Fauxology

Decorate by Holly Becker Giveaway Winner!

Peggy Pardo — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Last week we had a fabulous Book Giveaway, a copy of Decorate: 1,000 Professional Ideas for Every Room in Your Home. It was written by Holly Becker, creator of one of the most popular (and one of the first) decorating blogs Decor8, and acclaimed lifestyle writer Joanna Copestick with photography by Debi Treloar. “In Decorate, the world’s top designers and leading decor experts including Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler, Jonathan Adler, and many others come together to share over 1,000 professional tips, ideas, and solutions for every room and every budget.” Fauxology readers were given several ways to enter. One Reader was picked via Random to receive their own copy of this popular design book. Without further ado, the Winner is…

Based on number of eligible entries. Winning entry generated by Random.org

Monica Arrache

Monica Arrache is the owner of the successful decorative painting company Art Nu Faux LLC. Established in Massachusetts in 1998, she relocated the business to Florida in 2000. She has worked with architects, interior designers, builders, carpenters, residential homeowners as well as commercial businesses including resturants, hotel chains, real estate brokers and more. You can also keep up with Art Nu Faux via her Facebook fan page! Congratulations, Monica!

Cheers to all,

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That’s What He Said

Regina — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Bad artists copy. Good artists steal. ~ Pablo Picasso

The Hubs and I have been married almost 14 years and we have the most surreal conversations. (Husbands say the funniest things.) Sometimes I wish I could document the talks we have. So, you can imagine my delight when a few bloggers have written posts that are close to my heart. Basically, they showed their significant other a few design images and shared the initial impressions. Fun, right? I figured why not ~~copy~~ steal the idea?

So, I picked out a few images from the April 2011 issue of House Beautiful and we went to town. Here, ladies and gentlemen, are the design ramblings of The Better Half.

Hubs: “The line stuff reminds me of hypnosis so we’re not going to have that. It’s a little too light for me overall. Who’s going to go up there and turn on the light?”

Me: “I’m sure there’s a switch. The lines are a Chevron pattern. I really like them.”

Hubs: “You’ve been hypnotized.”

“Ahh, this is more my style. This is a cool room. I like the black, the nice desk and that’s an interesting chandelier. That is a chandelier, right?”

“Other than too much white, I like the sink, the faucet, the stove and the floor. It reminds me of a cool restaurant kitchen. But they obviously love yellow – even all the food is yellow.”

“I like the red, the furniture is good and a nice finish on the walls would have been better. These walls look like they are a little out of focus. “

Hubs: “Mmmm.”

Me: “Babe. Focus.”

Hubs: “The cake is a superb addition to the space. I do like the pattern and the dark turquoise and black. I like the whole white/black cabinet combination, that’s cool. It’s a nice kitchen.”

“That’s an interesting light fixture. This is an older house — look at the windows, they’re pretty nice. This is a kitchen? The walls are a bit plain and could use color. There’s no need for grass under the table and the basket can go in the laundry room. Plus that chair on the left is out of place. But I definitely like the room. A cake would have worked here, too.”

~ ~ ~

For the record, I love that kitchen with the cake. That pattern, that color…ahem. I have to say, I was quite curious to hear his take on images in design magazines. When the decor images ran out, he really was disappointed — he was having fun! Who knew? I hope you enjoyed this post — have a great day! ~ Regina

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Northern Lights in Your Shower

Peggy Pardo — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

I’ve been a bit overwhelmed this weekend; my dad was rushed to the hospital. He’s 89 years old, so this was a big thing for us. He seems to be doing better now; we hope he continues on that path. Because of this my post is a bit of a short one today, but I didn’t want to miss sharing this great find with all of you.

Imagine taking a shower and a fabulous ever-changing “light show” is going on around you. How cool would that be. Well, that can actually happen because a company has created glass tiles that change color when the temperature changes!

Inspired by the Northern Lights, the company Moving Color Tiles created these tiles so that they appear black at room temperature, but move through the color spectrum when warm water or radiant heat hits them. They’re called Moving Tiles, because when they change color it gives the appearance that the tiles are moving. I wish I could say more about them, but the manufacturer’s website isn’t in English; I discovered the product via Blavish. However, in any language this product is cool!

I love the irredescent shades that are created when the warm water moves across the tiles. What great inspiration for decorative finishes!

