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Monday, April 9, 2012

Front Porch Makeover & How to Dress Up Wicker Baskets

Happy Easter Monday Everyone!

It is a beautiful and sunny day here, the birds 
are singing and I thought it would be a 
good day to share my front porch 
makeover with all of you!

We have been living in our house for a little 
more than 4 years. At the time I chose mostly 
neutral beige paint colors as was the 
style at the time but now I'm ready to brighten 
things up a bit...I have fallen in love with 
whites and light grays and pastels, opting to add 
color with accessories.

For our front porch I mostly just painted it 
a new color and added in a few new accessories. 
The shelving unit and mirror I left 
untouched because I thought it would still 
work in the room and help tie in the 
flooring which is mostly beige.

Here is the before.

As you can see our shelving unit was completely 
over run with way too many hats & mitts, 
it really needed to be sorted through!
The floor mat was worse for wear as well, 
it really had taken a beating!

But a little paint and a days work and it's 
so much fresher & brighter!


It's such a hard room to take a picture of.
I didn't have many angles to work with.


This is taken through the french door that 
separates the porch from the living room.


I love this little nook now, much cleaner & brighter!
And the addition of the 2 hooks is great for 
the kids to quickly hang their jackets on.




I think the brown shelving ties in with
 the light gray walls nicely.





The glass vase I picked up at the Dollar Store 
as well as the yellow flower. 
I grabbed some scrapbook paper from my 
stash to dress it up a little.



 I had made this wreath a couple of years ago, 
it fits nicely into this room so I pulled it 
down from the closet and gave it a new home!



This little white shelf was originally black, 
I couldn't find a white one anywhere so I 
purchased the black anyways 
and gave it a coat of paint.
I originally wanted to place it above the 
mirror but the duct work for our air 
exchange runs up through that wall 
exactly where I'd need to attach 
the shelf so that was a no go.
I printed our family photos in black and white, 
they look wonderful.

The focal point in the room is the shelving 
unit and I wanted to brighten it up a bit 
without painting it, and I knew that I needed 
to add some pops of color so this is 
what I came up with below.





I again grabbed my stash of scrapbooking paper 
and went to town creating these 
accordion folded flowers.
I used 2 strips of 3" x 12" paper for each 
flower and then a coordinating color for 
the scalloped circles in the center.
My daughter helped me accordion fold 
the paper and I hot glued one strip to 
the other making one long 24" strip, then I
 brought the two ends together and placed 
a dollop of hot glue in the center, 
holding it until it was mostly dry.
I used a scalloped circle punch to punch out  
5 circles which I glued together in a 
flower-ish shape and then attached it
to the accordion flower with hot glue.
Add a button in the center and your done!
I also used hot glue to attach it to the wicker 
basket. In time I may have to change these 
out if they get damaged but so far so good, 
the scrapbook paper was really thick and 
they are holding up fantastic!


The above is to show where I placed the glue 
when creating the accordion folded flower.

I'm very happy with the end result, the room has 
such an airy feel to it, perfect for spring!


Imagine, Improvise & Invent








Linking to: 
Visit thecsiproject.com

103 comments:

  1. It looks just lovely.. love the colors and the baskets... it's all just awesome... Great job!



    Carri
    simplydonewright.blogspot.com

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  2. That is just beautiful! Feels very welcoming to me! That nook is very cool! Love the basket medallions too! Nice update!

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  3. What a great addition to make those baskets really stand out! Love it. Megan

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  4. Nicely done! I LOVE your key hanger!

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  5. Love the new colors and everything looks amazing. Great baskets, how perfect for all those gloves, hats and scarves. The hooks are beautiful. Love the crystal tips. Very pretty. Hugs, marty

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  6. Very cute! I love how bright and welcoming it is. What color paint did you use?

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  7. I am completely in LOVE with this space! Very fresh and bright! I can't get enough of those hooks either! I found you via Craftomanic and am now following - excited to see what other great ideas you hold! I'd love for you to stop by and check out The Vintage Milk House - Have a great week! - Kali

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  8. I love the new paint color. I also want to change some of my rooms from beige to a light gray or blue-gray color. What color paint did you use?

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  9. Oh my...that yellow is fabulous! I love tans and creams with pops of color...What a pretty entryway! LOVE it! Thanks for linking up at Reasons To Skip The Housework! Our regular party, Tuesday Time Out - will be up and running tomorrow so come visit again!

