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Patriotic Planter

July 3, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 1 Comment

Did you know tomorrow is our 4 yr house anniversary, one of the many reasons Fourth of July is special to us? Can't believe it has been so long since we moved here! This year though as newly minted US citizens the holiday holds an extra special spot in our hearts. After the very late start last year I'd planned on getting my July 4th decorating going well in advance but somehow life got in the way. Result? Apart from a few flags on the porch, nothing nada! Fast forward to last week with me searching through my craft pile in the basement scrambling to add something patriotic around the house. That's when the left over Frog Tape Shape tape from my painted tray caught my eye. A few supplies, some painting help from my Amma (mom), and; Isn't she pretty? A couple of planters like these … [Read more...]

DIY Tile Mirror

July 1, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 37 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Elmer’s ProBond Advanced. All opinions are 100% mine. All you ladies out there, what would you say is a must have in your closet apart from the clothes and accessories? A full length mirror of course! You see, ever since we moved into this home 4 yrs ago I've been living without one while our over the door full length mirror from the first house has been sitting in our basement unused, still in its movers' wrapping! Even though I was well aware that I badly needed one we just didn't hang it 'coz we thought it was too plain, you know your average frame less mirror. Kinda hard to make sense 'coz dressing up in traditional Indian attire means draping 6 yards of fabric on you! How do you do that without a full length mirror? Instead I … [Read more...]

How to Sew a Seat Cushion with Piping

June 30, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 4 Comments

How was your weekend? We had a nice and relaxing 2 days, met up with some old friends and took my folks to see the Luray caverns. Though this was my 5th or 6th time visiting just like the nearby Skyline Drive I'll never ever get tired of going there. If you haven't been to these caves then you must; it is the largest of such caverns in the Eastern US. You really can't express in words how beautiful it is. The Dream Lake inside the caverns; Coming back to today's post we have one more chair tutorial left, on how I sewed the seat cushions. As I mentioned earlier, this is not what I would call a beginner sewing project. Neither is it the most difficult one in the world. But you do need some patience and planning to get this baby going. Materials Fabric - I got the fabric back in … [Read more...]

Painted Wave Tray

June 26, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 15 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FrogTape. All opinions are 100% mine. Though I'm no beach person come summer I like to surround myself with things that remind me of the beach and outdoors. Combine that with my recent fascination with Gold I tell ya we have a winner in this painted DIY tray. I've always been a fan of the yellow metal when it came to decor preferring more of the aged brass/ bronze look than pure Gold per se. But recently I've been feeling a great pull towards shiny Gold and won't stop at a chance to use it anywhere. So what does a girl do with an old wood tray, spray paint, and FrogTape's Shape Tape? Make Gold waves of course! ;) To give a worn out tray like this, which by the way was a vintage store find, a new lease of life … [Read more...]

Simple & Easy Patriotic Decor

June 24, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 4 Comments

When it comes to Red, White, and Blue I generally tend to stay low key adding a few touches here and there around the home. My reasoning being, Red is a mainstay at ours in the accessories department so dolling out more Red seems like overkill. So my RW&B decorating usually starts and ends at the table with a super duper easy flag centerpiece. ;) This year though I'm a little better and have added a big Burlap Bow made with Natural and Red burlap ribbon (left over from the Christmas Wreath) dressed up with a Silk Poinsettia (it is so big that it looks like just any other ordinary red flower) and an American flag to our front door instead of a wreath. I swear I had pics of it on my phone but it looks not. Will have to wait till tomorrow morning to take a shot and update the post. … [Read more...]

How to Reupholster a Chair

June 23, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 8 Comments

Happy Monday! I'm back in full swing with our internet connection restored and a few finished projects under my belt but first let us continue with our cane chairs makeover. You saw the reveal and how to paint them, now for the upholstering. It is pretty similar to what I did on my other chair makeover except for the seat cushion (that's a whole other post). A few new things I learned along the way; Be very very careful when using a geometric print. Plan out really clearly what design you want on the seat, back, and the back side of the back cushion (all visible) and double check the patterns before cutting the fabric. Double welt cording made out of a geometric print fabric does not look as great. You might be better off using a contrasting plain fabric for cording. That … [Read more...]

