Looking out my big  back porch has me thinking I need to add a little bit of pattern and yellow into my kitchen eating area!

Looking from my porch to the inside you’ll  my long English pine table–an awesome antique/flea market find I bought for about $150 –years ago.   So with a little color inspiration from the outside—me thinks  it’s time for a little kitchen detox with some new paint (or something!)….stay tuned! 

Stay Inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

So your husband calls you up to say we have a party to go to “tonight”.  It’s 5 pm and you need a hostess gift and oh by the way—–hubby forgot the name of the wife of his buddy who’s hosting the party.  

Well here’s a simple and fast way to wow your hostess (even if you don’t know her name)  with a quick and simple customized label (even if you don’t know her name).

I always like to keep an “emergency” bottle of nice wine for a hostess gift  just in case we get a last minute invite.  So all I did was use Duetica’s  Mandolyn font system—and jazzed up the “H” in hostess for a eye catching label any “H”ostess would love.   Then to top it off, I adhered some pretty ribbons to give it a finished look!

And now I have a wonderful gift I’m sure she won’t forget (even if it’s just another bottle of wine).

Stay Inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

Today ends the 4 week hop with 5 of my favorite man crafters.  Be sure to check out all the clever projects created by Ken Oliver, Mark Montano, Martin Amodo, Suede Baum and Aaron Christisensen using a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner.  Amazing stuff!

Join in the fun here!

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

Lucky score for decor— about 5 years ago I purchased these XL snowflakes for a $1.00 (each) but wasn’t sure how I’d use them.  This year tells the story!

These hang over my porch table where our family will be celebrating Christmas.  I know the kids (big and little alike) will really enjoy them especially at night when the lights hit them and make them sparkle.  

So when you decorate—remember you’re creating a memory that will go on forever and ever.

Stay inspired!    www.KathyPeterson.com

Flashback!  Here’s a design I did for Plaid Enterprise’s a few years back for The Christopher Lowell Show.  This was a fun project and timely so I thought I’d bring it back to life.    I used Plaid stencils and paint but put a spin on it making it look hand painted. 

The technique is pretty easy—first stencil white for the background then stencil over with color….add some outlines in black and there you have it!

Stay Inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com

 Give me a paint brush and something to paint on and I’m a happy designer.  Here’s an after shot of a plain white rug I purchased at a garage sale for $2.00. (see before below)

This project was so simple using an inexpensive stencil, acrylic paint and acrylic sealer.  The rug was a cotton rug so I washed and bleached it prior to painting it.  After tapping off the boarders, I stenciled the motif using a stippling method of stenciling….all that means is that I pounced the brush to create the pattern.

I wanted a distressed look so rather than applying heavy amounts of paint while stippling, I varied the amount of paint on the brush to give it a “well loved” look.

Once I had the stencil motif applied, I then painted the boarder and removed the tape! 

Taa-dah!   Much better than the before don’t you think! 

Stay Inspired!

www.KathyPeterson.com

I have a confession—I’m a Fab-ri-hol-ic !  In other words—- I love to decorate with fabric.

So whenever I spy a pretty bed sheet on sale, I snatch it up then cut it up!  This sheet cost around $5.00 so I bought two of them.  I mean—- who could go wrong with spending $10.00 to cover a lampshade, chair and make a window treatment?  The lamp shade and window coverings are probaby the easiest projects you can make especially if you’re a beginner and don’t have a sewing machine.

 Here’s a chic-sheet idea for either a window treatment or shower curtain.  Now this isn’t anything new, but sometimes we rush out and spend way to much money (if we’re on a budget) when instead we can customize our own decor using a sheet that already has the hems in place.  And believe me, I like to keep things simple when I’m in a time crunch so I used clip-on curtain rings to keep this project even more “no-sew”.

The chair covering was a bit more challenging and time consuming but I love the result.  I found this chair at a yard sale for $1.00 and replaced the tattered upholstery with the same sheet design.  Special tools include a staple gun, hot glue gun and lots of patience! 

Stay and Inspired!

www.KathyPeterson.com

Here’s a really easy way to update your headboard. 

Step 1.  Measure headboard and add at least 4 inches on 3 sides.

Step 2. Cut and place quilt batting to front, top and sides then wrap excess to the back and staple to back of headboard.

Step 3.  Repeat step 2 using fabric.  I used ultra-suede I bought on sale.

Step 4.  Create a central focal point to your headboard using scrap fabrics.  You will need to turn under the outside edges of each piece of fabric and either sew or iron over.

Step 5.  Once you have all the central fabics aligned, place on front of headboard and staple edges to the back.

Step 6.  To add height to a short headboard, I used an artist canvas and covered it with a darker shade of blue ultra-suede then hand stitched metal fretwork to it.

Let me know what you think!

Stay inspired!

www.kathypeterson.com

Many people often ask me where I get my color inspirations from and honestly it’s different every time.  You see, I get inspired by color itself!  And when I found this thrift store find—an original water color by artist Margaret Hoybach from the early 70′s—I knew this would be my color guide for my next big makeover.

Yep, I’m gearing up to remake a late 60′s home that needs a lot of color inspiration!

The fun part of this project is also one of the more difficult in the design process.  When you’re working with specific colors, the fabric shops don’t always have what exactly what you need. 

However, after shopping around 3 fabric stores, I hit the jack pot!  This water color painting, and five fabric choices will be used to remake a guest bedroom right off of the den.  The walls will be painted white with one blue accent wall to frame the artwork.  Lots of sewing on this project will be needed.  I”ll be making drapes, pillows and hand decorating lampshades but I’m really looking forward to this project.  In about a month or two from now, I’ll be showing you the before and after shots. 

PAINTED FURNITURE: 

I’ll probably combine both the blue and green paint onto furniture and other accessories as well and maybe–just maybe I’ll sneak in a little bit of yellow too.

Be sure to come back and visit my blog again  to see room # 2 of this 9 room color inspired design project!

Stay Inspired

www.KathyPeterson.com

Three Geni’s in a bottle say Live Love Laugh!  This is one of my favorite photos displayed in a candy jar and it says  so many words!

With that “said”  I’m pleased to announce that I’m part of the Duetica Design Team.  Duetica you say?  Yes, Duetica—it’s a delicious new FONT system that allows you to say it in so many way!  The font system is very easy to use but what I LOVE about it is that you can alter the fonts with all sorts of swirls or not!

Here’s just one example of how you can alter Duetica’s font. This one is Mandolyn 1 but you can see how you can vary the look to customize everything from scrapbook pages, party favors, home decor, and so much more!  Oh and there are plenty of other style choose from too… From funky to fancy!

So let the party begin!  This system is so easy and fun to use–and it’s very affordable!  Now be sure to check it out at www.Duetica.com and test drive this fab find today!  And get your craft on!

Stay inspired!  www.KathyPeterson.com