Inspired by Others

I finally got around to putting some things up on my inspiration board. . .you know, the one I cleared off here. It was getting a bit crowded and although I kind of liked it that way, it was hard to focus on any one thing. Actually the board reflected exactly the way the rest of the room was beginning to look, which is why I began the Big Clean Out in the first place.

Now the board has room for new things, but for the time being I have displayed some of my favorite swap items I've received. I really get a lot of inspiration from other people's art, don't you?

I also added some big pom-pom fringe which are held up by a pair of birds that Cerri (Little Pink Studio) surprised me with last year. I am in love with her glittery birdies!

Who (or what) is that behind the curtain you ask? These are the curtains which I used to replace the closet doors that we removed years ago. I orginally wanted to put the day bed in there, but figured I would loose out on too much storage space. That is one of my daughter's many formals from her high school days. I can't bear to part with them. . .mom is a bit sentimental. The slip is a vintage one I bought mainly for the lace, but it looked too pretty to cut up, so for now it hangs safely on a pretty padded hanger! Open the curtains and this is what you will find. . .three shelving units like this. They used to have doors on them, but I took those off recently too. What is this aversion I have to doors? They were just a hindrance as far as I was concerned, and since the curtain was there to hide the shelves I figured I'd get rid of the doors. I did save them in case I change my mind (which has been know to happen a time or two), but for now I am liking the easy access I have to my supplies.

This corner is on the left side of the day bed and I can hide all sorts of things here because it is less visible. I use a decoupaged metal and wire waste basket to hold rolls of paper. The rose paper covered boxes in the foreground are those paper valises you can get at places like Homegoods. They are handy for storing (or hiding) all sorts of treasures. To the right of the basket of paper rolls is the round table that I showed you here. I forgot to mention that although it looks all pretty and nice on top, it secretly holds more storage underneath the skirt.

The utility drawers shown below used to be hidden away behind the cupboard doors in the base of this hutch. But that proved too impractical because I had to keep getting on my hands and knees in order to find anything. And lots of time I have projects piled on the floor in front of the hutch so I couldn't even open the doors! So beauty gave way to practicality and the drawers were placed in full view. Someday I may get around to painting the blue ones white (or vice versa) but for now they will stay as they are.

The little JOY plaque is from Donna (Under the Red Roof) and although it was a Christmas gift, I am keeping it on display year round because I love the colors and it's nice being greeted by a little joy everyday. In the jar above it is one of Cerri's little Princess Birds which also was a gift. She is in the jar waiting for me to finish a project I am working on with her and the jar.

Speaking of jars, do you all love vintage blue mason jars as much as I do? I think the color is divine and I love the weathered zinc lids too. I use a lot of these up at the cottage too because that aqua blue color is a big part of the color scheme there. I can't resist pretty things that can double as storage pieces.

Below the jars are the shelves my DH built me years and years ago for my rubber stamps. These shallow shelves fit perfectly in the space behind the door to the room. So when the door is open, the shelves are completely hidden and you don't have to look at all the rubber stamps and feel guilty about the amount of $$$ you spent on them. You know the old saying ~ out of sight, out of mind!