Time For Another Giveaway!!

Hi! I don't know if you guys remember me, but my name is Ali and I run a little blog called Honey and Maple Syrup. I have been super duper busy with lots of stuff lately, like Elijah's 3rd birthday, my computer crashing (I have come to the conclusion that I am a computer ruiner), Elijah getting sick, and flying home for the holidays to California (which included Elijah throwing up on the plane before we even left the gate).

So since I've been MIA for a while, I (and the good people at CSN) thought it would be a great time for a giveaway! I'm sure pretty much everyone has heard of CSN by now, but in case you haven't, they sell everything from furniture, to modern decor, and everything inbetween.

I just LOVE these pillows!

And how about this awesome convex mirror?

Or this super cute and whimsical cancan mirror?

So I guess I have you guys wondering now how you can win the $35 gift code? Just leave me a comment telling me how desperately you want to win =) Oh, and you have to promise to use it for yourself because we women tend to be too giving sometimes and forget about ourselves. Ok, you don't really need to promise that, but I sure do hope whoever wins will buy themself something nice. I will announce the winner on December 30th, so make sure you send your friends on over so they have a chance too.

One last thing, CSN can only ship to the U.S. and Canada.

Good luck!!

Christmas Tree: Love It Or Hate It

I have come to terms that I may lose some of you guys after this post. Why, you ask? Because I am showing you guys my Christmas tree, which I decorated with an unusual theme.

It all started with these Ballard Design knockoff ornaments that I made (you can check out my guest post tutorial at Under The Table and Dreaming. Yeah, totally forgot to mention that!)

 

I was trying to think about what else I could use that I already have (because my Christmas decor budget is pretty much $0!), and I thought about some mini chalkboards I got from Cost Plus a while back. And of course I had to adorn them with festive words =)

 

The tree was still looking a little plain Jane and I was trying to come up with something else to fill the space (here is where I might lose you), but once again, I had to use what I had, so I tried coming up with a theme. I already had alphabet ornaments and I had chalkboards...and then I realized those both have to do with school. School? Yeah, school. So what else does every classroom have? A globe! And believe it or not, I actually already had globe ornaments in my stash.

Add a chalkboard tree topper and I had myself a school tree! Totally random, I know, but I guess having no money causes a little creativity =)

But just so I don't sound completely nuts, I'll say the reason I made a school tree was to get my son excited about going...even though he still has a few years...and he's already excited because he knows his older cousins go to school. And schools have playgrounds. Buuut I digress.

Read in Billy Mays' voice: But wait, there's more!

I am going to do my first ever TWP (Tutorial Within a Post). This is big stuff, guys!

I didn't want to get all tinsel-y with my tree, so I chose to use a burlap garland (found at Michael's), but I wanted it to be very full and ruffly, so this is what I did.

I got 3 rolls of burlap garland.

And some twine.

Put tape around the end of the twine and thread it through the burlap garland every 1"-1.5" inches. Then just bunch up the burlap as tight or loose as you want.

And the end result is some ruffly burlap goodness.

 

Thanks for listening to my wacky ideas!!

Bedroom Urn

Hey guys! How is everyone doing? I can honestly say this is the busiest I have ever been this time of year. Everyday I plan on getting so much stuff done, but before I realize it, the day is over. Happens every.single.day. But I did manage to give the urn in my bedroom a makeover.

Remember this guy?

Well, the color just wasn't working for me anymore. Back in my shabby chic days, this guys was decked out with faux roses...

...but that just won't work for my beachy room. I was going back and forth with what I wanted to do, but in the end I decided to paint it Heirloom White. I didn't do any distressing since the shelf it sits on has a coat of wood stain and I wanted it to stand out a little.

While the paint was drying, I balled up some newsprint paper and used tape to secure it all together. It really doesn't get any more high tech than that, folks!

Then I plunked the paper ball into the urn and glued a bunch of moss to it. One of my guy friends said it looked like I was trying to grow something. Uhhhh, so not the look I was going for!! But I'm hoping my crafty bloggy friends will get it! =)

It wasn't looking super beachy, so I went ahead and painted a little starfish (from Michael's) the same blue as my headboard and the coral in my room. I painted over it with some watered-down brown paint so it wasn't so bright, then glued on some twine and tied it around the urn.

 And here it is on the shelf...

I looks much more fresh and updated now.

And here is a 'before' shot for comparison.

