Favorite Things: Fabrics

Hello!  I thought I'd share with you today a couple of my favorite fabric sources and what is catching my eye lately.  I love finding fabrics and shops that are not your everyday, easily found options.  It supports small business, and artisans who create beautiful, one-of-a-kind fabrics. 

#1 Spoonflower
Have you heard of Spoonflower? If not, you are missing out!  Spoonflower is a site where you can design your own fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap, or decals.  It gives you the opportunity to have a custom design at a great price.  Also, there are tons of great designers who sell their items on this site.  It is the perfect place to find out what is hip, trendy, and up-and-coming in the home design world in my opinion.  

Emily Sanford Designs is one of my favorites on Spoonflower.  Her fabric collection includes lots of coordinating watercolor patterns in bold colors. So beautiful!

Via //  Emily Sanford on Spoonflower

Via // Emily Sanford on Spoonflower

And, you know the black and white Swiss Cross, or plus sign, is really hot right now in home design.  It's being put on walls, on furniture, and hey, why not a fabric?  Tagkari's simple cross design fabric is great for making a bold statement.  Other designs in the shop are bold and graphic as well.

Via //  by Tagkari on Spoonflower

#2 Etsy
I can't say enough about Etsy.  You can find anything you want on the site and wonderful fabric is no exception.  Here are a few patterns I found from a couple of my favorite Etsy shops. 

Via // Fabric Shoppe on Etsy

Isn't that fox fabric adorable?  I can see it along with the coordinating fabrics in a nursery or playroom.  Love it!

Via // Fabric Shoppe on Etsy

And what little girl wouldn't love a little shimmer and sparkle?  This fabric is so pretty with just the right amount of bling.  

Via // Sew Fine Fabrics on Etsy

This fabric is so pretty!  It is from one of my favorite shops, Sew Fine Fabrics.  I used a similar print in a dark turquoise to cover my lamp shades in my living room.  Great quality and wonderful prices!

Do you have a favorite place to find unique fabrics?  Please share in the comments below. I'm always looking for new ideas!

Modern Gallery Wall

In the longest running room redesign in the history of forever, I am finally heading into the home stretch. (Like my baseball analogy?  I've got ball on the brain these days with my kiddos both playing.)  I finished up the gallery wall in Katlyn and Ashlyn's bedroom design this morning and couldn't wait to snap some pics and show you how it turned out. 

It isn't perfect and may be a little quirky but I really like how it turned out.  If fills up the whole wall nicely. And I did it with items I already had on hand, or found at a thrift store. 

First, let's take another look at the progression of this room.

When we first moved in, it looked like this. Cavernous red/orange walls. Blah!

Then, I made a colorful, whimsical room for Ashlyn.  And when the two separate rooms thing wasn't working, Idecided to make a shared space for both my girls. And that is how we have ended up here. 

Here's what I used for the gallery wall:

1. Free printable in thrifted frame that I painted white. (You can find the printable here.)
2. Printable quote that I made in a BHG frame. 
3.Convex mirror that I already had. 
4. Eiffel tower we already had left over from Katlyn's Parisian room.  
5. Large framed chalkboard I purchased at a local flea market for around $20.
6. Jared and I made this sign last year for Ashlyn's fifth birthday party. I flipped it over and mod podged the words on it.
7. Thrifted frame I painted pink and retrofitted with chicken wire. I already had this item. 
8. Swiss cross art that I made from scrap wood, then mod podged the cross onto it. 
9.  Art print from HollyDays in a BHG frame.  

This art print was the inspiration for the color scheme in this room.  The walls were already painted blue, and this print gave me the idea to bring in the pink as an accent color.  To check other art prints or items available from HollyDays,  go here. 

Here, I cut out the word cloud art I made and a photo and hung with mini clothes pins. I added extra clothespins for when the girls want to add more photos. 

This word cloud art was so easy to make.  You can see my post about it here. 

I love the way this sign looks all aged and weathered. I'd love to tell you that it was intentional, but it really is because I left the sign in the garage for almost a year.  And can I just tell you how much I love Mod Podge?  Cutting out the words and numbers and giving it a little Mod Podge love was easy and it turned out great. I googled how far our home town is from Paris, so that is an accurate number. 

