Aimee Weaver | The Blog

I added a few new signs to the shop this week! Click on the photos for more info...

Confession: We have had our couches for 12 years and I am so over them, but they have held up so well, and we don't have a good reason for replacing them, other than the fact that I am so over them. So. I am doing my best to be happy with them and all their brown-ness for now. 

I was trying to think of ways to hide the fact that the bottom cushions are starting to look a bit worn. So I ordered a throw blanket in the perfect size from Amazon and laid it over the bottom cushions, and it hides those worn spots just fine. I also have lots of fun, textured pillows I've collected over time that draw the attention away from the brown couch and lighten it up.

I look for throws and pillows with:

:: interesting texture

:: different sizes

:: neutral colors that play well together

:: subtle patterns

Here are some of my favorite affordable pillows and throws that will help spruce up your space too:

Want more ideas to freshen up your family room? Check out my Pinterest board!

I have a fun DIY for you today, and if you're thinking that it looks too difficult, don't worry, because it is really easy! It's a shelf made from an old piece of wood and a thrift store leather belt. 

Here are the supplies you'll need:

:: Wood board in the size that you want the shelf to be

:: A long leather belt (I found mine at Goodwill)

:: A knife that will cut through leather

:: Upholstery tacks

:: Cut the buckle off the belt, then cut the belt in half.

:: Figure out how you want the belt to hang with the board.

:: Flip the board upside down and hammer the leather belt into the bottom with an upholstery nail. Measure so that the leather pieces are the same size.

:: Hang the shelf onto the wall using a screw that goes into the straps and directly into a wall. It's easier to hang with two people, but I managed by myself. And that's really all there is to it! There is probably a more professional way to do this, but I'm not a perfectionist and I called it good enough.

Every now and then I share our latest custom signs, and below are some of our most recent ones. It truly is a privilege to work with my customers and create the perfect sign for their homes. Because most of our work is custom, it is time-consuming and detailed, but it's so worth it!

Our master bedroom needed a bit of a refresh with Spring soon around the corner, so I worked on this little corner of the bedroom by adding a beautiful fresh magnolia wreath. Greenery is such an easy way to add texture and life to any room in the house. I love it so much!

This fresh magnolia wreath came from Nicole at Vintage Brick House, and it is beautiful! Nicole lives in South Carolina and makes these wreaths from leaves from her backyard. The wreath came beautifully packaged, and I was so impressed with the quality! I love how the wreath changes in color and texture as it dries. I highly recommend shopping from Nicole's Etsy shop!

I have a tutorial I posted on the blog here about how I created this hanging side table. The galvanized lantern that has the little fern inside is from the Hearth and Hand collection at Target, but I found it for a few dollars at Goodwill. I snatched it up as fast as I could!

We have some really fantastic stores in Lancaster County and one of my favorite is The Treasure Place, located in the village of Intercourse. The store is full of unique pieces of furniture and home decor. Many of their items are handmade and one-of-a-kind. When they first opened their doors a few years ago, I was so excited to partner with them in creating their retail store signage, including directional signs, check-out signs, restroom signs and signs for the coffee shop that is located in the same building.

We created this sandwich board A-frame sidewalk sign from reclaimed wood with custom wording for the front of the store. I love the look of the barnwood used on their rustic store sign!

We painted the wall (above) with their tagline, and we created the advertising signage for their barnwood mantles and tables (below) using reclaimed wood.

We created several "check-out" signs that hang throughout the store as well as other unique directional store signs. The custom store signs were made to fit their space perfectly.

Their coffee shop is such a warm and inviting place to grab a drink and a bite to eat while you are shopping! We created the coffee shop signs that hang throughout their space. The sign above was made with a very rustic piece of barnwood.

The coffee shop signs included a condiments sign, ordering sign, and pick up sign. We used rustic reclaimed wood for the cafe signs that paired really well with the look and feel of their space.

We also created this wi-fi sign for their dining area. The reclaimed wood signs hang throughout their store and coffee shop and create a cohesive feel to the whole space.

The Treasure Place carries our signs, including my ocean paintings, and are wonderful to work with! Their inventory changes daily, and they always have new things every time I stop by. If you are in the Lancaster area, you definitely need to stop by!

Throw pillows are such an easy way to change up colors and add texture to any space. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from my home right now.

The gray fur pillow is from Walmart, and you can find a similar one here for $13.99. The nubby white one is from Target here. I was lucky to find a new one at Goodwill last week.

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The floral pillow is from here ($7.99! So inexpensive!) and the white fur pillow is from here. I like mixing up the texture of fur with a more smooth fabric like the floral one.

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We have an old church pew in our entry and I decorate it with a variety of pillows and throws. The white pillow is from HomeGoods, but you can find a similar one here. The gray one was thrifted, but you can a similar one here.

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I'm really enjoying adding some floral pillows into our home this winter. You can find this one here for less than $10. My favorite pillow inserts are down-filled, and I usually buy them from IKEA. They are awesome and really inexpensive.

Here are some of my favorite pillows and most are less than $10 for the covers:

*post contains Amazon affiliate links.

After taking down Christmas decorations this year, I was itching to change up some of the wall spaces in our house. I took down a gallery wall and had an empty space, so I decided to create some easy wreaths to hang there.

Here is what I used:

-A branch I found in the back yard that I cut to the correct size

-Three embroidery hoops in two different sizes (find them here)

-Faux greenery from Michael's; I bought three different kinds of greens that I liked

-Twine

Directions: Take the hoops apart and just use the inner hoop. Cut the greens in smaller sections and use green wire to wrap the greens around the hoops. Use the twine to hang the hoops from the branch. Then use another piece of twine to hang the branch from a nail on the wall.

I love how it turned out! It feels wintery but not too Christmasy, and I just love adding greens anywhere I can.

In case you're wondering, we found that antique cart from a local barn sale. Isn't it cool?? I use it to store extra pillows and blankets in the family room. The blanket hanging out of the card is unavailable right now, but you can find a similar one here for $16.99.

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I have a few new signs in the shop in time for the new year! The colors on these signs can be customized to fit your space. 

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:: GREENERY

     

:: WALL LIGHTING

          

         

:: FAUX FUR RUGS

         

        

:: BUFFALO CHECK

      

       

:: DARK FURNITURE

:: BIRCH CANDLES

     

   

This year I was inspired to go   S I M P L E  when I was decorating for Christmas. The colors I chose to go with were gold, silver, and white. For the fireplace mantle in the family room, I bought some faux flocked greenery from a local store Flower & Home Marketplace, then I used an old chicken feeder found at my husband's parents' farm and put candles inside it.  The white trees by the fireplace were from last year's mantle, which you can read about here. 

Merry Christmas!