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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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September 1, 2015

Personalizing Your Home

Not too long ago, I sat and flipped through the pages of a fancy-schmancy home decorating magazine. I have no idea where I was at the time and how I happened to have a fancy-schmancy home decorating magazine in my hands but I can only assume that a) my children were nowhere near me because they rarely allow me the luxury of sitting down with a magazine and b) I wasn’t in my own home because I don’t subscribe to fancy-schmancy home decorating magazines. ANYWAY, as I flipped through the pages I happened to come across an interview with a well-known interior designer who was discussing the use of family photos in home decor.

She was ‘hinting’ at the fact that she thought that family photos should be kept to a minimum. I’m pretty sure I let out a loud ‘ppffffttt’ when I read that.

Gallery wall photos in hallway atthepicketfence.com

Because, I mean, who are THEY to tell US how many family photos we should have on display? If you want to cover every single wall in your home with pictures of your grandchildren or your husband or your dog, you go for it! But, I have this teeny-tiny little problem. Somehow my photos take FOREVER to get out of my computer and into frames. Anyone else suffer from this malady?

My very awesome photographer friend Valerie took gorgeous photos of my kids LAST summer. She is amazing and wonderfully talented. She is one of those people where it’s just so evident that they have a God given gift and she captured the essence of my two blessings so perfectly.

While I had smaller prints made for frames around the house (totally defying that fancy-schmancy magazine’s so called advice!) I knew I wanted to have something larger made.

So I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to partner with Shutterfly to create a unique way to display these beautiful photos of my kiddos.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and try out their new metal prints and can I just say that I absolutely LOVE how it turned out?!

 

photo of kids on metal frame atthepicketfence.com

 

I decided to do a large collage and when it arrived not only was I impressed with the quality but I also loved how thin and lightweight it actually is.

metal gallery photo atthepicketfence.com

The photos on the metal just look so beautiful and soft. And now every time I walk down the hallway by their rooms, I catch a glimpse of this perfect moment in time. I see their sweet smiles and bright eyes and thank God for the bajillionth (totally a legit number!) time that they are mine.

kids portraits atthepicketfence.com

Now, once I was over on the Shutterfly site I absolutely couldn’t resist taking a peek around to see what else is new there and I was so excited when I discovered that they now have pillows that you can customize!

I decided to have one of our favorite family verses printed on a pillow and loved all of the options I had for selecting colors and fonts.

printed bible verse pillow atthepicketfence.com

It’s now sitting on the chair in our entry and serves as a beautiful reminder each day of just how much we are loved.

bible verse printed on pillow

The thing is, when it comes to personalizing your home, it’s just that…personal. There is no right or wrong.

It’s simply surrounding yourself with WHO you love and WHAT you love.

It’s a reflection of your heart. No matter what those fancy-schmancy decorating magazines say!

Vanessa signature

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Shutterfly through their partnership with POPSUGAR. While I was compensated by POPSUGAR to write a post about Shutterfly, all opinions are my own.

 

11 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas, Sponsored Tagged With: decor, decorating, pillow

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Comments

  1. Karen Varney says

    September 1, 2015 at 4:32 AM

    I so agree with your post! Love the pillow too. We need both reminders, family and faith, as to how much we are blessed each day.

    Reply
  2. Nancy Hawks says

    September 1, 2015 at 4:51 AM

    Amen!

    Reply
  3. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    September 1, 2015 at 5:56 AM

    The photos are gorgeous Vanessa!….and I have family photos all over as they truly make me smile and remind me how blessed I am. Yes, I say ppffftt to them too!….Love the pillow and the verse. Have a great day!

    Reply
  4. Jeanie says

    September 1, 2015 at 8:15 AM

    Your kids are adorable!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 1, 2015 at 9:21 AM

      Awwww…thanks so much Jeanie!! I think so too! 😉

      Reply
  5. Lisa Mothersead says

    September 1, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    Your kids look cute and sweet and happy! When our kids hit their teenage years, i put photos around as them as babies, per a friend’s suggestion. It helps as they can be challenging at this age and you need a reminder that these are in fact the same sweet babies you brought home years ago. 🙂

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 1, 2015 at 11:57 AM

      That is a FABULOUS idea Lisa!! We are less than a year away from having a teenager in our home and I can already tell that I’m going to need those reminders. LOL!

      Reply
  6. LUCY says

    September 1, 2015 at 1:59 PM

    I have always said that a home is not a building but the people who share life within the walls. It’s those beautiful little touches that make your space such a beautiful temple. Love the pillow and those lil guys’ smiles…xo

    Reply
  7. Pink Camellias says

    September 2, 2015 at 2:04 AM

    My husband is a photographer, and we have portraits of our boys all over our house. I love looking at them every day – they make me so happy. I love to look at the home magazines, and I have seen beautiful homes that have family photos. A home is personal – it needs to make you happy!

    Reply
  8. Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life says

    September 2, 2015 at 7:25 PM

    Yes! I completely agree. While I think that pretty things make my home look pretty, it’s all the personal touches that make it cozy and a place of peace for us. I love incorporating photos in our home’s decor. I also am a fan of displaying art that we have made too. I’m not a perfect artist, but I do enjoy creating pieces for our walls, and my kids are budding artists too. If I held off based on fearing that it’s not magazine worthy, we would miss out on the pleasure of seeing it proudly displayed and miss the meaning and love that went into each piece.

    I LOVE the pillow too! I want one (or four!) for our house!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 2, 2015 at 8:48 PM

      Amen to everything you said Lisa! Thanks so much! 🙂

      Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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