This is a before picture of the entry from our garage door…bleh, I know.
I do love the pics of newborn Samster but I’ve noticed that I tend to go overboard in the pictures department. I mean, yeah, she is just about the cutest little mammal on earth but it can be a bit cluttering to have too many framed pictures around. I think at least.
So after some rearranging of things around the house & a bit of sunny accents…
I love it! This wall is the first thing we see whenever we walk in the door so I’m excited to have a new look. Those fabulous yellow Chinese dragon bookends? Target! I know, right?! 
And the yellow wreath? I made it using this fantastic tutorial from MaryJanes & Galoshes. The only difference is I used text pages from an old book & then painted them with some nice sunny yellow watercolor paint.
Also a few notes about the books, I LOVE to decorate with books. They make a home look nice & cozy. I’m really not much of a reader but I feel like if I have them everywhere I can at least fake it. (;
To make books look good of course the older thrift store finds are the best. When you have to use new however there are a few things you can do. One, ditch the paper cover. Two, I wore down the sides of my new books by gritting them up with some sandpaper, then I dulled down the metallic title text by writing over it with a pencil & smudging lightly with the eraser.
Here are a few other places I’ve decorated with books. Now you’re totally convinced that I’m a literary genius aren’t ya?
I love love love the lamp on top of the books. A very classy and antiquey feel. Btw I am not sure what thrift stores you go to but there is this awesome one in Rockville off of Gaither Road called Life 4 Animals. I always find good stuff there.
What a difference! And the wreath is ca-ute!!!
Ha! I saw a Janette Oak book. When I was allowed to read "secular" books I would read those things in spades!
I LOVE the wreath! How hard was it to make/how long did it take? I want to make one but don't want to get in over my head with my 1 month old here!
I too love the wreath! Very creative!
Love that!
Ah! I love it! You really made it your own. I will post it with a link back to you!
Ashley, I'm not gonna lie. It was time consuming. BUT if you can spread it at to work on a little here & there after bedtime it's totally worth it. I would love to make another one, one more like the one in the tutorial link with the butterflies. BEAUTIFUL!
Just do some cutting & hot glueing while watching Dancing with the Stars like I did. (:
Beautiful wreath! I also love the lamps on books – so much so I tried it myself right away! Let me know what you think: http://ahappierhome.blogspot.com/2010/03/decorative-books.html