Memory Ornament

Our favorite ornament on our tree is our “Paw” Print ornaments. They are the perfect gift and make and amazing memory!

This is Piper’s first Christmas with us so she got to add her Paw print to the tree this year.

We buy the DIY kit from Hobby Lobby and it only takes about 10 minutes to complete

We love to add a little jute ribbon to hang them up on the tree and they add a perfect memory to our Christmas Tree

This year now that we have our precious nieces: we’ve found that the kit is also great for adding their handprints to the tree too!

But, our favorite part is the fact that we added our favorite Boston Terrier’s pawprint, Sparkie, to the tree a few years ago. Now that he is longer with us, we still have a special memory of him each year at Christmas time!!!

We sure do miss our best friend but love that our sweet memory ornaments keep him close each year!

Wrap it Up: Wrapping paper tips & and themes for the season

Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday and wrapping it up with glitter!

Every year I love to find a wrapping paper theme and deck it all the way out! After all the presents become a part of the decorations . . . so why not make them glam!

Rules of glamorous gift wrapping:

1. Coordinating Gift wrapping is always magic 
2. Don’t for get the bow: Ribbon is a must!!!

* My favorite hint: Jute from Hobby Lobby: Its rustic and fabulous. We use it to add extra fluff to ribbons and even hang up our Christmas cards

3. Mix it up: This year we’re using magnolia leaves as gift tags and are in love with them

Here’s a little holiday wrapping inspiration from the years past!!!!

Glamorous stripes and polka dots!

 

Who doesn’t love a Boston Terrier Christmas???

The year we went “Untraditional”

 

This year it’s going to be a Blue Christmas

I hope this inspires your holiday and its all glitter and fabulous!

 

 

Perfect time of year. . .4 Christmas decorating tips

Christmas is the perfect excuse to decorate!!! & geez do I love to decorate!!!

{ Lets get ready to glitter }

 

Here’s 5 steps to making Christmas come to life.

1. Keep it natural

2. 

   There’s something beautiful about a bare Christmas tree

   Fresh greenery is a perfect place to start. Best part is most of the time you can round it up for free$

   My favorite is magnolia leaves

 

DIY Magnolia Leaf Wreath!

 

Next would be garland. Any local nursery should have some. Lowes or Home Depot works as well or my cost effective favorite is Trader Joes {only $6.50 for 20ft of garland!!}

2. Ribbon on Ribbon on Ribbon . . . The more the merrier

My favorite technique is layering ribbon & criss-crossing them

 

2016

Ribbon Tips:

The best ribbon to use is they wider bands with wire on the sides: easy for bending and placing.

To make greenery or trees look fuller, simply bend ribbon “out” instead of “in”

Go big. . . Or go home

3. All that glitter is gold: The more sparkle the better!

{ Don’t forget the lights }

4. Think outside of the box. . .or outside of the tree: Anything that stands still in our house is up for being decorated. Its fun to come up with unusual spots and surprises

{ Christmas Vignette }

5. Mix it up! Every year we try to make it look different/better than the last.

2016

2015

2014

2016                                         2015                                    2014

2015                                  2014                                     2013

Shopping Tip: It’s fun to add something new each year and the best time to purchase Christmas decor is the week after. . . Its my version of black Friday!!!

{Nothing better than a Boston Terrier Christmas

PS: For extra inspiration go check out my Instagram

{ https://www.instagram.com/thelilbostonthatcould.design/ }

{ Fa la la la la la LA }

 

DIY {Pawmade} Coffee Table

We were a little tired of our old coffee table. . . and pretty inspired by the beautiful balustrade coffee tables we kept seeing!

Restoration Hardware {$1,387+}                 Pottery Barn {$799}

I searched for the perfect table but the prices were outrageous!

Coffee tables cost how much?$?$?

Sooo it only made sense that we should make our own! Main key piece would be the legs. My paws are pretty crafty. . . but not that crafty. The most cost effective ones i could find were on Amazon from Osborne Wood Products

Traditional Coffee Table Legs

The rest is just made from 2x4s, 1x4s, & (2) 2x6s

Got everything we need!

