Halloween Time, What's Your Costume?

Happy Spooooky Halloween!!!

It's finally here, after a month of decorating, parties and getting ready today is Halloween. This year we weren't able to make it to any truly epic Halloween parties sadly, so I didn't really go all out on the costume front. Tonight we've been invited to a good friend's house for wine, food and trick or treating with the kids.

I decided that I can't go "naked" to a Halloween gathering costume wise. How boring would I be to come in civilian's clothes? I've come up with a pretty quick and easy costume idea that I'm putting together. My plan is Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Traditionally this day is celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and is celebrated by praying for and remembering friends and family members who have died. There are usually parties and parades to honor this tradition.

You are probably familiar with the vivid colors and amazing art from this celebration, and if you're not then feast your eyes on all this amazing color!

 

**I'm secretly OBSESSED with this wall stencil! Who wouldn't be ;)

And here are some ideas from Day of the Dead translated in to the perfect costume.

Do you get the idea????? I could see a whole party based around the Day of the Dead theme, couldn't you? Technically this is a November celebration, but it sure makes for an awesome Halloween costume idea.

My plan here is to play up the makeup with dark lips, dark eyes and colorful details. I'll simply do a side swept hair with some flowers pinned down. Add some jewels and voila! Pretty easy costume if you ask me, and with a minimal cost of make up and some hair accessories. I'll share the results with you later today!

What will you be wearing for Halloween? Anything festive or creative that you will be doing???

Easy No Sew DIY Banded Pillows

Good morning,

I want to show you one more fun and easy project that I did for Isabella's room. No sew banded pillows. This was a 5-10 minute project, but it brought a beautiful designer touch to her room by simply using the fabric remnants from her DIY Upholstered Cork Board. In my own home I'm like everyone else in search of cost saving ways to make the most out of what I've got, and this is a great example of using what you've got and making something special.

For this project I originally bought 1 yd of this Waverly Modern Essentials fabric in Lilac. The "scraps" that I had left over from my cork board gave me enough for 2 bands that are about 10" wide each. What I love about this project is that I originally bought the fabric at 50% off so it cost me $20 per yard instead of the original $40. Second, I love that it ties the room together and gives it a more "designer" look in small doses keeping the cost down. Lastly, in case you didn't remember from my posts here, Banded Pillows And Sea Urchins and here, Banded Pillows Inspired By Kelly Hoppen as well as the many other posts that I've done with banded pillows one thing is clear, I love banded pillows!

Here is a step by step guide to making your own No sew DIY banded pillows. 

What you'll need:

-Fabric- I probably used about .25yds for my 2- 10" bands

-Scissors

-Tacky glue

-Iron

Step 1: Take your fabric strip and fold the ends in (following the print if there is one), and iron the edges to give you a crisp edge. 

Step 2: Place your band face down and put your pillow on top. Pull your ends over the pillow taught and trim the extra fabric keeping in mind that you want it to be very secure around the pillow so you may need to trim off more than you think.

 Step 3: Fold over both of your ends and iron them for a clean edge. Line the inside of each edge with tacky glue to secure both of your end pieces.

 

Your finished edges will look like this.

Step 4: Place your pillow on top of your band and pull the band around the pillow. Line the edge of one end with tacky glue and over lap the other end on top of it. Secure the entire edge with sewing pins along the line and let it dry.

Here is the room with the finished No Sew DIY Banded Pillows.

They were too easy and turned out too amazing to not share with you. In this case they really tie together the colors and theme of this room, however in your own home they could be a great way to add texture to an other wise boring pillow, or they could be a safe way to add a punch of color without going over the top.

In any case I'm a fan of banded pillows and I'm an even bigger fan of yet another DIY project that only took a little bit of time, some fabric and some glue. I swear, there isn't much I can't do when armed with some spray paint, some glue and possibly a staple gun!

What do you think of these banded pillows? Would you try them in your own home?

It's That Time Of Year, Halloween Decor

Good morning,

People often tell me that they are inspired by my passion for decorating for the holidays, specifically Halloween and Christmas. I admit that it's something that has always come pretty easy for me probably because of my mom. Growing up in Utah, this is the time of year when the seasons are changing with brown leaves, crisp air and a spooky Halloween feeling is all around. It's the time of year when haunted houses are all the rage, and bobbing for apples is just what you do.  My mom has always decorated over the top for the holidays and still does to this day! It is one of the things that I will never forget, and still look forward to when we go home to visit. I think it comes easy for me because I enjoy it and I enjoy the memories that go along it. Maybe it brings out the kid in me.

