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!
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:
Coordinating Gift wrapping is always magic
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!
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!
All of the holidays are about to be here and guests will be arriving soon. So you always want your home that you have been sooo working hard on all year ready to shine! I am pumped to finally show off our new laundry room. Yes. . . laundry room, not usually the no. 1 go to stop for a party, but after this reno we are ready to throw a party that it’s done!!!
If you remember what this awful excuse for a laundry room looked like, you would be jumping for joy too that it is now an actual room!
{ The dreaded before. . . }
I am not sure who thought this cheap room divider was making the cut but I personally thought it was not living up to its potential.
The main issue of course is not have a separate laundry room from the kitchen. So a simple wall and a little Boston design flare and “Wahlah” I feel like we have a whole new house!
Check out the final product. . .
{ Happy dance because we’re finished!!! }{ Admiring our custom made laundry baskets }
{ Custom “art” from some TJ Maxx & Target finds }
Keepin it classy. . .
with some sleek back hardware
{ Keeping it classy with some sleek black hardware }
{ Best part is our whole new efficient layout with a custom painted storage cabinet & stacked washed & dryer }{ Cozy touches are a MUST in every room . . . even the laundry }{ My favorite touch is our custom barn door mom let me make with my own little paws }
The laundry room ended up so well. . . it made the kitchen look a lil boring. So naturally I had to paint that as well.
Don’t you love once you renovate one thing. . . it makes everything else look dull. A Boston’s work is never done so I will save that for another post.
But for now, I am no longer ashamed to have my puppy play dates over and show that I don’t have to wash my puppy bed while fixing my bowl of dog food in the same room. Makes me feel like we’re living in fur baby luxury!
Fall is the perfect time to dress up your front porch, but what better way to do it then . . . for FREE!!!
I wanted an all natural Wreath to dress up the front door so that means it’s craft time.
I thought Yellow would be the perfect fall color to dress up our cute teal door so I had my mom go out and collect some “yellow” and she found a bunch of fabulous weeds!!!
{ I see lots o potential here }
Most people would overlook some weeds, but they turned out to be perfect for this project.
{Step 1}
We used some flexible boxwood trimmings to make the frame of the wreath. Also free after a day of yard work.
{ I love craft night. . . its so tasty!}
{Step 2}
Just a little floral wire to hold it together. If you craft as much as my mom does, then you already have this on stock and it technically is not a co$t for this project. Best part of making it with my own paws. . . we can make it as big as we want! Love dramatic decorations!
{I think I’m going to need help trimming this wire}{Getting Fancy}
{Step 3}
Just add the fluff. No rhyme or reason here. . . . I just kept adding foliage until it was full and fluffy!
{Time to dress it up}
Turned out pretty good for a free wreath
{all fluffed out}{Just add ribbon}
I love using the holidays to decorate. Perfect inspiration to mix it up! So happy Fall y’all . . . embrace it weeds & all!
It is officially fall! Helllllo October! I love what this time of year brings. . . especially this year as my mom’s sister is blessing us all with TWINS! My mom and I were so pumped { of course over the news we are going to be aunts } but also over the fact that we get to throw a party!!!
Let the gender reveal party planning begin!
The most important thing about a party is the theme: the mommy-to-be chose “Guns & Glitter” so this is our take on it:
{ First } Just add color
We needed a color scheme. Blue and Pink is too “expected” so we wanted to create a twist. Coral and Mint Green became the staple colors with a back drop of White & Gold.
{ keeping it classy }
{ Second } Décor Time
We play up the theme. The main decoration would be a banner with the theme and color scheme:
Hobby Lobby is always a staple for me in these events and I find the scapbooking paper to be perfect to create the back drops I need.
I chose shiny gold scrapbooking sticker letters in the LARGEST size they had to make the banner pop. I swapped up the font for the “guns” and the “glitter” to play up the theme a little more.
Each triangle pendant I made out of a 12×12 scapbooking paper.
I didn’t think the gold letters were enough on their own, so I created “frame” for them with some crumpled up tissue paper: and Wa-lah!
{ paw-made banner }
Next we added a softer touch with just strips of fabric. This is an easy DIY project that can add color to any party. I simply chose a yard of 4 different fabrics that created the color scheme and cut them in about 2″ wide strips. Then I just tied knots for days. . . my little paws were tired but Geez! that banner looked good!
To spread the color around, we made sure there was extra knotted fabric to be hung in different places. The more you can do the better because it will create a fuller look.
{Third } Sign me up!
