December 2013 – Page 2

Good Marathons

Published on December 16, 2013December 17, 2013 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

I’m not talking about running. That, I’m definitely not good at. If you follow us on Instagram, you probably saw our weekend tile marathon.

On Saturday, we (as usual, mostly Ben) laid out, cut, and installed the staggered brick slate floor.

We used this same tile on the family room fireplace and love it. The price is right, too. We couldn’t find the same size ceramic or porcelain tile we liked within fifty cents per square foot.

Ben loves working with it as it cuts easily with a wet tile saw.

Sunday morning, we geared up for a long day of shower tiling. Everything was installed and ready to go.

Our stainless steel shelf and plumbing controls.

We laid out a few starting options and settled on starting on the corner and wrapping the design around to the other wall.

With the first few tiles in place, working off was a breeze. Seven hours later, we had the shower tiled.

That included cutting every 12 by 12 tile in half to create the rectangle shape. After searching every local tile and home improvement store, we couldn’t find a rectangular tile we liked in our price range. Instead, we saved some money and cut standard (easy to find) Grecian White marble tiles. It’s strange, because the colors were pretty consistent within each box, but box to box were vastly different. Ranging from Carrara-looking gray and white veins to golden tones with dark flecks.

As I dried each cut tile, I stacked gray then gold to mix the colors. If I saw an area that had too much of one color, I picked out the opposite for the next tile. Once the lines are grouted, we’ll pull the protective film off the shower pan. The shelf just needs a cleaning.

But it’s so, so exciting to see a nice, clean, open, and bright shower in here.

That corner post isn’t structural, but necessary. We’re hoping two shower curtains (one on each open side) will work to keep water in. If not, or we don’t like them, we’ll add glass to the longer wall. Until then, I’m dreaming of using this beauty. In the mean time, I stare at and pet my favorite tiles. Yes, I’m strange and pick out my favorites to put in highly visible areas.

That top horizontal is one of those. Ben does think I’m crazy for that, by the way. If that’s crazy, I don’t want to be sane. Are you as in love with the new tile as I am? I can’t stop looking at it.

P.S. We’ve gotten several questions about the tile. The shower tiles are 12 by 12 Greecian white marble from Home Depot, cut in half and laid in the herringbone pattern. Floor tiles are Montauk Black 12 by 24 inch slate tiles, also from Home Depot. Both tiles are available in our local store; hopefully yours stocks these as well.

Merry & Bright

Published on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Wow, thank you all so, so much for your incredibly sweet comments on our Christmas home tour yesterday.

Because we had a lot of comments on the Merry & Bright art I made, I’ve decided to share a free print version.

I used Photoshop, so it’s not wonky like my hand drawn design.

Get your own Merry & Bright with black backing:

Or save yourself some ink and print the Merry & Bright with white backing:

Also, our stocking hangers are slightly unconventional, but I love them.

Last year, I bought traditional stocking hangers from Target on clearance. You know, the heavy rectangles with the little hook. They work great, but were wider than I wanted. Well, I got rail road spikes, just to use as decor. Inspired by these porcelain beauties, I sprayed two of the five matte white, then painted the ends with gold Liquid Leaf.

Then I realized, these spikes are heavy, about the same as the hooks. So I swapped them with the hooks. Bam, more decorating space and less noticeable hooks.

And, I get to use the bad boys as table decor after the holidays.

I think I’ll spray the rusted spikes with a clear matte finish, just to prevent rust getting all over. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Blogger Stylin’ Home Tour: Cozy and Colorful

Published on December 12, 2013December 11, 2013 by Our Humble Abode37 Comments

If you’re coming from Iron and Twine, welcome to the party! So many wonderful ladies have shared their fantastic tours already. Check out the first three days here:

Monday:

Lindsay – The White Buffalo Styling Co.

Roeshel – DIY Showoff

Jess and Monica – East Coast Creative

Laura – Finding Home

Jesse – Scout and Nimble

Sarah – Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

Angela – Number Fifty-three

Gwen – The Makerista

Brittany – Brittany Makes

Tuesday:

Ashley – The Handmade Home

Anneke – This, That, & Life

Gina – Shabby Creek Cottage

Cassie – Primitive & Proper

Caitlin – Desert Domicile

Jenna – Rain on a Tin Roof

Sarah – The Thriftress

Carolyn – Sweet Chaos Home

Jamie – So Much Better with Age

Shavonda – A Home Full of Color

Wednesday:

Emily – Jones Design Company

Jamie – C.R.A.F.T.

Lucy – Craftberry Bush

Michelle – Decor and the Dog

Whitney – The Curtis Casa

Kristin – Bliss at Home

Summer – Simple Stylings

Sarah – Lacquer and Linen

Danika – Gorgeous Shiny Things

Kelly – View Along the Way

With so many talented women and amazing ideas, I feel like a slacker. But, here’s our Christmas home tour. How ’bout we start in the family room. Because the fireplace is in here, it got the most attention.

