Decorating With Class

A Limeric Right Up My Alley

A Limerick Right Up My Alley

There once was a lady named Aster
Who found that she had a disaster
When the rains came one day,
Washed her poor house away,
Because she had made it of plaster.

~Victoria Larsen 2009

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website today for exciting decorating projects YOU can do!

Revising the Best Laid Plans in a Poor Economy

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for stencils, plaster molds and lots of ideas to give your home a new look on a budget!

Revising the Best Laid Plans in a Poor Economy

It was 5 years ago this past April that my husband and I bought our retirement dream home in the mountains of Northern Idaho.

The plan was for him to retire early (which was to be this past March) and for us to move there and live out the rest of our lives in the peace and quiet of the mountains.

For 5 years we worked our hind ends off plastering walls, re-doing kitchen cabinets, installing granite, covering up disgusting paint colors and fixing everything that needed to be fixed.

The turn in our economy caused many companies to change course, which effects many employees and retirees.


This was the case for my husband. Changes within the company he works for stopped all plans of retiring early. And with the sudden loss of most of our 401K, the plan had to change. Now we had to make a decision. Since he now can't retire for another 10 years, do we keep the Idaho house?

No. We have decided to sell it. We only get to be there 4 weeks out of the year. Why hang on to it, making payments on it for another 10 years before we even get to live there? It's a better financial decision to put those mortgage payments in to savings or investments.

At first, I was horribly disappointed. But that didn't last long. You see, I'm the type of person who faces a challenge bravely and tries to see the good that might be waiting on the other side of what appears to be a "loss".

We have all faced some drawback to this economical disaster and it's important that we make the best of it, learn from it and make new plans and goals or we will drive ourselves crazy.

So I choose to see the sale of that house as an opportunity to make a new dream, to create a new start, to find a new plan. It's all about "re-inventing" the future.

You have to think like an "artist". You have a blank canvas before you. See it as an opportunity to create whatever you want.

As the adventure of selling this house in a poor economy progresses, I will keep you posted.
You will learn things (as I will) as we go.

To all of you facing tough decisions because of the economical events of this past year or so, bear with it, take a good hard look at your life and what you want and forge ahead with a new plan. I feel your pain and I'm here to share.

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for lots of ideas for creating the home of your dreams with no experience and little expense!

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

I pose a question to all of my readers: Why have we allowed such a beautiful time as Christmas to become all about buying bigger and better gifts to out do what we did last year?

Tougher economical times mean that for some, Christmas gift giving may be a bit challenging this year. But it doesn't have to be. And in my book, that should never be the case, because if you really think about it, the meaning of Christmas isn't in the gifts. But rather the love in which we give them.

What more loving thing can you do than to create a gift with your own two hands?

There are so many wonderful things you can do by hand, with inexpensive materials that make wonderful and very elegant Christmas gifts.

For instance, choose one of our Ornamental Wall Molds and cast in in plaster. Make a "U" shape out of a paper clip, bending each end and insert it in to the back of the wet plaster to create a hanging hook.

Once it has set up (in about 45 minutes), remove the piece and let it air dry completely until the plaster becomes light in weight.

Apply a coat of 1/2 water and 1/2 white glue over the entire surface to seal the porous plaster then paint with a neutral color and highlight any detail in gold.
Wrap it up and give it as a gift. Making a "set" of these beauties makes the gift even grander yet costs pennies to reproduce!

What a great design to add to an area above the stove in a kitchen, or hang in a tiered design on the walls.

I personally, have gotten tired of the commercialism of Christmas and for the past few years have been working more toward making my own gifts.

Since I LOVE to cook, and have a bread recipe to die for (handed down from my Mother), I have decided to put that machine to work and create "designer breads" as my gifts.

I do a little trick where I let the machine create the dough, then roll it out flat, spread melted margarine over the top, sprinkle it with Italian herbs and cheese, roll it up, let it rise and then bake it golden brown.

Wrap it up in pretty cellophane with a ribbon and watch their face when they delight at such a heartfelt, wonderful gift. Create a cute stick on label that tells them the type of bread that it is and that it was hand made by YOU! It's certainly not something they would do for themselves.

I had decided to do this because one year my Mother sent me a Christmas box filled with her home made bread and cookies. I cannot tell you how sweet and wonderful that gift was.

One year I made tons of homemade potpourri and gave it in decorator bags. Another year, I decorated tins from the thrift store and filled them with hand made soaps.

Next year (I've already started working on this), I'm giving my hand painted art nestled in frames I've found at the thrift store and re-painted or embellished with plaster stenciling and cast plaster from molds.

