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  • Holiday Fun In Rochester, N.Y!

    Often, when you live in an area, you do not take advantage of the wonderful things available. You take it for granted that you will eventually do them, but you never make time for it. A perfect example was when I started dating my husband. He was originally from Brooklyn, NY, so I assumed he had seen the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, etc. Not only had he not visited any of the sites, but neither had his family. On our next trip to Brooklyn, I initiated a tour of all the sites, and we had a blast! Unfortunately for me, I have become one of those people. Rochester has a plethora of activities, and I have decided to take part in a few this holiday season. My first adventure was to the George Eastman House Museum for their annual Gingerbread house display. This is the historic mansion of the late George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, and one of the greatest philanthropists the world has ever known. The Rochester community has benefited so much from his generosity. The University of Rochester wouldn’t be a top 30 research university in the country, and MIT would have gone out of business if it weren’t for George Eastman’s legacy. You can learn more about him and the holiday gingerbread house display they have every year at: https://www.eastman.org/sweet-creations-gingerbread-display .                                       The Eastman House looks so pretty at night! The entrance fee was $15, which covered all exhibits in the museum. This is the first Gingerbread Creation on display as you enter. This sets the tone that they will not all be houses. The detail is amazing!                               Look at the water feature in this creation. It is so cool!                                             Try and guess what children’s book this is?                                               Here come Mama, Papa, and Baby bears. Watch out, Goldilocks! "My favorite! I think the shutters and door are made with sticks of gum. Who would have thought!"                                                                                                         The Peanuts Gang, I love it! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new blog posts as they are created.

  • Happy New Year 2020!

    I had my holiday tablescape all set in my head. I would use my white dishes, greenery, ornaments, and candles. Those plans went right out the window when my mother-in-law asked if I would like her China. She is in the midst of downsizing and has not used the set in years. When I saw the dishes, I immediately fell in love with them! My answer was YES, YES, YES! I obviously wanted to use them this holiday, so I switched gears and started to look for items to work with the dishes. This is the China set she gave me. I love the color and beautiful delicate flower pattern on the plates. It is a set for twelve, which also includes serving bowls, platters, and salt and pepper shakers. I am one lucky girl. After seeing the silver rim on the plates, my first thought was winter. I already had a white linen tablecloth and napkins, but I needed silvery sparkly decorations. At Pottery Barn, I came across mini mercury glass ornaments and beautiful silver-plated pinecones that would work perfectly. I also found a shimmering flocked garland to use as a table runner. With white ribbon, I tied the mini silver ornaments around the napkins to add shine. After laying the garland on the table, I placed the pinecone ornaments and intertwined them with a wired-silver ribbon. The finishing touch were crystal candlesticks with white tapered candles. This is the finished table! I could not be happier with the results! The best thing was my mother-in-law's reaction seeing her dishes used again! As a blogger, you want people to enjoy what you write and maybe even get inspired by it. A reader recently told me that my post did just that for her. She lost her mom in March and was looking for a special way to remember her on Christmas Eve. After reading my blog, she got the idea she was looking for. She decided to set up a beautiful table to celebrate the holidays and honor her mom's memory. What a beautiful tribute to her mother. The colors are so rich, and the gold accents throughout the room tie in beautifully with the tablescape. I love all the candles. It makes the room glow. The layering starting with the placemat all the way up to the napkin ring makes your eye travel, appreciating the detail as you go along. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to get new posts as they are created.

  • Garden Design Ideas Along A Fence!

    A few years ago, our neighbors put up a six-foot stockade fence between our yards that could not be ignored. There was no real issue with it on our part. Our neighbors had two dogs and a toddler and needed the fence for them. The issue was how do I would make it look intentional and blend with my design plan for our backyard. I finally settled on solar lanterns that I purchased from a Joann Fabrics store. They had been the perfect solution until they stopped working this year. I cleaned them and put them in direct sunlight hoping this would recharge them. When this did not work, I decided to open them up. I was very surprised and creeped out at what I found! The lanterns I purchased. I pried off the top . When the top came off hundreds of ants and larvae fell out . I screamed and threw the lantern across the lawn (not my proudest moment) . Luckily for me the bulb inside is plastic not glass. After getting over the shock, I took the hose and started cleaning it out. Just typing this is giving me goose bumps and feel like I need a shower!! The inside of the lanterns had been damaged and would need to be repaired or replaced. Neither of these ideas appealed to me. I was determined to find another solution. I purchased these solar powered cork lights with the intention of using them in Saratoga sparkling water bottles to light my patio. Instead, I tried them in the lanterns. I fed the wire into the bulb through the top. The lights fit perfectly inside. To hold the top in place I used Gorilla Glue placed holding it in place until it set. The sightline of the lanterns going down the fence is stunning. I also wanted to add some kind of plant along the fence. I had a very overgrown Hosta that I split into fifteen pieces. I placed thirteen along the fence and gave two to my neighbor. Even though the Hosta isn’t fully grown it still looks good! I like the way these lights have a twinkle effect. I may even like these better than the original! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

  • Good Will Finds 2023 And How I Styled Them!

