Crafting 101 with Jerusalem Greer Archives

crafting 101 : light up your life

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Ever since I found my first vintage lampshade frame on the side of the road and sufferedÂ extremeÂ sticker shock at the cost to get it recovered professionally, I have been looking for easy andÂ inexpensiveÂ ways to dress up the plain (and may I say, boring) lampshades that are more budget friendly.

Here are a few of my favorite (and easy) crafty lampshade embellishments that will fit any budget:

A few years ago (my how time flies!) I decorated a guest room and playroom for a favorite client. Because Liz is an amazing chef, I chose the theme of a “sweets shoppe” for the playroom. ToÂ embellishÂ the plain Wal-Mart lampshade, I used clip-on curtain rings, ribbon and metal cookie cutters in fun colors. Â The look is playful, cheery and easily changable as the grandchildren grow.

Vintage burlap shades are some of my person favorites, but too often they can look dull and fuddy duddy on their own. I have taken to attaching oversized silk flowers to mine using hat pins. I often change out the flowers seasonally, and sometimes I even replace them with other fun objects- paper pinwheels in the summer, felt leaves for fall… By using hat pins I can change the look easily and quickly without damaging the shade.

Ball fringe and a hot glue gun can be a huge asset to any lampshade, especially small ones.Â Because I only had small scraps of this vintage fringe, I wasn’t if I would ever find a use for them. Then I remembered these smallÂ chandelierÂ lampshades that I leftover from another project. Together they added a great bit of drama and color to a small powder room.

Paper shades can be the plainest of the plane when it comes to lampshades. Luckily a single hole punch, some ribbon and a great vintageÂ buttonÂ can solve that problem.

To create a clean and sophisticated look, make sure to measure and mark before you punch.

On this lampshade, I used my fingers as my guide.Â My pattern was 1 finger space apart/punch then two finger spaces apart/punch. Using a pencil I marked off where each punch should go before getting started. If you areÂ nervousÂ about trying this. Wrap a piece of paper into a cone shape and practice measuring and marking your pattern.

Finally, when in doubt, you can always thrown some vintage hankies over the top edges of the shade and call it a day. ThisÂ lampshadeÂ embellishmentÂ is sweet and simple, and goes perfectly in a vintage cottage or Â little girls room. Just layer and fold the top corner of each hankie around the top edge of your shade (do not cover the middle or theÂ light bulbÂ portion for safety.)

Those are just a few of my ideas of how to easily light up your life with some inexpensiveÂ embellishments. Â Thank you for lighting my life up by letting me share these crafty tips with you today!

Spooktacular Last Minute Halloween Crafts

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

If your autumn has gone anything like mine has, then you are probably scrambling to get any decorations up at all, let alone anything new or creative! But don’t fret my friends, we still have time to get our Halloween craft on, and without breaking the bank!

First order of business: a stop at your favorite dollar store, followed by a quick breeze through of the dollar section at your local big box craft store. Here you can grab anÂ assortmentÂ of supplies- ribbon, pipe cleaners, papers,Â miniatureÂ pumpkins, clearance bird houses, black picture frames, glitter and anything else that strikes your fancy.

Project 1: Haunted House

Grab a clearance or thrifted bird house.

Spray paint it black.

Paint the roof shingles with glue and cover with black glitter.

Prepare your mini pumpkins by coating their stems in glue and glitter.

Use a fine point peremant market to draw letters or jack-o-lantern faces on mini pumpkins.

Affix pumpkins and other items (plastic spiders, black cats, bats) using hot glue.

For a ghostly glow you can also place small tap lights or electronic votive candles inside the house.

Voila! A haunted house that you can use for years.

Project 2. Spooky Signs

First, choose three differentÂ scrapbookÂ papers, 2Â patternsÂ and one solid. Using a word processing program print out a variety of sayings on the solid paper in a spook-tacular font.

