Meg Finally Gets a Mirror!

 

Ya'll may recall that I added the Meg Braff wallpaper to my mudroom this summer and I was psyched to spruce it it up!  I'd had my eye on the Meg Braff Up in a Tree wallpaper for some time but I wasn't sure where to put it in my home.  Finally, I settled on the mudroom and was thrilled with the result. 

Only...after the paper was added, I have been so nervous to add anything else to the walls because I've wanted to make sure it would be "just right."

I *almost* purchased a navy pagoda mirror from One King's Lane for $500 but never pulled the trigger because it just didn't seem right. 

Well today, on a whim, I was shopping around TJ Maxx...I spotted a white mirror for $39.99.   Don't ask me why today...but I decided to buy the $39 mirror and tack holes into the paper!  I've waited long enough. 

I may still paint the mirror a lacquered navy but, for now, I'm going to sit with it as white. 

What do you think? 

Keep it white?  Or paint it navy?

PS--You see the turquoise door in the background?  I'm contemplating painting that a glossy navy too (so mirror and door would all match).  Ah...things are always changing!

But I am very happy to score the mirror for such a great price. 

Thoughts and comments welcome! 

Any other ideas of what to add to the other walls?  I've been terrified to put any holes into the paper but now that the first ones have been done, it's sort of freeing! 

xoxo  |  Heather  | Vivid Hue Home

Lake Placid Break

It was February break in Connecticut and me and the family hit the road to Lake Placid, New York.  I brought my computer with me with great intentions of posting of our adventures while we were away and that never happened!  Here are some snapshots of our week away. 

I'm definitely a warm blooded person so don't ask me what we were doing heading further North for this break...we aren't a family of skiers...but we do ice skate (as in ice hockey).  And so we high tailed it to Lake Placid New York for the week for plenty of snow, sledding, skating and winter fun. 

We stayed in two different resorts in Lake Placid and got our share of Adirondack decor and antlers! 

Whiteface Lodge Entryway

 

 
Forgive the kids' demon eyes!  (Though I do recall they were acting like demons at this stage of the vacation).  This spectacular fireplace at the Crown Plaza kept us nice and cozy on a snowy night.   Located right out the back door of the 1980 Olympic Ice Hockey Rink and also so convenient to the downtown shops. 

 
This was an adorable antique shop I was dying to go into...Unfortunately, this sign was attached to the door every time I passed by.  I wish I could run my business this laid back!  ha. 

 
We took a dog sled ride around Mirror Lake.  The kids had an absolute ball. 

 
Of course our boys had plenty of time for ice skating and playing hockey.  The Whiteface Lodge had their own ice skating rink so the boys got to play hockey multiple times a day while we stayed there.  This is EG and Jack during one lunch skate. 

 
Our pool at Whiteface was heated with two hot tubs outdoors.  One day it was snowing and we sat outside in the hot tub.  It was the coolest thing. 

Part of the Whiteface Lodge

Me with Jack during our dogsled ride. 

A great vacation week.  And an even bigger event happened this week!  My sister, Kurby, had her baby!!!!  I'm very excited to share more about this (including pictures and name) but will save this for another post!!!

 

 

Hope you've had a great week and I promise to get back to posting now that I've returned!

 

xoxo

Heather | Vivid Hue Home

Valentine's Day Tablescape #3: Masculine

 
Welcome to the third day of Valentine's Day tablescapes by Vivid Hue Home. 
If you missed #1 Whimsical Tablescape, click here and #2 Elegant Tablescape, click here. 

Now, #3 Masculine Valentine's Day Tablescape

 

Granted, this is definitely not a traditional Valentine's Day tablescape.   I just thought it may be fun to throw it into the mix because not everyone loves the lovey dovey mushiness of Valentine's day!  And maybe you're one of those people that likes to completely steer clear of tradition in every sense of the word! 


Sources: Tablecloth:  This is a remnant piece of fabric from JoAnn's.  (I don't recall the name).  Placemats:  Pomegranate from One Kings Lane Plates: Crate and Barrel  Centerpiece:  Home Goods (I purchased it spray painted gray all over like this then I added the peacock feather and yes, I even added those little dollops of yellow flowers for one occasion then never removed them, ha).  I've had fun with this little thing and it could easily cross over to the tacky side in two seconds flat.   Ceramic Apples:  Home Goods Twine Candle Holders: I made them.  Click here to check out my Nantucket Post from My Crafty Home Life


So, which tablescape is  your favorite; whimsical, elegant or masculine?