    Smiles,
    Melanie

    Reasons To Skip The Housework {The Blog}
    Tinker B Boutique {The Shop}

    {azparis@me.com}

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  10. Wow, what a difference a little embellishment can make! The baskets look great. :)

    Anna
    www.askannamoseley.com

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  11. Gorgeous! I love the white, grey and splash of yellow. Very Sarah Richardson, girl. Fab job! Much love, Lisa

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  12. I love it! And, the finishing touches were just perfect...loved the accordion flowers...darling!

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  13. Hey Gals!

    I check the paint color this evening when I get home and let you know!

    Sarah

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  14. What a beautiful transformation! Thanks for linking up to Mauvin' Monday!

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  15. This is absolutely beautiful! I love the stand and baskets. Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday :)

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  16. Love it. Those little paper accents on the wicker baskets are so perfect!

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  17. I love the makeover and especially the walls and paper flowers you made for the baskets! So pretty. I am your newest follower!!

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  18. that is darn cute! those flowers would be cute on anything!

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  19. LOVE the paper flowers - what a great way to use up what you have!

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  20. What a darling space...ove those baskets. Please be sure to put a visible link back to my party on your post. Thanks so much for coming to my Nifty Thrifty Tuesday party.
    Blessings,
    Linda

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  21. This looks great. You did a fantastic job. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. The wicker baskets add such a nice touch & the paper flowers are so pretty. Thanks for Linking up at Show Me What You Got Tuesday's @ ODH http://ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com/2012/04/show-me-what-you-got-linky-party-9.html

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  23. Lovely makeover. The baskets are so charming. Coming over from Nifty Thrifty Tuesday. Now following your lovely blog.

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  24. Working on my friend's living room and storage is a HUGE issue. I love this idea for dressing up wicker baskets! Cheers, MGal ~ watchmediy.com

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  25. Looks fabulous - love the baskets!
    kyra @ caramelpotatoes.com

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  26. Very nice :) your entry looks fantastic.

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  27. Love it! Wonderful ideas ... must share this with my daughter.. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. The paint color is Tulle White from Glidden CIL's Soft & Elegant series.
    Here are the numbers on the back of the swatch: 50BG 72/006.
    I live in Canada so not sure who would sell this paint in the US.

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  29. So beautiful,thanks for joining us at Creative Mondays :)

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  30. The new paint color really brightens up that room. Such a wonderful makeover!

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  31. Okay this is super cute! At first I thought the first pics were the newly done ones, it looked great before too! But the newly done front porch makes things so much more alive and bright! I need to learn to brighten things up like that. I usually steer towards the darker colors, like the mocha type color you had painted before! Great job, I love it!

    I would love for you to stop by and link this and anything else you have up to the Naturally-Nifty Linky Party! It's going on right now!

    www.natural-nester.blogspot.com

    I look forward to being blog friends!
    -Your newest follower

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  32. I love, love, love the color choices in this redo! I am redoing my living area... I'm leaning toward these colors, as well! AND I just adore the wreath on the mirror....

    Thanks for sharing in our linky party!

    -Heather
    Stringtown Home

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  33. How pretty! I love the pinwheel flowers. :)

    Visiting from the Your Cozy Home link party!

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  34. Sarah, you did a fantastic job brightening up your space. The baskets with the paper flowers are cute and very handy, I'm sure. Thanks for joining Your Cozy Home Party. Forgive me if I have overlooked my link back or button but I don't see it. Please add it if you forgot so your readers can visit me, too. Thanks!-------- Shannon

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  35. I love those flowers on the baskets! This makes the entry so cheery and inviting!
    We'd love to see this at our Beautify It Monday party going on now!

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  36. Very nicely done! our mudroom is always such a mess. Thanks for some ideas.

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  37. Beautiful! I love the little baskets with the flowers on!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  38. Now your foyer is so beautiful, and I love the baskets with the flowers. So cute! Thanks for sharing your creative sewing inspiration at Sunday's Best!

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  39. Amazing transformation! I love those baskets and the french door glass effect. :)

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  40. What a change! I looks so cheerful!

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  41. Great job I love how you changed the look of the baskets, stopping by from Terrific Tuesday's Link Party.

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  42. I love the wreath and the accordion flowers! I will have to try them!

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  43. Sarah, thanks for linking up to Tip toe thru Tuesday @ tiarasandbowties.blogspot.com and crayonfreckles.com this week! Your room looks so much brighter and bigger now! I just love the accordian flowers too, they add such a nice pop of color! I'll have to give them another try, I can never get them to work!

    kim

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  44. Good morning, Sarah! I really like your little nook. SO CUTE!!!! Especially the little baskets with the ah-dorable flowers on them.

