Guest posts | Lori May Interiors

April 30, 2013

Jen’s back with some fun May Day ideas!

It is hard to believe that May is almost here. Jen is back with us today to share some ideas that would make wonderful gifts any day, but especially on May day. Jen and I would love to hear which ones are your favorites and how you would use these sweet floral gifts. (My favorite is the yogurt cup and flowers.) Enjoy!

Hi Everyone! It’s Jen from At Home in the Northwest!

As many of you probably know, May 1st is May Day. According to infoplease.com, ‘In medieval England, people would celebrate the start of spring by going out to the country or woods—”going a-maying”—and gathering greenery and flowers, or “bringing in the may.” ‘ Hence the term “May Day”!

I found a handful of really fun ideas for celebrating May Day. They all seem very simple to implement, so if you’re in the mood to ring someone’s doorbell and run, leaving them with a little bit of spring on their front porch, then keep reading. {You can click on the images for more specifics on each project}.

1. tin can and paper bag

Everyone has an extra soup can and paper bag laying around!! And if you’re short on jute twine, any fun ribbon will do the job.

via

2. small potted plant

A six pack of flowers potted in tiny pots becomes a quick May Day surprise! Hang it with torn material or fun ribbon.

via

3. small basket

This one is so precious! I’m sure the dollar store would be a good place to look for small baskets. Then add some greenery or tulips from your garden.

via

4. seed packet and paper leaves

How fun would this be for your kiddo’s to help with?! Add a packet of seeds instead of fresh flowers. Then the recipient can plant the seeds and enjoy flowers all summer long.

via

5. mason jar and wire

If you have a an extra jar laying around, this would be an easy project! Add some wire, ribbon or jute twine and you’re ready for May Day.

via

6. twigs and a yogurt container

This one may be my favorite of the May Day containers! They used a yogurt container with twigs glued to the outside. And a hole punch was used around the neck of the yogurt container for the ribbon. So cute!

via

Aren’t these all fun ideas for May Day or for anytime this spring or summer?!! If you want to brighten someone’s day, I’m sure they would welcome a little spring on their doorstep anytime, be it May Day or not!

And if you aren’t in the ‘ding and dash’ May Day mood, you could always use one of these as a centerpiece in your home!

Thanks for having me here today, Lori!
jen

Love them all Jen. Thanks for being here today!

by Lori | Filed Under: Guest posts | 3 Comments

February 8, 2013

Simple Valentine’s Decorating Ideas

Today I’m back over at Jen’s place, At Home in the Northwest, sharing a few simple Valentine’s Day decorating ideas. I hope you’ll join me and show Jen a little love. Be sure to explore her blog. She’s got a great thing going on over there!

Sherry and I are off to Scott’s today. It’s been forever since I’ve been, so be sure to follow me on Instagram at Lori May Interiors, because you know there’s going to be some serious eye candy!

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week with a new client reveal!

by Lori | Filed Under: Guest posts, Holidays, My Projects, Tips/Tutorials | No Comments

January 7, 2013

I’m back, I’m guest posting, plus some great ideas for those old holiday cards!

Hello there! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I took some much needed time off and spent time with my family. We had loads of company for Christmas and then headed off to OH to visit Eric’s family. We had over 10 inches of snow while there! My girls were ecstatic! More on that later this week, plus a wrap up 2012 and some hints on what’s coming up in 2013.

Today, I have two exciting things for you. Jen from At Home in the Northwest is back! She has some wonderful ideas for those holiday cards that we all hate to throw away each year. I’m also guest posting over at my friend Erika’s blog, BluLabel Bungalow. Along with a successful design business, a new baby boy to round out her family of 6, Erika is a fabulous friend. She has been writing a wonderful series called Motherload Mondays. I’m honored to be participating today. Enjoy!

Hi Everyone! This is Jen from At Home in the Northwest! Now that Christmas is over, I’d like to help you figure out what in the world to do with your pile of Christmas cards. Here is a glimpse of what I have to deal with this year…

Screen Shot 2013-01-06 at 8.43.20 PM

…and unfortunately, that’s only a portion of the Christmas cards!

After I take down all of my Christmas decor, I typically pile up all of our Christmas cards and put them in a big envelope. Then they go in the closet with all of the previous years cards. I have huge aspirations of doing something with them eventually… I just can’t bear to throw them away. So I started doing some research and came across several great ideas of what to do with all of those cards. Here are some suggestions….

