Adventures in Apartment Decorating: My Bedroom

Hey, guys! Both in life and in blogging, I've kinda been boycotting January. I'm going to be real with you here for a second: it is 100% my least favorite month. It's unbearably cold, slushy, and without Christmas, snow really lacks a certain winter wonderland quality. I've been spending a lot of time bonding with mugs of tea and Netflix, is what I'm saying.

So I figured since I have nothing super fun to report on my life in the outside world and, as much as I love you all, I refuse to brave the Polar Vortex to take outfit pictures...I'll show you my hibernation cave bedroom! I've been working on decorating it and making the space say "me" ever since I moved in back in September. You guys seem to like my decorating sense...my DIY Vanity post has driven by far the most traffic to this blog, and clocked in more views than any other post last year. I used that piece as a visual guide for the room and designed around it. If nothing else, this post will help you understand my depth of love for Marshall's and IKEA. It's hard to make a space speak to you when you can't really use nails or paint the walls. So, to all of those looking to spruce up a rental, this is for you!

Welcome to my Crib! (I kind of feel like I'm on an episode of MTV Cribs) I decided to pop an "A" on the door to differentiate from my dear roommate's "L." That's just a wooden letter from Michael's and some very sweet scrapbook paper! The Jaws poster is to ward off intruders.

My bed is so obnoxiously bright, it definitely serves as the focal point for the room. I found this duvet cover at IKEA and absolutely fell in love, and I got a rug (barely visible on the left) and a lamp (just to the right) to match. It even ended up matching my Casablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany's posters...swoon. Speaking of those, all 3 of my posters were actually gifts from my boyfriend, but there are definitely similar inexpensive posters floating around the internet. I think they're a great way to add some personality to the walls, no hooks required. The painting was a very cheap find at Marshall's...aren't those just the sweetest lovebirds?

As I mentioned before, you guys are probably familiar with this vanity. The daisy chain of photos is a new addition. It's not a super original decorating technique, but it certainly makes me smile when I see it over there! Never underestimate the power of having photos of loved ones floating all around your place. They really make a rental feel like "home," and as you can see, I have a lot. Also, I totally forgot to organize the vanity caddy before I took these photos. How's that for "real?" hah.

Here is my ode to my semester abroad in Europe! I love this little shadowbox (also from Marshall's) to show off my mementos, and the Minnie ears are the perfect finishing touch.

Here begins my long and passionate ode to knick knacks. They are far and away my favorite thing to decorate with. Some fun and colorful souvenirs and flea market finds are the perfect compliments to a nice collection of photos. We don't need to talk about how heavily stuffed animals factor into my decor scheme. Who says you need to be an adult at 21, right?

That bird is actually another scrapbook paper-wooden figure creation. They're very easy to make, but I love the extra color they give the space! Those fun, bright frames are also from IKEA. They're actually reversible, so you can pop even more pictures in there and flip it around, which is awesome.

 The fun bicycle frame is from Pier 1, and the embroidery hoop is from the lovely Alyssa from Ten Feet Off Beale. The savings jar is for a trip next Spring Break, but I decided to decorate it with Alien from Spring Breakers because...uh...why not? It makes me laugh every time I see it now. I think "more than a touch of whimsy" is both my design motto and my best advice to those looking to inject some personality into their white-walled rental. Fun fact: Freddy Krueger's hat is signed by Wes Craven! Pretty neat, huh?

You can't go wrong with a little Rosie the Riveter! This is my dresser.

 Here's the other half of the lovebirds! The flowers were all found on sale at Michael's, along with the colorful planter. I think that adds such a fun element to the dresser top. It draws your eye over there right away, and makes it feel just a little bit like spring even when there's snow on the ground.

I tried to make my closet a little Old Hollywood...that Cinema sign was a really sweet thrift store find. It makes getting ready feel a little bit more grand!

So I guess if there's anything to take away from this very insane hodgepodge, it's that the best way to combat boring, white-wall blues is to surround yourself with pictures of friends and family, find plenty of fun knick knacks and posters that speak to you, and do not shy away from color! If you stay near the primaries (ish...), or pick another palate (like pastel) it will probably look fine. I picked red as my main color, but all the accents work with it to create a fun and warm rainbow that almost makes you forget all the white and brown around the room!

I hope you enjoyed the tour! Has the winter made you pick up your decorating game, too?

