how do you indie mat

So this post is one of those triple whammies. I've got a quick and EASY super cute project to share, a story about a wonderfully talented and inventive woman, and a gift. That's right, its that good.

I'm going to go out of order and first tell you about this wonderfully talented and inventive woman. That would be my friend Emma Hand who owns a company called Indie Mats. About two years ago I found her wonderful product in a local store and was psyched to find it was locally made and run by a fellow mom. I contacted her about doing a giveaway on the blog and she was totally game. The giveaway went well and life went on. Then a few months later we met in person at an open house and hit it off right away. Since then we meet for coffee and brainstorming, sharing kid and work stories and feeding off of each other's passion for creating. #womeninbusinessrock

Great story yes, but I do have a point. During one chat we talked about how fun it is to see the different things people can create using the exact same tools. And that is when #howdoyouindiemat was born. Basically, send a variety of bloggers the link to Indie Mats, have them pick out some mats and then...create!

This is where part two of this post comes into play. I've used Indie Mats several times in my home and shared my love of them before (here and here, I'm biased I know) but basically you have cool printed mats in all matter of colors, patterns, sizes etc. and they stick to the wall without the need for nails. Making them easy to change, move, reposition etc.

I used some of my stash over Christmas and created a fun way to display our Christmas cards. The girls each made their own (paper) Christmas tree and we put those up, as well as a "Happy Christmas" banner the girls made out of Indie Mats banners. The mats worked perfectly since our plank wall is on our foundation wall, i.e. no nails can bust into that piece of rock.

Well, Christmas came to an end and I started to take down all of the cards and Christmas artwork and I got a little bummed. The basement is our family place; the girls create forts, doll hospitals and frequent works of art down there and I loved how our Christmas wall had shown off some of the fun we have down here. Everything was down except for the 'happy' part of the banner and the quote at the top - Enjoy the little things. SO true about this space. So with that, I decided I had to create a post-holiday version of our happy wall.

So here is how I Indie Mat...

I picked the girls favorite art projects of the moment - a monster and a 'rainbow' from Eve and a family drawing and a portrait of Mom (that would be me) from Amelia. Side note - I'm glad my real hairline isn't quite as suspicious as it is in this portrait. But I'd be thrilled if my neck was really that skinny.
I filled the rest of the frames with some recent family photos.

We used the 'happy' the girls already wrote in marker and traced the letters with glue and then sprinkled with gold glitter. If you are creating a display with a 7 and 3 year old, it is legally required to include glitter.

Without having a photo that was big enough for the yellow mat, I simply placed another mat on top. I love the pattern mix and of course, the colors. That's right, I double matted. I'm crazy like that.

The girls even hung some of the mats themselves - no nails or hammers required, just sticky squares - and they now love pointing out which mats THEY hung up.

I love having something so bright and happy in the family room that truly gives a sneak peak into the people who LIVE in that room. As new artwork comes into the house, we can easily switch out whichever piece they like for the new 'of the moment' option. And I have to say I'm partial to having such a quick and easy project that brings such big smiles.

Saving the best part for last, part three of this post - the gift. Emma (and I) would love to see what you would do with Indie Mats, so she is giving all Little Black Door readers a discount on your purchase. Just use the code LBD15 for 15% off and then show us #howdoyouindiemat

And stay tuned for next Friday when another blogger will be showing her take on Indie Mats. Hint: she's got wicked good style and a new house full of walls to fill.

Do you have a corner that needs a bit of cheer? A spot where nails are a no no? A room that needs to be photographed when the sun refuses to come out? I know your pain.

my home - 12 days of christmas tour of homes

The day has finally arrived! It is my day to host the 2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes and I'm thrilled that you're here. If you came from Cyndy's tour at The Creativity Exchange welcome. And if you are here thru a misguided Google search, welcome to you too. Basically, welcome one and all. Take a look around while I make your virtual cocktail.

In the entry this year I decided to reuse the ornaments and ribbon from last year's mantel for a bright and happy mix.

Speaking of mantels, this year's mantel turned out to be all about plaid, bark and fresh foliage. How very rustic of me.

Each year we save the bottom of our Christmas tree and make a candle holder out of it (writing the year on the bottom of the stump to keep track). It's turned out to be a great memory and it is fun to see how we obviously vary up our tree size each year.

This year's tree was no joke. Last year was tall and skinny, but this year is big in every direction.

When you put plaid all over one room, it has a way of seeping into other areas of the house. Plaid is too good. It will not be denied. So let's plaid up the dining room shall we?

