New in the shop

Some birthday cards are now in the shop. As well as more storage buckets.

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Win an interior decorating consultation

The new Chicago-based interior decorating business Kelly + Olive is offering a giveaway to How About Orange readers! (You don't have to live in Chicago to take advantage.) If you've been helplessly wondering what to do with that blah room in your house or apartment, the "young, professional, modern, whimsical, pragmatic, ecclectic, and thrifty" pair from Kelly + Olive will help you solve your decorating dilemma.

What you can win:
"For virtual clients, we're offering our Style Sheets, a six page presentation which includes a moodboard with inspiration photos, suggestions for furniture placement, window treatments, color and fabric selection, and accessories. We source everything we suggest, so it's easy for you to find online or at a local store. We work within your budget and your constraints. If you can't paint, no problem, we totally love that color anyway. If your husband's bowling trophies MUST be displayed, not only will we work them in, we'll make them work!

If you're in the Chicagoland area we'd love to work with you in person! The service is essentially the same, except we'd get a little more face time to plot and plan with you, which we love. We'll even take you shopping!"

How to enter:
Leave a comment on this post mentioning one thing you dislike about your current home. (Might make for some entertaining reading!) Contest ends Tuesday at midnight (CST). Make sure to leave a link or way to contact you if you win. The winner will be randomly selected using a number generator.

(Giveaway is now closed. Kerry B., comment 313, is the lucky winner!)

For a complete outline of Kelly + Olive's services and more about who they are, visit www.kellyandolive.com. You can view more style sheets on their blog right here.

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This is trouble

I have to be very careful or I could get addicted to this font game. It might already be too late. I love it!

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DIY dining set

Awhile back, reader Kate sent over a link to this project idea from Cookie Magazine: paint mismatched chairs the same color to make a dining set. I like the 12" of unpainted legs on each piece. Note they carefully chose wood tones that matched each other, or the set might have turned out a little crazy looking. And kudos to Cookie for choosing an excellent paint color.

(Image from Cookie Magazine)

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Things to make

DIY projects for your spare time:

Decorative medallions at Martha Stewart (above left)
Paper deer head at Chronicle Books (above right)
Fabric scrap memory game by Inchmark
Decorative tile coasters at Curbly
Fat quarter tote bag by Cicada Studio
Scrabble board picture frame from Photojojo
Mod tissue box cover from Craftynest
Tea wallet by Christy's Creations

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Host an Academy Awards party

A few friends are coming over Sunday night to watch the Oscars, so I searched the trusty internet to find some party ideas. Evite suggested Oscar Bingo, which sounds hilarious, so I googled to find some examples. Then I pilfered a few things other people wrote from here and here and added some of my own squares to make game sheets. Since I went to the trouble, I figured I'd post the PDF here in case anybody else wants to play along during the telecast. (There are ten different sheets in the file.) Whether this game will even work is hard to say. But I think it will be fun to try. And I'll be making some Red Carpet Cocktails for us to sip. Any red drink or punch would be fun, but I'm planning to use this one (scaled down and possibly modified). Have fun!

Update: Get 2010 bingo cards here. Get 2011 bingo cards here.

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Quiz: Find your decorating style

I can't remember where I found it, but Sproost is another fun little quiz to help you learn about your decorating preferences. Rate rooms on a continuum from "Love It" to "Hate It." Try it here! I turned out 71% Vintage Modern, 14% Contemporary, and 15% French Eclectic.

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DIY details

I couldn't resist adding some of my orange tape to this cheap Home Depot shade.

And this chair was in perfect shape except for the beige fabric seat, which had an unfortunate encounter with a candle several months ago. (Picture burned holes and spilled wax.) Now it's all better, recovered with some Boardwalk.

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Cheap decorating

I found some good deals when decorating this room. These bamboo wall boxes were on clearance at Target for $8 each. Half price. I had my eye on them, and when the price dropped, I pounced. They still had them last time I was there, so you might be able to score some.

Lookit this polar bear bank! From Etsy seller Blue Bell Bazaar.

This little side table was on clearance at CB2, so it was 30-some bucks. And that fun pillow? $4.99 at Urban Outfitters.

Those orange picture frames are the same guys I spray painted here. And I picked up that wood stump vase at Target on clearance for about $8. Sales make me very, very happy.

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Our yearly room makeover

Over Christmas vacation I decided we should paint our guest room orange. Behr Poppy Glow 250B-6, to be precise. Alex obligingly helped, but made me promise we will not paint this room again for five years. Oh, fine.

Remember this makeover? I liked it. But I needed more orange.

I'll show you more details in future posts, but let me point out these great, affordable Rex Ray posters from art.com. And I know you're admiring our sleek, state-of-the-art TV.

