Our Creative Life

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-22T17:30:00.006-06:00

We just sent out our company's Christmas cards to all our retailers & they turned out so cute I wanted to show you all. The little girl is a model that was used for the photo shoot...I don't actually know her...but she sure is adorable with her little teddy bear!

And here are a couple other pics from the photoshoot.

Now for my shamless plug....

You too can have a custom rug made, just visit us at www.creativecarpetdesign.com

Rustic Winter Wonderland Tablescape

2011-12-08T20:32:00.007-06:00

I was asked a couple months ago if I would host a table at our church's annual ladies christmas banquet and what fun it has been! This was right up my alley! I love being creative. I love decorating, I love shopping for decor, I love designing....

They said not to spend money, just to use items from your own home...well I could have gone with my christmas gold & white scheme, but wanted to do something different. So I cheated a bit. I bought some stuff. Nothing expensive though...most was bought at salvation army, garage sales, etc...

Oh and let me tell you about those fabulous white plates. I bought them at salvation army for $5 for not 1 but for all 7 plates! I LOVE a Bargain!! They were brand new!

I came home did some research and found they were china and sell for $56 a piece. Cha....Ching!! Gotta love when that happens!

Tonight was the night I decorated my table at church and have to say I think it came out great if I do say so myself.

Take a look.......

Thanks to my hubby for cutting the logs for me! The candle holders were bought at a gargae sale over the summer and we used them at our daughter's wedding reception. Burlap runner was also from the wedding. I bought a plaid scarf which is placed on top of the burlap....(wish you could see more of it)

The graniteware cups are new and by Coleman and so is the flatware.
Black napkins were bought from amazon and I made the napkin rings from supplies found at Hobby Lobby. Clear glasses were from the Dollar Tree.

Greenery was a garland I bought at Hobby Lobby

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Darlene

I NEED YOUR VOTES, PRETTY PLEASE!!!!

2011-12-07T20:30:00.002-06:00

I entered a decorated christmas tree contest...will you please vote for me! I'm #30 on the list. By the way you can vote everyday. The person with the most votes wins so please spread the word.

http://cooperboone.com/eat/contest

Thanks Bunches!!

Darlene

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-03T15:32:00.004-06:00

Have you decorated your home for Christmas yet? What used to take me a day now takes me a couple days....guess that's what happens when you get older, huh? Anyway, I just finished as much as I'm going to do the other day. Now on to enjoy the magical season!

Now for a little tour...

Animal Print Ornaments are BACK!

2011-10-28T11:52:00.007-05:00

Just thought I would let you all know that the animal print glass ornaments are again available on my etsy site. I have been making & selling these for 4 or 5 years, and they are always a HIT!!

These ornaments have been extremely popular! Everyone over the past 4-5 years that we've been selling them has LOVED them! They are so sparkly...they catch the lights of the tree and sparkle like diamonds!

Available in Leopard & Zebra
All Ornaments are Jumbo sized to make a big statement on your tree!

If you are interested in the ornaments...you can find them in my ETSY store

Transforming a Bedroom into a Den

2011-10-21T18:51:00.002-05:00

When our oldest daughter moved out we gained a bedroom. We didn't need another bedroom so decided to make it into a den. Just in case we have some overnight guests we decided on a sofa bed.

Here is the inspiration photo I fell in love with.

I just loved the bookcase surrounding the sofa! It just makes me want to curl up on the sofa and read a good book! Here are a few more photos I found online of bookcases surrounding sofas.

And here is what we have so far in the process.....

We bought the sofa bed, side chair at the flea market. Ottoman was purchased from Amazon. Hubby installed the swing arm lamps and I used "Through the Looking Glass" spray paint on the antique window frame glass to make it look like an old mirror. We had the leopard border rug, which I like....just wish it was bigger. Pillows on sofa were purchased at a garage sale. Drapes are from Lowes.

Here's the other side of the room. We bought the dresser at the flea market too. A flat screen tv will be installed on the wall above the dresser soon. The vases and lamp on the dresser were even purchased at garage sales. My goal was to buy everything for this room at garage sales and/or flea markets.

Hubby will be starting on the shelves around the sofa next weekend...yay! I hope it all comes out to my liking!

Any advice on what color to paint the base & crown molding and closet doors?? I just don't think white gives me the look I want.

It's beginning to look a lot like Fall....in my Home!

2011-10-05T17:47:00.007-05:00

I just decorated our home for fall a few days ago and thought I would share. Come on in and look around. Can you smell the warm cinnamon swirl bread I just took out of the oven?? Yum!!

Oh and please meet Bailey our 4 month old puppy (she's even enjoying fall)

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Darlene

Daughter is now a MRS....Yay!

2011-10-02T22:04:00.003-05:00

Our oldest daughter got married on 9-10-11 (yes that was planned) They will never forget their anniversary date! LOL

It was a beautiful wedding! Can't believe my baby is a MRS. now!

The photographer posted some of the engagement photos & some of the wedding photos on her blog...so if you want to check them out,

CLICK HERE for ENGAGEMENT PICS

CLICK HERE for WEDDING PICS

Copy Cat Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

2011-09-30T10:50:00.001-05:00

~CLICK on PHOTO to Make it LARGER~

Do you remember a long time ago I asked if you all could help me find a coffee table for my daughter like pictured on the left??? Well, we found some but they were SUPER EXPENSIVE..like $2500 expensive!! Out of the budget totally!!!

So, my daughter's fiance (now husband) decided to make it instead. His grandpa had recently passed away and had a workshop with some woodworking tools and wood left in it. Reclaimed Walnut wood to be exact...WooHoo!!! Can you imagine how much this coffee table would sell for being walnut?! He even personalized the corner of the coffee table by carving a heart in it with A+C for their initials and on one side has their wedding date of 9-10-11. Such an awesome heirloom that should last forever....it's super heavy!!

Our Copy Cat

2011-09-19T14:10:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this incredible buffet & shelves before? Sorry I can't remember who's blog it was from, but I saved the photo to my decor inspiration file on my computer. Well our oldest daughter had a long dining room wall that needed something and this was PERFECT! To see our version click on this link: http://ourcreativelife.blogspot.com/2011/09/tour-of-daughters-apartment-done.html

A Tour of Daughter's Apartment done Pottery Barn Style

2011-09-17T12:47:00.021-05:00

For those of you who still follow this blog you know that for about 1 year hubby & I went garage saleing for things for when our oldest daughter moved out. Well that time came in May when she graduated from college with a degree in Registered Nursing and moved out on her own. She got engaged in January so between finishing college, planning a wedding and moving out it has been a busy year! Last saturday she got married and is now honeymooning in Cancun, MX......so while they were away she asked me to go over there and arrange some of her new hubby's things & I went to their apartment to get some photos while it was clean. For the most part she keeps it clean...but like her mom before we leave for vacation our homes always have to be spotless! I mean, who wants to come home to a messy home...NOT ME or HER!

So....photo taking I did! (beware this post is photo heavy)

Most of the furnishings & decor were either bought from garage sales, flea markets or handmade. She did buy the sofas, tv cabinet & tv brand new though.

My daughter wanted a rustic wood coffee table and her then fiance' said he could make it for her...and that he did! It was made from old rough sawn walnut wood his grandpa had in his workshop. It's super heavy!!! He even personalized it with a heart & their initials in one corner & on one end has their wedding date (9-10-11) Now there is no excuse to ever forget their anniversary! This would cost a fortune if bought from Pottery Barn!!! Like around $2,000...yikes!

Awe, so sweet!

It's thick & chunky and probably indestructible!

She had a long wall in the dining room that needed a focal point, so I looked through my design file on my computer and found something very similar to this and knew it would be PERFECT!

So hubby & I with the help of daughter & her then fiance' built this! Looks FAB doesn't it!

Oh, and see that table....well she got that for FREE when she worked at Bath & Body Works. They were throwing it away. It had blue legs and the top was cracked. She sanded the legs and painted them white and we fixed the crack in the table top. It's perfect size for the two of them. Later when they buy a house, this can easily be used as a desk.

The look she is going for is "Pottery Barn" style. Use of neutrals throughout the home so that she can interject color during certain times of the year.When she gets home from the honeymoon she will remove the summery items and blues and add warm fall colors in her accessories. Oh and most of the accessories/decor you see was purchased at garage sales &/or flea markets

Those bar stools were purchased from a flea market

The sofa & loveseat she bought brand new.

Now for a look at the kitchen......

