Cultivate Your Sparkle

       When we moved into our new home it was very apparent that the previous owners had done nothing to customize house. Each room was a blank slate. I decided early on I wanted to dress up our formal dining room since I was enjoying decorating the table so much.       I  turned to Pinterest and looked at all sorts of dining room inspiration. I quickly realized that my favorite styles had really pretty walls. I did a bit of digging and found out these pretty walls all had picture frame wainscoting. I started to draw up a plan for our dining room that involved a chair rail on the wall with the window, and picture frame wainscoting on the largest wall that you see when you enter the house.   Before: The clean slate      I started gathering materials and making a game plan. I was going to take the last 5 weeks of my maternity leave right before (and around) Christmas so I could finish the project then. First, I noticed ...

     I LOVE this table! Although it was fairly simple, I think it looked really beautiful. I was so pleased to be able to host Thanksgiving on it. I bought a lot of the little white pumpkins in a set off of Amazon, I also had some from Target clearance the year before, but the rest came from a local pumpkin patch. I ordered the "Thankful" wooden table pieces from Etsy.       Here's the final product:       Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you had a wonderful meal surrounded by friends, family, love, food, and pretty décor. Check out my other tablescapes for inspiration. If you ever have any questions about items used please leave me a comment.  - Lizzy 

     Time to get creepy! My inspiration for this tablescape was a medieval castle feast that had been sitting for hundreds of years. I wanted to deck it out with cobwebs and bugs to really up the "ick" factor. My mom sent us the skeleton, who I named Basil (pronounced BA-Zil), to watch over our disguising feast. The thought crossed my mind that I could use some paint to make all the foods look moldy and gross, but then I decided against it in case I wanted to use it for something else in the future.       Here's the finished product:  A dragon skull! Basil awaits. Happy Halloween! Make sure to check out my other tablescapes as well as my dining room transformation.  - Lizzy

      I love to go on Pinterest and look for inspiration for décor. I have a special "Table" board where I save all my dining room ideas. I started to really love the black and white buffalo check look, but wanted to add a pop of color. Originally, I was planning on incorporating lemons and bright yellow, but I decided on greenery instead. I purchased the majority of this tablescape from Amazon. I really like how versatile all the pieces are, and I have already reused them in several other themes.       Here's the final product:     If you are thinking about changing your tablescapes with the season, as I do, but don't know where to start, here are my recommendations:  Find a nice set of plain white/ off white dishes that you plan to use for just decor.  Invest in a couple sets of neutral color chargers. Think black, silver, wood, etc.  Get a set of neutral candle holders and candles. These can be dressed up with different colo...

     Upon receiving our new formal dining room furniture I could NOT wait to decorate! I had bought a few pieces from Pier 1 during their massive closing clearance, but I also have pieces from Michael's, Amazon, and various other online retailers. Feel free to reach out about specific pieces and I'd be happy to share where I purchased it.       Here's the final product:      I remember how beautiful I thought this table was, but looking at it now it seems so simple compared to what is to come. Check out some of my more recent tablescapes and my HUGE dining room transformation.  - Lizzy 

   Several years ago I walked into a secondhand store and fell in love with a GIANT old Victorian dollhouse. I had told myself I would revamp it for a little girl, or turn it into something fun for a little boy. When we found out about our son I decided to transform it into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his Harry Potter themed nursery.      The dollhouse had been stored in a dear friend's garage for several years, until we had a place to put it. (Thank you Myrna!) My uncle drove it down to our house and it BARELY fit through the doorway. I opted to leave it in our tiled entry for the transformation process. I only had a couple months until the baby came, so I started working on it right away.  Before - the outside fron t   Before - the outside back (those doors have to go!)   I believe that when this dollhouse was constructed it had been specially made to house... cats. It had extra large openings and large carpeted platforms. Bef...