This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Quiltcreator. All opinions are 100% mine.
Quiltcreator.com is a really awesome website that lets you design your very own, unique quilt, bedspread or infant quilt for pretty much the same price or cheaper than most quilts you would buy at a mall or specialty shop while also giving you the deep down feeling of pure delight in knowing that the quilt you just bought is your one-of-a-kind creation. We have pretty harsh winters here in Pennsylvania, so I have been on the lookout for quilts and decorative bedspreads for my bed that truly reflected my own personal tastes, and as someone who has thoroughly looked for these types of products, I can tell you in completely certainty that most of the designs and colors that I have come across, are pretty downright ugly or do not flatter my personal tastes in the least. That is precisely why I was so interested in this company. Just by visiting www.quiltcreator.com, you will go through five very simple steps to create your own cozy quilt, bedspread or infant quilt masterpiece–You will pick a swatch, embroidery, the reverse side of your quilt or bedspread and even get to create accompanying pillow shams that match your creation perfectly and will look stunning in your bedroom, and finally, you can review your work before adding it to your cart.
Now sure, with Quiltcreator.com, you won’t be actually quilting by yourself, but in all honesty, very few people know what they’re doing when it comes to actually creating an entire quilt and not just designing one. My great-grandmother had begun to teach me how to quilt many years ago, but she died quit a few years ago and no one else in my family knows how to do it. With this website, you have complete control over a huge variety of colors, patterns and color choices, I was really surprised with the vast amount of choices as well as the amount of color-use in the creating process. When you pick a fabric, you get to then specify specific colors for all of the intricate parts of that pattern, which I thought was really unique and it truly gives you the power to mix and match in ways that I never before saw on any kind of customization or personalization of a product before. The end product of your quilt, bedspread or infant quilt is a gorgeous handcrafted, 100% cotton overfilled with 250g of cotton (the standard is usually only 170g of cotton) and the cotton used is All Natural cotton and one of very, very few companies that are allowed to carry the All Natural Cotton Inc. logo, so you know that they are a quality company with an absolutely high-end, quality product. They are also a company doing their part for the environment by giving 1% of their proceeds to 1% for the Planet, so they’re definitely a company you can feel good about buying from.
This is one of those perfect and timeless gifts for the holidays or especially if you know anything expecting a baby soon–a one-of-kind infant quilt for you or your friend’s new baby is one of those gifts that will be cherished for many, many years.
I had a ton of fun creating my own queen size bedspread, you can see my creation below:
So let your creativity run wild and have fun creating your very own quilt, bedspread and infant quilts with Quiltcreator.com! As a special holiday season bonus, Quiltcreator is also giving a 10% discount on all orders just by using promo code 104You.
Every single year, as winter falls around me I suddenly wake up one morning, snow undoubtedly covering the outside and turning everything as far as I can see around me, completely and purely white, I look around my apartment and I. Hate. Everything. Yes, that is right–I hate everything about my surroundings; from the carpets to the rugs to the curtains to the couch to the television stand; yes, even the television stand is not safe during this time of the year. This year, I think my winter-spawned re-decorating sensory is in overdrive because technically it’s still fall and I have woken up, staggered down the steps in search of coffee, only to stop dead in my tracks and look around my living room and get that same itch that everything must change immediately. In this vast internet space, awe-inspiring home decorating accessories and furniture seem to throw themselves at you just when you need them. So this year, if you’re like me and hate everything about your living space, then give it a vibrant pick-me-up and who knows, it just may pick you up as well.
Check out these incredible finds to put some vibrant life back into your house from Lotus Bleu:
Start with some covet-worthy chairs for your living room, bedroom or patio (if you’d feel comfortable about putting these incredible (and quite pricey) chairs outside and vulnerable to the elements.
This is the first chair that “spoke to me” as soon as I clicked on the ‘furniture’ link on the Lotus Bleu website. I am in love with it. It is a vintage, mid-century Danish-style wingback lounge chair in contemporary floral silkscreen fabric. ($2,450)
Another vintage, mid-century rocking chair with accompanying ottoman with loose cushions in linen silkscreened with silhouettes of branches and leaves. ($1,650)
It is really astounding to see what a difference a few throw pillows or festive cushions can do to your sitting spaces. A good throw pillow goes a long, long way.
Stripes are always a great choice if you’re working with neutral toned carpets or walls, plus they add a whole lot of color to the room without being tacky, overbearing, or just plain ugly. Try these Robert Le Heros cotton striped cushions. ($108-238)
New York designer Thomas Paul’s mandarin-orange goldfish pillow. ($94)
Gorgeous mosaique silk pillows with a solid base embroidered with circles, flowers, or lotus motifs. ($62-72, on sale now for $43-$50)
The key to a living space that is so vibrant and really makes you want to spend more time in that space is a room with awesome lighting and these fixtures are nothing less than something that will really catch your eye.
