My Daughters Birthday Party~Designed Online

 Over the weekend, my little girl turned 12.  This was a monumental birthday for me her...the last number before they end in 'teen.  I wanted her 8~girl slumber party to be extra special.  I was having a busy week with no time for running around to gather supplies.

Luckily, I was able to put together a great party on my laptop in between appointments.

Using the internet, I enlisted the help of Martha Stewart, The TomKat Studio and Stearley Cakes to create a great party design that was budget friendly and easy to put together. 

I started by ordering the cake through an email to a local cake designer.

Kim Stearley of Stearley Cakes created this masterpiece...  

It was a custom design, just for Hannah.    

Hannah's dream is to grow up to be the next Cake Boss.  She is fascinated with Kim's cakes. 

 {Check them out, here, and you'll see why}

All she wanted for her Birthday this year was a cake by Kim.  

Needless to say, she wasn't disappointed.

The next friend I called upon was The TomKat Studio.  I've recently seen their adorable party printables featured in Potterybarn Kids. 

I popped over to her Etsy shop and purchased the Happy Birthday banner and pink labels from her Spa Party Collection.  

The labels were a perfect addition to the table top and the chocolate fountain we were planning on top of the buffet (an unfortunate power outage but the kibosh on the chocolate fountain).

The TomKat Studio printables were so easy.  After using my paypal account to check out the files were sent to my email address ready to print.  It is seriously, the easiest way to plan and decorate for a party.

The last friend I hit up for some advice was Martha.  After reading her easy tutorial for these beautiful tissue pom-poms, my party design was good to go.  

I used a mix of gray, aqua, black and white tissue to create tissue flowers in various sizes.  

Very simple to make and cheaper than balloons. 

I was feeling sappy about Hannah's last year as a "little girl" so I created a shrine on my plate ledges.  I printed out a few of my favorite pics of her throughout the years and taped them to my ironstone plate collection along with a label from The Tom Kat Studio and a black bow. 

I think I may keep it up for a while.   

She's not too happy about it but I love seeing that little baby face.

At the last minute, I threw together some party favor bags.  

My inspiration for the loot bags was the Spa Collection printables.  

I really enjoyed putting this party together.  

I think the reason it was so much fun is because it was so easy.  

Happy Birthday Hannah,  Dad and I love you so much and we are so proud of you.
I hope your Birthday was special, just like you.

For information on my Affordable On-Line Design Services, please click here. 

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Dramatic Kitchen Makeover~Before and After

Nothing excites me more than "after" pictures in my email inbox.  Yesterday, I got some. 

I had the privilege of providing a multi-room online design consultation for a wonderful family that recently moved into a new home.  While the house was beautiful as it was, it was a little dark and not a reflection of the fun, energetic, young family that lived there. 

Kim, the homeowner, contacted me to create an online design plan to brighten up the space.  I started their re-design in the kitchen and they wasted no time implementing the plan.

Here is the transformation...

(Before)

(After)

(Before)

(After)

(Before)

(After)

 (Before)

(After)

 (Before)

(After)

(Before)

(After)

Kim, you did an amazing job implementing the design plan.  I'm so happy that you are happy. Your new home is lovely and it was so nice working with you.

I am now accepting new online design projects.  

Please click here for information on how to reserve your consultation.

**Out of courtesy to my clients, I am unable to share product sources.  Thank you, for understanding.

Job Loss During Renovations

Last summer, I met the sweetest girl, Nicole, through my blog.  She contacted me for an Online Design Consultation for their first home.  This consultation was unique, they were still in the home search.  Her and her husband, Justin,  asked me to put together a plan for a home they were on the fence about.  They were unsure of the possibilities and wanted to a visual to help them make their decision.  

Here is part of the design plan I put together for them:

{Preppy Ralph Lauren Inspired Great Room}

They ended up buying the house.  Shortly after they moved in and right in the beginning of the extreme home makeover,  Nicole lost her job.  

 Needless to say, it put a screeching halt to the re-design.  

Nicole called it the "American Nightmare".

A few months went by with no word from them.   Last week, I got an email from her with an exciting update.  She is back to work and the extreme home makeover is back on track.

Nicole's American nightmare is over!

(Nicole and Justin)

She sent me these pics to get my opinion on new cabinet hardware.  I couldn't believe the progress they had made in such a short time.  Here is how it's going so far...

(Master Bath Before)

(Master Bath Now)

 (Kitchen Before)

 (Kitchen Now)

(Living Room Before)

(Living Room Now)

The "forbidden fruit" wallpaper (as Nicole and Justin referred to it) is gone.  The next items on the list in this transformation are new cabinet hardware, counter tops, lighting and stainless steel appliances.  

I'll be sure to post more pics as they continue to make progress.

Nicole and Justin, you have done an amazing job so far.  

Congratulations on your first place and your new job.  

I am now accepting new online design projects. 

 Please click here for information on how to reserve your design consultation. 

Table Makeover

This little table makeover was a project I recently completed for a client's family room re-design.

I began the re-design by shopping the clients house.  In her kitchen she had this little console table.  It had great lines, cute little drawers and pretty glass doors.  It was the perfect size and shape for the empty space we were looking to fill in the new family room.  

The only problem with it was the finish. 

I brought it home to the furniture studio for a little makeover.  

Here is what it looked like when I began...

(Before)

First step, sanding.  The wood on this piece was pretty soft so I opted not to use my power sander.  I took a more gentle approach and used a sponge sanding block to sand the piece by hand (in the same direction as the grain).  I didn't take it all the way down to bare wood, I just roughed it up enough to give the new paint something to grab on to.  

Next step, primer, followed by three coats of dark brown semi-gloss paint.

I used "Black Bean" by Sherwin Williams. 

Through many trials and errors I've learned the trick to a beautiful finish is three fold...premium paint, premium brush and sanding in between each coat.  Another tip, if the piece that has a lot of imperfections, a satin finish is more forgiving than semi-gloss.

The family room this piece is going in to is totally amazing so it needed to be special enough to live up to it's new surroundings.  I decided that nail head trim would dress it up. 

The trim was a little bit of an investment and required some patience but, in the end it was just what it needed.   A little paint and a little bling completely changed it's personality from Country to Chic.  

The best part about this project was using what the client already had.  For me, it's so much more rewarding then shopping for something new.

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