Beautiful Jewelry

I am really excited to share some pictures of my good friend's beautiful jewelry.  The picture above is one of my favorite necklaces, EVER!  Nikki Hunt is the creator of this multi-colored statement necklace.  I picked this necklace up at her annual holiday show at the beginning of last December.

Here are some more beautiful creations by Nikki Hunt. 

 

Nikki creates necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other assorted accessories.  If you are interested in getting more information about these pieces or any of her other custom jewelry, please email her at:

Nikki Hunt
Curlyqarts@gmail.com


Hoping everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

Laura

Using a New Design Tool + a Giveaway!

There is a website based design tool called "Olioboard".  This is a site that allows you to visualize various design elements in a "mock-room" before you buy.  They have images of products from numerous retailers that you can plug-in to a "room" of your choosing. 

Below is a sample listing of some of the vendors featured on Olioboard:

Crate&Barrel

One Kings Lane

CB2

The Land of Nod

West Elm

Anthropologie

Wayfair

Layla Grace

Right now "West Elm" is sponsoring the "Pattern Palette Design Contest".  The challenge is to incorporate items from West Elm's pattern palettes in a living room setting.  The photo above is an "Olioboard" that I created for this competition.  You can check out and/or vote for my entry by clicking here.

To check out all of the details on the "West Elm Pattern Palette Design Contest" and/or create your own entry click here.

Garden Blooms and Veggies

Hibiscus Bloom, I got this plant for $2 last fall on clearance at Lowes.  I thought it died over the winter, but it is back and beautiful.

Rain, rain, and more rain makes for beautiful garden flowers and veggies.  So far this year, I have been able to harvest sugar snap peas, spinach, cucumbers, and just this week I brought in my first cherry tomatoes. 

Garden June 17, 2013 

Garden June 28, 2013

Can you believe how the tomato plants have taken off?  I feel like I have to add new support/stakes everyday just to keep up with these plants.

Cucumbers

Last year I didn't have any luck growing cucumbers.  This year they are coming out like gangbusters.  I planted these from seed, whereas last year I bought plants.  They must love all the rain!

Garden boundary marigolds; to help keep pests away from the garden goods.

Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

Peas on the stalk

Sugar Snap Peas

 

I can't wait for these little ones to ripen.

Is anyone else having garden success?  I would love to hear about it.

Fun And Useful Kitchen Accessories

 

 

I have been eyeing these Martha Stewart "chalkboard labels" for a couple of months now.  I even pinned them to this "kitchen and laundry accessories" Pinterest board click here.  Unfortunately these labels are only sold at "Staples" and the closest store is in a town a little over 30 miles away. Luckily my thoughtful mother-in-law and father-in-law were in this town recently and stopped in to pick these up for me. 

Now my plain glass kitchen canisters are dressed up with some snazzy labels. 

and here is the close-up

The great thing about the chalkboard labels is how easy it will be to change.  If my straw canister becomes spaghetti, all I have to do is erase and re-write the label.  I haven't tested this out yet, but these labels are also supposed to have an "easy" to remove adhesive if you decide you don't want to use the label anymore.

basket, filled to the brim

My other little find for the kitchen is my new fruit bowl.  I have been looking for an "open" wire fruit basket for some time.  An open design is supposed to help keep your fruit fresh longer by letting air circulate around your produce.  Most of the ones I have found were either too expensive or too "funky modern".  I found this little guy at TJ Maxx for just $4.99....yep sold!  The bottom of the wire basket is dipped in red wax, so it doesn't slip or scratch your counter top.  The open flat design also holds an amazing amount of fruit and veggies.

Hanging Map Pictures and a New Sofa

 

 

There are two spaces that have pretty much been neglected since we moved into our house three years ago, our study/office and the craft/guest room.  Slowly but surely we are starting to finally tackle these rooms. 

 

 

First step in the study/office was to buy a sofa.  We thought it would be nice to have some additional seating in this room to go with the computer chair, desk, and shelving.  We found this "all leather" sofa at the "Family Furniture Store" in Elizabethton, TN.  It was a real bargain and reminds me of some of the older "Restoration Hardware" leather sofas that I have admired in the past.  Most importantly my better half thinks it is really comfortable...SOLD!

 

English Roll Arm Sofa by Restoration Hardware

 

The next step was to hang my "Map" pictures which used to reside in our living room at our first house.  They have been living in a closet for the last three years (yeah they finally found a home in daylight again).  I really love these map pictures.  I found the vintage colored map of the United States at "Office Max" about six years ago.  Luckily I know a good framer who cut the map into four equal sections and then added some simple black moulding.  I requested "no glass", because I want to "pin/flag" all the places my family travels to.  The "pins/flags" will have to wait until my boys are a bit older and there is no danger of them "mysteriously" disappearing.

 

I shopped my house for the trunk/coffee table.  The trunk had been awkwardly taking up a corner in our dining room.  This trunk is a piece I inherited from my grandparent's house in south Georgia.  The trunk was left in the attic by the previous owner of my grandparent's house.  The letters "END" are the initials of that home owner, Edith Nadine Darbyshire.  The Darbyshires were a prominent family that traveled abroad and overseas.  I believe this trunk was used to pack clothing for those journeys.  The trunk opens like a book on its end.  When you open the trunk, you see a stack of drawers upholstered in some now tattered fabric and on one the other side is a rack for hanging clothes.

 

One day I would like to reupholster the inside of this trunk but for now I am content to use it as a coffee table.

 

The craft/guest room is also starting to come together.  Here is a sneak peek at a poster and frame that I found for the space on a recent trip to IKEA.

 



 

 

Last, but not least both of these rooms have received a fresh coat of paint in Sherwin Williams' "Taupe Tone".  Despite the "taupe" in the color name, this is a really nice warm grey.

 



Beach Glass Necklace

Photo Courtesy of: Beth Duncan

Recently I made a really quick and simple necklace from some left over turquoise beads.  I've had these beach glass beads in my "stock box" for years.  I wasn't sure what to do with them until a couple of weeks ago when I was wishing for a turquoise necklace to go with an outfit.  About 15 minutes later, this is what I came up with.

I think this necklace is perfect with the bracelet I made last year.  Apparently, I still love the turquoise and purple combination.