Farmhouse Chic Blog

A spooky formal…

By FotiniPosted in DIY, Halloween, Home DecorNo Comments

Hey there! As you’ve heard me mention, a time or two recently, I have had a good bit of fun decorating for Halloween! This is the first year ever that I have done this much for Halloween, and it’s been entertaining! I decided to give our prim-and-proper formal dining room a little spooky makeover!

Halloween

Sticking with the neutral theme we have gone with this year, I wrapped my farmhouse canvas print with a black and white polka dot wrapping paper. This made a difference right away, and it was so simple! From there, I draped faux spider webs across it and dangled a glittery spider near the center. I rearranged my buffet with the decor and allowed it to accommodate very little clutter and added more faux webbing and spiders.

Halloween

Next is where I had a little bit of fun 🙂 Adding some pops of orange into the bunch, I created my Halloween centerpiece! I bought these beautiful paper fans from Target for only $5! They were the focus of my design. I added a couple of orange pumpkins, mini white pumpkins, faux webbing, acorn squash, vintage books and mercury glass into the design.

For me, I start with the center of my table. This is where I added the most height, since this is what the eye automatically draws to. I stacked a couple of vintage books and placed a mercury glass taper candle in the center. I worked around that and created my centerpiece from there. I usually mirror one side to the other. Not using the exact same things, but keeping it similar so the design doesn’t look awkward. I added a short little piece of black and white buffalo check ribbon to my acorn squash. Just that little thing made them fit right in!

Halloween

What do you think? Spooky chic! I love the fact that I was able to created this centerpiece using items I already had (besides the paper fans!). Incorporate items you already have, so you don’t have to feel guilty for buying new items or additional cost!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope your day is wonderful.

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Apple Watch is indispensable for every sports enthusiast

By FotiniPosted in LIFESTYLETagged Apple Watch, Check Your Progress, Monitors Your Heart Rate, sports enthusiastNo Comments

Apple Watch is indispensable for every sports enthusiast. In fact, with all of the advanced technical gadgets on the market today, the sports addict can pick and choose the technologies that are best for you and your diet and exercise program. This is especially the case for you who are looking for the best ways to track and monitor your progress.

With that said,, if you want to invest in an Apple watch that’s loaded with great options and an exceptionally customizable sports band, here are a few things that you should know.

Fully Customizable Sport Apple Watch Band Designed Especially for the Sports Enthusiast

When you are purchasing your Apple watch, you may want to do your research first. Actually, you may want to start your research by reviewing how this sports watch band works. For instance, Apple has designed their sports apple watch band to fasten easily with use of a magnetic fastening system. This fastening system is made with a metal element on the inside of the band. Therefore, when the wearer of the band is connecting both sides of the band together, the metal part will automatically be sucked into the indent of the watch. On the flipside, whenever the person wants to take the watch band off, they can press the corresponding button to automatically release the band from its connection. Unlike the traditional sports watch bands, Apple makes it simple to put their watch bands on as well as take their watch bands off with ease.

You will also enjoy the interchangeable features in this watch, especially when it comes to the appearance. For instance, if you want to match the colors of your watch band with the colors of your outfit, this is also easy to do without paying a lot of extra money for a new sport watch. This is because Apple offers their watch bands in a wide range of different colors, including seasonal color options.

Check Your Progress

For those who enjoy exercising at the gym, at home or even in the park, you may want to check your progress every morning or every afternoon. By checking how far you have walked and how many calories that you have burned up, you will know exactly how much progress you are making daily, weekly or monthly. In fact, you do not have to worry about guessing or overestimating how many times you have walked around the track in your neighborhood. Instead, it will be easy to see how much progress you are making at any given time by looking down at your watch’s tracker . Also, when you begin to lose weight, it can also motivate you to do more exercises.

Monitors Your Heart Rate to Keep You From Overdoing or Pushing Yourself too Hard

If you are the type of person who will not stop exercising until you have spent several hours participating in different types of sports, the special features in the apple watch have been designed with you and your needs in mind. Therefore, if you want to keep your heart rate in check, you can use this feature to monitor your heart rate.

Since your heart rate determines if you are getting good cardio exercise, you can raise your heart rate by doing the right types of activities. For instance, you may want to run fast outdoors or keep up a good fast pace when you are on your treadmill. Whatever the case, you can always keep an accurate account of what is going on at all times. This is also one of the most effective ways of keeping track of the cardio exercises that you do, and how to keep heart rate up for longer periods of time.