Another key and inexpensive party decor component is Signage. The more the merrier as it creates a unified theme throughout the event. The best way to make it custom is to use a special font. Here are the ones I downloaded for {Free} to create the signs for this event.
{ Free Fonts! Compliments of the Shabby Chic Cottage }
I mostly used: Laser Metal and the signs turned out soo cute!
A touch to dress up the signs is to frame them. I usually just pull frames from my house and use them over and over.
Best place to use signage is on the food and beverage tables. This gives you an easy way to dress up the food and to play up the theme with cute names and colored drinks.
Also remember that the food and beverage table will be one of the biggest focal points at an event, so the serving pieces DO matter. I wanted a classy background so we went with all white with metal accents. This is also a great place to hang a banner, because everyone will usually look for the food or drinks once they first arrive.
{ Fourth } Gold Plated Event
We wanted gold everywhere. Spraypaint became a staple in this part and I spray painted everything gold that would sit still.
The main pieces created a |Dress your Guess Station|
{ Dress Your Guess }
Gold pearls and tiaras: if your guess was twin girls
Gold guns and sheriff badges: if your guess was a boy
I bought these pieces in bulk at the dollar and party store to make an inexpensive party focal point that all the guests could be interactive with.
{ All the guests had a blast dressing up }{The Grandmothers-to-be we all team Glitter}{My mom all decked out in team glitter}{ My little boy Boswer and his mom Katie even came and supported team guns }{ Of course I was Team Glitter All the Way }
I even spray painted gold clothes pins for guests to “pin” their guess on this beautiful display board.
{ Pappaw marking a pin for team guns }
I easily made this, by of course pulling this antique frame from my home. I made a back drop of left over painters drop cloth {looks like linen}. Then after a few custom font signs and colored scrapbook paper this puppy was ready to display.
A fun add on: My mom questioned her sister on some old wives tales and displayed them here as well to give guests a hint. . . Points to boys. . .I wonder if they were right???
{ Pin Your Guess }
{ Fifth } Photo Ops
Once everyone was able to place their guess, we did a whole party photo shoot!
{ Team Boys }{ Team Girls }
{ Sixth } Game Time
To get guests involved and create a memorable event we planned custom games. This also was another area for Signs! We couldn’t print the font large enough so I put my little paws to work by copying the main font with a gold paint pen onto foam signs.
“Who” la hoop {get it??}
{ Who-la Hoop }
2. Guess Who {a child hood favorite and perfect game for here}
{ Guess Who }
3. “Baby Shoes” {a custom take on horse shoes with sets of baby boy shoes connected and baby girl shoes connected}
{ Baby Shoes }
The guests were great sports and played them all!
{ Pre-Party Planning }
The parents-to-be are clearly loved a great deal and we found quite a few people were wanting to come to the gender reveal to celebrate them and their growing family. So space planning was a must in figuring out where to place all of the setting and games to make sure everyone had enough space but still felt apart of the entire event.
{ Saige is the name | Party Planning is the game }{ Scoping put the Venue }
{ Making Memories }
Lastly we created a “Custom Guest Book”. A questionnaire for each guest to fill out as a keepsake for the parents and their future babies! Just a little personal touch.
{Baby Guest Book Questionnaire}
Of course the best part was the surprise announcement: An extra large confetti and helium filled balloon acted as the reveal tool. We even tied it up with some knotted fabric!
And we joyfully found out they will be. . .
{ Glitter Time }
GIRLS!!!!
Oh I’m sooo excited and can’t wait for them to arrive! But for now, its time to plan a nursery. . . a Boston’s work is never done!
Our laundry room is still coming along. . . but in the mean time I wanted to share with you my room at our house that I think has added quite the special touch to our home. I am super excited to share this project, because our partner in crime, Sparkie, was a big help on this one. Also it makes our home Boston friendly.
{ Sparkie admiring our work }
You can see how disappointing the stairs looked before we got a hold of them. The half wall that was originally built was cumbersome and caused the room to look heavy and blocked off. Sooo it had to go. So this was the perfect time to tear it all out and make it something extraordinary: a custom built pup room!
{ Before. . . }
After a long day of stress relief on demo we had a fresh slate to start with and then it was time to come up with a game plan. We have found that with an old house. . . you are not sure what you will find, so it’s sometimes less disappointing to tear in and then make decisions.
Looking at what we had to work with, I wanted to make the stairs extend all the way to the right. . . more traction for running up and down stairs chasing tennis balls ya know! So that means we had to replace all the treads and risers. So that means MORE DEMO! Yay! So we then stripped the stairs down to the stingers and go to work replacing all the pieces we took out.
