New Art for my Wall

About a month ago, I asked my awesome friend Caitlin (Lady Hue) if she would create a family photo for me.  She is a talented artist and I really love her style.  I sent her a bunch of random photos of my family so that she could get the basic idea of what we look like and size etc, and then she created this family photo that I adore. 

I knew that I wanted a place to display it that I could see it every day because I seriously can't stop looking at it.  I thought a frame would have worked, but I wanted it to be a little more substantial than that.  (Just so you have an idea of the sizes of everything, the pic is an 8X10.)

One day, while I was at the thrift store, I stumbled on this amazing table top.  It was $2.00 and I knew it needed to be mine.  There were just so many possibilities with it. 

Here's what I did.  First, I spray painted the frame the picture is in.  I went with a dark brown and I like the way that it outlines the photo and really makes it stand out. 

Next, I painted the table top edges the same brown.  Then, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some scrapbook paper to mod podge to the front of the table.  I really like the paper I chose.  It coordinates very nicely with the decor I have going on in my front room. 

Last, I added some vinyl and hung the photo on top of the table. 

I love the way it turned out!  It is a perfect addition to my front room.  There is more to the arrangement on the wall, and you can kind of get a sneak peak here.  I need to write another tutorial before I can show you the whole thing though. :)

Turquoise Table

This table has been with us for most of our marriage.  I always decorate with red, so it has been perfect for our house.  It has been used as an entry table, side table and a basic display table.  When I decided to re-do our front room, however, I decided that the turquoise from the plaid pillow would be a perfect color to paint the table and bring a little more cohesion to the room.

Here's what I did to get the look.

I started with this: 

 Next, I simply painted it with a vintage blue paint (made by Behr).  To paint this table I only needed a sample size of paint.  At about $3, it was Perfect!  I used a mini roller and then used a small brush to get into the cracks.  It took two coats to get it covered completely.

 After the paint dried, I went back over it with a black glaze.  (Also a sample size)  I have never used a glaze before, so it was a little trial and error.  It ended up turning out just the way that I had envisioned it though.

Pillows

To show you how I put together my front room, I thought I would start by showing you my pillows since they were the inspiration for the rest of the room. 

I was searching through some clearance items at Target when I stumbled upon some fun placemats and napkins.  For less than $1.00, I knew I should get them for something. 

And then I found this:

It was love at first sight!  I decided right then and there that I needed to use it in my front room as pillows.

The best part was that all of the placemats and napkins I had just picked up were Orange and Yellow as well!  I was destined to have this!  My mom pointed out that in one of the placemats there was a great shade of turquoise in it.  And thus my color palate was born.

Here is the run down of the pillows:

This is where I ended up using part of the runner.  The other part is on the entry table.

The yellow pillows were napkins.  All you need to do is sew two of them together and then stuff it.  I didn't want to have to buy pillow forms, so I just used old pillows that I didn't use anymore and fit them to the napkins.  They worked like a charm.  If it didn't have enough "stuff" in it, I just filled the rest of it with some cluster stuffing that I had on hand.

The plaid placemat pillow is the one that had the blue in it.  All you do is unpick a small section of the placemat, stuff it and then hand stitch it closed.

The premade pillow was a HUGE score!  It was only $3.79 and it matched perfectly.  Yes!  One less pillow to make.

Last but not least, the flower pillow.  This one has more of a story behind it. 

This is a picture of me, my sisters and my husband on my wedding day four years ago.  My aunt Teresa was so kind as to make these beautiful skirts and dresses for my sisters.  The only problem is that my sisters have grown up and the two youngest don't fit in their dresses anymore, and Charli (on the right) and Jessie (on the left) don't use them anymore.

I told my mom about my idea to make a rosette pillow and she suggested that I use the fabric from Jessie's skirt to make it. (remember, she is the one on the top left.)  I toyed with the idea for quite a while and then finally took the plunge because the colors were perfect for my living room.  One of the placemats I found was just the right color to be the background.  I cut the placemat down so that it was a square.  Then I cut the skirt up into strips, made them into ruffles and simply pinned and then sewed from the outside in, one layer at a time.  It took forever, but the result is worth it!  I now have a beautiful pillow that reminds me of one of the very best days of my life.

I just hope Jessie doesn't mind :)  She is currently serving as a missionary for our church in Mesa, Arizona and doesn't know about the pillow yet. 

(As a side note, if you are in the Mesa area and are wanting to see the beautiful Mesa LDS Temple, do it!  And if you happen to run into a Sister Rosdahl, tell her that Jonie says hi.)

And there you have it.  The start of a great living room!  I think out of all of the different things that I did in the front room, these made the most impact of all.  It definitely warms up a room to have some pillows.