House in the Heights

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Spring Wreath Roundup

You guys know I LOVE me some wreaths....

Oh, you don't? I've only talked about it here, here, here, here and here.

Ok. So now that you are all caught up.....

Here are some fabulous spring wreath inspirations! I'm planning to DIY a spring wreath in the very near future, and I am overwhelmed by all of the amazing inspiration out there!

A Door-Able Wreath @Very Truly Me

Simple Spring Wreath @Confessions of a Serial Do It Yourselfer

Chartreuse Modern Wreath via Pinterest

Spring Burlap Wreath via Pinterest

DIY Succulent Wreath @Apartment Therapy

Spring Yarn Wreath via Pinterest

Spring Grapevine Wreath @Oh My Words

Spring Hydrangea Wreath via Pinterest

Garden Hose Spring Wreath via Pinterest

Robin's Egg Wreath @Uncommon Designs

Umbrella Wreath @Random Thoughts from an Incoherent Mind

Yarn Wrapped Spring Wreath via Pinterest

Wow! So much inspiration! I don't know how to choose which direction to go in. Something about the simple grapevine wreath really appeals to me, but I also love that robin's egg wreath too! And the one with the bunny and the coral flowers!! Perhaps my decision will rest upon what materials I can get my hands on in the next week or so....

I'll be sure to keep you up to date on my decision!

In the meantime, check out some of the other wreaths I've made!

My first-ever blog post showed off my twine wrapped monogram, grapevine hydrangea wreath, and the first of many burlap wreaths (get the tutorial here)....

I switched up my burlap wreath base to create a fun peacock wreath

Christmas time brought a fresh holiday wreath...

.....followed up by a winter white yarn wreath...

...which will be replaced with whatever I create for spring. Can't wait to get started!!

Do you switch out your wreaths frequently? What wreath base do you prefer (burlap, grapevine, etc.)??

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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Hacked: Gold Geometric Tray

You guys know all about my love for Nate Berkus and his fabulous line at Target. Well...even though Nate's items are affordable, they're not so affordable that I can buy every single piece that I fall in love with.

Because that's basically all of them.

Case in point: this cool gold, geometic shape tray that caught my eye in the Nate section of Target a few weeks ago.

Nate and I are SO on a first name basis.

Want to buy the $35 version? Find it here.

I loved it, but I did not need to buy another tray. And even if I did...I definitely didn't need to spend $35 on it.

So I snapped a picture of it, because the moment I saw it, I knew I could DIY one of my own. I had a turquoise, lacquered tray that I picked up at Koh'ls after-Christmas clearance sale for less than 10 buck that was begging for a little added-interest. I'd give you a link, but unfortunately it's no longer available.

Using my inspiration pic as a guide, I used painter's tape to mimic the design on my tray. I expected it to be difficult to achieve perfect corners and angles, but it was actually quite easy. Taping the tray took approximately 20 minutes, and I was able to accomplish it while I knocked out a show on my DVR. Once I was finished taping, I took extra care to go back and make sure every inch of tape was applied smoothly and securely, in the interest of crisp lines once I removed the tape.

Even though Nate's tray has gold on the inside rim, I didn't think I could pull that off without making a mistake. So I skipped it.

Then, I applied 4 coats of Martha Steward Liquid Gilding to the areas not covered by tape. I was a little nervous that it wasn't going to take at first, because the liquid gilding beaded after the first coat. But three additional, very thin coats was all that was needed to smooth out the finish and achieve even coverage.

I had to tap my paintbrush into the areas next to the painter's tape, in order to cover them adequately. I was a bit concerned that this would lead to leakage under the tape, but when I pulled the tape....the lines were perfectly crisp!

I just love the result!! So did my mom...in fact she has the exact same tray in red, and handed it right over to me for the same treatment as soon as she saw my results.

Like mother, like daughter :)

Have a great week!

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Friday, March 7, 2014

Friday Favs 33

Good morning!! Capitalize, bold print, underline the TGIF this week....I am ready for the weekend. We have some fun plans with friends tonight and and, as usual, I can't wait to sleep in.

It's the best part of the weekend. Every weekend.

Onto the favorites...chocolate, makeup and pillows. Pretty much my three favorite things ever!

Fav #1

Lindt Wasabi Dark Chocolate. OMG. I don't really know what else to say. If you like wasabi, it's a must- try. Thank goodness I don't have regular access to this stuff, it would be bad news.