Step 1: Create a top & base from 2x4s

• Main piece is the outside frame: Cut to size to finish out at 48 x 35 & screwed together in the corners

• Next is to cut the center 2x4s to size and lay inside. Screw 1x4s to the back hold into place

• A simple 2×6 square in each corner on the base creates a basic foot and hides the 1×4 supports

Step 2: Beef up the corbels

• They are beautiful and thick! But only 10″ tall. A standard coffee table is about 18″ high. So these legs needed some height

• We added a 2×6 square to the top and bottom of each baluster and screwed them in from the top and bottom. That left enough room in each corner to screw the balusters into the top and bottom of the table
• Hint: We moved the balusters in (1) inch from each corner to add a little dimension. Or. . . to disguise if the top and bottom were slightly out of square or slightly a different size!
• We used the 1×4 support rails on the bottom of the top piece to create a skirt in between the balusters: functional and beautiful!!

 

I asked mom if we could stop here and just use this as my throne?!?!?!

Step 3: We Sand!

• We unscrew the balusters and sanded them separate from the top and base to get a smoother finish. Hint: Number the baluster placement: this will make it easier to put back together. . . the step we seemed to have forgotten

• Our little mouse sander gets the job done every time!!! Must have power tool!
  • We sanded with 60 first to get off the rough edges
  • 2nd sand we used 120 grit to make everything nice and smooth!

Step 4: Put it all together

• The balusters spaced with 2x6s on top and bottom leave plenty of room to screw in each leg at each corner

Step 5: Stain to perfection!

• We did go through a couple of stain samples but finally settled on Special Walnut
  • Hint: Use a rag to wipe off stain after it has soaked in after 5-10 mins so it won’t  turn to dark, you can always add another layer if needed later

Perfect Fit! Total cost . . .$225! Can’t beat that!

Mother’s Day Custom made: DIY gift made with love & puppy paws

Mother’s Day is a perfect reminder to celebrate the amazing women in the world who made you who you are!

I love to make gifts personal and custom. They seem to mean more when they are made with love. There’s no need to break the bank either, all you need to do is take the basics and add a little touch of you.

Fresh flowers are the perfect gift you can customize. They are always a special gift to receive and are usually fairly inexpensive. A perfect getting place is a local grocery store. I am little partial to Trader Joe’s and their $3.99 bundles.

 

We simply gathered quite a few bundles that follow the same color scheme

{ Loving all these fresh flowers }

Next we separated out and trimmed all of the bundles. Next it’s time to mix and match!

The best way to make these bundles is with a custom vase. Hobby Lobby is a perfect location to gather up some “unique” vases. Especially with all of their 50% off deals. We simply rounded up cute containers that would be special to each mother we were making the gift for.

{ Getting Inspired }

Some of the containers were more “cute” than actually functional. . . Soo we improvised with leftover tuber-ware  & aluminum foil containers.

We also utilized the flower food crystals that comes with fresh cur flowers and spread the mixture into each container to help these arrangements hopefully last longer

To create each arrangement we just had fun spreading the flowers into each vase and mixing and matching. No rhyme or reason here. . . just get creative!

Cutting the tall stems and splitting them into 2 will fill up the vases faster. It is also good to grab a “filler” stem to help fill out the vases and add more detail.

Last thing! We add a finishing touch with a custom name tag. Just a little twine and a chalk pen to make it complete.

Now we just get to spread the love around!

Custom Mother’s Day surprise complete! I hope you enjoy making these DIY gifts and have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Pup Cakes 4 Saige’s Bday!

Well Saige turned 8 this week and as well always do around here we celebrate her bday in style! Saige wanted to share her favorite Pupcake recipe we try to make for every Bday now! It’s her favorite tradition . . . well next to her pearl wearing photo shoots!

These “Pupcakes” are made from a must follow blog of Pretty Little Past times

{https://prettylittlepastimes.com/2013/01/30/doggy-birthday-pupcakes/}

What you will need:

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (preferred) or white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

We always use extra peanut butter: it is her birthday after all! But it makes great icing on top too.

{Boston Terrier Approved}

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and honey. Blend well. Stir in the carrots and mix thoroughly. Sift flour and baking soda together and fold into batter.

Fill 6 lined cupcake molds 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes (35-40 minutes if making one full cake) or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let the pupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Once cooled, spread peanut butter over the tops of the pupcakes and top with remaining carrot shred “sprinkles”. Break a Beggin’ Strip in half and push one side firmly into the cake to keep in place. Add a Milk Bone treat in front of the strip and your pupcakes are ready to be served!

Make sure to take lots of pictures!!

{Happy Birthday to all the precious Furbabies}

DIY Shutters for Spring

It’s officially Spring and it’s finally warm enough to bring the decorations outside! Curb appeal is one of the most important design aspects of your house. It is the first impression your house makes to everyone!

