Category Archives: Home Decor

Before and After Of Our 1960s Ranch Style Home

27th January 2021

We are getting ready to move homes to another dated house to makeover so I wanted to document my before and afters of this sweet home before we go. Plus, I hope it will give you hope when you see pictures of our next dated space. Lol

Before: Someone said, “You know what, let’s paint this house cream and put cream rock all around it. That will set it off.

This is our 2, 000 sq ft ranch home we bought almost 9 years ago. Here is what it looked like on move in day in 2012.

After: Needlepoint Navy is the brick color with Colonial Yellow for the door. I believe it was from Porter Paints. We moved the Japanese Maple that was oddly in front of the big windows because it was to big for that space. I added a new light and paint and plants did the rest.

Original living room before:

After! I had my dad build my some simple custom shelves and a custom mantle and we walled in the bonus to make a master/4th bedroom.

Believe it or not, this was the original master! It looks bigger in this picture than it really was. This room is approximately one king size bed big.

After: New paint, lighting, and window treatments go a long way. Also, nothing like a rug to change a room. If you want a big change to a room, go rug and windows first! They warm up a space and really complete a look.

Before: Let’s talk about what you see here. It will be therapeutic because you can’t un-see it. What you are experiencing is a wet bar with fake leather pillowed front and fake marble tiles behind it to really set it off. For a special effect, the whole room is wrapped in red wood paneling. This is the room that became our master!

After: I never really felt like I finished this space, but it beats cheesy strip club wet bar any day.

Before: One of the girl’s bedrooms and I need you to know that there are 7 levels of border on that wall. SEVEN. Why do people do the things they do? Just don’t, Christopher. Don’t.

After: Those solid bunk beds are something special. That is an Opalhouse clearance indoor/outdoor rug. I like to use outdoor versatile rugs because, you know, kids.

Before: Kitchen

After: Added lighting and replaced lighting, added shelving, paint, and decor.

Here’s another angle.

Before: Laundry room corner

After: Home school space! I use to have a big cool rug in here and then, rabbits. They pooped and peed on it like a litter box and I gave them away in my mind for a minute.

Before: Front foyer

After: Paint and added this wall of hooks with shelf for just around 100 bucks. This is not how the shelf is normally styled, but we are moving and I don’t care. lol

Before: Hall bath

Again, just take this in. This yellow is something special. Also, please note the fronts of this vanity is covered in fake mosaic wallpaper. You’re welcome, eyes. The after is still under construction but….

After: New ere’thang. I JUST started doing this a few months ago during COVID stuff not knowing we were about to move. That’s a dark blue solid wood vanity with quartz top and soft close doors. New lights, epoxied yellow tile, new fixture, bath fitter, toilet, floors, and a cool mirror you can’t see all the way that is sort of rainbow shaped. The mirror was a big mantle mirror and I loved it. I actually used liquid nails to adhere it to the wall so it’s there until the house burns down or falls apart. Enjoy.

Well folks, that it’s for this sweet house. There are more rooms and I have more pictures, but my kids were in the bulk of them so this will have to do.

I CANNOT wait to move in to our next home and I will be documenting it heavily here and with videos on Instagram.

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DIY Watercolor House Portrait Hack

5th April 2020

If you’ve ever wanted one of those watercolor portraits of your home or a home you once lived in or loved, well join my bandwagon! I have looked at them on Etsy around 1.2 billion times and thought about having someone paint one for me. For whatever reason, I’ve never bit the bullet but love the idea.

One day I decided to take a picture on my phone and turn it into a watercolor digitally and print it off in the world’s cheapest way ever!

First step, get a picture you love of your home or past home and edit it to the size you want with the color adjustments you want made.

Next, download the Waterlogue app for $4.99 and apply the watercolor effect of your choice to your picture. (The app icon is a whale with an umbrella, just so you know you have the right one.)

Last, upload your edited photo to Staples.com and print it off as a BLUEPRINT aka engineer print in color. You can print a large one for around 4 bucks! Yes, folks, you too can have a watercolor portrait of your home, or anything you want, for about 10 bucks! It gets the job done and works for me! While we are at it, it’s also an affordable and sentimental gift idea when framed. Just sayin’….

This is the same type of printing service I use for my parties like I did here.

Get you some watercolor prints, girl!

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Creative Guest Book Alternative Turned Home Decor

25th March 2020

On my last post I showed you my retirement party for my OBGYN. For that party, I had everyone sign silhouettes of Kentucky with reasons why they loved her to put in a large glass jar that she could use later. I had a moment when I was laying it all out for the party that I thought to put all of those KYs in a double-sided floating frame as a gift so that she could have a sentimental decor piece and still be able to read both sides!

