Stephanie Howell

work in progress!

i thought i'd share some photos of how the house unpacking/arranging is going.

i have to credit my mom for helping SO much. she is a genius at rearranging things we already own, and making them look just perfect.

she's the "queen of vignettes". hee!

this is the den area:

my h and six collection have been found over the years, and the precious vintage garland was made by my mom.

 

 

 

 

 

some of my coffee table books, and a john derian plate

 

the kitchen isn't really modern...but it's big and i love that.

more john derian, but you guys know i LOVE him. :)

this is looking out into the living room/entry/dining room area.

 

i love this little sitting/bar area:

chairs and leather sofa from pier one,

bar from cost plus world market.

we need a great rug to put here.

the little dining room that BARELY holds our (admittedly huge) dining room table.

 

looking back into the living room.

i love the downstairs. it's so warm and inviting and cozy...and us.

next up...the upstairs!!!

see you soon!

xxo

 

 

 

 

around the house (photo heavy).

vignette- a small picture. a short scene. a short description of an event.  any decorative space set-up for the purpose of being pleasing to one's eye.

my mother is the queen of vignettes. you can literally spend hours looking at her decor.

decorating can often be super intimidating. large spaces are overwhelming. small spaces can get crowded easily. we've lived in seven homes. each one has been VERY different.

i thought i'd share some photos of things around my home that make me happy. nothing fancy. nothing expensive. just little things that make my house a home.

one of my favorite things about my house is all of the built-ins. we have two huge built in bookcases in our living room. they were SO intimidating when we first moved in..they stayed bare for a long time.then i started to look at them differently. i started to tackle them piece by piece, instead of as a whole.

 

i stacked books both horizontally and vertically,

and added flea market knick knacks here and there.

 

this pile cracks me up. can you tell which book isn't Jimmy's??

 

 

 

i tackled the huge built ins in our breakfast nook the same way...with collections/vignettes:

 

 

 

built in in the dining room...same thing.

 

and here are some random shots from around the house, things that i love most.

my favorite lamp (scored it at the thrift shop for a couple of bucks!!

the doors to the girls rooms:

 

sweet, girly touches in harper's room:

  

 

j's bar/man room:

 

our room:

 

our spring table decor:

 

the chalk wall in the basement:

 

and my craft room:

 

 

 

this is an old pew rack that i use to display layouts:

 

 

 

holy 9213840123840283 pictures! whoa.  i think i got a little carried away.

but lots of you are always asking me what i do with alllll of those flea market finds i got in TX...so there you have it!

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

xoxo

s

 

orchestra layouts and a fresh coat of paint

what have we been up to in the howell household the past day or two?

why...painting! my whole body is reminding me that we painted all last night ('til one a.m.!!)

sore muscles, splattered hair, and eyes i can barely open...i'm tired!

but it's worth it...check out our dining room!

before:

after (painted benjimin moore vellum):

 

next up? the living room and bar.

j leaves tomorrow for a "business trip", so i'll have some time on my hands. on my to do list?
tape and prime living room

organize basement

decorate for christmas

find or redo dresser for harper's room

work on decorating girls rooms.

so, last night was the big reveal at studio calico...the december kit, orchestra!

i played with all three add-ons this month. i wish i could have made more pages, but between the move, getting ready for J to leave, and also having to do home front layouts...it just wasn't in the cards. i still have LOTS left and hope to do more.

here's what i did this month:

this one just gets me. makes my heart hurt. j got a bit teary-eyed when he read it...even though he probably won't admit it. ;)

it's fairly simple, yet speaks volumes. i cut the banner from the exclusive SC paper in this month's kit and embellished it with a prima flower center, and two flowers that are meant to be Christmas colors...i think they work just fine on this non-holiday layout!

i cut a circle from the canvas and framed it with a glittery circle frame. in the center, i added another of the making memories flowers and topped it with a monogram.

as it often goes, the journaling is my favorite part. i decided to make the journaling pop a bit (and make it more of a design element) by adding basicgrey chipboard letters.

