Felt Flower How To: Peony

It's no secret, I love felt flowers. Long before I became the Mrs. Meyer's Home Maker, I was making felt blooms and if I'm being honest, they weren't very good. It wasn't until I made my Fall Felt Wreath that I really honed in my felt flower skills and even learned a few tricks of my own.

I love how versatile felt flowers can be. I've used them to make flower crowns, bouquets, wreaths, and even napkin rings. You saw them in my Mother's Day Bouquet project and on top of my Galentine's Day Cake. I've found that little felt blooms are cute no matter how you use them!

Side note: I want to let you know that next Thursday July 28th I am teaching a Felt Flower Workshop at West Elm in Utica Square! The cost is $30 for a 2 hour, in depth workshop where you'll leave with a plethora of supplies and all the skills you need to start making. Space is limited, so sign up here!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Today I want to show you a flower tutorial that is completely original to me! I made this one myself, so you won't see one like it anywhere else -- my Peony! This flower uses my signature "Fold + Glue" technique that helps give your flowers dimension and makes them look real!

Easy huh? I'd love to see your felt flower projects! Tag me on Instagram tell me what you made in the comments below. Don't forget to sign up for the workshop next Thursday!

Happy Homemaking!

Sallie

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Renovation Progress: The Powder Room

In case you are wondering, the renovation is still going strong! There really wasn't a ton of progress to show last week, but this week I have the plans and the progress of the first bathroom we're tackling -- The Powder Room.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane, shall we?

This little two piece bathroom is right off the kitchen, and was not on our original remodel list. As we started discussing the plans for the floor, it made sense to go ahead and rip the floor in this room and connect it with the hardwoods in the kitchen. We then discovered the toilet was leaky, and promptly moved this bathroom to the top of the demo list.

Andrew put in some back breaking man hours and now, the bathroom looks like this!

We (he) have to remove the shelving, but other than that, this salmon pink bathroom is ready for a facelift.

While searching for some inspiration, I came across this charming bathroom from Architectural Digest.

And this one from The Lighter Side of Real Esate.

Both of these bathrooms have a form of paneling on the walls which ends up being great for us, because we can cover the old wallpaper without having to replace dry wall! That's a big time and  $$$ saver. 

We also LOVE the idea of DIY-ing a bathroom vanity by using an old table. I scored the one you see in the progress picture for just $20. 

We'll add a porcelain vessel sink with a wall mount, and as my niece Bea says "boom baby!" Altogether, this room will end up costing us about $700 -- not too shabby for a powder bathroom! Here are my sources and maybe some inspiration for your next project! 

1. Bead Board Sheets -- The Home Depot $20

2. Wall Mount Faucet -- Amazon.com $70

3. Porcelain Vessel Sink -- Overstock.com $125

4. Antique Table -- River City Trading Post $20

5. Sconce Lighting -- Overstock.com $63

What are your powder room ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Happy Homemaking!

Sallie

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DIY Backyard Botanical Print

When I was little we lived in a house that had an amazing backyard! We had a pool, a basketball court, and all of it was covered with huge shade trees. I played in that backyard for hours and hours in the summer and I always envisioned having a similar yard for my kids to play in.

When we found our new house, Andrew and I immediately fell in love with the backyard. It is almost 100% shaded and has great climbing trees (or so Andrew tells me). The owner before us was quite the gardener, and she put really beautiful plants and landscaping around the entire perimeter. 

It definitely feels like our own little paradise and I can't wait to get in and start enjoying it! 

When I was showing my friend Anisa our backyard she started pointing out all the varieties of plants that we have. Then later, I was in my mom's house and noticed a very old picture someone had made of various plant leaves with little notes as to what they were and what type of environment they grow best in. 

It didn't take long for me to connect the dots for how I could do something similar with the plant foliage from my new backyard!

What I love about this DIY is that it's specific to YOUR home. No two prints will be the same, and it will always remind you of fun memories from you backyard. It's also incredibly easy and requires no special skills. You just need to pick up leaves, write, and cut! 

Materials

• Glass Float Frame(s) 

• Leaves

• Thick cardstock or watercolor paper

• Pen

• Scissors

Directions

1.     Gather your foliage. I picked mostly leaves that would press well in my frame.

2.     Use your pen and thick paper to draw "banners." If you don't feel very artsy here's a template 

        you can use! Or you could cut simple rectangles from your paper and draw a border. 

3.     Write the names of the foliage. I had to use google here to figure out what I was dealing. If you 

        have a friend who is a Botanist, now is a good time to give them a call!

4.     With your leaves and labels face down, layout your design. I started with my larger leaves and 

        filled in with my smaller ones. 

5.     Assemble your frame, clean the glass of any fingerprints, hang on the wall and enjoy!

How did yours turn out? I'd love to know what leaves you used for your print!

Happy Homemaking!

Sallie

Renovation Progress: Before & After

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing July 4th weekend. For Andrew and I, this weekend was anything BUT relaxing. We took the hammer to our house and started what has turned out to be a very long, hard demo process.

If you missed it, go back and see the Home Tour of our new house so you can get a good idea of everything we did. Let's start with the kitchen.

Kitchen Before