One of my favorite ways to add an easy pop on the outside is shutters! Best part is it was an easy DIY project too!

First step was a trip to Home Depot. We just rounded up the cheapest lumber pieces we could find and went to work!

 

Shutters usually look the best with one on each side, but sometimes there just isn’t the space. When you can fit one on each side, just measure half the width of the window and the height to create the sizing for each shutter. You want them to look in scale with your window. Even if they are just for decoration and will never actually be closed.

Next step is sawing the pieces to size. This project was before we had our handy-dandy miter saw so a hand saw did the trick!

You can also see why this was one of our favorite projects as we still had our best friend Sparkie with us to lend his paws to the project!

Next we pieced together the boards with a nail gun and added some detail with the pattern.

 

There are a lot of patterns you can use so don’t afraid to have some fun with it!

Fixer Upper Hosts Joanna and Chip Gaines updated the exterior of Karla Griffis’ home with bright paint, unique wooden shutters, fresh landscaping, and window boxes, as seen on HGTV’s Fixer Upper. (detail)

Or add a punch of color!

front window and shutters

But don’t forget the effect that stain can have. . . Nice little rustic touch

The shutters were such an easy DIY project, we decided to go ahead and add a flower box too. . . You can see how pumped I was about! Love me some flowers, oh and another excuse to use the nail gun!

 

Add some hardware and then all that is left to do is just add flowers!!!

Luckily we had our sweet foster pup from the Birmingham Humane society to lend his little paws for this part.

Check out the Before & Afters and the impact a little project can make

Before. . .

After. . .

#Glampinginthe100acrewoods Nursery Tour

 

It’s officially February and I want to share one of the spaces I have LOVED the most to create. I had the honor of creating a nursery for the beautiful princesses Olivia & Abby. So without further a due . . .  here is a tour of where they dream!

{ Meet the lil Princesses }

I love nurseries that break the “Pink & Blue” mold. Nurseries should be classy and something your little inspiration can grow up with. The theme here follows a normal nursery tone: none other than the adorable Winnie the Pooh. But of course we had to add our own spin and a glamorous vintage feel makes it a perfect fit. So from there we created #glampinginthe100acrewoods

{ Puffy Perfection }

The main focal point in the room is the fancy puffs. Simply made from tissue paper collected using the color scheme of the room keeping in mind glamorous/ vintage tones. And of course, quite a bit of paw power to get these guys so fluffy!

{ Ooh so fluffy }

Gotta love the rustic monograms as well. . .

 { O & A }

Next big design feature is the custom made linen curtains. Pulling out all the stops for the princesses! Also, perfect neutral for growing little girls as their rooms change with them.

{ Classy Custom Panels }

The custom creations didn’t stop there. Faux bear skin rugs, hand cut from a yard of material made them a heck of a deal. Oh, and a cozy spot for them to spend their tummy time.

{ It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die }

Of course we have to personalize the Winnie the Pooh features to make the 100 acre woods come to life.

{ Cozy lil corner }

{ Winnie the Pooh Framed in Gold }

{ Pooh is just so inspirational }

I love how it all came together and hope this beautiful family loves it as well. . .

Well I hope you enjoyed this nursery tour and feel inspired. Little ones need creative spaces too!

 

Organize like a Boss{ton}: 10 steps to keeping organized daily

So January is always the best month to get all organized and all cleaned out. Perfect time to start fresh! My mom LOVES to organize and clean. She claims it helps de-stress her. It just seems very stressfully to me. . .

She does however have a problem of keeping things organized and clean on a daily basis. She has been doing a lot better lately and I have learned a few rules from her that work to help her keep organized daily.

So here is a list of 10 daily tips to keep life more organized:

1. Make a ToDo list
   • Even if you do not get to check everything off, you at least get to mentally organized for everything you need to accomplish that day
2. Make your bed every day
   • Small accomplishment with big results!
3. Keep the sink empty!
   • Easier if you have a dishwasher to store the dirty dishes, but it makes a huge difference as this is a place things can really pile up
4. Lysol wipes: make for easy quick cleaning
   • Messes happen. . . so the easier they are to clean up the less painful they will be
5. Keep a continuous donation box
   • If you think you do not need it anymore. . . place it in a box and if you find you do not need it after a few weeks give it away! Also there is no need to keep multiples of things. Hoarding is never the answer.

