Get dirrty.

Sorry, I couldn't resist channeling Christina for a second. I have so many little projects I have wanted to share with you, but when I asked on Twitter -- the vote was for the outdoor project, so here. we. go.

This one isn't nearly isn't as fabulous as the deck, and again, I feel like I'm probably preachin' to the choir. I'm sure most of you already know these tricks, but I like to share with the group. I'm nice like that.

When you buy your hanging baskets or plants, you can make them look like a million bucks by just replanting them out of the cheap plastic containers and into your own.

OK, they won't like a million bucks, but maybe $20.

I showed you these planters for the deck from Goodwill last week -- a steal at $2.99 each:

I had a vision for them, so I spray painted them and then wasn't sure if I was going to plant anything for the rest of the summer/fall. Who was I kidding. Unfinished projects make me twitch. Shake. Shudder. Itch.

I found some beautiful plants for cheap and got moving. Most of the time, your decorative pots will have holes on the bottom, but if they don't, or if you'd like to put more in them, all you need is a drill and a large drill bit:

Just put a few holes in the bottom -- for plastic containers, any drill bit should work. These planters are a weird fiberglass kind of material, so I used one made for cement. I put five holes in the bottom of each. As is mentioned, even if your planters have holes, you'll probably want to put a few more in. It never hurts to have a little more drainage. (I feel like I just said "holes" 15 times.)

Anyhoo, after that, instead of buying a ton of of expensive potting soil -- try this little trick. Keep the plastic planters from the plants you plant, (wait, huh?), and before you put the soil in, put the old plastic planters in first:

This is great for two reasons -- you'll use half the soil, at least. And they are soooo much lighter to work with when you're done. My grandma used to use charcoal on the bottom of her planters. I've also heard of using the foam packing peanuts. Those peanuts are expensive though -- so just use what you have!

AND, please don't buy the expensive potting soil they put out right up front at the nursery -- go to the back and use the cheaper bags -- they are harder to find but are about two bucks and change for a bag. You can sprinkle some Miracle Grow on the plants after if you want that in the soil. I've even used the cheaper top soil and mixed that in as well, and those are only a little more than a dollar a bag.

If your plant is a hanging basket, take the little clips off the planter first:
Then, to loosen the plant up to get it out, roll it around on it's side a few times, then shake it a bit and it should come out easily:

The great thing about this time of year is finding plants for el cheapo -- they are clearancing them out for the fall plants and you can find major deals. I found some Coleus plants at Menard's last for only $3.99 each -- SCORE!!

I have never planted Coleus before -- I wasn't sure about them at first. I walked right by and left them there, but they were are oddly beautiful to me. Kind of wild looking but I was a bit mesmerized -- I had to go back for them:

Gorg!! Hopefully they'll hang in there for a few more months!

Remember, fall is a great time to plant bushes and trees! I have no idea why it's a great time to plant bushes and trees! But it is!! Really, I think it's something about roots, before the cold hits, yadda yadda yadda. So keep in mind even as fall nears (YAY!!!!!!!), you can still work on the landscaping for a couple more months!

So glad you all loved my hole patchin' post. Please check out the comments for some really great tips -- you are all so brilliant! Sorry I have no clue what to do with plaster though -- anyone know how to patch that up?

My consult rates will be $20 starting Monday, so if you are interested, let me know before then! I'm thrilled to be working with so many of you -- thanks for your patience. Any new consults may be about two weeks out before I can get to you, but I will as soon as possible!

Got Holes?

I almost titled this post, "The most boring post ever in the history of mankind," or, "Read this to your kids to help them fall asleep tonight." Or, "Warning: Drowsiness may occur as a result of reading this post."

But instead, I came up with "Got Holes?" Works, eh?

So if the builder in your house was towel rod happy like ours was, you've probably got lots of these:

I mean, they were giddy with these things. We had a loooong one in our powder room -- for bath towels. And there's no bath in there. Or shower. Giddy.

First off, if there are anchors in the wall (and builders are anchor-happy too), it's pretty easy to get them out. Take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and get in there and grab the anchor:

Pull it and it should come out fairly easily. If it won't, try pounding it back into the wall and through. Either way you'll be left with a massive hole. It will be way bigger than the anchor seemed to be, but just relax peeps! I got your back!

Next is my little trick I learned awhile back. If you go to fill the hole as is, it will take a ton of spackle to fill it in. Instead, before you fill, take some thick paper -- I've used grocery bags and lately these little annoying-as-crap mailers that come out of the magazines:

Tear off little pieces and stuff them into the holes:
This gives the spackle something to lay on and grab ahold of. (By the way, the fun little ring around the holes happens when you have zero patience after painting a wall and are dying to get the rods back up. Yeah. Don't do that.)

Then take your loverly spackle that you mostly use for these (textured stencils) and not what it's intended for:

And frost the holes with it. It's fun. Try it.