Conclusion

There is a lot that you can do when you invest in an apple watch that has been designed specifically for the sports addict. With this type of watch on your wrist, you can monitor all kinds of different sports activities and exercises. From tracking how many miles that you have run on your neighborhood track to checking your heart beat to see if you are doing the right types of cardio, the Apple Watch is indispensable for every sports enthusiast.

Feminine Farmhouse Christmas

By FotiniPosted in 2015, Blog, ChristmasNo Comments

Hey friends! If you checked out my post from last week, you got a little peek of my office decorated for Christmas! Well, today I get to share more of a reveal with you! I absolutely LOVE decorating for Christmas!! I am a firm believer you should have multiple Christmas trees in your home! This year we have three large ones on each floor and I’m also considering putting one in our master bedroom (but shh.. don’t tell my husband that part!) 😉

farmhouse office decorated for Christmas

I have decided to do something I haven’t done before.. I usually decorate and incorporate red into my Christmas design each year, but this year I didn’t! But who’s to say I still won’t 😉 I had fun decorating my office because I was able to be a little more feminine and use textures and patterns I really like, opposed to our family tree in the living room.

I put my 6 ft. pre-lit tree I bought from Target in my ceramic antique tub and it fit perfectly cornered behind my couch! I used very simple things as ornaments so I wouldn’t have to go out and buy all new ones. I used rolled up book pages and folded them in half to give an accordion look and placed them throughout the tree. I also took metallic chalkboard gift tags I snagged from Target dollar spot last year, and wrote things that mean the most to me (family, love, joy, etc.). I also added small strands of crystals and just hung them from the branches. They are absolutely beautiful when the light hits them!! You can see the cute little picture frame ornaments I made, that are perfect for this tree! I also love the large overly-glittered cardboard letters that say “Merry Christmas”, simply drooped across the tree!

This is a fun little mix to farmhouse chic design! I’ve always had a thing for polka dots, black & white and leopard! I feel like this flawlessly incorporates them all <3

farmhouse office decorated for Christmas

It was a real pleasure to have you visiting my home office today! I hope that you will stop by again soon! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving friends <3

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Customized Stenciled Sign

By FotiniPosted in DIY, Home DecorTagged Customized Stenciled SignNo Comments

Hello friends! To some I may be known as the crazy sign lady… What? No, no one has ever called me that! 😉 But, I love signs… I love making signs. Can you ever have enough of them? When the opportunity came up to work with Wall Masque stencil company, they told me they had a customized stencil option. I hopped on that like a hot cake, that is right up my alley!

wood sign

The process for submitting a custom design was rather simple. I created an image using PicMonkey and sent it to them. Within minutes, I had a response that my design had been accepted, and I received my stencil a couple of days later! I opted for “farmhouse chic hardware co.” because it’s so fitting to our household! Of course my blog is Farmhouse Chic, but my husband also builds custom farmhouse tables, so it was a no brainer!

To begin, my husband took three narrow pallet planks and screwed them to a small piece of plywood. I sanded the wood down for a smooth consistency. Next, grab your stencil and tape into place. Using a foam brush take your desired paint and blot over the stencil. I used folkArt home decor chalk paint in white adirondack. It’s my go-to for projects! Don’t get paint happy, use a small amount so it doesn’t create puddling, you can always go back over it if needed. Remove your stencil while the paint is still wet! I allowed my sign to dry completely, and I roughed it up very little using a sanding block. To finish, I sprayed with with a matte clear coat. We hung that pretty up and just love it <3

wood sign
BEFORE SANDING

wood sign
AFTER SANDING

wood sign wood sign

wood sign

Wall Masque is one of my awesome sponsors in my current giveaway!! Don’t miss your opportunity to win a credit for anything you like from them! They have some beautiful stencils and, of course, the customized option! Click HERE to enter the giveaway! Giveaway ends midnight November 13th, 2015.

*Affiliate links included for your convenience.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

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Witches and Wonders Halloween Blog Hop

By FotiniPosted in Blog, DIY, Halloween, Home DecorNo Comments

When you think of Halloween you probably don’t think of putting up a tree. And to be honest, it’s not something I’ve ever done… Until now! I was super excited when I received an email to work with Treetopia and be apart of their Witches and Wonders Halloween Blog Hop! What is that you may ask? It’s where myself and four other ladies chose one of the beautiful Treetopia trees and gave them little Halloween twist!

Today I’m sharing with you my Halloween inspired tree!

Halloween inspired tree

It’s no surprise Tinsel found her cozy spot right in the middle of all the action 🙂 But no complaints here! She looks beautiful next to my Halloween tree! I was a little nervous at the thoughts of decorating a tree in colors I typically don’t use. But I’ll tell ya what, I’m just tickled with how it turned out!