Some of the sayings I have used are:

Happy Haunting

Fright this Way

BooÂ

Happy Halloween

Next, cut out your saying and the other two papers inÂ differentÂ sizes, then glue or tape these together creating a layered look as shown above.

Place inside an inexpensive black frame.

Attach ghoulish ribbon using a hot glue gun.

Display on a mantle or perhaps next to your jack-o-lanterns.

These also make great Halloween teacher’s gifts.

.
Project 3:Â GhoulishÂ Pumpkins

This one is by far the easiest of the three crafts.Â All you need is some foam pumpkins in whatever color or sizes you like, some black and green craft paint and a paint brush (I used one about an inch wide.)

Use your paints to create a variety of patterns on your pumpkins – stripes, polka-dots and plaids, or take a selection Â and paint out a word like BOO using one pumpkin per letter. Have fun with this and don’t worry about mistakes. These are just foam pumpkins after all.

So there you go, three different ideas for some easy and inexpensive Halloween craft projects. Lacking motivation? Do not fear! You still have a weekend in between you and Halloween, why not invite some friends over for a little crafting and cocktails? Â After all, crafting is always the most fun when done with those you love!

crafting 101 : hostess gift DIY guide

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

With Thanksgiving almost upon us, and a month of holiday parties and celebrations ahead of us, I thought it might be nice to have a quick little reference guide to some great easy to make hostess gifts. Here is my 2012 Hostess Gift DIY Guide:

1) The dipped candles from Martha Stewart. OK, I haven’t tried this yet myself, but it looks easy enough and not that expensive. Customize the candles to your hostess’ color pallete and purchase some decorative match boxes and you have a ready made hostess gift that will work well no matter who your hostess is.

2) Custom Wine Stoppers from Chic to the Nines. You can make these from decorative drawer pulls and door knobs (easily found at stores like Hobby Lobby or Anthropologie) and pair them with a nice bottle of wine. The wine can be used at dinner but the corks will last for years.

3) Bread, Jam, Tea Towel. This is a classic gift, but one that can feel overwhelming if you think you have to make the bread and the jam yourself. Often you can find really yummyÂ artisanÂ breads and locally made jams at smaller grocery stores or neighborhood markets. Pair the store bought-but-handmade foods with a beautiful tea towel or two. Practical and yummy, everyone is sure to love this gift.

4) Herb infused oils and salts from Mountain Rose. These require a little forethought in that they take a week or so to “cure.” But they are easy to make in bulk. You can purchase theÂ ingredients at Sams Club or Whole Foods and theÂ bottles and jars are easily snagged at craft Â or dollar stores. Make several of each Â all at once and you will always have a yummy and unique ready to go at a moments notice.

5) A Jar Sewing Kit from BHG . Everyone needs a small mending kit – for their office, car, kitchen, etc. This is a small but thoughtful gift that you can customize with fabrics and colors that will suit your hostess. Make it as big or as small as you like – use vintage jars or new ones, and add buttons and Â small bits of colorful bakers twine for those “you never know” moments.

I am sure there are many more clever hostess gifts out there, these are just a few of my current favorites. I would love to know – do you have a standard, no fail hostess gift?

crafting 101: refashion favorite pieces

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Like many of you, I am always trying to find new and creative ways to conserve, reuse and recycle. This year my goal is to spend less and make more, using the resources I already have to decorate my home, stock my pantry, make gifts and enhance my wardrobe with one-of-a-kind pieces.

Between cooking, crafting, hen-keeping, my Old English Sheep Dog’s loving “hugs” and mothering active, messy boys, my everyday wardrobe takes many hits during its lifetime. But this year, instead of tossing my slightly stained skirts, gently ripped sweaters, or torn sweatshirts, I am going to up-cycle them in style. Drawing inspiration from Etsy, Martha Stewart, Pinterest and favorite blogs, I plan to re-fashion my well-worn items by adding colorful and creative embellishments such as patches, buttons, embroidery, and vintage lace. At least that is my plan. Here is a look at the inspiration I have pinned recently:

(found here)

These well loved jeans were patched using fabric remnants from the owners children’s baby clothes and blankets. Additional bits of embroidery finish off this sentimental and unique pair of blue jeans.

