Hunt and Gather Home

Dreams

January 15, 2015June 1, 2015 Hunt and Gather Home

…and make it your ambition to a quiet life, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands…

These words, found in Thessalonians 4:11 -12, have been running through my mind lately anytime the conversation turns to resolutions. There was a time when I made resolutions for myself and strictly stuck to them. Giving up carbonation my sophomore year of high school just to challenge myself? Check. Being a nazi about how many miles I ran a week? Done that too. All in the name of personal improvement.

But in recent years – since getting married and having kids – it’s so much harder for me to stick to personal goals, I suspect due to my somewhat serious case of mom-guilt that makes me feel like a jerk when I spend time on myself. I know I’m not alone here, but lately I’ve been thinking about personal goals – for my career, for my health, for my family, for this blog. I’ve resisted the urge to write them down and make them specific. I prefer to keep them swirling around in my head. Goals, I call them. Goals, not resolutions. Resolutions are too strict and permanent. They have no room for the twists and turns and unexpectedness of life. I would feel like a failure for breaking a resolution, but a goal can always be re-routed and carried over to the next year. Life happens, you know? Goals have room for grace.

So what does all this have to do with design? I keep asking myself the same question. Why did I start this blog? Is it important? Is it making a difference? My answers to those questions trace back to those opening words.

lead a quiet life

Believe it or not, my goal for this blog isn’t merely to showcase our design work. Sure, that’s part of the purpose, but not the main goal. What I hope you really glean is the feeling of comfort and quiet that our rooms tend to generate. If anything, I hope our work emanates peace and tranquility – a quiet life – in the midst of the everyday chaos we all experience.

mind your own affairs

In terms of blogging, I struggle with this one. I fully realize that following and commenting on other blogs, sharing via social media, and virtually “connecting” with others will grow this blog. But, you know what? It feels so insincere and fake to “connect” with the underlying purpose of increasing my own blog traffic. I feel a little self-promoting even sharing posts on my personal Facebook page. I secretly hope people will stumble on this blog, feel a connection, and start following and commenting. Maybe that’s unrealistic. Do any of you struggle with this?

What I think I’m getting at is that I desire for our work and our words to be sincere. That we will not get caught up in design trends, but listen to our clients. That we won’t provide content that is popular for the sake of a few more “likes” and “shares” on Facebook. That we will continue to be true to ourselves and that beauty will flow from that truth.

work with your hands

Literally and symbolically. One of the most satisfying parts of this adventure is the search – the hunt, if you will. It requires us to get off the computer, get out and about, discover new places, meet new people, and experience life. We take great care to get to know our clients and source pieces that fit each of their lifestyles. Often, we get creative – remaking, reinventing, repurposing the old into something new. It’s life-giving to each piece, to the project, and to our spirits. And finally, putting a room together for the first time really is invigorating and exciting. To see all the things we’ve collected come together, to work out a room so it is both practical and pretty: gathering. This is what we love doing.

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So somehow, in some little way, I hope this blog makes a difference. It is my goal that it inspires you (and me) to look for peace, joy, and love amidst the craziness of life. It is my goal not to focus on blog stats, but to be true to myself and sincere in content. It is my goal to do more working with my hands – to delve into the real relationships that the hunt brings about and to gather graciously so that all feel welcome.

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Before We Move On

January 8, 2015June 1, 2015 Hunt and Gather Home

Cheers! It’s 2015, and we at Hunt and Gather Home are looking forward to what lies ahead in the new year. The last few months of 2014 were busy with our regular jobs, family, and the comings and goings of everyday life. Throw in a few design projects and that makes for two busy Mamas with little time to blog! So, before we move on to the hope and excitement of the nascent year, we want to share with you a super fun holiday project that really capped off our 2014.

Last summer, my (Megan’s) mother asked us to help with the design of her screen porch enclosure on her nearly 100 year old home. The porch, a 1930s addition, needed to be raised off the ground due to the roots of a large Magnolia tree nearby that were making the marble slab floor unlevel. My mom decided she would also like to enclose the porch to provide additional living space for large family gatherings. To sweeten the deal, we’d also get to help decorate the newly enclosed porch for the neighborhood’s Holiday Tour of Homes. We jumped at the opportunity – who doesn’t love a southern porch and Christmastime in the South?

