Lanterns

The Lights of My Life

I stumbled over these lanterns in Rhode Island years and years ago. They, like some of my other nik-naks, traveled along with me until I finally found THE spot for them both; one in the living room and one the front porch.
These lanterns were originally hanging in an old, large sail boat in New England. I removed the wick as well as the oil, because it smelled awful! Now I put regular tea candles inside and light them up for some ambiance.
Lighting is extremely important in not only defining a space but also creating the atmosphere of the room. Lights can emphasize your art, create a quiet reading corner, or lead you down a hall way. Lighting can make the room feel loud and awake or soft and hushed. How do you decorate using lighting in your home? Are you a bare-minimum-over-head-light kind of designer or are you a fear-my-electric-bill illuminator?

Driftwood Boats

A'hoy!

These little boats are so cute they are sure to be plundered by all local pirates! 

I made these with drift wood found on the beach in Ulsteinvik, Norway and assembled with tree branches and twine. You don't have to be in Europe to replicate this easy project though, it's easily done with any scrap/drift wood from your local area. I recommend letting drift wood air dry for about 2 days before using it. The boats are complete kid magnets, (an adult's inner-kid included), they all want to pick them up and pretend. It was a fun project to do with my daughter, Sofie. She got such a kick out of making the sail! We had all kinds of silly conversations and I had her guess which ones would sail and float the best.

The boats ended up sailing in the windowsills in our summer home. The end result is a quirky, amateurish, and whimsical conversation piece! 

What summer projects did you do with your children?

Door Gallery

Knock, Knock...

This little number is an old original door that used to be in our summer house. It was creaky and drafty! When we renovated I just didn't have the heart to throw it away. I ended up stripping it down to the original wood and hanging on to it for a while before I figured out what to do with it. The idea of hanging pictures on it as gallery came out of necessity. The wainscoting we have up on our walls is very difficult to nail/drill through to hang anything up and when you do... you've sealed the deal and there's going to be a giant hole if you change your mind and take something down. This door was the perfect solution! It's charming and it tells a story. I just love it!

How do you display family photos in your home?

Firewood

 Burn Baby, Burn

This is another quick, cheap, and easy decoration for your home. I have a white palate at our summer home and it really lets me choose which items I choose to make "pop." I gathered some chopped  wood that we typically use for burning in our fireplace and painted a few blue and white to contrast the ugly brown and put them in this white box. A box of brown wood just doesn't look appealing! Of course the painted wood isn't actually used for the fire but I always keep these three pieces of wood on top of the pile.

What do you think? Would you ever decorate firewood?

Party Bags

Party Time!

The nautical theme continues! Living in Florida makes it really easy to be inspired by the beach and sea life around me. I starting making these custom party bags recently with my woodblock prints and I love them! I am working on making some more for the holidays, I can't wait.

I think it is nice to add a personal touch to the gift bag. This way your present stands out among the pile!

Do you use special wrapping paper or gift bags to add a personal touch? What do you use?

Herb Garden

Basil Bubble Bath

This old iron bath tub was another find on "junk day" in my neighborhood. Can you believe someone put this out on the side of the road? I snatched up this tub quicker than Chuck Norris can kick you in the head.

(I often wonder... when I'm picking up treasures from the side of the road... do I look like a lunatic or a genius trying to shove items like these into my little Fiat?)

All this needed was a little polishing and I set it up on my back patio. I filled it up with some basic staple herbs that I used frequently. I think it looks absolutely charming and unexpected.

What quirky pots do you use in your container garden?

Woodblock Dishclothes

 Dish out some style

To be honest, I hate doing dishes. But the only thing I hate more than doing dishes is having dirty dishes! I'm totally bored by the process and I'm bored with all the dish cloths out there right now. I searched and searched from some original decorative nautical dish clothes to put in my kitchen for ages (It wouldn't hurt to be distracted, right?). I finally gave up and made my own! I usually make my woodblock art to be printed on paper but last summer I started printing on fabric and I'm really loving the look! Before my husband knew it, I was woodblock printing on pillows, dish clothes, towels and all vulnerable looking fabric all over our house.


I received so much good feedback from my family and friends that I decided to fill orders. They are listed for $20.00. Check out My Etsy Shop for more details!

What is your least favorite chore and how do you perk it up?