Pinterest Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Vickie Ames, the winner of my Pin To Win giveaway! Vickie please email me your email address and I will send your Starbucks gift certificate right over to you. Thank you to everyone for playing!

If you're interested in seeing all the pins that were entered into the contest, click here.

Happy weekend everyone.

xo,
Faith
{Design Fixation}

California Dreamin'

I'm heading out to L.A. in a few weeks for a wedding, so I've had California on the brain. (Well I guess I always have California on the brain). But I'm looking forward to spending some time by the Pacific and trying some good food. If any of you have restaurant recommendations, feel free to send me an email. (Click Read More to see the rest of the photos.)

Happy Friday!

A Few Fun DIY Projects

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Here are a few enjoyable DIY projects that I've run across lately. Looks like pale blue is in style! The fifth image collage shows a few outdoor lighting how-to's... head over to Curbly for more information (and 7 other ones!).

Coming up later in the week... some California dreaming.

xo,
Faith
{Design Fixation}

{Typeface Tuesday} More Great Font Combos

Today I wanted to share a few more of my favorite combinations with you... click on the links to download the typefaces. Most of them are free, too!

1. Homestead and Bell Gothic
2. Matchbook and Geosans Light
3. CAC Champagne and Adobe Garamond Pro
4. Stencil and Baskerville
5. Mathlete and Frutiger Light Condensed

xo,

Faith

{Design Fixation}

Art Made Out of What?

Evan Wondolowski creates wonderful artwork using pennies. All pennies!! Isn't this piece beautiful? It reminds me of Chuck Close's work....

xo,
Faith
{Design Fixation}

Terrarium Tutorial + A Few Tips

I've been wanting to make a terrarium for quite a while... I thought it would be a fun DIY project, and I love having plants around (they're good for the soul). So my mom and I made them together on Mother's Day. And now I'm going to show you how to make one yourself!

First you'll need to head to your local garden supply store to grab these items:

• A bag of Cactus and Succulent Potting Mix
• A bag of activated charcoal
• Decorative rocks (or collect them outside)
• 2 or 3 succulent plants
• Moss (optional)
• A large, wide-mouthed glass jar (top is optional)

I used white marble rocks that I bought at Lowes, and they look pretty great (in my opinion). I didn't have the space for moss in my terrariums, but it does make a nice addition.

1. First, put a layer of rocks along the bottom of your glass container. These will help regulate the moisture inside the terrarium.
2. Next, put a 1 inch layer of activated charcoal on top of the rocks.
3. Put a thin layer of potting mix down on the charcoal.
4. Then come the succulents. Arrange them however you'd like. 
5. Add more potting mix around the edges and in between the plants.
6. If you're adding moss, this is the time to do it.
7. Water your terrarium thoroughly but carefully. 

And you're all finished! Doesn't it look pretty? One thing I love about terrariums (the covered ones anyways) is that they are pet-proof. My puggle Charlie is always into everything - the other day I caught him nibbling on my cilantro plant - so yes, covered is crucial at our house.

I had an extra succulent leftover, so I made an uncovered terrarium with a glass vase I had lying around. This one is up on a higher shelf though, in case Charlie decides to get into mischief.

Here are a few helpful tips that I learned along the way:

• You might want to use a mask when pouring the charcoal... it kicks up some nasty black dust.
• Putting a top on your terrarium is optional according to the "terrarium expert" I spoke with at my local flower shop.
• Activated charcoal is not optional... it lets the succulents breathe.
• You might want to gently remove some of the soil from the bottom of the succulents before you plant them, because otherwise your soil layer will be very thick (you can see that this happened to me on the covered terrarium above).
• The afore-mentioned terrarium expert also told me that you only need to water your terrarium once every week or two by misting it lightly with a spray bottle.
• Try not to let the succulent leaves touch the glass... they'll fare better that way.

Best of luck, happy gardening!

xo,
Faith
{Design Fixation}

Meeting A Design Celebrity

Last night I was lucky enough to rub shoulders with Thom Filicia. Literally. He's most well known for being cast on the show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but Thom's work outside of the show has always been fantastic. He's one of my favorite interior designers, and he just wrote an amazing book called American Beauty about his lake house in New York. You should check it out.

He was hilarious and super nice. Right before he signed my book, he realized that one of those big flame retardent stickers had accidentally gotten stuck to his back. He laughed and laughed, and said he wanted to take a picture of it and send it to his friend who always used to call him a flamer. It was amazing.

Thom was at the Kohler Signature Store by Supply New England that's about to open in Natick, MA - and they threw a big party for industry peeps to get an advanced look at the new store. It was gorgeous....

One thing that I saw, and now need, is a custom fitted cutting 

board that sits over your sink. How convenient would that be?

 They also filled up this phenomenal soaking tub with water, 

making it all the more tempting to jump right in. I resisted 

the urge. Because that might have been weird.

I loved the color scheme of this kitchen, and the 

finishes were perfect. I wish I had a bigger 

kitchen so I could have black cabinets!

Of all the faucets on display (and there were a lot), 

this was my favorite. Modern yet curvy.

And this is me pretending to wash my hair in the shower. In all 

seriousness though, I could use one of those. So luxurious.

And the coolest technology of the night... a toilet seat 

controlled by little buttons on the wall. I could get used to that too :)

If you live in the greater Boston area, you should definitely drop by the store to check out all the new beautiful products. Better yet, come to the grand opening party this Saturday! Here is the schedule for the day:

10 am - 5 pm: 15 Minute Design Bathroom and Kitchen Makeover Consultations
12 pm - 2 pm: Cooking Demonstrations by America’s Test Kitchen
2 pm: Choosing the Right Tile Presentation
3 pm: Plan a Customized Shower Design Using Kohler's Latest Innovations

Also register to win wonderful prizes including: a Kohler Moxie showerhead + wireless speaker; KohlerSensate touchless kitchen faucet; Bathroom or kitchen design consultation service; a behind-the-scenes tour of the television set for PBS’ America’s Test Kitchen.

Interested? The store is located at 323 Speen Street in Natick, MA.

xo,

Faith

{Design Fixation}

PS - Have you entered my Pin To Win giveaway yet? Today's the last day... find all the info you need right here. 

{Typeface Tuesday} Ice Type

This is an ingenius use of materials. Enough said. Via Posterpage.

xo,
Faith
{Design Fixation}

Easy Outdoor Upgrades

Okay, so maybe an outdoor shower isn't that easy... but totally worth it. Via Douix.

Paint your front door a bright color! Check out the rest of this entryway makeover here.

Plant some ivy along your exterior walls and let it grow wild. Via MSN.

Add some decorative pavers to your patio. Simple, 

cheap and beautiful! Found over at Languid Lovely.

Plant a vertical garden in a pallet. A genius space-saver. Via Apartment Therapy.

Add some lighting. I adore that Moravian Star light

on the left. Check out more curb appeal ideas here. 

xo,

Faith

{Design Fixation}

Floral Inspiration

Need a last minute Mother's Day card? Try these free printable ones. I did.

Why not decorate gifts with fresh flowers? Via Sugar and Cloth.

Put some decorative flower pillows around your home. Found at Be Different Act Normal.

Make your own floral shoes using this tutorial.

Pretty photo of ranunculus by Photography By Karina.

xo,

Faith

{Design Fixation}