Simple Valentine’s Decorating Ideas

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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!

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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…

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…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

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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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Our home in the AJC

A few weeks ago, I was thrilled to be interviewed by Linda Jerkins of the Atlanta Journal Constitution about our home remodel.  The story was in the paper today and to say I was honored was really an understatement.

 

What a wonderful way to start the holiday week.  I’m incredibly thankful for the past year, for my work and for my beautiful family.  I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with my extended family and I can’t wait.  It seems that the older I get the more I treasure these moments.  We’ll all be together, the cousins will play, the parents will reminisce and I’ll try to take in each moment with a thankful heart.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you who read this blog faithfully.  You’re continued support and enthusiasm means the world to me.

Thank you.

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IO Metro, Erika from BluLabel Bungalow and a pre-Thanksgiving twitter party!

I.O. Metro

Today I wanted to share with you a really fun twitter event that my friend Erika Ward from BluLabel Bungalow will be hosting on Tuesday 11/20.  Erika, along with 3 other fabulous bloggers will be sharing their tips on decorating your home for the holidays, picking that perfect holiday gift and giving you the scoop on I.O. Metro’s first ever catalog.

For those of you who may not be familiar with I.O. Metro, check them out here.  You can see the new catalog there as well.  They’ve got every thing you need to throw a holiday party that will be the talk of the town! 

Be sure to rsvp here for the twitter party!   What’s the best thing about a twitter party?  You can be there in your pjs, of course!

I’ll be there, so be sure to give me a shout at @lmayinteriors!

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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!

L

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Fall’s here and I have a loooong to do list

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Fall.  It’s officially here.  In Georgia, the temps still say it’s still summer, but the leaves are beginning to turn and the air is beginning to feel different.  I love all of the seasons, but fall is my favorite.  It’s the expectation of holidays to come,  the smell of the crisp air and cinnamon, football and comfort food.

This fall, there’s also a change coming to my home.  It’s time to update a few things.  My design work has taken priority over everything in our house for the past year.  There are unfinished projects and rooms that need to be reworked.  Here is the list of things that I’ll be working this fall.

 

1)  Kate’s room-It’s time for her to have the room of her dreams.  She’s helping with the design and it’s so fun to work with her.  She even sketched out her own plan.  The photo above is an instagram sneak peak after the painting was completed.

2)  Charlotte’s room-No big changes here, but how can big sis get a complete makeover and little sis not get a small update?

 

3)  My office-This is a big one.  A few weeks ago, Eric and I dismantled our guest room and moved my office downstairs.  After working in our loft for the past year with the exercise equipment and toys, I want to create a calm, creative space just for me.  I love the image above from this year’s Southern Living Idea House.  I’m using this as my inspiration, with perhaps a touch more color.

My first purchase for my office was this bench that I found at the Ballard outlet last week.

 

4)  Pillows for the family room.  Remember this?  I still love the changes that I made to our family room.  Out with the red and in with the white.  It’s such a welcomed update.  You can see the before here.

 

5)  New slipcovers for kitchen slipper chairs.  This is the before picture, but this space has experienced a makeover as well.  New artwork, new mantle accessories, new rug.  The last step is new slipcovers to add that final layer of texture.  More pics to come…

6)  New Christmas decor-I really like to keep my holiday decorating to a minimum.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy decorating, it’s just that I really hate the takedown and put away process.  I liked my minimalist look last year, but this year, I’d like to be more thoughtful about our decorations.  Not sure exactly what that means yet, but it will require some time and planning.

Wow, that’s only 6 things, but it feels like a lot, doesn’t it?  How am I going to get it all done, you ask?  I plan to handle this the same way I handle my client’s projects.  This is my first step.  Write it down.  Second, make a list of things to do to make all this happen.  Third, make a time line and stick to it.

That’s my plan.  What’s on your list of things to do this fall?  I’d love to hear about them.

 

 

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What I found this week/The Scott’s addition

What a beautiful day here in Atlanta!  I hope spring is beginning to make it’s appearance where you are.  It’s been 80 degrees here for the past couple of days and it feels like summer is right around the corner.  The sky is a bright blue, the trees and flowers are exploding with color and the kids are ready for spring break which is only a couple of weeks away.

I made a quick trip to Scott’s last week.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay as long as I wanted but I still have a few pics to share.  Let’s get started.

 

Love this booth by Nicole Flint.

 

She makes these sweet pillows and there was quite the crowd around her booth when I was there.  These would add a nice touch of spring to any room.

 

I think I was feeling a bit vintage on this day.  I’m working on a lake house and it was on my mind as I walked the aisles.  Along with Nicole’s pillows,  this blue and yellow tray caught my eye.

 

These linen table runners would be perfect for an Easter table.

 

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this gorgeous headboard.  I love the mix of textures.  The rough linen and the sparkle of the mirror.  It would be a lovely focal point in a master bedroom.

 

 

Do you love these lamps?  Just enough bling, not too far over the top.

 

Whenever I see pieces like this it reminds me of the times I spent visiting markets in China years ago.  These were beautifully detailed and I could design a whole room around that color.

 

Love the colors…

 

And, yes a picture of cuteness to end this post.  How adorable is baby Bella?  She is 4 months old.  I really couldn’t help myself.  She could have fit in my purse!

Have a great weekend!

 

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Not finished, but there is progress/A chalk paint story

What a weekend!  It was busy as always, but I unplugged a bit and just had fun with my girls. It was soooo worth it.  I’m back to it today, but here are a few highlights from my weekend.  (And, yes, I did work on the cabinet, but I didn’t get it finished.)  Today’s another day, right?

 

 

How proud is she?  Charlotte graduated from her white belt to a white belt senior.  It’s so great to see her do something that was just for her and not just because her big sis was doing it.

 

Of course, there were lots of Valentine’s made over the past couple of days.  Kate woke up feeling under the weather on Sunday, so she’ll be home with me tomorrow.  (I’m secretly glad. I love spending unexpected time with her.)

 

Now, I did manage to get started on my chalk paint project as well this weekend.  I was hoping to finish it, but it has required more coats of paint than I expected and you can’t rush these things, as much as I’d like to.

Here’s where I started.  Yes, I am painting in my family room.  Winter has decided to visit Atlanta this weekend and even though it’s supposed to be short lived, it’s freezing and I hate being cold.  Even in the garage!

 

Here it is after the first coat. Remember, my DIY skills are pretty limited and this this is the first time I’ve used Annie Sloan’s chalk paint. Let’s say I was a bit concerned after the first coat.  See all those nasty streaks?  Everyone said to be patience and not worry, so I added another coat hoping it would be the last…

 

But, no luck. Better, but not enough coverage with two coats.  So, I’m on to coat number three now and hoping that will be the last.  I am hoping to show you the finished product on Wednesday.

I hope you all had a great weekend as well.  I don’t tell you this enough, but thank you all so much for reading.  I loved the birthday wishes last week!

 

 

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