Even the brand new cookbook was bought at a garage sale for $4! As well as the cookbook iron stand and the owl salt & pepper shakers. Oh and she found the glass pasta container at Habitat for Humanity. Raised that daughter well...she knows how to find bargains!!

This was originally a ugly framed picture. We took the picture out, painted the frame white and added chicken wire for a place to hang up notes, calenders, etc...

Oh and this was a chalkboard we made for part of the wedding decor, it said, "Welcome to Our Wedding" and today decided to hang it up in their kitchen with a welcome home message to the new Mr & Mrs!!

My talented friend Laura who does amazing embroidery made this for my daughter as a house warming/wedding gift along with some monogrammed towels.

More garage sale finds...these are on top of the fridge for some added color. Don't worry...they are faux limes!

Daughter made this moss covered "H" with burlap bow for the wedding decor. But now it looks great in their apartment!

Ok, are ya still with me? Let's check out the bathroom...

See that oar in the corner? Well originally we were planning a lakeside wedding and my idea was to have guests sign a wooden oar instead of a guest book. Well plans changed to a garden wedding but daughter's finace' didn't want to give up the oar idea...so he made the oar (pretty talented that new son in law of mine is) and guests signed the oar with a silver pen. They plan to hang it up in the bathroom, but I'll leave that up to them. For now it's just propped up in the corner. Oh and there are those monogrammed towels from my friend Laura. Along with the burlap covered H that was also used at the wedding. That probably won't stay there, but for now that's the best place I could find for it.

On to the bedroom...

Oops, lets go back into the living room I forgot to show you something.

We found this table at the flea market and thankfully it was already painted white...YAY!

Daughter also bought this antique fan at the flea market & I bought that cool rattan mirror at a gargae sale.

Do you remember what this looked like when she found it at a garage sale??

If not, CLICK HERE

Hope you enjoyed the tour! I enjoyed showing you! Now I can't wait to show you wedding photos! 3 more weeks and we should have them back from the photographer. Stay tuned.

God Bless!

Darlene

Wedding was a Success!!

2011-09-13T12:09:00.003-05:00

We just had our oldest daughter's wedding this past saturday and have to say it was a SUCCESS! All the months of planning and it was over so quickly but it was so nice and the bride was STUNNING!

I will post photos of the wedding & reception soon, but for now here is the slideshow I had made by www.simplyuniquevideo.com that was shown during the reception. It was a big Hit! every eye was watching it!

http://www.vimeo.com/28969600 (if you need a password...it is aubrie123

My Daughter's Bridal Shower

2011-08-29T22:14:00.011-05:00

Only a few more days till my first born baby girl becomes a WIFE! Where o where did the 23 yrs go?? They grow up soooo fast!

The theme of the bridal shower was "Around the Clock." Every person we invited got an assigned time in which to buy a gift for that particular time of day. For example, for 7am she got a basket full of hair products because typically one would do their hair around that time...before work.

I kept with the theme and served food for breakfast time, lunch time, snack time, dinner time & dessert time.

We played a couple games and everyone said it was the only shower games they actually enjoyed. Had a few also say it was the best shower they've ever been to. Wow! This was the first shower I've ever done so what a compliment!

One of the games was where I had all the guests get in a circle and I gave about 6 gifts out. These were some of Aubrie's FAVORITE things! Then I read a story about the engagement & wedding planning and everytime I said RIGHT or LEFT the guest passed the gift either to the right or to the left. It was hillarious watching them try to pass the gifts in the right direction. At the end of the story whoever was left holding a gift got to keep the gift. The catch was I said 1 person would get a TEDDY that they had to model for us. I instructed each gift holder to open their gift one and read the note enclosed. The note explained the story about why that item was one of Aubrie's favorite things. The person that got the "TEDDY" was releived to find it was Teddy Grahams and not really a lingerie Teddy! LOL

After that game we quized the bride to be with how well she knew the groom. For every question she got wrong she had to put a gumball in her mouth. This was hilarious when she had about 5 gumballs in her mouth and could barely speak!

Then it was time for her to open gifts and boy did they shower her with some nice gifts!

After gift opening it was Dessert Time!! The cake was a hit! It was a white cake with strawberry filling and of course done in the Around the Clock theme!

It was alot of work to throw this shower, but I was thrilled to do this for my sweet daughter! Now gotta get some last minute things done for the wedding which will be 9-10-11! Come back after that to see some photos from the wedding! Can't wait!
Pray for no rain on that day!

Meet the newest member of our family..

2011-07-22T14:26:00.005-05:00

This is Bailey. She was rescued from the pound. Everyone I spoke with said she looks to have Cocker Spaniel in her or at least some type of Spaniel. She was at the pound with all her brothers & sisters so I'm thinking maybe someone had a purebred Spaniel and it mated accidently with something they didn't like or couldn't make money from...so they surrendered the whole litter.

She is such a sweetie and even slept almost the whole night with no crying or wimpering. The vet said she would probably be 15-20 lbs and said she was approx 3 - 3 1/2 months old. You should see her play with her toys...she cracks us up! If I knew how to post a video on here...I would show you all.

Do you all have any guesses on what breeds she might be??

CONTEST for a $500 Gift Certificate!!!!

2011-07-07T00:54:00.007-05:00

CHECK IT OUT & ENTER!!

Getting Her Nest Ready

2011-06-13T14:44:00.005-05:00

I am sorry I haven't posted in almost 1 month! I have so many things to share with you all, but I have been pulleds in so many directions lately that blogging has had to take a back seat.

As most of you know my oldest daughter just graduated from college with a degree in Registered Nursing and she moved out into her first apartment. With that I have been busy getting her apartment decorated (getting her nest ready) She is going for a neutral pottery barn look so that she can interject color during the certain times of the year with accessories....this is a very smart idea! In fact I wish I would have done that with my own home! Hubby is custom building some shelves for her dining room, so as soon as that is completed I'll give you all a tour of her place. I can't wait to show you!

Oh and we've been busy planning her upcoming weddding! Whew, that's a lot of work! The happy couple just had their engagement pics done ...here is one. I'll share more once she gets the pics on cd.

What have you been busy doing? Have any fabulous summer plans?

Darlene

Trash to Treasure

2011-05-16T22:34:00.003-05:00

My daughter rescued this table from the trash when she worked at Bath & Body Works a couple years ago. She knew she could make it pretty and could use it as a dining table when she moved out.

She sanded off all the blue paint, primed the base/legs and put a couple coats of white paint on it. The top of the table was cracked so her dad glued and clamped it back together. Then she decided to apply a stain to the top. It is rough sawn wood so very rustic but that is the exact look she wanted. I think it came out great! She loves it too! We just moved her into her apartment this past week and had fun setting her table.

What do ya think? Kinda pottery barn-ish?? Not too bad for FREE, huh?! Well maybe she spend $10 on paint & stain. Still not too bad!

She Made It!

2011-05-14T23:06:00.007-05:00

Our daughter just graduated with a degree as a Registered Nurse today! Her fiance' graduated as an RN also. We are so proud of them for their accomplishment! We celebrated with a graduation lunch and for dessert I made these cupcakes. They came out so cute I wanted to show you all. I bought the fondant "nurse theme" toppings from a seller on etsy. My secret for the frosting is the new frosting in spray cans that you can now buy at the grocery stores. It makes it so easy to frost a pretty cupcake!

Congrats

Aubrie,RN & Cody,RN

My daughter & I taken after her RN Pinning Ceremony!
I am a proud mama!

Garage Sale & Flea Market Treasures

2011-05-07T19:08:00.010-05:00

Hubby and I spend saturday mornings waking up around 5:30-6am to head out to garage sales. It has become our little saturday morning tradition. Sometimes we don't find a thing, but we still enjoy the thrill of the hunt! Then there are the days when we SCORE! What a rush that can be! The past couple weekends we did GOOD! Take a look at our treasures.

Daughter is getting married in September and found this birdcage to use at the reception for guests to slip their cards into. (Hubby made an opening on each top side for the cards to go through) This was $5.

See the openings on the top sides?

Our 22 yr old daughter is graduating as an RN this week & moving out on her own next week so we found these wicker charges for her. They were $1. We will stay on the hunt for more of the same.

This is also for daughter. Loved the little iron legs. It is lined in plastic for a plant or could be a cute basket for trash in a bathroom. This was $1.70.