Our mantel is decked out in bright colors, including a short strand of the felt garland I made. The merry & bright art is something I sketched out and painted on a piece of black foam from the Dollar Tree. For the past four years, I’ve made silhouette ornaments of each family member. And in years past, I’ve hung those ornaments on stands to place on a shelf. This year, the silhouettes mark each stocking, including a custom paint color. Our deep green chevron coffee table adds more pattern and color. When paired with red plaid scarf pillows, it’s a slight twist on traditional red and green. Original scarf tassels are a fun touch, too. Next to the fireplace is slightly less colorful and more glam. Lots of gold, white, some black, and a bit of blue. Ben’s first deer has a glitter star. You know, to girl him up a little. On the other side of the room I sewed plaid flannel pillow covers. Nothing says cozy like flannel, I always say. This buffalo check is great all year, too. In our less finished (okay, not even close) living room, I decorated the entertainment center. Though we have plans to build doors to hide the ugly electronics and cords. Gold on navy Holy Night song lyrics are Christmas-y, without screaming Christmas. Below is a wintery scene, complete with bottle brush trees, a hedgehog family, and squirrel. The dining room decor is much simpler. Our tree is in the corner. Large jingle bells hang from the chairs. And another snowy scene sits on the table. A cheap acrylic frame from Michael’s holds Epsom salt, trees, and mini birds. And a bokeh tree, because I can’t help myself. Thanks for stopping in! Pop over to Cuckoo 4 Design. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour.

Thursday:

Kennesha – Restoration House Interiors

Jenna – SAS Interiors

Chris – Just a Girl

Kelly – Eclectically Vintage

Michelle – Iron and Twine

Amanda – Our Humble Abode

Julia – Cuckoo 4 Design

Bethany – Dwellings by Devore

Lindsay – Makely Home

Jennifer – Dimples & Tangles

Friday:

Shauna – Perfectly Imperfect

Traci – Beneath My Heart

Jen – The Chronicles of Home

Jennifer – Tatertots and Jello

Kristin – Hunted Interior

Eileen – A Creative Day

Gabbi – Retro Ranch Reno

Shannon – Shannon Berry Design

Lakeitha – Lakeitha Duncan

Kristen – KFD Designs

Jessica – Dear Emmeline

Sarah – Royal Marigold

Carmel – Our Fifth House

Zippity Do Da

Published on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

I know there are a ton of tutorials all about sewing a zipper on a pillow. Most tutorials also use a special zipper foot. I don’t have one and never had, so here’s how I do it. Start with your cut piece of fabric, laid out, right side up. Then, place your zipper, right side down, and align the bottom edges. Leave the last few inches of the zipper open, like this:

Then sew, with your normal foot. I keep the edge of my foot along the outer edge of the zipper. Stop just before the zipper pull.

To finish that side, I then pull the zipper up, beyond my stopping point. I start sewing, back stitch a few, then carry on until I reach the end, back stitching again to lock the threads.

So that’s one half of a zipper.

Lay the fabric and zipper out, right sides still up. Now, place your backing fabric on top, right sides down. Pin along the edges, leaving the zipper slightly undone.

Sew along the outside edge, just as before, stopping before the zipper pull. Pull the zipper up, then start sewing again. Now, you’ve got a zipper.

But let’s finish the pillow. Align the top and sides of your fabric, pinning in place. I like to sew one side, pivot to sew the top, pivot again to sew half of the last side. While my zipper is completely closed. Keeping the zipper closed makes it easier to pin everything together where it should be.

If I sewed all three sides with the zipper closed, I’d be stuck with an inside out, unusable pillow cover. So, open the zipper, then continue sewing the rest of the way down. Because I’m lazy, I sew over the ends of my zipper with my machine about 20 times, just to lock the ends in.

Turn it right side out and put it to use.

Gimme a Giveaway: For Animal Lovers

Published on December 6, 2013January 2, 2014 by Our Humble Abode74 Comments

This giveaway is closed. Thanks for entering! See who won here.

Who doesn’t love a cute critter? I know it’s extremely tough for me to refuse one. If we’re kindred spirits, you’ll love this month’s giveaway partners, Wilderness Romance and Chipmunk Cheeks.

Wilderness Romance specializes in hand printed fabric goods like pillows and pillow cases. Like this Hand Printed Buffalo Pillow, that I now have living in my house.

Or this Moose pillow:

And a cute Plush Rabbit:

And Chipmunk Cheeks, oh goodness, there’s so much to love.

This Squirrel Flowers print is in my house, waiting to be framed and hung, but oh so adorable.

This Fox Flowers is a handsome fella, too.

Elephant Flowers, amazing flowers and I almost got her.

Pink Hedgehog Flowers, so pretty.

Come on now, get in on this action!

The Goods: Two prizes! For the first winner, one $30 shop credit to Wilderness Romance and one $25 credit to Chipmunk Cheeks or Katie Vernon. For the second winner, one $25 credit good for or toward anything in the Chipmunk Cheeks or Katie Vernon.

To Enter: Leave a comment, which can (but doesn’t have to) include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun: How many animal related pieces do you have in your house? Art, pillows, sculptures, you name it. Me? I’ve got at least 30, if I group pairs or sets together. As singles, easily over 50.

For additional entries:

1. Add Wilderness Romance to your Etsy favs and leave a comment.

2. Add Chipmunk Cheeks to your Etsy favs, then leave a second comment.

3. Like Our Humble Abode on Facebook, and comment again.

Contest Closes: Thursday, December 26th, 2013.

Number of Winners: Two, chosen by Random.org.

Ships: Anywhere in the US.

Other Info: We will select the winners using random.org and announce on Friday, December 27th.

P.S. I’ve lowered prices on nearly everything in the shop for the rest of December. 8 by 10 inch prints are only 10 bucks!