✥ Reader Feature: DIY Bedroom Brick Wall {I'm in love}✥

Here is the"after" of Erin's {Lavender and Lemon Drops} incredible DIY brick wall! Are you kidding me right now??! I loooove it! You will not believe the transformation this room has gone through! I am both in awe and super jealous of this fabulous brick- I mean, I am. This is my idea of a PERFECT bedroom backdrop! 

{Just try to tell me this is not a pin-able room!}

Erin's room is still a work in progress- so these aren't even true "after" pics. She has a headboard project planned, amongst other touches for the other side. But, I asked her to share this tutorial- because, even if it is a "progress" shot, IT LOOKS INCREDIBLE!!!

✧✧✧✧✧

I’ve been promising a few “before” pictures of my bedroom…. well here they are in all their glory lol. Don’t be surprised that my bed isn’t made and there is a basket of unfolded laundry chilling in my room. I wasn’t about to load all 50 of my pillows on my bed and fold my clothes just to snap some before pictures ;)

This is the opposite angle of my room: I have a rather small room and a HUGE bed.

I’m almost finished painting so I’ve started searching for a few more items for my room. I’ve been looking for a new pendant light that is simple and sophisticated. I stumbled upon this new site that I LOVE calledAntique Farm House. As I was browsing around their site I found this lovely beauty……

{source}

Wired cage lights can be PRICEY but this had a tag of only $48 bucks! Are you kidding me? I added that thing to my cart and its on its way :) My Vision is slowly coming together!

It’s finally finished and I’m in LOVE! It took me a little longer than anticipated but that’s usually how my projects pan out! Here is the nitty gritty….

Brooke’s inspiration picture, and the faux brick wall that she created from it, were my inspiration. The messy brick look instantly captured my heart and became the missing piece for my room. I was determined to achieve this look!

:: source ::

 I purchased brick panels from Lowes and attached them to the wall using liquid nails and a nail gun.

 To give the wall a textured look I used joint compound in place of paint (Brooke used a white paint to cover the black grout and to create the “smeared” areas). To add extra depth and texture I used my finger to apply the compound to the grouted areas.


 I had to remind myself that I was after an imperfect look. The faster and thicker you layer it on the better it looks! After the grout was filled in I used a mud spatula to smear the compound in random areas. Again, aim for imperfection!

 Here is a little peak at what the room looks like with the bed against the wall. The missing piece was filled and my room finally has character! Here's a pic before my new bedding arrived- Oh-the kiddos love it, too!



Oh and just in case you were wondering…….







that’s what it looked like before! The wall looks SO much smaller and sad… really its screaming “add something marvelous to me please please please” ha!

A few more after pics of how my room looks now. I shared my bedroom vision here- I thought I would get a wide navy and white striped duvet, but ended up loving this one from West Elm!



Next up on the list: Reupholstering my headboard!! I found a great headboard for only 80 bucks! I plan to reupholster it, so I can get the exact look I showed my readers here.
Slowly but surely my room is coming together.

I hope you guys will stop by and visit me!
Erin

✧✧✧✧✧

Did I tell you, or did I tell you?
Crazy awesome, right? Now- how many of you are trying to figure out, how you can have this look in your home? I am, as we speak, cursing my rental! Why, oh why can't I be just like Erin?!

Honestly- I would not mind have an entire side of my imaginary house done with this treatment. Like  having every room on the west {or whichever} side of the house done in faux brick. To emulate the look of an old, East Coast row home. Wouldn't that be dreamy?

Obviously you can tell she is super talented- but prove it to yourself- here's the link to her DIY posts. You will NOT be disappointed!

➷ Homemade Vanilla Extract + Printable ➹

I had an interesting morning yesterday. It all started at 11am, when I got a call from my hubby, Z.
"I feel so dirty," he shouted into the phone before I could even say "Hello?" Surprised, my eyebrows raised and I could feel my eyes widen with fear, before he clarified with, "I just bought a big bottle of Brandy from the liquor store!" I waited a moment more, a smile pressing on my lips. "I've never bought liquor," he shouted. Now I'm laughing, I waited for his rantings to end. But then I learn that my husband, who served 6 years in the Marines, has never walked into a liquor store and purchased anything alcoholic, especially not hard booze.
It was no surprise to me {or anyone else with a heartbeat} when he explained how strangely everyone looked at him as he picked up the large, brandy bottle, all hunched over it, checking over his shoulder nervously, as he shouted at the clerk, "HERE'S MY ID!!!" Simultaneously he presses his thick, black-rimmed, "crazy man" glasses back up his nose.