{ Sparkie working on the master plan }
While everything was torn out, this was the perfect time to work on the space under the stairs that would be my new puppy room! Turns out all the walls were completely open to the crawl space underneath, so we had to insulate and sheetrock everything in. A little cheat method. . . I used my handy dandy staple gun to secure the insulation to the framing members. . . . since there was no sheet rock on the other side to hold it in place.
{ My tiny paws come in handy working in small spaces }
After we had it all sheetrock and the walls finished, it was time to focus on the flooring. We needed something easy to clean because I am not the biggest neat freak and some of my furbaby friends I have over can be quite the mess makers. Inexpensive peel & stick tile was the key. So easy to install and gives my room a nice finished look!
Once the inside was finished, it was time to focus on the actual stair parts. The risers were easy and made of simple flat boards. The treads were a little more difficult, but the ticket is buying prefab stair treads with rounded edges.
Also remember that when dealing with hardwood floors, you need to make sure the new wood matches the species of wood in the rest of the house so the stain has the best chances of matching. When matching stain, I would suggest a few test samples from the store first until you find the right one.
{ Starting to take shape }
I have been told building stairs is the hardest part in the home. . . but I handled it like a “BOSS”ton and quickly found out that really the hardest part is trimming out the stairs. Quite a feat, but we handled it and I think they get the Paw-seal of approval.
{ All trimmed out }
Lastly we needed to frame up a Boston size opening. Really, we needed one also big enough for my mom to climb in as well and help me clean from time to time. Now we just needed some final touches. In comes the barn inspired gate. It is simply made of 2x4s and colored with my moms favorite finishing material: the ever-amazing tinted glaze. I thought it gave the perfect shade of gray.
{ Barn Gate = Rustic Touch }
Next detail is the rod iron railing my mom had custom ordered. The raw finish gave the perfect color and it really opens up the room!!
{ Custom built from Weldon Welding }
Lastly we finished everything with our new paint colors! That green was just not working for me.
{ The beautiful end result }
I absolutely love my new room and as you can see, so did Sparkie and all the friends we like to have over!
{ Boston Tea Party Room }
Not to mention it also provides the perfect spot for Christmas decorations!!!!
{ Home Sweet Christmas }
Hope you enjoyed and are now inspired to create your own perfect Pup room!
Saige here giving you a little insight into the life I live with my mom as we are remodeling our house DIY style. That means we are usually “Under Construction”. The moment I get a room all pulled together again, she is right behind me tearing something else up for her next project. She is worse at getting distracted than me with a squirrel.
Currently we are officially “Under Construction” in the Kitchen/ Laundry.
Does this drill make me look legit?You can see in the before photo of why this house was overlooked by potential buyers. . . you could cook your meals and wash a dog bed at the same time.
Before. . .
Convenient yes, but not an attractive looking feature. . . having your laundry on display in your kitchen. Our real estate agent stated that most people discounted this little gem of a fixer upper because of this easy fix. Not mom and I though, we knew a little bit of sheetroock and of course paint (ol red HAD to go!) could fix this problem!
So here was the plan: most price effective option was to simply add a wall. The spacing between the laundry & kitchen was perfect and the washer and dryer hook ups were already in this location. Construction budget tip: The more plumbing and electrical you can leave in the original position = the more cost effective.
Step 1: Build a wall. 2x4s went in and the framing began
Instant laundry room 2×4 LayoutNow I did frame up my own doggie room that my mom wanted to add under the stairs, but we were far from experts on this subject. So we welcomed some outside help on this part. Luckily my mom has a dad and grandfather, who got her hooked on all this home renovation stuff, that are willing to show up and teach us even more!
Checking my dimensionsWe even learned a very simple fact. We already knew a carpenters rule of thumb: Studs (2×4 framing) are to be placed every 16 inches, but we were clueless to this little trick: Tape measures usually highlight this dimension in red for convenience.
Don’t forget to leave a spot for the door. I of course had to have a barn door, so there will be a whole entire other post on that! But little side tip: When building small spaces, make sure you have a doorway wide enough to get what you need in and out. In this case: washer, dryer, and linen cabinet. Easiest way is to have them in the room first, before the walls get tight, but that’s not always an option. And you do have to think ahead for if and when they might need to be taken back out.
Step 2: Insulate
This will help reduce the noise from the washer and dryer, and now we can pretend they aren’t even there.