The Imaginative World of Carlo Marchiori

Regina — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

World-renowned artist Carlo Marchiori

When you hear the word Ca’Toga, so much beauty, fantasy and artistry comes to mind. Located in California’s picturesque Napa Valley, Ca’Toga is a replica of a Palladian-style Italian home — but one with a fun sense of humour mixed in with a strong sense of design. Filled with trompe l’oeil murals, sculptures and wonderful architectural details, the villa remains an ever-popular draw to visitors. When you then think of the artist behind the masterpiece, Carlo Marchiori, you think of the singularly creative mind that created such an enchanting world. He was born in Italy and after living for a time in Canada, settled in California in 1978. Among his incredible world-wide projects, he has also been nominated for an Oscar and opened a second Ca’Toga in Thailand.

Mr. Marchiori was recently invited by the Museo Italo Americano to exhibit a curated collection of his fantastical works. The Museo Italo Americano, located in San Francisco, was the first museum in the U.S. entirely devoted to Italian and Italian-American art and culture. They present incredible exhibitions and this wonderful showcase, entitled Festa Veneziana: The Imaginative World of Carlo Marchiori, is currently open through June 3, 2012. We had the opportunity to correspond with Mr. Marchiori to talk a bit about his inspirations, his tastes in other’s artwork and what he would do if he had two hours to spare in his busy schedule. Let’s dig in…

Maestro Marchiori preparing for the Festa Veneziana exhibit

Pulcinella on Stilts No. 1

Do you have a personal artisan philosophy?

I grew up and attended art school in the 5os, there the curriculum was based on traditional, academic trainings: perspective, chiaroscuro, life drawing and practical work projects in the techniques of watercolor, fresco and tempera.

Professionally, who are some of your inspirations?

As a figurative artist, I lean toward the spontaneous fluidity of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and 18th-century Venetian artists.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you have received?

My art teacher would say “good” but you should work “harder”.

(above and below) Beautiful peeks into the Festa Veneziana exhibit. It includes paintings, sculptures and ceramics among the pieces. You can see that whimsical, spontaneous, surreal and fantastical all come into play in his artistry.

In your travels, what have been some of the most inspiring spaces you’ve seen?

I like Greco-Roman ruins and some Renaissance or Baroque theatrics such as the Park at Bomarzo, frescoed Palladian villas, Roma Baroque churches, etc.

What subject do you most appreciate in art?

People — the nude movements in figures — but I have recently moved toward the surreal and abstract.

Please Click to Enlarge

What figures do you doodle?

I like movements in animals in motion and the human figures. I have doodled all my life and it is faster to sketch anything than having to describe it with words.

If you were paid to write a new book on any subject you wished, what would it be about?

I would write about the general subject of creativity, how to invent something — to turn “a silk purse into a sow’s ear” (I mean it this way). Creating spontaneous inventions such as Picasso’s bicycle handle bar bull. I use bones, old junk, antlers, absurd industrial gadgetries, left over this & that, all assembled together with crazy glue.

What job would you like to have for a month?

To design, to plan and to build a terraced amphitheater on either side of a natural stream, using recycled rubbles to make it look like an ancient ruin. People would feel the combination of nature and architecture…but it would take more than one month to build.

Finally, if you had two hours to waste on anything, what would you do?

Pruning, cleaning, doing laundry and cooking or taking my three Basenji dogs for a walk on the hills.

At San Francisco's Museo Italo Americano until June 3, 2012

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That sounds like a wonderful way to while away the time! I loved learning about his leanings, a bit on how he perceives the world and getting a peek at the exhibit. (Glad I found out about the park in Bomarzo, too — had no idea!) Mr. Marchiori is a world-class artist whose work graces the lobby of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and Tokyo’s Disney Resort. If you are in the San Francisco area, do visit the Museo Italo Americano’s Festa Veneziana exhibit (open until June 3rd!) and of course, take a tour of the unforgettable Ca’Toga in Napa Valley. You can also keep up with the incredible artistry of Mr. Marchiori via the Ca’Toga Facebook page and Twitter stream. They also have a wonderful YouTube channel. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s profile and information — it was an incredible honor for me to put it together for you. Many thanks to Tony Banthutham and JoAnn Locktov for facilitating the profile, so appreciated. May you have an inspired weekend, gorgeous ones!

Book Giveaway: Decorate by Holly Becker

Peggy Pardo — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

I have an addiction – to decorating books. When one calls out to me from a bookstore shelf or an Amazon.com page, I have to respond by looking through it. Should I spy even one picture that inspires me, into my basket it goes. That’s how I’ve amassed a gazillion decorating books. Okay. That may be a slight exaggeration, but I do have 3 Ikea Billy bookcases filled to the brim. ‘Nuff said.