a layout about my best friend michelle. we've been friends since freshman year in high school, now she is "aunt mishayelle" to us...thanks to harper, her biggest fan.

i adhered the basicgrey yellow doily paper (which i LOVE by the way) to the background, and traced around it with a white uniball signo pen to make it pop a bit.

i painted a 5x7 square of gesso on the patterned paper, traced around the edges, and embellished the inside with some gold hambly rubons. i did my journaling around the edge of the gesso frame.

i created the bouquet out of making memories stick pins, a making memories blue flower, the orange cabs (with sequins and brads layered on top), and tied the bouquet with a shredded piece of the canvas.

i like how this one turned out...like a pretty package all tied up.

i cut the die cut paper to make more of a butterfly shape. i adhered the two 4x6 photos of sadie and framed them with bits and pieces of the hambly frame rubons. i "tied" the package up with the making memories tape (again, christmasy products used for a layout that isn't holiday related).

i covered the cosmo cricket holly/berry chipboard with gesso to take away the christmasy feel.

lots of bright, fun colors in this kit. this one is pretty self-explanatory...had to document this rare occasion between sisters. ;)

okay, that's it for this month. off to paint. sigh. ;) see you soon! xoxo

Sneak Peek Saturday

First some sneaks of our newest furniture additions:

entry table:

 

living room chairs:

 

 

j finally got his leather couch (loveseat) and ottoman...he's been wanting one for YEARS!!!

 

all furniture above from pier one- most on sale...plus 10 percent off for opening a card.

sadie got a bigger rug ;)

kmart rug

and i worked for HOURS on this project (sorry about the horrid photo)

 

Harper has been playing dress-up obsessively here, she adores having her own room

where she can hide from the wee-one.

she's like me...she needs a bit of time completely alone.

 

 

and i've been working on my layouts for the studio calico december kit.

it's hard to find time to do many this month...i wish i could do SO many more.

 

 

 

check back tomorrow for my november sponsor giveaway...trust me, it's going to be awesome.

happy saturday, sweet friends! xoxo

this and that wednesday

Holy Cow on the participation in the Home Front blog hop! SO cool!

Congrats to my winner (see below)!

I have one more Home Front layout to share.

 

sorry it's so crooked. i have NO idea what in the world that's all about.

i just couldn't get it to photograph straight, dang it!

Home Front Products used: alpha stickers, fabRips, Conversation Piece, Floor Plan, Odds&Ends, label stickers

Punches: Fiskars Apron Lace, Martha Stewart Large Double Monarch

Love that Home Front!
Could a line of paper POSSIBLY be any more perfect for my life right now? Love it.

Oh, lots of you asked about my bedspread in the last couple of posts.

It's from Pottery Barn, I got it last winter. 

Speaking of my house, thought I'd share a couple more "in progress" photos.

I know I'll appreciate these after I'm done decorating.

The girls' rooms are HUGE. They've shared a room their entire lives, so we don't have nearly enough to fill up two bedrooms. HEE! We are in the market for a dresser for Harper's room.

H's room:

 

sadie's room:

 

look at that pitiful little rug. hahaha! it was perfect for the floor in their old room,

here...not so much. it's like a speck in an ocean. hahaha!

and i also thought i'd share some photos of my scrap room.

 

the wall right ahead of you when you come in the door:

 

left wall:

 

right wall:

 

slowly but surely i'm making my way there!

i clearly need a bigger desk for this room. looking at THIS ONE, it's on sale right now. my friend dav recommends the target version, and i'm going to check that out, too.

i'm also going to paint that dinky desk on the right a fun color (that is my cruddy computer desk from COLLEGE, ha!)

there are maybe two boxes left to unpack. our house is so empty. it's really funny.

antiquing, here i come!!!

 

 

we are doing well. happy. very happy.

like i said, God is good.

oh...one more thing. check this out!!!

recognize that sweet little face? our family is SO excited about this.