The structural work on the porch was finished in mid-October, but we began working long before by scouting out the perfect finds to transform this dingy back porch to a cozy, comfortable family room. Though the idea of a screened-porch in Louisiana was quite lovely, the reality was that the screen trapped dust from the yard, mixed with the summer heat and incorrigible year-round humidity, and created a space that no one could enjoy, save for a few rescue kitties. Seeking a way to continue to enjoy the beautiful courtyard environment and retain the feel of a porch, wall-to-wall windows were installed on three elevations.

A gas-burning fireplace was installed on the center left wall to evoke the sense of family and gathering. We scouted out several antique salvage mantels at Snow’s Antiques, and finally decided upon this beauty, which we trimmed up to fit the space perfectly and then painted Narragansett Blue. The walls are wide vertical wood planks painted white. During painting the joints were scraped clear of paint with an expired credit card to create a coastal/cottage/camp vibe. The beadboard ceiling is original and required only a good cleaning and a touch-up of the Haint Blue paint.

And those floors. We couldn’t have dreamed up anything more perfect. After looking into several flooring options – herringbone wood-look ceramic tile, “new” wood flooring stained to match, painted wood flooring, and reclaimed heart-pine laid on a diagonal – my mom finally choose the reclaimed pine. At the last minute, she chose NOT to lay it on the diagonal for fear the room would be too busy. The wood was not stained, but its natural color merely enhanced by a sealer. What can we say? Lovely choice, Mom!

The floors really are a breathtaking feature of the room, but my absolute favorite feature is the salvaged cypress French doors Mama and I found at the Washington Antique Mall during the fall antique fair weekend. The patterned glass matched the glass in an existing interior door in the house, and the patina of chipped paint in just the right colors to match the kitchen and fireplace mantel was too perfect to pass up. At $200 for the pair, only a slight shaving down to fit the existing door frame, and a quick cleaning with a damp cloth, these beauties will make you choose salvage material over new any day.

With the walls, floors, and ceiling finished, we switched our focus to staging the room. My mom wanted to pull in existing furniture from around the house and a bring a few antique pieces from storage before shopping for anything new. We moved the small, round kitchen table out of the cramped breakfast room and into the new space. In its place in the breakfast room we placed a freshly (spray)painted and recovered antique wicker settee to provide seating without bulk.

Three other antique wicker pieces were moved from storage to the new family room: an oval console table, a round side table, and a wicker rocker. Placed about the room, they enhance the back porch feel of the space.

When it was finally time to shop for a new couch, chair, and rug, we decided to pull in some modern elements. The linen couch is super plush, yet stylish with its curved and rounded arms and nail head trim (don’t worry – we used Scotchguard). The oversized grey flannel chair is one of my favorite finds. The fabric and plaid/houndstooth pattern suggest mid-century style, while the shape, size, and feet are completely modern. The rug was a Target find – fun, yet practical for a piece that’s sure to get plenty of wear and tear.

All decorative elements in the room were pulled from other places in the house or from storage. The best place to shop is usually your own house! We had fun grouping my mom’s collection of Louisiana artist Lorraine Gendron’s painted wood cutouts in the room and even borrowed a few of her Christmas ornaments from one of our favorite local shops, Southern Chic, to decorate the tree.

We had a fabulous time with this project and, from personal experience, I can tell you that the family thinks it is fabulous, too! My two boys LOVE the “new porch” just as much as the rest of us. It’s the first place we all go when we stop by to visit or share Sunday lunch. It’s funny how enclosing a room can actually make a space feel more open and people more connected.

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Featured Vendor: Snow’s Antiques

September 23, 2014June 1, 2015 Hunt and Gather Home

This morning’s crisp and lovely autumn air is just the inspiration we needed to get back to the blog. With the lazy days of summer gone and the new school year’s routines established, our creativity picks up the pace, fueled by a healthy mix of cotton fields ready for harvest, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, open windows, front porch swings, flannel blankets and football fields.

