Last week I ordered this wall decal for my craft room.  Was a very easy install and I think it adds a great touch to the room.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  I purchased my decal from "It's Written On The Wall".  There contact information is below.  They make all kinds of wall decals and will also custom make them for you if you like.   

I know it has been too long since I have blogged!  Hubby and I have been so very busy getting my craft room put together.  It seemed like the projects to get the room complete would never come to a end.   I have to give SO MUCH credit to my wonderful husband for all his hard work with building, painting and dealing with having me as his assistant :).  

So I want to share one of the projects we did in the room.  We had these random pieces of furniture which consisted of three little cubes and a top hutch from a old cabinet.  Well we screwed those babies together, added some paint and installed the light for a great display piece for my jewelry.

Here are some pictures from our process, along with pictures of my craft room.  Enjoy!

We Took Home 1st Place!!!   Well I am excited to blog on the recent table decorating contest that my cousin and I teamed up in.  The contest was held at Goshen Country Club in Augusta, Georgia.   The requirements were that your table had to be themed after a famous woman in history.  We chose to theme our table after the poet Maya Angelou.  

Well it has been a very interesting and productive week.  Hubby and I have been hard at work on my craft studio room.  It is coming together nicely and I should be able to show you pictures soon.  

On another note, I did want to share with you some photos and inspiration provided by my sister-in-law.  Recently she had a beautiful brunch at her home for just her and her best friend.  It was her best friends birthday and she wanted to create a special moment for them to celebrate her birthday along with their friendship.  

My sister-in-law was telling me of her plans to use orange and turquoise color theme for the table.  I immediately loved the color combination.  It is the perfect time of year for the use of beautiful vibrant colors.  I could not wait to see what she would come up with.

She and her friend had also saw some cute mugs with their names on them years ago.  So to surprise her friend, she tracked the mugs down and ordered them to have on the day of the brunch (You will see them pictured on the table with their names).

So here are some pictures of her table from the brunch.  Beautiful job Sis!

I love the textured lamp shades that Anthropologie sells on their website.  They can be a bit pricy, costing between $98.00 to $108.00 for the shade only.  The are really beautiful, so it got me to thinking...hmmm......  How could I make a textured lamp shade?

Well I jumped on my computer and started internet searching other crafting guru's to see if I could find some inspirations.  Boy did I luck up!  I found a few ladies who have come up with various ideas on how to get that  Anthropologie inspired shade look. 

 I am currently in the process of decorating my craft room and wanted this look for a lamp in the room.   Because it is my craft/work room I wanted a bright lamp with a whimsey feel.   So I had a old brown lamp that I wanted to re-purpose for this project.    

I am really happy with how it turned out and will definitely try different variations of this in the future on other lamp projects.  Have a great day!
In case you want to try your hand at this, I put instructions below.

So I am really dragging today!  Typically in the mornings and most of the day I am in my home office working on my business (Nikris Designs)  in my pajamas :).  I must say it is probably the room I utilize the most.  So while sitting here procrastinating today I figured I would blog about the favorite things that I have in my home office.  

Well I think I must start with my tea cup.  The first thing I do before sitting down at my desk is fix my cup of tea each morning.  Now I am a avid tea and coffee drinker so a big cup is a must.  This tea cup fits me perfectly.  It is large and in charge, plus it has the "bling" that I love.  I also love my tea cup because the platter is large enough to hold my sugar spoon and tea infuser spoon.  

My next favorite thing that I have in my office is my Ipad 2.  This is a true necessity.  How can I work without watching Dr. Phil and the Bravo channel :).  So during the day while in my office my Ipad 2 serves as my television.  I love it because my home cable service has a app that allows me to watch tv on my Ipad.  

Pier 1 imports Citrus Cilantro home fragrance has been my favorite for about  9 years now.  I don't use the fragrance through out my house because I love using the Scentsy for the house.  I just use a couple sprays in the morning in my office due to the smell perks me up!  It is such a refreshing and uplifting scent.  So you will always find this little bottle sitting on my desk. 

