The Tackiest Thing Ever
Okay, I just couldn’t help myself with the title. Only tacky because I’m talking about tape…get it? 
I’ve been thinking about Christmas a lot lately; buying gifts, packaging them, mailing them, making cards, and also making cute packaging and craft fair items for Lillie + James. How can I make my gifts or packaging stand out? I’m really bad at wrapping gifts and tying cute bows, so when a short-cut comes along that can help me in any way, I try to keep it in mind for future reference! Enter…decorative tapes. I know these have been all around the blogs before, but I think that it’s an appropriate time to bring them up, don’t you think? Especially with new holiday collections coming out!
After seeing a few photos and videos of these decorative tapes in action, I knew I just had to have some. I think the first company that I ran across is called TapeSwell, a unique line of decorative packing tapes. You can easily dress up a plain old brown paper bag gift-wrap job with these (it’s an easy way to recycle – yippee!), or make a conversation starter for when you’re standing in line at the post office to mail the gift! But they’re not just for wrapping packages…you can put the tape on anything you want to dress up; glass, candles, picture frames, lampshades, gift bags, and they even suggest making headbands and necklaces out of the stuff! Check out their “Tacky Ideas” section on their website here! There are tons of great products and patterns, so I’ll shut up and let the pictures do the talking (I especially love their new holiday tapes, though!!).
Okay, I’m piping in again…how great are the containers that they come in? You can buy the tape as a single roll, or in a combo pack as shown below. I love those little tins! Click on the pictures and you’ll be taken to that particular tape on their site.
These are their holiday patterns…
They even carry these adorable Holiday mailing labels on a roll.
And speaking of mailing labels, tape isn’t the only thing that they do. Check out these Envelope Wraparounds (perfect for sending Christmas cards!).
But don’t let the tape limit you, check out these Tacky Ideas (I like the cards, especially!):
Now check out this video I found, via Daily Grommet.
Cute, right? There is really no limit to how easy it would be to dress up your packages, gifts, envelopes or anything else that you could think of! Prices range from about $7 – $20 depending on the combo that you buy, and I know a lot of people that spend more than that on wrapping paper every year!
I also want to point you over to Happy Tape – a website that distributes Japanese masking tape (Japanese because it’s made out of Japanese washi paper, which is a little different than traditional masking tape that we know and love).
Look how cute the tape looks, dressing up a plain cardboard pastry box. And they also have ‘new’ holiday patterns in pretty metallics!
This is simply a package wrapped in tape, with a label attached at the seam. Adorable! I have to get some of this before the craft fairs come up…
And this is a garland, made with…what else? Tape! Look at the little fruits on the table with toothpicks and tape flags…perfect for a baby or wedding shower as a placecard!
Single rolls start at $5.50, or you can buy 10-packs for $34.00. I’d even scour eBay or Etsy to see if I could find some I haven’t heard of, and do a web search for more crafty ideas…you could make some crazy wall art with these for sure! No painting, only taping, and at $5.50 or less for a roll it would be an easy and cheap project. Just like I like it!
Happy wrapping, everyone! xo, L.
{all images via TapeSwell or Happy Tape.}
Read MoreEmbroidery Hoop-La
Are you a stitcher? Embroidery is becoming very popular and I’ve been noticing it more and more in home decor (and not just on throw pillows!). Have you noticed this trend as much as I have? Hanging an embroidery hoop is an easy way to fill an awkward space, and it is a great way to add some personalization to your decor. I think the idea is just absolutely adorable, inexpensive to buy, and even more inexpensive and easy to DIY. After seeing a lot of embroidery work, or embroidery hoop art around the web, a lot of the paths lead me here: Sublime Stitching. I love their motto: “This ain’t your gramma’s embroidery!” They have the cutest (and edgiest) embroidery patterns, lots of how-to’s if you’re not sure how to get started with embroidery, and a shop for all of the tools you’d need to take up this easy-to-learn hobby. I was clicking all around the site a few months ago, and I even bought one of their ‘Ultimate Embroidery Kits‘ with the intention of making some personalized art for my house, and a few Christmas gifts…well Christmas is only a month and a half away so we’ll have to see if I actually follow through.
Not into stitching? Try hanging an embroidery hoop stuffed (is that the right word?) with your favorite designer fabrics and you have an artful arrangement that makes you happy every time you see it. I’m kicking myself for not buying a lot that I found on Etsy of various sizes of embroidery hoops…haven’t found another lot at such a value since!
I love this studio space, via Apartment Therapy. The owner’s blog can be found here (called The Locker – she makes lovely fabric-and-paper cards in her Etsy shop).
