Today is the debut of my inked blue bulletin board. Just in time to create collages for holiday inspiration.  

For the past year, dark inked blue and gold have become a favorite color combination for my home. Navy blue has always been a favorite paired with white or red or both, but recently I started plans to update an old wood-framed bulletin board with  a blue cork board and gold wood frame. 

Read about why and how I transformed an old inexpensive bulletin board into a freshly painted blue cork board with gold wood frame and get ideas for your own bulletin board. 

Gold Berry Leaves Ornament Makeover

See how to transform a ho-hum metal cluster of leaves into a beautiful gold berry leaves cluster Christmas ornament you can use all over the house for the holiday season. 

You probably are not ready to start decorating your house for Christmas right now, but for all of us who like to do DIY projects, you can never start those projects too early. I finished transforming these gold berry leave cluster ornaments in late September, and still have more DIY projects in process.  

If you wait until December for DIY projects, you may find yourself in a time crunch like my sister-in-law one year. You may find yourself in the bedroom wrapping presents on Christmas Day and handing them out through a partially opened door... one at a time... to give to the recipient to open while she wrapped the next person's present. True story... 

ornament after makeover 

I love how the makeover for a ho-hum ornament turned out. Bright gold berries, white over-sprayed gold leaves, and Noel ribbon turned the ornament into one of my favorites for this coming Christmas. 

Toile Pantry Update | Key Hooks

Updating an uninspiring pantry painted pink began with white paint and a beautiful toile wallpaper. Adding new black iron double hooks to hold spare keys was the next step. A tip for simplifying where to drill the holes for the screws is based on a brilliant tip for an easy way to hang a print or mirror on a wall.  

While the pantry is small, the size of a closet, updating it with all my plans is more like updating a large room over several weeks. Not because of the size of the pantry, but because each new change sparked an idea for yet another change. 

Take a look at how the pantry looked BEFORE updates began earlier this summer. 

French Country Pantry Makeover

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While cleaning the pantry, a bad stain on the sheetrock made it obvious the pantry needed a makeover even though I already knew the pantry was getting a makeover. A French Country makeover . . .  with the perfect opportunity to add a beautiful blue and white toile wallpaper inside the pantry.  

Pantry with new toile wallpaper 

Inspiration for a toile wallpapered pantry came from The French Nest Company interior designer on her Instagram account. Her colors and pattern are not what I used for my pantry, but seeing her French-style papered pantry sparked the idea to use a toile pattern in my pantry. 

French Wood Panel Sconce Makeover

New reproduction French style wood panel sconces were too rustic even for my post and beam master bathroom, but with a makeover, now blend with my French Country inspired house. 

a f t e r   m a k e o v e r

After a little sanding, new gold finish, and an added small wreath, the new made over wood panel sconce has more style than the original wood panel did. While the wood panel sconce is still rustic, wait until you see how rustic it was originally. 

Mudroom Makeover

And Spring cleaning continues at my house... 

Wait 'til you see my mudroom makeover! 

A catch-all mudroom is becoming an organized 

fun place to store tools, flower vases, over-sized pots, 

and vintage bits and pieces. 

While cleaning the mudroom, a makeover began taking place in my mind. 

Turn it into someplace to hold my favorite French wire basket, flower pots, 

a collection of vintage gardening tools, small construction tools, and vases. 

Turn it into a small attached 

indoor tool shed. 

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.