Halloween Fall Mantel

It's not quite fall in Texas yet, but with temperatures starting to drop below 100 degrees lately, it must be right around the corner! I decided to drag down my "fall" bins out of the attic this morning to see what I had to work with for the mantel.

I'm actually proud to say I pulled this off without spending a dime. It's all about using what's on hand in different ways.

The book wreath is what pulls everything together for a Vintage Halloween feel. You can get your own book wreath at Urban Farmhouse. This wreath will transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas through New Year's simply by changing the rest of the mantel around it.

Old book pages were an impromptu filler inside this lantern with a flickering flameless candle.

My trusty chunky pillar candles serve as stands for the platinum pumpkins I've had for years. Now they look like brand new accessories simply by placing them on the candle pillars.

Dollar Store finds include glittery skulls and black crowes from last year's store display at Urban Farmhouse.

Love this vintage candy black cat bucket!

I also grabbed a wooden planter crate that I've had sitting on my kitchen counter top and filled it with  scrap pieces of burlap. Then I layered in some wooden pumpkins, dollar store pumpkins and an iron jack-o-lantern to create a seasonal display on my coffee table. Again, these were all pieces that I've collected over the years, but found a way to freshen them up a bit this year.

Hope you'll find ways to use some of the great accessories you already have laying around your house this year in your seasonal decor!

Roar! - A Retro-Inspired Dinosaur Party

As my "soon-to-be four year old" and I sat down to plan his upcoming celebration, one thing was made very clear to me...the theme was to be Dinosaurs and that was NON-NEGOTIABLE! I've had some tough design challenges in the past, but as I soon discovered, there aren't many choices for "cute prehistoric lizard decor." I decided that I could make the theme workable with a great color palette and that led to the retro feel.

We decided to have the party at a local toddler gym where Nikolas and his friends would get to jump, run and play dino games with the teachers until their hearts were content. This theme would make a great backyard party, but unfortunately in Texas, it's just too hot to be outdoors in August!

I'm a big fan of home birthday parties, but I have to tell you that the last two parties that we've had for Nikolas have been so much more relaxed knowing that we didn't have to deal with clean-up or making sure the house was perfect beforehand, only to be a mess two hours afterwards. I was actually able to be a "part" of the festivities instead of playing hostess the whole time. The girls that ran the class were amazing with the kids and kept them entertained the whole time with songs and games.

My mother-in-law and I had a blast putting together the special touches that really personalized the party for Nikolas. We started with purchasing this fabulous cupcake tray at Michael's. I had a 40% off coupon and it only cost $12 after the coupon. I plan to use it for a ton of different events and it folds up compactly for storage.

 

I ordered the cupcakes from Sam's Club. They really are the best cupcakes as far as grocery store cake goes. We used to order custom cakes for his parties and they were over $100 every year. The buttercream frosting on these babies is so rich and the best part is that you get 30 cupcakes for $12. Can't beat that!

I made the cupcake toppers to match the invitation and theme of the party in the red and turquoise colors. I just hot glued the printed circles to candy sticks that you can find down any baking aisle in a craft store.

For party hats, I got the basic red and blue dollar store hats and hot glued on a cotton ball that I rolled in silver glitter. My favorite idea that I had seen in a craft magazine, was to take a tin baking cup and use it as part of the hat embellishment.

I made my own soda, juice and water bottle labels. I realized that next year I need to use glossy photo paper because cold bottles sweat and make the ink run on regular paper labels....oopsy!

I had big blue and red galvanized buckets that we use in Nikolas' playroom for toy storage. They held drinks and party favors.

My favorite part of the party prep was making the Candy Kabobs! These were so much fun to put together and I literally screamed when I came upon the cute Dino Gummies at CVS Drugstore. They were the perfect topper for the Kabobs!

We secured these fun party favors to floral foam in big plastic pails from the dollar store and covered the foam with jelly beans to make for festive centerpieces.

These were a last minute decision. I found these gigantic marshmallows at CVS the other night and thought I could find a way to use them on the cake table. I had seem something similar on another party blog but wasn't sure how they got the sugar crystals to stick. Literally 15 minutes before walking out the door to set up for the party, I decided to try it. I dumped the blue sugar in a bowl and red sugar in a seperate bowl. I ran the marshmallow under the sink to moisten it and make it tacky for the sugar to stick. Then I rolled each end of the marshmallows in the different colored sugar to create these fun "Sweetivore Treats!" They were quite the hit!

For party favors the kids got a dinosaur book, dinosaur finger puppets and a candy kabob. The books and puppets were a great find down the dollar aisle at Target. I wrapped them in cellophane and tied a little matching tag on that said "Thank you for coming to my Party!" with a pteranadon flying past.

I think my lil' sweetivore had himself a grand time at his 4th birthday party. I will never forget how fast these years go by and I count my blessings everyday to have such a beautiful, silly, smart and sensitive little soul in my life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BOY!

August 28, 2006

3 lbs, 4 oz.

4:21 p.m.

ROAR...Nikolas is FOUR! A Retro-Inspired Dinosaur Party Sneak Peek

I can't believe my baby is turning FOUR years old! It was just yesterday that he was born weighing in at 3 lbs, 4 oz and 2 months premature!

Here's a sneak peek of his Dinosaur Party we're having tomorrow. I've been having a blast making all the little details come together. It is the ultimate challenge to try and keep with the theme your little boy desperately wants when you had your heart set on something, a little less SCARY to say the least.

"Mommy, I want Carnitore decorations at my party," says my lil' man while stomping around the kitchen gnashing his teeth and roaring like t-rex. Hmm, guess I'm not getting that adorable Vintage Toy Party I so had my hopes set on this year.