HoliDIYs: Quickie Twinkle Light Christmas Tree

Hey guys! It may only be the beginning of November, but I am already ready for Christmas. I let the season go as long as reasonably possible. I may or may not be typing this while I'm wearing a reindeer sweater, is what I'm saying.

I love doing fun DIYs for the holidays, so I thought I'd share them with you this year! This one is very quick and simple, but it adds such a fun pop to a blank wall. Here in my apartment, we most definitely can't have Christmas trees (hello, small 3rd floor walk-up). But when I saw a commercial for Command Hooks, I got inspired to craft one out of a single string of lights! It was much easier than I thought it would be, and it looks so fabulous.

SUPPLIES:

2 packs of clear Command Hooks

1 string of green lights

"Star" (light-up yellow object of your choice)

Forgive me, the picture doesn't do it justice. I think this would be a great trick for a Christmas party, or to add some pizzaz to a space that can't necessarily accommodate a big tree. It couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is align the command hooks sparsely, in 7 rows that are about 5-6 inches apart. I only used 2 command hooks per row, and one per corner bend. Just push them closer together as you get up towards the top. Then string your lights around like a snake, hooking them into place as you go. If you're a perfectionist, you could do more measuring than I did. I promise it'll look fine when you light it up no matter how you do it!

Et voila! Our "star" is a chintzy $2 wreath I found at Ocean State Job Lot. Get creative with it! Anything that lights up is going to look fun. Everyone who has seen it so far was amazed at how such a simple idea can light up a room!

In other news, I didn't have a small enough star for our little Charlie Brown tree, so my roommate cut out a tiny Saul Goodman (of Breaking Bad) to sit on top of it. Our Christmas decorating is a bit nontraditional, to say the least...

But I laugh every time I see it!

How about you? Are you in the spirit yet, or does the Christmas music at the mall infuriate you to no end? Inquiring minds want to know!

DIY Apartment-Sized Vanity on a Budget

Hi everyone - welcome to my new space! I know it's been a long time - moving into my new apartment and starting junior year really wiped me out. I decided that I should make this return on a new platform - Blogger! I've been a Wordpress girl for a while, but I didn't like the lack of creative control the platform afforded me (without shelling out a whole lot of cash). As a former Web Design student, it felt a little stifling. I love the new look - the gorgeous new header and contact buttons are courtesy of Katherine from Of Corgis and Cocktails - aren't they just the cutest?

So here I am, this will definitely be my last move, and I'm happy to start this new (and hopefully more consistent) blogging chapter with a fun tutorial!

When I saw that the rooms in our apartment were going to have a little extra space to breathe, I decided that a fun DIY project was in order. After watching way too much Flea Market Flip (and being stunned by online price quotes), it became obvious what I had to do: make a vanity!

Vanities are super fun and can really help put a pep in your step in the morning. It makes you feel much better than schlepping your makeup into the bathroom every morning, and it adds such a nice, classy touch to your bedroom! This vanity was made with a lot of stuff I reclaimed from around the house, so for this, I think the out-of-pocket cost was under $50. I'll explain, but here's the basics of what you will need:

Small table (with drawer!) - color can be changed later, but if you have one you like already, then perfect!

Large oval mirror (thrift this!)

Small vanity tower

Chair or stool, cushion

IKEA spice rack, cutlery tray

Optional: mirror tray, jewelry tree, magnifying mirror

For me, it all began with a table. This was in my parents' dining room, and my mother helpfully donated it to the cause, along with this old chair from the basement. If you don't have delightful benefactors, consider cruising around for thrifty deals: my local Savers has a ton of small tables and chairs for under $10. This table began life as an ugly pea soup green:

But a simple coat of spray paint gave it a new candy apple red lease on life (I used Rustoleum American Accents in Apple). I can't believe how much a coat of spray paint can change a piece of furniture! Now it serves as a really bright focal point of the room.

I hunted a long time for the mirror, but I finally found one for $12 at a local Flea Market. Some more spray paint took it from an ugly tin color to brilliant, shiny gold. Because my place is a rental, I can't put nails in the wall. if you're in a similar situation, try picture wire and 2 Picture Hanging Command Hooks to hang up your mirror. The trick is to rest the bottom of it on the edge of the table. Et voila!

