Feels Like Spring

Today was a gorgeous day in the desert! We nearly reached 80 degrees and it was lovely.

With the warm weather came anticipations for spring and the realization that I really needed to lighten up. Well, my house, not me. ;)

I posted a couple of days ago about my apothecary find at Goodwill. I shoved some (dark) green moss balls and (dark) jute balls, then placed the jar on my (dark) brick fireplace. Well, I couldn't take all the darkness anymore and had to change it.  Here is what I did to lighten up my mantel:

I took some music sheets (more on where I found these later) and trimmed them down to get rid of any excess blank areas. Then, I cut them into half inch strips. Next, I arranged them into my apothecary jar, placed them on some old books and grouped them with some other "light colored" items.

The books were 25 cents each, the figurine was a present for my husband after the birth of our daughter, and the white jar was $2.99 at Goodwill.

Now, here is the scoop on the books. I found them at my daughters school! The library set up a stand with old books they were trying to get rid of and asked that you donate a quarter for each book. I love decorating with old books and scooped up these for a dollar:

The bottom book is a collection of hymns and I can't wait to use some sheets as wall art and inspiration. It has plenty of Christmas hymns that will add to this years Christmas decor. So excited!

Here is my (dark) mantel before:

And my "lighter" mantel after:

Cost Breakdown:

White Jar - $2.99

Figurine - Free (already had)

Books - $0.50 for two

Apothecary Jar - $3.99

Music Sheets - $0.25 (out of hymnal book find)

Total Cost: $7.73

Linking to:

House of Hepworths

Christina's Adventures

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Feathered Nest Fridays

At the Picket Fence

A Beach Cottage

Faded Charm

A Goodwill Love Story

I love me some Goodwill finds. Love.

I have been hunting for months for apothecary jars. Yes, Hobby Lobby sells them but the huge jars (my fav) are a bit too pricey for me. I have searched for them in thrift stores only to discover that these jars sell fast. I'm talking "you better buy it before you even know what to do with it" fast.

Now, try to imagine my excitement when I found this at Goodwill last week:

$3.99 and aaaaalllll mine. Ooooh yeah!

Never having actually owned an apothecary jar, I was stumped on what to fill it with. I have visions for this beauty in the fall and Christmas time. Visions. Going with what I already had around the house, I set forth with a small craft project. I found a huge bag of Styrofoam balls at the same Goodwill for $1.99. The bag had about 15 different sizes of foam balls. They were perfect for my jar. So, using some items from around the home:

I wrapped them in jute using tacky glue.

Add a moss ball and you have something to fill a jar:

Isn't it precious? I'm so desperate for spring to arrive (a first for me) and get giddy when I think about the adorable, colorful eggs I get to fill this with.

Project Breakdown:

Apothecary Jar $3.99

Styrofoam balls $1.99

Glue, jute, moss ball FREE (already had)

Total Cost: $5.98

What do you fill your apothecary jars with?

Valentines Day Craft: Magnets

Hello blogland!

If you're still following my posts, thank you! I'm nearly done wrapping up the crafts I made during our winter storm (desert style). So far I have shown you how I put together a catalog inspired display and clustered photos on our wall. I still have to show you my Craigslist transformations! Please continue to check back here often as I hope to post both of them up within the next week.

Now, let me make something clear. I do not decorate for every-single-holiday. Usually, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are about as "holiday decor" as I get. That and I try to decorate for seasons. But that's it. I have to admit, I'm feeling a little guilty about not creating a cute "Valentine Craft" like everyone else in blogland seems to be doing. So, this seems like the perfect time to share a craft I did during our winter storm that wasn't Valentine inspired, but could still be used as V-Day gifts.

This is how to create Valentine magnets...

Supplies you will need:

scrapbook paper

clear gems

glue gun

carving tool

heavy duty magnets

tacky glue

First, take a clear gem and place it onto your paper, finding a design that looks good through your gem. Using the carving tool, cut around it.

Once the paper is cut out, glue it to your gem using the tacky glue. You will want to place a heavy book on top for at least half an hour to make sure the glue really holds and your paper doesn't curl.

Finally, glue the gem to a magnet using your glue gun.

TIP: You will want to use a "heavy duty" magnet because your magnets will need to hold the weight of the gem, the scrapbook paper, and whatever you are hanging with the magnet. Nothing says cheap like watching your magnets slide down your fridge because they aren't strong enough to hold anything.

Using different paper designs, I was able to make magnets in sets of four so that I can give them away as little gifts. 

Sorry for the poor photo quality, but shiny gems are impossible to photograph. ;)

I think these would make perfect gifts for older kids who are leaving for college or your younger kids' teachers.