Keep frosting till you've covered the holes, using the scraper to take off the excess and then reapplying a few times. I like to leave a little smudge of extra on top so the holes are covered really well:

After it's dry sand it down a bit and reapply if needed. Wipe down after sanding well, wiping off all excess spackle you can. Then find your paint, freak out when all you have is the eggshell finish and not the semi gloss finish you need, say what the heck, no one will ever notice, and use a small foam brush to paint over the spots.

I have to tell you -- be very selective where you put anchors in your walls. Generally you will ALWAYS see where they were, no matter how well you patch them up. Anchors tend to pull the drywall up around them a bit, so the drywall is never quite flat. But I promise unless you are really looking, you will never notice them again:

See?? Told ya! If you are patching small nail holes, just use your finger and put a little smudge in the hole. Just a little dab. Just a smooch. Like you're kissin' your sister. (Name that movie!!)

It may just be because I'm the freak I am, but even the smallest changes make a huge difference to me. Before, the towel rod was the first thing you saw in our bathroom:

Now, it's my pretty little bench and my enormous shower curtain:

And the iron scrolly jobby isn't hanging at giant eye level anymore, it's at human eye level. All is right with the world. I filled about 14 holes yesterday, and it only took an hour, total, to do it all.

Easy peasy Squeezy! You go by Squeezy now. Just so you know.

Any other good patchin' tips? Share them in the comments!

Take a Bow Tuesday

Hopefully, there is no need for an intro this time around. I'm on time, on the mark, and ready to share more of my favourite posts from some of the blogs I visit.

Will the following ladies Take a Bow:

Sweet Tanya, of Sunday Baker is my go-to-gal for great recipes, cooking tips and just to start my day on a positive note. I loved her recent post about her best kitchen tips and some of those of her readers. Tanya is a fabulous cook and (obviously) baker, and has her own little bun in the oven at the moment! Just over a week until she finds out if it will be pink icing or blue!!

I'm guessing pink...!

Terri from Windlost wrote a great post about using beautiful mirrors in one's home to add beautiful style and open up the space. Terri's whole approach to style is one I admire, because she roots out quality and truly waits until she finds it either on sale or saves carefully to buy it. So not like me : I see, I pounce, and if I can't afford it, I try to make it, recreate it, or even settle for something poorly made!!

That which makes us different makes us special, no?! Terri makes me want to strive to be more patient and purposeful.

It hasn't sunk in yet, though!

One of my favourite bloggers, Vee of A Haven for Vee, shared some great links to making your photos better and creating fun things like photo mosaics. My favourite, found at Little Red House (another beautiful blog) offers up a step-by-step tutorial for making said photo mosaics. I have vowed not to even try making one until this week is over. I need to focus...!

Lanette, of Cottage Elements, did a post recently on all of the great black and white elements in her home. Well, as great as they are, just getting another tour around her gorgeous home with all its "glorified junk" is a feast for the eyes. Check her out!!

For the rare few of you who don't know Cindy of Romantic Home, she is the quintessential shabby chic expert. She did a great little project recently which offers up a fun way to showcase some favourite vintage linens. And true to Cindy's ethic, it was done on a dime!

Enjoy!!

New Chair, or New Slipcover?!

Remember my latest quest for a new slipcover to transform this tired, late 90's-but otherwise-perfectly-fine-chair?

Well, the same seamstress friend who was the mastermind behind my camper's new seat covers and Sophie's bench seat cushion created this latest, beautiful slipcover.

Although I couldn't find the pale, pale blue fabric I was hoping for, a quick grab-and-go from my linen closet yielded some fun trims and details from a floral Pier One table runner and some left-over pom pom fringe. I love the whimsy both little extras add, and with Tabitha's superior talent and workmanship, I think it looks more like a great re-upholstery job than a slipcover.

Isn't that the true test of a great slipcover artist?

The runner came in handy for the arms and cushion accents:

See the pom poms peeking out from the bottom?

As for our latest bundle of joy: here he is, nestled in Sophie's little doll sling - another Tabitha Coleman creation!!

Making your plain books pretty.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! I have gotten a ton done, and hope to still get more done this evening. I've done about ten loads of laundry. TEN people. Hate it with a burning, searing passion.

So for a little creative break, I worked on a quick project I've been wanting to do for a long time. Back when I showed you how to do my wallpaper art, many of you commented that you use wallpaper for many other projects too, including covering books. LOVED that idea!

On my Goodwill coffee table in our living room, I have a simple stack of books:

I always recommend taking the cover off your hardback books. It transforms them and makes them so much prettier. I've been pulling books from all over and from Goodwill, trying to make the sizes work just right. I'm a little DOCD (Decorating Obsessive Compulsive) about little things like that. I found plenty that work, but the problem was, I didn't like the color of the book, or the titles. I've told you before I have many, many issues.