    You know the days when everything seems to be aligned in your favor. Well, that happened to me on one of my visits to Goodwill. It seemed like everywhere I looked, there was something I could not pass up. Best of all, I did not have to fix, paint, or tweak any of the pieces. They were great just the way they were! Wait until you see what I found! Can you believe it! I was going to pass these vases up at first glance. They were beautifully hand painted, but I was not a fan of the content on the front.   But then I turned them around just beautiful! This is how I styled them they are perfect with the colors in my house. I simply placed the pear plate on a gold wire frame and placed it on the mantel, but it could also go on a side table or be hung on the wall, etc. So, the bookends I thought I purchased are actually decorative shelves. What do you see when you look at these? I saw bookends. A woman was carrying this tray around and I was bummed that I did not get to it first. Then I saw her a few minutes later minus the tray and backtracked until I found it. Yeah! To style it the tray I placed on a stand it makes more of an impact than laying on the buffet. If you enjoyed the post, please give it a "like" and if you want to get my posts as soon as they come out "subscribe"

  • Library Bookshelves For Garage Conversion!

    The last time I wrote about the garage conversion was back in July. There have been some hiccups, but we are almost to the finish line. In the meantime, I have been working on two bookshelves I plan on putting into my new space. I found them at Good Will for $9 a piece. They are solid and in great shape. I think they were library shelves in a school. The backs are angled, and the shelves have a ridge on them (maybe to keep books in place). Wherever they came from, they are perfect to hold all of my chalk paint. I gave the piece a thorough cleaning. When it was dry, I filled in any holes with wood filler, then sanded and painted with primer. I gave the shelves two coats of this beautiful blue color from Lowes. I will leave link down below. I love the way they came out! I can’t wait to put them in my new space and fill them with all my supplies! Products Used: Interior Paint and Interior Primer Products | Valspar®

  • Decorating for Christmas Without A Christmas Tree!

    I saw something the other day and it inspired a great idea. It was a beautiful wall decoration using a bulletin board. It made me think…what about making a Christmas tree on the bulletin board as a perfect alternative for those who may not want to put up a tree but still want the Christmas feeling. College students could be a great example. People who live in small apartments, those who won’t be home for Christmas, elderly who don’t want all the fuss. Just to name a few. By using a bulletin board, you can hang the ornaments and still be able to reminisce, play Christmas music and drink whatever it is you drink while doing it. Best of all, cleanup will be a snap! Let me show you what I did! Lucky for me I had a large bulletin board that I snagged from the trash last summer. I took it out of storage, cleaned it up, re-covered it with linen fabric, made a frame, painted it white and finally attached it to the board with Liquid Nails. The bulletin board is ready to add ornaments. Since I will be using my own ornaments this year, I went to the Dollar Tree to get ornaments for my bulletin board tree. I modified some of the ornaments. The bird and silver ring were two separate ornaments and I combined them. I had two of each of the deer and the sleigh, but they were pointing in the same direction, and I wanted them to face opposite each other for symmetry. To fix this I removed the decorations on one deer and one sleigh and attached it to the other side and just like that they are opposite each other. I used push pins and white-tipped straight pins to attach the ornaments. The push pins worked better with flat pieces, while the straight pins allowed the larger ornaments to hang freely. Although the ornaments were in place, they did not create a tree shape. After looking through my Dollar Tree collection, I found white trees and snowflakes. I used the white trees to make an outline and filled the remaining empty spaces with the snowflakes, which created the desired effect. I love the way it came out and look forward to making it a part of my Christmas decorations for years to come! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created. As always love to hear your comments. What do you think of this idea? How would you use it?

  • Entryway Refresh Before The Holidays!