Do you think my dog fur would be good insulation??Step 3: Sheet rock!
My mom and I have learned quite a bit on this step since buying this fixer upper.
Starting to take shape!But do make sure you buy sheets tall enough to cover your height of the wall. Less cuts and aggregation. Unlike you are like us who thought “Yeah 8 ft sheets will be perfect”. . . They run a little short on an 8′-6″ high wall. Thats ok, because we’re used to being vertically challenged so we forged on. . .
Details on the Layout:
Getting efficient up in hereWe wanted to keep the washer and dryer on the wall where the current hook ups are, so that was an easy decision that determined the layout. Next we needed more storage. Mom scored this awesome linen cabinet for FREE from work. . . so we had to make it fit! With all that considered, and the tiny space we had to work with. . . the only solution was to stack the washer and dryer.
Easy solution: Dryer stacking kit my mom just bought on amazon.
Stack it up
Make sure you research the kit for your model and brand. Or if you’re like me and scored a heck of a deal on a washer and dryer from separate brands. . . a little retrofitting of where the screw holes go will need to be done. . . but nothing a little Boston can’t handle. So in this case mom made sure she bought the kit that matched the dryer and we just adjusted it on the washer. These washer/dryer vibration pads are also a good investment!
So as you can see we have a little further to go as it usually happens in DIY world. Using your own 4 paws and free labor will save A LOT! But it usually does not go as fast as hiring a pro. But I promise the satisfaction is worth it. So stay tuned so you can see the smile on my little doggie face as we wrap this puppy up.
Bathrooms are small rooms but they can make a big impact! They can also cost quite a bit to renovate. So until you’re ready to do a serious upgrade there are many steps you can take to give your bathrooms a face lift.
Check our out guest bath before we moved in. . .
Before. . . ummm wow!
It was definitely making an impact, just not the one we wanted. I was embarrassed to have any of my friends set a paw in here!
The joys and aggravations of renovating a home is there is SOOO much to do and after all I am only one little boston. So we had to pick and choose what we take on first.
We of course have an overhaul plan to make this room really shine in the end:
Brand New vanity with fancy hardware || 2. Spraying tile white {cost effective alternative to laying new tile and lasts 5 years} || 3. Classy new mirror {the bigger the better to make the space look larger} || 4. Sconces on either side {to really dress it up instead of the same old overhead lights}
But until we are ready to commit to a full bathroom overhaul. . . here are some tips on how we “fluff” it up Boston Style without all the major renovations.
Scrumptious Blue-Gray
1. PAINT!!! A fresh coat of paint always dresses up anything. If you are having to work with an outdated tile, don’t fight it, try to pick a color that will compliment it as well. Not always the easiest task, but still worth the effort
{ I love how cozy it is on my paws }
2. Textiles: The perfect way to dress up a bathroom especially with all of the options out there. . . Rugs, Towels, Shower curtains. So many choices! I wish they had this many options in doggy beds! The trick with these is using a neutral color scheme so that it won’t fight against intense tile colors as well. As far as the rugs. . . the BIGGER to better to cover up that colorful floor!
3. Details: Photos & flowers can really dress a small space up. It also helps to distract from the dated fixtures.
{ Strike a pose }
4. Throw them for a loop: The last layer is adding in something out of the ordinary that would not usually belong in the bathroom. In this case: the rustic ladder towel rack or the sleek lanterns. This makes the space feel more at home and customized without breaking the bank or even busting out any tile.
The powder room and guest bath is also a great place to add a little punch because it is unexpected and closed off from the rest of the house so it’s easy to make it unique. Check out some of these I’ve been drooling over online. They certainly get the Boston “Paw” of approval.
{ Check out this “Bow-WOW” factor }{ Looks yummier than my puppy treats }{ LUUVVVIN this pupplicious wallpaper }
This one even from my Mom’s company at Twin Construction because it’s soo yummy.
{ Wish mom would’ve brought this one home || Designer cred to the talented Laurie Fulkerson }
already knew a carpenters rule of thumb: Studs (2×4 framing) are to be placed every 16 inches, but we were clueless to this little trick: Tape measures usually highlight this dimension in red for convenience.
scored a heck of a deal on a washer and dryer from separate brands. . . a little retrofitting of where the screw holes go will need to be done. . . but nothing a little Boston can’t handle. So in this case mom made sure she bought the kit that matched the dryer and we just adjusted it on the washer. These washer/dryer vibration pads are also a good investment!
{ Strike a pose }
the little boston that could 