 

Happy Wednesday, sweet friends!

xoxox

if you ever get realllly desperate

and have about a zillion boxes to unpack,

try this.

break down boxes,

tape boxes to floor of enclosed front porch,

squirt lots of paint onto paper plates,

let the monkeys go wild:

 

 

 

 

 

it works!

in other news...

here's a story just to prove that i am losing my ever-loving mind.

i was unpacking dish/collectible boxes alllll day yesterday. you know....the really tall ones with a million tiny things inside? and each tiny thing is wrapped in about 30 sheets of paper. at least.

i was starting to hallucinate, i swear.

delirious.

not five minutes before i had asked j to help me fold paper and stuff one of the empty dish boxes.

i moved the box to the side and started unpacking a second dish box.

at some point i noticed that i couldn't find anything in the box i was unpacking!!

i was taking out sheet

after sheet

after sheet

after sheet

of paper.

and laying them out and smoothing them...

AND NOTHING WAS IN THE BOX.

i got really  mad.

i was sure the packers were messing with me as payback for having to pack my scrap room.

i yelled to jimmy

THERES NOTHING IN THIS STUPID (@*$(@*#(*$ BOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and then i realized

i had unpacked the box that we put all of the paper into.

i got mixed up between the box i was unpacking and the box full of paper.

i

am

such

an

idiot.

don't even make me tell you how hard jimmy laughed at me. HEEEEEE!!

AN IDIOT!!!!

the house is slowly but surely coming along.

see?

 

 

 

 

but don't even look at our dining room table...

b/c apparently it is a flea market??

ugh.

back soon with scrappiness to share!!
xo

s

iphone tour of the new howell household

Okay. So God is good. That's truly all I keep thinking over and over.

Every morning I wake up and walk through this beautiful house with a big, silly grin on my face.

I kind of feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

The Fort Benning housing office gave us our dream house. I mean that. Truly.

We have enough furniture to fill up approximately 1/4 of this house.

I'm scared this is a dream. They called yesterday and I was scared for a second that they were telling us it was a mistake that we got this house...we live on a street with almost all Colonels.

Everyone is SO nice, kids everywhere...playing til dark. It's safe. And beautiful. Oh, did I mention that?

See? I'm obsessed.

Jimmy and I keep saying there is nowhere to go from here but down. HEEE.

I mean, we could never ever in a million zillion years live anywhere like this if it wasn't provided to us by the army.

This is why I wanted to live on post here at Ft. Benning.

Our house is close to 100 years old...and beautiful.

I feel like Claudia Joy in Army Wives. teehee.

Before I get started, let me apologize for the cruddy quality of these photos.

I promise I will take some "real" photos once we get  unpacked. ;) right now the house is a maze of boxes. i've stubbed my toes approximately 10394032945 times.

Our street:

 

coming in the front door:

 that door down the hall is the guest bath.

that's the living room to the left:

 

the dining room to the right:

 

dining room to living room:

 

through the living room are french doors that lead to a little extra room. j is going to make it the "bar area" with all of his army plaques/etc. on the wall. his one  man room. well, except for the gym he made in the garage, hee!

the kitchen is in the back to the right. they remodeled it right before we moved in, so everything is brand new:

 

to the right in this photo is what is possibly my favorite part of the house,

this sweet little breakfast nook:

across from the table are wall to ceiling built in shelves.

in the back are the stairs to the basement. there is a guest room/bath,

laundry room,

and storm shelter/storage down there.

view from back door:

 

upstairs are the girls rooms (they look identical...nice size and lots of windows/good closets),

the girls bathroom,

and our master bedroom:

 

j has two closets and he LOVES that fact. poor guy usually has his stuff hanging random places all over the house. i say that's what happens when you go away for a year. it's a chance you've gotta take (j/k).

master bath is off our room and that door to the left leads to the sun porch-

MY NEW SCRAP ROOM!!!!

 

you cant' tell...but the windows go all the way around the room, there are seven total.

i'm in natural light heaven!

and by the way, i think i lied earlier about the breakfast nook being my favorite part of the house. i think my closet is my favorite part.