Found this laundry basket for daughter for $1. Turns out she didn't care for this, but hey for a $1 I figured I could use it myself or resell it in our garage sale.

ute wall basket for daughter for a whopping .25 cents! I think it might look cute in the bathroom with rolled up towels/washcloths.

Now on to some goodies for me! I LOVE this piece! It is solid wood, with so much texture! AWESOME! Hubby says it is very old probably an antigue! I don't know what I'll do with it, but even if it is just displayed on a shelf I just adore it! I paid $3 for it...WOO HOO!

Since daughter is moving out I get to redo her room. So I'm picking up pieces to decorate the new room which will be a den/guest room. This was $4.

Ok, now for another one of my favorite finds! This was bought at a flea market for $200. It is beautiful and figured I could use it in the new den/guest room.

Found this dresser at the same flea market. It was $185. I love the curved lines of it! It is solid hardwood, dove tailed drawers and built in 1968. I plan on using this in the new den/guest room. Flat screen tv will go above the dresser on the wall.

I was wanting a sleeper sofa for the den/guest room but boy were they expensive, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this sleeper sofa at the flea market for $400. The mattress was brand new and still sealed in the factory plastic and no springs to poke our guests! I wouldn't have chosen a sofa with pineapples on it but figured for the price I could make it work. The color looks grayish in the pic, but it is actually a olive/kakhi green color with a gold pineapple.

Here is a close up of the pic so you can see the pineapples. Our whole home is done in a british colonial style so it works fine. I am planning on accenting it with russet & gold pillows.
Oh and found these rattan tiki torches for .50 cents each! I bought 7 of them to go along the sides of our deck.

Hubby wanted to make sure I showed you all the treasure he found that made him $80! LOL I told him you all wouldn't be interested in seeing it if it wasn't home decor. But to make him happy I am showing you the lawn mower he bought at a garage sale this weekend for $20. He spent 20 minutes fixing it and sold it today for $100.

Ok, hubby what ya gonna buy me with your $80 profit???

On second thought save it for next weeks garage sales so we can get some more treasures!

I am participating in "Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures Linky Party" Check it out!

God Bless You!

Darlene

Simply AMAZING! You MUST See This!!!

2011-04-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

I need your Votes, Please!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-19T09:54:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends!

I need your help!

I entered a "Women in Business" contest and since I'm getting in on the last leg of the contest I need all the votes I can get!!!!!!!

Please go HERE to cast your Vote! It only will take you a few seconds.

Thanks Bunches!

Life Changing

2011-04-12T12:13:00.004-05:00

I have listened to the MOST eye opening & life changing audio drama called, "Affabel" and just have to share it with all of you!

Here is a synopsis of the audio drama:

Join the majestic King Jalyn, the dark lord Dagon, Charity, Independent and others as you explore the wondrous lands of The Kingdom of Affabel, The Community of Endel and the terrible outer limits of Lone! You'll be challenged in the Great Hall - perhaps even shocked - as each character reveals much of YOUR very own heart! Search your deepest feelings as you hear the drama play out!This audio drama, taken from John Bevere's newest book Driven by Eternity (Warner Faith) will capture your heart and soul as you experience life on "the other side" where eternity is brought into the present and all must stand before the Great King and Judge. Be prepared for a roller coaster ride of joy and sorrow, astonishment and revelation as life-long rewards are bestowed on some and others are bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness by the Royal Guard! 4CD SET, digitally recorded with a Hollywood cast, this riveting audio drama brings characters to life with action, emotion and custom music to complete the exciting production. This story takes you beyond yourself and into a world of other-reality. A place where things are not always as they seem, but truth prevails and your heart will emerge forever changed!

We should not be listening to man about what the bible says, we should get in the bible ourselves and find the truth. John Bevere who is the author of Affabel and the book from which it was inspired, "Driven by Eternity" has backed it all up with scripture. If we just listen to preachers and not get in the word ourselves we may be being deceived which will lead us away from God for Eternity! Scary thought, but very TRUE! All I can say is we had best dig deep in the Word and KNOW what and who God is calling us to be on this earth! As believers we had better be drawing each other into a deeper walk...not a washed up, meaningless walk. And those of our friends who don't know Jesus...we will be held accountable for not telling and influencing them for Christ!!!! Do yourself a HUGE FAVOR that could affect your ETERNITY and purchase either Affabel the audio drama or the book Driven by Eternity by John Bevere or get Both.....you will not regret it!

God Bless You!

Darlene

Adorable Nursery for Baby Winston

2011-03-30T19:13:00.005-05:00

One of our customers that hired us to create a custom rug for their baby's nursery recently shared a photo of the almost completed nursery and it's so adorable I just had to share it with you all! Baby Winston is a lucky baby boy! What a fabulous room!

Would you like a custom initial rug? We would love to create one for you! Just contact us http://www.creativecarpetdesign.com

We are having a GIVEAWAY!!

2011-03-04T11:50:00.004-06:00

As most of you know we are manufactuer's of Custom Baby & Kid's Rugs. Our Company is called Creative Carpet Design. We manufacture here in the USA! We have been so blessed with a prosperous growing business even in this rough economy. We give all thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ!

We know it is more blessed to give than to receive Acts 20:35 so we are GIVING AWAY to a luck winner ONE CUSTOM INITIAL RUG (value $263)

To enter: Become our friend on our facebook page and then share our facebook page with your friends and come back to our facebook page and let us know you shared. You can also get more entries by blogging & tweeting about our company and our contest. Just be sure to give a link to either our facebook page and/or our website - http://www.creativecarpetdesign.com/

Winner will be randomly selected on March 31st. Good Luck!

Darn, Global Warming.......LOL!!!!

2011-02-09T17:43:00.007-06:00

Today we were hit with another snow storm. We ended up with 6"-7". This is not a lot of snow for people in the North but for us in the South...we've had more snow this year than I've seen in the last 19 years!

Here are some photos from our winter wonderland. It is beautiful, but boy am I ready for spring!!!!!!!! I am cold if it is under 70degrees, so this 16degree temp definitly does not sit well with me! LOL

Dropped off my babies at the World Trade Center

2011-01-29T19:48:00.009-06:00

Did you know I had babies? What, you didn't??

Well, not human babies. Not even fur babies.

Are you curious what in the world I'm talking about??

Have you ever been to Market in Dallas? Know as the World Trade Center? Well, I dropped off 6 of my babies there a couple weeks ago.

My babies are a product I manufacture. Otherwise know as custom baby & kid's rugs by Creative Carpet Design

Signed with a permanent showroom in Dallas at the World Trade Center and took 6 custom rugs for display at the showroom. When I left them in the showroom, it felt like I was leaving my babies behind. I know, wierd, huh?! Don't worry...I got over it!

I'm excited to see how God keeps growing the business! It truly is amazing! The business keeps growing even in this recession! Now have 42 retailers across the US and in the works in signing with a permanent showroom in Atlanta as well. All praise to God!
Now just need to get showrooms in NY & Calif and we will have all the markets covered. Hear that God? I know you do and I thank you for all you've done and all your doing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Darlene

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-11T10:22:00.007-06:00

We got SNOW!

We are on our 3rd day of enjoying this glorious white stuff! Normally, we get a small dusting of snow every year but it usually only lasts for 1 day....so this has been a real treat for us! We got 6-7 inches. Schools have been closed for 2 days so of course my daughter loves that!

Here are the pics of our winter wonderland.

Jumping for JOY!

My turn to jump for Joy!

Well Hello sweet hubby! Go get a jacket on...silly.

Time to make a snow angel

Snow Angel

Pull faster Dad

My snow bunnies

How do ya like the snow kitty?

Brrr.....I need booties on my paws.

Peek a Boo I see You

Did you get any snow?

A Hello Kitty Birthday Party...not just for young girls!

2011-01-09T17:56:00.007-06:00

January 7th, 2011 was an important day in our family!

Our youngest daughter turned 14 years old!

We had a birthday party for her with 4 of her friends. I surprised her with the "theme". I was going to do a sock monkey theme, but changed the theme to "hello kitty" when I was at the store shopping for her party decor.

Kids go through these phases where hello kitty and such is considered babyish, then they hit the teen years when it becomes "cool" again. Have you noticed that?

So instead of buying the typical hello kitty party supplies I just did a light pink & zebra print decor and hello kitty was the accent. She loved it!

I made the cupcakes and they were DELISH!!

