Friday, 23 August 2013

Our Kitchen Tour and TWO Giveaways!

Greetings, friends!

I'm so excited to be joining an incredible group of gals in sharing our kitchens! And, even more excited that one, no, make that TWO of you, have a chance to win either a new Pfister faucet (worth up to $300) or a $250 Visa gift card (details below)!

Because I've shared our kitchen with those of you who have visited before, I thought I'd take a trip down decorating lane ...

You see, once upon a time, in the land of red, green and gold, lived a kitchen that looked like this. Eventually, I began a love affair with a paint brush (and a lighter and brighter color scheme) ...

That love affair with paint eventually turned our kitchen into THIS! I think one of the first changes you might notice is our island, which we first had face panels added to it. I then painted it Annie Sloane's Old White, followed by her Chateaux Grey (then distressed) ... added a butcher block top and farmhouse legs.

It's now a favorite spot for me to attempt to style vignettes to suit the seasons ...

and to "welcome" you with Scrabble tiles to one of our favorite spots in our humble abode:

Another big change is that we said goodbye to our laminate countertops, maple cabinets and red accent wall ...

and a big, fat HELLO(!) to Golden Beach granite, cabinets which I painted Annie Sloane's "Pure White," walls painted Ben Moore's Manchester Tan and bead board backsplash! Amazing what a can of paint (or 10) can do, isn't it?

I love how things placed on our counters now really "pop" against the white beadboard and how fabulous the granite is for hiding crumbs (oops):

BEFORE:

AFTER! We also retired our wrought iron bar stools pictured above (which I eventually painted AS's Pure White) and replaced them with "bare wood" Napoleon rush seat bar stools, which I then painted AS Pure White and Chateaux Grey to tie in with the island and dry bar in our breakfast area. We also had molding and shadow boxes added to the back of our breakfast bar:

See that lone maple cabinet in the left corner? It didn't like being by itself, so, down it came ...

and up went 3 shelves which I made ... they will soon be splashed with pumpkins!

One thing that will NEVER change is my laziness ... yes, our chalkboard (that we made and added to our pantry door) still says Happy "Holly" Day from last Christmas. Shame!

Skip on over to our breakfast area now. Sometimes, I truly can't believe it once looked like this. I do miss the vibrant red, especially around the holidays...

HERE is what it looks like today! It doesn't even look like the same space, does it? That's thanks to a dry bar that we had installed, which, of course, I then painted AS' Pure White and Chateaux Grey. We also replaced the chandelier with one that was once in our dining room. New curtains and bamboo shades were eventually added, along with a farmhouse table, to help complete the French Country look that I was hoping to achieve:

Now, that summer is coming to a close, it's time to starting splashing a bit of Fall around!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and allowing me to share our kitchen/breakfast area! Who knows what it will look like if you stop over again!

Before you go, you simply MUST visit the other tours that are taking place! AND, don't forget to enter our giveaway (details below)!

Thursday, August 22

Atta Girl Says

Practically Functional

Recreate and Decorate

Worthing Court

The Happier Homemaker

Rain on a Tin Roof

Mom 4 Real

Town and Country Living

Fox Hollow Cottage

Friday, August 23

The Everyday Home

Good Life of Design

French Country Cottage

Marty’s Musings

Adventures in Decorating

Cedar Hill Ranch

So Much Better With Age

And now for the giveaway!

There will be two winners for this giveaway! Pfister generously donated a prize for this giveaway, so one winner will receive a free faucet worth up to $300, and a second winner will receive a $250 Visa gift card! To enter for your chance to win, just follow the steps below!

Step 1: Follow the bloggers below on Pinterest:

Step 2: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck, everyone ... and, thanks for stopping by!
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Kitchen Tour Series Has Begun ...

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Greetings, friends! You're all in for a real treat as a bunch of bloggers (and myself) are sharing our kitchens as part of our Kitchen series. PLUS, there's going to be not one, but two, giveaways ... one lucky person will receive a new Pfister faucet, worth up to $300, and a second person will win a $250 Visa gift card!

So, go grab something refreshing and take a peek at the following blogs starting today!

Thursday, August 22

Atta Girl Says

Practically Functional

Recreate and Decorate

Worthing Court

The Happier Homemaker

Rain on a Tin Roof

Mom 4 Real

Town and Country Living

Fox Hollow Cottage

Friday, August 23

The Everyday Home

Good Life of Design

French Country Cottage

Marty’s Musings

Adventures in Decorating

Cedar Hill Ranch

So Much Better With Age

Thanks for stopping by,
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crafts, DIY, Sunburst Mirror, Tutorial, When Creative Juices Flow

DIY: Sunburst Mirror

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Don't miss any update from my blog, like my Facebook Page(click here)

Here is long due and promised post on Sunburst mirror tutorial. Lot of readers mailed me to know how to make this sunburst mirror, so here I'm sharing it with you all lovely and wonderful readers :)

Supplies:

Hardboard -2 (8 Inches diameter)

Mirror-1 (8 Inch diameter)

Skewers 32 (I used broom sticks though)

Glue gun

Embroidery mirrors in 2 sizes

Stones/sequins

Card stock

Craft glue

Scissors

Hook

Acrylic color of your choice

Paint Brush

Step 1:

Get mirror of your desired size. Stick back of the mirror to the hardboard with glue.

