Honey and Maple Syrup

Accesorizing A Tiered Serving Tray

2011-10-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I am throwing a pumpkin carving party with a sophisticated vibe (no blood and guts here!). The serving plates I am using are silver-looking fancies from the Dollar Tree (Shhh, don't tell my cheap secret! =)), and my galvanized tiered serving tray doesn't quite match, so I had to gussy it up a bit.

I started with some black crepe paper ($1 for 2 rolls at the Dollar Tree), which I secured with tape.

Next, I added a fun, sophisticated ribbon in Halloween colors.

And lastly, I added my 'TRICKS' and 'TREATS' embellishments.

Hmmm, it looks like something is missing. Oh yeah, that would be the brownies and caramel apples that will be piled high on the trays =)

Fall Leaf Wreath

2011-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Man, this whole school thing is really kickin' my butt! I've worked on several projects, but don't even have the time to post them. Sigh. This ones' a quickie though =)

I was inspired by the garland that Stephanie Lynn made, using cheap leaf bunches (.97 at Walmart). I used the orange, yellow, red, and green leaves for lots of variety.

For the frame, I used a little cheapo Christmas wreath from the Dollar Tree (Yes, they already have Christmas stuff).

I took the greenery off and strung the leaves on, then tied the two ends with fishing line. How simple is that?!

Fall Buffet

2011-09-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know about where you live, but it totally feels like Fall here in NJ today. It's rainy with a high of 67 degrees. I have all the windows open and the breeze is a blowin' in. LOVE.

Anyway, I've been a little busy bee decorating for Fall and making Halloween decor (see previous posts), which includes the buffet in my dining room. I'm going for a nice rustic look with pops of green.

This is my new pumpkin from Home Goods. I went there this past weekend to get out of the house, with no intention of buying anything, but this guy had to come home with me.

These are pumpkins I got on clearance last year that I painted white. I stuck them together with toothpicks. It's a little crooked, so I shall dub this the leaning tower of pumpkins =) The 'cloche' is a clock cover that I got while thrifting.

I didn't too much with my candles - just wrapped some fake gooseberry garlands around them.

P.S. That is sawdust on the picture frame - not regular old dust bunnies. Unfortunately, all my wood cutting gets done in the dining room. Not ideal, but it's the only choice I have with apartment living =/ Note to self: clean sawdust before taking pictures.

Halloween Picture and The Whole Ensemble

2011-09-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Onto the last of my Halloween decor...for now. I got this picture frame from Home Goods, but the color wasn't gonna work.

So I painted it black with a gloss poly.

Then I backed it with orange and white striped paper.

Then I stamped 'OCTOBER' on some white paper then stuck it in a bookplate and attached it with some brads.

Next, I stamped a Halloween stamp on white paper then backed it with orange paper and inked the edges with black.

Then I cut '31' out of sparkly black paper.

This is what the whole ensemble looks like.

Love the old time feel this has.

There goes that crow again. He keeps popping up everywhere!

You can see how I made the 'Tricks' and 'Treats' here.

And the pumpkin pedestals can be found here.

This whole setup was very cheap to throw together and I love how it turned out!

Halloween Pumpkin Pedestals

2011-09-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Here's another super simple and cheap idea for Halloween. It starts with 2 candlesticks and 2 mirrors from the Dollar Tree.

Throw in some black glossy spray paint (or follow my lead with some flat black and then glossy poly).

Then top with the mirrors and some cute beaded pumpkins, or candles.

This little guy jumped into my basket at the Dollar Tree and I just couldn't turn him down.

Halloween Tricks & Treats

2011-09-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, before anyone asks, I am aware that Halloween is still almost 2 months away, but I'm just so excited that I can't help myself. I'm planning on having a pumpkin carving party in mid October and I'm trying to get the decor made before I get too far into this school semester. Usually I procrastinate, but I think I've done a 180! Hehehe.

Anyway, I'm planning on a contemporary sophisticated feel for my party since it will mostly be adults. I have no idea what I will do with these 'Tricks' & 'Treats' thingamabobs, but I figured I'll think of something by the time the party rolls around.

So, I started with 2 circles cut out of white paper, and my little set of rubber stamps. I got these lil guys a few years back in the bargain section at 'Tarjay'.

One got stamped with 'Tricks' and one got 'Treats' and the edges got some black ink. Funny story, I actually had to look up the word 'treat' because after staring at it for so long, it started looking weird and I wasn't sure if I spelled it right! Oh come on, you know you've done that before too! =)

Next, I glued the white circles onto some orange circles cut a little bit bigger, and then some orange and white striped paper. I personally like to vary the widths of the layers to add more interest.

The last step was gluing some crepe paper ($1 for 2 rolls at the Dollar Tree!) on the back by ruffling it as I went. At first, I was thinking of using a hot glue gun, but I decided to use Elmer's glue which gave me some time to wiggle it into place before it dried. I bought some really cute ribbon to hang them if I decide that's what I wanna do with them. Super simple and super cheap!

Super Duper Simple Rustic Pumpkin

2011-09-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you guys, but I am SO ready for Fall. Afterall, it is my most fave season. And even though it's still warm and muggy here in NJ, I've got pumpkins and apples and cool, crisp mornings on the brain. I've been patiently waiting for the arrival of Fall, and when September 1st came around, I couldn't hold back the urge to decorate any longer. This brings me to my Super Duper Simple Rustic Pumpkin. I'm actually slightly embarrassed to be writing about this because it is just.that.simple.

First, you start with a ball of twine. I snagged this one from my grandparents' house years ago. It's about 6" tall and 7" wide. Yeah, he's a biggen.

Next, take a big twig or a scrap piece of wood (I dipped mine in stain) and stick it in the hole on the top.

Then stick a fake leaf (Or real. I guess it doesn't really matter) in the top, and there ya have it! A Super Duper Simple Rustic Pumpkin!

I think this would look awesome as a grouping of different sized twine balls! But I'm just sticking it with my pumpkin-from-Home-Goods-that-looks-like-it-came-from-Pottery-Barn-but-was-much-less-expensive.

Living Room Progress

2011-08-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have anything super major to show today, but I did wanna show you guys the progress of my living room. I had originally made frames for my candle sconces out of river reeds, but that lasted all of 3 days before my little 3 year old destroyed them. I kinda sorta had a feeling that was going to happen! I went ahead and made a better, non-destructive (Knock on wood! Yes, that pun was shamelessly intended) solution by cutting a 1x6 in half and framing it out with lattice pieces. I did miter cuts and attached them with 2 black tacks on each end.

The coffee table was a craigslist find. It cost a whopping (<--- totally kidding about the 'whopping' part) $25 buckeroos. The previous owner must've had dogs (or a kid with pica) because some of the corners are gnawed on, but I love the large size of it.

The 3 center pillows and the rug are from Wal Mart. The 2 end pillows are from Ikea. The pillow covers looked much more green and a little less yellow in the store. I'm hoping to get around to tea staining them...someday.

Eventually I'll get around to taking pictures of the other side of the living room, but I'm still workin' on the bookshelves...which is a little ridiculous considering I've lived here for almost a year now. LOL.

Buzz and Woody Painting

2011-08-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

I decided that since Elijah watches Toy Story almost every.single.day, it only made sense that his next birthday should be a Toy Story theme. I also decided my new nickname should be 'the crazy birthday lady' because his birthday isn't even until December and I already have almost everything planned. I just love birthdays! But put some homework in front of me, and all of the sudden, I'm a procrastinator. Funn how that works.