The gorgeous black and gold ombre Christmas tree totally steals the show! This is such a beautiful tree and I cannot wait to decorate it for Christmas too! It’s definitely one that I will be using again and again! Conveniently, we were watching our favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus, and I began to gather inspiration for my design!

Halloween inspired tree

I wanted to include some of the significant necessities of this frightful holiday. Things like skulls, witch hats, broomsticks, witch fingers and spider webs! I had fun incorporating colors like orange, green and purple into it too! My little girl didn’t have school the day we decorated the tree, so she had a lot of fun helping me add on the fun items that brought this tree to life!

Even baby Gray decided to “help” with the tree, haha!

So what do you think? Something you could see or yourself doing next year? What a fun addition to Halloween decor!

Thank you for stopping by! Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating!

Jennifer Perkins

All Things with Purpose

Sunshine and Sippy Cups

The Latina Next Door

Early Fall Mantel

By FotiniPosted in Blog, DIY, FallNo Comments

Hey you, welcome! I’m so happy you’re here hanging out with me this morning! It’s beginning for feel more like Fall here in Ohio… The temps are crisp in the mornings and evenings and it’s got me so excited for them to stick around!

Today I’m excited to share with you my early Fall mantel. It isn’t anything over-the-top. It’s very simple and clean, and I love it! I have had a major obsession with silver dollar eucalyptus lately. It is just so beautiful and whimsy, I can’t get enough of it! It pairs perfectly with white and blue pumpkins, which I’m also obsessed with this time of year. I’m a firm believer that using books as “fillers” in design, is one of the best things ever! I love incorporating books, as often as possible. It just makes the space look and feel cozy, instantly.

Fall mantel

You know, I love making book page banners too, so this one is a glitter F A L L banner; super simple. Check out my banner from last Fall here! I will have these adorable glitter Fall banners for sale at the Zassy’s Fall Barn Sale October 1-3, and also for purchase in my Etsy shop, soon!

Fall mantel

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my early Fall mantel design! I hope you’re leaving here a little more inspired to think outside the Fall design box! 😉 Have a wonderful week and come back soon!!

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DIY work desk

By FotiniPosted in Blog, DIYNo Comments

The truth is, sometimes it takes me months to finally write a post on projects we’ve accomplished around the house. You may remember awhile back, me sharing some photos on Instagram of a table my husband and I were making. We actually created it to be a work desk for my office! To this day, it is one of my favorite pieces we’ve ever made!!

DIY office desk

This DIY work desk is the perfect piece for my office and allows me to have the adequate amount of working space I need for things like my sewing machine, printer and silhouette! And lucky you, I’m sharing how we made it today 😉

We headed to Lowe’s and purchased a clear kiln-dried aspen panel that measured 24″w X 72″l for the top, 3 spruce pine furring strips that measure 1″ X 8ft., and 2 spruce pine furring strips that measured 2.5″ X 8ft.. Previous to starting our project we purchased oak wood table legs from Amazon here, but you can purchase similar from Lowe’s here. Once home, we began to assemble the table! Choose a side for the top and bottom of the aspen panel. Make sure you have a sturdy work station. In our case, we used to saw horses to rest the panel on. Please excuse our messy garage!! Next, take a strip of the 1″ furring strips, measure it to length of the panel and cut, continue for each side. Using your nail gun, nail each piece into place. The top side of the table will be flat, but the bottom will have a bit of a lip. Get your table legs and position them to your desired location on the bottom of the panel. Using an angel, drill and screw into place. Grab your 2.5″ furring strip and measure between each leg, cut to size and screw into place. Using some extra 1″ furring strips, create some stability for the table by using short screws and screwing equally the length of the panel. Flip your piece over and relish in it’s beauty!!

Make sure everything is even and there are no screws popping through. Using filler, begin to fill your nail holes. Once dry, use a sanding block and sand until smooth. I used a dark walnut stain I already had and stained the entire piece. Once that was dry, I made a mixture of white paint and water for whitewashing. I love using the whitewashing technique because it gives it a worn, rustic look! Work in small areas when whitewashing. Simply brush it on, allow it to sit for a few seconds and wipe it off with a clean white towel. Continue this for the entire piece. The longer you allow the whitewash to sit, the more the piece will absorb the color.

DIY office desk

I am just tickled with how the finished product turned out! It’s truly a beautiful piece to see in person and it looks so expensive!!