Apparently the clerk checked it, as the "Hunchback of Berger Dame," snatched the brown, paper bagged bottle up, HISSED, and scurried out of the store. Pressing my number on auto dial, he was shouting, "I FEEL SO DIRTY," running to the Jeep. Ah... my hubby! Step back ladies, he's all mine;-) Such. A. Ham. Anyway, it's not my usual post day- but I thought I'd share the little gift I'd just whipped up. The idea's not unique- I saw pics all over Pinterest at Christmas time- but I thought I'd share my version along with some labels I made- for YOU. 

What You Need: Brandy or VodkaFunky BottlesVanilla Beans- I found mine through AmazonFunnel Labels

Making the extract is beyond easy. Some tutorials say to cut open the bean, while others say to just throw them in whole. The flavor is in the seeds, inside the bean- So I guess, do what you think is best.

 I kept mine whole. For my bottles, I put a few beans in each one. Fill the rest of the bottle with brandy or vodka. I heard brandy will taste better- so I went with that.
The mixture needs to cure or set for about 6 weeks {or more} before the rich bean's flavor will extract. Use it before that and you'll just be getting drunk! ;-)
 Store the bottles in a cool and dark place, like a closet, while it brews. Which is also a funny story, because as we closed the closet door, my panicked husband threw his hands up in the air and said, "Great, now were closet drinkers." I bit my lip trying not to laugh, but then he chased that with (no pun intended), "It's such a slippery slope." I couldn't help it, I lost it and laughed so hard my ribs hurt.

I found a few downloadable labels online, then adapted one into what I wanted.   You can PRINT YOUR OWN, if you want to!





  I added a "to" & "from" section on the label for those of you giving them as gifts- like me. If you don't need that part- just cut on the line instead, leaving that section out. I think these make super gifts- that's probably why they were all over Pinterest! {hee, hee}   One of the reasons this is also a great DIY and present is that the beans are reusable. They will actually keep for years! When your bottle is 1/3 full, you can add some more alcohol and keep an ongoing supply. It's basically a 1 time cost. Because of this and that we are giving them away, I invested in some gourmet vanilla beans. Pretty sweet, huh?  *I made sure to add the directions for refilling onto the label- that way recipients know exactly what they're getting and what to do with it.

My little grandma is back in town- so I'm having a great week showing her the sights and playing lots of Scrabble. 





If you live here in Utah- make sure you check out the dinner that Lindsay {Southern Lovely} and I have put together. Tons of great sponsors have don't FREE SWAG for the attendees!! {YAY!} I hope YOU can come!! 

Looking for places to link up your projects? Check out my Party page.

I'm also linked up here.

✥ Utah Bloggers' Dinner ✥

That's right- you read the title correctly! My dear bloggy friend Lindsay {of Southern Lovely} will be here in Utah for a few weeks. We were plans to do dinner, when were like, "Wait!! What the heck are we thinking?"

Let's invite all our other boggy friends! Then we can all meet, and talk, and laugh and have dinner!!!

So we set a date.

Tuesday, July 10th.

We felt pretty good about that- until we realized the only thing better than a bloggy dinner...

a bloggy dinner with some *swag*!

So there you have it- 

Dinner with us on July 10th!

With swag!

We know you need more details than that- so email one of us if you want to come. 

Becca- { berger.becca@gmail.com }

Lindsay's much more professional looking email! ;-)  { southernlovelyblog@gmail.com }

We had to limit the number of peeps that could come {due to logistical crapola}, so speak up!! Also-we'll be meeting up in the Provo Area- if that helps anyone decide.
Details about our sponsors for the night will be coming soon!

I hope you local gals will be able to come cuz it's gonna be fun!! It has been great getting to know you all online, so I'm really looking forward to meeting you "in real life!"!

✥ Reader Feature: Laundry Room Makeover ✥

Happy Monday to all my cute little friends out there! I hope you guys had great weekends- I had family in town AGAIN! I am so lucky and blessed for all these visits- but I am getting very little blogging done. Anyone else having that problem? With all the other fun stuff to do during the summer it's easy to get caught up in the fun of yard sales, pool time, camping, boating, vacations and so on and so on?!

Today's feature will be quick and short. I'm sharing Kim's laundry room makeover. She runs the adorable beachy blog- Sand and Sisal. All her projects are ooze of beachiness, hey make me long for the days the hubs and I lived in Hawaii.