I think my next project will be replacing the shell picture. I'm just not totally feelin' it. I have something in mind, so stay tuned =)

Dining Room Table

Back when I lived in NJ 3 years ago, I needed a small dining room table, but was on a tiny budget so I decided to make my own table. I wanted something unique, yet easy to put together. After some brainstorming, I decided on using a ginormous planter for the base (I hope I didn't lose you already!), and after searching and searching, I found the one below on the Home Depot website.

 

I didn't have the means to cut a piece of wood myself, so I bought this 3' radius piece of wood at Home Depot. Since I was going for unique-on-a-small-budget look, I decided to paint the wood to look like marble (I wish you could see the detail - it looks much better in person) and I used some type of resin (found at Michael's) to give it a super glossy look.

 The table worked out well back then, but honestly, it's just not my style anymore and it only comfortably seated 3. I still love the shape of the base, but it was just too Old World for me, so I brought out the spray paint and gave it a few coats.

Note to self: If something has been in storage for 3 years, make sure to wipe it down before spray painting!

 This part below is my fave because it reminds me of a pumpkin!

 After the paint dried, I gave it a coat of Minwax Dark Walnut stain to match the tabletop I showed you guys a few months back.

Aaaaand, this is what it looks like now:

 I love how the details show up so much more now. Yeah, and uh, just forget you see all those spots I missed.

My inspiration for the tabletop was actually a picnic table. I wanted it to look kind of rustic, but the glossy finish of the polyurethane takes it up just a notch.

Another note to self: Clean crumbs off of table before taking pictures.

And yes, that is a candelabra with no candles. And yes, I plan on getting some candles one of these days.

=)

Linking Up Here:






 

Half-Bedroom Reveal

 Alright, I finally have something to show you guys! But it's just a half-bedroom reveal because...well...the other side of the room is still filled with boxes. I know, I know, I've been here for 3 weeks and this place should be put together, but I've been taking a lot of time out to take Elijah around so he can get used to the area because moving from California to New Jersey is quite a change!

So, onto the room. If you are new here or you just don't remember, I'm goin' for a casual coastal cottage look, so lots of blue and white.

 

 I don't even know where to begin with this crazy shelf. See, I have this stud finder that doesn't really find studs. Well, it will beep like it found a stud, but then when you put it in the same exact place, it will show that there is no stud, so you check 3 inches away from that spot and it will show that the stud is really there. Needless to say, there are quite a few large holes hiding behind that shelf.

 I'm not so sure if I want to keep this urn here or replace it with something else. If I do keep it, I will be sprucing it up so that it looks a little more coastal, but I will have to sleep on it...er, under it.

 Since I'm going for a casual look, I decided to hang the pictures, with twine, from the pegs on the shelf, rather than hanging them with nails.

The picture of the seashells came from The Graphics Fairy. I tweaked the color a little bit, then cut it out and backed it with some burlap to match the framed starfish.

I bought the duvet cover from Target when it was on sale for $14.99 (for a king size!!). We'll see how long it stays white with my toddler who loves to jump on the bed and make a course with his monster trucks.

 The 2 bedside lamps are from Ikea and I just love them!! At $40 each, they aren't necessarily a bargain, but they sure are cheaper than something you would find from Pottery Barn. The round placemats are from Ikea also and I wanna say they are $4 each.

The headboard I made from an Ikea reject door is supposed to fit a queen sized bed, but the room is just too small and I had to go with a full, but I still like how it turned out.

 

On the other nightstand is a few thrift store finds. The books were $1 each and have beachy titles, and the 2 cup thingies were 25 cents each. I haven't done anything with them yet, but I have an idea in mind.

 The curtains were hung the same way as my living room curtains, except I painted the bamboo heirloom white and did a coat of stain so it would match the shelf (totally forgot to take a picture of it!).

The 'curtains' are actually 2 flat sheets I got at a discount store ages ago. They have a floral pattern, which has nothing to do with the beach, but I still love them =)

 And one last picture just because. I'm thinking I need to use a little more glue on the seashell picture!!

=)

 UPDATE: So after I took these pictures, I kept looking at them and feeling like something was missing and I finally remembered I had been planning on hanging some curtains from the shelf.

 

I know they are kinda hard to see, but they are a pair of sheer curtains (think mosquito netting) from Ikea that only cost $5 for the pair. It's a small addition, but I think it kinda ties everything together and softens the look from all the hard lines.

While I was at it, I decided to go ahead and take a picture of the bamboo and curtains.