1. turn them into a contact image on your smart phone

Screen Shot 2013-01-06 at 8.42.17 PM

Ashely at Under the Sycamore had this great idea. Simple take a picture of a Christmas with your smart phone. Then you can use that picture as the contact image for the family or individual. Isn’t that resourceful and fun!?

2. punch holes to make a little book

Close to my Art shared this oh so simple idea. Just punch a few holes in the cards and add metal rings to create mini Christmas card books. My kids would LOVE looking through this every year.

Eighteen25 also offers a free download if you want a decorative cover for your Christmas card book.

Click here to read more about her book covers and to download the template.

3. make a photo album

If you have small children, it would be fun to make them a photo album, similar to Naturally Chic Mama.

This would be extra special if you lived far away. The little album could serve as a great way for the kids {and you} to look through pictures of your friends and family back home.

Or if you choose to put more time into your project, you could scrapbook the pictures.

What do you do with your the past years Christmas cards? I think my go to idea is going to be the metal rings with holes punched. It seems quick and easy to accomplish.

Happy 2013, everyone!

Thanks for having me here today, Lori!
jen

by Lori | Filed Under: Guest posts, Holidays, Tips/Tutorials | 5 Comments

December 5, 2012

Adding natural greenery to your home for the holidays/A guest post

Join me today over at Jen’s wonderful blog, At Home in the Northwest. Jen and I go way back and I’m thrilled to be sharing my thoughts for using natural greenery in your home for the holidays.

Have a great one!

by Lori | Filed Under: Guest posts | 1 Comment

November 7, 2012

3 thankful projects from At Home in the Northwest

I’m so lucky to have my good friend Jen from At Home in the Northwest back here at the blog today. She has put together 3 wonderful (and easy) projects you can do with your kids for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Hi! I’m Jen from At Home in the Northwest. Lori invited me here today to share a few fun Thanksgiving projects that can be done with your kids.

While I try to have a thankful heart, I am not always successful. Life gets busy. Kids get cranky and it’s easy to lose sight of our blessings. So hopefully these projects will give you a tangible way to remember what you have to be thankful for.

THANKFUL TREE

free thankful tag download from jones design company

To create this thankful tree…

1. Grab branches from your yard. 2. Select a vase or container to hold the branches. 3. Place rocks in the vase to secure the branches. 4. Download thankful tags here (or create your own) to be hung from your branches.

Here are my kiddo’s working on their thankful tree….

And it’s so sweet to see the tags written in their handwriting.

THUMBPRINT TREE

1. Download tree image here. 2. Drag image into your favorite word program. {I used Pages on my Mac}. You can either personalize them with names and dates in Word or Pages, or leave the tree plain.

3. Gather your favorite ink pad colors.

4. Have kiddo’s start stamping away with their thumbs!

Frame the new artwork and you have permanently frozen those tiny thumbprints in time.
What more is there to be thankful for than tiny fingerprints?!

FRAMED GRATITUDE PRINT

I just saw this at a friends house and had to include it in this post!

1. Print “gratitude”, “thankful” of ‘”blessings” directly on a piece of paper or dress it up with some scrapbook paper. 2. Place in an 8×10 frame {leaving the glass out.} 3. Set out a pen for friends and family to write down the items that they are thankful for.

Aren’t those fun Thanksgiving themed projects?! You can do them by yourself, or include your friends and family in on the fun!

Thanks for having me here today, Lori!!

jen

Thanks for sharing today Jen! I’ll be over at Jen’s blog next month, so stay tuned. There are more photos from the UMCH project to come on Friday!

Have a great day!

by Lori | Filed Under: Artwork, Guest posts, Holidays, Tips/Tutorials | 5 Comments

May 31, 2012

How to build simple shutters by Jen at At Home in the Northwest

Hi everyone! I’m welcoming Jen from At Home in the Northwest back to the blog today and I know you’re going to love her latest DIY project! Take it away Jen!

Thank you for having me here today, Lori!

We’re finally getting some nice weather here in the northwest and it’s been giving me the itch to get some outside projects accomplished. Lately, I’ve been focussed on sprucing up our shed. A few years ago, we painted it red to add some character to our backyard. But recently, I have felt like it could use a little face lift. After an unsuccessful search for used shutters for the window, I settled on building my own. I figured it couldn’t be that difficult…and as it turns out, I was right!

Here is my shed window before, dead flowers and all….

And here it is now! Isn’t the difference amazing!?

If you’d like to create your own, here are the simple steps…

{1}

…Measure your window…

Measure the height of your window, including the molding.