Fav #2

e.l.f. cosmetics. I love to buy makeup at specialty stores like Sephora, but there are some products that I just can't justify paying specialty store prices for. Like $30 for eye shadow primer? Can't do it. I had been hearing that the e.l.f. products were good and really affordable, so I was excited to check them out at my most recent Target run. Love them! I bought an eyebrow kit, concealer brush, eye shadow primer and some individual falsies.... for under $10. What a great find for products and tools that I may not use everyday and don't want to spend a fortune on. Oh, and the selection on their website is even better!!

Fav #3

The awesome selection of pillow covers in H&M's (relatively) new home line. What a fantastically simple way to switch up your decor!! I just bought a pair of the blue covers for my spring family room refresh. At less than $6 a cover, I wasn't sure what to expect, but they are great! Find them and all the other great pillow covers here (I especially like the Do What You Love cover)!

Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Pretty Pretty Please??

Hey guys!

I have a huge favor to ask you. OK, well, it's not that big.....I don't need to borrow money...I'm not in need of a kidney...I don't need you to pry the dead bird from the front grill of my car because it dived bombed me on the way to work (although I DID need to ask someone to do that for me once).

But I do need your help!

The girls over at East Coast Creative are hosting Creating With the Stars, which is an super-exciting contest that pairs a rock-star-status DIY Blogger, with a contestant in order to mentor them as they compete to create amazing DIY projects. Twelve contestants will be chosen to compete, and four weeks of competition will lead to one ultimate winner. The prizes are amazing, but getting the experience and exposure of competing would do amazing things for this girl (and this blog)!

Oh, and the Blog Stars lineup is freaking amazing. Check it out!

Can you imagine getting to work with one of these talented bloggers?!! I would die. In the good way.

So what do I need from you? Well.....one factor that will be used to determine the contestants is the amount of traffic they receive during the contest entry link-up. So if you could just click here, scroll down through all the entries, and visit my entry in the link up, you would be helping to increase my traffic, and therefore my chances of getting noticed.

My entry is #182.

If you've been around here for awhile, you will remember my plate wall tutorial. If you're new...check it out (please, please, please using the link up to do so!!)

The contestants are being chosen through March 16th, so feel free to stop by as many times as you want until then to help boost my numbers! In order for a tiny, baby blog like House in the Heights to get noticed, I need some major help. Even then, it's a huge long shot...but I'm willing to play the underdog. So click and share away in order to help make it happen!

What's in it for you, you ask? Plenty!

The girls at East Coast Creative are teaming up with Apple Vacations to offer a 4-night all inclusive vaca to the Domincan Republic for one lucky winner. You don't have to enter Creating With the Stars to enter to win the trip----this contest is for everybody!! You can enter multiple times, in multiples ways and can earn a new entry every single day through April 16th. So, click over to the Creating With the Stars Link Up page to click on my entry #182 and enter to win a fabulous trip for yourself!

Thank you so much in advance! Just entering such a cool contest is so exciting for me....I can't imagine my excitement if I were actually chosen.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Spring Color Palette Inspiration

Hey there! I'm super excited that the snowstorm predicted for today missed us! As of publishing this post, we haven't seen one. single. flake.

That, combined with the fact that it's March, makes me think that I'm safe to start working on my spring projects, and one that I'm pretty excited about is a little refresh on our family room color palette. I'm not talking a major overhaul--no painting, no new furniture. Just some easy accessory updates and simple solutions to create a spring/summer vibe.

If you remember my post about cozy-in up the family room for fall, you know that the current palette includes a lot of red, orange and gold. And while I love the colors, I'm looking for something a little fresher and vibrant for the warm weather months.....and plan to replace some of the oranges and golds with turquoise accents.

I've been a pinning-fool lately, and can't wait until this little 'room refresh' comes together! In the meantime, here's some of my 'Pinspiration'....

via Pinterest

Are you planning any decor updates as we transition out of winter? It's amazing to me how much a few simple swaps can transform a room!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

February '14 Recap

Hey guys! How is it March already?! Believe me, I'm not complaining. March is one month closer to summer....and summer is my happy place.

So, for all the new peeps around here (new followers showing up all the time, which totally blows my mind and rocks my world!) I thought I'd start posting a recap of whats been going on at House in the Heights each month.

So, in case you missed a post, here's what went down in February: