Sage Meadow Studio » decorating

The Christmas Tea

Audrey — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:44:48 +0000

Every holiday season for as long as I can remember, our community comes together to present a “Christmas Tree Fantasy” to benefit local charities, and I was honored to be invited to decorate a table for their first-ever Christmas Tea this year. Let me be clear here…we’re not too fancy about table settings at my house, and after several years of presence in my home, my ‘good’ dishes haven’t seen a lot of use. (I think I’m going to be changing that, though…why not enjoy them now?) Even so, we’ve managed to misplace a few pieces of flatware and nick a plate or two, and I had only eight settings to begin with. So a fancy eight-place-setting table was a bit of a challenge to conjure. The solution? Vintage, layered, and mismatched of course! Here’s how it turned out:

A candle centerpiece featured spunky vintage pixies (inspired by Wendy’s)…I love these old-fashioned-girls more every time I see them:

Mismatched dishes, glassware and flatware:

And for the favors, I attempted a new skill–soldered glass pendants…these were tricky, but a lot of fun to make!

The ‘Tea’ itself was charming–it was fun to sit down and enjoy all the prettiness in the room. Definitely worth hitting next year!

Upward and onward,
Audrey

I Almost Forgot

Audrey — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:58:23 +0000

I’m a lucky girl! And darn if I didn’t almost forget to tell you all about it!

Back in April, Kristen of Gock’s Frocks held a giveaway for this GORGEOUS rug on her blog, and I won it! It is soft, luxurious, looks perfect here on my landing, and goes beautifully with the projects I have planned for this room…if I ever get to them! Ha!

Anyway, jump on over to her blog and etsy store…she makes gorgeous things for little girls.

Gratefully,
Audrey

Don’t Forget To

Audrey — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:12:08 +0000

More from my decor overhaul this past weekend…my little red ladder needed a little something up top, and the sign needed to be in a better place: now it’s out in the open to remind me more effectively!

Audrey

Window Framed

Audrey — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:59:08 +0000

I’m supposed to be dusting/vacuuming/folding laundry right now, but I’m not.

I cleaned out my storage room this week: you know, the pit into which I threw everything I didn’t know or want to deal with for the past year or so (since the last time I cleaned that place out). And though my storage room looks wonderful for the moment, my family room is full of piles that are driving me crazy! So instead of doing chores, I’m playing around with finding homes for all the home decor items I’ve been storing. I’m thinking if they don’t have a home, they need to leave mine! Down with piles!

I spent a little time browsing the archives of one of my favorite decorating blogs for inspiration and decided to try this idea with what I had on hand: a big ole frame that came out of my sewing space when I re-worked it. It’s a little unconventional, and I’m almost 100% sure my hubby will complain about it when he wants to open the windows tonight, but for now…I like it! What do you think?

Going back to work!
Audrey

Conversation Piece

Kayla — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:42:08 +0000

Here is a picture of a conversation piece in my home:

A couple years ago Audrey and I went shopping at the Trackside Mall in Idaho Falls and came across this canvas. Sometimes I wonder why I bought this piece of art to hang above the toilet in my half bath, but then someone comes out of there laughing, and I remember. I admit it is kinda funny and SO random. Tonight Audrey went to turn off the light in this bathroom and started chuckling because she had forgotten about it.

(Audrey made me buy it: I needed something black and white to go in my red bathroom!)

Do It

Audrey — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:11:26 +0000

In the end, it’s not what we know, but what we do that makes a difference. (Talking to myself here…)

xoxo,
Audrey

The Sewing Corner

Audrey — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:04:53 +0000

That’s right. Sage Meadow Studio could rightfully be called Sage Meadow Sewing Corner. Long story short, my sewing and design area/office was once a large closet, and measures approximately 12 feet by 5 feet…it has to pack a punch in a small footprint. The room has been something short of inspiring for a long time, so over the Memorial Day weekend, I tackled several little projects to pull it together a bit and help me feel more centered and focused. I started with the box liner/covers, and had my sister-in-law put together the inspirational message I wanted/needed:

I was in dire need of a good way to visually store my ribbon stash, and when I saw this storage idea in a recent issue of Creating Keepsakes, I knew I’d found it!

Additional shelving…a girl can never have enough!

From Blah to Beautiful: The Journey of a Fabric Box

Audrey — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:25:35 +0000

I worked on a major overhaul of my sewing space over the holiday weekend (yay!). It’s not completely finished yet, but I thought I’d share the process I used to create a big element of the re-do: cute storage using stuff I already had. Okay, so I bought the fabric, but I already had these fabric storage bins (I originally purchased them for another room, and never used or returned them), and did not want to spend more time or money on searching for the perfect organizing supplies. Here’s how it goes:

Start with a box…any square/rectangular box will do.

Measure the bottom and sides of your box. My boxes are about 10.5″ by 10.5″ on the bottom, and each side measured 11″ by 11″.

I wanted the liner to cover the inside AND outside of the box, so I determined the measurements of my cut pieces using this formula:

Base/bottom: add 1/2″ to each side to allow for 1/4″ seam allowances, so my cut piece measured 11″ by 11″.
Sides: (inside length + outside length +1/2″ for seam allowances) x (width + 1/2″ for seam allowances), so my 4 cut pieces each measured 11″ by 22.5″.

Sew the sides together. I used my serger, but a straight stitch machine will work just fine.

With all four pieces joined together, sew the two open sides to each other, forming a big tube.

Sew the base to one end of the “tube”.

Check to make sure it fits!

I decided to decorate these boxes with more fabric, and wanted a slightly rustic look, so I serged the edges of 6″ strips of toile with my trusty black thread:

And in true Nester-fashion, I hot-glued the trim right on to the liners. Voila!

Straighten Up!

Audrey — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:37:56 +0000

The princess crown hooks I used in my girls’ room have always been a bit squirrely…and with ribbon hanging on them, they’re downright naughty! I was pointing them out to a friend recently, who said, “Try hot glue!” So I did. And the crown hooks are crooked no more. I love tricky little decorating tips, don’t you?

More Fun with Ribbons

Audrey — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:53:43 +0000

Okay, so I had that ribbon in my house because I was planning to do something with it! This window has never had a real ‘window treatment’, and since I’m still not ready to get all serious and commit to fabric, I decided to try a ribbon swag. Do you think it’s too whimpy? I have more ribbon, I still might try to bulk it up a little. While I was at it, I finally got a few things hung on the walls next to Miss J’s bed. Yay! A few less items sitting on the floor waiting for homes… (I’m notorious, people.)

Miss J’s magnet board…something I actually finished and hung when I painted her room 3 1/2 years ago. But I moved it the other day, and we both really like it here.

While I was at it, Miss M’s canopy got a little extra punch of color. She’s so growing out of that crib.

And the piece-de-resitance…the balloon Miss J made in Kindergarten got a pretty new tail and a permanent place on the ceiling. It needs stuff on the walls to go with it. But I’m done for awhile. The end.