I thought about using my wallpaper, but wanted something with a design. So I went to Hob Lob yesterday, coupon in hand, to find adorable wrapping paper, and wouldn't you know, they had nothin'. I mean, you've got to be kidding me nothin'. Because I was determined to find something, I checked out the fabric and found these:

Adorable. With just scissors and double sided tape in hand, I covered each book in the fabric. I just cut the fabric to size:

And then used the double sided tape to secure the fabric:

This does not hold extremely well, so if you want to be able to use the books, I'd recommend something like hot glue instead. Because we don't use these often, the tape works fine. Just keep in mind hot glue will ruin your Love to Last a Lifetime book from Goodwill though. Just so you know.

The result:

Oh how I love you, you purdy little books!! Soooo elegant!

Love them!!

Obviously, you could use just about anything to cover books. How cute would this be in a kitchen with cookbooks? Although I use mine all the time, so that may not work for me.

Snort.

**Just a little side note -- this is just a fun way to add some pop to a room. I love my uncovered books as much as anybody -- have them all over my house. This is a cheap and easy way to add some texture or color to a room if wanted. It's just for fun!

P.S. You may have noticed lately my little "blogicon" that shows up with my blog title in your browsing tabs, or in your bookmarks. Cara from RockSTARRMom.com was sooooo incredibly sweet to make one for me. I love it! Thank you Cara!!

P.P.S. If you have purchased a consult, I will get back to all of you this week!! Just a quick note to tell you all I'll be raising my consult rate just slightly -- probably next week. If you are interested in the consult for the $10 rate, get it to me this week! I'll give you warning before I raise the rates though.

Armchair Shopping With Willow Decor

Since I've been on vacation, and it has been raining most of the time, I have had some extra time to do some Internet shopping. Here are some of my favorite new finds! First, I stopped by my favorite Swedish Antiques site, Avolli, to see Tricia Mitchell's new pieces. I loved this dining table and chairs - It's in her ad in the July/August issue of Veranda - No surprise it's such a classic. I loved this dresser with X design. This could go into any room in my house!

This metal Empire sewing box is so charming! But, my favorite piece is this Mora Clock. Notice the lovely, soft lines of this clock. Many of the Mora clocks I have seen recently do not have a good curve scale, they seem a bit off to me. This one is perfect and unique with the diamond detailing on the bottom. Tricia Mitchell has an incredible eye - check out more of her great finds here.

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Next I headed over to see what was cooking at Kym Fraser's 3 Fine Grains. Kym's Dressage Chair below was recently featured in Washington Spaces Magazine (but remember you saw Kym first at WD!) Besides creating beautiful furniture; she's been very busy importing some fabulous antique textiles.

Lucky for us Kym is now also selling the antique sacks - so you can create your own custom upholstery, slipcovers or pillows. I was thrilled to learn this because as you know Kym has one of the largest inventories of original, authentic antique sacks in the country - and these textiles are not easy to find!! Imitators are now printing over old sacks (yuck!), but these babies are the real McCoy! They run $350 -$1200 - the sacks are huge and can be used for multiple projects.

I got giddy when I saw this crown sack from 1874 (wow- 1874!) -because she has three of them! What a find!! I would love to cover my dining room chairs with these!

The Horse sacks are really interesting! This one caught my eye because it is printed on both sides so I could make a bunch of pillows or cover a couple of chairs

Here is the back - aren't these fabulous?!! Now I just have to figure out what I am going to make with them. Of course you can always just have Kym make it for you - check out her new pillows and furniture.
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From antiques I moved on to see what was new at Anthropologie.

This interesting lamp caught my eye. It reminded me of a French whimsical line drawing turned 3D. I especially love the two french bistro chairs with toile pads and table in the center. So unique! The lamp is called the Chateau Lamp and you can find it here. Do check it out so you can see a real close up.

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Because it was still raining and I've got nothing but time, I thought I would check out this new site called Former Furniture. The site, started by an interior designer, features used furniture that her elite clientele want to sell when they are ready to redecorate.

They have some really interesting things. This vintage cabinet caught my eye because it reminded me of the metal desk we just saw in Linda Banks' new kitchen. Check the cabinet out here.
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Meanwhile over at EBAY, I found these really neat vintage industrial stools.

These zinc and metal stools are from EBAY power seller The Antiques Warehouse in Cinncinatti, OH. Many styles were for sale for under $200. Shipping was reasonable too! A great find!

They also had these chairs, which look close to Kristin's kitchen chairs from Covetable Designs. I was on a roll!
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Then, I stopped by to check out what new things were listed from my favorite Antique Textile Queen -"Loodylady" from EBAY's Textile Trunk. I was in awe of this 19th Century French Ceil de lit Bed Canopy. Made from blue and white Ikat fabric. What a rare find! Spectacular! Look at this lovely antique Toile de Jouy quilt from 1790. I bet Marie Antoinette had one just like this!Then I found these gems - gorgeous antique monogrammed French Sheets. The monogram and detailing are spectacular! Who knew such treasures were on EBAY? Finally I found this antique cart cover - Wow - I could just throw that over my sofa and change the entire look of my room! To see all her exquisite textiles click here.

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Well the sun is starting to peek out so I am off to enjoy the beach - hope you enjoyed our Internet shopping trip!