Step 2:

Cut the card stock diameter greater (Approx. 2 Inches) than hardboard/mirror's diameter Now on this card stock draw a circle with diameter 4 Inches less than mirror and cut it with paper cutter/knife. Inner circle is of no use. Keep the remaining part.

Step 3:

Paste this card stock on mirror as shown.

Step 4:

Stick sequins/stone in a way so that it is half on mirror and half on card stock.

Step 5:

Now mark the back side of the mirror i.e. on hard board side as shown in pic. Tag every mark with B for Big Skewer. M for Medium Skewer, S for Small Skewer. If you want to keep all the skewers in same size then no need to tag them.

Step 6:

Cut the skewers in three different sizes. Small, medium & big as shown in pic.

Step 7:

Stick all the skewers accordingly. That is big skewer on tag B, medium on M & small on S. Let it dry for at least 2 hr. Refer pic below.

Step 8:

Now stick another circular hard board on this arrangement of skewers (i.e on the back side of sunburst mirror) and fix hook on it to hang it on wall.

Step 9:

Turn the mirror side up. Now start sticking embroidery mirrors on these skewers in a manner that you like. Try different orientation and go for the one you like most.

Step 10:

Now color all the skewers in golden color or color of your choice. Let it dry.

Sunburst mirror is ready. You can go wild with your imaginations. Try making one and let me know.

Here is my sunburst mirror that looks beautiful against my mango yellow wall.

Hope you will love this and will going to try this :) Happy creating!!

Monday, 19 August 2013

crafts, Fan Of The Week, Paper Craft, Paper Jewelry, Pistachio shell lotus, Quilling, Recycling, Reuse

Fan Of The Week: Bhumika Awasthi Chaudhary

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A week ago we met a very talented and creative mind 'Shashwatee Raut' and it's time to meet new talent of the week. Dear readers joining us today is 'Bhumika Awasthi Chaudhary' of 'Paper Passion By Bhumika'. She filled my heart with joy when she said that it's all your effect and humbly named it 'The D effect' :)
This is what she shares with us:

Well first of all thanks for having me here on your Blog, its not only because you invited me here but its because you have always been a great source of inspiration for me. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with other talented people around the world. I am a stay at home mom of a three and half year old son, currently I’m in US, I did my MBA, but after coming here in US I had no choice but to stay at home.
I don’t like to sit idle, so I just love to do what keeps me busy and give me inner satisfaction. I know I’m master of none but you can call me jack of all trades. I make jewelry, I do calligraphy and various craft projects.

I was desperate to do something in spare time, while surfing internet I came across a link related to quilling, instantly I felt in love with the simplicity and beauty of the art and that's when I decided that I will try my hand on this.

Here are some of her master pieces.

I’m in love with quilling, especially jewelry, apart from that I believe in reduce, reuse and recycle, so I use all those stuff that is considered useless or trash like tissue roll, old plastic bottles, boxes etc.
She made these beautiful Lotuses in different vibrant colors using pistachio shells :) Tell me isn't that beautiful.

Some more paper jewelry by Bhumika.

Whenever people around me appreciate and encourage me for my work, it certainly boost my spirit and keeps me going. My biggest inspiration and support is my husband who always encourages me. He is my biggest strength. I love to spend time with my lil' one, other than that I love to cook.

She tried different quilling techniques to make these cute butterflies.

Fantastic artwork Bhumika I must say. For placing orders and to know more about her work visit her Facebook Page 'Paper Passion By Bhumika' and show some love by liking it :)

See you all with a long due post on some DIY project. Stay tuned!!

P.S All images are provided by Bhumika and are subject to copyright.

Linking it to Tuesdays At Our Home

Buddha, Lotus, Pistachio shell lotus, Quilled Rakhi, Quilling, Rakhi, Rakshabandha

Rakshabandhan: The Bond Of Love

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Rakshabandhan is a festival when sister ties a sacred thread on brother's wrist. Brother vows to protect her and sister showers her love and care on him. Tomorrow is Rakshabandhan (Rakhi) and this post is dedicated to all the sisters and brothers around the world.

"Good relationships are like needles of a clock, they only meet for sometime

but always stay connected"

I am happy that my siblings and I are like those clock needles. As kids, together we fought a lot, played a lot, enjoyed a lot, learnt a lot. Now we have grown up, live far away from each other and have our own family, but still we are connected, cherish those memories, always there for each other and that's a bliss.

Here are my quilled rakhis for my brother. You know how I love everything handmade.

I used different quilling techniques to make these rakhis.

Here is my platter full of love for my brother. Did you notice that golden lotus.....its made of pistachio shell during Diwali. I took it out just for Rakshabandhan.

Look how happy and calm my Buddha looks with this Lotus.

Wish all brothers and sisters a very happy, peaceful and memorable Rakshabandhan :)

Linking it to Tuesdays at Our Home

Sunday, 18 August 2013

painted piece

Gorgeous Shelving Unit

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I am very drawn to these types of shelving units.

I realize that these are Victorian and my style of decorating is certainly not Victorian.

But it's the romance of the curves...

And the spindles that gets me every time!

This was ripe for the picking at a garage sale last weekend. Pay close attention to the feet...Wrong!

Someone had tried to fix them with