Saturday mornings in the fall are lovely for antiquing. Snow’s is one of our favorite local spots on Rapides Avenue. You’ll find an eclectic mix of industrial items, fine antiques, popular knick-knacks, and quirky statement pieces.

The shop is owned by Steve Snow, who’s helpful, friendly, and always willing to make you a good deal. Have a question about the provenance of a piece? Looking for something specific? Just ask and Steve will usually share what he knows about the object’s former location and use or dig out just what you’re looking for from the back room. It’s always fun to know the history behind the antique and vintage pieces you bring home, and I’ve found that my guests usually love to know hear the stories behind each piece.

Here are a few pieces that caught my eye when I wandered the shop a few weeks back. Most of them are quirky and would make fun accents in just the right space.

How cool (and heavy) is this rusty iron railroad crossing marker?

These vintage radiators would be fantastic grouped together on top of a shelf or in a store window display.

We snagged this longhorn for one of our clients! Reveal coming soon…

These bulldog andirons would be a perfectly fun addition to a classic living room fireplace.

Scales, scales, scales! All styles and ages. Super fun for decorative kitchen accents or grouped as a display.

This vintage mint green gum ball machine is a personal favorite. It’s solid and sturdy with the original labeling, too. This would be a fun addition to a playroom. Imagine it filled with colorful gum balls! My kids would go crazy!

These old concrete and metal playground pieces are a bit on the quirky side, but would be super fun in a vintage-industrial space.

This stack of trays came from the kitchen of a local eatery that recently closed after over 50 years as a beloved local bar and restaurant. They make a great statement stacked just as they are. All they need is a large, sturdy shelf to call home.

We’re often asked what local antique stores and flea-markets we frequent. Snow’s Antiques is on our short list. Stop by the corner of Rapides Avenue and Prospect and spend some time hunting around inside. The large inventory changes often and you’ll probably find something new to bring home each time you visit!

Happy hunting!

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The Mimi Rose Chair

July 1, 2014October 14, 2014 Hunt and Gather Home

I have a confession. I’ve been hiding one section of the nursery update from you. This photo explains why:

My glider doesn’t match. It doesn’t match because It. Is. Maroon.

Recovering this chair is the project that I never got around to before Sweet P was born…or after. All Mamas have one (or more) of those projects. It’s allowed. No, REQUIRED.

But, we like to look on the bright side on this blog, so here are some good things about NOT having a perfectly new, soft and cozy, white cotton covered glider:

1. Babies spit up. A LOT.

2. Colors really don’t make a chair more comfortable.

3. A $60 estate sale find that once belonged to someone who was practically a grandmother to you is much more comfortable and comforting to feed and rock your sweet baby in than the $1500 Pottery Barn model.

5. Knowing that this grandmother figure spent hours praying in that chair (often for you and your family) increases its value tenfold.

4. Amen.

This glider belonged to my Mimi Rose.

A woman who loved me like a granddaughter – so much so that I didn’t realized she wasn’t my grandmother until I was about 5 or 6 years old.

A woman of great faith who prayed me six long hours home from college every Christmas break and countless times in between – and before and after for that matter.

A woman of great strength – coupled with a good dose of stubbornness – which really is the best kind of woman, don’t you think?

A woman who, though she’s gone from this earth, reminds me daily of the power of Love poured out freely and abundantly.

It is only fitting to name the chair after her: The Mimi Rose Chair.

My Mama recently helped me to craft a makeshift slipcover for the Mimi Rose Chair out of a white matelasse blanket. With this white cover, the chair now matches the room, but retains its comfortable, well-worn shape that cradles me and my babies when we rock and read, bringing old memories of comfort and warmth and creating new memories of the same.

I’m not sure what it is about chairs and what makes me love them so much. Perhaps it’s the fact that they cradle and keep us, supporting us when we feel too burdened to take another step. As a mother, I can think of no better chair for this purpose, for this journey is hard and long, and often I feel burdened beyond what I can bear. But, the Mimi Rose Chair reminds me that I am loved, that I am supported, that there is rest and peace and calm.