Anyway, I wanted to do another painting like I did for his last birthday with Lightning McQueen, so I found a picture on the internet, printed it out, and drew a grid on it. Like the other painting, I did this one on a canvas drop cloth, by drawing a grid, like the one on the picture, and hand drawing the design.

I somehow completely didn't take any pictures of the process of Woody's face, so let's move right on to Buzz, shall we?

For the skin tone, I bought a paint that was called flesh tone (or something like that), but it was way too peach, so I added just a tad of mustard to warm it up, and then some white to lighten it up. For the light shadows (pictured below), I just added a little bit more of the mustard color.

Next, I added a few contour lines around his eyes and his nose and darkened the shadow on his nose with some brown paint.

Next up were his eyes. In the picture below, you can see how flat they look (and how totally different the pupil sizes are! LOL).

I love this next part - doing the highlights and shadows of the eyes - because it really brings the eyes to life. The big white dot also helps them look a little more realistic.

Now he gets some white highlighting around his cheeks, chin, and brow bone.

And we've got some teeth!!

Here I did some brown shading on the side of his face, added his little chin curlicue, and did some highlights on his eyebrows.

Next, I painted his purple helmet-y thingamabob and did white highlights where needed.

Here I did some blue shading on his teeth and eyeballs. It's subtle, but it really helps to make it look dimensional.

I thought I took some pics of painting his body, but evidently I didn't. You can see where I did did all of the shading and highlighting though. It doesn't look exactly like him, but really I wasn't about to paint every single detail. Maybe in a perfect world =)

In the pic below, you can see how much of a difference the shading and highlighting makes. His hands don't have anything done to them yet and they look very flat.

Moving onto Woody, it's time to do his jeans. I started with a dark blue as the base color. As you can see, I didn't stay in the lines, which is why I like doing the background last in a painting like this. You can be a little sloppy and just come and clean the edges with the background color.

Next, I sponged on a light blue color. It would have been a nightmare staying in the lines if the background was painted already!

His legs still look flat (above) so to give them some dimension, I sponge painted some white on the outside of his legs, and some of the dark blue base color on the inside of his legs. Now his little chicken legs look a little rounded out =)

I was thinkin' his jeans looked a little 80's acid washed-like, so while the paint was still wet, I sponged a tiny bit of water all over to blend the colors a bit. I also made some zig zag 'stitching' with some dark blue and black paint. I didn't take a pic of this, but I highlighted a few of the pleats with white paint.

Here is a pic of Buzzs' bod. The shading is all done with a grayish-blue (I think it's called Heritage Blue?).

For Woody's boots, I did a base of brown. It looks like there is some white paint too, but that's just the reflection of the light on the wet paint.

A little highlighting and shadows. Don't worry, it gets better!

Some bucklage on the boots and more highlights.

I wasn't super happy about the color, so I added a little bit of the mustard color.

Now, onto Woody's hat. What a pain in the butt! I would have loved to scrap the whole thing, but I hear a cowboy without his hat is like a yodel without a hey-he-hoo! So I started with a brown basecoat (lighter brown up top).

Next came some highlighting.

And some dark shadows. It still looks a little wonky, but oh well! =)

For the floor, I used white with Behr's Expedition Khaki. I didn't completly mix the two colors because I wanted the floors to be streaky like wood grain.

I dipped the brush in different spots and did long strokes with the brush.

I also added a little bit of brown for some added dimension.

I didn't like how much the 'cracks' stood out, so I lightly brushed over them with the khaki color.

The last thing I did with the floor was tape off the baseboard and washed some light brown across the edge to give the floors some depth.

For the clouds, I made a small stencil and a large stencil and did a random pattern. I mixed a very small amount of grey with the white so that I could do a bright white for the highlight (not pictured).

I finished off the whole thing with some added detail (like Buzzs'plastic helmet and the blue wings on his chest). Also did a little bit of a shadow under their feet so it didn't look like they were floating.

Ok, now I'm officially super excited for his birthday!! So, did I convince you to try painting something like this?

Wall Color - Behr's Sea Rover

Pain In The Butt Project (A.K.A Cedar Chest)

2011-07-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

So, I bought this cedar chest off of craigslist, thinking it would be a great project to refinish and sell for more, but it ended up being the worst.project.ever. Why, you ask? Because it had a veneer top that was starting to peel and I thought it would be easy enough to take off. WRONG!! It seriously took WEEKS to finish. I even googled how to take off veneer and found that you should iron over a wet towel and peel it off. Don't get me wrong - that did help, but it still was a LOT of work.

This is my best before shot. To be honest, I was feeling way too lazy to move it so I could get a good shot, so this is what you are stuck with =)

I originally wanted to stain it, but there were so many gouges from my lovely handiwork on the top, that I had to paint. I did one coat of off white paint and then sanded the heck out of it.

The top turned out a little funky since it was plywood, but I figure I'll just put a runner on it to cover it up.

I thought it looked alright at this point, but I wanted it to look a tad bit more cohesive, so I did a coat of Dark Walnut stain over the paint.

Here you can see the difference the stain makes. It really adds to the old, worn look.

And here she is all finished. I just threw on the accessories for the photos, but I'm not quite sure what I'll do with it. I'll def be doing something to that pot 'cause the whole terra cotta look is not workin' for me.

I originally wanted to do something with the handles when I was planning on staining it, but after painting it I decided the handles look perfect.

So, I know I said I was planning on selling this thing to make some money off of it, but after all the work I did, I feel the need to keep it. I know that sounds strange, but there's gotta be someone out there who understands!

Painted American Flag

2011-07-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

So, I realize I missed the 4th of July boat with this one, but who says ya can't show off the American flag all year round?

To make my flag, I started with a 12" wide pine board (which is actually 11.25" and I really don't understand why they say it's 12". I'm feelin' a little jipped!). I cut the board down to 16" and painted it white. Next came the dreadful task of trying to figure out how wide each stripe should be. Let's just say that 13 does not go into 11.25 evenly! And if that wasn't bad enough, next I had to figure out the spacing of the stars. Bring out the Excedrin 'cause math is always sure to give me a headache!

First, I painted the red stripes.

Then the blue.

And then distressed.

And then stained.

What's that? You think I forgot about the stars? No way, silly head! Not after all that measuring! If you look at the photo before the distressing, you will notice little holes where the stars should be. Those are for the thumbtack stars!

Yes, I seriously used thumbtacks as stars =)

And there ya have it! How to make your own flag. But if you are totally feeling like you don't want to get a headache from all the measuring, leave it up to me and check out my Etsy listing on the sidebar. Shameless plug, I know =)

Cheap, Cute and Easy Toy Storage

2011-06-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have no problem having toys in my living room...as long as they're hidden. But unfortunately, most of the toy storage solutions you see in the stores are bright, primary colors or are plastered with super heroes or blue train engines. Mmm, yeah, not gonna work in my living room!

Instead, I bought this plain pine toy box off of craigslist.

The End.

Just kidding. There was no way I could leave it like that! Unfortunately, it had a very think coat of poly on it, so I decided to paint rather than stain. It got 2 coats of my beloved Lucky Bamboo by Behr (say that 5 times fast!), but still needed more, so I decided to slap a compass on the front. Oh, if only it was that easy. As I've mentioned before, I despise math and figuring out angles and all that oh-so fun stuff, but I started by finding the center and then worked from the outer ring in. My set of glass mixing bowls worked like a charm as my circle templates. Super handy that you can see through them.