When I saw this large chalkboard at the flea market, I knew I had to get it.  It is the perfect centerpiece for the gallery wall.  I found the sister quote on Pinterest (how sweet, right?) and hand lettered it. 

Katlyn is still enamored with the idea of going to France so I couldn't bear to part with her Eiffel tower from her old room. I decided to incorporate it into this new design.  My brother brought the girls back some items from Paris (he has a layover in Paris when he goes to work) so that renewed the dream for my girls.

I absolutely love, love, love this convex mirror.  It was another flea market find I bought for less than $10, then painted white. I have used it in other locations in our home, like here, but it has finally found a permanent spot on this wall. 

This Divergent quote printable is by far my most pinned item on Pinterest right now.  I made it in three colors, so if the pink isn't for you, you can download and print it in either the blue-green or lime green.  You can download it here. 

I still have some finishing touches, like the bedding and pillows, to finish up.  But it really is coming along nicely.  Se that pouf there?  I found it at Target for 50% off.  It matched so well with the black, pink, and blue that I snatched it up immediately. I love those serendipitous finds. 

And I couldn't bid you farewell for the weekend without showing you these pics.  My oldest, Katlyn, has a very creative mindset. She likes to put her own touch on things as much as her mommy does.  I found this when I walked into the foyer.  She flipped the milk glass vase upside down, sat the bird on top, then tied a jute twine bow.  This made me grin so big!

And yesterday, I found this in her backpack on the back of one of her papers. "Love is my dream."  How sweet. That is a very good dream to have, isn't it? It made my heart melt.  

I hope to continue to encourage creativity in my girls.  Maybe something as simple as a room redesign can foster their imagination and show them in a tangible way how that can be applied in life. I can only hope so.

Linking up to 

Before and After Wednesday at The Dedicated House
Weekend Link Party at Remodelaholic

Be My Vision

My vision gets a little blurry this time of year.  I don't literally mean my eyesight.  I'm talking about my focus, my view of things.  It all gets a little hazy.  

And I know I'm not the only one.  

Right now, I can hardly tell if I'm going or coming.  Ball just started.  Both of my girls are playing this year.  One is playing t-ball and the other is playing coach pitch softball.  We have games until mid-May, which means we are at the ball field three or four nights a week until then.  A lot of the games are at the same time or they overlap, and  hubby is helping coach our oldest's team.  Also, my youngest has dance on Tuesdays and my oldest has tumbling on Thursdays.  And that is just my girls' activities.  That doesn't account for the time I need to exercise, keep up my home and complete home projects, take pictures, edit pictures, write blog posts, try to grow my business, volunteer at school, participate in a civic club, church, singing in a Christian band, and am I missing something?  Oh, yeah. Family time. Where am I going to fit that in?  

This time of year is so busy.  I feel like to survive, my vision turns to tunnel vision.....I can only see what is directly in front of me for the moment. My friends and family probably think I've dropped off the face of the planet.  My grandmother called me last week and wanted to know why I hadn't called her in a while. It's not that I didn't want to call her and certainly wasn't because I don't care. I also had a friend contact me last week wondering if I was okay because she hadn't heard from me in so long. I just haven't thought much about anything else than what is directly in front of me.  I'm in survival mode. 

Easter is only a week and a half away.  It snuck up on me.  My tunnel vision is so narrow right now, I haven't even thought much about it. My vision hasn't been Him like it needs to be.  

I love the hymn, "Be Thou My Vision."  It's been quietly playing in me for a while.  Even a few weeks ago at a friend's paint party, it percolated in my heart and that is what I ended up painting on my Easter door hanger. I think even then I knew my vision was getting a little blurry. 

I like how Ruth of The Better Mom paraphrases each line of the hymn: (original lyrics in bold)

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Let me see things through Your eyes, as You cleanse my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Don’t be anything to me except all that You Are.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
No matter the time of day, the best thing upon which my mind can meditate is You.
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Whether I’m awake or asleep, Your presence brings light to my heart. 

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
You have already defeated the destruction of my soul
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
I long to be with You at your Throne where all things revolve around the True Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
No matter what happens, or what woos my heart
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Please let me see all things through the filter of You, for You are Ruler, Leader, Lover, Savior, My God. 

