Thursday, April 23, 2015

DYI Potato Stamp

I was inspired to do this project when I came across a cool way of jazzing up wrapping paper . I wanted to try to do it to a blanket in Owen's room. Potato stamping has been around for awhile and I felt it was time for me to try something with it.

Materials you will need:

-knife
-exacto knife
-pen
-1 large potato
-fabric paint (I used acrylic because that is what I had on hand)
-solid colored blanket


Let it dry completely and then wash. 




I am pretty happy with it. Owen exclaimed, "Thank you!" when I set it in his crib. So it made me all the more happy that the recipient enjoyed it!

Easy and cheap DYI:)




Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Get The Pictured Look

You always see those beautiful rooms on Houzz or Pintrest and sometimes just wish you could get that SAME look! Well I came across this beautiful room and recreated a similar look and I will do the same for you! So once a month I will take one person's dream room picture and recreate it for you! All you have to do is email me the picture! You can email me at crystalanndesign@gmail.com

Now in the mean time you can all in enjoy this eclectic room I picked:






Saturday, April 11, 2015

Show Case Saturday

I am so thrilled to be show casing this amazing home tour designed by Melanie Turner 
I love her various use of textures and metallic accents so pretty! It really is so bright and elegant! Okay now you may feast your eyes:











This kids room is my FAVORITE: so simple and playful. 



Happy Saturday xoxo!!!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Birthday Displays

How to keep a Man's birthday simple and do it on a budget but still make them feel special. 

I LOVE planning parties. I have a hard time not overdoing! But I have learned that men really don't care to have a huge table display and party favors, they are not 5 years old. They are men. They want simple but also enough to feel appreciated and that you care about them. (like how I am pretending to know what all men want.. I speak in be half of my husband's wants and assume 85% of men in general are like this). 

To start off the day I made him one of his favorite breakfast meals, 
I made him lunch and brought it to him at work.  We were going to have a picnic but because of the weather we ended up having a picnic in the car which was still fun. 


Here is the little display I put together for him:

-For the sign I downloaded THIS font for free! I used Pixelmator on my mac to create the sign but you can use the font in what ever program you have. I then printed it off at Alphagraphics. Which only cost me $2 in black & white. 

-For the balloons I took a paint brush and stroked them with gold paint. 

 -My husband hates cake and told me to make anything but cake. So I got real creative (wink, wink) and made ice cream cake (I will be real here, I took a carton of Oreo ice cream, smashed oreos and sprinkled them on top, to be extra naughty you can drizzle hot fudge on top). He also LOVES drinking root-beer from the bottle so I made sure to have those on display. 

Most of the stuff I already had but if you are interested this is where they are from:
Lights- Target
Glass red hand- Home Goods
Cake plate - Home Goods
Straws - Walmart

Simple but I was shocked to see he really LOVED it. I really didn't think he would even think much of it but he really seemed to appreciate it! Yay for the little things!

When you are planning a party remember to keep it simple and just find little things that you know (who ever the person you are planning for) will appreciate! 


I was going to plan this big elaborate dinner but ran out time and my husband really wanted to go try out Sea Salt located in SLC. We were in LOVE, the portions were perfect, the food was so fresh & delicious. I highly recommend it if you are in the SLC area. 

Side note..

(Notice the little person in Tay's arms. He is always a joy to bring to dinner. I love this stage but my goodness this kid knows how to make a statement at dinner. I heard a mom next to us say, "look at that sweet little boy (referring to Owen) holding still, why don't you hold still like him?" she spoke TOO soon. She did not see the water that he dumped all over the table, the crayons he used to draw on the table cloth, the silverware that he just couldn't help but touch and use to bang on the  plates, the loud voice that he used to say, "BYE!" to people that would exit out of the restaurant. I read a book about lady that lived in France and just seemed appalled by how Americans raise kids, she said that kids in France will seat quietly through meals and hold still. I didn't know those two things could coexist. HOW!? I told Tay WE WILL figure out the french ways and make our child seat STILL:)

 The design of the restaurant was extremely pleasing to the eye: white subway tile with marble countertops paired with the cadence dinning chairs/barstools! My eyes were happy;)


So it is possible to keep it simple but fun on a budget to!



Saturday, April 4, 2015

Show Case Saturday

Love this cozy soho industrial apparent. 
Designed by Doris Lee. 
I am thrilled to share with you a home tour of an apartment that she designed:


 Navy blue, leather sectional, gold light fixture, is the perfect recipe of perfection!







So refreshing! Makes me want to do some serious spring cleaning and just enjoy the beauty of simplicity. 


Happy Saturday!! xoxo

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Bedroom/ Office

Well if you know me I just don't mess around when a "new" piece of furniture enters our home. I like to make that piece feel right at home. So yesterday I posted about my find at the DI. Some call it luck, I call it destiny. Just kidding, kinda. 

Anyways so here is the desk, it made its way into our bedroom. I had to sell our nightstands to make room for the desk and also to cover the cost of purchasing it.  I sold our nightstands on KSL and it was great cause the girl I sold it to I went to design school with (its always a relief when I sell things on KSL and the person is not a cereal killer haha). 

Here is my new happy spot:



Desk-DI / World Market (on sale!) / Glob  / Pairs Picture / Lamp-given to me from a friend / Rug-from Argentina, similar one HERE

That's all folks, short & sweet today:)



Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The desk that needs a seat




Today I had a fabulous find at the DI,
this beautiful mid century desk for only $55. Thanks for the extra push and definite "YES, Crystal stop staring at it and buy it!"from my lovely friends on Instagram.  So now I need a chair to go with it! Here are a few that I have found and LOVE. They are pretty pricey (for how much I would like to spend) but I have found one of them on KSL for cheaper!) so let me know your vote! 



CHAIR 1:



CHAIR 2:


CHAIR 3: (same as 2 in different color)

CHAIR 4:

Eames Style Molded Plastic Dowel-Leg Side Chair


What is your vote? 1.2.3.4 ?