Decorating Tips!

Obviously I am a sentimental person since I enjoy scrap booking. I particularly like to keep the memorabila that have special meaning from a special occasion or fun memory.

I have learned over the past though, you cannot save everything nor is everything worth saving (ask my friends whom I organize their houses). Even more so, you run into the trouble of storage (you should see my boxes lined up in my closet of sorted items to be scrap booked). How much space do you want to devote to storing these items? So this begs the question of what do you do with it all?

A few years ago before I had my son, I had the opportunity to sort all those mementos in the closet for future scrapbook albums (that I am like a dozen behind). While doing this, I was able to put aside a small pile of items that I deem "wall worthy." These are items that would look really neat framed or used for decoration around the house. Not only would you be able to glance at them on a regular basis thinking about the memories behind them, but framed these might start interesting conversations.

And interesting conversations I have had when people come over since I have started on some items on the pile. For example, I have some of my campaign buttons on display on our desk upstairs in a shadow box frame. I then use the frame to house some homemade ornaments from my childhood for the Christmas season. I also had my 2005 Inauguration Invite and Ball Invitation framed. In the future, I would like to frame some needlework from my Grandma Betty Coleman with a second piece of needlework from Tim's Grandma Anna Rittgers.

Today in particular, I finished framing a Noah's Ark pipe cleaner set that made by a special family member to be as a table decoration at one of my baby showers. Since my nursery theme is Alphabet and animals, I wanted to hang this on the wall in the nursery above the bed. I chose an 11 by 14 inch charcoal shadow box frame to match other art in the room. I then preceded to cut the Ark background down to size of the frame finally cutting out the Noah's Ark altogether. Using double stick tape, I taped on the background followed by taping the Noah's Ark with foam tape for a 3-D effect. Next, I pinned on the pipe cleaner animals after bending their heads and bodies for a better view.



Not only do I feel like I economized by using an item I already had, I had fun accomplishing this little project. And what a great way to display and decorate with some fun, meaningful things around the house. Happy Decorating!