mantel love

As many of you know, I love decorating my mantel. I switch it up all the time. I love how it changes the palette and feel of the living room. I tend to stick with the holiday theme. I don't have a picture of all my mantel themes but here are a few highlights from the 2012 year. enjoy....

 This is from Valentines day last year. I made the felt garland and kept my mirror garland from Crate&Barrel up from Christmas for Valentines. I actually kept a lot of my reds up from the Christmas season. Zion and I made the hand "heart" together and I put it in a West Elm frame. I got the "CELEBRATE" flag banner at a boutique in Red Wing. We hung the celebrate up for a week for Andy/Zion's birthday. (2/19) 

Here is a close up of Zion's hand art. 

For spring, I kept it easy. I just gathered random pieces from my house. 

Moroccan Candle holder/ Moroccan pottery piece/ blue birdies are from TJ Maxx. The red flower vase is from Anthro. The mirror and green grass are Target. I think the clock is from Hobby Lobby or TJ Maxx.

 I love the 4th of July! It is so fun. I think the whole red,white and blue concept is so fun. My blue vases are from a antique store in Duluth. I grabbed wooden blocks from Zion's collection and wrote out, "happy 4th". Isn't it cute?

For fall I put up some gourds and such. I painted a canvas that I am still loving. Isn't it beautiful? I love Fall colors. They are my favorite!!!! They fit my personality. 

 Christmas is always a fun holiday to decorate. I had Andy drill a hole in our beloved rock for me to hang wreaths/art. It took some convincing, but it adds so much. 

Do you like to decorate a mantel or shelf? Do you have a favorite season to decorate for? 

valentines love

I have an obsession with holiday/seasonal decor. I am not one of those people to go overboard through the whole house but I love to add colors to pair with the season. Having a mantel--is my love. It is a great focal point. I love that it can showcase a collection/theme of what I have for the season. Today I started decorating for love day. I love V day. Why? Andy and Zion's birthday is on Feb. 19 so I like that it goes along with it. I love teaching my girls what is to love. How to love? Who to love? God's love. I love red. It is my favorite color. I love hearts. They make me happy. Here is my mantel love. I am going to post later on my past year of mantels to show you my obsession :)

Yesterday, I started a painting. Andy and I had stretched this canvas a few years back for our old house. It has been sitting in storage since we moved in. So I painted over it with cream acrylic paint and let it dry before going for it. I used all acrylic paint. I mod podged some paper doilies on there too. I wrote random words/phrases from I Corinthians 13. MY FAV. It is a reminder for me in how I choose to live.

The feather/mirror/heart wreath are Target. The clock is TJ MAXX. The C is Restoration Hardware. THe birdie is Hobby Lobby, spray painted by me with red. The Candle sticks are a wedding gift from Marshall Fields. The 3 books are from my Great Grandma Edna. They are very special to me. I made the felt garland last v day at a art night! I used felt/embroidery floss/and yarn. I duct taped the wreath to the mirror back.

 I am planning on doing some fun V day theme craft, "pro-jecks" with Zion too. While I painted yesterday, She made this painting. I just gave her 4 colors and let her go to town. I then took stamps and put the word "love" on it in 5 places. I had pink leather ribbon and taped it on to hang the masterpiece. That Z is so proud. LOVE.

Are you doing anything fun for the holiday? Do you have any traditions you would like to share? Loves.

handmade goodies

I am a huge fan of anything handmade with love. I always have a hayday on Etsy browsing homemade items. Having Tala Hair Studio is a good way to support my friends/family's talents by having their items for sale. My sister in law, Katie has the cutest shop on Etsy selling anything burlap. It is all the craze right now and I love her wreaths. I have them on both of my doors. She is selling them at the local flower shop in Rochester too, Flowers By Jerry. I love that they are trendy, cozy and great for year round. Both of my wreaths are for sale at my house. 

Front door love.....this one is $35. i love it. simple. and perfect.

the one below is in my studio. it has 3 daisies on it. this on is $38. i love it.

 My mom made these beauties. Aren't they awesome? They are mini wallets. Perfect for chapstick/lip gloss, biz cards, credit cards/money. They have dividers and a loop to grab. All of them have a snap too. I use one for biz cards and another for gloss. They are only $12.

   

I have these four right now. My mom is custom making them for anyone too. She uses all designer fabric. They are only $12.  Stop by if you are interested.

Inspired. Winter is my time to create. Off to paint a canvas....

i create

I have been really annoyed with our lack of a "system" for the girls to have their hair pretties in a nice arrangement. Easy to see and grab. We have tried random things I owned, but none made me happy. So this past week I took a old frame that was in my storage room and wrapped twine around it going both directions. 

twine I used.

the frame and twine.

the finished product.

I decided to hang in the bathroom next to Kiyah and Zion's room above the towel rod. Perfect spot, considering they have baths etc in here. Here is a before shot below.

and after! Doesn't it look awesome. Someday I will get rid of the boring beige on the walls.

Some of the hair pretties were hanging over this bowl on the counter. ugly.

After Shot of the clean counter! AMEN.

I have an obsession with trays in pretty much every room in our house. Here is my bathroom tray.

I got it at TJ MAXX and have kleenex, q tips/cotton balls in the stainless steel containers from Target. I have foot and hand cream. a clock from Hobby Lobby. and the candle. This bathroom gets used for guests too. So I like to have items for them to use.

Pix of the pretties in their glory. I used mini clothespins from Michaels.

More change..I added some new art and pix in the girls rooms. I have photo collages/galleries in many spots in our house. In Zakiyah's room, I hung her t shirt stretched art with her pictures above the crib. The art says, "we look out for each other" with a big lion and little lion. aka Zi and Ki!

I also updated pictures in the frames. The photography is done by friends of ours. LOVE.

Some pictures of the sister love. Kiyah was 7 days old in these. Precious.

Kiyah was hanging out when I was taking these! Hi bubbas.

Back in December, Zion made this painting with Aunt Katie for Zakiyah's room. We love it. I finally hung it up.

How cute is the little rocking horse? I got it as a baby gift from my dear friend, Marissa. It is so special.

In Zion's room we added her art work that she painted in the top left. It is in a vintage frame from my Grandma Cherie. I love it. Zion is amazing at art. just sayin' We also hung up the Barney loop art from Christmas. Zion is obsessed with Barney and that stinkin song. But, it is so cute when she runs up to us and hugs and kisses us with the song. It can't get any cuter.

I have really enjoyed decorating their rooms. I love the youthfulness and vibrancy of their rooms. We still have some stuff to do in Zi's room....with time....money and energy. :)

A while back I made 2 canvases for our main floor 1/2 bath. I wanted something bright and fun. I painted streaks of bold colors with acrylic paint. Then stenciled on the verse:  The Lord will fight for you. You need only be still. AMEN.

Here is it is hanging in the bathroom.

A close up of the hoop art. Simple. Makes my Zi Pie happy..end of story.

When driving to see Andy's fam last weekend I made some hoop art for the ladies. I used fabric from my friend Jody. It is adorable! I love it. I just stretched the fabric/burlap and cut a felt heart and hand stitched it.  Have you been making anything with hoop art?

I thought would throw this picture on too. Sister helping sister. Kiyah cut a tooth on New Years day and has been loving her teething toys. Zi has been my little helper. Bless her heart. Hope you are having a fabulous weekend.