Estate sale score

I picked up these amazing framed Bargello pieces at an estate sale (Run by the Denver Gypsy Boys, www.denvergypsyboys.com). The frames are bright orange, perfect for my retro mid century vibe. Once I hung them in my living room, I realized the zig zag pattern on the bottom piece picked up the same pattern in my lamp! A happy accident!!

My best Sugar Cookie Recipe and tips

Everyone loves my sugar cookies, so time to share.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened (use unsalted)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream


In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.  In separate bowl, Sift together flour and baking powder: stir into creamed mixture, alternating with the heavy cream. Cover dough and chill for 2-3 hours until firm. (Leave it overnight if ya want to wait until the next day to make them)
Preheat oven to 350 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4" thickness.
*Tip: use pieces of 1/4" balsa wood, or chopsticks, or anything you have around the house that is 1/4" thick. Place on both sides of dough and use as little platforms for the edge of your roller. All your dough will come out at the same thickness. 1/4" is thicker than you think!
Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters
*Tip: dip your cookie cutter in flour before each cut, it wont stick to the dough
Place cookies 1" apart on cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.
*Tip: Use parchment paper!! It is the best investment you will ever make for cookies! Buy it in the tin foil, saran wrap section of your grocery store. You can reuse pieces more than once.
*Tip: If you put more than one tray of cookies in the oven, make sure they match. Do not use one dark non stick tray, and one shiny silver tray. They will cook at different rates.
*IMPORTANT TIP: For perfectly shaped cookies, place tray with cut cookies in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. This will "set" the shape and usually prevents the shapes from melting into big blobs in the oven. Since the tray is cold, you may need to add a minute or two to the cooking time.
Bake for 12-14 minutes in preheated oven until bottoms and edges are BARELY BARELY getting brown. Leave on tray for one minute. Then place on wire cooling rack.
*Tip: Every oven is different, and the type of tray you use affects timing. Sometimes I will experiment with a small batch for the perfect time... take out a few cookies at 12 minutes, then a few more at 13, then a few more at 14.... see which ones are perfectly soft, not undercooked, and not too crunchy once they cool. Once you figure it out once, write it down. If you always use the same oven, and same cookie sheets with parchment paper, you will now now the perfect time for all future cookies!
*Tip: Let tray cool (or run under cold water) before adding the next batch of cookies. If you put cut cookies on a warm tray, it will affect their shape and cooking time. You can also rinse off parchment paper and reuse.
If you like, frost with premade cake frosting, or make your own for that Martha Stewart cookie look! Buy a box of powdered sugar. The recipe for frosting is on the box.

Wallpaper made from vintage sheet

Ok, I admit, this was not my original idea. I saw it on the Nate Burkus show. Basically the idea is to use fabric (in my case a vintage bed sheet) to wallpaper a wall with. This technique is great for apartments or rentals since it is removeable. First, pick some fabric and a wall. I advise a small wall! Buy yourself some liquid starch. I found some at the grocery store. You will also need a paint tray and paint roller. I used a foam roller which seemed to work well.
Tack your fabric up on the wall just to hold it in place while you work. Allow a 1" border around ceiling and edge of walls, you will cut this excess off when you are done. Protect the flooring and nearby furniture with a dropcloth.
Next, pour some liquid starch into the paint tray, then apply to paint roller. Don't be stingy, the more the better, it will be messy! Start in the right corner, rolling starch onto wall. You will have to lift up your fabric in order to do this. (You can also apply some starch to the wall before you tack up fabric, but you must work quickly before starch dries.) Press down on fabric so it sticks to the starch like glue. It's OK if you don't get all the way to the edges yet. Just work on getting a big section of the corner to start the process. Now you can slop on some more starch ON TOP of the fabric. Keep pressing down and smoothing out (with your hands or a spatula tool). Fabric should be totally saturated. Smooth out any wrinkles and bubbles. I worked in about 2 foot x 2 foot section at a time. Now apply starch to wall in the area next to it and repeat process. I worked from top to bottom which seemed to turn out well. Keep checking to make sure all areas are saturated. Once I was basically done, I got a paint brush, soaked it in the starch, and went around the edges. I used the brush to press the hard to reach edges and make sure the edges are good and wet and worked into the corners.
Now let dry.
Once it is dry (I waited a couple of days from laziness) take an exacto knife or razor blade and cut excess material from the edges. The 1" border of extra fabric was to allow for shrinkage when fabric dries. 
You should now have a fabulous wall! When you have to move or if you just get tired of the design, pull up the corner and peel off!

The sample on the Nate Burkus show was a graphic line pattern. If this is your first time, I would avoid anything with lines. I can imagine they could get wiggly pretty quick. When the fabric is wet it tends to stretch and get off center in places. It didn't matter with my huge floral pattern... but I can imagine the difficulty with any lines or plaid.

Since the adhesive is just starch, I didn't worry about being messy. It splashed everywhere, dripped everywhere, got on the ceiling and walls. I just cleaned up with warm soapy water and a wash cloth when I was finished!

Vintage wallpaper to die for

I am not sure which is better, the mid century modern pendant lamp, or the amazing hollywood regency wallpaper. I may need to venture into the world of wallpaper to add to my home decor. This sample is from a house I visited for an estate sale. The entire bathroom and one wall in the bedroom was covered in this retro damask. So fun, daring, and cheerful... I love it!

Thrift Store Score

This may be my best find yet. This HUGE oil painting of a seagull in in a gorgeous brushed gold frame. How perfect that it matches my newly painted bathroom. I have been holding out for months to try and find something that would go with my beachy theme and retro colors. I bought this today at Goodwill for 30.00. You can't even buy a canvas that big for that price. This definitely earns my title, "Thrift Store Score".

The best Parking garage ever at the Cosmopolitain Las Vegas

So much thought and design went into the valet parking garage at the new Cosmopolitain Hotel. Yes, that's right... the parking garage! The floor was amazing: crisp white with silver flecks! The little room where you wait for your car is chocolate brown and hot pink. I would live in that room! If their valet area was this beautiful, you can imagine what the actual hotel was like. To die for... I included a shot of the chandelier in the Chandelier Bar. But honestly, I can't get over how cool that dang valet area was!!

Creative vintage upcycling

I find these at thrift stores and garage sales all the time. They are wood pipe stands, originally used to store one's smoking pipes. The ones pictured are actually my grandfathers, so they are extra cool to me! I use them in my craft room to store tools. One has all my jewelry pliers, and the other has miscellaneous tools. I have found that I love having all my supplies out where I can see them. When I store them in boxes or drawers,  I use them much less often. So these wooden pipe stands are the perfect piece to organize with. I love using vintage items in a new, creative way... bringing a second life to an item!