The Hello Kitty Cake Pops were a HIT! The kids loved eating Hello Kitty's head...I know, kinda wierd. LOL

These were fun to make!

and...this is the sock monkey I ordered for table decor when the theme was going to be sock monkey. This was her Favorite present! Oh and the highlights/lowlights and haircut she got the day before.

Happy 14th Birthday my Beautiful Daughter!

I Love You!

A New Year's Proposal

2011-01-07T11:55:00.003-06:00

On 1-1-11 our oldest daughter got engaged! Her boyfriend (now fiance) took her geocaching and he had the geocache box set up for her. When she opened it she found a ring pop which she was thrilled with (she loves ring pops) LOL Then when she turned around to show him the ring pop he was knelt down on one kneee with the engagement ring and asked her to marry him....and in between crying she said, "YES"

We are all very excited for her! Oh and here's the beautiful ring...blessed girl!!

Both of them will be graduating this may with degrees in Registered Nursing.

They are planning on a rustic garden September wedding. I'm excited to decorate! I'll be sure and show you what we come up with here, but if you all have any ideas or inspiration pics...please let me know!!

Look what I made!

2011-01-05T21:52:00.004-06:00

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! We sure did!

I wanted to show you all something hubby & I made for our daughter for Christmas. It is for her apartment when she moves out this May. It is to hold anything from bills, photos, recipes, love notes, etc.....

But we presented the gift to her with one of her favorite sayings as a little girl (from all the Disney movies she watched)

And this is what it looked like when we started..........

She bought this at a garage sale for $1. She intended to make it into a chalk board, but found a larger frame for the chalk board instead. So......... had to find a purpose for this frame and this is what I came up with.

Took the ugly picture out and trashed it. Then spray painted the frame and hubby added the chicken wire and my younger daughter and I decoupaged the clothes pins with scrapbook paper to make them prettier and Voila!

By the way.....she LOVED it!

Happy Birthday Jesus & Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T23:39:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to tell all of my friends that follow Our Creative Life blog....

Merry Christmas!!

From all of us to all of you! May God continue to bless you!

Master Bedroom Makeover REVEAL!!

2010-12-05T16:11:00.016-06:00

Our master bedroom is done...well 95% done. Still waiting on some black & white photos to get here for a photo wall I'm doing, but other than that it's DONE!! YAY!!

Here is the awful & dated bedroom before.....(sorry that's all the photos I could find of the before)
It was BAD, AWFUL...I KNOW!! So the first thing we did was sold all that golden oak aka orangy oak furniture. Bought new furniture...but made a few changes to the new furniture.

The new bed came like this.... with a brown faux leather padded inset in the headboard.

UGH...made the bed too dark in my opinion. So bought some linen fabric and reupholstered it. Now it's PERFECT!

Next, hubby scrapped the popcorn (acoustic stuff) off the ceiling. Yay, was I glad to get rid of that! But, wait the drywall tape marks are showing now that the popcorn is off...YUCK! Guess whoever drywalled the ceiling didn't care about smoothing the tape lines out since they were covering it with popcorn. UGH! So I tell hubby that we should just cover the ceiling with beadboard. I said, "It will be easier than you having to patch and sand to smooth out those tape lines." Well long story short......it was not easier.....but Oh so much better!!! It adds so much charm and architectural interest to the ceiling!!

(I would have preferred a capiz shell chandelier, but our bedroom is on the 2nd level and gets really hot up there so we really had to have a fan...so I chose this one by Hunter and really like it.

Oh and of course I have to mention the paint color on the walls which we love! It is Sherwin Williams called Utterly Beige and it is Utterly Fabulous in my opinion. No peachy or pink undertones like some beige/tan paint colors...it's just a perfect, cozy color!

Well as most of you know we are custom rug manufacturers so of course we had to have a custom rug in our bedroom, right?! I deceided I wanted just a touch of some animal print in the bedroom, so I designed a brown & white zebra rug to go under the bed and just peak out a little bit. This was not a quick rug to make as every zebra stripe was all hand cut and all inlaid by hand. All in all it took 12 hours to make, but it was worth it! What do ya think?
Ok, so without further ado......let me show you our new bedroom, follow me.

How do ya like my little touch of Christmas with the ice skate pillow? It was actually a stocking but it had all the colors of our room so I stuffed it and liquid sewed to top to make a pillow.

(I planned on painting these nightstands a creamy white, but now I'm not sure. Kind of like them black...what do ya think??) I'm thinking they will work since I'll have black frames for the black and white photos & the tv is black.

Took the blinds and drapes all the way to the ceiling to visually make the window appear larger.

I LOVE the colors in our room...so calming & relaxing!

Well hello Kitty!

Can't wait for my paperwhites to bloom! But for now, have some petunias in an aqua ball jar.

Just look at that lovely beadboard ceiling and crown molding! Thanks hubby!

Look at the feature hubby did.....yes, there are lights under the bed. So we have a bed that glows at night with the touch of a button. Pretty cool, huh?!

Antique mirror we bought from a garage sale.

Ok, so that's the tour. I'll show you the photo wall when I get it done. Now, I'm going to go enjoy my bedroom.

Take Care!
Darlene

Beadboard on the Ceiling...are you serious?

2010-11-30T08:11:00.000-06:00

We scraped the popcorn off our master bedroom ceiling last week. I mean hubby scraped it off...I watched. He then primed the ceiling and told me that the dry wall tape was showing. UGH...I hate when that happens. Well, I said, "We should just cover the ceiling with beadboard." "Are you serious?" hubby replied. I said, "it will be easier than trying to smooth out those dry wall tape marks and it will look so good!" So........hubby agreed and off to Lowe's to pick up 4 beadboard panels.

We began putting Liquid Nails on the ceiling and then we tried holding the beadboard up to the ceiling all while hubby used his nail gun to secure it to the ceiling studs. Well, let me tell ya...that was like a I Love Lucy scene...pretty comical! The nails were not holding it and we couldn't hold the beadboard up very long. UGH!

So my hubby told me this was a bad idea. I told him other people had beadboard on their ceilings so obviously it was doable. He then put on his thinking cap and decided to go back to Lowe's to buy 2x4's to create T-stands to hold up the beadboard and some finish nails. It was a lot of work, but oh so worth it!!! We LOVE our beadboard ceiling! Added so much interest & charm to our bedroom.

Thanks hubby for doing this for me! I knew it would be GREAT! Come back soon to see pics of the whole bedroom makeover....it's looking FABULOUS!

Christmas Inspiration Photos

2010-11-22T22:33:00.006-06:00

Tonight I took down all the fall decor since we are going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, Hoping to put up the Christmas decor by Wednesday before we leave so that we come home it will all be decorated and we will be ready to enjoy the Christmas season.

I was looking through my pics I have on my 'puter of Christmas decor for some inspiration and thought I would go ahead and share them with you. I do not know where the photos originally came from as I've had them for over a yr on my laptop...so if you see one of your pics feel free to let me know so I can give you the credit!

Ok, now are you inspired??

Our Bedroom Makeover is Underway!

2010-11-18T12:51:00.004-06:00

As most moms can attest too...we come last. We put decorating our kids rooms above our own rooms, right?? Well, I can say that I did that. My girls have had their rooms decorated & even redecorated while my master room remained dated looking, complete with a waterbed for many of the years...ARGH! Did I just admit that?! LOL

So for probably over 1 year I have been saying the next project was our master bedroom. It was suppose to be done this past summer...but again other things took priority. Now, it's finally underway...YES!!! It helped put a fire under out butt to get going when I sold our outdated oak waterbed wall unit bed on craigslist.

I will show you a sampling of elements that are going into the room, but keep in mind I'm transforming some of the items to my liking.

Stay Tuned....I hope to have the bedroom done before Thanksgiving (fingers crossed)

Animal Print Ornaments are BACK!!!

2010-11-07T21:20:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would let you all know that the animal print ornaments are again available on my etsy site. I have been making & selling these for 3 or 4 years, but now that our custom rug business has taken off, I no longer have time to make them, so...I've passed the ornament making business on to my 22 year old daughter. She has been well trained over the years in making these gorgeous ornaments. She is putting herself through RN school, so your order will be a big help to her!

These ornaments have been extremely popular! Everyone over the past 3-4 years that we've been selling them has LOVED them! They are so sparkly...they catch the lights of the tree and sparkle like diamonds!

Available in Leopard & Zebra
All Ornaments are Jumbo sized to make a big statement on your tree!

If you are interested in the ornaments...you can find them on my etsy site

Have a great day!

A Gift Idea for You!