This mirror tray was at Savers (a local thrift store) for only $5! I think it gives the whole vanity a nice vintage feel. The IKEA spice rack turned out to be a great way to stash all my nail polish. If you can put nails in your wall, you could even get it flush against the wall next to the vanity!

I already had this jewelry tree; it was from Marshall's and I really adore it. If you have a ridiculous amount of necklaces like me, this is kind of necessary.

This tower is also old, but I know it's from Wal Mart. It's a nice way to keep my hair styling stuff and some other toiletries on hand.

This is probably the best part of the vanity! This $3 cutlery organizer makes all the difference. This way, I can keep my eye, face, and lip makeup separate - it's so much easier than the train case I was working out of before. Now, I'm ready in a snap!

So for me, the only out of pocket costs were:

$4 (spice rack) + $3 (cutlery organizer) + $7 (chair cushion) + $5 (mirror tray) + $10 (spray paint cans) + $12 (mirror) = $41!! If you have some of this stuff on hand already like I did, this could be just as cheap for you, and it really adds so much to a room!

(Do you spy the Bubby & Bean art print? It makes me smile every morning!)

Happy primping!

DIY: Summer in a Mason Jar (2 Ways!)

Hey guys - long time no see! I was temping for a month at my town's high school and it totally drained the life out of me. But now I'm back, and I have some fun tutorials to share with you!

A confession: I totally stink at crafting. I see all these things on Pinterest I'm dying to do, but my crafts always comes out sloppy and unprofessional. This probably has something to do with the fact that I have no patience or attention to detail. I'm trying to work on it this summer, but what I'm saying is, any time I share a DIY with you, it's probably so easy a caveman could do it.

Earlier this month, I found a fun tutorial on Pinterest about how to tint mason jars different colors! I didn't change much, so I'll just link you to it. Spoiler alert: all you need is a mason jar, food coloring, and Mod Podge (they say glossy, I used matte; it all looks the same to me). It's way easy, and strangely therapeutic. Check it out.

The only thing I did differently was tinting my jars a little darker than they did (this is achieved by using more food coloring). After I had a few fun colors on hand, I was stuck with the problem of what to do with them! You can't drink out of them, you can't put candles in them, and you can't put water in them. But I finagled a couple of fun summer decorations out of them! These would make great housewarming gifts, centerpieces for a summer party, or end-of-the-year gifts for teachers. They take about an hour/hour and a half total to make, and that's about 30 minutes of hands-on work.

4th of July in a Jar

COLORING: 10 drops red
OTHER MATERIALS: Small foam block, red, white, and blue silk flowers, small American flag, vase filling stones, fun blue ribbon (white would probably work, too)
ASSEMBLY: Cut the foam to the right size to fit in the jar. Arrange the silk flowers by poking the stems into the foam (you'll probably have to cut some), then pop the flag out to the side. Fill the jar with the stones (I bought red ones), then tie a bow around the top. Amurrica!

Beach in a Jar

COLORING: 3 drops green, 5 drops blue
OTHER MATERIALS: Epsom salt, seashell potpourri (I got mine at TJ Maxx), ribbon
ASSEMBLY: Cover the bottom of the jar with the epsom salt, pack in seashells, and tie a bow on top. Simple! If you have a bunch of shells and some sand from a favorite beach, it would be even sweeter.

Side note: this is what happens when you try to take your dog outside while photographing jars.

"Pay attention to meeeee!"

And that's that! I'm sure there are tons of other uses for these jars, but these are so fun and summery, I just had to share them with you. Happy crafting!

Things I Love Thursdays

Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these! I'm sitting in my bare bones dorm room waiting to move out as I type this. Very excited for summer to begin! Here are a few things that brightened up my dreary finals week:

This California police officer replaced a young girl's stolen bike (this story is so adorable, it hurts me).

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/65102146 w=500&h=281]

This husband animated his wife's drunken joke about tortilla chips, and it's hilarious.

I basically want everything from the Modcloth apartment section for my new place, but specifically, this spelunking tea infuser and this doggy pillowcase set.

While we're at it, throw in this Boston Strong pint glass with the marathon map etched on it! It's incredibly cool, and proceeds go to the One Fund.

This giant inflatable friend has been visiting major coastal cities all over the world courtesy of artist Florentijn Hofman. How funny!

This website lets you make any map coordinates into a pretty watercolor! This is the castle I studied abroad in in the Netherlands. I'm so excited to decorate the new place with these!

What caught your eye on the internet this week?