I may never get around to recovering it, and I’m okay with that.

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Farewell Crib, Hello Closet!

April 29, 2014June 1, 2015 Hunt and Gather Home

A few weeks ago I was able to finish converting my youngest child’s nursery into a big boy room/guest room, suitable for a wildly independent two year old and the occasional houseguest. The conversion has taken a bit longer than I planned, but that’s due more to my reluctance to admit that we’re ready to move the baby bed to the attic than the actual amount of work that was done in the room.

You all asked for additional photos of the vintage crib, so I’ll indulge both your curiosity and my sentimental heart with these final photos of a family heirloom that has nurtured three generations of sweet, sleeping infants.

This side latches and folds down making it easy for adults to get baby in and out of the bed, but nearly impossible for a toddler to unlatch both ends at the same time. Yes, that is screen between the wood frame.

This is the “lid” (for lack of a better word) that folds over the top and latches. We never used it, but the idea of screening your child in their crib actually makes pretty good sense to this Southern Mama who enjoys the outdoors but detests mosquitos. Judging by the vintage advertisement below, that’s exactly what the Trimble Company was banking on.

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As you can see, my child thought his crib was a pretty novel idea, too!

I will not lie, even after rearranging the room, I left the crib sitting awkwardly in the middle between the bed and the chair, obviously out of use and out of place, but not quite ready to store it away for good. However, this past week, my husband finally hauled it up to the attic, and we decided to fully embrace the “little boy” years. He’s ready and so are we!

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I wanted to keep a hint of the “sweetness”of P’s nursery in his updated space. He is a sweet child and a calm and pleasant room suits him well. Like any good mother on a mission to clean up and clean out, I chose to tackle the closet first.

Cleaning out the baby things was the difficult part. The actual conversion was simple. I simply lifted off the front half of the changing table that my husband installed, moved the hanging rod from the bottom bracket to the top, moved the baskets to the top shelves, and adjusted the side shelving to accomodate toys. Toys are kid-accessible and clothes are not. You like how I planned that, no?

I lowered the adjustable shelves are repurposed baskets (oops! forgot to re-label) to make room for toys.

The center and right sides of the closet store larger toys that I’d rather not have displayed in the room. He can actually play with his tools inside the closet!

Looking up to the top of the closet. Plenty of room for several seasons of hanging clothes as well as two shelves of bins and baskets.

Having an organized and functional closet for my kids makes mornings easier and cleanup time bearable. The little one is loving his new closet. He feels like the big boy that he is by being able to choose his toys and put them back by himself. I consider it a winning design when a closet can aid in teaching kids to have fun and be responsible for their things.

In the next few days, I’ll post more about changes to the rest of the room, but here are few glimpses of the fun!

Can’t wait to show you more!

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Life with Little Ones: Nursery + Guest bedroom

February 3, 2014April 29, 2014 Hunt and Gather Home

I’ve been reflecting this past week on the fact that my youngest will turn 2 in six short days. I can hardly believe it. My heart is full of joy at the beautiful child he is becoming, yet at the same time it aches for him to remain a precious babe just a little while longer. Such is the wonderfully complex love of a mother’s heart.

The realization that the past two years have flown by even faster than I remember with my oldest son has made me want to slow down these last few days of of my Sweet P’s second year of life just to make sure I have every little precious detail of his babyhood ingrained in my heart and mind so that I may ponder over them when I am old and gray.

So, bear with me this week as I sentimentally celebrate the life of my almost-two-year-old. What better place for me to begin than by sharing photos of his nursery.

I have fond memories of creating this space especially for him. Even though he is my second child, this was my first nursery to design. (We were renting a small, four-room shotgun house when my first son was born and had practically no flexibility in space or paint color.) My desire was for this nursery to be sweet yet boyish with hints of vintage and modern elements.

I chose the wall color before I knew if le bebe would be a boy or a girl, intending to accent it with navy for a boy or coral for a girl. It’s been fun to find the perfect navy accents, mostly stripes and polka dots. They give the room a playful air.