(found here)

Patching wool or other fine fiber sweaters can be tricky. The grand dame of all things crafty, Martha Stewart, shows us how to make creative and sustainable patches on these tricky garments. I can already think of two sweaters that need this sort of attention. And what about tights? Wouldn’t those look cute with a few colorful patches here and there?

(found here)

Elbow patches are all the rage but I think this sweet and simple heart patch, created by my friend Jen Kershner, may be my favorite of all time. I am wondering if the same style would look cute on a favorite denim shirt?

(found here)

Pam Garrison is a wealth of inspiration. She paints, she makes and she stitches. Of all the pieces she creates, it is her free-style doodle embroidery that I love the most. Look how she took a hoodie from sporty to pretty. Sublime.

(found here)

For whatever reason my skirts (second only to white t-shirts) tend to suffer the most from my creative lifestyle. I love this from-behind applique. What a wonderful and unique way to cover a few baking-inflicted stains.

(find it here)

To help me achieve my goal of spending less and making more I am using this new book, Mend it Better, as my guide. All of the techniques mentioned here are in this book, plus many more. I am even tempted to give darning a try (my grandmother might just faint if she reads this…).

So that is my plan for saving the earth this year. Isn’t it cute?

P.S. DON’T MISS JERUSALEM’S FIRST BOOK —- A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together. The book will be published by Paraclete Press this April and can be pre-ordered from all major booksellers. In the meantime, check out her blog at jerusalem.greer.com.

crafting 101 with jerusalem greer: “g” whiz

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Spending a Saturday morning driving around older neighborhoods garage sale-ing, fortified by coffee, pastry, and NPR, is one of my most favorite past-times in the whole world. Lately it seems however, that these luxurious, meandering, Saturday morning excursions have been harder and harder to come by. But this past weekend I decided to treat myself for Mother’s Day. I threw caution to the wind, shucked all my chores and responsibilities on Saturday morning, filled my coffee cup with rocket full, my pockets with one dollar bills and hit the neighborhood streets in search of used treasures.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

BEFORE

This grapevine G was just one of my favorite finds at the great price of $2. As soon as I saw it I knew I was going to wrap that puppy in yarn. {Note: I know that wrapping things in yarn has become the new “put a bird on it” of the crafting world, but I don’t care. Wrapping shapes in yarn is inexpensive, takes almost no skill, and satisfies the crafty itch within minutes. So there.} The only thing I did to prepare my “G” was to rip all the little plastic green leaves off of it, which was pretty easy as they were not glued down well.

Next I wrapped the whole letter in one layer of yellow acrylic yarn from a pile of crochet cast-offs that someone gave me months ago. I called this the “crumb layer” after the baking technique,because you can still see bits and pieces of the grapevine coming through the yarn. This step was by far the most time consuming, but instead of rushing mindlessly (and impatiently,) through to the end, I tried to enjoy the process, letting my Monday stresses unwind with my skein of yarn.

For the final layer, I went around the G two more times with the yarn, working to cover up the places where the vines were poking through still. Some pieces were so small and poky that I just broke them off all together. In the end there are still a few places where you can see the dark bits of the grapevine, but I don’t mind. I like a little nod to imperfection in my crafting. The first go round with the yarn took about twenty minutes, but the second two took half that time combined.

AFTER

To add one more colorful bit of fun, I added three fuzzy pom poms that I made using the medium size Clover Pom Pom Maker, in bottom left hand curve of the G. This little bit of color and weight was the perfect addition and helped to set off the bright yellow just right. I adore how the G turned out, and the combination of sunny cheer and homespun charm make me smile every time I catch a glimpse of it. Because I used so many items that I already had on hand -yarn, pom poms, pom pom maker, – the whole project cost me $2 in cash and about 45 minutes in time.