    Linking from Katherine's Corner.

    xo,
    Ricki Jill

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  45. Sarah I love the transformation of your entry. The shelves are beautiful and bright with the baskets and Flowers!!

    I hope you will stop by and see my new Annie Sloan Projects Revealed!!
    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  46. Thanks for linking up again - to Tuesday Time Out...still love that yellow! So pretty!~

    Smiles,
    Melanie

    Reasons To Skip The Housework {The Blog}
    Tinker B Boutique {The Shop}

    {azparis@me.com}

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  47. What a fresh new look you created. I love the color of your walls, and the baskets look so bright and cheery with your scrapbook paper flowers.
    Mary Alice

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  48. I adore this! It a nice little storage area tucked away, but stylish!! LOVE!

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  49. Love the little flowers on the baskets. Your days work was well worth it. Looks great. Thanks so much for linking up to Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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  50. love the look for the baskets recently I was looking at decorating with baskets for extra storage and organizing thanks for offering me a great idea

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  51. It is truly incredible how your new paint color transformed the space. I absolutely love the fresh new look!

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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  52. Oh I love that nook! Baskets are also an area of interest. Thank you for the inspiration!

    Sarah
    http://skylarinc.blogspot.com/

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  53. LOL!

    I couldn't figure out why you would put such a nice unit on your veranda.
    But as I scrolled down I found out it was in your foyer. Different names for different areas.

    At the bottom I see the newfoundland labrador flag.
    What part of Nfld. are you from.
    My late husbands folks were from Trinity Bay, and he lived in St. John's (Chalker Place) as a kid.

    Have a joyful day!
    Charlie

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  54. By the way.

    I love the white, makes everything feel clean and fresh.
    Also the perfect drop-back for everything.
    If you think of painting the shelving, yellow would be perfect!

    Charlie

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  55. what a cool idea for the wicker baskets...so much more fun with a little flower on it! I found you from the ultimate blog hop thanks for sharing! You can find me at http://projecthousewifebyrachael.blogspot.com

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  56. I love the wicker basket "jewelry" - makes them so cute. And your new paint does make everything look so fresh and the new rug is lovely!!

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  57. So many cute ideas- it does look very spring-like. Great job!

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  58. So pretty!! I love the flowers on the baskets! Thanks for sharing at my party! Have a great weekend :)

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  59. Too clever! I love baskets to organize, so neat but holds everything. I am hopping over from Friday Shout Out to let you know I am sharing an amazing kitchen giveaway.

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  60. This is wonderful! I love the organized baskets and the hooks! LOVE!

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  61. This is so pretty. I love the nook with the wicker baskets! I followed you over from Chef-in-Training and would like to invite you to share this, and any other posts, on my link party at www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.com. Have a great weekend.

    Hugs,
    Michelle

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  62. Just gorgeous Sarah! Love how you dressed up the baskets .

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  63. Totally beautiful and stylish! I love the baskets and the wreath. :)

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  64. It looks fantastic! I love cute storage solutions and you definitely found one!

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  65. I love it!! I can't believe how much lighter and brighter it feels! FBing!

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  66. It's beautiful and your photos are fantastic. Love the accordion flowers, too! Thanks so much for sharing at The Mother Lode linky party over at I Gotta Create!
    <3 Christina
    http://igottacreate.blogspot.com

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  67. I love your style! Looks a lot like what I try to accomplish is my home :) I am in love with your entry way!
    Hugs,
    Bj

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  68. I'm a new follower on Linky and came from Simply Klassic's party. Hope you follow me, too. I'm loving your baskets, too.
    Thanks, Helen

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  69. pretty and functional---awesome!

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  70. What a really cute way to dress up something so common! Thanks for sharing. -K

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  71. Love those baskets! The whole thing, but really love the baskets! Just shared this on my spotlight post! Thanks for linking up! http://www.aturtleslifeforme.com/2012/04/sunday-spotlights.html

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  72. It does look light and fresh now! And I love the baskets with their cute spring flowers!

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  73. oh this is SO cute!! I love the baskets AND the accents on them...love!! :)

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  74. Wow, Sarah, what a difference a coat of paint makes. When I first saw your porch/entry way, I thought how lovely. Then you changed it and it says spring! Nice job. I really love your folded flower touch, so creative. Thanks so much for linking to Frugal Treasures Tuesday! Looking forward to seeing what you'll link up next week. : )

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  75. WOW!! I absolutely LOVE how you dressed up those baskets. They are so cute! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!

