Before and After: This and That

I cannot get enough of before and after shots of real makeovers, why because I love to see the end result of a once shabby, dull, boring room. I believe that every room in our homes have star appeal, if we care to adjust and give it the star quality it deserves. Try grouping of collectibles, or dust that rug up and make it a focal point in a room (with weather conditions and the dust to deal with in sri lankan homes, large and cumbersome rugs may not be practical, but try using the smaller ones where a weekly shot in the sun is all the treatment it requires), hang up pictures in groups, create a focal point of family photos, add at least one hardy house friendly plant, add an antique or simply give it a new coat of paint.

Before

After (view 1)

After (view 2)

I am in love with these before and after makeovers on http://www.housebeautiful.com/

Before view of a room

After view of the room

There are so many ideas to get inspiration from, so many do along the way tips that you simply have to go and check for yourself. See for yourself all the little details that have undergone the makeover, from the rugs, to the scones to the flowers, and to everything else.

Before view of the hall

After view of the hall (view 1)

After view of the hall (view 2)

What are your inspirations? 

xoxoxoxoxo

Candice

Oh that stand

Remember the cake stand that I created from an odd candle stand and a side plate.

Here are some other ones using different bits and pieces. How pretty are these?

IMAGE
http://www.craftynest.com/2008/10/repurposed-cake-stands/

A doing weekend

With the weekend just around the corner, I have found some lovely stuff that anyone can do in a matters of hours, perhaps in under half a day the most. Let me know how it turned out. Dash for the stores if you wish, or simply make do with whatever you have on hand.

"Small items can easily get lost and cluttered inside of a large cabinet. To prevent this, search for inexpensive containers you can use to keep things organized and neat. Here, an open tin is perfect for storing markers, and an old restaurant serving basket keeps school supplies in place"

"Use a toothbrush holder to artfully store paintbrushes, pens, and pencils. Use a matching soap dish to house business cards and other small items. These clever containers will keep your drawers and desktop free of clutter"

"Control clutter in a junk drawer with this low-cost solution. Here silicone cupcake liners hold small, loose items. An egg carton stashes items such as thumb tacks and staples in the egg cups and larger items such as pencils, a calculator, and a pair of scissors on the other side"

ALL IMAGES and descriptive text above from
http://www.bhg.com

A well co-ordinated laundry room

Don't throw away your odd candle stand, glue them on a silver tray and light up those candles!!!

Got some old picture frames, paint them and hang the odd work of art

Beautiful things come together to make this sit space cozy

Add some christmas lights into large bottle for an instant statement



Bring out all those colourful bottles and display them on your window sill or dresser

All Images Above from http://www.countryliving.com/



Paper Quills

The old fashioned paper craft known as quilling is used to make these distinctive cards and all sorts of wonderful other crafts, ranging from invitation cards, greeting cards, pictures to mount etc.  In paper quilling you will need an assorted number of coloured A4 papers, strong clear glue, cardboard in contrasting colours and of course your imagination, lots of it.  Paper quilling takes long hours even for the seasoned quiller since each quill requires that you cut long narrow strips of various shades of the coloured paper you will be using. Then you need to curl one end of each strip with the blunt edge of a pair of scissors and then roll the strip into a tight coil.  You need to have very nimble fingers for this very tidy job and loads of patience.  My friend Yogika is a master of her profession and here below are her masterpieces.

Yogika Soysa

Image: YS

Image: YS

Image: Image idea from the web

Image: YS