Craft Room Inspiration

I don’t know about you but I have never really understood mood boards.  Quit showing me your plans and get to work you lazy blogger.

Well, today I have crossed to the dark side.  Mood board.  Less doing.  More planning.

I have excuses.  I always have excuses.  1. I have been struggling with sinus infections/allergies for the past couple of months.  My energy is low. When I am healthy, I am trying to do life things like laundry.  2. This may be the first room that I have thought out completely.  Usually I just jump right in. 3. It’s too freaking cold to do anything except hide under my blanket with my dog and laptop.  4. Gossip Girl.

This is what my craft room looks like now.  Well, a cleaner version of what my craft room looks like now.  It’s bad.  This room is a beauty.  See why I needed to do some planning?

Here it is kids.  My very first room mood board with explanations to follow.

1. One of my co-workers gave me this buffet.  For free.  Yes.  Zero dollars.  I think it will be perfect storage for fabric/crafty things.

2. Most of the walls will be painted SW On the Rocks.  Grey is boring but stick with me.

3. Oh, there is going to be a chalkboard wall.  Oh yes there will.

4.  See that free buffet?  It’s going to be painted in Palmetto by Martha Stewart.

5. I need a fun table.  I’m not sure I can talk Nate into the one pictured but –ish.

6. I have been waiting for the right time to use $100 credit to Royal Design Studios.  I think their Modern Chevron Wall Stencil is a must for that wall with the window.  I know chevron is love it or hate it.  But I love it.  And it’s my craft room.  So there.  Feel free to encourage me to get to painting. Royal Design Studios have offered up a stencil giveaway if I get my hiney in gear!

7. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect coral to paint said chevron.  I’m liking SW Ravishing Coral.

8. The walls will be full of awesome crafty/girly prints.  Like this Hello Lover print!

You can see all of the random thoughts that led up to this ol’ board on my Pinterest Craft Room board!!

Mood board out.

Are you a mood board fan?  What would your dream craft room look like?  Anything that I am totally needing that I don’t know about?

Mudroom Merriness

Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate our 2 year blog birthday on Friday!  I’ll be back after the holidays to answer questions and maybe do a little more blog birthday celebrating.

I have had our house mostly decorated for Christmas since early December but somehow I haven’t shown very much of it on the ol’ blog.  The shame.

Today I’d like to share with you our mudroom.  I took all of these photos myself because Nate was sleepy.  (He did help me frost 1 billion sugar cookies so he’s totally off the hook.)  My photography skills are pretty awful. I do good work.



The chalkboard needed some holiday love. I chose part of a quote from my favorite Christmas movie. I watched it twice on Saturday.  Seriously.  If you don’t love the movie Elf, I want you to leave this blog right now.  Or you can stay if you promise to improve your holiday movie taste.



I made some “garland” out of vintage light bulbs and Baker’s twine.  It makes me smile.  I only broke one bulb in the process.  Nate was proud of me.




The nutcrackers are an oldie but a goodie.  I was painting nutcrackers before painting nutcrackers was cool.  The prints I either had or made in PhotoShop.  Because life is merrier with a Wire Fox Terrier.




That’s it.  A few simple touches to make our mudroom merry.



What’s your favorite holiday movie?  Is your house all decorated?

Outdoor Christmas Lights

This is a true story of a blogger that posts pictures of her home on the interwebs.

My Chiro:  “Ms. Michelle. I love your Christmas lights.  Now tell me about your secret internet life.”

Me:  “Uhh.”  *stutters*  *embarrassed because a real life person has discovered my blog*

So, my “secret” blog is getting out.  My chiro was talking to another person that lives in town about our lights and that person mentioned my blog (Hi, fellow small town person).  I guess strangers in our little town are reading and the word is getting out.  Weird. So very weird.  And cool.  Unless you are Nate spotted in a Mexican restaurant.  Oh boy, does he love me and this lil’ ol’ blog I’ve created.

Want to see the lights that are the talk of our little town?

We are no where near as cool as the house that is set to music.  We’re pretty jealous of that one.  I can only imagine how much time something like that takes.

Nate is most definitely in charge of the outside lights. I won’t even watch him put them on the peaks.  His dad helps him (thanks, FIL!). I’m just on stand by in the house waiting to call 911.  You only think I’m joking.  The following photo is the short ladder.  I’m still cringing.

Nate tells me that the secret to great outside lights is lighting the vertical areas and corners of your home.

We keep slowly adding lights each year.  This year we added the addition of light balls.  I’ll post more info on them tomorrow.  It was hard to get a good close up of them as it was pretty windy outside last night.  But trust me. They look cool in person.  Ask Kim.

We would like to add more to the entire tree area.  Someday Clark.

Nate’s recommendations for taking photos outdoor Christmas lights are to have your aperture set at f14 and ISO at 100. He recommends a tripod with remote or a self timer.  Each of these photos took about 30 seconds to take.

Do you hang outdoor Christmas lights?  Are your lights set to music?  Any weird blog encounters?

Linking up to: Serenity Now