Fall Design Contest!

Recently I had the privilege of participating in a really fun contest that was put on by the company I work for! The Visual Merchandising team and I were challenged to take the front entries of each our stores and transform them into a Fall wonderland! (I really do love my job, so much.) I have no idea who will win as the entire design team is very talented and does such beautiful work! I just feel so blessed to have a job where I am given the support and budget to be creative! So much fun! I was a little worried because I am currently 8 1/2 months pregnant, swollen as EVER, and functioning on very little sleep with a brain that is truly incapable of processing anything quickly these days. Ha! So I was a little nervous that what I thought was 'creative' may actually turn out as scary and a pregnancy brain nightmare, not to mention that my water would break in the middle of hanging a picture! Luckily, that didn't happen and I ended up really enjoying myself!  I wanted to think a little outside the box and not stick only to the traditional fall color palette, so I threw in a deep teal... just for fun! (I have to give a shout out to my mama, turquoise is her favorite color and I always feel like I'm doing a tribute to her when I use it in a display! Love you mama!) Happy October! Now all we need is for the weather to match the season here in San Diego! :) Here are some pictures of my final product! Enjoy!

Here is what my entry (Master Bedroom section) looked like before!

And after:

It's a blustery day in my store (apparently) :) I attached the fall leaves to the wall in a pattern with a staple gun and dabbed a little blue paint on each for fun! The leaves were from the Dollar Store, $1 for a bag of 50 leaves! Super easy and cheap, and love that the staples only create tiny holes in the wall so it's a project you can do at home without having major clean up to do after the season is over.

 Here is my dining entry (torn apart.. it was much nicer before I took it apart to set up. haha) before:

Annnnd after:

Fireplace:

My table runner was really easy to make, I just printed vintage family photos out and attached them to an already existing runner with Fabirc Tac (which I am obsessed with, by the way. That stuff is genius and I use it all the time.) The chargers for the centerpiece and place settings are just slabs of wood from Michael's, I used a leaf as a stamp to add a little of my accent color.

The art installation above the dining table are my "leaf lanterns." They are made of paper lanterns that I covered in fall leaves (attached with Fabric Tac... I'm telling you, I love that stuff) and splashes of paint. And the little acorn bundles are just made of jumbo acorns (Big Lots) and a couple other fun fall accessories bundled together into little clusters. 

And that's about it! Hope you enjoyed!! Have fun decorating your homes for fall! 

xo,

r.

The Little Explorer's Nursery

So... the last time I posted an entry on my blog was LAST Christmas?! Wow... That is a very serious version of slacking on my part! :) My apologies! But I promise it was for a good reason... My husband and I have had a crazy crazy year so far. This year has been jam packed with a knee surgery, both of us starting new jobs, and we found out in February that we are expecting our first child! To say we are excited would be the understatement of the century! She will actually be making her appearance this month! In the meantime we have been making all of the preparations, one of which is the Nursery! We wanted to give her a sophisticated and whimsical nursery that encouraged her to discover the world. We had SO much fun putting together her very first room! Here is a sneak peak into Selah Grace's little explorer themed nursery!


The accent wall is a world map I found on amazon.com.. made by National Geographic. When it came in it wasn't as "antiqued" as I wanted it to be so I purchased some wood stain rub from Home Depot and stained the map with a rag.

The changing table is a second hand table from craigslist that I sanded down and painted black, the drawer fronts and the changing pad is covered in the same fabric that I used for the crib bumper, drapes, pillows, & wall flowers and it was only $9.99 as I used a King Sheet & Pillow set from Marshalls! Such a steal and got so much use out of it.

The rest of the fabrics used (for the wall flowers, pillows, embroidery hoops & bed skirt) were from Joanne's. 

The bed crown is made from a shelf, red paint and two curtain panels. All you need to create it is a staple gun! The wall decor above the crib was made out of different sized embroidery hoops, white paint (for the borders) and fabric.

The Grandfather Clock/ diaper cabinet was a second hand ($60) from a thrift store. We removed the parts, added shelves, sanded it down and painted it red. 

The Pom Pom'swere created by my sister in law for our baby shower! Loved them so much I had to put them in the nursery!

And last but not least, the "You Are My Sunshine" sign was made by my husband, Selah's Daddy... and truly says it all! :)

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