Christmas Wish

AsterHouseDesign

wishes you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.
Remember your house is not only a place
to gather with friends and loved ones,

it's a safe haven from the outside world.
Our memories of home are rooted deep with the sounds of laughter,

the smell of cookies baking, the feel of a warm cozy blanket by the fire,

and seeing our family all together. May your holiday season

fill your heart with treasured memories that will last you a lifetime.
Amanda & Eryn

AsterHouse is Featured in Manhattan Magazine!

Eryn and I are giddy about the new issue of Manhattan Magazine!

There we are in bold letters...AsterHouse Design!

It's official-the town knows who we are now!
Here's my hubby at the launch party. I made him read it first; I was too nervous!

Amanda & Eryn

Katy Ibsen, Chief Editor, Manhattan Magazine

Find Manhattan Magazine on Facebook or on Twitter

Ottoman Reupholstered: Once was old is new again!

Anyone can reupholster...if you have the right tools: a trusted sewing machine and a great staple gun (an automatic is wonderful but not required!!)...and then of course a few supplies: a tape measure, several straight pins, matching thread, some fun fabric and sharp scissors.

Step One: measure what you want to cover (width and height) make sure you have enough to cover the piece.

Step Two: Place the fabric "right" side down and pin a straight line down each corner of the ottoman. Once all sides are pinned, turn it rightside out and see if it fits correctly over the ottoman. After double checking the fit turn wrongside out and sew a straight line down next to your pins. Tip: Use a fabric marker and draw a line and then repin your fabric so your sewing machine will sew over the pins.

Line of pinsSew a stitch down the corners of the ottoman. After sewing double check the fit by slipping the fabric over the ottoman. If it fits then cut the excess fabric off so that the corners will lay flat.

Step Three: Turn the fabric rightside out and if needed, iron open your seam. Turn 1/4" fabric under to give a clean edge and staple the fabric to the underneath side of the ottoman. Place one staple center on each side of the ottoman to insure you don't over pull the fabric when stapling. Then stable around the entire piece every inch, and that's it! You're done!!

Perfect...except now I think I need to add some great "feet"...stay tuned...

Keeping it Real

I have three wonderful children...and they love this business, too, almost as much as I do...(OK, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration). But, they actually love to watch design shows...always help me rearrange furniture...know all about sorting through paint swatches...and don't mind the regular browsing for vintage finds. So when I brought home a new addition to the family, I knew they would be delighted...they love beautiful things too...

I had arrived home, with my u-haul full of treasures, to a house full of company and amidst all of the hub-bub...I made a huge mistake...

I brought in my unique find and held it up in the space...It looked AMAZING...but since we didn't have time to hang it right then...I set my new pretty in the middle of the down comforter in our master bedroom. My husband and I went outside to finish unloading. (You know where this is going don't you??!!)

Not even 10 minutes later, as I was walking into the house, my heart stopped when I heard my seven year old daughter ask in a very strange voice, "Mom, is that mirror you just got an antique??" (Smart girl...I told you she loves this business!!) I immediately took off toward the bedroom. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear my three year old crying in the direction of the kitchen...

I was literally nauseous as I ran into my room and saw my once pristine, antique mirror in pieces...I am not even kidding...

I was stunned...completely and utterly stunned...I wanted to rewind the clock...I hadn't even thought about it...hadn't even considered something like this as a possibility...

My husband quickly took over as I was unable to think, let alone speak clearly. As he sorted through the crying children...the story went something like this...my daughter had walked into the room and seeing the beautiful mirror, called my three year old into the room...being a curious little guy, he had crawled up onto the bed. He had decided he wanted to see himself in the mirror...this is where it gets a little unclear (no pun intended)...but somehow the mirror ended up on the floor.

My emotions in that moment surged...from "I can't believe this" to "It's just a mirror" ...then "I am sick" to "In the grand scheme of life this is nothing"...

How do I look at those sweet faces and say, "I love my beautiful mirror more than your little hearts right now..."

They were both so distraught...

Once again my amazing husband stepped in and saved the day...his words..."I am pretty sure we can fix the mirror" took me from despair to hope...and you know what, he was right...

A little glue, some stabilizing rods and a bit of time and the crown jewel of the entry is finally at home...once again, above another fabulous find...but that is a story for another day...

Varney's Salina FINISHED & Open!!

Varney's is excited to announce their new Salina location! After months of planning their beautiful new store had their grand opening yesterday! Eryn and I were excited to help in their design process. We worked closely with BHS Construction and the Varney's team to transform this optometry store into their new West Varney's location.

Here are some before and after photos!

Old flooring and wall color

Entrance looking out to mall

Removed the wall and counter to give more sales floor space.

Added slatboard for vertical display

THE NEW VARNEY'S

Wanted to give a similar look to the Aggieville Varney's location.

Jon and Steve Levin, Owners

Jon Levin & I at the grand opening

Christopher Miller, VP Rocking M Radio, and Steve Levin, President and Owner Varney's

We did a metal and wood mix on the finishes to give an updated modern look, but didn't want it feel or look cold, so having the warm wood tones softens and warms up the space.

The cashwrap, custom made from Timberline Cabinetry in Manhattan, turned out outstanding! The metal top gives a contemporary look and feels great!

Locally made metal work!

