Move Mountains In Your Home
Some of the HGTV.com articles I wrote back when I was working on my kitchen and master bedroom are live now! Here they are... Add architectural interest to a room with crown molding... DIY Bolster Pillow... DIY Butcher Block Counter Top... Milk Paint Night Stands... Starched Fabric Feature Wall... I was visiting the site to get the links for this … [Read more...]
I'll start off with the victories. I made it through the first block (4 weeks) of P90x. I can already see and feel improvements in my fitness and have lost some pounds and inches. I'm going for walks with my family and teaching my six year old how to play tennis. I'm finding some balance, so everything isn't about blogging, antiques, home projects, writing and photography. It's been great … [Read more...]
I'm having one of those days where I feel like I could write about five blog posts. I just want to chat and tell you what I've been up to, what plans I have and some things that are are my mind. The past few days, I've been in much more of a "doing mood" than a "taking-pictures-and-talking-about-it" mood. And now I feel like chatting, but I don't have a ton of time to write those five blog … [Read more...]
Two more projects are checked off the list. The first one I finished yesterday was a set of pillow shams. My editor asked for something Pottery-Barn-ish. I checked out their site for some ideas and kept coming back to these... source So, I did a little figuring and came up with these... The PB version is $39/sham. My version costs about $10 for both. A … [Read more...]
Today was a jam-packed DIY filled day and I have pretty pictures to show for it... I got my fabric yesterday and I couldn't wait to play with it...well, work with it. It is my job after all. This project was something I wanted to do anyway, but it was for an HGTV.com tutorial, so it got bumped up the list. Don't ask me how I did this project, yet. I wrote a full … [Read more...]
I don't know about you, but I'm a little freaked out that Thanksgiving just passed and Christmas is right around the corner and I'll have to get used to writing a new year on my checks in just a few weeks. Ack! Yikes. Deep breath. Aside from things sneaking up on me a bit, I had a great Thanksgiving with my husband's family in Raleigh. I also had the amazing opportunity to do two book … [Read more...]
I've enjoyed looking over all of the Christmas link parties, but it's still fall in the Mustard Seed household. Our Christmas decor will be up from late December through early February. That's just how it is in this business. I'm happy to say, though, that I only have two more freelance writing projects to finish for fall and then I am done. I can pitch the pumpkins and bring out the … [Read more...]
The new issue of Cottages and Bungalows has hit newsstands, so I thought I would share a few pictures from my DIY Essentials column. (Table settings are one of my favorites to photograph...)This month's issue shares a tutorial on how to make an over sized chalkboard with a chunky frame. (The piece is now for sale at Lucketts. I wanted to keep it, but it didn't fit my requirement … [Read more...]
Oh, yes I did. I'm writing about Christmas and Halloween in one post on October 2. Welcome to my world. As I'm getting ready for the Christmas open house at The Old Lucketts Store, it made me think of some of my favorite tutorials from last year. Everyone went nuts over this ruffled linen Christmas tree skirt I made for HGTV.com. Well, the tutorial is finally live, … [Read more...]
I know it's only August, but Hobby Lobby is already gearing up for Christmas, so I can share my HGTV.com Halloween tutorials, right? I actually worked on all of these last November. Wow, how time flies. Here they are...Chalkboard Treat BucketWitches Broom Place Card HoldersBurlap Halloween Table RunnerFoam Halloween TombstonesVintage Inspired Halloween BannerHalloween Applique … [Read more...]
Summer came early for me this year as I started decorating for it in April. I'm learning that when one works as a freelance tutorial writer for magazines and home decor sites, the seasons get pretty muddled. It's been a learning process and definitely a fun one. My summer decorating ideas and tutorials are now available on HGTV.com. Sea Shell MirrorI sold this at the … [Read more...]
This post is a this'n'that kind of post. As usual, I have a lot of things going on at one time. My latest round of HGTV.com projects were just published. I came up with three projects that kids can do for mother's day...Framed Silhouette(My husband says the silhouette of my son on the right looks like ET. I'd say something sarcastic in my defense, but it kinda does!)"MOM" … [Read more...]
I just had a whole round of HGTV.com tutorials published, so I thought I would share the beauty shots and a link to each tutorial. Ruffled Shower CurtainSpring Table SettingTissue Pom-pomsMoss and Egg WreathHand Painted Easter Egg GarlandMoss MonogramChalkboard PotsAnd lastly, a bit of business...the winners of the Baby Jewels giveaway are:Leigh Anne from Alabama (You don't have an e-mail on … [Read more...]
I'm still working on my second union jack dresser and spent most of the day out of the house. Since I don't have anything new going on, I thought I would share the links to some of my newest HGTV.com tutorials. You can find the plans and step-by-step instructions for making this cottage style storage shelf here. An easy way to hide the pipes under a wall mounted sink is a sink … [Read more...]
After much work, two truckloads of trash, and a van load of stuff for the thrift store, the basement workshop is clean. We still have some organizing to do and a few projects to finish, but it will be so nice to have a clean and organized place to work. I would've taken before pictures, but it was terrible. Embarrassing, really.So, instead of showing … [Read more...]
As most of you know, I have the privilege of writing tutorials for HGTV.com. I still have to pinch myself when I think about it and I'm still trying to convince myself that I am a real designer, business owner and writer. Craziness. I don't say that with any kind of false humility. The sequence of events over the past few months has been insane. I wake up every day … [Read more...]
I bought a French chair at a yard sale a few weeks ago and the gentleman I bought it from mentioned having an entire storage unit full of his mother's furniture, much of it French provincial in style. HELLO! I handed him a business card and held my breath. He called and we scheduled a time to meet at the storage facility to see if we could make a deal. We had to … [Read more...]
Doesn't it seem like I'm announcing exciting things every day? Well, that's because exciting things keep happening in my little business. It is truly living up to its name. A tiny little mustard seed is growing into something huge! Here are the latest...I am so thrilled to announce that my very first HGTV.com project is posted! We'll, it's not a full-blown tutorial, … [Read more...]
