Recently on AKA Design…
Gold Glitter Mason Jars
So what did you think of our Gold Sharpie Bowls yesterday? So fun! Are your ready for another Gold project today? How about... Gold Glitter Mason Jars Supplies Mason jar(s) primer gold spray paint painter's tape glue (Mod Podge) foam brush glitter Instructions 1. Prime and spray paint outside of mason jar(s). Let dry. 2. Using painter's tape, tape around jar. This will mark where you want the glue and glitter to be and where you don't want it to be. 3. Apply glue (Mod Podge) … [Read More...]
Gold Sharpie Bowls (Animal Prints)
They're all over blog land - ceramic bowls, plates and mugs decorated with a basic black Sharpie. We even created a Sharpie Bowl of our own awhile back. This time we've upped our game. We've created, not one, not two, but THREE ceramic Sharpie bowls. WITH A GOLD SHARPIE! Gold Sharpie Bowls Supplies ceramic bowls gold sharpie cookie sheet oven Instructions 1. Wash and thoroughly dry ceramic bowls. 2. Doodle till your hearts content inside/outside/upside down (does anyone remember … [Read More...]
May 2013 in Review
Each month we review the previous month, just in case you missed any epic posts or pithy writing! Ahem. Really, it’s just in case you’re new here or missed a project we think you’d like! You know that saying "better late than never"? Yeah. Let's just apply that to this post. Never mind that it's the 17th of June when we're posting it. I thought about posting it way back in the first week of June. There's another saying... "It's the thought that counts". May in Review One of my favorite … [Read More...]
Friday Love List
Good Friday morning afternoon! I so meant for this post to be done this morning, but time just got away from me! Does anyone else find that they have a much longer to do list than time to complete it? Ugh. One of my pet peeves for sure. Oh well, I might as well get used to it! Did you know we updated our House Tour page(s)? Oh yes, we've finally got before and afters and the story behind each of our houses posted for you to see! YAY! I love it when someone comes up with a cheaper way to decorate … [Read More...]
How To Stencil A Wall
I am a huge fan of high impact feature walls in decorating. Wallpaper is one way to get that impressive effect - but stenciling can be just as effective for much less money, not to mention that stenciling is less of a long-term commitment (because it can just be painted over)! Our last house saw us stenciling subtle feature walls in both our dining room and our bedroom. At this house, we've reused one of the same stencils in our current master bedroom - but this time with more of a high contrast geometric … [Read More...]
How to get Welcome Home (our decorating eBook) for FREE!
Did you know that a little while ago we wrote a decorating eBook? Well, we did! It's called Welcome Home. It's all about making your home cozy and beautiful. It's 50+ pages full of tips, tricks and ideas that we use all the time. Here's what a couple of our bloggy friends had to say when we first launched Welcome Home: Shannon’s approach to decorating is warm & fun – the perfect combination for creating a cozy home. Her book is filled with tips & tricks to create your dream … [Read More...]
Pastel Over Gold Painted Mason Jars
I know that I know that I know that I'm not the first blogger to paint a mason jar. But I also know that I adore the look of rustic pastel-colored mason jars! Aren't they so sweet? For my jars, I wanted to be able to use them as vases (which meant no spray paint on the inside) but I also wanted a little bit of gold bling to show through too. Tricky! Pastel Over Gold Painted Mason Jars Supplies: Mason jars Spray-on primer Gold spray paint Pastel colored acrylic craft paint foam brush paper plate … [Read More...]
Friday Love List
Happy Friday! This week was interesting...a summer cold came from nowhere and kicked my butt for a few days. Thankfully I'm back at it now, but man, I have some catching up to do! If you love the farmhouse look, visit Town and Country blog. Jennifer will show you some great Summer Farmhouse Decorating Tips. Another of my favorite Jennifers (tee hee) has a Simple Summer Sea Sign tutorial at City Farmhouse. And keeping with the (totally accidental) farmhouse theme, Andrea and fam have just finished their Cozy … [Read More...]
Easy Envelope Pillows (from Fat Quarters & Scrap Fabric)
I love throw pillows. I may or may not have a problem. At least I'm not alone. Throw pillows can add so much style and oomph to a room, not to mention comfort. But they can be costly too depending on where you find them. I've DIY'd several pillows and pillow covers for our house over the last few years, but I've always hated the zipper part. Zippers are such a pain to sew! So this time around I decided to go the easy route and just make easy envelope pillows for our bedroom makeover. I started with this … [Read More...]
Living Room Changes
Just a short couple of weeks ago, we showed you our living room, which had stayed pretty much the same since we moved in over 5 months ago. Well it doesn't look like that anymore! Now it looks like this: It's certainly not an impressive before and after. Mostly because it really isn't an after, but more of an in-progress. Since we love to have people over and we host two small groups fairly frequently at our house, I've had my eyes open for more seating options. With the original configuration, there was only … [Read More...]
Simons – Home Decor, Home Accessories & Home Fashions
Okay, Canadian boys and girls - this is your lucky day! Why? Because I've found a fun new source for Home Decor, Home Accessories and Home Fashions called Simons. Simons Would you like to see a few stunning items I'm crushing on? How about this masculine Brit inspired Denim duvet cover set? At only $75 - $130 for the duvet cover and sham(s) this is a fab way to bring a unique and creative look to a teen boy's bedroom perhaps. Ooh, or how about this one? It's a bit like subway art for the bed. LOVE me … [Read More...]
Butterfly Dreams Sheet Set Giveaway
*This giveaway is now closed and we've chosen our winner...check below to see if it's you!* Okay, so last night we revealed our Rustic Chic Master Bedroom look... And in the P.S. at the end I told you to come back this afternoon for a giveaway of THE MOST AMAZING SHEETS EVER! I'm so NOT exaggerating. These sheets ROCK! So here's the story. A couple of months ago Tim and Edith contacted us and asked if we'd like to try out a set of their microfibre sheets. We get asked if we want to try A LOT of things (the … [Read More...]
Rustic Chic Master Bedroom Reveal
Welcome to our Rustic Chic Master Bedroom. There is a rustic headboard, burlap banner and industrial-esque lamps. But there's also a trellis-inspired stenciled wall, a crisp white pin-tuck duvet cover, yellow ceramic knobs and vintage looking throw pillows. All combined with a color scheme of moody deep gray with splashes of sunny yellow. Rustic Chic. Sometimes a room's final design comes to me right away, but sometimes it takes living in the space for awhile - in the case of our master bedroom at this house, a … [Read More...]
Taking a Family Day
Hello friends! Just popping in to wish you a happy Tuesday. The kids and I went on a mini adventure yesterday and took the bus and train to meet Dean after work for some shopping. It was fun, the shopping less fruitful than I'd like, but still fun. Unfortunately Miss Muffet (our littlest) got food poisoning from dinner and was ill late last night. Dean went to work this morning, but the rest of us slept in and didn't even have breakfast until 11:00 AM. Thankfully no one else has been sick and Meg is feeling MUCH … [Read More...]