 

it's an entire room to itself. with a DOOR where i can lock myself in when i'm losing my mind. just kidding...kind of.

look at these closets within the closet. sigh:

 

i just love it. it's old. and delicious. the bathroom windows look like this:

 

and this is what is across the street, and in our back yard.

 

 

 

 

lovelovelovelovelovelove.

and let me throw this out there. i am not showing off...well i kind of am,

but this is NOT our house. we have to give it back.

they will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

but they will take it back. and we will go somewhere else.

so i'm allowed to brag just a wee bit...b/c we are only borrowing it.

=)

love you all!

xoxo

around the house

On my scrap desk:

on my dining room table

also on the dining room table (an assortment of tags from friends, mostly made by my  mom)

on my coffee table:

these make me want to quilt. 

i bought them as patches for my favorite pair of (now ripped) jeans

and also to scrap with

on my mantel (j and h bought me something at the drug store and left it there, can you find it?)

on my tv (left over christmas/valentine decor that i left there b/c it reminds me of me and the chickies)

on the door to the girls' room

on the fan in their room:

on our minds (CAN YOU BELIEVE how short it is now)

on our shower:

(martha stewart from kmart ;) )

on watch in mama's room-

she's been named "sassy" by harper.

harper talks to her and periodically says things like GET YOUR HEAD ON DUDE.

or "SASSY WITH THE ITTTTTY BITTTTY HEAD". 

i once made sassy "walk" and peek in the bathroom at harper while she was on the potty.

NOT a good idea. Now sassy stays in the corner.

on the table in the morning room:

i love my mom's idea of slipping an inspiration piece into the typewriter:

on the wall in my bedroom:

i need to find a shade for the lamp and put something in the frame on the table.

on the arbor in the back yard:

how long do you think it took for this to grow?

on my scrap pile (finished layouts from the april studio calico kit).

happy happy friday, lovelies!

xo

s

resolutions schmesolutions

yeah, so i don't do them.

b/c i never ever follow through.

and then i end up getting down on myself. it's a vicious cycle i tell you!

but joy and i are hosting a challenge over at the studio calico blog this week

about scrapbooking your resolutions.

i combined it with the journaler's junction challenge, put my own spin on it 

and voila!

paper, tags, die cuts, and stickers- october afternoon weathervane

I interpreted the challenge as predictions.

Predictions for Harper's next year.

And I love how it turned out.

Nothing new over here, just counting down the days to CHA

and ticking off time until J comes home in February.

Here's another tidbit about my house (remember the all pink bathroom???).

Well, in the back room which is the playroom/scraproom,

not only is there fugly paneling,

but also the worst industrial carpet ever ever ever (see above).

which i used to despise (there is concrete underneath, and i think we will do stained concrete before we sell it), but now love. 

B/c the kiddos can do ANYTHING to the horrible carpet, and no worries.

fingerpaint? fun!

chalk? no problem!!

markers? where???

heee!!!

happy tuesday and love to you all!

xo

Christmas Vignettes

Okay. So here is my disclaimer.

a. i didn't get out all my stuff this year, this is just part of it.

b. this all sat in a big pile on my table until my mom came over and helped me arrange it. she's great at that...making what you have look just right. it's a major gift.

c. sorry for the horrible photos. it's dreary today and my overhead light doesn't work. so prepare for some major grainage.

at the end i'm also sharing my latest layout, had to do one about the sweet ballet girls.

have a beautiful day!

xo

s

this cool garland, photo holder thingie by seasons of cannon falls will NOT photograph well. it's darling, but i can't represent it correctly. anyway, it needs photos and vintage cards in the holders, but i just didn't do that this year.

german glass glitter snowflakes in my windows and hanging from my sconces:

Old fashioned ornaments and a holiday sprig:

Snowmen on our TV =)

Santa and more snowmen:

mantel:

on a table and a shelf:

and my newest Target John Derian purchase:

sorry, can't get a pic of my mini tree to save my life!! maybe later.

and the layout:

xo