     

     { Wait . . . This one is a keeper! }

6. Lint roller!!! This is a must for pet lovers!
   • I know my pet fur can be a bit much for my clean freak mom so she has found a lint roller is the best way to attack the situation

     

     { All this cuteness makes the fur frenzy worth it! }

7. Febreeze it
   • Just a nice refresh always helps to make your home feel clean
8. Keep a REALISTIC cleaning schedule: You do not have to do it all at once, just one of these tasks a night can make a huge difference
   1. Laundry
   2. Dishes washed & put up
   3. Clean bathrooms
   4. Vaccum & mop
9. Make a clean sweep:
   • Mom loves to clean as she is getting ready in the morning, but hey right before bed might be a better fit for you. Just a fast sweep of the house for 5-10 mins can make you feel like an organizing champion

     

     { Doing my part to keep my stuff together }

10. ALWAYS clean before you leave on vacation or for the weekend. Makes coming home more enjoyable and ooh so relaxing

I hope this helps and encourages you for this new year.

Christmas: A few tips to create a Winter Wonderland

The holidays are here and this is the perfect time of year to go all out and no one judges you for it!

This little pup loves to do it up right and I love that my mom can’t get enough of Christmas lights. She always lets me help deck the halls at our house, but she also takes on quite a few other houses in her spare time.

So here are some tips from all her Christmasing ventures on ways to really go all out for Christmas!

1. Its all about the tree. Usually bigger is better, but make sure you don’t go too big. It still needs to be in scale with your home. Also gotta make sure you can reach all of it to decorate { don’t let your Christmas spirit get bigger than your ladder 😉 }

{Design tip: Ladder used for these massive beauties is taller than some houses}

2. Real is better! Yes . . .  I know it’s a hassle and oh so messy,  but the look and smell is amazing!

{It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die}

{Real Greenery EVERYWHERE!}

3. After the greenery. . .  next step is lights. It’s all about being Merry & Bright so Light it up!

{Bling Bling}

But just remember it won’t be lit up all hours of the day. . . your decorations will look completely different with the lights on & off.

{ FYI: Glitter helps 😉 }

{ Lights on vs lights off }

4. The next layer is almost as important as lights. . . and that is RIBBON! The more the merrier here. This pup loves to layer on the ribbon and its a perfect way to set a color scheme.

{ Have fun layering ribbon & taking your tree up a notch }

*Designer tip: Don’t just roll the ribbon out, choose a roll with a formable wire on the edges, then form it around branches so it fluffs waaaay out and adds dimension*

{ Ribbon wrapped around live greenery with lights creates quite the cozy feel }

{ The perfect ribbon color can also help unify a traditional tree with keepsake ornaments }

{ Ribbon is always a festive way to add Christmas decorations to the wall & windows }

5. Christmas all around! There is no reason to keep it all on the tree when you can spread it all around

Pillows & furry throws are the perfect way to cozy up your home for the holidays

{ all is merry & bright }

{ All cozy in here }

Signage is also the perfect way to spread holiday cheer

{ A little rustic holiday glamor }

**Designer tip: Banner & wood skis from target!**

{ Perfect Season for Believein! }

{ Never let your guests forget the reason for the season }

6. Of course there is also your typical holiday decorating spots you can’t forget. . .  Like gorgeous table scapes

{ Nothing typical about this holiday table setting }

{ It’s always fun to mix modern glamour with rustic accents }

{ Don’t be afraid to break away and use non-traditional colors }

We also can’t forget about the mantles! Big or small they are the perfect spot to create holiday focal points

{ All that glitter! }

{ Make sure your stockings are hung with care! }

7. Make it natural: I love to bring in fresh greenery to put the finishing touch on any Christmas design. Fir trees and magnolia leafs make the best pickings!

{ Designer tip: If you don’t have a spot to hang greenery from: make one, just bring the whole branch inside! }

8. Mix it up! I LOVE my repeat clients & my best gift to them is mixing up their home every year and never making it look the same

9. Think out of the box: Of course you want follow the amazing usual Christmas traditions, but it’s always fun to add a little unexpected cheer

{ Everyone wants a Boston for Christmas: I mean. . .  Hippopotamus }

{ Not the typical way to hang a wreath. . . }

10. Wrap it up: Lastly you want to put a bow on it! Presents are usually everywhere for Christmas so go ahead and make them part of the decorations!

{ All stripped up this Christmas }

{I love picking out a wrapping theme each year so all the gifts coordinate!}

{ Of course you have to add a little boston cheer! }

Most of all have fun turning your home into a winter wonderland and just remember there are no limits!!

Hope you have a love & glitter filled Christmas!