Mission Impossible?

{image borrowed from here}

Now answer me this...Is that fabulous wall design something I can do on my own? Should I wait for the decor stencil kit on my Christmas list? Can I paint it in a lighter color than chocolate brown and get away with it in our SF rental (poop. I miss MY house)? I can just paint one wall before we move right, right? no biggie...hmmm...I wonder what the hubby would say. Possible? Oui o non?

So I'm totally loving the stencil thing lately. I'm definitely not alone in this love. I mean, how could you not love the looks of the lovelies below?!

{images borrowed from there}

You can get your very own and might I add, reasonably priced, stencil from Whitewall and Co. 

Sweet

Love this. Light aqua + yellow + white = adorable.

Can I get some horns with that?

There's this shop over on Valencia that I have recently fallen in love with. When the hubby and I first came upon this delightful place all he could say about it was that it was "Weird" and "Why would anyone want to buy stuff there?" A few days later he mentioned that he'd brought up this unusual shop with one of his coworkers and the hubby didn't get the reaction he was expecting because the guy apparently seemed offended. I guess I'm not alone in my weird shop love.

On my day off this week, I decided I had to visit. Now what could possibly be weird about this store? Let me just say that one of the first things you see when you enter is a mounted horse head with a horn added to it so as to make it appear to be a unicorn. Weird or interesting? Aside from that unique object, they have an amazing collection of taxidermy framed butterflies (I love!) and an amazing array of plants. My personal faves being the succulents. They have beautiful vintage botanical prints, amazing artwork, and random bits and pieces. There is soo much to look at and as my title states, lots of horns. Mounted animals galore as well as the unusual in the style of the unicorn.

While I was there I had to pick up another succulent and a lovely ceramic (orange) flower pot. As I was walking towards the register, I was stopped by a plant on a plaque. No dirt needed there. They had a detailed description on the plant and the care it requires. I instantly decided I needed one and now I'm on the waiting list for a small one (since they didn't have any in stock on Wednesday). Meet Staghorn Fern. Mr. Fern if you please.

                                       {yup, it's got horns, too}



{how about this one in your living room?}


I guess even the nursery part of the store couldn't avoid having horns. Based on my little research on the net, you can buy one not on a plaque and then mount it yourself. All you need is some moss, some kind of string/tie, and a plant. Easy as pie. You can find out exactly how here!


{images courtesy of google search}

Stripes to the rescue

Can I please have this?

{elle decor}


Tufted head board? Check. Wooden dresser. Check. Beams across the ceiling. Check. Stripety-stripe art. I need me some stat!

Finally!

Yup. I've finally taken some pictures of a few things that have been getting done around this casita. One was Moe the sad chair from ages ago. I am this close to getting it done. The others are a pair of roman shades I made for the window in the area beside the kitchen.

First up, the roman blinds. I have to apologize for a lack of pictures throughout the process. I'd been pretty good about doing so, but for whatever reason, I didn't take any for this project. I believe it's because I was using Jenny's tutorial over at Little Green Notebook and didn't think it was necessary to take my own. Now, I realize that maybe I should have because I added a step or two. Anyhoo, here they are:

{step I added: sewing white muslin to the front fabric and then turning it inside out before gluing the whole thing together}

{I wanted a white liner on the back}

{another step: adding grosgrain ribbon with fabric glue. I love orange}

Moving onto the wingback chair:

{scary before}

{not so scary almost-after}

{ I still have to sew the cover for the seat cushion. I've been slackin'.}

{ignore the imperfections please. it was my first time}

{pattern up close and the jute/cotton cord I'm running around the edges of the chair. another thing I still need to do!}

The work. Man. What a pain it was to remove what seemed like 126,286,636,364 staples and then putting ALL those staples back on it for the reupholstery. For most of that work I used my hard core business NOT electric staple gun. My hand hurt. A lot. Then, on a visit to my local little hardware store I spotted my savior. An electric staple gun...with a trigger...and lots of power...for $40!!! I guess I thought an electric staple gun would have been expensive, but I was wrong. It made the rest of the project a lot more pleasurable for my hands, but still not pleasing to the ears of the doggies and probably the people living in the upstairs flat. Oh well.

As far as putting it together, I basically worked in reverse. I found the supplies at an upholstery store in town and then did some research on the internet. I know it's not perfect, but it's good enough for me.

I'm overall very pleased with these two projects and of course the projects are neverending around here. I've got some faux roman blinds for the office I'm making tomorrow (yay, for Veterans!) using the fabric below. I again found a great deal on ebay; 5 yards for $25!

{amy butler henna paisley in blue}

I will have to remember to take pictures this time.

Color me

This is totally my color palette at home. I've mixed in a couple different oranges and a bit of basil green.
I love this room and I didn't want to lose this image.

{image courtesy of everything leb}

Martha, I love you

I don't care what others say. I know she has loads and loads of people that help her come up with all these fabulous crafts, but I don't care. I want to grow up to be the Latina Martha, or "Marta." =)

{seriously martha...so chic}



{oh martha...just love the color and that bench/settee thinger....just fabulous!}



{martha, I just love this whole look. too bad those benches probably cost a butt load}



{you know martha, I've been meaning to do this with a canvas...but a magnetic board...so clever}



{martha. can you just toss me some of your antique fabric to make a looker like this?}



{martha, we must be related because I love orange too!}


The images above are from Martha's "quick and easy upgrades." For her DIY instructions, visit her here!