Today I arrived home after a particularly frustrating day of work as the last hour of daylight dwindled. I wearily opened the door to four birds flying off into the sunset and my heart couldn't help but smile. I was especially charmed by how the first number of my address was being reflected on the wall. I think the delicacy of the shadows and the peacefulness of the moment is most elegantly captured in black and white. I look at this photo and I feel, "Finally... I'm home."

going to the birds

I wasn't feeling inspired to re-work my clothesline in a photographic manner this season. But I couldn't leave my hallway empty. So as I surveyed my freshly decorated front door, I realized how easy it would be to keep going with a springtime theme using scrapbook paper and a pair of scissors.

I'm in love with my new feathered friends. They keep this place feeling full of life and activity as I walk up and down the hall. I have the bird silhouettes saved as PDF files so if you want to make your own flock, let me know and I will e-mail you the outlines! >:)

more front door love

Why hello friends. I know, lately my posts have been few and far between, but I have had a rollercoaster couple of weeks. I miss my sweet little dog dearly and have had some trouble adjusting to life on my own. Consequently, I've been spending as little time as possible at home and that means no creating, no blogging.

But I am feeling sturdier than ever as the days roll by and have once again turned my eye towards the front door. I agree, I do have an inexplicable fascination with my front door and hallway.

A few weeks ago I picked up three Martha Stewart hole punches because I simply couldn't walk away without them. I immediately saw white, delicate garlands criss-crossing my front door just in time for Spring. My snowflakes were so vibrant and colourful that I felt it was time to take the door in another direction.

So I set about punching out bunnies, birds and butterflies and ended up with this:

Individually the garlands are darling but with nothing else on the door, they looked stark and uninviting. A piece of fabric I've been saving for a long time jumped to mind and I thought, "Ah Ha! A curtain!" So I ran down to the sewing room and started making a panel for the front door.

Ta-Da! I quite like the results. It's soft, flowy and feminine - suitable for Spring and my new found independence I suppose. The curtains also provide a nice backdrop to my lovely garlands.

I smile every time I walk up the front steps. I'm pleased with the results!

Front Door {LOVE}

I don't know what it is with my front porch and hallway, but they seem to be capturing my imagination a lot these days.

Today I want to show off my perfectly awesome front door. Who says decorating needs to be high-brow? I think I've already proved that low-budget can be incredibly cute. And elegant. And now I'm about to prove that it can be just plain cool. (Please allow me this bit of ego and excitement!)

Introducing, my winter front door!

And it looks super cool from the outside too!

Here's what you need to do it:

white paper
paper in varying shades of grey and blue
scissors
scotch tape

Oh, and this website for cutting out paper snowflakes. I can't believe it took me almost 30 years to discover how to make paper snowflakes properly! This method of folding them makes life so much easier. I didn't follow any of their patterns because it's fun to make your own. But theirs is a good place to get started.

And, if you want to go whole hog with this project, you can try your hand with these very intricate paper snowflakes. (I just don't have the patience for that!).

I made about 100 snowflakes in total in three varying sizes. My helping hint to pass along to you is don't use thick paper. Even scrap book paper is a little too thick. Try computer paper and I think maybe construction paper would work too. Or even newspaper comics. Why? Because when you have your squares folded into triangles for cutting, the thicker the paper, the harder it is to do detailed cuts, you know, like straight lines and curves. Also, when you do manage to cut through all the layers, the little pieces go flying "pewpew!" all over your kitchen. Today I found trinagles in my fruit bowl. >:)