Have you seen Rue Magazine May edition? This online magazine is getting better and better! One of my favorite articles featured the home of the one-of-a-kind designer, stylist, writer, public speaker and blogger Valerie Hart.

How fun is the framed collection of the Hermes bags {etsy!} hung on the upholstered green walls in her bedroom?

On her blog, Visual Vamp, Valerie gives us a behind the scenes of her bedroom design and she shares the sources for the fabrics and furniture that she used {the rugs came from Wal-Mart!! She used 2 smaller ones to create 1 large one.}. High style on a low budget--who would have thought??

When I first saw the photos, my eyes went straight to those fabulous monogram pillows. I love, love, love the font she used and the clever interpretation using the '&'. 

No symmetry on this gallery wall!! It's whimsical and eclectic and just fun.

To see the article in Rue click here. And to see Valerie's post on her sources click here.

{images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 - photography by Sara Essex Bradley }

 I wanted to share another project that we used to decorate for this years Prom. This Ribbon chandelier is not only super easy to make, but my version is also really inexpensive. 

Wal-mart had hula-hoops in many different sizes. Because of this, I decided to create a 2-tiered chandelier. The venue was a large ballroom.Therefore the decorations needed to be over-sized or they would simply get lost. 

Using string, I tied the 2 together making sure the length of the string was the same, in 3 places. The largest hula hoop was on top and it got 3 additional pieces of string that were knotted together to hang the chandelier.  

The Prom theme was neon and glow-in-the dark. I found flagging tape at Lowe's which is fantastic for this project! It is basically a really thin vinyl that comes in a couple of different widths and is florescent orange and pink. It's called *tape* but it is non-adhesive and is primarily used to mark land points by surveyors. Online I found that it comes in other neon colors and prints, as well. At Lowes, it was in Tool World and it is crazy cheap--200' of 1" was $2 and 600' of 2" was $4.75. {Compare that to a spool of ribbon!!} I cut different lengths from about 5'-12'.

I also bought 1 sheet each of yellow, pink and green neon posterboard. Using my 1 1/2" circle cutter, I started cutting out rows of circles.

I cut a piece of string and with a dot of hot glue, attached the dots to the string. I loved the look of the cut out circles on the posterboard so I decided to incorporate them into the chandelier. I cut them into strips and attached each with a piece of flagging tape. I began tieing the pieces of flagging tape on to the hula hoop by creating a loop and pulling the ends of the tape through the loop. This created a knot. I also had some remnants of silver ribbon and a spool of aqua ribbon that I used.  

 There is no right or wrong to this project! You can add as many pieces, colors and lengths that you like.  

It hit me that there needed to be some white because that IS the color that glows under black lights. I knew that I had an unopened white plastic tablecloth that I had in my 'party box'. It was from the Dollar Store and it was super thin. I unfolded it just a bit and simply cut through many layers, creating strips.     

The chandelier was probably 6' long when it was complete.  

This is a really bad picture that I snapped in the dark as the chaperones were showing up. We decided to hang it instead outside in the atrium. It fit perfectly over the existing fixture. We simply used a few pieces of clear packing tape.     

The kids liked it so much that they decided to whip up 2 more as we were setting up. They used a single hula-hoop and hung them to hide the speakers on the ceiling.

You can spot it in the back of the room.

 This would be a really fun addition to a birthday party, upcoming graduation party, or photo shoot. And here's the best part:

CHEAP!!!!

 Here's another fun product I found in Tool World:

This is a recoil air hose. It is 25' and looks like a big slinky. It's lightweight and we cut it into different lengths with scissors. We also snipped off the metal ends. You can somewhat control your lengths by  stretching it out a little. The room had a drop ceiling so we just tucked it into the tiles. They were $9/pc, but you can get 2-3 pieces out of each one {cheaper than a regular slinky and way cooler looking!} I would have loved to have used more, but we bought all they had in stock.   

We also left Lowe's with lots of ferns and I bought fluorescent spray paint {in pink, orange, yellow and green} to add some color to the ferns.

I just have a cell phone pic, not actual 'in place' pics. But, it's a fun, simple way to add additional neon to the decor. 

It just hit me that Lowe's should have sponsored this prom, right???!!! Who would have thought?? But when you live in a tiny town with no party store, you have to think outside the box!!

You guys are in for a treat! Courtney took on the challenge of converting a laundry room into a new bedroom for her tweenager niece. She calls the transformation 'Boutique Chic'. I call it beautiful.This was a true labor of love and I am pretty sure she is up for *Best Aunt Award*. Check out the amazing Before and Afters: 

Stunning, right??!!

It certainly doesn't look like a room full of deals and steals and DIY's, but, that's exactly what it is! Check out Little Glass Box for all the details and more pictures. 

I know you are tired of hearing me talk about it, but this weather is ridiculous! We had no *real* winter and then now that it's spring and a week away from May, Mother Nature thought it would be fun to throw some freezing weather at us. Enough already. We have the heat on, extra blankets on the bed and Jack asked for Hot Chocolate for breakfast.

It's making me feel extra rustic and wanting to revisit some pictures that I snapped of woodpiles that I pass everyday on my way home. Really is there anything lovelier than the beautiful grain of cut stacked wood?!

Max seems to agree. Not much makes him happier than indulging my impulse of pulling over to explore our beautiful mountains and snapping pics.

 Joni is feeling it too, I see! She just created the most fantastic Camo and Outdoor nursery design.