So tell me, do you enjoy garage sale-ing as much as me? Do you have to fight the urge to wrap your whole house in yarn or put a bird on it? What is the best make-over craft project you have ever done? I would love to know!

Jerusalem Greer’s Grateful Mobile + A Book Giveaway

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

EDITOR’S NOTE: SEE THE END OF THIS POST TO ENTER TO WIN YOUR OWN COPY OF JERUSALEM’S BOOK, A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together.

Too often the ideals of gratefulness and thankfulness are set aside until the Thanksgiving holiday, when, truth be told, we often only take the time to put into words how grateful we are for the bigger blessings in our lives—our families, our homes, our health. But Christ did not instruct us to only give thanks for the obvious, nor did he instruct us to save our thanksgiving for major holidays.

Recently, during a particularly fretful time, this point about “thanking God the Father every step of the way” was all too real for me. But both my mother and mother-in-law gently reminded me to thank God that he is in control even in the “lumpy times.” That even when I am filled with “disappointment, anger, frustration, down-right boohooing,” I must give thanks. I must still cultivate a grateful heart, and I must do so out loud. Out of this the Grateful Mobile was created. For our little family, this mobile is a way for all of us (and anyone who visits) to publicly share with one another and to declare out loud all that we are grateful for and in. Even the lumpier ones.

Materials Needed

15 mini craft clothespins (I found mine in the unpainted wood section of a large craft store; they are about 1 inch tall.)

30-gauge floral/craft wire

21 sheets of 4½ x 6½-inch scrapbook cardstock sheets in colorful patterns (These come in booklets at most craft stores. You could also cut your own sheets out of larger sheets of paper.)

Lined notebook paper, cut into 5 x 3½-inch and 2½ x 3½-inch sheets (about 10 of each to start)

Scissors

1 6-inch flat circular pressboard wreath form (found in the floral departments of most craft stores)

1 12-inch flat circular pressboard wreath form

Assorted pens, markers, and crayons

Craft paint

Electric drill

Glue stick

Directions

Your 12-inch wreath form should come with pre-drilled holes evenly spaced. If it does not, drill 8 holes evenly spaced and centered in your form, using a 3/16-inch bit.

Drill four holes in the same pattern in your 6-inch wreath.

Paint both sides of your wreath forms twice, allowing the paint to dry thoroughly between coats.

Set aside.

Using a glue stick, glue together, back to back, 12 of your scrapbook rectangles. This will create 6 2-sided rectangles.

Fold the remaining rectangles in half and adhere with glue stick.

This next part is a bit hard to explain, so please use the pictures as a reference point. The goal in the following steps is to connect the two wreaths together by wire, then to attach all the remaining wire pieces to the wreath forms as well.

Next, cut 5 lengths of wire, 1 yard long each, 5 lengths of ¾ yard each and 5 lengths ½ yard each.

Cut 4 lengths of wire, each1½ yards long.

Use the 4 longest lengths of wire to secure your 2 wreath forms together.

Next, thread a length of wire through the metal circle in each of the clothespins. Twist the wire tightly to secure, and then begin threading each of these wires through the drilled holes, making sure to alternate lengths. (I hung 2 long ones from the middle, 3 shorts from the top wreath, and 10 from the larger wreath. See photo for example.

To secure, wrap the end of the wire around the inside of the form and back through the same hole and twist the wires together.

Next clip 1 paper rectangle to each clothespin, remembering to alternate between large and small rectangles.

You have now created your mobile.

Somewhere close to where you hang your mobile, keep a basket of markers, pens, and crayons along with your pre-cut slips of notebook paper. Invite your family, friends, and guests to depict—through words or drawings—what they are thankful for or thankful in.

Clip these words and works of art to your rectangles as they are created. Remember that this is a fluid project and should be updated and changed as often as needed. After all, gratefulness is not a one-time deal.