The small wardrobe dates to the 1950s and was originally used by my mother when she was a child. She even scribbled her name on one of the drawers in crayon. My Grandmother handed it down to my mother, who handed it down to me. It has now been used by three generations.

The sweet outfit and baby shoes framed above the wardrobe were my husband’s when he was a baby. My Mother-In-Law thoughtfully passed them down to me when my first son was born. A collection of 12 vintage and modern silver frames are ready to capture the sweet smiles of our little one as he grows so quickly his first year.

This crib has also been used by three generations: my mother, myself, and my two boys. It has been restored and repaired for each child and continues to hold up well. I love that it rolls easily. Should we have guests, it is takes little time and effort to roll the baby’s bed into our room for a few days. Above the bed hangs a darling print by Sarah Jane Studios. It reminds me of one of my favorite childhood movies, a short French film called The Red Balloon.

The room is large and doubles as a guest bedroom, so it also has a double bed. My husband helped me cut plywood to form the headboard frame. I found the blue and white stripe fabric on the remnant table at the fabric store and knew it would be perfect for the room. The quilt at the end of the bed belonged to my husband’s great-grandmother. It is soft, perfectly warm, and introduces a bit of color into the room. The navy polk dot crib sheets pick up the same hundred-year-old pattern on the quilt.

We had recently relocated the original wood shutter closet doors to the exterior of our home. Because I knew we’d be using the closet often, I chose to hang simple white curtains at the opening to make the closet easier to access.

My husband built the cornice and I covered it using leftover fabric from the headboard project. He also added the removable countertop and lower hanging rack. We use the countertop as a changing table and baby clothes are neatly hung below. Two rows of shelving hung along the top of the closet, along with four shelves tucked neatly on the left side, give us plenty of room to store everything from diapers to socks to outgrown clothing in neatly labeled navy cloth bins.

As children grow and change, their rooms must change to suit their needs. Soon, the closet will be converted from a changing station to a toy rack, the baby bed will move to the attic, and framed hand-me-downs will be packed back in a box. Of course, I have plans for tweaking and updating this space, but before I begin, I felt it only appropriate to document the space that nurtured my little one during the first precious years of his life.

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DIY: Easy Hand Painted Letters

January 20, 2014June 1, 2015 Hunt and Gather Home

Today I’m sharing my secret to hand lettering. This easy DIY project complements the greeting card art I recently hung over my bed and the technique can be used in a variety of ways. The possibilities are endless, really. As always, I hope this project gets your creative juices flowing!

After framing the Happily Ever After card, my little hand-painted “M” was missing its partner “A.” Here’s how I added the “A” in about an hour.

STEP ONE: PRINT

Choose your font. I matched my “M” with the typewriter font that comes standard on my computer. Check out dafont.com if you need some inspiration. Size your wording and print.

STEP TWO: SHADE

When you’ve printed your letters or words, flip the page over and use a pencil to shade over the letter. No precision necessary, just make sure you cover the entire letter or word.

STEP THREE: LAYOUT

Cutout your letters or words and lay them out on your paper for placement.

STEP FOUR: TRACE

Using your pencil, trace the outline of your letter or word. The graphite you shaded on the back of the letter will appear as an outline on your paper, making it easy to fill in with paint.

STEP FIVE: PAINT

Fill in your lettering with your choice of paint. It only takes a small dollop of paint. A small brush will keep detailed letters precise.

STEP SIX: FRAME AND HANG

I’ve always enjoyed the process of hand-painted lettering and love the personal touch it adds to my home. Try using it with your favorite font or with your own handwriting. You can paint a favorite saying or inspirational quote to hang on the wall or paint your street address on your front door. What hand-letterd projects do you have planned?

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Design Crush DIY: Greeting Card Art

January 15, 2014October 14, 2014 Hunt and Gather Home

So glad to have you back for Design Crush project No. 2. Today we’ll put those cute and clever greeting cards to use. Here’s the Rifle Paper Co. card that inspired this project for updating the art in my master bedroom.

A clipboard is a cute and easy way to display cards, but I bought this card with another idea in mind.