Lacquered pastel table lamps with a white silk shade and three-way switch. ($280)
Thomas Paul patterned lamp shades with coordinating colored bases. ($200-220)
For as long as I can remember, every time it starts to get warm outside, the sun shines through the window and I suddenly begin feeling like I hate every square inch of my living space. I could be living anywhere, but as soon as I see that new sunny glow coming in the windows and covering everything in that orange glow, everything in my house must change. I’ve always been a drifter of sorts; I like moving a lot but since being with my partner for the past four years, I’ve grown accustomed to staying put since he is one of those people who like stability and waking up to the same surroundings every day. It is those same circumstances that send me into fits of rearranging furniture and hoping I can carry my entire desk around the room without dropping it and breaking a foot.
Last week while on our way to the grocery store, my partner and I pulled into the Home Depot to pick up some materials he needed for lamps he has been wanting to make with rice paper to spice up our living areas. While any home improvement store can be a little boring for me, or for anyone who doesn’t necessarily love being surrounded by planks of wood that have different price tags yet all look exactly the same, I found myself completely lost and utterly excited in the appliances and kitchen setup sections. I love how the store displays their merchandise for homes by putting it all together to look like a small house area giving you the illusion that your house could look exactly like what you’re seeing in the store. We don’t own our own home yet, but during that half-hour trip to the Home Depot I practically planned out what appliances our future home will be adorned with.
In my (most humble) opinion, one area of your entire home that always seems to get neglected when you’re either planning your future home or equipping and decorating your current home, is the bathroom. There is so much that you can do with a bathroom to truly make it into the oasis you can completely relax in and have some much-needed “you time.” While you can scour stores in your area for the best rates on bathroom necessities from bathroom vanities and bathroom fixtures to fixtures like steam units which are said to have tremendous health benefits and are not merely just for relaxation, if you are in the position to either add to your current bathroom or redecorate with fixtures and accessories that are new and maybe a little more to your taste, especially if you bought your house from an elderly couple who were really into pink tile floors and blue seashell wallpaper, you definitely should weigh your options and instead of strictly sticking to store prices, go online and price check. Online retailers like Home and Stone could potentially save you a boat load of cash; because there is nothing quite like relaxing in a beautifully decorated bathroom that reflects who you are and what you like.
Is it time to update your family room but not sure where to start? Interested in hiring an interior designer but perish the thought of cleaning up for an on-site visit? Submit your family room to our edecorating contest! ra reDoes rooms is searching for the most interesting family room to edecorate!
Submit basic information about you and your family and no more than three photos of the family room. Include a short paragraph (under 100 words) telling why your room should be selected for a complementary edecorating plan. If your room is chosen, we will contact you and learn more about your room, family needs etc. Then we will create an edesign of your room, which consists of a rendering of the room, suggested colors, fabrics, shopping list and budget too! Read more about edecorating on our website at www.rarooms.com/services.htm.
Don’t delay – enter the contest today! We will accept entries until April 27 and announce the winner on May 1. To learn more about how to enter, visit Chic Galleria.
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Beth is the Editor in Chief of Chic Galleria, a natural extension of her experience in retail sales and special personality – a sincerity that continues to attract business owners, designers, artists, and a plethora of wonderful readers. This veteran school teacher loves to make others feel special, and Chic Galleria is just one of her favorite places to do just that.
It is an important as well as pleasant experience to create a happy and welcoming space for your new child. A great deal of new parents are looking to feng shui to ensure they are creating the most comfortable space for their child.
If you’re looking for some feng shui tips for your nursery, try setting up the nursery toward the middle of the back of your home, if possible. It is believed that rooms located toward the back of a house have a more peaceful energy, while rooms in the front of the house have a lively and active energy.
One of the first things expectant parents do to get ready for a new baby is paint the room of your soon-to-be nursery. Typically, nurseries are painted pink for a girl and blue for a boy and while these colors are widely accepted, it is important to know what kind of vibes these colors give off. While pink encourages love, for themselves and for others and blue promotes relaxation, there are other great and healthy colors to consider. Green signifies serenity and growth, pale yellow uplifts spirits and offers clairity and lavender represents spirituality and calmness.
According to feng shui, it is also important to cleanse the energy in the room. Before you bring your new baby home, cleanse the stagnant energy from the room. You can cleanse the energy by burning incense or a sage bundle, waving it around the room. You can ring a bell in the corners of the room, letting the sound resonate and get rid of energy that is stuck in the room, or, and what makes the most sense to me personally, you can mist the room with a mix of lemon essential oil and water. Either one or all of those options are said to work the best for cleanses the energy in your nursery.
