GREAT IDEAS: OFFICE IN A CHEST

I'm starting a new weekly feature called "Great Ideas" with an angle on creaitng alternative uses for everyday household items. The focus is to maximize resources --time, money, space -- while transforming items that may already be in your home to produce a simple, creative new approach for storage, decor and/or entertaining.

This idea, courtesy of Martha Stewart, is what inspired my new 'column.' Because I live in a small space, which I love, I am always looking for storage solutions that allow me to access and put away essentials quickly and effortlessly. I am not as organized as I'd like to be, but, this chest is certainly a step in the right direction. The combination of a filing cabinet and bulletin board, which is simply made from cork board and glue, is an ideal solution for someone like myself who wants an indiscreet home office space.

READY, SET, GROW

Easy to grow and great for gifts, Paperwhites are a Christmas staple in my home. They offer an elegant, festive touch to holiday decor or look stunning alone arranged in a window. They grow and bloom in about three weeks for almost instant gratification and will last through the holiday season. At about 80 cents per bulb they lend themselves well to inexpensive yet thoughtful Christmas gifts. You can easily create a potted arrangement for under $5 per gift.

I like using empty quart size paint cans covered in stylish wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, twine or ribbon as pots. Add 2-3 paperwhite bulbs, some soil or pebbles, and, voila! Beautiful. Simple. Chic. 

CIDER ANYONE?

Fall is officially here! OK, it has "officially" been here for over a month but the dark afternoons and leaf-covered streets make it feel all the more like Autumn. And on this cold, crisp Fall afternoon I would love nothing more than to curl up in this gorgeous rustic living room with a cup of cider, a fire and my laptop. Take note of those hardwood floors. Perfection.

ALL THAT JAZZ

I recently discovered Shabby Apple, an online women's clothing boutique. Love. At. First. Sight. I started browsing through their not-so-simple little black dress collection, and, well, one thing led to another and I am now checking much too frequently for new merchandise and sale items. Their new vixen worthy line looks like a Great Gatsby lover's dream come true. I would SO love to paint the town in any one of these classic chic dresses. And with the holidays approaching, I may have an excuse to treat myself to an early gift.

HALLOWEEN DECOR GALORE

About a month ago I was shopping craft stores and browsing Web sites for Halloween decorating inspiration. I was overflowing with excitement to begin decorating. Come the first day of October and I would be ready for Halloween. All templates would be cut, the garland hanging, branches would be painted, and pumpkins would be lining the doorstep. Well, fast forward a month later... all the above mentioned projects are still very much a work in progress, but here is the extent of my success:

I love the scary spiders. They make me smile every time I look at them. There are so many fun and simple Halloween projects that I have trouble selecting just a few. I end up working on multiple things at once, with the result being that everything is halfway finished. So. The next few days I will be forcing myself to focus. I have a window display that I can't wait to share and a really cool project that can be used outdoors as a decorative porch element or indoors as a mantel or table centerpiece. Lots of photos to come.

FABULOUS FINDS

The treasure that can be found on Craigslist are sometimes just too unbelievable for words. Yesterday afternoon I spent some time searching local Craigslist ads for mid-century furniture and, well, just look at what I found for $40!

I'm picking up this lovely desk this afternoon and plan to have it restored by the end of the week. I just need to decide on new hardware for the drawer pulls and a paint color... navy blue? Red? Espresso brown?!! I'll post the "after" pictures by the end of this week.

The other fabulous find I discovered on Craigslist is this beautiful, sleek 1960s chest:

It's easy to overlook vintage pieces as too outdated and labor-intensive, but it often only takes new hardware and a coat of paint to transform a piece from old to modern. This sleek grove storage cabinet via Martha Stewart Living will serve as my inspiration for the update.

WEEKEND RUMPUS

When I began planning Nolan's first birthday I intended for the party to be based on a bright color palette of
blue, orange and green rather than focus on a theme. But, two weeks into the party planning process I watched "Where the Wild Things Are" and immediately knew I could not NOT incorporate a "Wild Things" theme into Nolan's party.

Sticking to my original plan of using bright colors I incorporated elements that would combine the Wild Rumpus theme and my color palette into a cohesive concept. My sister and I gathered branches and maple leaves from the park for the candy buffet centerpiece. After drying the leaves my sister used fabric paint to trace the veins and then dusted them with glitter. I found the orange vase on a clearance display at Target and filled it with fake Fall leaves from the Dollar Store.

I decorated vases with ribbon and wrapping paper and used crystal candle stick holders to add height and depth to the display.  Most of the supplies, including many of the vases, came from the Dollar Store.

I used a 2 1/2 inch paper punch and construction paper to create the thank you tags for the gift bags, which guests filled with treats from the candy buffet as a party favor.

M designed and made this crown for Nolan using cardstock and a pattern he found online. He lined the inside with matching gold paper and embellished it with green ribbon. This crown was truly the best part of the party. Nolan was in complete awe when he saw it.

M also decorated Nolan's high chair with a card I found in the dollar bin at Target and some cut outs from leftover construction paper.

The cupcakes were made by a very talented decorator at Whole Foods and the cakes were designed by an equally talented decorator at a local grocery store bakery.

And, finally; the party streamers.

This project was by far the most labor-intensive part of the party. I used a large circular punch to cut out hundreds of blue, orange and green circles. I strung fabric ribbon through holes I made using a small hole punch and thumb tacked each individual string to an inexpensive piece of molding I bought at Home Depot. It was a fun project and added a lot of color to the party. And, it's completely reusable for the next party!