“A house without books is like a room without windows.” - Horace Mann

Book Party!

My dad is a writer. Aside from smoking cigars on the back deck with his laptop in front of him, he also has to throw his own book launch parties. With five thriller novels and one young adult series of six books, my family and I throw launch parties and book signings like no one's business. {Credit: my wonderful Mom is really the brains and the brawns behind all the operations! You rock, Mom.}

This last week, the week I moved back to Colorado for the month, my dad had a huge party at Barnes&Nobles to promote the release of his latest thriller, The 13th Tribe (Thomas Nelson Publishing.)

There was a four day notice and a $130 budget for my mom to get this party rocking. Of course, without asking, I jumped in on this opportunity to help her with the decorations and such. Don't you just love the colors of this cover? Party colors for sure! 

I jumped on Pinterest : my go-to for quick ideas and inspirations (gosh, I love Pinterest.) 

I found this PERFECT book party link to Amelie's House blog {go check it out!} I also found a couple more ideas through random pins on Pinterest. Check out my Partaay board here.

As you know, I am not just an observer... I get things done! A few late nights and a couple trips to  Party City, Costco, and Walmart and.... Let's Take A Look! 

{Photo credit: my mom took all the pictures while working and keeping the snacks stocked up, thanks mom!}

 My dad, Robert Liparulo, signing books. Look at all those books! Notice the colors of the balloons - perfect! 

 I took an old book and cut out the pages to make these little banners to spruce up the table.

 My mom, Jodi Liparulo, made wonderful wedding cake with frosting and blue sprinkles. We then made the little books to stick into the tops.

 The table: black table cloth with green napkins and blue stars, a jar for drawings of books, the wreath I pulled directly from that cute little blog {Amelie's House} and quickly made one with the old book of pages I cut up. Then  there were a few snack foods for everyone (no one needs to be getting cranky!) 

These are the books that were up for the drawings. We wrapped them in clear wrapping with white polka dots and sparkly ribbon and added the "bookworm" candy worms packages to each one. 

That's it! The 13th Tribe book launch party! What I enjoyed the most about this proccess (besides the colors and seeing hard work pay off on a budget) is that my family really knows how to come together and support one another. We supported my dad for his dedication and success of his book, we supoorted my mom for being the backbone to getting things done, and in the car, and set up at the event, and they supported my creativity and inputs about...well...everything. 

If you have time to check out my dad here is his information: 

Website: http://www.robertliparulo.com/thrillers/the-13th-tribe/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.liparulo

I know that this strays a little from my home decorating posts, but so what?! Creative design and decorating is creative design and decorating! And I do believe that there are many ways to put love into ANY kind of SPACE. The table space that my dad needed to 'launch' his party from blah to fabulous (as my Aunt Stacie would say) was much needed and I'd say kicked butt. So...again... no matter where your space is...I hope that this will help you with more ideas to LOVE IT! Love&Light friends. 

"But I don't think that sculpture belongs in everyday life like a table does, or like a chair." - Anthony Caro

Kitchen Chairs: Done!

Remember my chairs I picked up from Goodwill months ago? I finally had the time to finish them and now the time to put them up. All I needed was a new stapler, more black spray paint, a sunny, dry day, and the time. 

I picked up a stapler for $24 and four cans of black KRYLON spray paint that was good for plastic @ $6 each.

Plus the previous price of $28 for the chairs and $22 for the spray paint and fabric.

I didn't use all of the spray paint, so I'd say this project comes to $86, which is steeper then I'd like to go for re-doing a set of chairs. But it is all about trial and error and starting somewhere with these projects. That and a lot of love.

List of the steps I took: 


1. Wiped down with soap and water, getting any dirt, dust, or grime. 


2. Sanded by hand all the plastic, just to rough it up. (I noticed a red color underneath the green, and I smiled becuase I was excited to be continuing a project on these chairs that have seen it before.) 


3. One coat of spray paint, let dry, then two, three, and finally four coats did the trick (I wanted to make sure I got every inch of those suckers black.)


4. I measured and cut the fabric to each chair. I used an exacto-knife to cut around the corners. 


5. I used a heavy-duty Gorilla glue to tuck in the edges around the bases. 


6. Starting at one side, I pulled tight underneath and tucked in as much edging as I could before stapling around the previous brass brads that were in it.


7. Then you go directly across to pull tight that side. Then do the other two sides underneath the same way. 


8. As the chairs were flipped upside down to staple on the fabric, the tops of the chair posts got scratched up, as well as tucking in of the fabric exposed more of the previous color, leading to...


9. There is a much better way to make sure the paint doesn't get on the fabric once you do wip that out AFTER the fabric is down. For some reason, not sure if my fingers were cold, but I couldn't manage to miss the fabric. Oh well, adds character to my new, first re-done kitchen chairs. 