So like any good mother, I reorganized my thoughts to dinosaurs....but maybe Retro Dinosaurs would be a good compromise.

My mother-in-law and I made these birthday hats last weekend. I couldn't find anything cute enough to go with our Retro Dino theme, so we crafted some ourselves using glittered cotton balls and cupcake foil wrappers.

I couldn't find a cute shirt for his party...surprise, surprise...I know. So, I decided to make that tonight as well. It took about 20 minutes to create the graphic on the computer and then I used iron-on transfer printer paper and Voila! He has a custom Retro Dinosaur T-Shirt that matches the party theme for tomorrow...and the best part is that it cost me a whopping $2.49 for the shirt at Hobby Lobby. I'm a Bargain Betty, you know.

Stay tuned for fun party details like Candy Kabobs and Cupcake Toppers from our Retro Dinosaur Party tomorrow!

Introducing Itzy Bitzy Designs...

Ever wonder who sketched out "Farmhouse" on the wall in my showroom? I get asked this question all the time. Everyone thinks its one of those vinyl peel and stick decals. It was actually FREEHANDED by my extremely talented friend and artist, Lynda Clark of Itzy Bitzy Designs.

Just check out some of her art work!

Mermaid

abc

first bloom

aubrey

She's done a lot of beautiful work for her little girls' rooms but after begging her to collaborate on some design projects with me, she's finally starting to do custom work for clients. (Primarily kid's artwork)

Until her web site launches, you can visit her Flickr Page to see more of her amazing work.

I look forward to working with Itzy Bitzy Designs on lots of nurseries this year!

Craving Coastal Trends

I've been caught up in all things Coastal this month. It may be the weather or that I'm longing to be at the beach, but I can't get enought of it. Sea blue colors, shells and sand instantly put me in a happy, relaxed state of mind.

I just picked up these glass candle hurricanes encased in wicker baskets. They are my favorite new accessory sitting on our coffee table on a vintage wooden tray.

I added some natural sand and chunky pillar candles. I love the texture of the sand and the coral. It instantly says Summer to me.

I also painted my kitchen island in a Coastal Sea Foam blue to give the neutral space a splash of color. I love how it livens up the room without being too overbearing.

At Urban Farmhouse I've started adding lots of Coastal elements as well. One of my favorite dining sets is the new Coastal Collection I just finished. See more pics at Urban Farmhouse.

Inspired by the Sea...Dining Room Inspiration

So I've been a bad blogger :-( So sorry...I'll try to be better! Lately I've been incredibly inspired by coastal design and I've wanted to paint everything in a color I've named Sea Glass. I can't get enough of it!

This table was so beat up and needed a lot of TLC. If it hadn't found it's new home so quickly, I may just have kept it for my new dining set.

I can't wait to see how the new owners plan to incorporate this set into their newly built home that has a Cottage Coastal vibe to it.

I'm also hooked on white dishes and cake stands mixed with glass cloches. I think it adds such a crisp and clean element for spring.

Oh and this little breakfast table and cane back chair set was supposed to be cream...and then I got a crazy idea to try a Sea Foam green. I love how it turned out with a tobacco glaze giving it depth.

I'd love to see some of your "Sea Inspired" design ideas. I must be ready for summer sunshine!

 Have a great weekend!

Our Newest Arrivals

So what can I say? Things have been busy over at Urban Farmhouse. So much so, that I can't seem to get new pieces on the floor because they're spoken for before I even load them into the truck. First off I want to say thank you to my loyal customers! You guys ROCK!

I love getting to meet you at events and when you come up and tell me that you love getting email alerts :-) It is so exciting for me, you have no idea! I feel like I'm truly living my dreams this year and to know that even one person out there may get some inspiration from my work is so rewarding.

So since I've been so swamped, I haven't really had much time to really focus on this blog like I had intended when I started it. I've had big plans to do a room redo for my three-year old, Nikolas, but that project has been moving so slowly that I just hope to get it done before he leaves for college!

So maybe I'll just focus on what's new in the Farmhouse for now and promise to try and share what's inspiring me lately in hopes that it inspires you a little too!

I must be going through a "black phase: lately...I've been painting everything black and I'm into heavy distressing of these pieces. I cannot resist cane back chairs either! They come out so lovely everytime. I loaded two very heavy dining sets into the showroom today but they look so amazing! One day I hope to find the time to do one of these for my own house. :-)

Aside from black, I love a pop of turquoise. This little side table was easy to look past until it got a paint makeover. It's taken on a whole new life and become the focal point of my Easter display.

Not only was today a day of moving new pieces in, but I had to find a way to move 3 crib sets into my suite. Tight squeeze but I really love how my favorite cream armoire showcases the baby sets.

I would have kept this media console if it was a tad shorter for my small space in our living room. We actually took out the bottom drawers and converted it to open shelving for all the dvd and cable boxes. I think I'll get some wide baskets for the 4 open shelves.

When I saw this vintage dry sink, the shape of it screamed changing table to me. I'm really loving all of the curves and character it has and the little shelf above is perfect for wicker baskets to hold wipes and diapers.

I did decide to keep one crib in the showroom. The bedding just showcases better to me in a real crib, but it takes up so much room that I may end up having to remove it and finding another way to showcase the crib sets. Any ideas??? Hmmmm, this will be keeping me up tonight.

We are having a "Grand Opening" at the Mercantile on Saturday, March 13th...so please come by and say hi! It really does make my day! :-)

xoxo,
Kristen