Love mixing my B by Brandie plates and chargers with my grandmother's old Spode Christmas dishes. And I believe it was the excitement of that mix that led me to forget the silverware. Oh well, we are just drinking during this tour anyway, right?

A snazzy group of men (and some animals) standing at attention while we eat. Maybe they took the silverware. Amelia's ever growing Nutcracker collection has relocated to the dining room this year until Eve moves on from her nutcracker...discovery phase. I can only glue them back together so many times.

Christmas lights Amelia made her first year of pre-school brighten up the kitchen along with some drawings the girls did and our annual Gingerbread house. Oh, and what's that on the lampshade? Yep, that would be more plaid. I can't be stopped.

Herbie got his seasonal antler change and is ready for the season too. No one in the house is immune.

Even the hand towels in the bathroom have gotten festive thanks to Anthropologie. They say dish towel, I say hand towel. Tomato tomaato.

My parents finally got rid of the tree that they've had for 45 years (no that is not a typo - FORTY FIVE years) and willed it to us. So as I mentioned yesterday, we added the tree to the family room this year and it is already full of all of the ornaments the girls have made and collected over the years. I love having the tree that I grew up with, I swear it used to be bigger, and it is the perfect thing to look at while I sit on the couch with the hubs and endure another episode of The Walking Dead.

The pom-pom pinecones the girls' made a few years back sit happily next to the tree along with a mismatch batch of ornaments.

And that my friends is my house all dolled up for Christmas. Thanks again for coming and be sure to stop by Stacey @ Steward of Design tomorrow! And if you haven't checked out all the rest of the tours, what are you waiting for already?!

12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes Schedule:

December 1 - Jenny @ Evolution of Style

December 2 - Amanda @ Amanda Carol Interiors

December 3 - Amanda @ Dixie Delights

December 4 - Pam @ Simple Details

December 5 - Lisa @ Shine Your Light

December 8 - Kris @ Driven by Decor

December 9 - Jennifer @ Dimples & Tangles

December 10 - Cyndy @ The Creativity Exchange

December 11 - Elizabeth @ Little Black Door

December 12 - Stacey @ Steward of Design

December 13 - Andrea @ Oak Ridge Revival

  AND

December 16 - YOU - Link up your Christmas Home Tour

Cheers and Happy Holidays!!

one room challenge - where are they now

Today is a fun 'this is your life' kind of day. My friend Linda, Calling it Home fame and creator of the One Room Challenge, is having a party today. Everyone and anyone who has participated in the One Room Challenge over the years will be giving updates on their rooms.

Projects that were unfinished, changes that were made, or just the general state of the room today will all be shared.

As for me, not much has changed in the girls' room by way of additions or changes.

Full disclosure it looks like this most of the time. True life. (my mom is horrified right now).

Herbie did get some new bright orange poppies which he is very happy about.

And I did get a pom pom garland on clearance after Christmas that I'll use as a tie back for the corner window. Current version styled by my three-year-old assistant.

So the girls still love the room, I still love the room. The room is well loved.

The family room is pretty much the same story.

All the major players are still in place, it just has a more...lived in patina now. I won't blind you with the general state of toy tornado that that room seems to be in. Even I have my sharing limits. :)

So that's my ORC update. All is pretty quite on the western front. Be sure to go over to Linda's to see what everyone else's rooms are up to now. I can't wait to check them out!

And don't forget to sign up for my Wash Away Winter giveaway! You could be smelling sweet in no time.

blue and white bash

What better way to come off of a party weekend, then with another party?  My friend Jennifer, over at The Pink Pagoda is hosting a link party about all things blue and white today so I thought I would join in the fun and share some blue and white in my house.

I've spread my blue and white collection over two spaces in my house.

The bookshelves in our family room hold a lot of my blue and white. This way I have something to look at while My Little Pony is on for the millionth time.

And the rest of my blue and white to the kitchen. The little bit of pretty encourages me while I put dishes away. And I need all the encouragement I can get with that.

Hey, now I've realized that I've put my collection in the two spots where I spend the most time. Subconscious at the time, but rather smart as they always do put a smile on my face.

What about you? Do you have a collection, blue and white or otherwise, that you display in your house? Do you move it around all the time like I do I hear some people do?

Be sure to check out The Blue and White Bash over at The Pink Pagoda for more blue and white eye candy.

Happy Monday!

plank walls - what i learned

When I did the reveal of our family room on the latest One Room Challenge, I got a lot of comments and emails about the plank wall and several requests for a tutorial. Ask and you shall receive.

Well, sort of.