Here’s the artwork above the bed that needed a little tweaking.

It took me the longest time to decide what to hang over the bed. The wall needed something extra due to the ceiling height, but a large piece of artwork would compete with the bed frame. So, I dusted off some old frames, popped in some scrapbook paper, and painted our initials. That was three years ago.

However, something about the “A” had been bothering me for awhile, and when I recently found the Happily Ever After card, I knew it would be the perfect piece to make a subtle yet satisfying change.

Once you have your framed paper ready, it’s easy to create

DESIGN CRUSH DIY: GREETING CARD ART

STEP ONE: GATHER SUPPLIES

Framed paper / Greeting Card (envelope optional) / Double-sided tape / Scissors / Photo Corners / Scotch Removable Foam Squares

STEP TWO: LAYOUT YOUR CARD

This was an important step in my case. Since I was trying to hide the “A” I realized I needed to use the envelope as well as the card. Laying out the envelope and card before applying adhesive ensures that you get the placement perfect.

STEP THREE: TAPE CARD TOGETHER

I chose not to cut the cover off of my card before framing. Instead I cut several pieces of double-sided tape, placed them on the inside of the open card, gently closed the card and pressed it together to ensure that the card would stay closed when hanging on the wall.

STEP FOUR: ATTACH ENVELOPE

Place the taped card aside and cut several more strips of double-sided tape to adhere to the back (flap-side) of your envelope. Then gently press the envelope to the scrapbook paper to secure in place.

STEP FIVE: ADD PHOTO CORNERS

Slip one photo corner on each of the four corner of the card.

STEP SIX: ATTACH FOAM SQUARES

Four adhesive foam squares should be enough to securely attach the greeting card to the envelope/framed paper. I made sure to place the foam squares over the back of the photo corners to ensure that they stayed in place.

STEP SEVEN: ATTACH CARD

Flip your card over and double-check the placement before gently pressing the card in place on top of the envelope/framed paper. The foam squares will bring some dimension to the piece. You can achieve less dimension by putting the entire piece behind glass or by using photo splits or double sided tape instead of foam squares.

STEP EIGHT: HANG AND ENJOY

I’m pleased with how this simple project turned out. Not only does the card pick up the colors of the scrapbook paper perfectly, but the hand-written font and sweet little message are gentle reminders that, even amidst the struggles of life, I can choose to love and live happily ever after.

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Next in this DIY series, I’ll show you an easy and fool proof way (I promise) to create beautiful, hand-painted lettering.

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Design Crush DIY: Framed Paper

January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 Hunt and Gather Home

Welcome back to the blog! I hope the previous post got you thinking about stationery in a different way. Today, I’m looking forward to showing you one of my favorite (and one of the easiest) ways to get your favorite paper goods out of your desk drawer and onto the walls of your home.

But first, here are the three Rifle Paper Co. products that I own:

Wildflower Wrapping Sheet / Happily Ever After card / 2013 Cities Calendar

I splurged on the Cities Calendar last year because I loved all of the prints and knew that I would reuse them long after the calendar itself was outdated. More recently I found the Happily Ever After card at Anthropologie and fell in love with the color scheme and the font. It sparked an idea for my bedroom, the results of which you’ll see later on this week. And finally, I fell for the wildflower floral print on a recent trip to visit my sister-in-law. Again, it was the colors that got me. In particular, the faint blue-green flower that perfectly matches my kitchen walls. I knew just the spot to hang a framed section of this beautiful print.

Here’s an upclose view of the floral print. This is a singular sheet of wrapping paper that I got for about $5, which is expensive for one sheet of wrapping paper, but completely affordable for a framed print. I love that the flowers are thick and chunky with visible brush strokes. A little Matisse-ish if you ask me.

Follow along as we work with this lovely little print today in

DESIGN CRUSH DIY: FRAMED PAPER

STEP ONE: Gather Your Tools

Paper / Scissors / Frame / Pencil

I’m using a wrapping sheet, but scrapbook paper also works well and is very affordable. Any paper with a design or pattern that inspires you is perfect. I’m using a frame I already owned, but of course you could purchase a new frame or find one at a flea market, yard sale, or wherever suits your fancy.