2010-11-01T13:50:00.006-05:00

Only 54 days until Christmas!!! Are you ready to go shopping?

Wow, this year has flown by!!

Seems like just a month ago I was finishing up our taxes...yuck!

Now, it's almost time to start working on taxes again...yikes. Oh, let's not talk about that!

So, have you started Christmas shopping yet?

I haven't yet, but I did just get a little something for moi, it is an embroidered tote bag from Simply Bags that I love!

The best part is I could order it online & have it shipped to me without ever leaving my home! That's my kind of SHOPPING!

I bet my daughters would love one with their initial embroidered on it too! This would even be a great way to present a present. You could put a pair of pj's in it and give it...no gift wrapping needed! How great is that!

Think about all the girls & women on your list that would love this! How about for all your kid's female teachers...they would LOVE it!

Check out my embroidered bag! They have lots of different styles to choose from, check them out!

You can get the a max of 10 characters embroidered - Thread colors (black, chocolate, or silver)
Mine is a Red velvet quilted hobo style tote bag. Lightweight with underarm carry handle. Add your personal name or monogram for a holiday hostess gift, friend or employee present.
Tote handbag measures 20”W x 14”H, lined with snap closure.

Go check out the embroidered tote bags and let me know which is your favorite.

Happy Shopping!
Darlene

Fall Decorating at Our Home

2010-10-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

I decorated for fall early september. I know it was a bit early but I was anxious for fall. This was actually the first year that I was ready to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall. So before I take it all down and put the christmas decor up I figured I better show you.

I know, I still need the cloth napkins and silverware.

Love my dollar store pumpkins!

Oh and check out my leaf glasses from the dollar store.

Now, let's go into the kitchen. This is at the breakfast nook.

A little ceramic pumpkin showcased on a pedestal.

Yum, coffee and ??? wonder what's in that pumpkin cookie jar??
Maybe some pumpkin cookies!!

From our family to yours......

Happy Fall Y'all!!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper timewe will reap a harvest if we do not give up."Galatians 6:9

Back from Vegas

2010-10-16T12:53:00.005-05:00

We just returned from 6 days in Vegas. We officially launched our custom baby & kids rugs at the ABC Baby & Kids Trade Show on 10-10-10 through 10-13-10. Our custom rugs were very well received!! We were even featured in the Sept/Oct issue of Baby & Kids magazine...YIPPEE! That was a pleasant surprise!

Our booth display

This is in the New Product Showcase

Now for some photos from Las vegas strip...
(one word of advice...wear comfortable shoes if you plan on going there!!!)

We met lots of our current retailers and got a lot of new retailers so overall had a great time!

Garage Sale Furniture Makeover

2010-10-01T22:36:00.004-05:00

During the summer I shared with you something my daughter bought at a garage sale for her apartment for when she moves out next May. May is when she finished her RN degree so she has been stocking up on stuff for her apartment.

So to recap...this is what she bought and how it looked BEFORE.

Then she painstakingly sanded and sanded, then sanded some more. Then primed it, and painted it.

She chose this stunning aqua & cream waverly fabric to cover the cushion in....but she got busy and never called the upholsterer to do it. Yeah, I know it's probably an easy upholstery job...but we don't sew.

So for her birthday I decided to have it done for her.

Today was her 22nd birthday...so her completed garage sale stool was unveiled today.

And.....She LOVED it!

Happy 22nd Birthday my sweet daughter! Your stool will look fabulous in your new place when you leave the nest!!

Check out this Lovely!

2010-09-21T21:19:00.003-05:00

I am excited to show you an amazing garage sale makeover, but it will have to wait a few more days. For now here's a sneak peak of the fabric. Isn't it lovely?!!

Now be sure to come back in a couple days & see the big reveal!!

A lucky girl in Beverly Hills got this......

2010-09-18T22:22:00.004-05:00

I was commissioned by an interior designer in Beverly Hills to do this rug for one of her clients. I just love all the colors! She loved it too! I'll be sure to show you the pic of the rug in the room as soon as the interior designer sends it to me. I can't wait to see it!

If you are interested in a custom rug...visit www.creativecarpetdesign.com

I Need Your HELP, Please!

2010-09-02T08:10:00.000-05:00

I just entered a Business Contest for Best New Business and entered it late in the game, so I need votes quickly. Only have 1 month to get enough votes to be in the running.

So will you please click on over to the contest and vote for me, PLEASE!!

Thanks!!!!

Twins..Twice the Blessing!

2010-09-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

Just had one of our retailers share this nursery photo fit for 2 princesses!

Is this adorable or what?!
Blessed babies, that is for sure. We are blessed to have had a part in their room by creating the custom rugs for them!
If you would are interested in the crib bedding, contact me and I'll let you know who created the fabulous custom crib bedding and if you are interested in the custom initial rugs, contact us at www.creativecarpetdesign.com

What a difference Paint makes!

2010-08-31T08:42:00.000-05:00

All the golden oak furniture & cabinets are almost all history from my home! WooHoo!
Sure hope it never comes back in style! LOL!

If you remember last fall I redid my golden oak dining table. Gave it a black base with a mahogany gel stained top. It turned out gorgeous! You can see it here. I mean anything was better than that orangy oak! Well, I still had a curio cabinet in golden oak which needed a makeover. So I started the project, but soon discovered hubby would be better at doing this. I just hate sanding wood!
So thankfully hubby agreed to do the job and he finished it yesterday. What a difference paint makes! So happy it is no longer looking dated but current and hip in a lovely black satin!!

BEFORE

AFTER

Even got some new knobs!

I went ahead and started decorating for fall yesterday. I know I'm a bit early, but the weather felt liked fall and I'm looking forward to fall this year. Guess I had my fill of summer & lake time this year. Have you all started decorating your homes for fall yet?? I'l post pics of my fall decor in a few days. Until then...Take Care & God Bless You!

Darlene

What's New & HOT??

2010-08-26T16:13:00.007-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I have a good excuse! In fact it's a FABULOUS excuse, I mean reason. Our custom baby & kid's rug business - Creative Carpet Design is TAKING OFF!! Yippee!!! Horray!!! WooHoo!!!

So since it is taking off...I am BUSY,BUSY,BUSY!!! So the blog has had to go on the back burner, as well as other things. I still have not started redecorating our master bedroom but hope to this fall/winter. Hubby has taken over painting my golden oak curio cabinet black, so as soon as it is done I'll be sure to show you all!!

Meanwhile, thought I would show you a couple photos from a photo shoot we had done of our custom initial rugs.

Oh and I heard from one of our retailers that the HOT new color for baby nurseries is Gray. Have you noticed this in stores yet? What colors do you see as the accent color with gray??

Oh and one more question for you.......is it Grey or Gray??

Take Care!

Darlene

Our Garage Sales Treasures

2010-07-25T16:16:00.008-05:00

6:30am saturday morning myself, hubby, daughter and her boyfriend ventured out to do some garage sale-ing. We only had about 3-4 that we found to go to, but we scored big at a two of them! Like I've mentioned in a previous post, our 21 yr old daughter is going to be moving out to her first place next June when she finishes her RN degree...so we've been going to garage sales to find decor things that she will need/want. Here is what she found:

This turquoise swivel stool for $5

She plans on painting the base white and then reupholstering the top. She got to work sanding and priming it almost before I had a chance to get a before photo.

I'll be sure and show you how it turns out once it's all transformed. I'm sure it will be FAB!

She said this was her favorite find of all....the teal owl salt & pepper shakers for $1

This big chunky candle holder for .50 cents.
(that's my candle, just used to show you how it looks)

She's not sure if she will leave it as is or paint it.

Oh and these brand new frames she got for $1

She will leave these as is since the colors will work for her color scheme.

A ceramic bowl and some faux limes for $1
The faux limes will look great in a glass container for a pop of color.

This ceramic canister she got for $1, she liked the colors of it.

The first holiday she will experience at her new apartment will be 4th of July...so she found this for .25 cents.

And this for .50 cents. She will either paint this white and distress it a bit or leave it as is. I can see this for the 4th of July, for Christmas or for New Year's Eve. It's a start to her holiday decor.

She got this large framed painting for $1...that she will paint the frame and make into a chalkboard for her kitchen.

She's not crazy about the frame, as she wants something with a little more detail, but the size is perfect and for $1 couldn't pass it up. If she finds something she likes better, she could sell this one on ebay.

These 2 framed art prints are brand new and were $1 each.

Priced originally at $79.99 each...WOW!