So think for a moment: What do you do well? What do you make that everyone raves about? I'm not only talking food here. Think of other things you might make as gifts that come from something you already enjoy doing.

Incorporate that in to your gift giving thoughts and let's all get back to giving gifts from the "heart" rather from the store.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Struggling Financially? The Frugal Zone has the answers!

Struggling Financially? The Frugal Zone has the answers!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for lots of tips, tricks and products to help you create your "dream home" with little expense and no experience!

If you are feeling the pinch of today's struggling economy, as most of us are, there are answers you might not consider. The Frugal Zone's new $10,000.00 Challenge E-book will enlighten you as to numerous ways you can save money that you haven't even thought of!

I was recently contacted by Linda Williams and Kate Prince of TheFrugalZone.com blog who wanted to include plaster stenciliing in their new book on how to save money.

Once it was finished, they sent me a copy of their new e-book, The $10,000.00 Challenge. I was highly impressed! It was chocked full of information I had never thought of which enlightened me on ways I could save money that wouldn't impact my living standards.

It's very obvious that these ladies put a lot of time, effort and research in to the material they offer. Covering subjects such as utilities (my electric and cable bills just went up...did yours?), feeding your family, shopping, even inexpensive decorating tips are covered along with other highly important subjects that we all need to take note of.

The truly kind and wonderful thing about this new e-book is that they are offering it on a "donation" basis rather than charging high prices for this valuable information. Donations have ranged anywhere from under $5.00 to $25.00 depending on what the reader could afford or wanted to pay. What a gift! But I can tell you right now, that after reading this book, it's worth is considerably more than even $25.00 since the savings I can reap if I follow the principals could very well be in the multi-thousands!

But the FrugalZone.com blog is much more than just an e-book site. It is packed with great links, articles, information and freebies that will help improve your life in many ways in this tough economy. In fact, their motto is: "The Frugal Zone: Where money isn't everything".

So get your copy of the $10,000.00 Challenge today and not only start saving money in this tough time, but learn habits that will have your family reaping the rewards of thrifty spending for the rest of your lives. Get more of what you want in the future by stopping the unecessary expenditures that you aren't even thinking of today.

Please note that this is NOT a paid endorsement. I truly find this book and blog incredibly valuable.

Free Magazines You Will Love

In their efforts to get new, regular subscribers, some magazines will offer free subscriptions!

Click the links below to special free offers from the following websites for either totally free and no obligation magazine subscriptions in print or on-line magazines that will help you find great decorating ideas, tips and tricks to do it yourself or just information for making your life simpler, more enjoyable and more rewarding.

You pros will especially benefit since some of the following links do require that you be a professional in the industry in some form or another.

http://www.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/art-instruction-videos.html

http://www.dealigg.com/story-Free-Subscription-to-Decorative-Arts-Magazine

http://www.getfreemag.com/default.asp?magid=106

http://visitors.gardeningclub.com/magazine_new_trial.asp?promotion=9G7H1PHX

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/

http://www.livesouth.com/freeissue.php

https://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?previewfeed=198752#198752_3

http://www.protradepub.com/html/subscribe.html

I just LOVE something truly for "free". Don't you?
Enjoy!

The Key to Happiness; Simplify!

A few years ago, I realized how much time I spent either hunting for something, cleaning something or moving something.....then I made a decision!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for decorating projects YOU can do to create the home of your dream with little money and NO experience!

Fad Bashing-One Designers Daring Opinion

I've never been one to fall for fads... in fact, I've often wondered if designers occasionally get together on a lark, drink an awful lot of wine then laugh together as they dream up strange fads for us to adopt......

Take a trip to the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for really different and exciting ideas and products to decorate your home! Raised plaster stencils, wall mural stencils and beautiful cast plaster molds for interiors that are so easy, inexpensive to do and drop dead gorgeous!

Expert Video Website Shows You How to do Anything!

As I flew back from Albuquerque last week, I thumbed through the flight magazine and stumbled upon an "expert video" website that I just checked out this morning. You will LOVE it!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for lots of tips and tricks to decorate your home to become the home of your dreams! You can do it!

The Granite Fiasco

I have been looking forward to the installation of the last granite in our Idaho kitchen when disaster hit!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for creative and unique ideas for decorating your home and new molds and stencils that will inspire you!

Home Art on Line-Life is an Art

What a cool website! Check this one out!.....

Visit the Victoria Larsen.com website for so many awesome ideas by talented people and the stencils and molds you need to turn your home in to the home of your dreams with no experience and no talent!