How about this awesome The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly movie poster from Patent Pending Industries? (If you too must have one, it looks like they have a few left right here at Poster Cabaret.)

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Quiz: Are you a good eyeballer?

Here's a visual quiz where you can test your ability to eyeball things. Where's the midpoint? When is the line parallel? You get the idea. I started off horribly but improved enough to get a 2.18. I wonder if taking this quiz every day would help train me, so I'd eventually be able to cut paper and fabric without measuring ever again. Hmm. Somehow I doubt it.

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Shop update

More storage buckets are available in my shop. Chair not for sale. :)

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Valentine's Day desktop wallpaper

I was just going through some old posts in the musty, archived boxes in the How About Orange basement. I found these, which I had forgotten existed: some Valentine desktop wallpapers I'd made a couple years ago. Click here to go to the original post.

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Origami heart bookmarks

Here are some little folded heart bookmarks you can whip up in minutes. I used instructions from Origami Club. Click here, then look for the "Useful Origami" section. (Not "Easy" or "Fun." No. Those categories are for other things.) Once in the "Useful" section, scroll down to "Bookmark of Heart." I have to admit that on my way there I got distracted by "A Cake case with shirt." What? Anyhow, happy folding.

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Shop announcement: $5 mousepads

Mousepads are HALF PRICE in my Etsy shop this week. Just in case your desk needs some sprucing up. Or it's your boss's birthday. You can tell her it's a fantastic high-end designer mousepad. She doesn't have to know you only paid 5 bucks.

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Tote bag instructions

JCaroline Creative just posted a new tutorial for a sturdy tote bag. Click here to check it out.

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Cherry chocolate wafers

Okay, so maybe ya don't like bacon. Try making these pretty Valentine treats instead, recipe and photo compliments of Little Window Shoppe. They seem awfully easy to make, and the results look quite pink and fancy. I think I'll have to try this.

(Image from Little Window Shoppe)

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This blog needs more bacon.

Don't you think? Baconize it! Yum. Or add some bacon to your own site.

(Via SwissMiss.)

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Heart-shaped paper clips

A piece-of-cake Valentine project: bend regular paper clips into little heart shapes. These are jumbo clips I got in a multi-color pack at Target for about $1.50, I think. I fished out the pink ones for this.

You could use them to leave love notes around. Or mark pages you like in magazines. Or hold tiny treat bags of candy shut. Or send a subtle message to the boss you have a crush on. Endless possibilities, really.

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Quiz: Find your IKEA style

I saw this quiz mentioned on Curbly and had to give it a whirl. IKEA has an online tool that will tell you what your design style is. Of course it's based on their own product line, so your style choices are limited to what they sell. (Sorry, Southwest lovers. No Navajo rugs for you here.) I came up "Modern Urban" and was diagnosed as 60% Modern, 40% Scandinavian, and 0% Country. However, I've spent half my life on a farm and have Scandinavian ancestors, so maybe I should be 50% Country, 40% Scandinavian, and 10% Modern. Hmmm. Regardless, I am definitely 0% Southwest, because adobe does nothing for me. Unless it's computer software.

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Where can you buy Jessica Jones fabric?

A reader wrote in asking if I knew of any online retailers in the UK from whom she could order my fabric. Alas, I don't. In fact, I have no idea which shops carry it besides JCaroline, the mastermind behind the whole fabric undertaking. So I'm asking you guys... if you're a retailer, or you've seen this stuff in a shop somewhere, could you leave a comment here with the shop name and link, if there is one? Thanks.

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Patterned chairs at Target

Tracy from girlzdealz.com just alerted me to these gorgeous chairs at Target. Most are just $299. With free shipping! And when you spend over $125 you get 15% off. Check out this orange one. Offer ends 2/7/09.

(Is that flower/bird pattern a Thomas Paul print, or just a look alike?)

(Images from target.com)

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Valentine projects

A little round up of Valentine things you could print or make:

Printable bird valentine from Olliebollen, top left
Felt heart pins at the Purl Bee, above right
Printable wood-themed card from Mmmcrafts, bottom left
Potted primrose arrangement at Sunset Magazine
Tea bag wrappers at Creature Comforts
Printable illustrated Valentines from Inside a Black Apple
Paper cards with stitching from the Purl Bee
Dressed-up box of Hershey chocolates from Schlosser Designs
Owl card using patterned paper at Better Homes and Gardens
Valentine matchboxes by PonyBoy Press

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Pool robe with applique

Look at this child's pool robe my mom made from a bath towel for my little niece. Recognize those appliques? Mum is so smart! She didn't have any fancy buttons, so she cut some chunks out of the Calliope fabric to add some color. And put on some Fireworks for good measure. The free tutorial for making a robe like this is right here.

(And now she's back to making buckets for the shop. I had to crack down on this extra-curricular sewing and put an end to it. Hee hee.)

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