Excerpted from A Homemade Year:The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting, and Coming Together
by Jerusalem Jackson Greer
©2013 by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, images by Judea Jackson
Used by permission of Paraclete Press, www.paracletepress.com

Jerusalem can be found, most days, blogging at jerusalemgreer.com, and her book A Homemade Year, can be purchased on Amazon.com and at all other major booksellers.

ENTER TO WIN YOUR OWN COPY OF JERUSALEM’S BOOK, A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together. Simply leave a comment below telling us what craft project you currently have in the works and you’ll be entered to win.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER, BETH WEATHERFORD!

craft room makeover by jerusalem greer

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

This week, we’re introducing you to our new columnists! Last week you met Tracy Porter and Chris Olsen. Today, meet Jerusalem Greer, the talented and creative craft artist and self-professed “nest fluffer” behind Jolly Goode Gal! For a sample of her unique style, check out her home featured in our July 2010 issue. As a mom, she’s perfected DIY projects on a budget, and we knew she would be a great fit for the At Home in Arkansas blog.

Jerusalem’s monthly column on crafting begins today with tips on creating your ideal craft space.

Everyone loves a great make-over story! A fun, and often inexpensive, makeover is to create a craft space in your home.

Whether you have a whole room to dedicate, a closet or perhaps a small corner of an existing room (dining room, family room, kids room,) you can achieve an adorable and inspiriting craft zone that will fit your personality and your pocket book, and bring some order to your crafty chaos.

So, how do you go about creating the perfect craft space for your needs, space and budget?

Here are a few easy steps to get you started:

1) Decide where your craft space is going to be based both on what space is available in your home, and what kind of crafting you do there. Reflect on what type of crafting you enjoy most. If you enjoy machine sewing your space will need to access to a table surface and an outlet. However, if knitting is your forte then perhaps you just need easy access to ample storage for your yarn and needles and a portable craft bag or box that can travel with you from room to room as you work.

2) Once you have decided on the type of space you need and the location, you can begin the fun task of gathering and collecting inspiration pictures. The Internet, catalogs and magazines are full of inspiring ideas. One tip: donâ€™t just look at â€œcraft roomsâ€ and storage pictures per se; look at everything that inspires you, from floor to ceiling. I have found great inspiration for craft storage in farm & feed stores, education supply catalogs and many other unlikely places.

Here are some of my all-time favorite craft areas:

Photo via here

3) After you’ve chosen your inspiration pictures, you can begin narrowing down the exact items you will need to purchase, re-purpose or re-store for the project, and those that even thought you love them, maybe are not the best choice for this project.

4) After you have narrowed down your choices. you can create an inspiration board (like the one above, featuring a patchwork theme) to help keep you on track as you forge ahead. Having an inspiration board can help motivate you to take the steps necessaryÂ to accomplish your project goal, such as saving those pennies, only purchasing what will fit your space,Â and staying true to your design.

So, regardless of how big or how small your craft space is, now is the perfect time to jump in and give it a make-over that both inspires and encourages you, turning your craft dreams into craft realities!

clever camp crafts with jerusalem greer

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

I have always loved summer camp. As a camper, a counselor, director, and volunteer. Each and every summer I find a way to spend at least a few days at camp, and I am always sad to say goodbye.

Luckily there are at least half a dozen ways (if not more) to bring camp home, whether as a rainy day activity or a backyard party. Or maybe just because, you like me, love camp.

To kick things off, I recommend watching the movie Moonrise Kingdom which is full of camp love and all things campy. This movie is one huge style-board of inspiration for me, and it is a summer favorite thanks to the presence of all things camping.

(source)

Upcycle some vintage camp stools. All it takes is little craft paint, some sturdy upholstery fabric (or outdoor friendly fabric) and a staple gun to turn yesteryear’s stools into today’s hot spot! These are my little stools that I made-over several years ago, and they have held up remarkably well.

(source)

Make some simple tee-pee style tents. These can be set up indoors or out, and really are fun for all ages. You do not have to look hard online to find a plethora of designs and styles of DIY tents. This is simple a-frame style is on my crafting bucket list.