Of course I have to have my ambiance in my home office (and my home) at all times.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge candle lover.   I go through a fair share of candles due to I burn them all day long.   Rather day or night, candles relax me.   I just broke out a new candle today!  I really had no choice due to I burned the last down to the glass :).  I love switching out and trying different candles, so I keep a varied collection in stock.  So the one I am burning now is "Country Club" by Ralph Lauren.  I like this candle because it has a nice soft aroma that does not fight against the my Scentsy.

So once I have the mood right and tea in hand, it is time to get to work :).  This leads me to my next favorite thing in my home office which is my mouse.  This mouse has been with me for about two years now and is still going strong!  I love it because of course it has the "bling" I love, but it is also a great hand massager.  I often use the studs to massage my hand during the day :).  

The "Thoughts" notebook is also another of my favorites.  This is a very important notebook!  My memory is not the best so every time I think of something, or find a awesome website I will write it down in this book.  It is my everything as far as my desk is concerned.  Another great feature about it is that it doubles as my mouse pad :).  It is a leather type book so makes for the perfect mouse pad.  I love those dual purpose office accessories!

So as you all know I design jewelry and more.  Some times I will actually work on some pieces at my desk.  This is why I love my next favorite desk item.  It is my magnifying glass.  It is perfect to help me see those small pieces.  I love it because it stands up so I don't have to use my hands to hold it while working on jewelry.  Not to mention it is Eiffel Tower themed, so of course I love anything Paris.

While I am working (which I am sure you all experience this too) I must have my handy lotion available.  So my next favorite item which I keep handy on my desk at all times is my "BEAUTY" by Calvin Klein lotion.  Nice soft scent and silky feel....LOVE IT!   You will notice that it is sitting on top of a little "Bling".  This is my little mirror (See pictured below).  A girl always needs her mirror close by.

So of course one of my favorites is my letter opener and pen by Nikris Designs :).  On my desk I have a teal colored pen and opener to match my decor.  My office it totally neutral with splashes teal accessories.   

So one of my favorite organizers in my office is my two drawer "wanna be" charging station :).  The reason I call it my "wanna be" charging station is because it is not a charging station but it is where I sit my blackberry to charge.  I am going to get hubby to drill a hole in the back so that I can make it a real charging station.  I also love this piece because it is perfect to store all of my receipts and incoming mail for the day.  It sits on the credenza in my home office.  

Ok now onto my last favorite thing.  It is my DYMO lable printer.  I love this little gadget!  It is a handy dandy tool if you need to print label quick and in a hurry.  I have a little widget on my desktop computer that allows me to type up and print a label in no time at all.  It is also handy because the second slot is actually for stamps.  It allows me to print my postage from the machine.  This is one of the gifts hubby gave me for my birthday this year.  This is a great time saver.

So I hope you enjoyed my share on the things that I love in my home office.  These things make my day run smooth and are a daily must for me.   Well it is time to get to work :)  Have a beautiful day everyone!

So hubby and I have a new favorite outing every Tuesday in our little community.   "Accent on Wine" is a cute little wine bar located in the heart of the little community that I live in.  Every tuesday from 5 to 7 they have a different wine tasting event.  We love this place.  It has a great relaxed atmosphere and we really enjoy kicking back with a couple glasses of wine and cheese enjoying great company.  Everyone in the wine bar socializes with everyone.  That is one thing I love about living in the South (no one is a stranger).

So tonight's wine tasting event was "Vinney's Favorite Wines".  We tasted 7 different wines (2 white and 5 red).  Out of them all I liked two and hubby liked one.   Here are the one's we liked and took home tonight:

GRUNER VELTLINER, Darcie, "Rava Blackjack Vineyards, Monterey, California 2010
White wine with a nice soft taste.

TEMPRANILLO, Creta Robele, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2009
This was hubby's favorite, but I was not a fan.

BRACHETTO/MALVASIA, MonteMaria, 'Casanova," Piedmote, Italy
This was a very light and refreshing red wine.  Great for a amateur red wine drinker such as myself.  

As for the cheese's that we sampled tonight:

A nice treat tonight was that we all received free copies of the magazine "Palate".  It is a beautiful magazine filled with great recipes and local restaurant information for the Charleston, SC area.  

Next Tuesday the wine bar is actually doing a beer tasting, so hubby is excited about that one :).