I painted the background white (and in case you were wondering, yes it was a pain in the booty getting paint in the grooves).

Next, I painted the points in 2 contrasting browns.

I then hand painted the letters, which turned out a little wonky, but it adds charm...ahem.

And that thing in the center? Yeah, that's supposed to be a globe. But once again, wonky = charm. One trick I've learned to cover up wonkiness is a little bit of sanding. You'll thank me for this tip someday.

So, at this point it was lookin' pretty cute, but those feet just had to go.

They were made from blocks of wood and had some poly drippage goin' on.

My solution? Outdoor fence finials (found in the lumber section of Home Depot). Pretty cute for being less than $3 bucks a pop.

A little paint and stain later and I had myself a toy storage solution that actually doesn't look like a toy storage solution.

I love the feet!! They make it look a little more like a piece of furniture than just a plain ol' box.

The ugly original handles got the boot and were replaced with some rope from Lowe's. I paid around $3 bucks for 5'.

So folks, I am here to tell you that it is possible to have a house that doesn't look like it's run by a bunch of crazy kids who have waaaaay too many toys. Although I can't guarantee the toys will stay in the toy box that you slaved over for days trying to make it look super cute to match the rest of your decor.

4th of July Inspiration

2011-06-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, 4th of July. Makes me think of yummy food, amazing fireworks, and spending time with family. I secretly wish I lived back in the 60's because I imagine people would have these awesome block parties where everyone knows everyone else, which makes me think of that scene in The Sandlot where they are running through the block party on the 4th.

Anyone else have a MAJOR crush on Benny?

Is it bad that I still think he's super duper cute? Haha.

Anyway, I'm so totally getting off track. Back to the 4th of July. I gathered a few festive pics from Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens.

First up, an old-time feel:

(So simple, yet so pretty)

Dressing up your patio/deck and table:

(So easy to make and MUCH less expensive than buying bunting)

(How adorable is that tablecloth?)

Some fun paper crafts:

(LOVE the new papers with the worn buckets!)

(This looks so simple to make!)

(These are place cards that also serve as hats! Fun idea, but I'm not quite sure I would wear one, haha)

And if you wanna go with more of a formal look:

I have a banner that I've been working on. Guess I better hurry since the 4th is right around the corner!

New Paintings!

2011-06-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy little bee lately, trying to get stuff painted to sell on Etsy. A few things have been absolute FAILS (although I don't like giving up on projects and will prob try and rework them), but I was successful with a few little paintings that I like to refer to as my 'insect series' (don't worry, it's not as icky as it sounds!).

Ok, now I've gotta ask a favor of you techie people. Can anyone tell me how to link up my Etsy page to my blog? I totally suck at doing that kind of stuff!

Until I can figure it out, you can click here. I can't even guarantee it will get you to my shop. Yeah, that's how terrible I am!

Green Dresser: Take 2

2011-06-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Remember this dresser?

Well, it was just a tad bit too small for the area and for my storage needs, so I found this guy on craigslist.

Not the prettiest, but it's solid wood, which is a huge plus in my book. It's so hard to find solid wood furniture at a decent price nowadays.

I painted it my fave green, Behr's Lucky Bamboo, with a coat of Minwax Early American.

I replaced these old, shabby handles...

with some jute rope.

I wasn't in love with the curvature on the top drawer, so I took it out, removed the top piece of moulding, painted the inside of the dresser, and replaced the drawer with 2 baskets.

I think the scale of this dresser is much better compared to the old one.

But as much as I love this dresser, I'm already thinking of replacing it with something else! Egads!!

Train Painting

2011-05-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a great tutorial on how to paint a train, you will be sadly disappointed here because I totally suck at taking pictures when I'm in a 'painting zone'.

What I can say though, is that I've been wanting to paint a train for a while now (I guess that's what happens when your kid is obsessed with Thomas!), but I had no clue what to paint, so I googled images of trains and took a little bit from each picture that I liked and turned it into my own creation.

I ended up painting a steam engine, 1 freight car, and a caboose, with a total length of 3 feet. I originally wanted to make it look like they were all coupled (I admit I only know that term from watching Thomas day after day after day), but the problem was that the back of the steam engine sticks out, so I would have had to paint that part on the piece of wood with the freight car, which I didn't want to do. Instead, I centered each painting on the wood and labeled it with a figure number.

But no piece of mine would be complete without some distressing and stain!

Here are the pics of the finished product:

If interested in purchasing your own set of train paintings, shoot me an email for more info =)

Or you can check out my etsy listing here.

Another Green Picture Frame

2011-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

A while back, I made this picture frame from a thrift store frame and beach mat and I finally decided it was time to do something with it.

I took some pictures of Elijah a few weeks ago in front of an old abandoned blacksmith shop. I just loved the bricks and vines climbing up the walls. Then I found a coupon to Walgreens for a free 8x10 picture, so I went ahead and got this picture printed out...for FREE!!!

Then I hot glued this old magnet, that I found at my grandpa's house, right onto the beach mat.

Last thing I did was tape the picture with double-sided tape to a piece of cardstock cut to size, and I clipped it on the magnet.

I love the combo of all the different materials =)

Bamboo Table Runner

2011-04-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

I got this bamboo table runner from the bargain section at Target about a year ago.

I just love the look of bamboo, but I really wasn't crazy about the color because it was just a tad bit too orange for me. I knew I would never use it given the color so I decided to change it up a bit.

It had a stain from some lotion I accidentally spilled on it, so I gave that part a light sanding and it took the stain right out. Then I just stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut. That's the same color I stained my tabletop, but I was actually going for a subtle look, so it worked out perfectly. It still stands out since the finish is flat, but the table has a glossy finish.

I even stained the cloth border so it would match.

I just love all the different textures and finishes on the table, and now the candleless candelabra is anchored and doesn't look like some random object that got thrown on the table =)

Don't ya just love an easy fix?

I Gots Me a New Plant!

2011-03-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

Remember when I showed you guys this pic a while back?

And I said I desperately wanted a plant for the corner?

Well, I finally got one and I love it!!

I got this puppy from Walmart for under $10 bucks.

I love the wispy foliage.

And I think it's fits right in in it's new home.

And the bamboo ladder? It got a new home just a couple of feet away. The dining room is open to the living room and the ladder provides a great visual distinction between the two rooms.

Now, who wants to place bets on how long I can keep my beloved plant alive? It's already been a week and it's still alive and kickin', but I've never been know to have a green thumb.

Wish me luck!

Entryway Gallery

2011-03-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

My entryway was seriously lacking some personality and I knew something needed to be done about it. I don't know about you guys, but I've gotten lots of pictures taken of Elijah and never did anything with them, so it just made sense to put them up so that nobody would be confused as to what's most important to me, right when they walk in my door, ha ha.

There's no tutorial here. I just measured and hung, and even though I used a lazer level, I still managed to hang the frames crookedly.

And here's a closeup.

And a super duper uber closeup.

Canister Labels

2011-03-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to add a little oomph to the canisters on my kitchen counter for a while now, but wasn't quite sure what route I wanted to take.

I was thinking of doing vinyl, but that wasn't an original idea, and let's just face it, I like being a little different.

Inspiration finally struck when I found these bad boys (well, I should probably call them 'girls' since they are so totally feminine) at Michael's.

At $2 bucks a pop, they were a little more than what I was wanting to spend (yeah, I'm a cheapskate), but the end result made it worth it to me.