Place your furniture securely. Place the furniture you and your child wil rest in, including the crib and a rocking chair, against solid walls with clear views of the door, but be sure not to have your furniture directly facing the door.
Anyone with any experience with feng shui out there, feel free to add your feng shui tips in the comments.
Pink Pig is perhaps the most interesting and unique name for any kind of boutique that I have ever come across, which is easily understandable since Pink Pig Cottage Antiques and the new Pink Pig on Main Street in Westport, New York offers truly unique collections of country cottage and farmhouse style furniture and country accents for home decorating. With just one, quick look around their website you are sure to be inspired to re-decorate your favorite rooms and even your entire house with the furniture and other items you see; I know I was.
When it comes to items for home, I am most interested in the small things–Knick knacks, wall decor, and most particularly, candles. I have a very large collection of different candles that I pull out depending on what kind of mood I’m in. Candles are very relaxing and work wonderfully for sprucing up the feel of your home, so I was delighted when presented with the opportunity to review Pink Pig’s signature, natural soy candle.
Debbie Schrodt, owner of Pink Pig spent numerous hours developing a pleasantly scented candle sure to be loved by anyone. The candle is a blended scent of florals, including tuberose, Indian jasmine, lavender, geranium and white rose and is the first candle in what will be a series of six available at Pink Pig.
The first thing that I noticed about this candle was the packaging it came in. Pink Pig is indeed pretty when it comes to their packaging; the box the candle box came in was even lined with pink wrapping and the box itself came tied in a black bow.
The candle is all natural soy, which has more benefits than you may realize. The first thing that I noticed upon burning Pink Pig’s candle is that the aroma was not only pleasant, but unlike a great deal of candles I have melted due to the fact that the aroma was stronger, but not overpowering in the least. I always have a candle burning in my office when I am working, and what I noticed about this particular candle is that it has lasted the last couple of days and with the amount of hours that I am in my office, that is longer than a great deal of candles I have come across. Upon further investigation, I found out that soy candles last longer than your average candle and this particular candle burns for approximately 60 hours, which is absolutely amazing, especially considering this candle is 7.5oz.
Pink Pig’s signature candle is available for just $24 and I have to say that it is most definitely worth the price. You can purchase the candle at the Pink Pig shop in Westport or you can shop online at PinkPigWestport.com.
I work from home and one of the things that I never really paid much attention to before, such as motivational and inspirational quotes, have become a very big part of my life. I find a quote I like and I will make a desktop background with the quote on it or write it down on a piece of paper and keep it on my desk. It is very little things such as this that give me my little jolt for the day–Oh yeah, and coffee. They are what take me from “Ugh, I don’t want to do anything today.” to “I need to work, I need to make money to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. This is what is going to turn my life around. This is what I do and I am damn good at it!”
One of the best finds I have come across lately, as well as something that has completely transformed my work ethic are the Affirmagy wraps. The blankets come from an all-woman business, which of course makes them top notch in my book, being a woman entrepreneur as well as a soon-to-be woman business owner and they also have a poster of Rosie the Riveter in the office, which just makes my love for this company grow and grow. They have been featured on Family.com, Entrepreneur.com, as well as in publications of Pink magazine, Fit Yoga and The Boston Globe.
The affirmawraps are incredibly soft blankets that come in a variety of colors that have inspirational quotes covering them. They have helped my work ethic due to me being snuggled up in my computer chair in mine since I received it.
Affirmawraps come with several different quotes on them, including abundance, courage, gratitude, love, motherhood, serenity, strength and wholeness. They also have a limited edition series which come with quotes for compassion, peace, inspiration and joy.
Being a freelance writer, website designer and web administrator, I obviously needed the inspiration wrap, needing all the inspiration I can get on a daily basis. It reads:
I live an inspired life. As I follow my dreams, I inspire others to do the same. Inspiration radiates around me. I love finding inspiration in the little things. The compassion of others inspires me. I attract extraordinary people. I am inspired every day. Each day I awaken my intuition. I follow my inspired heart.
Affirmagy wraps are absolutely amazing, in my opinion. They are ultra soft, cozy as well as the pick me up that so many people could use in their lives; they also make incredible gifts for anyone in your family, circle of friends, coworkers and they even come for babies and pets, which I think are great; I just wish I got one for my cat–Yes, she is incredibly spoiled.
Head on over to their website and fall in love with Affirmagy wraps, there is one there for absolutely everyone; and also be sure to check out Affirmawords, the Affirmagy blog by Kristen, maker of the Affirmawraps.
I am insanely OCD when it comes to the blankets on my bed.