There are dozens of tutorials for planks walls out there, all of them giving you fine directions on the logistics. So I'd rather focus on the issues that made this project unique and a few 'learn from my mistakes' nuggets. So with that, let's dive in, shall we.

There was one huge head scratcher in our family room, which is in the basement, and that was the 15 foot long foundation wall that runs along one whole side of the space. Since it is the foundation it always made me a little uneasy to think about drilling holes in it. But it was so vast and boring and it just looked cold. It would basically give me the middle finger every night as I watched TV. "I may be ugly, but there is nothing you can do about it sucka."

I loved the idea of a plank wall to give that beast some texture and warmth, but every. single. tutorial talked about nailing the planks into the wall. And that wasn't happening.

Enter creative thinking.

Thanks to a night of G&G&T (Google, gin and tonic) I found an alternative that was worth a shot. Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape. (we got ours at Home Depot). The reviews were excellent and it said it would hold up to 10 lbs. I also liked the fact that it was outdoor, meaning it would hold up to any possibly dampness that can sometimes come with a basement. With a solution in hand, I went to put this plank wall into action.

On the advice of many a plank wall tutorial, we went to Lowe's to get our plywood and have it cut on site. We went with a mid-grade option that was light but sturdy. For our 15 foot wall we got eight boards which totaled around $180.

Our first attempt to get our planks cut was on a Friday night (I am Mrs. Weekend Excitement) and the old dude was obviously annoyed to be at work and tried to tell me that they didn't cut wood for customers. As he was standing in front of the big huge wood cutting machine. I asked him what that machine was for then and he just said, "Lady, we just can't do it." Uh huh.

So I went back the next day and got the young spry Lowe's dude who was more than happy to use the big machine for me. So hold strong and be firm - Lowe's does cut boards. Home Depot however does not, and they state that fact in their lumber area. Go figure.

One other important note - make sure to stand right next to the young Lowe's dude as he cuts your boards. We sadly, did not do this. And then when we got home after loading all of these boards into the car and then unloading them into the garage and then bringing them downstairs, we noticed that he was not a straight cutter. The first three planks cut from each board were straight as an arrow but as he got closer to the bottom of the board, young Lowe's dude didn't hold the board with both hands and the ends of the last two planks would start out straight and then get narrower as the weight of the board would tilt at the end of the cut. Bummer.

Of course, this discovery wasn't made until we were already several boards into the project and it caused me to exceed my cussing quota for the day. So cutter beware.

With the wall primed and the boards home we got busy installing. We cut our tape into long strips spacing them out on the plank and up it went.

Since the walls nor the floor in the basement are perfectly level we started at the top knowing we could address the unevenness at the bottom with finishing trim.

Once the plank was up, one of us would keep our hands on it while the other would run the length of the plank making sure all of the tape was adhering. And it worked like a charm. This stuff sticks like no ones business so it is hard to remove after you put it up, which was the hope. We did have to remove a few pieces as our friends cutting skills came to light but with a bit of muscle the plank came off with only a small chip to the paint on the wall. The key is to remove it right away if you decide you need to. Once that tape is on for a few minutes, it is on there for good.

From there the process went quickly. It would have gone at lightening pace if we didn't have to fit the planks like a jigsaw puzzle to account for the poorly cut boards. But without the need for a nail gun the whole thing moved right along. Just make sure to stager your seems as best you can.

Some people suggest using a nickel as your spacer in between planks but I wanted more space between my planks so the wall looked more authentic and less engineered. So we used a short castoff plank as our spacer.

Once the wall was up it was time to prime. I was worried that this wood would just drink up paint and I would need many many coats. But Kilz killed it again and one coat of primer was all that was needed.

Once the primer was up, I went over the wall and caulked some of the bigger seams as well as the space between the wall and the crown. And then finished it off with two coats of the white paint I used on all the other walls of the room. I didn't paint in the seams because I liked the depth it gave the planks but you certainly could use a paint brush to get dip into those cracks. Just a matter of preference.

I was so happy with the result that I used the leftover planks for the backs of the bookshelves.

I finished the corner where the plank wall meets the stairwell with a piece of corner trim that fit like a charm. And with that the project was done.

So with the experience behind me and the benefit of time and hindsight I would tell you that a plank wall is a very cost effective and manageable DIY. Just be sure to make sure those boards are cut straight, and know that if you thought this wasn't an option for you before Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape is your friend.

What about you? Have you ever had to tweak an online tutorial to fit the quirks of your house? Ever hung anything on your walls with tape? (Besides your Cory Haim posters)