Quiet Time

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when striving's cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
              

   Song lyrics via here
  Image via here

The look for less: Beaded Clutch

 A post on fashion will probably be few and far between on this blog, but I couldn't help but share this find!


I love this clutch...but not the $140 price tag.  Boo  :(

Source: zhush.com via Katie on Pinterest

But looky what I found at Forever21 for $22.80!

Source: forever21.com via Katie on Pinterest

Who says flush mount lighting sucks?

I used to, until I found this.

So awesome!! Wish it was in my budget though!

Have a great Thursday, I'm off to sew 6 pairs of curtains.......oh my.

Source: csnlighting.com via Katie on Pinterest

So, our neighbor gave me a stump....

 I was ecstatic!

"The Man" was worried.

I sanded it and now it needs about 687,451,900 coats of poly.

I'm hoping it turns out something like this:

                                                      West Elm

                                                     via

                                                                last two images found here


Stay tuned people!!!

Refinished coffee table

Last year (!) I bought a coffee table at a garage sale. Mission style, high gloss, orange-y oak.....you know the drill. Similar to this:

                                                                        via
Yes I'm a bad blogger who hardly ever takes before photos....lots of shame on me!

My inspiration was this table from the premiere issue of TradHome:

 

                                                      image via
Although, I wanted mine a little more blue gray. So I stripped the table and then sanded the crap out of it. A small mountain of sandpaper later it was ready for paint. I mixed glaze, walnut stain and a sample pot of gray paint from Home Depot, until I got a color I liked. It took two thin coats to get the coverage that I wanted and I didn't bother with poly because the more my kids beat it up the better it will look! So, without further boring directions here is the finished product.

 You can see much more of the wood grain in person.

I also had two vintage chairs that needed a makeover. They will go at either end of the dining room table, after I spray paint the four X-back chairs white. They got the same glaze treatment and buttery soft faux leather on the seats (which is much less orange in person!)

I also started painting our hideous faux rock wall! No money in the budget for drywall right now and I have a feeling when it's all done it will be pretty cool.....cross your fingers for me though?

Square Poufs

I will never get sick of the Moroccan pouf trend! I love them! The texture and layer they add to a room, especially the leather or kilim ones!
My favorites are the square ones, they are much taller than the round ones and seem like you could actually use them for more than putting your feet up on. Side table, extra seating, two side by side in place of a coffee table, etc.

 Here are some good square options:
Viva Terra Striped Jute Pouf $89

 Viva Terra Patchwork Kilim Pouf $189

 Calypso St. Barth Kuba Jaipuri Pouf $425

 Serena and Lily Whipstitch Poufs $148

However, even the reasonably priced ones are too expensive for me, yes I am that cheap frugal!


After Christmas last year I was shopping the clearance aisle at Ross and found a square bean bag pouf for $6.99. The color was off and I hated the fabric but it was an easy fix so I scooped it up. This week I finally got around to making a cover for it.

Here is Phin doing his best Vanna White impression.

I went back and forth for a few days about what fabric to use. I wanted to be able to move the pouf all over the house if need be, so it had to be something that would work well in any room. I almost went with a rust colored velvet but at the last minute decided on this black and white stripe.

I ended up choosing this because I wouldn't have to hem the edges. When I cut it, the edges automatically curled and you didn't see the uneven edge. Hooray for short cuts!

I cut out six 20 inch squares, lined them up so the stripes contrasted and started sewing. No pinning, no ironing.

I left one side open so I could slide the bean bag in and then stitched it closed by hand.

And here is how it turned out.

I LOVE the way it turned out!

By the way, are you pinning? I am and you can follow me right here.

Quiet Time

                                                                    image via

 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,  so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. 
-Philippians 1:9-11

Gallery Walls

Who doesn't love a good gallery wall?

Well.............. maybe a lot of people, but I for one LOVE them!  Here are some images I've had saved of my favorites (If you know sources for any of these please let me know, thanks!)

                 (photo below is from an episode of Secrets from a Stylist)

 In the words of Bruce Almighty............B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!!!!!!

So, yesterday while "The Man" was in SLC for business, I did this:
(Sorry about the crappy lighting-this was in the middle of a huge thunderstorm)

 (See my new light fixture? Still-in-the-box, never used...... 5$ at a garage sale!!!)

 

As you can see I have 3 large frames with nothing in them right now. The previous owner left us the original blueprints from 1959 so I am having black and white copies made for those frames. Obviously I still have to paint, clean up, etc. but for now I think it looks great. I know some people measure each frame and cut out mock ups, arrange them on the floor and then put nails in the wall-(which totally works for them). I however just eye ball it all and play around with it until it feels right.

And just for a little reminder here is what this wall looked like on inspection day:

Here it is two days after we moved in (also before switching out the light fixture)

                                             And here it is again now

So, are you a fan of the gallery wall or not?

Do you have one in your home?

What method do you use, organized and precise or fly by the swing of your hammer seat of your pants?

Eye Candy

These gorgeous spaces have been on my mind lately........enjoy!

                                                  My favorite boys room...EVER!!!!

 

all by Jute Interior Design

Lonny July/Aug Issue

The new issue of Lonny came out today, it's pretty awesome! You can check it out here and here are some of my favorites:

 

Yes, I am a total tech-moron and have no clue how to crop said gorgeous images (any help is appreciated!)

Also, I've blogged before about Caroline Madsen (my very talented Auntie) Photography (here) but she now has a Facebook business page AND is hosting a pretty sweet giveaway this week....so go on and check it out, you know you want to!!