Choose Your Home Giveaway!

This is the last week to choose and enter to win the Dream Home of your choice from Southern Living and MyHomeIdeas.com. Click on the links and take a tour of each home, learn more about its location and features. The photo above is the Sugarberry Cottage at Habersham in Beaufort, South Carolina.



This cute little cottage, the Caroline Jessamine, is located in Callaway Gardens. A beautiful place in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

This is a cute little cabin, Whisper Creek Cottage, in Asheville, North Carolina.

Or the lodge-style Cottonwood at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.

Four Dream Homes in four Dream Locations. My favorite is the Habersham.

Good Luck!

Be Inspired! -Karol :0)

All photos from www.myhomeideas.com

S'mores Cookies

Loved this cookie idea I received in my inbox today from Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Day! What a fantastic idea for a cookie. Click on picture above or the following link to get the recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/smores-cookies?lnc=5a79cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&xsc=eml_cod_2009_06_22

Be Inspired!

Karol :0)

Organizing Old Paints

What a great idea I found in my inbox this morning. Compliments of Martha Stewart's daily email. This is a great way to organize your paints and save space by throwing away the huge cans that may have just a little bit in the bottom. They would also last longer being in well-sealed plastic containers. I know my cans of paint never seal back tightly because I am such a messy painter and slop it all over the edge of the cans and then it dries! And plastic containers are SO much easier to open the next time.

Here's link to read more: Left Over Paint Storage

Be Inspired! -Karol :0)

Photograph courtesy of www.MarthaStewart.com

Home Office Space

I was inspired by Nester's post today and wanted to share about my home office space. As I have shared many times, the rental home I live in is small. The bedrooms are small, the bathrooms are small, the living room/dining/kitchen area is awkward, open and small. I love the home and especially the location so it is worth it.

So when we moved here I had to find a place for my home office. At first it was downstairs in the multi-purpose room, over in the corner.

Later I decided to use an open space upstairs in the landing area. It was small and couldn't be used for much but a seating area which was what I originally used it for.

I moved my desk and chair up there and my magazine organizer (a must) and a dresser that disguises craft supplies, sketch pads, and printer paper, etc. It also serves as a table top area when I am working on something. I love to multi-purpose furniture!

I love this little area I claimed. It has double doors that lead out to my cozy balcony. I can open the doors on beautiful days like today, let the natural light in and feel the wonderful breeze that carries the smell of the ocean air.

I liked the note at the end of Nester's post where she commented on the paint color in her office area. Depending on the light and angle of each picture I took today of my office area, the paint color looks 3 or 4 different colors!

Be Inspired! -Karol :0)

Find Your Color

I love these videos and articles on HGTV's website that show how to find your color and then how to add it to your home and accessorize with that color. Very helpful tips. Also on the page you can read more about "Take Your Color Quiz", "Top 10 Color Tips" and "Your Best Color Ideas" where you can check out colorful rooms uploaded to "Rate My Space".

Be Inspired! -Karol :0)

Photo from www.hgtv.com

Cheaper Magic

First of all I cannot begin this post without apologizing for my absence. I have been busy with work (substitute teaching), my art and life things. Plus, sometimes I have not felt inspired enough to write something inspiring for others. Ever get like that?

Well, I do want to share a discovery with you that might save you some money and/or a trip to the store when you weren't planning on going.

One of the difficult things about living in a rental home is that the walls are usually all painted neutral, even white. When you have kids, it's not easy to keep the walls clean. I will admit that sometimes I scuff the walls carrying things up and down my stairway. It just happens.


Marks like these below. Not sure how they get there. I have used the Magic Erasers and they work great on lighter colored walls for scuff marks.


I went to clean scuff marks one day and realized I did not have anymore magic erasers. So I decided to give my Bar Keeper's Friend a try. I used a wet wash cloth and a bit of BKF and it did a fantastic job!

Take for instance, hand rails in your stairway! Just daily use of holding on to them as you walk up and down the stairway can get them quite dirty.

A quick scrub with some BKF and the railing is like new again!



Another thing that can happen near the hand rail is scuff marks from nail polish. These are from a recent visit from my friend, Dawn. I told her I was going to post about her nail polish on my stairway wall! :0) She always has her nails all done up girly in pink and even little decals on them sometimes.

Look, they came right off with some light elbow grease and a little BKF on a damp cloth.


Be Inspired! -Karol :0)

Feathers & Eggs

I totally misunderstood Nester yesterday when she said she was going to have a Mr. Linky Party and anyone who has purchased or won prints from L. Herbert Designs could post about it and link up. I was checking out the few links and admiring how others have used her beautiful prints and then I discovered that I do not actually have to HAVE the prints yet. One of the three qualifications was to post about where you would put them should you win some or purchase some art prints. Ohhhhhhh, now I understand.

A few months ago Nester inspired me to take a few minutes and make my master bathroom a place I would love. Well, I did it and it worked. I love my bathroom now. So have a few guests that have come to stay here recently.

I am slowly (unfortunately not in 10 minutes) working on my downstairs bathroom using that same inspiration from Nester. I took a photograph this morning of the wall I would love to display a coordinating set of L. Herbert Designs Prints.

See that plain blank wall to the left? That is right where I would love to hang the art prints. I am going for a cozy cottage look in this bathroom. I have a pretty berry wreath on the wall (far right) and a pretty eggs & nest framed art piece on the other wall with words from an Emily Dickinson poem. I bought that at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. I placed a pretty lamp on the counter. I think the L. Herbert Prints would go great in here! This is a very small bathroom so I had to stand in the bathtub to take this photograph!

Be Inspired! -Karol :0)