Naturally when someone I admire comes out with a decorating book, I get very excited about it. That’s how I felt when I first heard about Decorate: 1,000 Professional Ideas for Every Room in Your Home. It was written by Holly Becker, creator of one of the most popular (and one of the first) decorating blogs Decor8, and Joanna Copestick with photography by Debi Treloar. This one I didn’t even peruse before buying; just added to my cart and awaited its arrival.

Thanks to Amazon Prime, Decorate was here in 2 days. Did it pass the “at least one picture I like, so I’ll buy it” test? Did it ever! The first time I go through a design book or magazine, I stick strips of post-its with brief notes on the pages that have something to which I want to refer back. By the time I finished going through Decorate, it had so many pieces of paper sticking out of the top it looked like a craft project. That’s a good thing - a really good thing.

My post today originally started out as a book review. Why not? I think the book is wonderful. However, there are so many fantastic reviews of Decorate that are already out there – like this one from Apartment Therapy, this one at Mango Juiced and here is another at Living In. Rather than do a review, Regina and I thought we’d take it one step further and do a GIVEAWAY! So instead of just telling you how great the book is, one lucky reader will receive a complimentary copy of Decorate and be able to see for themselves!!

Here are a couple of pictures to whet your appetite…

G I V E A W A Y

For your chance to win…

Leave a comment on this post letting us know how we could improve Fauxology, tell us about your favorite post or share your suggestions for post ideas.

But that’s not all! You have six more chances to win…

Each time you do one of these, leave us a comment on this blog post letting us know you did. [If you're already a fan, just let us know! ] So, you can leave up to seven comments on this blog post to enhance your chances of winning — please note that comments left on Facebook, Twitter or other sites will not count.

The Giveaway is open to everyone and one winner will be chosen at random from the comments. Deadline: Midnight on Wednesday, May 9, 2012.

Good luck to all,

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Coloring in the Lines

Regina — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s laptop — Happy Monday!

I don’t know what it is, but I looooooove the idea and look of lining a wall or ceiling. In fact, I’ve written about it before in a 2010 post called Drawing the Line. I remember when I played with my coloring books as a kid, out would come my full set of color markers and 64-set of crayons. I’d first use a color marker to line the pattern perfectly and finish coloring in with a crayon matching the marker. To my eye, it gave a more polished look. (There’s a method to my madness even as a kid, I guess.)

Here’s a few more images to share on the lined look…

Room designed by Amy Carman for the 2011 Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse. It’s listed as black ribbon but one could easily sub black paint instead.

You can take the bright colors and really go wild, as in this Roy Lichtenstein-inspired space by designer Jeffrey Miller. Here’s a close-up.

This striking bedroom (below) was featured in Elle Decor. See the red edging right above the harlequin diamonds? Great splash of color and extra drama.

One can also do this in a hue tying in the designated accent color, like the blue below. It’s the Berlin home of art historian Samuel Wittmer, featured in sköna hem.

This last one was part of a MoMA exhibition. I like how the pattern is edged out with lining to give it a finished look.

~ ~ ~

It wouldn’t be too hard to do lining on a surface since it really only involves extra taping and a bit of measuring. I have to find a place in my home to do it or remember to suggest it to the right potential clients. Do you like the look?

Runway to Roomway

Regina — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s sleep-deprived laptop!

So here’s my life so far. Last week I was oohing and ahhing over the snow-capped mountains of Utah and this week I’m at the sunny beaches of Miami. All for the love of decorative painting, of course. (More on Utah and Miami soon – pinky swear). I do need some sleep though. Soon. But what am I doing in my can’t-fall-asleep moments? Looking at images, of course!

I thought we’d take a fashion trip and end up at fashionable spaces. Here’s a few runway designs that could have been the inspiration for a few roomway surfaces…

From bridal fashion company, Pronovias. I’d definitely ditch the white for this one. Now, if you’d like to see a variation on a wall…

Voila! Isn’t this a beauty? It’s the Moroccan Lace stencil from Royal Design Studio.

~ ~ ~

Silk Beaded Dress by Elijah (above) and now…

GORGEOUS! Those are Swarovski crystals in the Italian Silven wallcoverings.

~ ~ ~

An artistic watercolor-y loveliness above by Vera Wang and an artistic watercolor-y loveliness below by Black Crow Studios.