Total Project Cost: $7.00

gems = $1 (sale at Michaels)

scrapbook paper = already had

magnets = $6 for a pack of 50 

So, there ya have it. My one and only V-Day craft. I did see an adorable burlap wreath, but really, with Valentines Day being 4 days away... why bother?  ;)  

For now, I'll sit here and "oooh" and "aaah" over all the cute crafts ya'll are doing.

Happy Valentines Day!

Linking up to:

House of Hepworths

Christina's Adventures

Photo Cluster

Well, if any of you reading this remember from my very first few posts, I mentioned that almost all of my pictures would be close-ups because I hadn't hung any pictures yet. We moved into our home September of 2010, and for months I was hesitant to start hammering holes into OUR walls, damaging OUR drywall. Yes, it's a lot different when you're renting... hanging pictures is something you do the first week. But we weren't renting anymore. This was OUR home. We wouldn't be patching the holes in a year. I wanted to be absolutely sure on where I wanted my frames to go.

Fast forward five months and I have finally hung some photos on our wall!

I often see clusters of frames in Better Homes and Garden and really wanted to recreate that in my own home. In our living room/dining room combo, we have a small space of a wall between the backyard doors and a huge section of windows. I didn't take a "before" pic, but the space is relatively small. It was the perfect spot to test out a cluster of photos.

First, I cut out the sizes of my frames on paper and taped them to the wall. I found a lettered wall art ($5) at Hobby Lobby for 50% off and wanted to have that in my cluster as well. Once I had all the papers taped up, I was able to move them around (about 6, or 10, times) until I felt they "looked right."

Doing this step first was a HUGE help, especially since I wanted the frames to look like I randomly placed them up there. I didn't want uniform lines (BIG step for me, being "Miss OCD" and all). ;)

Next, I directly hammered my nail into the paper to ensure I was getting the right alignment. How very random of me... NOT!

White paper on white wall doesn't show up well, but I promise the paper is there.

 Finished wall:

AH! Too cute! For the record, I am NOT a big fan of gold. Something about the color makes me want to gag. I don't care for gold jewelry, gold frames, gold teeth (haha), gold ANYTHING. So, when I got the "R" at Hobby Lobby, I was convinced I was going to spray paint it all black, along with the gold (gag) frames.

However, looking at my wall now, I love the way the colors look. They all "belong" together.

Shout out to SKJ Photography for capturing my family so beautifully!

Linking this to:
Thrifty Decor Chick
House of Hepworths

Catalog Inspired Display

Baby, it's cold outside!

Is anyone else getting hit with snow or frigid temperatures? Here in the desert, we were hit with some of the coldest temps we have seen since almost half a century ago.

It. is. freezing.

With the bad temps, snow, electric and gas outages came great news: school and business closings throughout our city. I can't tell you what a joy it was to stay home for 48 hours straight! I was able to enjoy my family, play board games, and enjoy some hot cocoa. Not only that, I was able to do FIVE crafts/projects! I am so excited to share the things I did! However, so that this post isn't "craft overload," I'll space out my posts over the next week or so. So, please come back often and see what a snowy day can bring.

My first project was inspired by all the catalogs I love to flip through, mainly "Pottery Barn" and "Crate and Barrel." With every coffee table you see, there is almost always a beautiful tray, filled with books and a flower pot. Something about that setting whispers "cozy" and "inviting."

First, I needed a tray. I made an inexpensive monogrammed one before, using a Goodwill find,

but I didn't want to cover up the monogram. So, I used one that I found at Ross for $4.99.

It was the perfect height and the colors fit beautifully within our living room.

Next, I used a vase from Goodwill.

It was crisp, white, beautiful, and at $3.99, just perfect.

I stuffed it with some floral foam that I had from a previous project:

Then, added a lovely flower ($3.50 at Michaels) and some moss balls ($4.99 Michaels):

Then...

I needed a stack of books to complete my "catalog inspired look." I would have normally stacked any books together, but then this really wouldn't be a "craft post." Plus, I absolutely fell head over heels in love with this project by Christina.

First, I found some paperback books around the house that I didn't mind giving up and ripped off their covers.

Next, make yourself some tea, and while you sip your warm beverage, save the tea bags. Squeeze out any excess water until the bags are damp. Then simply rub them on your book pages for an "aged" look. You can be as liberal as you want with the "coloring." I wanted my books to really look old.

Once they have the desired look, tie them using string, jute, or ribbon (whichever you want). I had jute left over from a previous project so went with it.


Behold, my aged books:

And finally, my complete Catalog Inspired Display:

Be still, My heart.

Total project cost: $17.50 (would have been lower if I had remembered to use my Michaels coupons... grrr)

Linking up with:

Christina's Adventures

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Thrifty Decor Chick

House of Hepworths