I mean look at this before and after! I love that room- who would have though you could even say that about a laundry room? Not me! ;-) 

I just adore that light fixture- like I have a super big crush on it! I'm also loving how light and airy the room feels, like you may not hate spending time in there doing laundry, say what?!

The thing about Kim is all her projects look like a million bucks- each time she does something you stop and think, "Um, yeah. That could be from the Pottery Barn catalog." She is that good!

You guys will want to stop by Kim's place for the full post and all the dets. She'll tell you about the laundry sorting system she came up with, her item's sources, and even how she retired her not-so-awesome laundry knickname. ;-)

I rounded up a few of this post's tutorials- in case you want to jump right to them.

Install Bead Board Ceiling {Tutorial}

How to Install Lighting

How to Build Floating Shelves   <  I want to make these!

Framed Fabric Art

I hope you guys have a great Monday! Make sure you get out there and enjoy the summer. The weather is supposed to be in the high 90's over here. So hot that I may have to hide inside in the AC and get some more blogging done!

✥ Reader Feature: Shabby Chic Bedroom Reveal ✥

Oh, friends.  My.Back.Is.Out. {ouch!!}
So, let's get to it- shall we? Before I branch off into unrelated, drug induced tangents!

Today I'm happy to introduce you to my bloggy-friend, Kristin. She's the creative force behind Simply Klassic Home. I'd be surprised if you haven't already "met" her- she's super friendly and so sweet. Not only does she blog, but she also does blog design- you have probably seen her work around blogland- and probably her printables, too.

✧✧✧✧✧

Master Bedroom Reveal - An Unexpected Makeover

When a decorator gets an idea, she has to run with it, right?

Thus is the case with this master bedroom makeover. If you've been following since the beginning, you may remember the first makeover just about a year ago. Well, it never felt quite right, but I had moved on to other projects and it was "good enough."

Now, I've got lots on the "to-do" list for this year, and the master bedroom didn't even make the cut...so why is it the first thing finished???

A couple of months ago I decided to use the shutter headboard elsewhere in my home so out of the bedroom it came. Then I realized I had to replace it with something but had no idea what. I knew I wanted to add more natural elements and warmth and texture, but how?

If you are a follower of Pamela at PB&J Stories you already caught a glimpse of the new headboard when I shared my painted mirror project. (As you can see, distressed won!)

I was Pinterest surfing and came across this project by Vintage Bliss. Inspiration struck as I remembered I had our old hollow core closet doors stored in the garage. I hoped it would be the right size, and though it was a little wider than the bed, I thought it was just right.

All of a sudden here I was completely immersed in a bedroom makeover. I went to my favorite store, Country Roads in Orange, California (ahem, fivetimesintwoweeks), looking for new pieces to complete the room. (It may be a sickness.)

I'm so grateful to have my amazing friend to bounce ideas off of. (From one Princess K to another, thank you from the bottom of my heart.) She found this beautiful bench for me at where else, Country Roads.

A quick coat of poly and she was ready to go.

The dresser was part of last year's makeover.

I added each of the vignette elements.

I grabbed some vintage books from the unused (in 20 years) church library to give the lamps some height and switched out the shades.

Dropcloth curtains are cheap and effective, and add the perfect amount of color and texture. Tied with burlap scraps to finish them off.

An old frame and iron bird hooks hold my necklaces (all three of them).

I tied a scrap of dropcloth and twine around a small mason jar, added a wire hanger for a cute little hanging vase.

I had to include a special new fluffy pillow in the corner for my sweet kitty (mostly to keep her off of my bed!).

And finally, a framed printable reminds me of what I'm striving for each day - to let go of the junk and live in the moment every single day.

I'm loving it all and know that this is exactly what I wanted!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this little tour. I'll be sharing some details later in the week. Now maybe I can get back to some of the other projects I've been working on!

✧✧✧✧✧

Didn't she do a great job? I adore that headboard- I am fully addicted to that union jack flag. So obviously I am coveting that pillow, too!
Kristin totally deserves a retreat-like bedroom. She's a single mom of 2 {adopted!!} kids- and warrants some "her" time. Right?

A few extra goodies...

 

Kristin joined the chalk paint rage when she painted her grandmother's heirloom hutch! You will want to see the before on this baby- it's is totally awesome!I love how she displayed family heirloom furniture and filled it with the same. So meaningful- and it looks beautiful!

 

I also love this mantle scape- the gray wood, pops of turquoise and vintage jars are right up my alley! Check out how Kristin made this sign- I'm sure you'll want to make your own. I know I do- like seriously!

Make sure you pop over and say "Hi" to Kristin! 

I hope you all have a great Monday!!