Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Crib Crashing: Fab Antiquey-Texas Guest Room

With my parents new "empty-nester" status, they've started to revamp their house & its really looking amazing. Sadly I don't have a before picture of their guest room, but imagine dark, dark brown walls, mismatched furniture leftover from my brother's days of living there, and Target "bed-in-a-bag" bedding. Basically it was a room that they were happy to keep the door closed to.

Now thanks to my mom's unique decorating style of what I've named "Antiquey-Texas" and her new found ability of redoing furniture beautifully, the room is a little piece of Texas-heaven with charm and personality.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-The 3 botanical prints above the bed were in a book that belonged to my dad's mom's family...my parents have used many prints over the years from that book as artwork in their house.
-The bed is an Eastlake style bed... it was my mom's grandmother's & my mom slept in this bed when she was little staying at her grandmother's house.
-The bedding is from JCPenney.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Bedside table is from Canton.
-Pitcher lamp is from Uptown Country.
-Clock is from Pottery Barn.
-Ceramic bottles from my grandparents (mom's parents) bottle collection.
-Tile (sorry you can hardly see it!) is from Saint Marks Methodist Church where my mom and dad got married. Also my mom's parents were founders of the church.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Bedside table is an old pine chest my parents had...my mom painted it cranberry and stained the top.
-Lamp is from Sample House.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Table is an antique table that was my aunt Ellen's. It needed refinishing so my mom painted it in a high gloss cranberry paint.
-Copper tea pot was my dad's moms.
- Roosters were my mom's grandmothers (Lou's mom).
-The book is titled "Historic Homes of Gonzales". Our family home, the Braches house is featured on the front and 2 family homes are featured in the book, the Braches house and the JBKennard house.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Wire picture holder is from Canton.
-Old postcards were my grandparents and some are from Curiosities. There are also old pictures of my grandparents and of the JBKennard house.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Loveseat belonged to my grandfather's mom, Mimi (my mom's grandmother). She had it in her living room covered in mint green. It was left to my mom's sister Ellen when Mimi passed away, & Ellen recovered it. The cranberry and cream print of this loveseat was the inspiration for the entire room.
-Magazine box is an antique pine chest that came from Lou & Hart's (mom's parents) antique store. My mom used to keep our doll clothes in it...at the time she had it recovered in Laura Ashley fabric (so early 90's!). To use as a magazine holder she took out the fabric and draped an antique napkin in the box.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Hutch is from the Forestwood Antique Mall.
-Plates: cranberry "Come and Take It" & Betsy Ross with flag plate were on my grandmother Lou's kitchen wall. Others are from antique malls and ebay.

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-My mom saw this flower holder at Sample House & asked the employees if she could purchase it... they said it was too damaged on the inside to sell to her, so they gave it to her!

crib crashing,oh louise blog

crib crashing,oh louise blog

-Clock in glass dome was my great grandfather's (on my dad's side) pocket watch.
-Silver spoons were my great-great grandmother's and are engraved with a K for Kennard (mom's maiden name).

Didn't my mom do a great job? Her use of accessories & furniture that have family history is so much more charming and meaningful than a room full of store-bought stuff! Also, like I said.. her new skill of redoing furniture made this room really come together without spending much money... great job anners!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Allie's Cupcake Invites!

When Laura (sis-in-law) came to me wanting some cute 3rd birthday invitations for my precious little niece Allie, I knew I had to come up with something super girly and super sweet in order to fully represent the bday girl. :)
Here are the final invites complete with their matching pink envelopes!

Oh Louise!,Oh Louise! blog,Allie's Invites,Birthday Invitations,Cupcake Invitations

Oh Louise!,Oh Louise! blog,Allie's Invites,Birthday Invitations,Cupcake Invitations

Oh Louise!,Oh Louise! blog,Allie's Invites,Birthday Invitations,Cupcake Invitations

Laura also needed some coordinating stickers to put on the waiver for Pump It Up... here's what we came up with.. so fun! Now I want to eat a cupcake, dangit.

Oh Louise!,Oh Louise! blog,Allie's Invites,Birthday Invitations,Cupcake Invitations

Look for them on sale on Etsy & on my website soon! :)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Canton Finds: Old Lanterns

I saw this old lantern in Canton & just love its summery vintage charm...and they're cheap too! I got a couple a while back in Canton and only paid $8 for 2 of them!

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After researching online a bit, turns out there are many types of vintage lanterns and lots of things you can do with them... hang them from trees, paint them bright colors, use them as a centerpiece, put a candle in them for real lighting...the possibilities are endlessss!

Oh Louise,Vintage,Upcycilng,Lanterns

Oh Louise,Vintage,Upcycilng,Jars,Antique

Lanterns,Vintage Lanterns,Oh Louise

Lanterns,Vintage Lanterns,Oh Louise

Had to end on a turquoise note of course... :)
Happy Monday!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Our Home: Bathroom Cabinet Overhaul

The word overhaul may seem a little dramatic for a bathroom cabinet organizing session, but if you look at the picture below you will realize that this was quite a hefty job... For some reason when we moved in, I thought it would be a good idea to simply throw every bathroom-related item into my cabinet. Of course in the beginning I tried to neatly line things up, but clearly as time went by that went out the window.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Ok I feel like I just exposed way too much of myself... don't judge me for my disgusting bathroom cabinet! Actually, its really bad. You can judge me a little..

