking that I am a bad blogger because these are not my own pictures and I haven't actually done this craft myself but I am here to say that if I had more time before Christmas, I would definitely be trying this cute pillow!  Unfortunately I still have to clean my house for company and finish my shopping and wrapping presents.  So for those of you that are WAY ahead of me, you can try this project this week.  But I'm guessing most of us will have to put this in our DIY files and pull it out another day.  I think that is totally acceptable and I still want to be able to share fun DIY projects with you every week, even if I have no time to do them myself right now.  Someday I will!! 

{Weekend Update}

This weekend was very busy, but great.  We celebrated an early Christmas with my husband's family and got to enjoy making homemade ravioli with the family, playing games, and just relaxing and laughing together.  I love this time of year.

We also celebrated my grandma's birthday on Sunday with a huge bunch of us from my side of the family.  We snacked and ate ice cream cake which I love!

In between all the gathering madness, we've been working hard on my new website and blog makeover.  I am so excited to be able to share this with you all very soon!  My extraordinary programming husband has been working extra hard to get this launched soon!  I am so looking forward to starting this new online interior design business.  It's definitely a dream coming true and will hopefully be the perfect arrangement for us in the future.  I hope to share a few sneak peeks with you this week so keep coming back this week! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are starting your (short) week off right today!

Image from House and Home.

{Get This Look} A Touch of Wallpaper

I've posted before about wallpaper and how it is really coming back big these days.  In my opinion it still must be used with care and in small doses and in a more modern print that the typical florals of the past.  So with that being said, here are a few examples of ways to use wallpaper sparingly in your home.

 This image shows wallpaper as the focal point of the room behind the fireplace.  Any more of this paper and it would feel too overwhelming, but this amount is perfect.  I love it tied in with the solid upholstered chairs and ottomans.

 

 This room has a dash of wallpaper on the ceiling.  I love this idea.  Keeping the walls bare and light keeps this room from feeling heavy.  Notice that the bed linens, pillows and curtains are not coordinated in the same pattern, nor should they ever be. (IMO)

 

This is a great idea for those wallpaper-phobes.  Adding a touch of pattern with wallpaper to the back of buffets, cabinets or bookshelves can be high impact with a low commitment.



Images from House and Home