Better Homes and Gardens do it YOURSELF

Livening up your home with great art can be a daunting task. Creating for yourself can be a bit intimidating and finding gorgeous and affordable works is at times a herculean enterprise.

One way to jump start (or give a big boost to) your art collection is to make use of a few of the many amazing pieces of fabric that are just so more than a piece

of drapery.

This idea is especially useful for those spots that need something truly substantial with bold hits of color.

Great places to find incredible fabric art pieces include: www.txtlart.com (great large scale new and vintage marimekko), and ebay has a slew of sellers of great vintage fabric pieces and cool 70's pieces already in tact. The "canvases" can be incredibly moving works of art and should be treated as such.

Here's how to tackle turning a great piece of fabric into a great piece of art

Find a great piece of fabric that gives you the chills when you look at it (happens to me all the time).

Pick up some canvas strechers (art store) and a staple gun, and some companies sell textile wall hanging kits.

Spread your fabric out and iron it so there are NO wrinkles or creases. If the fabric seams thin in any way, you may want to back it with a white piece of fabric or muslin to give it more depth.

Staple it to the frame. Start by placing a staple in the center of each side of the frame. Work out toward the corners, adding only a few staples to each side before moving to the next.

Tack on a piece of hanging hardware to the canvas stretcher and put it up on your heretofore naked wall.

Then, sit back with a fabulous cocktail and ENJOY your new piece of art.

Pink Party

Choosing a color theme for a party makes it a little easier. My 3 year old wanted pink, pink, pink....and that's what we did. I love creating decorations out of fabrics and things I already have and can use again and can also enjoy for several days after.

We made the pink flags out of inexpensive fabric (I use them over & over).

Pink lanterns adorn the craft area where you must make a pink headdress.

What could be better than pink carnations?

I love this light from Ikea, you can decorate it for ANY occasion. Instant party!!

Pink Hola Hoops...of course.

A pink princess to carry out the pink cupcakes.

The very happy birthday girl.

Fabulous Flower Pots

Colorful front porch pots full of gorgeous blooms can really help to keep up the illusion of a perpetual spring when Lowcountry heat and humidity slaps us in the face each July. Livening up ones outdoor entryway with plant life is also most inviting to neighbors and guests and is relatively easy to rotate with the seasons. But the idea that I would like to share today isn't so much about the potted plants, but the pots themselves.

A combination of a surplus of specialty quilting fabric under my desk and a lack of desire to go out looking for fabulous and most likely expensive new pots (sometime being cheap is the best way to live green) came together and became a fun little project to try. I enlisted my kids in picking favorite prints, cutting them to size to fit plain old galvanized buckets, and mixing up a gooey watery decopaging medium of elmers glue and water. We then made sure the fabric was completely soaked through with the glue mixture before molding it onto the buckets. A few extra coats of glue on top ensured that the fabric fit like a glove. A day or so of drying time, a few coats of a clear acrylic polyurethane to protect from water and solar abuse and a few holes drilled into the bottom for drainage and we were ready to pot some plants. Hope a few of y'all will give it a go as well.

Airstream Guesthouse

We wanted to utilize this classic Airstream trailer in the backyard of our LA house, so we put down pavers and turned it into a permanent guest house. No one ever wanted to leave.

Quick Fix Backyard

We had to hide a concrete wall to create a great outdoor space on the cheap (it seems that is a recurring theme). So we took those amazing plastic outdoor rugs and covered the ugly wall. We found a great little bench (that someone was getting rid of), added some colorful pillows, plants and BOOM...heaven.

Tween Room

We wanted to create a cool, hip room for a creative 10 year old girl. Lots of color and comfortable places to hang out in a small space. Lots of personality.