How to Paint a Cane Chair

June 17, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 4 Comments

You saw the reveal yesterday now for the dumb down. Project Numero Uno: Painting But first some background. While the cane on both the chairs was very brittle and dry, on one of them it was starting to break in 2 places. This gave me nightmares about sanding and re-staining. Hence the easy way out; painting. As usual I would have picked the path of least resistance and opted for chalk paint ( no priming) had I found something in Navy. But that was not to be. Took the traditional route instead; sanding, priming, painting, and sealing. The verdict: I like it enough to become a spokesperson for Kilz! That is the only thing in this world you need to boost up your painting confidence. Yes, you can painting anything, literally anything with Kilz in hand! To nail it in we started with these … [Read more...]

Cane Chair Makeover Reveal

June 16, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 15 Comments

After a whirlwind weekend the chair reveal is finally here! The pillows didn't turn out as I planned so it is just the chairs for now. The pair of them in our family room with our dear Ms. Dee in the middle. To refresh your memory this what they used to look like when I bought them off Craigslist. Though the velvet fabric in the "Before" shot looks OK, it was dirty and musty. When it came to reupholstering the seat cushions I took a giant leap of faith and decided to replicate the original look with two layers for cording. I tell ya, reupholstering these babies is strictly for the sewing experienced. If you are not into sewing then a better option would be to skip the first single welt cord altogether. 'Coz of the busy geometric pattern of the new fabric I left out the tufting … [Read more...]

This & That

June 12, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran 11 Comments

I finished up the cane chairs 2 weeks ago but still have to make the throw pillows. Here's a sneak peek (a really bad Iphone pic). With my oldest graduating from elementary school this week and me starting a new job in DC last week things have been pretty hectic to say the least. As a result projects have been put on hold till the weekend. Can you see these days I'm digging Navy? I just painted my upstairs guest bedroom Navy! I guess working on 5 different projects at the same time doesn't help either. In other news, did I tell you I'm going to the Haven conference? It is a 2 day conference where DIY and Home Decor bloggers from all over the blogland descend on Atlanta to learn about blogging, socialize, and just meet and greet. I've heard fabulous things about it from my bloggy … [Read more...]

How to Grow Dwarf Papyrus

June 10, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran Leave a Comment

You might remember this dainty little plant from my water garden last year. Good news she is still around (can't say the same about the water lily or the moneywort :( ). Whether you own a water garden or not if you ever come across a dwarf papyrus then no matter what buy it. I guarantee ya it is one of the easiest plants to grow both outside and indoors in winter. Mine survived on complete neglect all these months. I should have guessed they've been around for a million years! Ancient Egyptians used to make paper from it. This fact alone gives it special status in our home as both my kiddos are avid Ancient Egypt enthusiasts. For them it is as if they own a piece of history. :) The dwarf variety is resilient and grows in clumps like its bigger counterpart. The only requirement is … [Read more...]

Navy & Coral it is!

June 9, 2014 By Vidya Sukumaran Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! Amidst all the craziness of the last week of school I've been tackling one project after another 'coz I need to get our upstairs guest bedroom in shape as my folks are coming to stay for the summer. My dad has never visited us here in VA so it super exciting to have them visit us this time. Can't wait! This is one room that I'd consciously left builder bare as I had no clue of what I wanted in there. What do they say, No need to rush things, if something is bound to happen it will happen in the right time with the right person and for the best reason? Same way over the last few weeks the vision for this room slowly started to fall in place in my head and here it is; As you might have guessed from my recent posts, I've been on Navy trip recently. After browsing numerous … [Read more...]