Taylor, Author at TaylorMade

Mid Century Dresser Makeover

September 14, 2015 By Taylor Leave a Comment

We are still settling in to our newly remolded kitchen (follow along on instagram @taylormadecreates). So, in the meantime I have a few things I’ve been meaning to post. Like this dresser that I finished in January, at least I’m posting it in the same year right haha?! This dresser started out off-white with gold “speckles” on it, not really my style. But… I know good bones when I see them. I had been searching online for the perfect buffet with the right pop of color for our dining room. My dad had a friend getting rid of it and thought I might like it… he was right! I know it would be the perfect DIY for our space.

I sanded it down a little and cleaned it but the real star of the show is the paint I used. I went with Luscious Green by Valspar that I got at Lowes. I also bought a decent brush which I don’t usually do. Here is a super non-glamourous cell phone progress pic. I did two good coats then touched up ares that needed it with a third coat. The paint was amazing and covered really well without having to use too much. This was my first time using this paint and- no this post isn’t sponsored by them at all, I just really liked this paint!

I unscrewed the hardware and thought about replacing it but ended up spraying it gold and loving it! It didn’t take long to dry but I just left it in the garage overnight and then brought her in the next. She’s SO perfect for our dining room under the plate wall.

I added a few things to style the top.

Lamp: Homegoods

Cloth Napkins: Vintage from my Mimo :)

8×10 Print: Minted

11×14 Print: Yang Yang Pan Etsy (LOVE this artist!)

Plant: IKEA

3 tier tower: Pick Your Plum

Kitchen Before Photos

July 30, 2015 By Taylor 1 Comment

Guess what?! We started our kitchen remodel! We have been planning this for years and it’s finally here! We found a great carpenter and they started a few weeks ago. I wanted to post a few “before pictures” because who doesn’t love a good before & after :) We fell in love with this house because of the open floor plan, the size of the kitchen and the fact that it’s the center of the home! We have been here a little over two years and even thought the kitchen was very 1994, thankfully it wasn’t offensive…. neutral nineties haha. The worst part honestly was the boxed florescent lighting and my husband fixed that last year. We are keeping the same layout but making a bunch of little changes (and some big ones)… I’ll post some pictures of our selections and our process over the next few weeks. Goodbye pickled oak, linoleum, vinyl and wallpaper. If you want more behind the scenes follow along on my Instagram @taylormadecreates

Fiesta Birthday Party!

June 30, 2015 By Taylor 24 Comments

This past weekend I threw my favorite party yet! Well, besides my wedding :) My daughter and I share a birthday and since I was a little busy last year on my 30th birthday having her we decided to go all out this year! She is our last baby and I’ve never done a big 1st birthday party for any of my kiddos so I was excited. One of my favorite things are margaritas so last year in the hospital I told my family “next year I want a big fiesta birthday party with Mexican food and margaritas and a Mexican dress”! I called it Bee’s Birthday party but aren’t all one year old parties really for the parents anyway? It’s like YAY, WE SURVIVED!!

I loved how everything turned out, but my house is kind of dark and I was having so much fun I didn’t take many pictures. So, some of these pictures aren’t great and some aren’t even mine… (thanks friends for your cell phone pics). I wanted to post about it anyway so I can remember it forever! That and I’ve had a bunch of questions about where I got everything.

My favorite fiesta item that I bought was the Mexican Cutout Banners which I love and don’t ever want to take down!! I bought them from Amazon HERE. I bought 8 sets and hung them everywhere!! I actually hung them up weeks ago because I was so excited about them haha! My poor husband.

We invited a lot of people so for the first time ever I actually catered food, fancy right? We had fajitas, quesadillas and my personal favorite… chips with red sauce, pico, guacamole and queso! I also rented a margarita machine which was so fun! My sister came over early and helped me cut all of the fruit for the margarita bar. We made regular margaritas in the machine then everyone could add their own fruit to the top. My sister also broke our her cute calligraphy handwriting for some of the cups :)

I made two “Aguas Frescas”. One was just pineapple muddled in water and one was Lime, Mint and Kiwi.

The hit of the backyard was the water slide we rented! If you guys are in the Houston Area you have to check out City Wide Part Rentals! We rented the Tropical Water Slide. They were awesome to work with and the slide was super fun! (If you use them, mention TaylorMade and they will give you a discount!!) They came and set it up early which was a life saver because then I was able to set up the entire party while the boys played on the slide. I even went down it before the party started haha!

I borrowed Mexican Blankets from my friend Michelle and I just folded them and used them as table runners. I saw this cute centerpiece idea on Pinterest. I emptied out Mexican looking cans for vases and filled them with fake flowers.

I used this recipe and made some Churro Puppy Chow. It was so good and people couldn’t stop raving! I got all of the plates, napkins, straws, toothpicks and this blow up cactus from Oriental Trading Co.

I got our dresses from Amazon HERE and HERE. Can’t have a fiesta without a good Mexican Dress right? My mom, the family baker, made both of us a cake! She made me Tres Leches with fresh whipped cream and strawberries and she made Bee a butter cake with chocolate frosting.

She got to eat her cake and then she got a sink bath :)

I used all of Bee’s monthly pics to make a little collage on a chalkboard.

It was basically the best fiesta I’ve been to :) Thanks so much to all my family and friends for making it so special! I leave you with a million party pics! Let me know if I left any sources out!

DIY Ombre Curtains

June 15, 2015 By Taylor 4 Comments

When I envisioned my dream craft room I knew I wanted everything very white so I could decorate with my bright (and loud) craft supplies and fabric. I searched for some fun curtains for months but couldn’t find any (that I could afford ha!). So I decided to make my own DIY ombre curtains! I went with pink but the color possibilities are endless. This project was so simple but I took a few pictures of my steps, I also did this in the middle of the day and the garage lighting is terrible.

Materials:

– White Curtains ( I found mine at World Market)

– Liquid dye (I used Rit Liquid Dye in Fuchsia)

– A large bucket

Instructions:

Fill your dye bucket with the hottest water from your sink and add a little salt. The salt helps the color stay vibrant! Then add your dye, I used two bottles because I had four panels and I wanted the color really bright.

Hang the curtains up somewhere that you can adjust the height, I used two hangers and my overhead garage door. My curtains were super long so I had to fold the fabric over on the top.

Then, start dipping the bottoms of the curtains in and out of the dye bath.

Pull them out a little then hang them and leave them in that spot for about 8-10 minutes or so.

Repeat this same thing a few more times. Every 8-10 minutes, pull the curtains in and out of the dye bath a few times then hang them a few inches higher than you did the last time and leave them for another 8-10 minutes. I did this about 4-5 times total until I was at the bottom of the curtains.

Then, ring the remaining dye out and rinse them in cool water. I sprayed mine out with the hose and let them drip dry in a tree because I like to make my neighbors think I’m crazy ;)

I let mine dry over night then I ironed them. I didn’t want to wash and dry them because I was afraid of them shrinking and mine are just the right length but washing and drying after dying would be just fine!

I really love how they turned out! They are a fun pop of color but still mostly white just how I like it :) Stay tuned later this week for some updated craft room shots!