First of all, I need a sheet and not only do I need a sheet, but it has to be tucked in so there is no way my feet are going to wind up hanging off the bottom of the bed uncovered. Second of all, I sleep with at least two other blankets on my bed at all times that must be covering me completely–And yes, this applies even in the summer. However, I have found that my partner, who is a whopping 9 inches taller than me, does not have the same problems as I do when it comes to blankets. He will go to bed with a blanket half on him with another covering him completely, with the sheet wrapped around his neck; and when he’s asleep, don’t even think about rearranging the blankets because he will wake up and he will be cranky!
So I found pretty much the best bed ever; the seriously crave-worthy self-making bed, Selfy the EasyBed.
Just think–You get out of bed, if you’re me then you navigate yourself down a flight of stairs with your cat under your feet the entire time, feed the cat, refill the water and make coffee and stand there waiting for it to brew like a crack head in desperate need of a fix, get your coffee, walk back upstairs and–Wow, the bed is made!
This bed is pure genius, I tell you!
As a person who has easily spent way too much money on aromatherapy home and bathroom products including skin care, bath and shower products, candles and incense, I recently found a terrific natural approach to aromatherapy guaranteed to lift your spirits and your immune system.
Head over to your local flower shop or crafts store and pick up a small bundle of eucalyptus, mint, or lavender and some natural garden twine. Hang the bundles off of your shower curtain rod using the twine, close to the shower head but out of the way enough so it won’t get too wet when you turn the shower on.
If you have a cold or would like to boost your immune system, eucalyptus is a natural decongestant. The steam from the shower will release the scent throughout your bathroom and it will also clear up your cold and prevent it from returning and others from attacking.
Mint is also used as a throat soother, if you’ve looked through your local store’s cold and flu section, you may have noticed some products that aid in the soothing of the throat or medicines that get rid of sore throats and most often, those products contain mint. What not a lot of people know is that mint can also aid indigestion, helping stomach aches and also chest pains.
Lavender is my favorite plant for aromatherapy. Lavender as an essential oil has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and it is also used to naturally soothe headaches if applied to the temples; I used to get horrible stress headaches and ended up buying myself a natural body salve with lavender essential oils that worked wonderfully. Breathing lavender in has a calming effect and it is used to soothe stress, aches and pains and is best for you when exposed to it right before bed, as it produces a deeper sleep rid of stress that is most often carried with you into sleep making you wake even more tired than you were before you went to bed and still carrying emotional baggage and stress.
This little trick can even be used just to put a nice, natural fragrance in your bathroom that will last for a few weeks.
Home improvement books really aren’t my type of books, since I’ve always lived in apartments and can’t really take it upon myself to paint and redecorate without the approval of a landlord, whom most often are scared to death when you say “Oh yes, I’m thinking about black carpeting and green walls, what do you think?” However, Norma Vally’s Chix Can Fix tempted me because the book is not only geared towards home improvement, but also to fixing household appliances without the hassle of having to call in a professional and be robbed blind. I was also curious as to how a woman would speak to other women about home repairs and improvements, especially considering that traditionally, this book would have been geared solely towards men, had the author been a man.
I do not watch television; in fact, for three years I didn’t even have basic cable channels so my television was only used when I was watching a movie, so I had no background on who Normy Vally was or what this so-called “Tool Belt Diva” thing was all about going into this book. I was especially interested in this book to see how Vally represents women who do their own home improvement and repair work and because I had never made my own home repairs, nor knew who Norma Vally was, I went into this book completely clueless and came out just as clueless as before, but more offended than anything else.
Norma Vally speaks down to her readers, a true triumph since this book can be found in several clearance bins in many different home improvement and supply shops. She goes into explicit detail and over-simplifies already clear points as if she were a man imitating how one should speak to clueless women. She attempts humor quite frequently, but instead of coming off as humorous, her wording falls nothing short of being condescending and petty.
The self-proclaimed Tool Belt Diva had the perfect opportunity to publish a positive and helpful book for women, already knowing that women would be more inclined to purchase her book, but instead makes the same mistake as most other books of any nature do when attempting to appeal to a female audience–Speaking abut fashion and making every other sentence “cutesy” will not build a solid fan base; instead, this will provoke readers to look at the author of the book in a negative light, knowing that she does not take herself seriously, never mind being able to take the plight of her readers seriously.
If you are still inclined to purchase this book, you will find step-by-step instructions on a variety of different home improvement and repairs, such as plumbing, electricity, walls, floors, doors and windows. You will also find an estimated budget for every project in the book if you are saving up or would like an estimate for a particular home repair or improvement.
Chix Can Fix did not impress me, nor did I see what I had expected; I expected a woman-friendly book that went above the stereotypical “man job” demeanor; what I got was the reinforcement that because you’re a woman, you have no right to do these types of home improvement jobs, but if you insist on doing them anyway, Norma Vally would like to think she can help–while insulting your intelligence the entire time.
Rating: 