She doesn't like the art, but likes the wide frames so she will put use the frames for some black & white photos.

So that is her treasures that she found on saturday.

I didn't find anything for me...but I did get all these magazines for $2!! (SMILE) I Love Decorating/Home magazines!!

and hubby got 2 new life jackets to use on our boat for $12! (they originally were $50 each!) SCORE!!

Oh I almost forgot even daughter's boyfriend found something! He got a set of wooden sailboats for display for his cabin on the lake. Sorry I don't have a photo to show you. I think we got both our daughter & her boyfriend addicted now to garage sale-ing. LOL

Did you find any treasures this past weekend? Head on over to Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog to her linky party and see what others found this past weekend.

Have a fabulous week!
Darlene

Check out our Slideshow

2010-07-21T23:09:00.002-05:00

We are getting ready to go our first trade show and it's a biggie! We have so much to do and making a slideshow was on our to do list, so I can check that off. Now on to the next task.

2 more days till the weekend....yeah! I need a break!

I Need Your Advice, Please!

2010-07-17T09:55:00.004-05:00

The builder of our house was not the smartest home designer to our dismay! There are several things he did in our home that makes us go "Hmmmmmm".
He put a stackable washer/dryer in a hall way...but it's right next to the kitchen so the washer/dryer ends up being by the refrigerator..ARGH!
I have told my husband for the past 19 yrs that I wanted a door to cover the washer/dryer...but it never happened because we couldn't find a door that would work for the size of the opening.

Well now that our 19 yr old stackable washer/dryer stopped working we bought new front loading washer/dryer that we can stack. Although it will be shiny and new I still want it covered! I told hubby I wanted some doors with some interest/texture...so we found a set of bifold shutter doors at Habitat for Humanity last week for a whopping $10...Woo Hoo!

So now here is where I need your opinion.

1.) Should I keep the doors the color they are??

2.)Should I paint them cream to match the kitchen cabinets??

3.) Should I stain or paint them to match the baskets which are above the fridge??

They are not mounted or framed out yet...but you get the idea.

So what ya think??

It's a Giveaway!

2010-07-01T13:34:00.004-05:00

Head on over to Mommy's Sweet Things to enter the Giveaway for a $100 gift certificate for a Custom Rug from us at Creative Carpet Design.

It's Your Rug...Your Way!!

Good Luck!

Hurry Up Hubby and Finish your Project

2010-06-25T13:02:00.005-05:00

My hubby has always been great about jumping on whatever project I decide to do our house and like most designer's there is ALWAYS a project in mind!!

Last spring I had to make a deal with hubby. You see our kitchen remodel was going at a snail's pace....so I told hubby the faster we got the kitchen finished the quicker he could get on his project......the custom hot rod that he's been working on for the past several years. That worked!!! He quickly agreed and kitchen got finished in no time!

Well a few months later I said hey I really want to start re-doing our master bedroom. He quickly replied, "NOT UNTIL MY HOT ROD IS DONE". Ok, Ok, so hurry it up hubby!!

Meanwhile I've been buying stuff for the bedroom as I find them. Here is what I have so far.

This is my craigslist find.....it's mahogany and I LOVE IT! Only $200..cha ching!!

Got these awesome lamps at TJ Maxx for $40 each and I had the vase in another room.
Antique Mirror got from a garage sale for $10..Woo Hoo!

And this is what I'm waiting for hubby to finish. Hurry Hubs!

The Magic of Paint

2010-06-15T23:25:00.000-05:00

Do you remember that wood pedestal bowl thinky I bought at a garage sale last weekend?

Well, here is a reminder of it. I love the lines of it, but didn't care for the wood color. So what's a girl to do?? Bring out the Magic, of course!

And by Magic I mean "Heirloom White" spray paint!

Taaaa-Daaaa

Funny, now that my daughter saw it painted she decided that she wants it for her future new home. I told her that I'll think about it. LOL

Turns out quite a few people have this pedestal thingy...I've seen it throughout blogland.

I also wanted to let you all know that I will not be able to post as often as I did last year. I'm sure you noticed that my blog posts this year have not been as frequent as last year. The reason is our business - Creative Carpet Design is really growing...by leaps & bounds! This is what is keeping me busy...and that's a great busy!

Creative Carpet Design is now on Twitter so if you would like to follow...just click on the button below.

Thanks!

Darlene

Garage Sale Treasures

2010-06-13T21:53:00.004-05:00

My 21 yr old daughter and I ventured out friday morning to some garage sales. Our mission was to find decor items for her future home. She will be moving out in 1 yr after she graduates RN nursing school. We figured this yr would be the perfect time for us to go garage saleing to find stuff for cheap for her future new home. I even found a few things for me!

So, come on let me show you what we got!

Daughter bought this ornate gold mirror for $2. She will either paint the frame white or black and distress it for the shabby chic look.

She got this for $1. The stand was white, but she painted it black. I don't know what she will put in it?? Any Ideas??

Oh and here is my beauty! I am either going to use it in my bedroom or in the bathroom when we remodel it. It was $10. It was made in the 1920's.
I got this on saturday for daughter when hubby & I went to some garage sales. It is one of those candle holders that goes into the fireplace. It was $2. I think I'll use it this yr before she moves out. LOL

I put 1 candle on it just to show you what it is for.

I spotted this and new it would look fab painted in Heirloom White and distressed. I love the shape of it! This was $1. I don't know what to put in it though. Any Ideas??

I haven't decided if this is mine or daughters. Maybe mine till she moves. ;)

Found this awesome tall candle holder for daughter. She gave me the tassel off of it because it's my colors. She will either paint this white or black and distress it. Got it for $2

Also found this iron stand.

She can either use it as a plate stand (I painted the plate a few yrs ago at a paint pottery studio)

or a cookbook stand.

I got this awesome tray for moi! Love the texture & color. But not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. This was $2

And last but not least I got these glittery beaded candle holders to use during Christmas since I decorate with Gold I figured they would look amazing on the Christmas dining room table. These were $2 for all 5.

Ok, hubby wants me to show you what he got for $5.

We watch that show called "American Pickers" and they always buy rusty old bikes...so hubby got it to resale, but now he says he might restore it. We will see!

Did you find any treasures this past weekend?

I am linking up with Rhoda from Southern Hospitality blog for her Thrifty Treasures Linky Party. Be sure to stop by there to see everyone else's treasures!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Darlene

Mega Sale!!!!!

2010-06-09T22:23:00.004-05:00

We have an excess of NEW Custom Round Border Rugs in our warehouse that we need to sell in order to make room for more rugs.........so we are having a MEGA SALE!!

Stop by our website to check out all the color combinations we have on sale.

Spread the word about the SALE, please!

Thanks!!
Darlene

A Custom Bow Rug

2010-06-07T08:25:00.000-05:00

We just completed a custom rug for a client that wanted a bow rug for her little girl's room and she wanted it personalized with her initial. I think it came out so cute, I had to share it with you.

It is sculpted, carved, and inlaid. What do ya think?

If you or you know someone that would like a custom rug, just go to our website. If you order, be sure to email us to let us know your a blog follower for a special discount!

Our Disney World Vacation

2010-05-17T20:59:00.010-05:00

We're Back!!

We all had a great time on vacation at Disney World! It went by so fast though! I now feel like I need a vacation from vacation! LOL

We did Disney World on a budget...yes, it's possible!! We rented a condo instead of staying at a DW resort. We ate mostly at restaurants outside of DW. We got 3 day park hopper tickets at a discount through ebay and used membership reward points to fly for FREE!! All in all our Disney World vacation was only $2300. I have heard outrageous quotes for a DW vacation up as high as $12,000...yikes!

Enjoy the pics!

Where are you going this summer on vacation??

Going on Vacation...Yippee!!!

2010-05-05T17:12:00.005-05:00

Before I leave for vacation at Disney World I just had to make sure I wish all you moms & mom-to-be a very happy mother's day!!

Being a mom is the most important job in the world!!

I love being a mom!

Thank you Jesus for intrusting me with 2 wonderful daughters!!

In honor of all the moms & mom-to-be we at Creative Carpet Design are giving you a 25% discount on any of our custom rugs! Woo Hoo!! We also ship for FREE!!

I'll be sure to take lots of pics at Disney World to share with you all when I return. Until then....

God Bless You!

Darlene

Just wanted to share...

2010-04-28T11:35:00.003-05:00

This is from one of our fabulous new retailers that manufactures baby crib bedding and we have partnered with them to create custom rugs to go with their bedding.