I found this killer Joanna Gaines frame on Target.com and it is only available on-line. It comes in three sizes and these frames are so great that you could put them anywhere with tons of things between the two glass panes. I love them big time.

Here is how it turned out!

This is great for a cool home decor piece in general, so much so that I made myself one with leftover Kentuckys. I think it is a great way to do a non-traditional guest book that you can multi-purpose into something they can use for their home! Raise the roof if you’re with me? I ended that as a question, but really, you need only raise the roof.

Customize this any way you want for any sentimental reason, event, or personal interest. States are a great idea, but you could do so many different things. If you don’t have a machine to cut shapes, you can always find just about anything or customize anything on Etsy.

Pin, share, enjoy! Love y’all!

Fun times! Am I right?!

Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover

20th May 2019

I did this kitchen for some friends of mine who needed some help decorating. It was simple and right up their alley and to make it all even better, I bought almost every single thing in the room for 15 to 50 percent off. Only one or two things in this entire kitchen were purchased at cost! Oh yeah, girl.

These bowls are much more jade-ish mint in real life and were half off from Hobby Lobby! They have matching pitchers and cake stands to this set that I love to death! I bought clear glasses from The Pioneer Woman collection from Walmart that sport the same antique glassware pattern.

The frames in the back were from the open frame collection at Hobby Lobby. The prints I had custom made for 5 bucks each from Hoot and a Holler on Etsy and then printed those files on Blueprint paper/engineering paper for $3.89 each and they were 24 by 36 inches!

This light fixture is my absolute favorite part of the room and I would happily rip it from their ceiling and take it to my house! It was simple and captures the farmhouse style perfectly. You can find it on Shades of Light.

The vases are Hearth and Hand by Joanna Gaines from Target, as well as the artificial stems. The vases have glass tubes on the inside so that you can use real stems also. The hand towels are also from the same Joanna line! Farmhouse made easy, fo’ sho’.

Jars by Anchor from Target and basket by Opal House at Target.

Jadeite dessert glasses in the top shelf, again, are way more mint jade in real life, and they are also Hearth and Hand from Target.

Again, I repeat, I did not put that small carpet under the counter stools! The owner put them there to protect a spot in the floor that was being redone. These great gray natural barn wood colored counter stools were from World Market and were perfect for their style and this room!

So simple, but I adore these black iron schoolhouse hooks from Target by Threshold! I actually bought a few packs for my own house, but they didn’t look good in the only spot I could put them. Figures….

I can’t end without talking about the rug from Ruggable! If you aren’t familiar with the company, they sell rugs that are water proof, stain resistant, and the top part, the uh…rug, folds up and is machine washable! It adheres to a rubberized mat that fits the rug and it holds perfectly in place with a velcro type of gripping. It is high quality and simply the best solution for anyone who needs rugs that can take a beating! LOVE them!

This rug in particular, though it’s hard to tell, has mint and turquoise very subtly within the nuetral scheme and it was perfect for this nuetral loving momma’s family, all while giving some color just so slightly that I could pull out in other spots of the room.

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Crosby’s Nursery Reveal

4th December 2017

*Affiliate links appear in this post

Notoriously, I have the world’s worst lighting in my house, but a home girl tries. This is the most light in any room so, take what yo’ momma (mother nature) gave ya. Without further adieu, here is my son’s small 10 by 11 nursery, complete with 6 ish DIY projects!

Greens, some blue and a pop of yellows with white walls and a subtle gray ceiling. This boss simple clean lined crib is solid wood, down to the slats. If you thought most cribs were all wood, think again, Sparky AND I got it for 100 dollars on a closeout. Holler if you’re a baller!

(Hollering in the background…)

It’s compact and great for a small space. Good job, tree, that became this crib. You did a real swell job.

Just breath it in, because I like this wall. FUN FACT ALERT: The framed dino up there is a toy I used for his Lochness Monster 1st Birthday party. It floated in a large bowl of chocolate milk like Nessie in the Lochness Strait of my dreams. I used Velcro Command Strips to put him up there floating in the middle and used an old wood frame to go around him. Fun for days.

In the bottom left, those are his hospital footprints…at least I hope or that would be weird. No, they are. I was there. And in the top right, that is sheet music from a hymn by Fanny Crosby, the greatest hymn writer of all time. That is where we got his name, Crosby. Nope, it wasn’t from Parenthood, though that show was THE best.

I bought the cactus print 2 years ago during my pregnancy, along with the raccoon print off of Etsy. Gotta love Etsy. The globe which tied in all of my colors was purchased from a consignment shop. It was an old globe from a school. Neato.

