What is it about January....

Every year after I take down all the Christmas decorations the house feels so bare. Although I am glad to not have the tree up anymore, it took up so much space, but it makes the room feel so full and welcoming. Once it is gone it feels to naked. To fill the empty space that the tree left I decided to make a couple of these...

With the help of my sisters and the quick sawing skills of my husband we made these...

 (from this tutorial)

I didn't want the corbels to stick out as much as the ones in the original picture and I wanted much thicker decorative molding. So with a few tweaks, figuring out how to use a miter box, a nail gun and the wonderful forgiveness of wood filler, I think they came out beautifully. After buying all the supplies for the shelves, about $60, there wasn't much  left over for the decorating of the shelves. A quick trip to Beals Outlet and a bit of digging through their clearance bin, I found all the frames, the key, bike, and family blocks all for a whooping $22.00. Plus just an fyi it is an extra 15% off for 49 and younger on Fridays. That store is pretty hit or miss but if you look hard enough you can find some fun stuff.

After putting up the shelves on one side, the opposite side of the wall looked pretty bare. So I repainted this shelf I already had and added some decor. I still think it needs some color and a bit of tweaking but for now it works.

For Christmas my older sister Jill made me this shelf. It is beautiful. I had seen the tutorial online and had wanted to attempt to make it myself. But I was too chicken to try it. It is perfect for my entryway. I love it!

A

The whole view of the room. I love the look on both sides of the window but, you knew that was coming right, now the window is huge bare and needs a window treatment. I think I have just enough material left over from the kitchen windows to make these roman blinds. My projects never end...

*gold star to whoever can guess what movie I am watching :)