Party Time & Pinterest Picks: Paper Chains

Whoah, it's Friday the 13th! Let's have a party.  Today's party time is also a Pinterest pick, that's a lot of P's! I've posted before about DIY paper decorations, and after I came so close to making them for fourth of July, I am officially adding paper chains to that list.

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Paper chains, I'm sure you remember those!  The picture above is not just paper chains but ombre paper chains. What a winning combo. I've always had a thing for these simple decorations, they are easy to make and look awesome.  I admit, there was a time I wouldn't dare decorate a party with these chains. It was the teenage years, and could you blame me? In elementary school they had us make tons of those for every holiday, or so it seemed.  Maybe the teacher just needed to keep us busy, who knows! So after 6 or so years of these things everywhere I looked there was no way they'd make an appearance at my party. No.Way.

Luckily I'm not a teenager anymore and I can get back to adoring and appreciating these awesome chains. Plus, thanks to the magical internet, we can share all these creative ideas & uses for paper chains with each other.  Just like I'm doing today.  Do you like green?

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Because I do! The monochromatic chains above add a lot to what seems to be a St. Patty's Day Party. Bring on the clovers! Speaking of holidays, get ready for the cute:

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Ah, jeez! With just a slight tweek to the technique, you can spread the love all over your party with these heart garlands. There's one more holiday garland I found, that's so sweet & cute I was almost sick:

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Yea, those are carrots. Carrots! I couldn't have come up with that. I don't necessarily throw big Easter parties, but now that I've said that out loud, I'm sure the day will come when I am nominated to host some sort of Spring fling.  Now I'm prepared.

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See, so just keeping around a pair of scissors, a stapler + a million staples, and some fun paper will always leave you prepared for the last minute decorations. They don't take long either, just pop a movie in and by the time it's over you'll be swimming in these. My only warning is to put your cats to bed early, they can't resist tearing these apart.

Alright ladies & gents, there's just a few more reasons why every party, no matter how big or small, should be all decor'd up. It's not hard, practically free, and will make you fabulous. It's fun, everyone will remember them from childhood,  and you can customize them to get the exact look you want.  For more party ideas, see my Party Time posts and my Party Time board on the ol' Pinterest.  While you're at it, browse around my Pinterest Picks posts too, they're kinda fun. Have a good Friday the 13th and a good weekend, it's Party Time!

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Beach Towel Bookshelf

I thought today I would post a little bit about some of the things I've been working on lately.  I've been fortunate enough to have a good chunk of time off this July, and I'm going to put that time to good use. I hope!  I've got a long list of projects that need taclking and this is the perfect time.  Aside from all the string art orders lately (thrilled!) I've managed to set aside some furniture time. Which I didn't realize it as much before, is my favorite time.  It's relaxing, I get to take a break from orders, blogging, marketing etc. which can surprisingly eat up a huge chunk of time! So these first few projects I'm embarking on should serve as a real treat. Here's the latest:

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Spotlight: Diamond Light Bulbs

Last night I had a dream about these light bulbs (weird..I know) and it reminded me that I meant to post about them.  I saw these while browsing around for antique looking light bulbs (which I found, see my ghost lamp post) and they flew right onto my wishlist. Designed by Eric Therner and available in his shop:

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How To: Succulent Dresser

A while back in one of my Pinterest Picks posts I featured succulent furniture.  Now, I just chose these images straight off pinterest - and wouldn't you know what came through Shelterness not too long ago? The full tutorial to make that cute dresser!

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How To: Clean Plank Wall

I have been meaning to share this tutorial for a while!  You know how I love the look of a wooden accent wall, like in this post.  Well recently I came across another excellent tutorial on Sweet Pickins, that gives a similar, but cleaner look:

I love it! This does so much for a room.  It stands out as unique without taking the full spotlight or crowding the space. Plus, it looks as though you could do this from start to finish in one weekend.  Maybe I'm wrong, who knows! Either way, this could add a lot of character to any room, and I'm so happy (and thankful!) that the full tutorial is available here, on Sweet Pickins blog.  Sausha has a lot of great posts, this is one of my many favorites.  Head over and check it out!

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Spotlight: Modular OSB Furniture

I recently came across these amazing modern shelves from the Etsy seller Modosb.  Aren't they great? Stackable, modular, totally customizable.  I love their simplicity. The colors he chose for the stains are great, very fun combinations.  I can totally see a future living room of mine having a major colorful book case from this shop.  There are some tansu style as well, which I've always been a fan of.  I've seen this type of wood used before, and assumed it was plywood.  Though when I went to find the plywood at the hardware store, it never looked quite the same.  Today, I learned that it is actually oriented strand board, and I love it!  Here's a quote from his shop that explains the wood much better than I can:

"Oriented Strand Board OSB is a modern engineered product that is designed as a replacement for traditional plywood in the building industry. It has been created to make strong and light panels. It is more eco-friendly than traditional plywood."

If you look at that dresser on the bottom right, you can really see the details in this unique wood. Very different from traditional wood grain, and affordable. Bonus! Hop over to Brian's Etsy shop and browse around.  I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

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School of Restoration: Color Wash

Wow, is it July already?  These months keep sneaking up on me. Welcome to another session in the School of Restoration, that I did for The Divine Minimalist.  Today I want to touch base on one of my favorite techniques, the color wash.  This is perfect when you want to update something with color, but still want to show the underlying wood grain.  I chose to do this outdoors since it's pretty messy, plus it's been beautiful out lately.  Before we start, check out my before and after:

Materials:

• Furniture
• Sanding sponge
• Fine & Medium Sandpaper
• Water based paint 
• Empty containers for mixing
• Paint Brushes
• Minwax Polycrylic - Satin
• Old shirts or clean rags
• Gloves
• Mask
• All purpose cleaner

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