Easy Made Pillows

If you have a sewing machine or can borrow a friends you can make a pillow! Here's how:

Supplies:

Pillow insert

Fabric (s)

Cording (if you want a welt)

Sewing supplies:

measuring tape, pins, scissors, sewing machine, needle & thread, iron

Step 1: Fabric

Measure your pillow inserts seam to seam. Take the inches and convert it into yards. Fabric is sold in yards. If you want accent trim or welt measure all sides of the pillow. I buy enough yards so that I can cut one large strip of fabric, if you're doing a large pillow you might need more than one yard. Iron or seam your fabric before sewing.

Step 2: Welt

Cut three inch strips down the length of your welt fabric, long enough to go around the entire pillow. Fold in half and lightly iron. Insert cording (you can buy cording at a local craft or fabric store, I buy clothesline cording at a box store-it's half the price!)

Pin your cording at the top so it doesn't slide down into your fabric once you start sewing. Sew a straight stitch close to the cording.

Step 3: Cutting and Pinning

Cut two pieces of fabric for the front and back of your pillow. Make sure to measure twice and cut once. Don't forget to allow for the seam, add 1/4 " of fabric to each side.

Step 4: Sewing

Take one piece of fabric and place your welt/cording on the "right side" or the pretty side of the fabric and pin together. Sew your welt to one piece of the pillow fabric. Make sure to crisscross or overlap your welt and sew it into the seam to give you a finished edge.

Tip: When you're ready to overlap your cording, cut the cord so the ends are butted together inside your welt fabric casing. This allows for a cleaner edge and it's much easier to sew- DON'T attempt to sew over two layers of cording your sewing machine won't do it.

Once that is sewn, place the other piece of fabric right sides together so the pretty side of the pillow is on the inside and sew the front and back of your pillow together. MAKE SURE to allow a large enough opening to insert your pillow form.

Step 5: Finishing

Turn right-side out and make sure you've caught all your fabric edges, if not, go back and sew the place you missed (no one will ever know!) Clip or cut rounded / square corners so the pillow corners will lay like you want them to and not buckle or feel bulky.

After you've double-checked your seams, insert your pillow form. Tuck in your raw edge 1/4" and press it with an iron to give you a neat edge. Hand stitch your pillow closed! Depending on the size pillow you can make a couple in an afternoon!

Easy Velvet Pumpkins

You see cloth pumpkins ever where this time of year. And this year I got together with a friend and made our own. They're quick and easy to make! Here's the supplies you'll need:

Fabric

Scissors

Thread (heavy-duty) & needle

Fiberfill and rice

Broken pumpkin stems

Trace around different round objects,

we used a bowl set and a large lampshade as our size patterns.

Once you have your circles, fold over the edge 1/4" and run a loose slip (or running) stitch. Make sure to leave a long tail of thread so you can pull the strings to gather up the sides.

Gather up the sides and fill the bottom with fiberfill, then add your rice, and top with more fiberfill. Once your little pumpkin is full pull the sides up tight and knot several times.

Hot glue your stem...and you've got one cute pumpkin!!

Sorry for the dark picture, I was using my cell phone.

Here is our darling pumpkin patch!

AsterHouse Designs Hits The Bottoms!

Thursday afternoon Eryn and I headed East on I-70 with the hopes of scoring forgotten treasures. The Bottoms is a thriving warehouse district for repurposed items, antiques, and a lot of plain ol’junk! Below are just some of the treasures we found on our adventure! Besides great finds we also connected with many antique dealers and now have large warehouses of stuff at our fingertips…so if you’re looking for something in particular shoot us an email and the next time we head to the Bottoms we’ll fill our U-Haul trailer with something for YOU!!!

Bought this table the first five minutes I was there...I knew I was going to be in trouble this trip....yikes!! My Mother and her BFF Jane are proud of my find! I also bought the four white chairs (adding new fabric and distressing a little more will make them fit right in!)

So we couldn't resist these little Japanese stools! They would look darling in a children's room, but for now I'll find a place in my house to display them. Oh, and the wire basket is for my office!

Yeah, Eryn finally scores! She has been looking for the perfect little lamp for her bedroom! With a little TLC and recovering the shade this will be darling!! What a find!!! Eryn found an amazing sideboard which she plans on putting in her entryway!

If you look in any magazine you'll find reproduced vintage sunburst mirrors. Eryn found this one to put above her new sideboard. The contrast in colors will be striking! Can't wait to see it up!

On our way to lunch we stumbled upon this charming little shop off Southwest Trafficway. The temptation was too much, we had to pull over and check it out! The shop was filled will everything vintage! Every display told a story from the past. It was like walking down memory lane. It's a must stop next time you're in town! Walking two blocks east to Manny's Mexican restaurant is also a must!

There in the middle of the store was two metal framed wooden shelved units. Eryn and I both thought these would make great outdoor entertaining sideboard for our patios. I can see the glasses and plates on it now-it just calling out to help with my next party!!
Where there is a will, there is a way to get all our treasures home. And that way was finding the nearest U-Haul rental shop. We hooked up the largest trailer we could get and started loading! Lessons learned this trip? Go prepared! Always carry blankets, bungees, and a trailer hitch just in case you find unexpected deals. But, this time we managed pretty well by using sweaters as buffers, and our scarves to secure things down. HA!!

Keep checking back to see how we used all our new finds!