What to do with Cubes

As I was perusing Zgallerie online, I noticed a piece of art that seemed vaguely familiar to something I had created in the past...

Silver Cubes:

Gifts for the important people and pets in my life

As a small Easter gift, I decided to make containers that my mom and sister could store cat and dog treats/food in. Why not give gifts that benefit both human and pet?! I purchased two glass containers with lids that seal, for around $2 each at Home Goods.

Then I went to Home Depot and bought a can of window frosting spray paint. I made a template for dog and cat silhouettes using printer paper, although I would recommend a sturdier material. After spraying the containers, I patiently waiting for them to dry. Then I filled them with various treats for my favorite pets.

They turned out really cute, and all the recipients were very happy. This is a great alternate idea to having a jar engraved because its cheap, fun and doesn't require a lot of time.

Wine a little

As a lover of wine, I thought it would be fun to incorporate bottles into my home decor. At first, I soaked empty bottles in water to easily remove the labels. Then for a long time I just displayed the bottles on the table. But I knew I wanted something more out of them. I found this awesome project on another blog. The project incorporated paint (which is my very favorite thing!).

1. Paint/spray paint bottles white. I actually decided to use beer bottles as well so that my boyfriend wouldn't feel left out when I displayed or favorite beverage containers.

2. Create a square template and spray exposed area with chalkboard paint. The template I created was cut from part of a box. I purchased the chalkboard spray paint from Home Depot for around $4. Remember to cover the entire area of the bottle that will not be sprayed with chalkboard paint...definitely remember this step, otherwise you will have to start all over...not that this happened to me or anything :).

3. Take off template and examine your work.

4. Touch up with white paint if you are trying to get something that resembles a square. The objects hanging out between the bottles were so the bottles didn't roll over...that would have been bad.

5. Use chalk to write a fun or loving message on the bottles, and display! FYI: chalk is very hard to find these days. Try Michaels.

These white bottles would really pop on a non-white wall. Good thing I am moving next week into a place that has been painted something non-white. Stay tuned to see pictures of my new place!

Easter Fun

Easter weekend was a busy one, flowing with creative juices. On Friday, my mom and I embarked on a half-day event of making Easter cupcakes. She purchased just about every cupcake decorating thing you can think of. We had a lot of fun. We did everything from frosting them to adding coconut that was dyed to look like grass. At the end of the day, both of us sat back and admired our creations---afraid to eat our masterpieces. However, we most of them disappeared by the end of the weekend.

On Saturday night, we decorated Easter eggs. We discovered that using the white crayon was overrated, and decided a sharpie would work much better, which it did. Again, we created some masterpieces.

My sister with her pumpkin-Easter egg

This one was for my dad...love you (and Walnut)

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend, just like I did!

LOVE-ly Flowers

My best friend is getting married! I am especially excited because I love them both so much and think they are the cutest couple I know. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Bride-to-be asking me to be a bridesmaid. Of course a said yes! I am now enjoying my flowers and the thought of being a part of their special day!!! Love you guys!

Meant to Be

A while back I saw the most gorgeous and creative porch project I had ever seen, and I wanted to copy it immediately. Please go to this site and you will see what I mean. I didn't have to do any searching to find a pretty close version of the wicker bench that they used. It was actually just meant to be...
A while back when I came down to Southern California to visit my boyfriend, before I moved, I went over to a garage sale on his street. As I was walking up, two women were carrying away this beautiful bench. I was bummed that I hadn't gotten there sooner, because it would have been perfect. The story picks up a few months later when I moved to that neighborhood. I was walking over to another garage sale (I like garage sales) and noticed what I thought to be that very bench for sale again. I asked the woman if she had bought it at a garage sale in the area a few months back, and she had. It's like it was meant to be taken home by me. I was so happy, and purchased it for only $30! Not it sits in the front room because it is so damp at night. I need to find a weather proofing method for wicker so that it can actually live on the back patio. Any suggestions?

Also, just to prove what a great deal I got, I found this one at Target and it was priced at over $100. Oh how I love a great garage sale find!

I'mmmmmm baacckkkk...

Yes, I have been MIA from my blog for a while; 4 months to be exact. I guess a lot has happened in the last few months. I moved to a whole new part of the state, I was unemployed, I was employed very part-time, I was employed full-time by another company, shortly after I was promoted. As all of this was happening, I managed to put my blog on the back burner for a while...but the projects did not stop. Hopefully I can begin to catch up on sharing projects that I have completed since I have been in this condo...before I move again (which is next month!).

So here is a project that was very simple in nature...although it took me FOREVER to find the right shade.


So this is the standing lamp in my room. I originally purchased it from Walmart a little over a year ago. It came with a hideous lamp shade, not pictured above-that is the second lampshade living on top. In an effort to make my lamp feel more modern, without spending the big bucks, I bought a can of chrome spray paint from Home Depot for around $4. I spray painted the base, super easy! The hardest part of the entire project was finding a lamp shade that I liked. I finally found one at Target for $24.99. Total cost of a brand new lamp, about $30. I have priced similar style lamps at various stores and have not found anything less than $100 lately, so I would say that's a pretty good deal.

My pictures are horrible...I was just so excited to start blogging again that I couldn't wait until daylight to snap some pics.