So, sometimes you don’t have to go further than your closet for inspiration, right? Off to sleep now, gorgeous ones. A big Mwah! for reading the ramblings!

Target Your Room’s Design

Peggy Pardo — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Beautiful design doesn’t have to cost a fortune. I truly believe this. Having had Champagne tastes all my life and at times with a public water fountain pocket book, I know how to make every design dollar (and cent) count.

One of my go-to sources for quality pieces at affordable prices is Target. I could literally spend hours in their online store! They collaborate with top designers in various industries to bring us the latest trends. Their style expert for home is Sabrina Soto, who I had a chance to see last month at the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival.

Since summer is just around the corner, I thought a gorgeous vacation spot would be the perfect inspiration. And did I find one for you!

Inspiration Photo: St. Regis Princeville Resort on the island of Kauai, Hawaii – Designed by Trina Turk
Paint Colors: Benjamin Moore
Design Finds: Target

Now you’ll have to excuse me, I’m going to try to find a place for that chair. I love it!

Purple Inspiration

Peggy Pardo — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Happy Monday! What better way to start the week that with some color inspiration! Music for your eyes to dance to.

Spinning the color wheel, we land on the color PURPLE! And a lovely color it is. I’ve found some purple objects and a few rooms that could easily have been inspired by them. Enjoy!

Inspiration Sources: Eggplant – Fruits R Us; Jewelry – Morning Glory Antiques & Jewelry;
Dress – The Dessy Group
Realized Sources: Top left, top right, bottom right – HGTV; bottom left – Curbly

Inspiration comes in all sizes, shapes, places and colors. Keep your eyes and mind open and you’ll be surprised at what you can see!

The Details Make the Art

Peggy Pardo — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Ready for your mind to be blown? So, I was purusing the internet and I found these incredible wall installations. Take a look at this one…

You’re probably thinking, yes – they’re beautiful. But so what? Now take a CLOSER look…

Yes – That’s GLASS MOSAIC TILE. They’re the remarkable work of a Spanish company that manufactures wide format images on glass mosaic. To learn more about it, check out their website.

Cheers to all!

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A Classic Tudor Goes Hollywood

Peggy Pardo — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Happy day! My copy of Elle Decor magazine arrived several days ago and I finally had a chance to read it – well, at least most of it. One article that caught my attention is about a Tudor house in Beverly Hills that was completely updated by the creator of Will & Grace, Max Mutchnick and his partner, lawyer Erik Hyman.

Here are a few of the fabulous rooms that were photographed by William Abranowicz…

Master Bathroom (my favorite!)

Master Bedroom

Dining Room

Sunroom (I love sunrooms!)

Library

Living Room

The article dishes details on the home’s background and shares details on what went into the redesign. And there are more great photos!

Enjoy!

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Something Blue

Regina — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s laptop. Sacre Bleu!

When I was a little girl, I asked my Mom to please, please, please buy me a box of doughnuts. When she came home, I immediately ran with the box to my room. I ate them one by one while looking in the mirror to see any sort of change. You see, I had heard Crystal Gayle’s song “Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue” but to my six-year-old ears, it sounded like “Doughnuts Make My Brown Eyes Blue”. Man, was I excited — I could change the color of my eyes by eating doughnuts!!! When it didn’t happen, I started crying and my Mom came into the room to talk to me. When she heard the story, she told me that I was beautiful the way I was. She made me feel so much better. (I just recall her comforting me — but I can imagine that she had to have laughed heartily at some point. Will need to ask her about that.)

Since then, I’ve had a bit of a wary eye on the color Blue. Don’t get me wrong – I do like it quite a bit. It’s just, you know. Some dreams die hard. Let’s move on to a few beauties.

This tiled gorgeous-ness was featured in Elle Decor Italia.

The home of designer Michelle Halard was photographed by her son François Halard. The blue on the plaster walls of the French estate is a custom mix. The wooden chandelier was once a stage prop!

Beautiful and seamless ocean-inspired ombre finish by Miami-based Sweet Hues.

Turquoise Venetian Plaster works wonders on both a wall (left, via House Beautiful) and a ceiling (right, designed by Daun Curry).

Soft, lovely colors and vertical pattern via Seabrook Wallcoverings.

Gorgeous, gorgeous ceiling (and plaster walls!) – the sublime artistry of Michael Duté.