 So, today, I'm taking a deep breath.  Slow breath in . Slow breath out. I'm closing my eyes.  And I'm praying this prayer:

Lord, be my vision. When I open my eyes again, may I see not my tunnel vision but You, and all things through Your filter. Help me to keep a correct perspective and make time for the things that matter most, You and my family. Still be my vision, Lord. 

Amen

Finding Your Decorating Style

When it comes to decorating your home, do you ever feel like you have style schizophrenia? I know I have!  Maybe you see  your friend's home decorated in a very distinct rustic-industrial style and you love it.  Then your other friend's home is more traditional and neutral and you love that.  Then you see your other friend's whimsical home full of color and you love that, too.  So when it comes time to decorate your own home, you're not quite sure where to start. 

Then there are the perceived rules about decorating.  Those can stop you dead in your tracks, causing you to be indecisive because you are afraid to make the wrong wall color choice. Or you are scared that the rug that you absolutely love "won't go" with your room, so you don't buy it. Or watching too many episodes of House Hunters on HGTV has you convinced that whatever updates you do to your home have to be for resale value alone. 

Can I share with you a couple things that I've learned along the way that might help you when trying to bring your personality into your own home?  I am by no means an expert, but design and decorating are things that I really love. I have learned through my mistakes.  I have learned through doing things that have actually worked. 

You see, I just as easily like this workspace:

//via//

As this one: 

//via//

Or this space:

//via//

As this space:

//via//

It took me a while, but I figured out that I really like juxtapositions within a space.  I love pairing a modern piece with a vintage or antique item.  I adore being able to bring a room together with a thrift store find and a more upscale item.  I like DIY items in my home so that I can put my own personal touch on it. I like color and lots of it. If I had an unlimited budget, you would see me lean toward the more contemporary side, but with lots of unexpected, whimsical, one of a kind items that would reflect my family's personality.  After years of being a homeowner, I have been able to put my finger on and finally define my style personality.....Contemporary Eclectic.

But, to get to that point, I had to learn a few things first. Here's how you can begin to discover your own style:

1. Don't decorate for resale value or what other people will think. Unless you are a professional home flipper, just let this notion go.  It is YOUR home.  At the end of the day,who lives in your home?  Not your friend, Constance, or your neighbor, Margo. YOU.  

2. Throw the rules out of the window.  Don't get me wrong, there are some great design rules out there, but a well-decorated room rarely comes from following fifteen rules to a T.  They come from collecting things over time, from finding unique items that reflect your personality.  Don't let fear of doing something "wrong" in your space keep you from buying something you love.  If you love it, get it!  Once again, you live in your home and have to be comfortable there, not the rest of the world. 

3. Don't fall into the the trend trap.  Home decor trends come and go all the time. Sometimes they sneak up on you and then, BAM!, they are everywhere. (Ahem, chevron, ahem, ahem, burlap.)  If you truly love a new trend, go for it. But don't jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it if you really don't love it.  There will be another trend along soon that you might like even better. I'm not anti-trend. I am anti-doing-something-because-everyone-else-is-doing-it.  Be unique. Be you. 
4. Be fearless!  There is no one better at being you than you.  You and your family are unique.  Don't try to fit your decorating style into a cookie cutter version of what you have seen on Pinterest.  Be inspired by Pinterest, blogs, and magazines, but don't copy.  Do things to make your home your own.  If that means painting a wall a bright color, hanging a piece of art you love, or designing for comfort, then do that. 
5. Be willing to learn. Start reading decor blogs, magazines, and follow them on Pinterest. Pay close attention to the things you really love and find out what category they fall into.  Are they traditional?  Do you like rustic or shabby chic?  Are you drawn to more modern or contemporary pieces?  Do you know what those definitions even are?  There is so much information readily available for you to be in the know. Also, be willing to learn from your mistakes. I think this may be one of the most beneficial ways to learn....through first-hand experience.  So, go ahead and jump right in! 

I think sometimes it all boils down to staying true to things you love without worrying about what the rest of the world says. It's freeing. So, jump in and get your hands dirty. Make some design mistakes along the way. It's okay.  You will learn a lot in the process. 

Spring Porch Decor

Have you ever heard of Sassy Steals?  It's one of those daily deals sites like Jane.com.  A couple of weeks ago Sassy Steals had this cute wooden monogram bunny for only around $10 or $12. I can't remember exactly how much, but it was a great buy, so I ordered it. It came in this past weekend.  It was unfinished wood, so I painted it white and added a bright yellow bow.  