(source)

What is camp without S’mores? Not as tasty, that is for sure.

I love the idea of making up little S’more Kits for each party guest.

Such a simple and lovely presentation for the yummiest, messiest camp snack of all!

(source)

Of course, if you are camping indoors, you do not have to leave the S’mores behind. There are lots of indoor friendly S’more recipes, including this one from Beantown Baker for S’more Brownies.

(source)

And finally, what about Friendship Bracelets? The ultimate camp craft of all crafts. If you are going to reinvent the summer camp experience, you must make these!

(And as I am sure you have noticed these are not your average 6th grade girl bracelets. These are friendship bracelets for the camping woman.)

(source)

And if you just need a little camp in your life year-round, you can always collect a few cute “camp” themed prints, like this one by Katie Daisy, as gentle reminders of time spent slowing down and enjoying the simpler things in life.

Cheers!

Jerusalem

Jerusalem Jackson Greer is a writer, crafter, nest-fluffer, speaker, farm-gal wannabe and author of A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together. She is a regular contributor for the At Home in Arkansas Blog, and both her home and her work has been featured in a variety of local and national publications. Jerusalem lives with her husband and two sons in a 1940s cottage in Central Arkansas with an ever-changing rotation of pets, including a hen house full of heritage chickens and a Hungarian Sheep Dog mutt. As a family, they are attempting to live a slower version of modern life. She blogs about all of this and more at jerusalemgreer.com.

thrifty, waterside-inspired crafting

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Today, we’re welcoming back crafting-guru Jerusalem Greer, who wrote her first blog for us last month on designing your ideal crafting space. Today, Jerusalem will share some of her favorite tips for waterside decorating, with simple ways to put a personal touch on a creative, beach-themed project.

I have always lived near water, occasionally even waterside, and until recently I took for granted that everyone did. Well, actually, I had never really thought about it really. I am sure I knew that living near huge bodies of water is not everyone’s reality, but until my husband and I took a week-long road trip through part of Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, I did not have a real sense of what life would be like. It was on that trip that my appreciation for the lakes and rivers I encounter daily grew tenfold, and I realized that my heart would be as the desert without the ability to sit on a beach or a dock from time to time and stare out over a glittering, shimmery pool of water, letting my dreams and thoughts glide across the surface, sending them out with the tide of the waves or the boards that bass, to be worried over another day.

A few lifetimes ago, I had the great pleasure of working on two water-themed projects: decorating the interior of a lakeside condo in Hot Springs, and decorating a beach-inspired bathroom for a friend. Because both projects were done on strict budgets, I had to be extra crafty.

Here are some of my favorite, easy-to-replicate, crafty ideas from those projects:

1) Map Decoupage Side Table

This side table is an old wooden pie safe I bought at a flea market. To bring some character to the piece and add a bit of color to the room, we added a decoupage to the top of the safe with a ripped map of Hot Springs’ lakes (which was inspired by the condo’s location). To do this project at home, simply purchase a bottle of Mod Podge glue and follow the directions on the backâ€”they are fool-proof. You can use vintage maps or any other paper products that bring you inspiration to create a unique a personal side table.

I toyed with covering the whole table but decided that a more timeless look would be achieved by just covering the top. If your decoupage side table is going to get a lot of use, you may consider purchasing custom cut glass for the top.

2) “Framed” Shells

This is an easy project to do with a few supplies, and I love the three-dimensional aspects these have. You could also personalize this collection by collecting shells from vacations and trips, then label each framed shell with the year and location it was found, building a memorable collection of framed shells over the years. To create your own framed shells, gather the following items:

Picture frames in various sizes (I chose wall and easel frames in a simple white wood)

Scrapbook paper

Hot glue gun

Shells

Tags or labels

To create this look, simple cut and frame a variety of coordinating scrapbook papers, then hot glue one to three shells (depending on shell and frame size) to the outside glass area of each frame, spacing them equally apart. You can even change your scrapbook papers out seasonally or as you change your decor, making this a very budget-friendly craft!