The hat is my grandfather’s and I love seeing it in his room. He wore this hat and ones like it all of the time. Surprisingly, even with it on the edge of the wire basket we use for diapers, it never gets in the way. It’s like a magic polite hat.

OH Bertha. I bought a gumball machine, which I have always wanted, from Hobby Lobby, which is also where this polyresin Octopus came from. I took out the guts of the gumball machine and added rocks and a succulent. I give it 2 thumbs up.

I LOVE using old buffets in kid’s rooms as dressers and I have them in 2 of my children’s rooms currently. The doors on the side give great extra storage! This was an 80’s honey wheat wooden buffet I purchased from a cool consignment store in town for 90 ish bucks. I painted it white, sprayed all of the original hinges and pulls and then added the round, flat brushed gold knobs to the doors. I hate painting furniture, but I love when it’s done!

This green super cute bookshelf was old, layered in orange and black chipped paint and about to be trashed. I thought the lines of it were so cute so i did what any good DIY-er does and sanded it to be painted…and then my husband hit it with his car.

(dramatic pause)

I hammered some nails in to straighten it up and all’s well that ends well.

The snail pillow is something I bought 3 kids ago handmade from Etsy and repainted it to meet the color scheme I needed.

This print is the very first thing I bought when I found out I was having my 1st son. Go Hobby Lobby, it’s your birthday. We’re gonna party like it’s your birthday. The basket is from there also and the lamp, is from God’s country: Target.

I bought a Jelly Cat Alligator because we call my son, Crosby Ryle Crocodile. I know, I know, it’s an alligator, not a croc! What are you? Steve Irwin?

Do you love this dinosaur terrarium???!!! I thought i came up with this idea and then I found some on Pinterest. Boo. Since it wasn’t my idea, I decided to copy the rock pattern I saw in someone else’s post to ease the burn and enjoy it anyways.

I sprayed painted tiny dinosaurs we got from goody bags at parties and I got the big dino from a dollar store because hey, dollar store. The succulents are from Hobby Lobby.

When it all came together, I wished for a moment that dinosaurs weren’t extinct.

Rest in peace, brothers.

This wall hook was something I bought when this was my daughter’s nursery. I spray painted it blue back then and decided to keep it in all of it’s glory. I always hang a favorite outfit on it and admire their cute teeny clothes. I wanted a cute hanger to put it on but there isn’t a large market for cute display baby hangers so, we deal and accept that ain’t nobody got no kinna time to worry about a hanger.

The door knob is from the greatest DIY bloggers of all time, Young House Love. They did a run at Target a couple of years ago and angels sang.

THIS PIC IS THE WORST ALERT! A bit blurry, bad light, so let’s just use it! I wanted you to get a feel for how small the room is and I was going to jump off my roof if I had to take anymore pictures. You get the idea.

The closet knobs are a natural wood here and dimensional and cute. The end.

I made these curtains for under 20 bucks for 2! I got a mega deal for 5 bucks a panel at Target and then I bought large width ribbon from Michael’s and hot glued them on in large chunky stripes. Hey, hey! Cute and clean like I like it!

This big print is a DIY and I made it all myself!!!! It is my proudest art/DIY I’ve done because letters/spacing are harder than passing kidney stones. I have a post that I’m working on just for this print. This is a page from the classic book The Giving Tree and it strums all of the strings of my heart.

This is crib sheet is from Land of Nod because, it’s Land of Nod, my favorite one stop high quality and cute design kid’s decor and furniture.

I got this huge 8 by 10 big daddy rug from where I buy ALLL of my rugs, Overstock. I got this big colorful rag rug for about 60 bucks, shipped! It was better in person than on-line. If you have a really high traffic area, I don’t recommend it because you can’t really vacuum it and it can get pulls. Just ignore that I said all of that though because it’s colors perfectly tied in the room and it’s comfy under your feet.

This is the room dweller himself, sniffing or choking his “crocodile”. I’m not sure which. It’s his room. He does what he wants.

THINGS STILL LEFT TO DO:

Add a blanket to hang over the crib

Put out a cute sloth that Santa is bringing him

(I’m never REALLY done, it seems like.)

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Transform A Pillow With Paint

17th October 2017

This is really easy to do if you have a pillow that needs a color change! I had been looking at this pillow I had made on Etsy for one of my daughter’s nurseries and I really didn’t want to part with it, BUT my son probably wouldn’t dig a cranberry pink pillow in his room. You know because 14 month olds have strong decor opinions… A snail is perfect for any gender room so I took to the paint! I bought a fabric paint in black, pulled out an old paint brush I use for details, and basically just colored it in like a coloring book! Whip out cha’ steady hand and treat yo’self to a new pillow! It’s a lot more affordable than buying new pillows every single time you change a color scheme.

