Oh the  challenges of decorating a large wall!  Well, if  you do not have large artwork—-consider grouping like sized accessories and wall art to create your own personal style in a big way!   This is my family room cathedral wall and believe it or not— the artwork is original (made by me!)  To create this vignette,  I gathered flea market finds and thrift store frames for a casual look.  Each frame was painted black and the photo mats were painted white (yes you can paint the mats!)   This gave me the ultimate opportunity to finally frame some vintage fabrics I found at a yard sale in New Hampshire years ago.  The road sign has sentimental value to me as it was one of the original signs in the neighborhood where I grew up.

The vase was a great steal at $2.00 from a church flea market and the two white bowls I found when I was featured on HGTV’s Longest Yard Sale a few years ago (another steal deal).  And the cow creamer was given to me over 20 years ago from one of my best friends.   What I like best about this decorating idea is that I got to go on a treasure hunt in my own home PLUS  it didn’t cost a fortune!

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

Question:  How do you find your own inspiration for decorating table scapes?  Well over the years, I’ve discovered that my best bet is either finding inspiration in colors and textures.  This table top design was initally inspired by the fabrics shown and the bamboo rolled place-mat.

By adding other design elements like these wooden serving spoons, the blue bucket, the fruit, the folliage and a blend of serving plate styles and textures gave way to an unfussy look with a touch of nature. 

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

Grab a can of spray paint by Krylon and makeover your old dingy and wornout accessories.  You can paint just about anything from cups, candle holders, orbs, and more!

For a fun and unexpected look this Christmas, gather up some old frames and a can of spray paint and while your at it paint a few more orbs and let them dangle from the frames!

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com  

Last week I showed you how to make this Christmas table runner so this week I turned this project into a Holiday Door Hanger!   By simply adding a bow (see earlier post on how I made these bows) and some wheat stalks, I now have a new use for this table runner.   How fun it that!

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

So I go to a major craft store wanting some big outdoor bows made……and they quote me $25 per bow!  OUCH!  Now I knew I could make them before approaching them but just wanted to see how much they would charge…..$25 is a bit ridiculous don’t you think!

While at the same store, I purchased 6 rolls of 2.5 inch ribbon at a discounted price to make 9 large ribbons—the total cost of purchase—about $25!    That’s less than $3 per bow (plus I have extra ribbon left over for another project)!   PS these take about 5 to 10 minutes to make depending upon how fast you work!

Making these ribbons is so easy and fun!  Simply decide how big or small you want your ribbons then make:

• 3 large loops
• 2 medium loops
• 1 small loop (center)
• 1 long tail—-my tails were approximately 5 feet long
• Supplies include scissors, stapler, craft wire and wire cutter

Yes—it’s just that easy because all you do is staple each group of  loops in the center, then fold each loop 3x and secure center of the loops with wire!  Repeat with each size loop and tail.

Now the outside of my house is ready to welcome all my holiday guests! 

Stay inspired and happy holidays!  www.KathyPeterson.com

A few months ago I launched a designer series of stencils.  I have found that stenciling is one of my new favorite things to design with!  What’s so fun about it is that you can stencil just about anything from fabric, walls, furniture, place-mats, lampshades and even create a new look for your kitchen backsplash!   Below is a pic that just might inspire you to redecorate your kitchen in less than an hour! 

 For more information and some great how-to videos on stenciling visit http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/kathy-peterson-inspired.html  

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

Every time I work on a home makeover, I do it with love.   But this makeover was especially heartfelt because it was the house I grew up in.  It was a lot of work covering 2,100 square feet and 50 years of accumulation, yet it was so much fun even though it took me about 6 months of going back in forth over the last 16 months—and worth every ounce of cuts, bruises, backaches and lots of paint in my hair!

THE KITCHEN MAKEOVER

•  Above is the AFTER of the kitchen makeover and here’s what I did.
• Clear the clutter!
• Repair the floor from water damage due to a leak in the plumbing 
• Prep and paint the cabinets and drawer pulls
• Paint the fridge with Krylon Appliance spray paint (follow directions on can).
• Sew new curtains
• Replace the floor with faux vinyl tile (although this photo does not do the floor color justice)

THE KITCHEN BEFORE

Are you digging this 1966 cabinetry and floors?  Well not me!   However, the cabinets were in great shape and the appliances still worked even though they had been updated about 15 years prior.   With the new look in the previous photo, this room now looks bright and clean —and lean and mean!  Come back again with another view of this kitchen makeover as well as the rest of the house re-do!  Stay inspired—you can do it!  www.KathyPeterson.com         TOTAL COST FOR THIS MAKEOVER:  Paint, Materials, and Labor — Less than $1,900 ($1,000 was replacing the damage floor).   Stay inspired! 

I have so many memories of of my dad—always wearing his khaki pants.   So in remembrance of him, I opted to create this fall fabric  wreath made from a pair of his favorite khakis.   And as part of the Faber-Castel Design Memory Craft Mix & Match design team….I found this project to be good craft therapy plus Faber-Castel makes the medium and color combos a cinch for any level of crafting!

Supply List:

• Stamper’s Big Brush Pens–Nougat 178, Magenta 133
• Gelatos TM Colors— Mango,  Tangerine, Green, Pistachio, Butterscotch, Gold, Lemon, Red, Chocolate
• Scissors
• Pair of old Khaki’s
• Artistic Wire  20-05 Brown
• Wire Cutter
• Round Noise pliers
• Paint brush
• Water spritzer
• Plastic or other protective work surface cover
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue sticks

Step one:  Lay the pants flat on work surface and cut one pant leg off.  Next, cover  your work surface with plastic and lay the cut pant leg flat.  Combine various Gelato TM colors together by rubbing the sticks onto the fabric surface.  NOTE any color combo will work so mix it up to make lots of multi-colored leafs!

  Step two:  Using a water spritser, sprits water over colored areas then blend with a paint brush.  You can always add more Gelato TM colors even if the fabric is wet and re-blend colors if you like.  Let pant leg dry.

 Step three:   Using scissors, randomly cut out leaf shapes approximate 3 x 2 inches each.  Make at least 65 or more leafs  for a 18 inch wreath.  Next, using the Stampers Big Brush Pens, randomly draw leaf veins onto each leaf.  Cut small holes into each end of the leafs then cut wire to the length between the holes for all leafs plus 1/2 inch extra.  Loop one end of the wire then insert into the front side of leaf leading the wire  underneath each leaf then up into the hole on opposite end.  Loop end of wire.  Bend leaf into desired shape then hot glue each leaf onto wreath.

Here’s another stencil I designed called the Vine. These stencils are so easy and fun to work with. I really like the white vines on the blue which gives it a light and airy look.

This stencil was inspired by the fluer de lis and thus I called it Fleur. And I love the way it frames the bathtub using metalic paint on white walls.

And here’s the Vine stencil again except this time, metalic paint against the dark brown walls really makes this small space look and feel so sophisticated.

For more info on my new stencil collection please visit www.cuttingedgestencils.com/kathy-peterson-inspired.htlm

Stay inspired! www.KathyPeterson.com

It’s finally here! My new Kathy Peterson Inspired Home Decor Stencil Collection. Today I’m featuring my “LATTICE” stencil and I love the look. It works well in any decor and appeals both the guys and girls. Not too frilly and not too masculine!

Because the stencil is large (about 2ftx2ft) you can cover a lot of space in no time. This wall makeover would take less than an hour using a roller and a tad longer if you used a stencil brush.

Stay inspired! www.KathyPeterson.com