The color wasn't going to work in my kitchen, so I spray painted them espresso brown.

And while I waited for them to dry, I got out my little stamp set and stamped the words onto brown packaging paper (Love that stuff! So versatile!).

(Yeah, it took a few trial runs)

I then cut out the cheap, plastic wannabe glass and added the labels.

I glued some twine to the back, hung them, then called it a day!

I'm diggin' the eclecticism of the fancy frame and shiny sheen with the natural jute and rugged stamped letters.

Oh, and while I was at Michael's, I also picked up some of these bad boys...er, girls. Love love LOVE the ruffles!

I hope I inspired you to pick some up and create something unconventional with these picture frames!

Fabric Flower Necklace

2011-02-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

I've had this cute little makeup bag for quite some time, but just recently, my son decided to dump my brand new bottle of foundation all over the inside and it soaked through on the other side of the bag.

I was so upset because I LOVE the pattern on the bag, so I decided to make a necklace out of it!

I started by tracing a few circles on the fabric. I wouldn't recommend using a permanent marker like I did, but it's all I had on hand. Luckily it blends in with the black on the leaves and flowers.

I wanted the circles to resemble flowers, so I made a few stitches in the center of each circle. I've seen other people do that and it looks great, but mine turned out kinda wonky =)

It was looking a little plain, so I cut out some burlap circles, slightly bigger than the flower patterned fabric, and did the same wonky stitching.

For the 'stamen', I used rhinestone brads, which also held all the fabric together.

Next, I glued the flowers onto a piece of white felt to hold it all together and then I trimmed the excess felt.

The next step was attaching the chain. I used a jump ring on either side of the necklace that I attached to both the felt and the burlap to make sure it was very secure.

And there ya have it! A cute a simple necklace.

If you have an old article of clothing that you love, don't throw it away!! Just make a necklace =)

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm a little late with this, but Happy Valentine's Day!

My day was started off with Elijah playing his guitar and singing, "My wanna open my present". And I may or may not have eaten way too many homemade frosted, heart-shaped brownies =)

Take Flight

2011-02-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I showed you guys my latest map art, but told you there was more to it, which is what I'm here to show you now.

I started with this ugly picture/picture frame that cost $3 at a yard sale. Like the frames for my map art, I sanded it and stained it Dark Walnut.

For the 'picture' part of it, I cut out the words 'Take flight' with my silhouette and stenciled it onto some burlap. It looked great, but the blue and peach had to go!

I ended up painting the mat warm white and the inside border was painted the same chocolate brown as the 'Take flight'.

I hung the pictures at eye level, but unfortunately the dresser below is kind of on the short side. I'm thinking it will look fine once I put more accessories on the dresser though. Oh, and the pictures aren't crooked; I just desperately need another kind of camera lens =)

And here's one more picture just because I had it and didn't want to waste it, ha.

Inexpensive Placemats

2011-02-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for some placemats for quite a while now, but have had a difficult time finding something that was both inexpensive and something I actually liked. With no luck, I pretty much gave up until about a week ago when Elijah was playing with some cork tiles (as in the kind of cork you post notes on with thumbtacks), and I had one of those 'lightbulb' moments.

They are the perfect size and the price wasn't bad either. I got mine from Michael's and I wanna say they were $12 for a 4-pack, but of course I used a 40% off coupon.

I LOVE the deep chocolate color.

Warning: Objects in pictures are darker than they appear.

And the texture is wonderful! Do they remind anybody else of brownies? Sorry, I've been totally craving brownies and I'm making some tonight for Valentine's Day, so I have brownies on the brain =)

FYI: My lovely dishes are from the Dollar Tree! Aren't they awesome? I've been looking for plates like that for so long and I'm so happy I found them for a buck a piece!

More Map Art

2011-02-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I wanna show you guys what I've been up to, but it's a work in progress, so keep that in mind when you see the 'final' product.

So you guys probably know by now that I have a love for maps, and even though I already have some map art in the dining room, I decided to do some more on the opposite wall. At first, I was debating if I should do more map art, but the wall this art is on is actually a walkway to the living room, so I figured the 2 sets of maps wouldn't compete with each other.

I started with these 2 oak frames with oh-so lovely hunting pictures:

I sanded them down and stained them Dark Walnut, and instead of putting the hunting pictures back (haha), I used this awesome map from Kate's Paperie.

I used the cardboard insert to trace a rectangle from each hemisphere, making sure it was centered, and popped them into the frames.

I'm so happy with how they turned out! They are going to go on either side of another piece of art I am going to make, so you'll have to check back to see the finished product =)

TIP: To create more of a casual look, leave the glass out of the frame.

Valentine's Day Banner

2011-01-27T12:23:00.003-08:00

I've never really been into Valentine's Day, but but something about having a kid brings out the kid in you again, and I thought it would be fun to make a Valentine's Day banner.

I started with a 24-pack of paper doilies that I got from the grocery store for $1.

I looked through my scrapbook paper stash and found this pink plaid. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I buy pretty scrapbook papers and then do nothing with them because I love them so much and don't wanna cut them up. I know, it totally doesn't make sense (recognizing you have a problem is the first step to recovery though, right?), but I figured if I use the paper for my banner, at least I would get to see it once a year.

I found this cookie cutter in my stash o' stuff and traced hearts onto the pink plaid paper then cut them out.

Then I glued them to the doily hearts.

Next, I cut out 'BE MY VALENTINE' with my silhouette machine and glued the letters onto the hearts.

I then decided to use two tags to separate the words.

I glued some of the green paper on so that it covered most of the tags. Then, using the plaid paper, I cut out 'XOXO' and Feb. 14' with my silhouette machine. I added some pink ribbon between the green and white to give it a finished look.

I wanted to cover up the holes in the tags and also wanted to add some bling, and these rhinestones were perfect for the job.

Ahh, much better!

Lastly, I placed some random rhinestones on the letters and hot glued it all onto some pink velvet ribbon.

I love how it turned out!

It kinda has a Rachel Ashwell shabby chic vibe to it.

Yeah, the XOXO is totally crooked! Haha.

The Start of a Vanity

2011-01-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

Remember how I showed you guys half of my bedroom a while back? Well, I'm ready to show half of the other half. Why can't I show you the whole half, you ask? Because that's where all of the things I don't know what to do with are hiding. Like, my turtle I made out of plaster and a basket for one of my art classes years ago. Seriously, what on earth am I supposed to do with that! I just don't have the heart to throw Frank away (yeah, I seriously named him!).

Anyway, I'll get to the other half of the half someday, but for now, I'll just have to settle with showing you the half of the half where my 'vanity' resides. I still need to add a few things, but this is my start.

On the left side of the desk is my candlestick pedestal. I just picked out some of my beachy colored jewelery that I could display for some added color. I also threw in some pink, which I so was not planning on adding to the mix of colors for my room, but it sorta made it's why in with my curtains (which have pink roses on them, which has absolutely nothing to do with the beach). But I guess that's why I claim to have an eclectic style.

Right next door to the candlestick pedestal is this candle. Well, the candle is inside of this container, but you know what I mean. Isn't it purdy?

On the other side is this mirror my mom bought for me when we went to Mexico years ago. It cost $25. About a year after our trip, I was browsing a little gift shop in California and came across the same exact mirror. It cost $125. Moral of the story: things are much cheaper in Mexico!

The desk itself was something my dad bought years ago at a garage sale for only $25 bucks. I've always loved it, so my dad let me take it with me to NJ.