Do you love the embroidery stitching look, but don’t want to stitch your own? Well, fortunately there are a few sellers on Etsy that make them for you and they are amazing! Here are a few that I’ve found that I’m sure you’ll love as much as I do.
This image above is via Green Wedding Shoes, and links to a post about giving these as a wedding gift, but the actual images are from an Etsy shop called Miniature Rhino where the owner will create a customized design for you! How. Stinkin’. Sweet.
This is another piece from Miniature Rhino (I found the image at Lara Lewis’ blog here) but I don’t see it in the Miniature Rhino shop while I’m looking today. Wouldn’t this be a great gift? I’d keep checking her shop if you like it! Stitching a constellation is a such a cute idea.
I really can’t get over this look – it’s like a parlor wall, where most people would arrange a huge wall of photos, but these hoops just make me smile! I think a wall with both photos in frames and embroidery hoops would look amazing! Image via Nea on Etsy. Below is a close-up of the little grey and green hoop on the bottom.
I love the grey and green branch. This is Nea’s ‘Branch Wall Wear“. I’ve had this one in my Etsy favorites for a while.
You can even put a chalkboard oilcloth in an embroidery hoop. Love it! Via Bliss in a Teacup on Etsy.
How about using fabric scraps in an embroidery hoop as a bulletin board? Via Apartment Therapy.
Another example of mixing some cute patterns in an arrangement of hoops! Via Things I Like to Look At.
This is an image from the Etsy shop andwabisabi where you can buy this set of cross stitch patterns for $3.00, and you’ll get it practically immediately because it’s sent to your e-mail address as a PDF. All you need is an embroidery hoop, some embroidery floss, a needle, a piece of fabric and a pattern, all of which can be attained very inexpensively and at any craft store or online shop like Sublime Stitching. I’m inspiring myself to pick my project back up and create some art for my wall!
How about you? What do you think of embroidery or embroidery hoop wall art? I, for one, am loving it and the handmade look that I’m digging right now.
Read More{DIY} Septic Tank Box: Part 1
Yep. That’s what we started to build last weekend. When you live in Likely you have your own well for your water and your own septic tank. Ours is right there in our back yard, and it’s really not buried that deep. As you can see from the photos I took this weekend, we have two green tank lids that stick up right out of the dirt. They’re made of plastic and plastic + sun = brittle plastic. We didn’t want the tank lids to get sunbaked because that would be downright dangerous if something (or someone – eek!) fell through. Fortunately the septic tank is only as old as our home ownership journey (which is about 16 months), but we didn’t want it to be left out there in the elements any longer. So a few weeks ago, Glenn dug some holes, poured some concrete and set some recycled wood posts in, which was the beginning of our new septic tank box.
Although we needed to build a box around the septic tank, we still needed to be able to access the tank for pumping, etc. So when planning the design we decided to make the box do triple duty: protect the tank, act as extra storage, and built at seat height for a little extra seating outside. As I said before, Glenn used some scrap posts that we had around and he set them in concrete around the box. He then purchased some brackets and framed it in with 2×4′s to reinforce the box and add strength.
Here’s a photo, admiring the new window in Harper’s room.
But it reminds me that we still need to paint the trim on the house…..
Harper was a big help, too…and you can see that the green plastic lids are right there, sticking up out of the dirt. Perfect size for a little girl I know to fall through if they somehow got damaged.. Not good!
This (above) is right after Glenn cut the tops of the posts off with his chain saw. Good thing that Glenn is married to an interior designer, because I knew right off the top of my head, exactly what height to build the top at for a standard seat. Or he could have just walked inside with a tape measure and measured a chair…
It’s approximately 18″…in case you were wondering.
Does your man own a chain saw? Mine does. And he uses it…a lot.
Almost done! Doesn’t our new grass look nice? A little patchy still, but at least we have grass now. We should be able to fix that this winter while there’s snow on the ground.
Finished! With the frame, anyway. Now we just need to put the sides and top on. Hopefully it will be finished this weekend, but you know us…fishing might be a little more important while the weather is good. Isn’t this a beautiful November so far? Here in Northern California it’s been sunny and in the 70′s! Love it! Not looking forward to the gloom and cold.
Happy Veteran’s Day! Go thank one you know tomorrow…or every time you see them. I’m giving a shout-out to my cousin, Matt, who is stationed in the army in Hawaii (poor guy, right?) but he’s also recently home from his 2nd Iraq tour and he’s only 24. He’s also my hero and I really hope that I get to see him over the holidays!
xo, L.
PS – My giveaway for 3 Rosebud cards is still going on through this week! Head over there for the details!!