So what do you think? Thank you for stopping by! Be sure to stop by next week, I’m sharing how I made the french-inspired drop cloth skirt!

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The Windsor Bench

By FotiniPosted in Blog, DIY, Home, Home DecorNo Comments

Hello friend! It’s great to have you here today! It was a beautiful weekend that consisted of lots of laughs, dreamy weather and a little farm market that had pumpkins!! As you can imagine, I was ecstatic about that! I have been busy preparing for the barn show I will be a part of the first of October ( I will share more about that later!). That has put me even more in the mood for Fall, because I’m making so many lovely Fall decor items! With that said, I finally finished the Windsor bench and I was eager to decorate it for Fall 🙂

A few months back while shopping at a local Antique Mall, I came across a really lovely, old black Windsor chair. I mean this thing was beautiful! I quickly looked at the price tag, only to be shocked it was $495! Say whaaat? Crazy stuff right there! I left, somewhat, broken hearted…

home decor

A few days later, to my surprise I came across a very similar bench someone was selling. I jumped on that like a hot cake, and ended up getting it! I was like a little kid in a candy store! It was beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to get working on it!

When we bought it, it was a combination of hunter green stained wood and a stained maple-colored seat. I didn’t care for the combination, and I kept reverting back to the black Windsor chair, so I knew it was going to be black! Black is a color I have never painted a piece of furniture before, so I was a little intimidated… You can see the “before” picture below, and PLEASE excuse our messy garage! I’m just keepin’ it real folks 😉

home decor

Before I got to painting, I sanded the seat down to the natural wood. It was looking better already!! I began painting soon after, no taping off, nothing. I quickly realized that was a big mistake when I started getting close to the ends of the spindles; oh, did I forget to mention the seat wasn’t going to be painted black! Yes, so smarty pants me, I figured I could easily sand off any small marks I would get on the wood while painting.. wrong! It was a disaster, and I may have cried. I called my husband and he had just the trick to fix it. He hooked up a wire brush attachment to his cordless drill, and with a little bit of time, the paint marks were gone! I took the time (a really, really long time!) to tape around each spindle so no marks would get on the seat. Using a foam brush, I began painting with folk art rich black chalk paint. I love this chalk paint! It covers amazingly, and is so affordable compared to similar products. I allowed each coat to dry completely, giving it a total of 3 coats. The entire piece dried for a couple of days before I began the next step!

I loved how the bench looked!! It was a totally different piece from when I had first got it! But, I wasn’t done yet… I wanted a little more character, so I opted for Miss Mustard Seeds white wax. I applied the wax using a wax brush, applying even coverage to each part. I gave it a good two coats. Once it was dry, I topped the entire piece off with a folk art clear wax. And it was finally done! DONE! I was so happy with how it turned out! I couldn’t wait to get it inside and stage it for Fall 🙂

home decor

So, what do you think of how it turned out? I can’t wait to hear what you all have to say!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out with me a bit today!

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* Affiliate links provided for your convienece!

Little Drummer Boy- Inspired Christmas

By FotiniPosted in Christmas, Home DecorNo Comments

This year, I teamed up with Treetopia to create a one-of-a-kind little drummer boy- inspired Christmas tree! To some, I may decorate too early, but for me I just get to enjoy it longer! Being a home decor blogger, doesn’t help much either 😉 It’s kind of like retail, you have to stay ahead of the game! Decorating early comes with the territory.

One of my very favorite things about decorating the Christmas tree each year, is gathering the inspiration for that specific tree. I wanted my tree to be simple, yet beautiful and I have to say, I think I accomplished just that! The tree I chose this year for my office, was the Alexander Fir Christmas Tree 7.5’ Clear. It’s full branches and perfectly placed white lights are magical!

I always begin by placing my statement pieces or ornaments first. I’ve found that going in a pattern works best and makes the tree have some symmetry. So in this case, I added the gemmed up beaded ornaments first, alternating the gold and bronze. These ornaments are so unique and catch the light beautifully! I wasn’t quite sure at first, how I was going to capture the theme of the little drummer boy. Then, I thought something as simple as, little drummer boy silhouettes would immediately set the tone. I found these free silhouettes here. To continue with that theme, I printed off the sheet music of the hymn, here. These were simply the best touches of the tree!

Christmas tree

Next I went through and added some simple picture frame ornaments, mercury glass balls and sprigs here and there for texture. The simplicity of this design is captivating to me! It truly is simple and allows me to enjoy the beauty of the tree and white lights!