10. They now sit it my tiny kitchen and are ENJOYED, bringing color and comfort to the tiny room. 


And it wasn't that hard. I'd say a total of 3-4 hours including picking up the tools and going  back to the store. I hope that it inspires you to work on some things to add spunk and glimmer and personality to the space that you love!

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” - Charles R. Swindoll

Living with my dear friend Lauren, and deciding to walk down the interior decorating path was a very convenient blessing. I was not only able to start this passion with my own room in our house, but Lauren also allowed me to have a hand in re-decorating her room. I know that she is my dearest friend and no matter what I did to her room, she would forgive or embrace it with a smile. But I also felt a little bit of pressure because she does mean so much to me, so the space that she keeps needs to reflect just what type of person she is. 

Living in a house with four girls makes the rooms that we live in that much more special to us. If you are able to make a space for yourself, amongst roommates or siblings, make it YOURS. Even if we watch chick flicks to the early morning hours, then get up to eat breakfast and drink coffee together, we still need our own corner to go to for our own R&R. 

So this was my time to make my best friend a space of her own. 

Though I don't have the before pictures, it was plain. Plain cream walls, no color scheme, and just a typical working girls' room. She deserves a room to escape to that resembles her. She is a hard working woman, always-there friend, thoughtful sister, caring aunt, and intuitive daughter. She is always going and always anywhere that anyone needs her to be. My heart was full of love for her when I saw that she needed a space of her own to escape to. 

We were on a TIGHT budget, which was a challange I was willing to take on. For the girls out there who would love to have a place for themselves but are living on rent and groceries, this is a great project to learn from. 

1. We took an old floor length mirror and spray painted the frame black and hung it above the bed. Lauren doesn't have a headboard, which is perfectly fine, because that gives you room to use whatever you'd like as a focal point above the bed. The mirror also allows more light from the opposite window to come in. 

2. She had these cool candle holders but they were brass. Sticking with the color theme we also painted those black and hung them by the door. I got candles from the dollar store for those. 

3. The two side tables were from the ARC Thrift Store. I think they were around $7 each. One of the cool things about having boyfriends is that hers was able to sand and paint and finish these end tables along with two others at his shop. One is black and one is purple, by the bed. 

4. You can clutter up these side tables all you want. But it's more pleasing to the eye if you keep things that are color related out. 

I do want to point out that the bed was shoved in the corner before. Lauren says it was "comfy." But we had to have the "older then sixteen" talk. Being a woman and on your own, it is a form of maturity to have your bed front and center, not in the corner. I am proud of her for keeping the bed in it's place. 

 If you live in a house or apartment on a lease and paying rent, you need to get the approval of your landlord or lease holder before you paint or put holes in the wall. Our landlord was an angel to let us both paint our rooms.

We painted 3 of the walls straight up white. This allowed us to paint the 4th wall a deep grey. (It's a little lighter in the 2nd picture.)

After those coats dried, it was time to put some things on the walls!
Lauren already had these boxes and painted them black, purple, and
green. I had the other pictures frames already and gladly handed them over for the cause. Lauren's family is so important to her, so framing pictures was a no-brainer. I did want the grey wall, from ceiling to the desk, to be all picture frames. (We are still working on that project, which goes to show that there doesn't have to be a time limit to your prejects. Whenever you are ready to move on to something else is totally up to you and your budget.)

1. A painted black frame hangs on the wall with decorations inside it.
2. A green shelf, painted and hung to be amongst the potential picture frames. 3. A painted black framed mirror was mounted on the wall near the desk to show more space and add more light to the area.

Lauren didn't have closet doors. But she needed something to cover up the appearance of clutter. The sheer lime green curtains work perfectly.

She also mounted a battery operated clock right her the wall. These are stickers, so they can come off easily if you'd like.

It's hard when you're on a budget to do everything that you would like to your room, especially when you have work, school, family, friends, and all the other demands of life. The goal was to get the entertainment center also painted black. But that project needed to be put off for the time being, which is NO problem! And NO stress! It will happen when it needs to happen. For now, this set up totally works. The two side shelving units are from a friend of Lauren's and painted black. The matching storage bins are perfect for hiding any clothing or crafts or paperwork. The window treatments are temporary, with a lot of promise! But again, it goes to show that we are all real people living in the real world. We can't be upset if we need to put a project on hold for time or $$ purposes. It will all come together exactly how it needs to. 

Lauren's room is in a much better place then it was before. At the end of the day you need your stuff exactly where you can find it and use it. That is a big part of re-organizing and re-decorating your space. 

Thank you so much, Lauren, for allowing me to tear apart your things and put them back together. I hope that you enjoy your room all the days that you are there and that it helps you to relax and regroup from your amazing life. I hope that you are loving your space, girl!