Pepper Design Blog - Page 425 of 438 - A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

Before & After: A Vintage Sitting Chair

September 29, 2009 by Morgan

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been searching for a great chair makeover on my local Craigslist for our guest room, only to have the perfect chair sold hours before I could nab it! Bummer. Here’s another great makeover project from the blog Matters of Style to spice up an older sitting chair for a newly appreciated place in the house. And you can’t beat the starting structure: French legs, rattan siding and an elegantly curved back.

I love the fabric and trimming — so classy!

Coming up later this week… an improptu reason to throw a party (our friends got married! and since the celebration was two weeks ago and miles and miles away, they want to celebrate with local friends and family with a second, last-minute reception) and I’m on the search for a great dessert bar for the duo. Stay tuned.

Follow the jump for the How-To on this beautiful chair, and more pics!…

All About Ruffles: DIY Pillows & Other Pretty Things

September 28, 2009 by Morgan

This felt pillow with it’s rosettes (or ruffles) is very much my style. As author Michelle Traub, in this adorable Etsy How-To Article, so eloquently puts it “I haven’t crafted with felt since I was little, but… now I have a whole new universe of respect for the material,” and I couldn’t agree more!

The artist of the ruffled felt pillow, Anne Kyrrö Quinn, has a similar chic design style as one of my favorite blogs: My Mama Made It. If you love handmade rosettes, ruffles and pretty, delicate things… you must check it out.

While Alexis, of My Mama Made It, focuses primarily on sewing and clothing refashions, we’re teaming up to offer a wonderful tablescape give-away this month featuring her fabulous work.

There are so many ways to add a bit of homemade touch to your decor… Shown above are a few of Alexis’s floral corsage pins that could easily be incorporated into home design, as these Etsy pillow examples (Raw Studio, De De Etsy Shop) illustrate. My Mama Made It blog offers step-by-step tutorials for all of her creations, too.

Follow the jump for the DIY of the felt pillow!…

Delicious Recipe: Savoy Cabbage Pasta

September 28, 2009 by Morgan

Our group of friends love to eat — we love to sit around a big table with plenty of wine and delicious food, and well, enjoy. More and more often we find reasons to get together for appetizers on this night, a dinner party on that night… a BBQ for the weekend. It’s wonderful! After all, it’s these little gatherings that make us laugh, appreciate, and more often than not, pull us through the more difficult and drab moments of the week.

I would classify my husband and I as being more on the random, led-by-our-tastebuds team of cooks (as opposed to the follow-the-recipe sort) and we have learned over the years how to kick out a mean pasta for such impromptu visits. I used to put all pastas in the same little file in my mind: the pasta + red sauce + ground beef (ehhh) file, that I refused to touch. But a few years ago I became ‘enlightened’ to the fabulous world of well-done Italian. AND it’s quick, cheap (at least cheaper than the lamb we made the other night) and if done right, Molto Bene!

So when I came across Sweet Paul, I found this Savoy Cabbage Pasta recipe to be very similar to something we would whip up for a quick meal with friends. If braised leeks, roasted beets and wilted bok choy don’t ring a pasta bell for you — cabbage is an excellent place to start! Oh, and don’t forget the wine. :)…

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