Love this space as featured in Architectural Digest. The big glossy work of art is just perfect but I also like the added touch of the slim stenciled border.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So. I looked up Crystal Gayle on YouTube. I’m telling you — I can hear a “doughnut” in there! I feel vindicated. Regina 1, Crystal 0. Except for the fact that I still don’t have blue eyes. There is that. But this Brown-Eyed Girl is over it. Kinda.

L’Hôtel de Ville

Regina — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s laptop. Bonjour!

A few weeks ago, this image of L’Hôtel de Ville captivated me.

I had to find out more. I originally thought it was a hotel but I found out that L’Hôtel de Ville is actually the City Hall of Paris. (On a side note, I’m somewhat miffed my City Hall doesn’t look like this. As in, not even remotely. Clearly, the French have a patent on making even the most mundane exhibit beauty.) The interiors are blessed with gilding, sculptures, decorative painting and fine art. Murals were commissioned from the leading painters at the time, including Jean-Paul Laurens and Henri Gervex.

The Paris City Hall Hall has been the center of the capital’s municipal institutions since 1357. It was redesigned in the 16th century and then again in the 19th century. The exterior boasts a Neo-Renaissance design while the interior ranges from the Renaissance to the Belle Epoque era. The building has played a key role in many political events.

Exterior in the evening as photographed by Benh Lieu Song.

(above, below) Two of a series of photographs on Flickr by Hotels Paris Rive Gauche.

Below is just one pic from the excellent post The Paris City Hall in Some Details by ParisOslo.

They also host wonderful private events…

…and fun events for the public.

By the way, the very first image is by Audrey Felix, a French photographer and art director, who also blogged about her visit there. (<– There are so many gorgeous images on that post I suggest you NOT miss clicking on it, trust.) Well, not only is L’Hôtel de Ville the seat of government, it also houses popular (and free) exhibitions. It is closed on Sundays and holidays but open at all other times. They also offer guided tours. (Check for hours, though!) The building also has a Metro nearby. Have you been? I’d love to go — it’s on The List. Have a great day, everyone!

P.S. As a side note, it was also the background seen in Le Baiser de L’Hôtel de Ville by Robert Doisneau. You might recognize the photograph.

Colorful Columns

Regina — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s Laptop. Word!

I don’t know if it’s the coming of Spring or it’s an actual design trend coming along nicely, but lately I’ve been seeing more and more colorful columns. As in, bright, happy colors on columns. As in, heck yeah!

Beautiful space with a vibrant, textured pillar as photographed by Pelle Bergström.

It’s obviously not for all but my heart loves this color. I like that it was used for 1) a slimmer column and 2) an industrial-like space. It was featured in the blog, Miluccia.

Love that turquoise pattern! This is the Milan home of Margherita Missoni as photographed by Mark C. O’Flaherty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Granted, two of these have wallpaper on them but they can easily be finished similarly by a decorative painter — and there would be no seams! I think it’s a fantastic way to acknowledge a beautiful column in a space and bring it to life, as opposed to making it fade into the background. Have a colorful weekend — see you back here on Monday!

Finding the Original Source of an Image on Pinterest

Regina — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Straight from Regina’s Laptop. Word!

I don’t know if you know this about me, gorgeous ones, but I really enjoy Pinning. I do know, though, that I’m not alone. Most of us also enjoy sharing proper credit and give a virtual high-five to our fellow creatives — but then you click on an image’s link and find yourself at a site where there is no information whatsoever. What to do?

I thought that today I’d give a short tutorial on two ways to find the original source of an image and/or credit, especially for a site such as Pinterest.

SRC IMG BOOKMARKLET

The first way is super quick and easy. I must give a huge round of thanks to Lynne Rutter for clue-ing me into this in her recent post about wonderful blog policies to keep in mind. She mentioned a “reverse image look-up tool called Source Image” — and that opened a whole new world to me. Src Img is a free tool that does the image research for you.

Simply go the site, drag the link to your Bookmarks tab and Voila! The next time you come upon an image where you would like to know the original source, click on the Src Img link in your Bookmarks tab while the picture is open on your browser.

(above) I’ve used one our studio’s Venetian Plaster projects as an example. The bookmarklet will bring up multiple white squares with questions marks within them. As you hover over them, they will individually turn black (like so) and once it does that while you’re over the image you want to research, click on it.

(above) It will then bring up the best guesses for that image via Google Images. As you can see, it includes Pages and Visually Similar Images.