Look at the awesome handles! Love!!

And of course no beachy room is complete without a staged beach bag brimming with sandals and a beach towel. But considering there is snow on the beaches here, that bag will be sitting there for quite a while.

I also have a silver tray front and center on the desk. Not sure if it will stay since it's a little stuffy for the casual beachy look I'm goin' for, but I needed something to fill up the space for my lil' photo shoot.

The little bench is the vanity bench I made a while back and the little drawer sitting on top of it was a $5 find I got a while back.

I definitely am going to add some more beachy stuff to this area, so stay tuned. And maybe one of these days I'll be able to show you the other half of the half.

Moss Thingamabobs

2011-01-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have a super duper simple project to share with you guys today that takes maybe all of 10 minutes to do.

Remember these little guys I purchased from the thrift store for .25 cents each?

Well, they were looking a little plain on my bedside table, so I picked up a bag of assorted styrofoam balls at the Dollar Tree for - you guessed it - a dollar!

You want the balls to be a little bit smaller than the containers you will be putting them into.

Next, I took some leftover moss (from my bedroom urn project) and hot glued it on the styro balls (which is why you want the balls to be smaller so there will be room for the moss).

I just popped them in their new homes without attaching them (although I don't know how long that will last with a curious 3 year old). I love the bright green of this moss. It adds so much color to my bedside table.

Can someone tell me what those silver holders are for? I bought them in the kitchen section, but have no clue what they are for.

For Knockoff Lovers

2011-01-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves a good knockoff, right? Well, I discovered a site, called Knock Off Decor, dedicated to showcasing knockoffs!

If you head on over, you might just see my PB Airplane Panels.

River Reed Frames

2011-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

Behind my sofa, I have a print of a leafy, tropical tree that I absolutely love, but it just wasn't taking up enough room. I decided to flank it with with some candle sconces, but I wanted to frame them to give it a cohesive look. Since I have a 'thang' for bamboo, I got a pack of river reeds from Michael's. It looks just like bamboo, but is smaller and easier to cut.

At first, I was trying to cut them at 45 degree angles, but it was proving to be too much of a pain, so I did a straight cut and glued the top and bottom pieces directly on top of the side pieces.

Since it's so lightweight, I was able to just nail them into the wall.

I really wanted to back them with a beach mat, but I didn't have enough for both of them.

And I still need to get candles. But overall, I'm diggin' the look. It takes up more room and makes much more of an impact now.

New Seashells

2011-01-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

I made a quick little change in my bedroom and I think it looks SO much better.

I started out with these seashells I printed out from the graphics fairy...

But I knew they wouldn't be staying for long. I ended up painting a seashell blue, and adding Minwax Early American, and then gluing it to the burlap background. Even though I like the seashell print, I think this fits the look I was going for much more.

And here's a little before shot for comparison. I think the urn on the shelf looks so much better too.

The Power of Paint On A Picture Frame...And A Question

2011-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I bought an unfinished picture frame at Michael's and attached a wood applique (which may or may not totally be the same applique I used on my medallion wall plaque), which I painted green, but the color just wasn't working with my new color scheme.

What was that? You wanna see a closeup of the picture? The little chunker in the front would be yours truly and the other two are my sisters.

So anyway, I just painted it the same blue as my headboard and distressed it with Minwax Early American and changed out the picture with one of my sweet angel.

Isn't he so adorable? =)

I had to throw in this picture to show you guys the difference between the picture frame and the window frame. Same paint color. Same stain. Yet they look so different because the picture frame has more stain. I'm thinkin' when the weather warms up, I'm going to add some more stain to the window frame to get more of a steel blue.

So now my question is do you guys like the bigger pictures on this post or the smaller pictures on all of my other posts?

Dining Room Map Art

2011-01-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Before I moved to New Jersey, I got 2 cupboard doors from the reject section at Ikea.

I had no clue what I would do with them, but at $4 each, I couldn't pass them up.

I finally decided they would look great in my dining room and I remembered that I bought an awesome calendar of vintage maps from a museum in NY. I got it years ago with the intention of framing them, but I knew 2 of the maps would be perfect for this project.

I originally wanted to somehow cover the front panel of the doors, but after failed attempts at painting them (I totally forgot to use primer so the paint just wiped off) and using burlap, I realized they looked better as is, so I just taped the maps on with double-sided tape.

They looked great, but I wanted to add a little bit more to the mix, so I picked up one of these shelf brackets from Ikea ($3) and stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut.

I attached the bracket to the wall inbetween the maps and rigged a lantern to the bracket, using wire, a washer, and a bead (the bead is just a temporary solution).

I just love this lantern!! I bought it on clearance at Cost Plus a few summers ago because I loved the patina... and I just love lanterns!

And here you can see it in relation to where the airplane panels are.

The bamboo ladder is there temporarily until I get a plant for that corner.

I'm thinkin' something tropical-looking, like this plant from Ikea:

We Have a Winner!!

2011-01-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

I know I said I would pick a winner for the CSN gift card on the 30th, but it just didn't happen. If you read my previous post, you know I had some issues getting back to NJ. I ended up spending time with my family on the 30th and didn't have a chance to pick a winner, then yesterday we finally flew back home. Of course it didn't happen without issues. We boarded our connecting flight in MN and after about 15 minutes of us just sitting there, they announced that we had to get off the plane so they could change one of the tires. They made us wait in the freezing jetway for about 15 minutes before letting us back in the gate. When we finally boarded again, we still had to wait about another 25 minutes before taking off. We spent our New Year's in the airplane, but at least I had a handsome man (Elijah) to smooch at midnight =)

I had so much fun reading what you guys would buy with the gift card and was so happy that most of you said you would spend it on yourself. I wish I could pick all of you, but unfortunately I don't make the rules, so without further ado, the winner is....

Comment #1

Kristin M

(Shoot me an email, Kristin, and I will give you the info you need)

I swear I used random.org to get the result, but I don't know how to show it on the post. Can anyone teach me? I'm sooo bad with computers!

Overstock.com Discount!

2011-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, how is everyone doing? I hope better than me! Ok, maybe I'm being slightly dramatic, but the snow in New Jersey threw quite the wrench in my travel plans. I was supposed to fly back on Monday, but knowing there were weather issues, I called Delta before leaving for the airport to make sure my connecting flight was not cancelled. They said it was still heading out, so I went ahead and made the first flight to Salt Lake City. First thing I did was go to the flight board only to see that my flight had been cancelled! Great, stuck at the airport with a toddler and a limited supply of diapers! After a few hours of talking to Delta agents and my dad, we finally decided I would stay the night in a hotel and fly the next day to Chicago and then Pittsburgh, and then rent a car and drive about 5 hours home. Sounds crazy, but it was either that or stay at the airport for 5 days!! Unfortunately, Elijah's dad bursted my bubble when he told me PA doesn't plow their roads right away and he thought it would be too dangerous for me to drive. Alright, onto plan B. Since Elijah's dad works for an airline, he gave me all the lingo to use to get them to fly me back to Sacramento and then to Newark, but they told me I would have to pay for both flights and I would not get reimbursed for the cancelled flight. Ugh! The agent who helped me was fairly nice, but the agent next to her was...well, let's just say she wasn't very nice. My dad ended up calling Delta since he used his frequent flier miles to get Elijah's and my tickets and he finally convinced them to take care of both flights. What an ordeal!!

