A tassel's worth the hassle!

I love blogland!  So many beautiful homes, so many creative projects, so many great journeys to take without leaving the comfort of my living room.  However... my FAVORITE thing about blogland would have to be the gracious bloggers who share their ideas and encourage the rest of us to try new things.  One of those people is Lyndsey Ballard at Living with Lyndsey!  

Look at her beautiful work  in one of two posts she has on tassels.  
Thanks Lyndsey!  So... here are my first attempts.  Not as professionally executed as Lyndsey's but I like them.  


First up... Mary Englebreit's "Life... Get one!"  I love Mary Englebreit's work and had this little figurine.  I glued some wood pieces together and painted them for her base.  The tassel is just a combination of random ribbon I had on hand.  

 

Next up... Browns and Blues...

I'm working on a few more.  It's addicting!  Tassels are a great way to add a little color and texture to a space.  I hang them on lamps, furniture knobs, bedposts.... just about anywhere I need a little extra!


A little funny...I was looking for a clever title to this post and saw an article titled "Do tassels and motherhood mix?"  I'm thinking that they are referring to a different type tassel!   As the mom of two burly college boys, this type tassel is probably much more likely to mix with motherhood in my world!


Have a great week ladies (and gents!)  I'm glad you stopped in!
Lori

I can TUFT!!!! Ugly stool becomes a charmer!

SOOO excited!  I just finished my first tufting project.  Isn't it cute???

Check out the before !  Can we all agree that this was an ugly little stool??  And it was a dirty little thing too!

 Check out the AFTER version.  Love this little thing!  And you can lift up the cushioned seat for a little storage.

This picture was made in my driveway just before I loaded it up to go to Then & Again Home Marketplace.  It will find a good home there!  Bye bye little bench!  

Thanks for stopping by.  I've got lots going on and will try to share when I have a chance.  Stay tuned for photos from an upcoming class I'm teaching... The ugly frame challenge.  Such cute ideas for those ugly frames we have laying around or find a thrift stores and other places.

I'm linking to:

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
SYS Party and Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

2012 is going to be a great year!  To God be the glory!

Hugs to all!

Lori

Does staging make a difference? See for yourself!

I recently staged a home north of Nashville.  The video is now on YouTube and I thought I'd share it.  After the video, take a look at the pictures of the home before I started.   Will staging help?  I'd love to know your thoughts!

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OK... here are the before photos.

The living room...  the worn carpet was making a terrible first impression.  The new hardwood floors are gorgeous!  We also added some furniture, removed some things but mainly tried to keep that view the focus.

The Dining area needed some life.  We removed the rug, set the table and added art.  Ideally, there should be a chandelier above the table rather than recessed lighting.  

The kitchen was a little cluttered with rugs and things so we had the homeowner pare things down  to the bare minimum.  Everything is still a bit white and plain but the homeowner will be painting the walls soon and that will add a little more life.

The first bedroom was quite cluttered.  We pared down the items and  placed the bed in the corner with a simple night stand.

If you need shelves, adding the fabric box type containers (as in the after video) make a huge difference!

The hall bath flooring was very dated so we encouraged the owner to update with tile.  Much better!  We also added some color and coordinated art, shower curtain, etc.

 

The master bedroom didn't have a luxurious feel and the focal point should be the view from the window.  We switched the bed location, removed some of the items on the wall and added a little lux!

 

The master bath needed flooring updates too and to have a more spa-like feel.  The video shows the "after" with  calming gray-blues and browns.

Of course... the dirty laundry had to go!

The basement.  Plants are great. No...healthy plants are great.  It's better to put them in groupings rather than spreading them out.

By the time we staged, the sofa and many other pieces had been sold or moved out.  The shoe rack  and the shelving units remained and we moved to the garage.  We used a few pieces to create a seating group around the fireplace and the owners card table for a game vignette.

The owner did a  lot of work to clean up the patio area.  

 Well... now that you've seen the "before" photos -  maybe you should watch the video over again?   I think it's much more appealing.  I'd love to see the curb appeal improved and add a few more  touches but I believe the home will now hold more appeal for buyers.  In this market, a home like this on 10 acres in a private setting could be hard to sell but the owner has a great agent and the price is very competitive.  Someone will have a wonderful property!!

Thanks for stopping by!~

Lori