Oh also, here are the old knobs on the cabinet.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

So when I finally decided the time had come to really get down to business with this horrible unorganized situation, I first hit up Big Lots & then Dollar King to see what types of storage options they had. There were decent options at both, but so expensive! I don't know why Dollar King even has dollar in their name, because everything I saw was at least $5... and when you have a lot to organize, that adds up quickly! Finally I went to Dollar Tree, and ah... sweet relief. Everything there is literally a dollar so I made it out of there with lots of stuff & didn't break the bank.
I also went to JoAnns and got a cheap pack of scrapbook paper that I decided would line the back of my cabinets... I knew the the things I bought at the Dollar Tree were all white & a tad boring so I thought a little color and pattern would brighten things up a tad!
After measuring, here I am getting my paper perfectly sized & stuck together for each shelf backside using my handy dandy glue lines (usually for scrapbooking - but they work like double stick tape only wayyy better).

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

I used Elmers Spray-On Craft Adhesive... I bought the intense version & seriously... that stuff is crazy... just from spraying it in my cabinets, I had a thin coating of glue in my hair for a couple days. It was lovely.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

For each shelf I put towels down to cover up the parts of the shelf I did not want to cover with adhesive spray.. then I had my scrapbook-paper backing all ready to go and sprayed the back of the shelf... as quickly as I could I stuck the backing to the shelf.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

And voila, a cheap and easy touch of pretty & color.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Then it was time to organize. I discovered with much joy when I got home with my new Dollar Tree finds that they could all be written on with dry erase markers. This was perfect for my bathroom cabinet organizing, because I know myself... and I know my first round of organizing is never perfect and might need a little tweaking at some point. See how easy? Write a label..

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Decide that label is lame...

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh the joy & freedom of not feeling the pressure to label with permanent markers. Simple pleasures people.

I also bought these 4 boxes at the Dollar Tree to organize all my medicine, bandages, vitamins...all that exciting stuff. I had it all shoved in one box (or scattered around my cabinet) before & it was just a big stressful mess & trying to find some Pepto was way harder than necessary...not anymore, woohoo! (and these are dry-erase friendly too!)

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

And here are the rest of the pics...

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

I got that little "silver" tray at the Dollar Tree too.

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh and the new knobs! (anthropologie)

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Oh Louise blog,bathroom organizing

Hope you feel inspired to organize... life is so much better when you can find stuff!

Etsy Throwdowns Thursday

Etsy Throwdowns Thursday,Oh Louise blog,Etsy umbrella

Which one would make it rain? :)
Rainy Art by Laura Amiss
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" Cards by Paper Ink and Earth


Etsy Throwdowns Thursday,Oh Louise blog,Etsy shoe clips

Does one bloom get rid of your gloom?
Blossom Flower Shoe Clip by Sarah Culleton
Robins Egg Flower Rosette by Love Owl Eyes


Etsy Throwdown Thursdays,Oh Louise blog,Etsy spoons

Would you spoon with one of these?
Spooning Poster by Petek Design
Antique Spoon Table Number Markers by Hammermann

Note: This is not a real competition... just a fun way to show-off awesome Etsy items!
All images are from their respective shops.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Canton Finds: Jade Milk Glass

I saw these cute little antique jade milk glass salt & pepper shakers and lemon juicer in Canton and quickly fell in love with the soft minty green color and smooth milky texture. I had seen lots of milk glass before, but had never really noticed jade milk glass. I actually didn't even know that was the name for it until I came home and researched... oh Canton, I love how you make me a bettter person.. I guess I better visit you monthly for the resssst of my life!

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And here are some great images I found online of ways you can display or use jade milk glass pieces ... so pretty!!

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
Umm I want this exact hutch with all of these dishes in my house... someone give them to me.
Photo from JaditeKate Blog

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
Photo from First Day of My Life With You Blog

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
Photo by Country Living

Oh Louise,Vintage,Upcycilng,Jars,Antique
Photo by Country Living

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
Nightlight made using a jade milk glass teacup!
Photo from JaditeKate Blog

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
This is interior designer, Stephanie Rigaux's home which was featured in an article in Better Homes & Gardens in May 2010. She redesigned her kitchen and decorated it with her jade milk glass collection. So pretty!
Photo by Better Homes & Gardens

jade milk glass,jadeite,oh louise blog
Looks like a good morning to me!
Photo from JaditeKate Blog

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Our Home: Kitchen Nook Redo

Attached to our kitchen is a little dining space we refer to as the kitchen nook. It's the area for more "casual dining" if you will... Below is a picture of the nook when we bought the house.

oh louise,oh louise blog,kitchen renovations,oh louise home,cabinet painting,kitchen cabinets

Things in the nook look much happier now with a fresh coat of paint, sparkly new chandelier, Craig's List picnic table that I stained, and of course the new floors.

kitchen pictures,Oh Louise!,Oh Louise blog,Oh Louise home,kitchen table

We put in this Ikea chandelier to brighten things up a bit & recently added the "Eat Drink" prints above the patio door.
To read more about the "Eat Drink" project, click here.

oh louise,oh louise blog,oh louise home,oh louise photos,oh louise home pictures,DIY projects,DIY oh louise,offices spaces,office spaces,Etsy offices,Etsy home studios

This is a hand-me-down piece from my mom...I love it & love being able to displaying fun, colorful plates!

oh louise,oh louise blog,oh louise home,oh louise photos,oh louise home pictures,DIY projects,DIY oh louise,offices spaces,office spaces,Etsy offices,Etsy home studios

Our chalkboard cabinets on the way into the kitchen-nook.

oh louise,oh louise blog,oh louise home,oh louise photos,oh louise home pictures,DIY projects,DIY oh louise,offices spaces,office spaces,Etsy offices,Etsy home studios

Hope you have enjoyed the kitchen nook-redo!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Benson + Sprinklers = Our Weekend

Benson,Oh Louise blog

I mean you can't blame him, it was 104 degrees outside.. but for real, he's nuts.

Happy Monday!