Speaking of white, I went outside my comfort zone a little and opted for a white garland. When I first opened the package I was a little nervous I wouldn’t be able to incorporate it into my design. But, this just goes to show sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is necessary, even if it’s just decorating for Christmas 😉 Had the garland been the traditional green, I think it would of been too much and completely taken away from the tree. I draped the glittering white garland with a frosted eucalyptus garland I previously had and it was the perfect touch!

The beautiful sadie Fir wreath fit like a glove on my beloved silhouette stand. To tie in with the design, I simply tied a piece of satin white ribbon around the waste. What a big difference that little detail made! At a routine stop at Marshall’s, I spotted sheet music wrapping paper. That was the icing on the cake, if you will, to the little drummer boy Christmas tree!

It was a true treat to be apart of the Treetopia Design Council this year! Make sure to stop by and check out all the other amazing Christmas designs!

Treetopia’s 6th Annual Secret Santa Sweepstakes

Spread the cheer of Christmas with Treetopia’s annual Secret Santa Sweepstakes! You and your loved one can get a chance to win a tree and an ornament set by choosing your favorite look from our 2017 Design Council and telling us why it suits your holiday style. Ready those sleigh bells and sing your way through the merriest time of the year!

Duration: November 14-25, 2017

Follow along with Treetopia via social media:

Facebook: Treetopia Twitter: @treetopia
Instagram: @treetopia Pinterest: Treetopia

Summer to Fall mantel

By FotiniPosted in DIY, Fall, Home, Home Decor, UncategorizedTagged Summer to Fall mantelNo Comments

Hey you! It’s such a pleasure to have you here today! I’m going to be discussing little ways to take your Summer mantel and transition it to Fall! I know, Fall doesn’t officially begin until September 23rd this year, but who can wait that long to decorate?

mantel

A constant around our home is fresh flowers! It’s one of the simplest ways to add character to, otherwise, neutral decor. Grabbing a fresh bouquet from the local grocer or farmers market is a good way to start! Once you’re home, create definition in your arrangements by unwrapping the entire bouquet, starting with larger, longer blooms first. Give the arrangement a fuller feeling by cutting the stems at different lengths. I like to split my bouquets up into numerous containers (even if they’re little!). Cutting off short blooms or extra foliage, looks beautiful when placed in a small votive.

mantel

Since we’re discussing how to transition into Fall, opt for flowers or colors that represent that season. In this particular arrangement, I chose a beautiful, fresh bouquet that included yellow, maroon and orange. It was a lively mix and I incorporated some silver dollar eucalyptus for more definition.

Now comes the fun part: creating a vignette! It is a lot of fun playing with different items and making them come together to create something beautiful! I love creating little vignettes places around my house. I find myself admiring them often! For this mantel design, I simply paired books wrapped in kraft paper (which are my go-to, I love them!), vintage books, candles and a cozy blanket. All those lovely items equals total eye-candy!! Have fun playing with your design. Create prominence with items by placing a stack of books beneath it or resting against it. Step out of your comfort zone a little, and you will no doubt, create something beautiful!

This mantel, may or may not, hold me off for decorating for Fall just a bit longer 😉 I hope that you enjoyed this post and I hope you have a lovely week!

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Simple DIY Banner

By FotiniPosted in Blog, DIY, FallNo Comments

Hey you! It’s great to have you here today! I’m excited to tell you I’m apart of a fun little link up called “Home for Fall”! In this link up, you will find all Fall inspired projects! I hope you’re ready to get inspired because there are a lot of great projects for you to check out, share and pin for later! Head over to Hometalk and use the hashtag #homeforfall for all these amazing projects!

The project I’m sharing is a simple DIY banner that literally takes just minutes to make!

You’re going to use two ripped or unwanted book pages. Cut the edges and bottoms off, so all that’s showing is the wording. It’s going to be a rectangle, cut that in half. Now you have four pieces total. Stack them together and cut that in half, now you have 8 pieces. Grab one stack of four and fish tail the bottoms, do for the remaining four also.

Using a hot glue gun, put two glue dots on the back corners and push into place on your jute. Leave about an inch in between each book page; continue for the remainder. Leave nearly 5 inches on each end of the banner for hanging purposes, and that’s it! Can you believe how easy that was!!

It’s the perfect addition to my chalkboard in my office! I am obsessed with it’s simplicity <3

An InLinkz Link-up

Fully Customizable Sport Apple Watch Band Designed Especially for the Sports Enthusiast

Check Your Progress

Monitors Your Heart Rate to Keep You From Overdoing or Pushing Yourself too Hard

Conclusion