Thanks for stopping by!

Darlene

Our Garage Sale Treasure

2010-04-18T20:47:00.006-05:00

Hubby & I enjoy our saturday morning outing to garage sales. It is "our time" and feel like we are on a treasure hunt every saturday morning. Last weekend was our first day out to garage sale this year. We didn't find alot this time, but did score this antique wood carved beveled mirror for a whole $2 dollars!

I didn't need another mirror, but hey I couldn't pass it up for $2 now could I?! So I found the perfect place for it. Guess where it is??

Any guesses??

Ok, I'll tell ya...................................................

...it's on ebay. I figure I might as well let someone else have this great mirror since I didn't have a place for it and make some money for more garage saleing!

To check out what other bloggers found out garage saleing head on over to Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog.

God Broke My Heart

2010-04-17T10:25:00.005-05:00

My husband and I were driving home from the bookstore last night and we drove past a man holding a sign that said "any help" so we circled back around and gave him all the change we had. As soon as we gave it to the man he said God Bless You and we said the same to him. Then immediatly upon seeing his face I started crying. I was overcome with sadness and was so heart broken for him that I cried & worried for this stranger. He was a clean cut looking man and I keep wondering why he is out there. I don't know his story but my heart wanted to rescue him, get him a job, a place to live, food to eat, a car. My husband said that he would go back if I wanted him to and give him more money. We felt guilty for just giving him our spare change when we could have given him so much more. I just said I don't know what to do and don't know why god is making me cry and giving me so much compassion for people in these situations. This is the 2nd time I've cried when I see people holding signs needing help. I have never been affected like this prior to this past year. I told hubby it's good we don't have alot of people holding "Need Help" signs or I would be crying and giving all the money away.

(this is not the actual man just a photo I found to give you an idea of the man holding the sign)

Then I told hubby that he should go back and give him some of our emergency food. But then I thought he might not even have a pan to cook it in. UGH! Then I thought maybe we should have told him about Jesus. Then hubby reminded me that he said God Bless You to us first so that he was probably a Christian. I feel like I need to know his story. Hubby said the only way we could is to take him to lunch and talk with him maybe if he out there tomorrow. Then the other part of me is scared to get that close to him...he could be a bad guy after all. Oh all these emotions. My friend told me that she often is overcome with emotion for people like I was and that it was the Holy Spirit inside of us wanting us to intercede for the person. That makes perfect sence! I cannot supply all of this man's needs nor do I know his story but I know a God that does and can supply all his needs!! I prayed for this man & immediatly I felt a release. The crying stopped and the worry for this stranger because I know that God is in Control and I did what he wanted me to do. I also said in my prayer that if God wanted me to give the man or do anything for the man that I was willing and to just let me know.

I just wanted to share this experience with you all in case God ever Breaks your Heart for a Stranger you'll understand why.

Matthew 25:40 (the Message) Then Jesus will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

God Bless You!

Darlene

Lime Green & Brown Baby Nursery

2010-04-08T11:51:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share a photo of a lime green and dark brown baby nursery with our initial inlay rug. So cute! I've noticed alot of trees being used in baby nursery's. That's one way to bring the outdoors inside! I think this would be great for a girl or a boy.

If you would like a custom rug just contact us www.creativecarpetdesign.com

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

Easter is not about the Easter Bunny!

Easter is not about decorating with spring branches, nests, and eggs

Easter is All About this Man! His name is Jesus, do you know him?

This is what he did for you and why we celebrate Easter!

God Bless You!
Darlene

A Gift in more ways than one!

2010-04-02T11:24:00.003-05:00

Have you all heard of David Garibaldi?

He has an amazing gift!

Take a look and be blessed!

Happy Good Friday & Happy Easter (redemption day)

Darlene

Great Master Bedroom in an Awkward Space

2010-03-31T21:35:00.005-05:00

I found another great master bedroom that I wanted to share with you. They used such great design elements to make an awkward space a stunning space to call their master bedroom.

Do you see any design elements you can use in your own spaces?

Darlene

Cottage Master Suite

2010-03-26T11:22:00.003-05:00

I was strolling through Rate My Space looking for master bedroom inspiration pics when I came across this..........

My ceilings are low and slanted somewhat like these ceilings. Wondering if I could talk hubby into covering them with wood planks??

Drumroll please.....and the WINNER is.........

2010-03-17T20:07:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for entering the Giveaway for the $200 Gift Certificate for a Custom Rug from Creative Carpet Design.

I wish I could bless you all that entered with a $200 gift certificate for a custom rug, but unfortunately I can't, however if you all email me at darlene@creativecarpetdesign.com I have a 30% off coupon code for you as a "thank you" for entering.

So without further ado.....

The winner of the $200 Gift Certificate is..........

Cheri Peoples of It's So Very Cheri

CONGRATS Cheri!

Just email me for your gift certificate.

1 more week........

2010-03-10T13:19:00.006-06:00

Have you entered the contest

for the

CUSTOM RUG GIVEAWAY??

There is only 1 week left until 1 lucky person will WIN!

Will it be you??

Hurry go here for the rules of the giveaway and to enter!

Giveaway Time!!!!

2010-02-26T07:39:00.003-06:00

It's a CUSTOM RUG GIVEAWAY!
(compliments of our company, "Creative Carpet Design")

The giveaway is for a $200 gift certificate for a custom rug!!

The winner will get to design their own rug with any of the options we offer, then we will professionally make the rug & ship it to the lucky winner! (we only ship to the US 48 states)

It's Your Rug...Your Way!

~Now for the RULES~

1. Go to our website and see our rugs, then come back and tell me what your custom rug would look like if you won.

2. Copy the code of our Creative Carpet Design Button and paste it to the sidebar of your blog.

3. Become a follower of our blog (if your not already)

Get EXTRA entries in the Giveaway by doing the following;

4. Blog about our Custom Rug Giveaway and let me know that you did it.

5. Become our Facebook Fan

Creative Carpet Design - Custom Rugs on Facebook

(we are new on FB, so we need friends!)

6. Tweat (twitter) and/or Facebook about Our Custom Rugs and send us a link so we can see your post.

Winner will be announced on March 17th!

Ready, Set, Go...enter the Giveaway!

Melissa from Melissa's Heart & Home won our last rug giveawy...here is her custom rug below.

It's better to give than to receive!

2010-02-24T07:23:00.000-06:00

Hey Y'all...remember me?

I hope so! Have you missed me? I've missed y'all! I haven't posted in over 1 week and I feel bad about that! I'm just working so hard lately on our business that I just haven't had time to blog :(

So I think I'll make it up to you by having a BIG GIVEAWAY...how's that sound?

My birthday is next wednesday, and since it's better to give than to receive that is just what I'm gonna do! It will be a "Giveaway" in honor of my birthday!

Come back soon for all the details!

Until then....

God Bless You!

Darlene

Busy,Busy, Busy!

2010-02-15T13:44:00.004-06:00

Sorry I haven't been doing many posts lately. I haven't forgotten about y'all.

I have just been so busy with our custom rug business. We now have converted our website to an ecommerce site since the majority of our business is done online rather than locally. We have also been blessed to have quite a few retailers come on board who are now selling our custom baby/kid's rugs. God is so Good!

We are still accepting retailers so if you or you know someone that is interested in offering our custom baby & kid's rugs....contact us here. We even dropship!!

For all my blog friends that want a custom rug....here's a 30% off coupon code for ya: just4me30off

Would you be so kind to help us out by putting our button on your sidebar of your blog?

<center><a href="http://www.creativecarpetdesign.com/"></a></center> (just copy & paste this code to your sidebar) Thanks!!!

We now even offer gift certificates!! What a perfect baby gift, if I do say so myself!

Darlene

Darn, Global Warming!

2010-02-12T13:02:00.002-06:00

Our snow covered home

Daughter with her boyfriend

Our daughters

Have a great day!
I'm off to go going skiing (on wii) LOL!

Darlene

My Favorite Valentine

2010-02-03T16:09:00.003-06:00

You Ask Why I Follow This Jesus?

Why I love Him the way I do?

When the world's turned away from His teachings

And the people who serve Him are few.

It's not the rewards I'm after

Or gifts that I hope to receive

It's the Presence that calls for commitment

It's the Spirit I trust and believe.

The Lord doesn't shelter His faithful

Or spare them all suffering and pain,

Like everyone else I have burdens,

And walk through my share of rain.