 #1 Whimsical:



#2 Elegant


#3 Masculine



Do you have big plans for Valentine's Day?  Will you celebrate by going out to eat or making a dinner at home?

Heather | Vivid Hue Home

Valentine's Tablescape #2: Elegant

 

Yesterday I shared with you the first (whimsical) Valentine's Day Tablescape that I made during the winter  storm.   (Recall here).  Today, here is the second tablescape, a bit more elegant!  I used the same tablecloth as the base (this is really a swatch of fabric from Calico Corners that I had planned to use in Vivi's playroom).    I used two more swatches of fabric as runners across the table. 

 

Sources:  
Tablecloth: Remnant fabric from Calico Corners (I believe it's Mill Creek Raymond Waites). I ironed all four corners down for a straight "seam" around the edges.
Runners:   Remnant fabrics that I found from Jo Ann fabrics that I've used for table centerpieces for years.  I folded the edges of the fabric underneath to simulate a "runner" on the table. 
Plates: Home Goods Napkins:  White linen tied with twine with felt heart stickers adhered to the ends for decoration.  Wishbone:  Z Gallerie  Cake stand and Pitcher:  Home Goods  **** garland
I had fun and made some Valentine's Day garland above the table.  I used baker's twin and heart felt stickers.  I stuck the stickers to the twine (and put two stickers back to back so they stuck to each other).  Easy as pie and no glue needed). 


Which tablescape do you prefer?  #1 Whimsical or #2 Elegant? 

#1 Whimsical

 


#2 Elegant




Tomorrow check back for the Masculine Valentine's Day Tablescape!

xoxo
Heather | Vivid Hue Home

Valentine's Tablescape #1: Whimsical

 
Talk about 'the perfect storm.'  It was Friday afternoon and everywhere in New England was shutting down early in anticipation of the snow that was heading our way.  I was taking the kids on a trip to the craft store in the middle of the storm so we could load up on Valentine's making supplies for the weekend so we'd have plenty of crafts to do.  So I decided to turn my afternoon into making different Valentine's day tablescapes. 
 
Usually, I'm not one to decorate with the expected colors for a holiday (e.g. at Christmas, I don't typically use the traditional red and green).  So I surprised even myself that I selected red and pink for these Valentine's Tablescapes.   It turns out I had all of these supplies on hand, except the red runners...which are simply red wrapping paper made into runners.  So using these colors was a no brainer. 

Today I'm going to share the first tablescape with you.  I'm calling it Whimsical! 

 #1 Whimsical

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sources: 
 Tablecloth: I started with a simple swatch of fabric from Calico Corners (I believe it's Mill Creek Raymond Waites).  I ironed all four corners down for a straight "seam" around the edges. 
Runner: I decided on a red table runner and used red "wrapping paper" from Michael's (see the prep photo here).   |  Butterfly Placemats: Marshall's $1.99  | Napkins:  By Mahogany from Home Goods | Plates:  Crate and Barrel   | Red + White Straws:  Michael's $1.99  Frames:  Michael's $1.99
 

 
 


Hope you enjoyed the first tablescape! 

Check back tomorrow for #2 Elegant and the next day #3 Masculine~!

xoxo
Heather
Vivid Hue Home

Valentine's Day Favors Galore

 
 I decided to be somewhat organized this weekend and get a jump start on making the *thirty* plus Valentine's Day favors for Vivi's preschool class.  Yeah sure, I was so tempted to go to Target and purchase the already-made Dora Valentine's cards.  After all, four year olds will probably get more of a kick out of seeing Boots and Diego attached to their Tootsie Roll Pop over some construction paper hand-made get up.  But, what the hay...I was feeling uber crafty and I had the reassurance from my Vivster that she'd help me paste the tedious bits of paper to the pseudo butterfly wings of our home-made favors...so we were off! 

 (Note to self, never trust a four year old...they're "shifty" and they'll ditch your craft project for " Diary of a Wimpy Kid" in two seconds flat---yes, I know there are plenty of things wrong with the fact that I let my four year old kid watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid but she's the second sibling so what can I say). 