STEP TWO: FIND YOUR PATTERN PLACEMENT

Open your frame, remove the glass and other inserts, and move it around on your paper to find out what section you want to frame. My paper has a repeating pattern with no clear direction, which made it easy to place. Other patterns may take a bit more time to find the correct placement. This will also give you a good idea how much of the pattern will be hidden behind the frame.

STEP THREE: TRACE THE GLASS

Place the glass insert over the section of paper you’ve decided to frame and trace the edges with a pencil.

STEP FOUR: CUT

Take one last look at the section you’ve outlined to make sure it’s what you want, then grab those scissors and cut out along the lines you just traced. I always try to waste as little paper as possible when tracing and cutting so that I can save as much paper as possible for future projects.

STEP FIVE: PLACE IN FRAME

Place your cut out paper behind the glass in the frame and secure. Now it’s ready to hang on your wall.

Unless…you hang it on your wall and decide it needs a little lagniappe. Then you scrounge around in your craft closet for those two plates you purchased last fall and decide this is the perfect opportunity to add them to the mix.

In that case, you’ll need these handy plate hangers. I purchased two at Hobby Lobby.

STEP SIX: ATTACH PLATE HANGERS

For plates that are larger than the disc, simply follow the instructions on the disc: Wet back of disc, let stand for 5-7 minutes, then press to adhere to back of plate. However, if the disc is slightly larger than the plate back, you may want to first give it a trim.

Once trimmed to fit your place, follow the instructions on the disc (described above) to securely attach the disc to the plate.

STEP SEVEN: WAIT FOR THE DISCS TO DRY OVERNIGHT

I know this is can be torture for some of us, but I promise you can do it! This will ensure that your plates don’t fall off the wall and break due to poor adhesion to the disc.

STEP EIGHT: HANG

The most fun part! I chose to hang my framed paper and two plates next to my kitchen door. It brings a little personality to my everyday comings-and-goings and livens up this little space. What do you think? Do you have any favorite paper designs that are worth framing?

Up Next: Design Crush DIY: Cards as Artwork

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Design Crush: Rifle Paper Co.

January 8, 2014January 8, 2014 Hunt and Gather Home

Confession: I’m kind of a stationery nerd. I love pretty paper, cute notecards with handwritten sentiments, creative calendars, and fun little prints. Recently, as I was online searching for the perfect planner for 2014 (i phone calendars just don’t do it for me), I decided to check out the website of Rifle Paper Co. For the past several years, I’ve been drooling over the bits and pieces of their whimsical stationery line and art prints. I think it is the combination of their hand-painted designs and hand-lettering that speaks to me. Last year I bought their “Cities” calendar as inspiration art for my office. Did I mention I also have a crush on cities, especially maps of cities? But, that’s another story…

Source // Rifle Paper Co.

Turns out, Rifle Paper Co. is a husband and wife team that began as a small business only four years ago and is now a world-wide brand that can be found at Anthropologie, Land of Nod, Paper Source, and countless other stationery and gift boutiques nationwide. Talk about inspiration! Now, I’m not only enchanted with their artwork, but also with their story.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

/ The World is Your Oyster Print /

/ Merci Card /

/ Pram Card /

/ Vintage Blossoms Notecard Set /

/ Custom Illustrated Notes & Calling Cards /

I can’t even describe how much I love these! Click the link above to see all the different illustrations. ADORABLE.

/ Comb and Bobby Pin Prints /

/ Ant Print /

So what does stationery have to do with decorating your home? A lot, I believe. Over the next few days I’ll show you the handful of Rifle Paper Co. products that I’ve gathered over the past few years and how I’ve used them in unconventional ways in to easily add a bit of whimsy and nostalgia to my walls. I hope you’ll join me!

And in case you’re wondering, Rifle Paper Co. does not make a planner. If they did, I’m sure it would be fabulous. They do, however, recommend this one, which I decided to splurge on and have been happily jotting in for a few days now.

Here’s to the handwritten – or hand painted – word!