    A few weeks ago, I made the decision to repaint my entryway. I chose Nightingale Gray and Ottertail from Home Depot and painted sample squares on the wall. In the morning, I opted for Ottertail due to its contrast with the white moldings. Instead of my usual deliberation, I painted one wall and the stairs quickly. Unfortunately, I realized I didn't like the Ottertail color after finishing the entire entryway. At that moment, panic set in. Not only did my husband and I have a trip planned to New York City, but the holidays were approaching. What was I thinking! After calming myself down, I managed to put it out of my mind during our trip, which turned out to be wonderful. However, upon returning home, I had to confront the situation and make a decision. While I appreciated the dark color in some parts of the entryway where the contrast was striking, there were areas, like the painted stair treads, that I disliked. It meant repainting walls, stairs, and even the ceiling, but in the end, I was satisfied with the result. Would I go through this process again? Ideally, I would say no, but given my impulsive nature reflected in my blog's name, "Impulsively Creative," who knows what the future holds! Let's see what I ended up doing. This is Ottertail by Behr that I painted on the stair treads. It looked good to start but was too dark in the end. I tinted the ceiling paint with Absolute Zero by Behr in multiple rooms and love the softer look it gives compared to stark white. Recap of what I did: Repainted stair treads back to their original color, painted all the walls in the entryway Ottertail except for the wall going upstairs, the wall on the side of the stairs, and the wall leading into the kitchen from the entryway. Also painted the French doors white and tinted the ceiling blue. We added a small shelf using corbels that I purchased at the “Purple Painted Lady". I chose this artwork because it needed color, and I happen to love both prints. If you enjoyed tis post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

  • Good Will Frame and Decoupage Equals Beautiful Art!

    When it comes to completing a room, I often turn to artwork. Although artwork can be expensive, I have managed to find some beautiful pieces at affordable prices by seeking out bargains and thinking out of the box. Speaking of great deals, I recently bought a piece of art for only $7 at Goodwill. While I wasn't fond of the original print, I loved the frame. My initial idea was to replace the print, but then I considered using decoupage to cover it instead. I decided to go with the latter option. Let's see how it turned out: This is the print and frame I mentioned earlier. The art inside is titled Young Woman At An Open Half Door by Rembrandt. While I prefer not to paint over existing artwork, the piece had some damage that eased my conscience. Using spackling, I filled in the marks, then lightly sanded. To protect the frame, I taped all around the inside so as not to get paint on it. With everything prepped, I said goodbye to Young Woman In An Open Door whichthen started to paint (all products used will be listed at the end of the post). Once the canvas had dried overnight, it was ready to be decoupaged. Starting from the bottom and working my way up, I applied a thin, even layer of wallpaper adhesive. I then used a large chip brush to smooth out the paper. While the process may seem tedious, it is important to take your time. Rushing through can lead to rips, bubbles, and wrinkles. This advice is based on my own experiences. You may have seen that the decoupage paper was smaller than the frame. Not to worry, I used acrylic paints to match the background color and blend it seamlessly. Here she is! A beautiful piece of artwork added to my home, which totaled thirty-seven dollars: $7 for the frame and $30 for the decoupage art. So worth it! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created. Products Used:   Girl With the Pearl Earring from Etsy- Margarita Posh Chalk Deluxe Decoupage Paper.   Roman Wallpaper Adhesive Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint

  • Secretary Desk Part Two: The Reveal!

    After all the repairs I had to do last week on the secretary desk, I thought this week would be a breeze. Not so much! I took a video of myself painting the desk with Annie Sloan Oxford Blue paint and dry brushing with Athenian Black, Napoleonic Blue, and French linen. Unfortunately, I could not get the video to load. I also did not take pictures so there is no footage of me painting. Sorry! I did capture the rest of the process so let’s get to it! Where it started. In this picture you can see how I dry-brushed using Annie Sloan Athenian Black, French Linen and Napoleonic Blue to give it depth. To update the desk, I removed the cubbies. I felt most people wouldn’t use them and it allowed for more workspace. See what I mean about space! I wanted to brighten up the inside so I decoupaged using Blue Flight by Decoupage Queen. Working in a small space was difficult I had to realign the paper a few times. Once the paper was dry, I used a sanding brick to remove the excess giving it a clean line. The big reveal! I love it! Remember to like my blog and share it with friends if you enjoyed it!

  • Part Two: Decoupage Cabinet Before And After!

    Decoupaging was the easy part of this makeover. The hard part started when I began to add chalk paint to the decoupage, and it started to bubble up. It was not happening to the decoupage on the wood just on the glass. The good news was after the paint dried the bubbling disappeared. But the added dry time made the process much longer than expected. But the results were worth it. T he next time I attempt to add decoupage to glass, I will spray shellac first to create a barrier between the glass and the decoupage. First a recap before the reveal: This is the cabinet I started with. Next time I will spray on shellac before decoupaging. Applying decoupage. Using acrylic pants, I extended the artwork to cover to cover the entire front of cabinet. The finished piece! I loved working on this piece. It enabled me to experiment with blending colors but most of all it gave me the freedom to let go. I was working up to the last minute so there is a little bubbling near the top but once it fully dries it will disappear. If you enjoyed this blog, please like it!

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