 

 

 

I started out by making a butterfly mold.  And I cut out THIRTY of these suckers.   Next, I hand wrote 'Happy Valentine's Day | Love Vivi' around the perimeter of each and every single heart.  Yep.  Every. Single. Last. Heart.  #carpultunnel

  

 

 

 
I cut out bits and shapes of coordinating paper to decorate the wings of the butterflies.  (The kids helped a bit.  But come'on, who am I fooling.  They prolly completed about two whole butterflies for my twenty eight.  Hey, I'm not wanting a medal!  I'm just setting expectations in case you decide to include your own four year old kid in this project for the future.   

 

 

 

And we finished with thirty eye-googling butterflies! 

 

In the midst of all of this craftiness, I experimented a bit with making a Vine Video about the whole process.  Check it out here.   

 

(I'm sure most have heard about Vine,  but if you haven't, you MUST check it out!). 

It allows users to TWEET and FACEBOOK videos that run on a loop.  This means a world of creativity for design/decor bloggers.  Don't use my video as an example but you could video the beginning | middle | end of a project and tweet it out to the world!  Really cool stuff! 

 

 

On a final note, thank you for all of your support in helping me go as far as possible in the 2013 Apartment Therapy "The Homies" contest for Best Design & Inspirational Blog. 

There is still time to vote, so please do!

 

You have until Friday February 8th to vote and try to catapult Vivid Hue Home into the top #6.   We have been steadily in the top #12 and #13 since the contest opened and would love the opportunity to stay in this arena.  We don't expect to WIN but it's exciting to stay in the game as the top bloggers gain momentum to the top.  We're just so pleased that we've maintained so close to the top for so long and we'd like to stay that way!!!

 

Please go here  to vote! 

 
 

Thank you again,

Cheers!  Heather  |  Vivid Hue Home 
 

I Need Your Vote, Please!

 
Hi friends,

I'd love your vote of support! 


Apartment Therapy is hosting their 2013 Homies Awards again and Vivid Hue Home is in the top 13!  Now, let me step back and explain to everyone why this is even important to me at all.  I started this lil ole blog almost a year ago.  I am a decorator enthusiast but never officially studied interior design.  I have always dreamed that some day I might open my own store front and it would sell a mix between vintage antiques and modern high end pieces.  But all that is in due time.  For now, I have enjoyed the heck out of writing posts out of what inspires me most; decorating.  And mostly, decorating my own home.   

This contest from Apartment Therapy is not about *winning* for me.  It's a great opportunity to gain exposure and make a name for myself among a bunch of bigger bloggers that have been at it for much longer than I have.  Granted, the beauty of The Homies is that big and little bloggers can compete together to try to make it to the TOP SIX by February 8th.  But let's face it, if you don't have a thousand followers behind you that will vote for you, it's highly unlikely that you'll make it to the top six based on the numbers alone.

So when I say, I'd like you to vote for me for a chance to be in the top *ten* or top *something*...I truly mean it.  Since this competition opened last Friday, my little blog, Vivid Hue Home, has managed to stay among the top 12 to 13.  And that is just mind blowing for me.  That alone is a personal accomplishment for me. 

Just a year ago, I was sitting in my sunroom knowing that I needed to pursue this lifelong dream of design... in some aspect or another.  I wasn't even sure what to CALL myself.  I didn't even know if I had enough putz-pah to have people show up to read what I wrote.  So for me to stagger between the top 13....that's great (for me). 

I'd love the opportunity to see how far I can take this.  I would love for you to vote for Vivid Hue Home in The Homies, if you haven't already. 

I would love for you to promote me on your blog, if your willing. 

I have just until Friday to make it to the Top 6.  And I'm just so close.  And I see the bigger guys each day gaining momentum as their readers realize that they are in the competition so they are slowly gaining the lead...and yes, I may seem desperate for the votes.... and well, it's really not about desperation so much as it is about my passion to see how far along I can get in this competition.  

Ok, you get it.  If you've followed me for awhile and you'd like to vote for Vivid Hue Home, I'd be OVER THE MOON! 


You just click here to vote.    We're currently listed under the Best Home Design & Inspiration Blog.  And as I stated above, please feel free to shout from the rooftops, facebook, tweet, blog, and pass out handouts to strangers on the street (as long as they don't look too shady!). 

Thanks for your support!

xoxoxo  Heather |  Vivid Hue Home