The past couple of years have been rough for us with the move and construction, and also the loss of my father this time last year. Things just haven't felt the same. I'm starting to come back around though there is still a void,  but this year I decided that a little bit of Halloween decor was in order and I'm glad I did because it was enjoyable to put up the webs and make things a bit festive. 

Here are some of the Halloween happenings around here at the Perez house.

It doesn't have to take a ton to get your house ready for Halloween. I used some spider webs and a few Halloween skulls, spiders, and bones to make our house spooky. I even layered some of my regular accessories to complete the look. That spider on the mirror in the dining room is about 5' long and is way cooler in person. It's looking pretty good around here, and my daughter loves turning on the orange lights on the entry console.  I have a few things outside and am planning to get some faux pumpkins (since it's Florida and they rot) that I may paint and leave out through Thanksgiving. I hope that the memories that I have for this time of year will be the same ones that my daughters will share with their own children one day.

What about your house? Do you decorate for Halloween and get yourself into the spirit (pun intended). We would love to see some pictures!


P.S. Happy Friday!

Nate Berkus For Target, LOVE

Good morning,

I'm a fan of Target, and I'm an even bigger fan of the designer collaborations that they do. I love the idea in both home decor and fashion of making high end labels available to the masses without sacrificing on style.

Nate Berkus recently launched his amazing accessories and bedding line for Target, and his eclectic style did not disappoint. You may remember the Nate Berkus Ikat bowls for HSN that were everywhere (and that I DIYed in my closet here )? Well there aren't any of these bowls sadly in the collection, but what there are makes up for it entirely!

Here are a few of my personal favorites.

There are many other items available in this collection including bath ware and towels, bedding, pillows, picture frames, gold vases and then some. I snatched up 2 of those Aries figurines and a tortoise shell which btw is also available in yellow and green. You can see the full collection at target.com.

You'll have to wait to see the tortoise shell in action, but here is a glimpse at the Aries heads on my newly styled shelves.

Now I'm not going to lie, I already thought about spray painting these babies gold like I do everything else, but I'm going to leave them a while and see how it goes. I love off beat accessories, and these Aries heads are right up my ally. I also like that this collection is a bit edgy and offers something out of the norm, or at least out of the norm for Target.

You can see the old staging of my shelves here, but here's a reminder of the old look.

And now the new look with my lovely Nate Berkus for Target Aries heads.

I'm loving the new look, and find that changing around accessories is an easy way to refresh your home and make it feel new all over again. I also love that they were only $14.99 each!

Have you seen the new Nate Berkus collection for Target? Is there anything that you are currently crushing on? As always, I would love to see pictures so feel free to share.

DIY Pom Pom Tassel Curtains

Happy Monday!!!

I want to share with you the progress on Isa's room. Remember the post about her room inspiration here ? Well I completed the curtain panels for her window treatments, and the results are perfect! They were exactly what I needed for her room transformation, and they are a fantastic option for a day bed that's placed in front of a window where hanging curtains can be a challenge.

Take a look at my DIY pom pom tassel curtains.

These were originally inspired from this post on love Meagan where she transformed her office window nook from this:

to this:

It is a beautiful office and transformation that you should definitely go see. What I loved most about her idea was how the tassel curtains draped around her window seat which is exactly what I needed to go around my day bed and still look stylish. I think it definitely accomplished that goal.

Here is the step by step tutorial on DIY pom pom tassel curtains. 

What you'll need:

- curtain panels of your choice

-pom pom tassel fringe measured to the length of your curtains plus 2" on the top and bottom for a finished edge. I used 98" curtain panels that I already had so I bought 5.5yds of tassel fringe for mine. 

- tacky glue

-sewing pins

Step 1:

Lay your curtain panels out over a flat surface and place a line of tacky glue along the INSIDE edge of your curtain panel. 

Step 2:

Line your tassel along the line of glue and secure it with sewing pins placing a pin every couple of inches. 

 

 

Step 3:

Let your curtains dry over night and then remove your sewing pins. Hang and marvel at your new creation. 

Here is Isabella's bed and window after the new DIY tassel curtains were hung. ***LOVE***

 What do you think? Are you digging the pom pom tassels that I've been adding all over the place???

I love them, and now want to add pom pom tassels everywhere! Thanks Meagan for this lovely idea.