It wasn't quite substantial enough for my front door, so I added it to my large grapevine wreath to give it a little more presence, especially since my front door  is recessed and something larger is needed for it to be seen well from the street. 

That's only step one for my spring front porch.  I still have a lot to do to make it welcoming and not so stark for the spring. Right now, the front door is flanked by two pots with metal topiaries.  They were fine for the cold winter months, but now it seems too bland.  Not enough color and life for spring in the south. 

So, here's my plan to make my front porch more welcoming:

Do you have any other suggestions for me?  Is there anything else I could do to make our front entrance welcoming and colorful for spring?  I'd love to hear!  

Okay, gotta go get some annuals to put in my empty pots.  Have a great weekend!

Weigh-In Wednesday

#17

It's been a month since my last weigh-in with you guys.  Let me tell you, it has been a hard month.  Probably the hardest since I started my weight loss journey at the end of October. I hit a plateau.  That frustrated me beyond what I can tell you!  It was so disheartening to be eating right and working out and not see the scale budge.  Mentally, that was hard for me. I think it kind of psyched me out a bit and I started doubting myself.  But, I kept pushing through.  Just kept swimming. (I think that is my motto. Thanks, Dori.) 

Another thing that has been particularly hard this month is trying not to compare my weight loss journey to someone else's.  I would see Jane Doe lost x amount of weight in x amount of time and I would beat myself up about my slow progress. But, I'm not Jane Doe. I'm Amanda Henderson. I am unique and my body is unique and I'm not going to lose weight in the same way someone else does. I will lose it like I do. 

Opp gals at the Zumbathon

Since last weigh-in, I participated in a Zumbathon that was raising money for Cancer Freeze, a local charity.  It was a two hour event, and it was so much fun!  We got a great workout in and it was all for a good cause. I was able to stay for an hour and forty-five minutes of the event.  I loved every dark, smokey, disco light, music-so-loud-it-rattles-your-bones minute of it. 

During Boot Camp, we did our second fit test and I was so happy that I improved on both my push-ups and sit-ups.  I love being able to track my progress, strength-wise.  (Just a shout out to our trainer, Rachel!  She does a great job pushing and motivating us.  I really appreciate what she does!)

I also participated in the Spartan 30 in 30 Challenge.  The challenge was to do 30 squats a day for 30 days.  I did do most of the days. I was sick one night and missed and last week when we were on vacation I missed a couple of days. But other than that, I got them done. I know a lot of you participated as well. Did you make it through?  This month's challenge is 30 push-ups a day for 30 days. I signed up for that and I hope you will, too. We can do it!

So, Monday night, I weighed after Zumba for the first time in a couple of weeks. And to my surprise, I had lost six more pounds!  I might have jumped up and down a little. I might have done a happy dance right there in front of everyone like I was thirteen years old.  I was just so darn happy.  I worked SO hard for those six pounds. It gave me the boost that I needed so badly. (I was measured again as well this morning and I've lost inches, too!)

I don't know if you remember, but back on this post I mentioned that one of my goals for 2014 is to run at least five 5ks.  I haven't done any yet.  My knees gave me fits for a while, but now they are healed and my first ever 5k is next weekend.  I'm joining a team (some family members) and we are running the Dirty Girl Mud Run 5k in Atlanta, Georgia.  I can't wait.  I'll also be participating in my second 5k this month as well. This really is the year of possibilities!

This being healthy/weight-loss thing is hard.  But it is so worth it. It takes perseverance and dedication and hard work and discipline.  But those things yield better health and a better outlook and elation and a feeling of accomplishment.  I don't know how long  it will take me to reach my goal weight, but I do know that I won't quit until I do. 

Yard&Sons Giveaway

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Not only is the work week halfway over, but it's giveaway time!  Yard&Sons is hooking a Cultivate Create reader up with a beautiful leather Catch All!  This hand crafted leather item is only one of the many goods sold on Yard&Sons' website and Etsy shop.  (You can visit the site here and the Etsy shop here to check out all of the leather goods available for your gadgets, including Kindle and iPad sleeves. ) Enter below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I will be back later today with Weigh-In Wednesday for the month!  I have good news to share!