Anyway, I was so extremely frustrated by the whole experience, but I was very excited when I checked my email and saw that overstock.com had contacted me about offering my readers a 10% discount! I'm sure you guys have all heard about them or seen their commercials on tv, but in case you haven't, they offer a huge array of items from area rugs to bookcase to fashion jewelry and everything inbetween!

Here are a few things I am drooling over:

Love this awesome graphic rug!

I love the color of this bookcase!

Lovin' big rings at the moment because they make my fat fingers look small. I love this ring!

You guys have to go check it out because there really is something for everyone.

So once you find all the goodies you want, just enter this code for your 10% discount: 121745
The code never expires, but you can only use it once per email address.
The code cannot be used for books, movies, or electronics, BUT there is a code for free shipping for electronics: 202234

Happy shopping Everyone!!!

All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

I thought I would include a picture of my handsome Santa baby. Does anyone else find it extremely hard to get a good photo shoot with a toddler? Well, at least this picture makes me laugh =)

Oh, and I almost forgot to remind you guys of my CSN gift card giveaway. You have until December 30th to hop on down to the previous post and leave a comment!

Time For Another Giveaway!!

2010-12-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

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.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2010-11-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Aaaaaaaaand, the winner of the $35 CSN gift card is..................drum roll, please..................comment #23 (I'm so lame with computers and didn't know how to get the random generator to show up), which is Kait from Snap Happy Mama. Send an email my way and I can give you your gift!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered!!

In other news, I'm getting very close to being able to show you my room...or I might just shove all the boxes to one side and show you half of my room =)

Giveaway Reminder

2010-11-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to leave a comment so you can be in the drawing for a $35 gift card for CSN! It ends Monday so get crackalackin!

Dining Room Art

2010-11-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, you guys remember my Pottery Barn airplane knockoff, right?

Well, I knew I wanted it to go in the dining room, but since it's long and skinny, I decided to add a little bit to it so it would make more of a statement.

Before I left California, I had my dad cut out some moulding to make a frame that would be 6" bigger than the panels. I stained it a polyurethaned it the night before the moving truck came! Evidently I really like stressing myself out.

Once I got here to New Jersey, I used corner brackets to hold the frame together. Originally, I was going to use brown packaging paper for the background, but then I decided I should use something a little more heavy duty, so I opted for burlap.

I am so glad I went with the burlap because I LOVE the texture it adds!

So, it's totally overcast today and my dining room already barely gets any natural light. It looks like I took theses pictures with flash. Boooo!

Ready For A Giveaway??

2010-10-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Halloween is just about over which means Christmas is just around the corner. Oh wait, it's my birthday, then Thanksgiving, and THEN Christmas...but I still think it's pretty safe to say that the giving season is here, and to celebrate, the lovely folks over at CSN are giving one of my lucky readers a $35 gift card to use on one of their 200+ websites!!

They have so so much to choose from! Like this barstool that would look perfect in Elijah's cowboy room. But of course they have many more barstools to choose from.

They also have home decor, rugs, cookware, and the list goes on. You can check 'em out here to see all they have to offer.

So how do you enter, you ask? Just become a follower and leave a comment letting me know. You have until Monday, November 8th!

P.S. Due to shipping, this contest is only open to U.S. and Canada.

Good Luck!!!

Lake Lefferts

2010-10-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy little bee trying to get my new place in order and it's gettin' there slowly but surely. I didn't want to leave you guys hangin' though, so I thought I would share some pics of a lake I live by. It's called Lake Lefferts and it is B-E-A-U-tiful during the Fall season. It's right smack dab in the middle of the suburbs and we have to drive over it to get to the park, so today I figured I would actually stop and take some pictures.

There is a little parking lot right off the main road, which is where this path starts.

I found a bunch of acorns that I stuffed in my pockets for a possible craft project. I think my son thought I was nuts. Get it? Ok, so maybe that was a little acorny! Ha, don't stop me now - I'm on a roll!

The end of the path opens up to a grassy hill. Elijah was in heaven!

Yes, that's dried snot on his face.

Over to the left is a cute little gazebo.

These little bad boys were as tall as me!

As I got closer, I saw someone had spray painted graffiti all over. I just want to go and cover it up with a nice fresh coat of paint!

Wouldn't it be great to live on the lake in a cute house?

This last picture is of a house right by where I live. It's so adorable! But everytime I want to take a picture of it, there is someone standing outside, so I had to just do a drive-by snapping (yes, that would be my side view mirror at the bottom of the pic).

I'm gonna try and take a better picture of this house because it's SO adorable, but I just don't have the guts to take one knowing there are people inside.

Would you take a picture if people were home or are you a chicken like me?

I'm Alive and I've Got New Curtains

2010-10-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

I would love to tell you guys that the drive from California to New Jersey was the best road trip imaginable, but it wasn't. It was long. And tiring. And my butt hurt from sitting so long. But at least I can cross it off of my bucket list now =)

I would also love to tell you guys that my place looks fab and everything is put away, but the truth is that there are still boxes everywhere. I'm just waiting for the unpacking elves to pay me a visit in the middle of the night so I will wake up to a box-free apartment. Yeah, I've been waiting about a week now and they still haven't shown up! So, while I wait for the boxes to be cleared out of here, I figured I would at least show you the curtains in my living room.

About a year ago, I did a post about my mom sewing some burlap curtains for me.

Don't worry, I don't expect you to remember because I had about 2 followers back then which I think were my sister and my mom. Did you realize I said a year ago? Yep, that's where I get my procrastination from! Love ya mom =)

I also did another post a while back about a teaser where I showed you this pic:

Throw in a little espresso brown spray paint and I've got a new window treatment!

I knew I wasn't going to be able to find any curtain rings big enough to fit around the bamboo, so I got a bunch of 4" embroidery hoops, spray painted them to match the bamboo, and used thin wire to attach some curtain clips from Ikea to the hoops. Originally, I wanted to stain the bamboo and embroidery hoops, but I couldn't get them to match, so I just painted them.

As I've mentioned before, my math skills are horrible and I ended up hanging the curtains a few inches too low (you can see the door frame at the top of the curtains), but I love the way the curtains pool at the bottom, so I was able to forgive myself for stinking at math.

In case you were wondering what was going on above the window treatment, I got these clocks years ago at Ikea (I think $9.99 each and I wanna say they still sell 'em) and I had typed up cute labels with different countries and showed the different times. 2 of them got lost in storage and all I have to show is now Tokyo. Guess I'll be making some new ones!

Road Trip!!

2010-10-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm starting my loooong drive from Cali to New Jersey tomorrow and I will be cut off from the world for a few days. My laptop is broken so I have to wait to get that fixed before I can do anything blog related ::sniff sniff::.

See ya guys soon!

#1

2010-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! My Ballard Designs Medallion Wall Plaque knockoff made first cut over at the CSI Project!

You can check out all the other fun projects here!

PB Knockoff Airplane Panels

2010-10-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Have you guys seen these airplane panels in the PB catalog?

When I saw them, I fell in love and knew I needed to recreate the look for less since they were $299.

PB's version is 2x8, but I went ahead with a 1x4 pine board and cut it into (4) 12'' boards, then painted them off white.

Next, I took a scrap piece of newsprint paper and measured out (2) 12'' squares, then using PB's version as a guide, I sketched half of the airplane.

You don't have to draw the details, but I find it helpful to make sure the scale is right.

Next, I outlined it with a black marker and cut it out.

I traced it onto 2 panels, then flipped it over and traced it onto the other 2, then I drew in all the details.