Read MoreHe Says/She Says Poll Results
Good morning, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was great! Just too short…I cleaned my office (aahhh – that is a big sigh of relief), made a few Christmas cards and helped Glenn build the frame around a box that is protecting our septic tank in the backyard. Gross. Well, the box isn’t gross, just the thought of a big tank of poo that is right underneath our feet in our backyard. It’s just weird. The tank isn’t buried very deep – the top of it is actually level with the ground, so we have these big plastic lids that stick up on the lawn, so we’re building a box to protect it from the sun. You really don’t want those plastic lids getting sunbaked and brittle!! A few weeks ago, Glenn dug some holes, poured some concrete in and set some posts. And yesterday he started on the frame…and I helped. Anyway, more on that later!
Next up is the results of the “He Says/She Says” bedroom paint dilemma poll I posted last Friday. So far it’s 53% for painting the trim, chair rail and ceiling brown…41% say leave it how it is…and 6% (1 vote) says Other, but I don’t know what Other means! Anyway, to let you in on who is who…I am the one who wants to paint. Surprise, surprise, right? I feel like at the very least the orange and white needs to be broken up (by painting the chair rail). And I saw a photo online SOMEWHERE of a bedroom with a chocolate brown ceiling and I LOVED it. But I can’t find it anywhere now…let me know if you have seen it or know where I can find it…please! Glenn wants to paint the trim around the windows the same color as the lower wall and be done with it. And he is seriously fighting me on it…straight up says ‘no! Do not paint it!’ It must be nice to have such amazing psychic powers and knowing how ugly my idea must turn out. ::Grrrr…::
I’d even consider doing a tan ceiling instead if chocolate brown is that scary for a ceiling. I still think the chair rail would be best in chocolate, though. But I could always paint that tan as well and if I don’t like it I can paint it darker. Whatever, Glenn, ha!
Thank you all for your votes – I win, I win!! But we’ll see if it ever gets done…I’m still waiting for Glenn to fill all the nail holes in the new trim so that we can get those painted. We’ll also paint the bathroom ceiling (back to white) when we paint the trim. It’s VERY dark in there…you can still do your makeup, but I think we just need a little more white to balance out all of the brown. It keeps it looking crisp. And I need to get new towels and finish sewing my new shower curtain…
And speaking of paint colors, I recently finished an e-decorating Paint Consultation project for a client. I chose colors for the ENTIRE house and I hear through the grapevine (aka Facebook) that their painters are done and they LOVE their colors. Can’t wait to share those photos with you all!! After I see them, of course…
Edit: My brain and my fingers aren’t working together…I thought I left the contest open until TODAY (Monday, 11/9) but I originally was holding the giveaway open until Monday 11/16. So I’m going to keep it open for another week, so if you want to enter you still have time! Sorry, Trisha…maybe you’ll still win! 
Head back to the post to enter. And last, but not least – the winner of last week’s Rosebud Cards giveaway!! The winner is Trisha!! Congrats, Trisha!! Enjoy your free cards!! Here are her favorites:
And a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE ‘Thank You’ to Rosemary of Rosebud Cards for offering this very generous giveaway to Likely Design readers! Your card idea is absolutely adorable, and Trisha is a very lucky winner. I am so appreciative that someone would contact me because of my blog and offer to give something away for free that you worked so hard on. Thank you so much to everyone who entered – you guys rock!
It’s still open: enter the giveaway here!
And another exciting thing coming up – I submitted a guest post to Michelle over at the blog “When I Grow Up” about my path to becoming a creative professional. How exciting, right?!?! I’ll let you know when my guest post is up!! See you all tomorrow and have a great Monday…. xo, L.
Read MoreHe Says/She Says
I need your help here, people! We have a little “Designing for the Sexes” debate at my house…on a few rooms, but we’ll start here. As you might know, we need to do a little painting in the master bedroom. One of us wants to continue doing some painting, and one of us wants to simply leave the room how it is (after the NEW window trim is painted, of course). I won’t say who is who because I want your honest opinion and I’m going to show Glenn the results of this poll! {See the poll below.} Here are some pictures of the bedroom as it is today.
We do have a wish list for this room…starting with light bulbs with lower lumen output. See the bandannas on the bedside lamps? The light bulbs are ridiculously bright for a bedside lamp. We also want a new bed frame (notice how we took the canopy part down??), curtains over the windows, new rugs, and some serious art and accessories. I think the bed could also use a throw or something for some fun texture.
One of us wants to leave the paint as is. The other wants to paint the trim, chair rail and ceiling a chocolate brown, leaving the white and orange as is. What do you think? We both like the orange (Pilgrimage Foliage by Benjamin Moore) so I’m trying not too show my bias here, hehe…
Alright, here is the poll. Feel free to add your own design suggestion if you can think of another idea!
Thanks for your help! I’ll be sure to keep you updated!!
Read More
About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
Subscribe Here
Links
Overheard…