Sometimes, it will bring up the true original source, other times it will bring up a blog or website that featured it and provides accurate information for you. The pages it brought up for this image — my Home Workshop guest blog post Venetian Plaster Demystified and my Pinterest page — both lead back to my studio, Garay Artisans.

GOOGLE IMAGES

Let’s say you have an image on your hard drive and you’d like to know the source or you don’t want to install the bookmark. For this, you can go directly to Google Images itself. Here, I’ve used an image I had for the post on the book, Living in Cuba.

(above) I paned the Windows side by side, clicked on the image and “dragged” the photo onto the Images bar.

(above) It’ll look like this…

Google Images then gives you it’s best results for that image. Please note that both those pages come back to Fauxology, where I would definitely have provided proper credit.

~ ~ ~

Sometimes it takes just a few more clicks into the pages given to find the right source, but I think it’s worth the extra few seconds if only to provide the proper information and credit. I always think “What if it could lead to a project for them?”. I like that thought. Let me know if you have any questions or if there’s anything else I should cover. Have a great day, lovelies!

Suddenly a Centerpiece!

Peggy Pardo — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

Even though spring hasn’t “officially” begun, I am well under way with the spring cleaning. After the hard stuff is done, I can get to the fun things – like decorating the table!

Centerpieces don’t have to be elaborate flower sculptures to be beautiful. In fact, I find that some of the simplest arrangements using everyday items are the most charming ones. There are no rules; so uses your imagination and have fun!

I’m always looking for creative ideas for centerpieces and while searching I found plenty. I thought that I’d share them with you…

Photographer: Keith Scott Morton

Photographer: Aimee Herring

Photographer: Andrew McCaul

Photographer: Aimee Herring
The above photos are all from Country Living

The above photos are from Martha Stewart

Quilts as table cloths, cupcakes as decorations, watering cans and birdcages as vases – everyday items used in creative ways to make fabulous centerpieces. What unusual item have you used to create something beautiful for your table?
Cheers to all,

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Royal Design Studio Pinterest Contest!

Regina — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

One of our fab blog sponsors, Royal Design Studio, is holding their very first Pinterest contest — with a $250 Stencil Shopping Spree prize. Sweet, no? Do be sure to check their Stencil Ideas blog for full details — all you gotta do is Pin it to Win it! Of course, please feel free to spread the word and share! Someone has to win…

Click for Details!

Bottle Cap Art

Peggy Pardo — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

When you were a kid, did you play a game with bottle caps? I know there was some type of game we used to play, but for the life of me the other night I couldn’t remember what it was. As I was trying to recall it, I started to think about the different things you could do with bottle caps and on a whim I decided to “Google” bottle cap art. Wow! Am I glad I did! I discovered an artist named Molly B. Right of Charleston, SC; she does the most amazing portraits using bottle caps. I just had to share this with you…

Marilyn Monroe

Jackie O

Mark Twain

Jackie Robinson

George Washington

Vincent Van Gogh

Statue of Liberty

Geisha

I love it when I discover an artist that can take an ordinary item and turn it into something extraordinary. And when that item is something we would normally throw away, it somehow makes it even more magical. I think this work is fabulous; I’ll never look at a bottle cap the same way again!

You can see more of Molly’s work at her website where she also shares with you the process of creating her fantastic bottle cap portraits.

Cheers to all,

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Wishing You…

Regina — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

…A wonderful, happy Easter and Passover weekend!

Lucky Stripes

Peggy Pardo — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the keyboard of Peggy Pardo…

I’ve always wanted to paint stripes in my house, but alas, for now I’ve had to satisfy that urge through fabrics and other textiles. I love the bold look of stripes splashing across the walls. Your eye can’t help but follow. Look at these lovely examples I’ve found for you…

Source: Coastal Living
Photograher: Laurey W. Glenn

Source: Elle Decor
Photographer: William Waldron

Source: Apartment Therapy

Source: Elle Decor

Source: Blount Design

Source: Elle Decor
Photographer: Pieter Estersohn

Source: House Beautiful

Source: Apartment Therapy
Artist: Ashley O’Brian

How do you paint perfect stripes? That’s the question Centsational Girl posed to her readers and they answered with some of the best tips I’ve read on this subject. If you are planning on painting stripes, you must read these tips first.

Horizontal, vertical, diagonal or otherwise, stripes create a bold impact. They can be wide, narrow, vary in width, and have any number of colors in the design. They also go with almost any decorating style.

Now I REALLY want some stripes!! Where shall I put them? ……Hmmm…………have to think on this one…..

Have you painted stripes before?