(Sorry for the picture quality, but you can't see the pencil marks if the pic is lightened)

These are the colors I used.

I used PB's version as my guide when painting. I think the key is to stipple the paint so you get an aged look.

Here it is with everything painted.

(Please excuse my piggly wigglies in the picture)

Next, I took a sander to all the edges and on some random spots on the boards...

And stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut.

The left board is with stain. Right is without.

And here she is all finished...

And PB's version for comparison...

I love love love how it turned out, but I'm thinking I might do another coat of stain so it looks more aged like PB's.

UPDATE: So right after I posted this, I went ahead and did another coat of stain. Usually, I am pretty conservative with distressing because I'm afraid I'll ruin it, but I'm glad I took my chances with this one. I hope you can see the difference in the pictures!

Pin It

I'm linking up to:

Sunset

2010-10-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I should soooooooo be packing right now, but I swear I've been packing all day and I'm just taking a quick break. K, maybe it hasn't been aaalllllllllllllll day because I didn't even wake up 'til 11!!!! Yeah, that would be the stress kicking in and making me extremely exhausted. Moving across the country is hardcore, I tell ya!

Anywho, I wanted to share some pics I took the other evening because I'm really really going to miss California's B-E-A-U-tiful sunsets. Ok, I'm sure other states have beautiful sunsets too, but just let me have a sentimental moment here.

Alright, back to browsing blogs...er, packing! Hope you guys enjoy what's left of your Sunday night!

Scarecrow in a Corn Field

2010-09-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, I know the other day I wrote a post about how you weren't going to hear much from me for a few weeks since I'm supposed to be packing, but these dang ideas keep flying into my head and have nowhere else to go, so I end up obsessing about them until I can't take it anymore and just have to make whatever I'm obsessing about. This time it was a scarecrow in a corn field.

Anyway, I was browsing the Silhouette library when I came across a creepy silhouette of a scarecrow. I bet he's actually a really cute scarecrow in person, but that silhouette of his could give ya the chills!

I also came across some corn stalks and thought , what would be creepier than the silhouette of a scarecrow? How about the creepy silhouette of a scarecrow in a corn field!

Now, I have to apologize in advance to people without this machine because I usually like to show projects that would be easy for anyone to make. Of course you can still make this, but it would just require more time and patience and a couple of broken fingers because it just hurts so dang bad to tediously cut out little intricate doodads. I guess now would be a good time to remind you that Christmas is coming up and it would be a great present to ask Santa to bring...unless of course you are on the naughty list ::tisk tisk::

Ok, totally getting off track here.

So, I put the scarecrow and cornstalks together in the Silhouette program and cut it out on black cardstock.

Next, I got an 8x10 canvas panel from Michael's and painted it orange, with a little bit of yellow on the horizon line to make it look like the sun was going down.

After the paint dried, I sprayed the back of the cardstock with spray adhesive and attached it to the front of the canvas.

This was such an easy project and I love how creepy it looks!

It's Almost Here!

2010-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Am I talking about Halloween? Nope. Maybe Fall? Not that either. Oh wait, Fall is here, but you can't tell with the 101 degree weather! But I'm not talking about either of those. What I am talking about is my move!

I know you guys are probably sick of hearing about it, and honestly, I'm sick of talking about it. I just want to get it over with already! Less than 2 weeks to go before we pack up the moving truck and embark on our journey across the U.S.

So having said that, I just wanted to let you guys know that things will probably be quiet over here for the next few weeks while I finish packing up and set out for the looooooooong drive. But when I'm back, I promise I will have LOTS to show you guys, so please stick around.

'SPOOKY' Banner

2010-09-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

I wanted to jump on the 'banner' bandwagon, and 'spooky' was the first word to pop in my head, so I just went with it.

I started out by cutting 'spooky' out with my new Silhouette machine. Now, you guys are probably thinking I'm one of those cool people who won one off of one of those even cooler blogs, but sadly I'm not. I wanted one so bad that my mom got me one for an early (very early!) birthday and Christmas present. Woohoo!!

Back to the spookiness, I also cut out some circles from orange and white striped paper. I wanted to back those circles with some black paper, but I ended up just tracing a cd and cutting those out myself so I could really maximize the use of the paper. One thing I'm not crazy about with the Silhouette is that it only accepts paper as wide as 8.5 inches...but besides that, I love it! And I'm not getting paid to say that, although I wouldn't mind if I did ;)

I laid it all out to see how it was looking so far, and I felt it still needed something. Anybody else thinkin' cat eyes for the O's? I also wanted to do orange paper behind the black paper, so I traced a cd again, but cut it out with some heartbeat edge scissors.

I wanted to add a little more detail to the banner, so I printed out a bat outline that I found on the web (get it, web? Ok, that probably wasn't very funny) and I cut out 2 bats on black paper then sprinkled them with some black glitter, and I gave them creepy red eyes.

Next, I glued everything to some black ribbon and called it a day!

I'm loving the glittery cat eyes.

I realized it looks pretty boring on the white wall, so I also took some pics 'on location' to show the different possibilities.

On a weathered fence:

I'm lovin' how it stands out against the wood.

And the bats look so sparkly in the filtered sunlight.

(Oops, I think I missed a spot of glitter!)

Don't those eyes look great in the sunlight?

And a pair of eyes are peering through the fence?

It can also be hung on a tree to greet your party guests:

Cheshire cat, anyone?

The bats look like they are right at home!

So many cool possibilities!

Lil Cowboy Sign

2010-09-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, Elijah kinda sorta has a cowboy themed room. I didn't want to go over the top with the whole cowboy look, but I also wanted people to be able to tell that's it's kinda sorta supposed to be cowboy themed. I felt like the little cowboy print and the old lantern lights weren't quite driving the point, so I decided to go a more obvious route and make a 'Lil Cowboy' sign. That should ensure that there's no confusion!

The first thing I did was type 'Lil Cowboy' in Word and printed it out (each letter was a whole page). Next, I turned the printed side facing down on my green scrapbook paper and traced along the outline of each letter, which transferred the outline onto the scrapbook paper. Would you believe I just discovered that by accident?? I know you guys are probably thinking now that I must live under a rock!

After I had that all cut out, I went to Home Depot and bought a pine board that was 10'' wide and 6' long.

I wanted to add some character to the board so I got this brilliant idea (<--- That would be totally sarcastic) to make it look like planked floors, so I got out some long metal thingy I found in the garage, a flathead screwdriver, and a wood chisel (which is not pictured because I was expecting this would be easy to do with just a screwdriver, but I was oh so wrong!). I marked 3'' in from the top and bottom edge then used the metal thingy I found in the garage as a guide to run the screwdriver and chisel along to create the 'planks'.

TIP: It was easiest to use the corner of the chisel for that part.

Next, I made random vertical lines to make it look like several different boards were running horizontally.

TIP: It was easiest (and I use that term lightly) to use the whole chisel when making these lines because the chisel gets stuck on the wood grain, leaving little divots.

Next thing I did was stained it Early American by Minwax. To make it look a little more realistic, I put a tack in each corner of each plank.

I'm waiting until I move (which by the way is in less than 3 weeks!) before I attach everything, but I laid it all out so you can at least get an idea of how it will look.

I got the iron star from a local flea market and they will be popping up in other places in his room (stay tuned for that!).

I originally inked just the edges of the letters, but it stood out too much, so I went and inked all over them for a rustic look.

This should make for a great little addition to his room!