{2}

…select your wood and measure for cuts…

My window needs were:

1×4 ‘s cut to height of the window (in this case 30″) – cut 6 pieces

1×4 ‘s cut to the width of three 1×4 ‘s (in this case 10 3/4″) – cut 4 pieces

{3}

…cut your wood…

{4}

…nail shutters together…

I used a nail gun for this step. You could use a hammer and nails, as well as wood glue. But a nail gun is ideal.

{5}

…fill nail holes and sand…

Use spackle or wood filler to fill the nail holes. Then sand both of the shutters, all over.

{6}

…paint…

I first used a primer since these shutters will be hung outside. Then sprayed a white semi-gloss all over the shutters.

{7}

…hang shutters…

I used a nail gun to hang my shutters. They went up really fast and so far, the nails seems to be strong enough to keep them in place! If you are concerned that a nail gun isn’t strong enough, you can use wood screws instead.

{Don’t you love my protective glasses?! Safety first!!}

I can’t believe how much better my shed looks now! Of course, just getting rid of the dead flowers and cleaning the window would have been an improvement. But the addition of the shutters was the icing on the cake.

Thanks for having me here today, Lori!

Jen

I’m so impressed with this project. I going to have to find somewhere to put some shutters. And how about Jen working with the power tools? Way to go, Jen!

We’re off to Hilton Head on Saturday, but I’ll be back with some beach inspired interior design posts next week. See you then!

by Lori | Filed Under: Guest posts, Tips/Tutorials | 2 Comments

May 9, 2012

My 5 top ways to add accessories to your space

Hi everyone, I’m over at Jen’s blog, At Home in the Northwest today sharing my 5 top ways to accessorize your home.

Come on over and check out my top 5, including the one above. Can you guess what it is? Click here to find out.

by Lori | Filed Under: Entryways, Guest posts, LIving Room, Offices, Tips/Tutorials | No Comments

May 4, 2012

Monogrammed Wall Hanging Tutorial

I know that I’ve mentioned my friend Jen on the blog a few times. She has only been blogging for a few months, but her posts read like someone who’s been blogging for years! I’m so happy to have her here today sharing one of her fabulous tutorials. I hope you enjoy it and be sure to visit Jen over at At Home in the Northwest.

Hi Everyone!

I’m Jen from At Home in the Northwest and I’m honored to be here at Lori May Interiors!! Lori invited me to write about one of my projects. So keep reading for a step by step tutorial on creating a fun piece of personalized wall decor for your home.

When decorating my daughter’s bedroom, I wanted her monogram on the wall. I like to be able to move furniture and wall decor around, so painting a monogram directly on a wall was a bit too permanent for me. If I got the itch to move her bed, I didn’t want to have to repaint the walls. So I created a piece of wall decor that LOOKS like it’s pained directly on the wall….

but it’s really a framed piece of art…

Here is a quick tutorial on this optical illusion. You can create a framed monogram that looks like it’s part of your wall in just a few easy steps.

1. Select a frame.

My frame was a champagne color, which wasn’t the color I wanted for her room. I spray painted the frame a chocolate color and used steel wool to lightly distress the frame, letting the gold undertones come through.

2. Cut plywood to fit in frame.

Measure the opening of your frame from the back. Cut a piece of plywood (or have Lowe’s cut it for you) that fits inside the frame, without the glass. Make sure that both the plywood AND the back of the frame fit in the opening. This may require a thinner piece of plywood than expected.

3. Spray the plywood with wall texture.

After reading the label on the can, spray your plywood with the suggested amount of texture. If you mess up, remember there is always the back side of the plywood! But honestly, I don’t think you can mess this step up.

4. Paint plywood.

After the wall texture dries, paint your plywood the same color as your wall.

5. Print out letters for monogram.

You can use vinyl letters for this step, or you can print them using your computer. I don’t have Photoshop so I did mine the old school way….cut and paste! Using a photo copier, I enlarged the letters to fit onto the wood. Then I cut and taped them together, making sure it was spaced an appropriate amount.

6. Trace letters onto plywood.

Place a piece of carbon paper behind your letters and begin tracing. The carbon paper will leave an outline of the letters on the plywood.

7. Paint letters.

Using an acrylic craft paint in a dark chocolate color, I painted the monogram. This may take about 20 or 30 minutes, depending on how much of a perfectionist you are. You may want to grab a diet coke and turn on some music or the tv while you work.