Here it is in process so you can see it going down. I just followed the lines!

Here it is completed! From pink to masculine and all for the price of a tiny bottle of fabric paint! Nursery reveal coming next! You know…since he is over a year old now. Literally, I am still trying to fill out the details.

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Spring Felt Flower Wreath

31st March 2016

Me and this wreath fell in love and made heart babies. This is one of my most favorite wreaths I’ve EVER made. I love the fuzzy little fern leaves, mix of flowers and bright cheery colors. I used a stick wreath vs. a covered straw wreath this time and I painted the sticks lightly, as you can see below. Me likes.

Using a mix of regular old Hobby Lobby felt, good fabric scissors and a lot of that dangerously burning hot glue, I concocted this little wreath baby.

My favorite flowers are the big coral peony lookin’ one and the yellow rolled flowers with dark centers. They remind me of anemones which makes me smile….big time. (Even though it’s not really what they look like. I said REMINDS. Let’s not get too crazy.)

Did you fall in love with this wreath?!? Just remember, I did too and we made heart children so it would be inappropriate to get too close. You can still love it from a respectable distance like an old woman Bieber fan.

How To Look Like A Better Decorator Than You Are

22nd March 2016

While I love to decorate and find that it comes pretty naturally, I have many friends who find decorating and figuring out what to do as fun as doing your taxes while listening to NPR.

To those of you decoration-ally challenged or to anyone who saw a room you just LOVE, you can put a room together better than you think with one easy step.

What is the secret? What is the step?

FOLLOW THEIR FORMULA.

Most people see a room and think, “I love it!” so I’m going to use those colors or buy that one rug or picture they have. But, how can you get a whole room that is more tied in together? Whether you know it or not, you love that perfect home picture or perfect decor pin for more than just that print or wall color. What you love and what you really want is how it ALL ties together and how they did that is the “formula”. It’s easier than you think!!

It goes a little something like this….check this, y’all. Look at this picture here. Let’s pretend I love this room from Young House Love, but no pretending necessary because I totally do! It’s a very simple room so a great example to start with.

Young House Love

The Formula:

Rug in a bold and LARGE print (Try Overstock for the best prices, free shipping and a gabillion choices to search by. You can find a similar rug to what you are looking for there, I’m sure!)

Nuetral Walls

Bring the color of the curtain rods into the legs of the furniture piece. Also note, they are both metal.

Use a chair in a SMALL, not large print. (Tip: If you use a large print focal point, you want to use smaller prints in other spots. A room can’t be all large or all small busy prints, but a balance adds interest.)

Pull a solid color from the chair for the curtains.

Add greenery as decor and use a natural wood to add texture like they did in the table top.

Large metal pendant fixture, nuetral, but ties in with your rods and furniture legs.

If you can, paint your ceilings and make that color choice, your accent color.

Pull accent color down into the table and or wall decor.

If you cannot paint your ceilings and you are mimicking a room, use a large piece of art and pull a main accent from that piece.

The overall formula: a few bold pieces and a simple 4 toned color scheme (including the white walls as part of that scheme) with simple decor. Clean, non busy, airy, with pops of color.

You can do this with any room or pin you see! How and where did they use a pattern? What is the main color they use and what are the accent colors? How often and where did they use those accent colors? I’m basically telling you, don’t copy a room, copy it’s blueprint! You can look like a better decorator than you are! You might just surprise yourself…and your walls….and your friends….and your family….and your eyeballs.

Send me a picture of a look you want to achieve by attaching a picture in the comments or sending me an email herpartypants@gmail.com and I’ll break the code for you!

Cookie Jar Makeover

3rd March 2016

I got this as a gift from a sweet friend and I really wanted to use it but it didn’t match my kitchen so, I had to make it! I took this bad boy from Cracker Barrel to Crate in Barrel in less than 15 minutes with one simple step.

My husband rolls his eyes and says, “She thinks she can spray paint anything…” And the great news is, you totally can! I am apt to spray paint anything without a heartbeat.

I used Krylon’s Pistachio and rocked this beast to a solid, sleek look with a touch of vintage with the color chosen. You love it. You know it. Come on, let your momma know it.

This looks great with my white back splash behind it, sitting next to coral ranuculas and white ceramic numbered jars….which you won’t see because the lighting in my kitchen is like a dungeon. Maybe I should spray paint the lights….

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