Persimmon Painting

2010-09-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

I don't have any lame attempt at a tutorial for this painting because I did it two years ago before I started the ol' blog, but it just reminds me of Fall...and eating persimmon cookies!

And I wanted an excuse to link up to the Fall Festival at This Blessed Nest.

Happy Bloggyversary To Me

2010-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

I just realized my bloggyversary was a few days and I wanted to give a BIG thanks to all the people who read regularly and have let me know that someone out there is interested in my projects.

Thanks guys!!! I would hug you all if I could!

Weathered Baskets

2010-09-08T23:43:00.000-07:00

My dad got these baskets as part of a Grey Goose gift set and was planning on giving them away, but I knew I could make something out of them with a little spray paint.

I decided to go ahead and paint them espresso to match my wicker chairs, but I recently decided to put them in my (beachy) room instead.

The dark brown just wasn't gonna cut it, so I figured I would attempt to make them look weathered.

I started by dry brushing a coat of beige paint on the baskets. I should probably note that I didn't look for any inspirational pictures and I decided to just wing it, but looking back, I wish I had some inspirational pictures to make the process easier.

Next, I tried dry brushing on some tan paint.

Still not the look I was going for. I also tried some watered down white paint and that wasn't cutting it either. I finally realized I needed to paint it a little bit lighter than the original brown so there wasn't so much contrast and this is what I ended up with.

I'm thinking of using more of the light brown to cover up some of the light spots - what do you think? Leave it or paint more?

Menu Board

2010-09-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

First, I have to start out by saying that I totally stole this from Stephanie Lynn at Under The Table and Dreaming, and she was kind enough to make the 'days of the week' printable available for everyone to use!

I started with this hot mess from the thrift store:

Yes, those would be flowers, from a calendar or magazine, decoupaged onto some fabric. But before I removed it, I tore the trim off first. Ahhh, how I love dismantling ugliness!

I took absolutely no pictures of the process because it was so straight-forward. I just painted the frame a flat black, glued a piece of scrap burlap to the backing, printed and cut out the days of the week, typed 'MENU' in Word and added a border, then hot glued them onto the burlap.

Super easy!

And super cute!

Restoration Hardware Love With a Little PB Thrown In

2010-09-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

My sis and I went to the mall last weekend to enjoy a little slice of Heaven, er, I mean our fave home stores. I was actually kinda disappointed with Restoration Hardware because I guess they are going for a 'gallery' look, but it looks more like they are in the middle of changing their displays because it looks so bare. I was still able to find a few things that I loved though, and I wanted to share them with you!

I LOVE the mirror in the picture below and I'm a sucker for orchids. I had to really lighten the picture up because it was so dim in there so it's kind of hard to see, but just know that it looked heavenly!

Please excuse the blurriness of this next photo. I think I was so in love that I got the jitters, which explains the blurriness. I think I NEED this table!

Do I even need to explain why I love this?

I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but that wood was to die for! I just heart all of the dings.

Crate? Love! Bundled books with no covers that people in blogland are making for so much cheaper? Love!

I love the warm colors and all the different textures. You won't have to worry about running out of pillows if you are chillin' in this room!

And this would be the last picture I took before someone told me I wasn't allowed to take pictures in there, but I was cool with that since we had already looked through the rest of the store. Take that Restoration Hardware!

And I can't leave Pottery Barn out of the mix since it was right across the way. I only took one picture though since I knew I wasn't supposed to take pictures in there. As much as I would love to say it was a picture worthy of drooling over, it's not. It's one of those things where you wonder what they were thinking.

My guess is they were trying to show that if you take your bedding out of the dryer and you just don't feel like making the bed, you could always throw it all on the tall ladder in your room and save it for later.

Lightning McQueen Painting

2010-09-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

I decided a while back that Elijah would be having a Lightning McQueen birthday since he is pretty much obsessed with the movie, and I knew right away I wanted to paint a mural to use as a focal point. I have a little confession to make though - his birthday isn't until December! It's okay, you can call me crazy. I've already come to terms with that fact. No, but in all honesty, I just wanted to have it done before we move in 5 weeks (is it really only 5 weeks now??).

I was planning on doing a tutorial until I realized that would make for a ridiculously long post that nobody would want to read, so I am just showing you guys how things evolved and then I will point out a few important parts.

First, I started with a 4x5ft drop cloth from Lowe's (I want to say it cost less than $5). I ironed it, but the folds seemed to come right back. It's okay though because the paint flattens it out.

I found an image of Lightning McQueen on the internet (from here on out he will be called LM 'cause it's so much easier to type!), cropped it, then printed it out. I then made a grid on the paper with the lines spaced an inch apart. There was a little bit of ungridded (not so sure that is a real word) space that I just cut off. I then made a grid on the drop cloth, spaced a foot apart, and sketched LM onto the drop cloth the best I could.

TIP: Don't make the lines too dark because they will show through the paint. It's kind of hard to erase the lines so it's better too just draw them lightly.

You could use primer, which would probably give you a better end result, but since I am going to be rolling this up for our move, I decided to skip primer so that the paint wouldn't be too thick.

With this next picture, I had painted the base coat for his body and 2 of the tires. I get a little ADD when I paint and like to skip to some detail because I'm just a tad bit impatient and want to see how things will look, like, now! Hence the reason I painted the headlights and his mouth and did some shading.

He was still looking really funky, so I went ahead and painted his eyes. I had such a hard time getting the right eye color, but it turned out close enough.

Next, I painted the '95' and the base coat for the rims. Just ignore the black splotch under his back tire. I wasn't paying attention and I painted way out of the line ::blush::

Next up was the rim detail and learning that the tire wasn't quite round. Oh, and he also got his lightning symbol.

The picture below shows how extremely crooked I made the line for his hood. I had to go back and repaint it, but you can still see the original line in the finished product. Oops!

The background in the movie is very toned down and hazy so I mixed some blue paint with lots of white to get a good sky color.

I completely forgot to take pics from the last picture to the finish, so here is the finished product!

(Please ignore the totally crooked background and just pretend I did it on purpose to make it look like a hill)

Alright, now for some details!

I think when people think of shadows, they automatically think of black, but that isn't always the case. I actually used a dark, smoky blue. I mixed some black with the blue to use where the shadow meets his body/tires.

I also used a light blue to paint most of his teeth and reserved the bright white for the highlights.

To create a hazy look for the mountains, I just painted sloppily so that I wouldn't get a clean line for the outline. I had some issues with these and think they could use some work, but I am so done painting!

For the plants, I used a spouncer for the dark green and then an itty bitty spouncer for the light green highlights. I also used the little spouncer to create shadows with smoky blue.

For the little plants in the background, I used the small spouncer and made the plants smaller and more condensed as they got closer to the mountains. I also didn't use the light green for highlighting because colors look less vivid the further an object is from you.

Here's a closeup of the tire just because =)

It's hard to tell in this picture, but I added silver sparkles to his thunder bolt.

And here is the finished product again.

I'm not going to say this project was easy, but I know Elijah will love it which will make it all worth it. Stay tuned for more Cars projects. I have some more ideas whirling around in my crazy head and will show you guys how it all comes together in just a few months!

If any of you decide to try painting something like this, I would love to see how it turns out! FYI the paint will seep through the back, so I suggest using a plastic drop cloth underneath. Also, the canvas will stretch as you paint the edges, so when you hang it, you will need to tack the bottom corners down too.

Starfish Video

2010-08-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a great little video about starfish. It makes me laugh everytime - I hope you find it funny too!