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,

And that joy only Christians have known,

I never know what comes tomorrow,

But I do know I'm never alone.

It's the love always there when you need it;

It's the words that redeem and inspire,

It's the longing to ever be with Him

That burns in my heart like a fire.

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?

Well, friend, that's so easy to see,

But the one thing that fills me with wonder is

Why Jesus loves someone like me.

~ Author Unknown ~

Wanna do a Valentine Craft?

2010-02-01T11:26:00.000-06:00

Do you remember the candy christmas tree our daughter made during the holidays?? Well we all thought it turned out so great! That made me start thinking of what we could make for the valentine's day holiday. We had just bought some large conversation hearts, so I knew it had to include those. So when at the dollar store I spotted a photo frame with a flat front, I knew this would be perfect with the conversation hearts!

I wanted the frame black, so out came the trusty spray paint.

Once the frame was dry, I laid out the candy hearts on the frame so I had the proper spacing. Once I liked the layout, I hot glued each piece of candy to the frame.

So easy!! After I was done there were a few of those pesky hot glue strings so I took my handy blow dryer to it & voila no more hot glue strings. Now just spray with some polyurethane & add a photo to it and enjoy!! Isn't it cute??? I think it is! Especially the sweet girl in the frame...my Callie at age 5.

Happy Crafting!

Valentine Decor For Your Home

2010-01-24T21:30:00.000-06:00

Do you decorate your home for Valentine's Day? Have you ever wondered why people decorate for Halloween using skulls, spiders, ghosts, scary stuff,etc, but most do not decorate for Valentine's Day? When Valentine's Day celebrates Love shouldn't that be just as big as a decorating holiday as Halloween is?? Actually I think it should be BIGGER! After all the #1 commandment is to love one another!

So upon thinking of how to decorate the home for Valentine's Day I turned to etsy to check out what handmade goodness I could find.

How about these vintage Valentine's cards...how cute would these be framed?? I'll answer for you...it would be amazing!

You can find the vintage valentine cards here...

Who said you can't add some love to the bathroom? Not me! These heart shaped soaps would be terrific in a bathroom. By the sink or by the bathtub.

You can find the heart soaps here...

How cool would it be to write a love note and have it made into a pillow? It would be So Cool!

You can order the postcard pillow here...

State your love on pillows!

I love this one below!

You can order these pillows here...

Ok and upon searching etsy I realized I had something on my etsy site that could be used as Valentine's Day Decor. So here is my offering and my shameless plug.

Hope I inspired you to decorate for Valentine's Day! Now head on over to etsy and see what you can find.

Darlene

To Match Or Not To Match??

2010-01-19T07:45:00.001-06:00

I am trying to find 2 night stands for our master bedroom and really fighting the urge to make all the furniture match my new mahogany chest of drawers I got last week. (Click Here to See)

I have had a tendency in the past to make everything very symetrical and very matchy matchy. That's boring so I'm trying to break out of my normal tendency to match everything.

I just don't know if I like 2 unmatching/unsymetrical night stands. Maybe this is too much of a stretch for me at this point, not sure.

(update 1/20/2010 ): sorry I didn't mention it before, but this is not my bedroom...just one I found to look at to see if I liked the unmatching/unsymetrical night stands & to get your opinions.

What do ya think?
Do your night stands match??

Darlene

Are you BUSY??

2010-01-16T16:38:00.002-06:00

Hi friends!

Sorry I haven't posted much this week.

I have been working on expanding our rug business and great news...just got a new retailer to market our rugs...yippee!

The goal is to build the business enough so that hubby can quit his day job!

I'm also working on not being so BUSY this year. This video was a big wake up call for me. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Homemade Birthday Pizza

2010-01-12T21:02:00.010-06:00

I made a homemade pizza for my daughter, Callie's 13th birthday last week and it was so good I had to share the recipe with you. I even remembered to take photos of the all the steps. I even got to try out the new pizza stone that hubby bought me for Christmas.

The World's Best Bread Machine Pizza Dough
Recipe Makes 2 Pizza Crusts
· 1 1/3 cups water (Or 1 Cup Water and 1/3 Cup Flat Beer for better flavor)
·2 tablespoons olive oil· 1 teaspoon sugar

· 1 teaspoon honey
· 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
· 2 tablespoons cornmeal
· 3 1/2 cups flour
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
· 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
· 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
Add ingredients to machine in order listed.Set to “Dough” mode.Once completed, place in greased pan (2 - 9x13 inch or round pizza pans).Let dough rest on pans for 10-15 minutesSpread dough out in pan.
Add light layer of sauce and pre-bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.Remove from oven and add toppings of your choice.Bake in oven at 400 degrees until done (approx 17 - 20 min, depending upon topping thickness).

PIZZA SAUCE

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2/3 cup water

2 tablespoons red wine

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

Preparation
1. Prep all the ingredients first and have them sitting ready to go. The recipe cooks fast, so this step is important.
2. In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic in oil until golden. Watch it closely as the garlic can go from golden to burned in a nanosecond.
3. Add tomato paste, water, wine, sugar, oregano, basil, and cheese.
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add mozzerella cheese, cheddar cheese or just buy one of those prepackaged/grated Pizza Blend cheese packages.

Add whatever toppings you want...we added pepperoni

Then we had cheesecake for dessert with strawberries & chocolate chips...just what Callie requested for her 13th birthday...yummy! I decided to just buy this at Sam's Club instead of making it from scratch. It was made by Cheesecake Factory. It was heaven in a box!

And here is Callie and her sister playing jer new keyboard that we got her for her birthday.

Look What I SCORED on CRAIGSLIST!!!!!

2010-01-11T13:33:00.006-06:00

One of my goals for this year is to redo our master bedroom. Bring it out of the 90's and into 2010!

Right now we have golden oak bedroom furniture...yuck!!! It's the last room in the house that hasn't been madeover.

So I thought I would just take a look on craigslist to see if there was any bedroom furniture for sale that I liked. WOW, all I can say is PERFECT TIMING!!!

I got this GORGEOUS mahogany bombe' style chest of drawers made by Vineyard. It is in PERFECT condition! This piece is such great quality!

I don't know what it went for brand new, but I'm sure it was in the $1500-$3000 ballpark and guess what I paid for it?????

Any idea??

Well, I got it for a mere $200....SCORE!!!!!

Thank you Jesus!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fill up my drawers!

Darlene

Make a Candy Bar Card

2010-01-08T12:13:00.003-06:00

Just thought I would share a candy bar card that I made for my daughter, Callie for her birthday.

In case you can't read it, here is what it says:

Dear Callie,
I had 100 GRAND to spend for your birthday but I couldn't get to 5TH AVENUE to shop because of all the snow.
So I decided to give you some words of wisdom instead.

1. Keeping the Commandments will bring a big PAYDAY NOW & LATER!

2. Watch out for girls/guys that are AIRHEADS. They can be MOUNDS of trouble.

3. Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a DOVE.

4. Always try your best to SKOR high grades.

5. Be careful so nobody plays TWIX on you.

6. Oh, and stay away from boys...because they're all NERDS!!! (except dad, of course)

Don't SNICKER

We Love You to RIESES PIECES!!!!!!!!

Mom & Dad

It's a Special Day Over at Our Home

2010-01-07T09:13:00.010-06:00

It's time to Celebrate!

Throw a Party!

Eat Cake!!

Are you wondering why??

Well,

it's our youngest daughter, Callie's
13th birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLIE!!!!

Do you remember when you turned 13?
I remember being so excited to finally be a "teenager"

Tonight we are celebrating with a family dinner of her favorite...pizza!

Dessert will be cheesecake with strawberries and chocolate chips...her special request.

So you know me...I had to decorate!

We decided on a aqua/brown/white crown theme. Not princess...that would be too juvenile. So we call it crown party!

Aubrie, the big sis made these adorable crown sugar cookies for Callie and she helped me with all the decorations

Matching Gift Wrap

Streamers, pearls, garlands oh my!

How do you like the brown jeweled crown I found at Hobby Lobby??
I think it's perfect for the theme!

We added brown feathers around the stems of the glasses.
We even have a special aqua colored drink to put in the glasses.

I wish I would have had brown or silver chargers..oh well.

And here's my sweet baby Callie!
Callie, can I still call you my baby even though your now a TEEN??

We Love You Callie!

This post is part of Tablescape Thursday. So to see more fabulous tablescapes be sure to go on over to Between Naps On The Porch.