3) Beach Jars

This is definitely on the low-skill level of crafting. In fact, it may not be worthy of the title “crafty,” but it is absolutely thrifty (and creative!).

I love a great collection of jars that are filled with all sorts of unusual items. This is a great way to add color, personality, creativity and character to any space. To create the feel of a waterside home, try filling jars with things like:

Sand

Beach rocks

Beach glass

Fishing lures

Fishing bobbers

Shells (separated by type)

Old tiles

Vintage spools of fishing line

Leis

So, those are a few of my favorite water-inspired crafts. Do you have any favorite waterside crafts you have created that you are looking forward to making this summer?

Crafting 101 with Jerusalem Greer: Vintage Schoolhouse Chic

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

(source)

So I have a confession. Are you ready?

Here it is: I think I *might* be addicted to Vintage Schoolhouse Chic.

Just maybe.

I mean, if having a dozen chalkboards and maps and globes and rulers is considered excessive… Not to mention the chairs, the stools, and the light fixtures. Or the old books. Or the typewriters.

Alright, so there is no *might* about it.

I adore schoolhouse style (as seen above), and at our little urban cottage farm that is what you will find our home filled with.

A blend of farmhouse/schoolhouse style, filtered through the requirements of comfort and affordability and tied together through patina, texture, and fun, is what makes our home unique and easy going. I love a little industrial and a tad bohemian thrown in here and there to keep things interesting, but at the end of the day, what I love most is schoolhouse chic.

But maybe a full blown one-house-school-makeover is a little much for you. Perhaps instead you would like just a little touch here, or a little touch there. Or maybe you want to just incorporate a tiny bit into your Fall Decor? These are a few easy, low-commitment ways that you can still be head of the style class!

(source)

Scrapbook supplies are not just for scrapbooking. Use themed papers and ephemera such as these to adorn gift wrapping, create cute magnets or to simply embellish simple picture frames.

(source)

I know, we have all seen everything that will stand still turned into a chalkboard lately. But I can’t help it. I still love all things chalk related! Especially now that you can get chalkboard paint in such beautiful vintage colors such as this one.

(source)

Vintage globes add an instant pop of color and style to any room. A small collection of globes in various sizes, placed in the middle of the dining room table makes a great display as you transition from your summer to fall decor. It is Back-2-School season after all!

Traditional globes too predictable? Take a paintbrush and get to work, creating a unique and world class statement piece.

I just love this piece of globe art.

(source)

I had to throw in these stools because these are the ones we have in our kitchen and after figuring out how to adjust the seat and legs just right, I am completely in-love with them. A year ago I painted the matte silver with a variety of colors, but I am already am considering how I can make them over next. Washi tape on the legs perhaps? And if I ever get tired of the backs, I can easily remove them in just a matter of minutes!

These are just a few of the ways that anyone can inject a little schoolhouse chic into their decor.. remember – it’s as easy as A B C, and 1 2 3!

. Jerusalem Jackson Greer is a writer, crafter, nest-fluffer, speaker, urban farmgirl and author of A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together. She is a regular contributor for the At Home in Arkansas Blog, and both her home and her work has been featured in a variety of local and national publications. Jerusalem lives with her husband and two sons in a 1940s cottage in Central Arkansas with an ever-changing rotation of pets, including a hen house full of heritage chickens and a Hungarian Sheep Dog mutt. As a family, they are attempting to live a slower version of modern life. She blogs about all of this and more at http://jerusalemgreer.com

crafting 101 : light up your life

Spooktacular Last Minute Halloween Crafts

crafting 101 : hostess gift DIY guide

crafting 101: refashion favorite pieces

crafting 101 with jerusalem greer: “g” whiz

Jerusalem Greer’s Grateful Mobile + A Book Giveaway

craft room makeover by jerusalem greer

clever camp crafts with jerusalem greer

thrifty, waterside-inspired crafting

Crafting 101 with Jerusalem Greer: Vintage Schoolhouse Chic

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