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  76. This looks great. Love that you have the perfect space (and you are using it!) for the shelf and you have done such a cute job in decorating with it! I am featuring you today in my post.

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  77. It looks great...the basket tower is nice! Love the flower embellishments too! Thanks for sharing at the Rock N Share.

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  78. You have been chosen as a featured post on the Creative Corner Hop this week. Feel free to swing by and grab a Spotlight is on You at Cherished Handmade Treasures button. And the new linky party is up and will be open all week. I hope you'll link up again.

    Sandy
    Cherished Handmade Treasures

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  79. You are so creative! I love the accordion flowers on the baskets. So organized. I need to do my little corner. Thanks so much for sharing at Toot Your Horn Tuesday :)

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  80. Gorgeous! I love the baskets with the paper flowers. Your flowers came out great. I need to try that accordion technique. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays!

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  81. Your foyer transformation is lovely. I especially love the way you embellished the wicker baskets with the paper rosettes!

    Always a pleasure to enjoy your creativity and talent on "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday at Rook No. 17!

    Jenn

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  82. Total inspired by your colors!! Love everything! And thanks for reminding me to make those accordion flowers for the girls room! Sharing on my networks :) Please feel free to grab a featured button, because you rock!!

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  83. I love the baskets and shelving! What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing on Teagan's Travels. I hope you'll be able to join us for this week's party going on now!


    http://teaganstravels.blogspot.com/2012/04/destination-inspiration-linky-party-11.html

    Cheers, Michelle

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  84. Thanks for sharing at the Sunday Round UP. You have a good eye for detail. I love to see what you share on your great blog.
    Rose @ http://www.arosiesweethome.com/

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  85. Featured you today Sarah! Great project and I adore those flowers! Thanks for the tutorial!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

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  86. Hey we are featuring your front porch redo on our Naturally-Nifty Linky Party today!! I just love the changes you made! Stop by and check it out, and link up this week!

    Also be sure to grab a featured button and check out our pinterest, because since you were featured we are also pinning this to our boards!!

    www.natural-nester.blogspot.com

    -Little Sis

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  87. Everything looks so great together! What a fabulous change! :)
    Melody
    One Chatty Chic

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  88. Saw this featured at Adventures of DIY Mom and I love the baskets! Gorgeous. Also loving the gray color with the pops on yellow on the flowers, so soothing and yet cheerful :)

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  89. It all looks so cute! We're so glad that you linked up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." We hope you'll be back soon. -The Sisters

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  90. I love it! It's so bright and airy! Plus, the storage baskets are great!

    I featured it today!

    Emily@52mantels.com

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  91. So great, I had to give it a feature! Check my blog tomorrow for the post!

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  92. I just popped over from 52 Mantels and I had to comment, this is so lovely and you had me completely surprised with the flowers on the baskets! The whole thing came out beautifully but I had never seen those flowers made with scrapbook paper before and they really add something to the baskets! I too have an awkwardly angled entry and had done everything in neutral beiges as well. I am so inspired by you that I will have to re-think my own entry and come up with something better!

    Anyway, I am now following you and am so glad to have found your blog. I intend to try to make some flowers from my own paper stash and use them to embellish in my home. Thanks for the tutorial. Have a great day!

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  93. I failed to put together this project and your together with your blog for some reason! But you did such an awesome job! I've see it featured all over blogland this week-congrats! Thanks for sharing!
    xo Becca

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  94. Cute!! Love it!! Found you at the CSI

    Kelly @ The Creative Chickadee

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  95. Love the bright and sunny changes.. :) thanks for linking up at friday fun party

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  96. wow!! great job!! love the flowers on the baskets

    Thanks for sharing on Serenity Saturday
    xxxx

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  97. Awww.. I love this! So bright and open! The baskets are great too :)

    Thanks for linking up last week.. you were one of the most viewed links! Check it out tomorrow!

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  98. This is a GREAT redo! Those baskets are just adorable:)
    Kim @ Too Much Time

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  99. Hi Sarah! Looks like your entry way is a hit! I love the shelf with the baskets and the rosettes make everything so springy! Thanks for sharing at Sunday Blog Love, this is one of my top five picks! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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  100. Love the wicker basket makeover!! Those flowers added just the touch you needed to dress them up!! Thanks for sharing at SweetTalkin' Sunday!

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  101. The whole factor came out magnificently but I had never seen those blossoms created with memory book document before and they really add something to the baskets! I too have an unclearly set at an angle entrance and had done everything in impartial beiges as well.

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