Fall Decor & Buffet Makeover

              I am so excited to share this post today! I have been wanting a buffet for a while now. I could just never find one that I liked, or justify the cost of the ones I did like. I recently found someone selling this buffet on a local sale site, and thought it would be the perfect project! I forgot to get a before picture before we started pulling the knobs and doors off. Luckily, I was able to grab these screenshots of the sale post!

               The seller had already refinished this piece with a gray chalk paint. Thankfully, it was never sealed, so that saved me a lot of work! I had an idea of what I wanted the finished product to look like. I couldn't find the color of chalk paint that I wanted, but after a very helpful associate at Lowes, I learned that I could paint right over the existing chalk paint with regular interior paint, and as long as I sealed it, there would be no problems! That opened up a whole world of color options!!

                I ended up finding the perfect color in the Sherwin Williams HGTV Home line. It's called Amelia's Wings. I may have been a *little* biased towards this color since our new little baby girl is named Amelia. But- it is the exact color I had in mind, so it worked out great!
I got right to work painting the first coat on!

               For the top, I used Valspar's Dark Earth. I love how perfectly it compliments the bottom.

                I finished it off with some matching knobs. Finding the perfect ones were almost as hard as choosing a paint color!!

I am so in love with how this turned out. I think for my first makeover project, it was a success! I can't wait to do another!



 I found this chalkboard easel at WalMart, and the quote on Pinterest. The leaf and little pumpkin came from the dollar store!


 My husband made this awesome little wood box for me (Yay for scrap wood!!) It hold just the right amount of seasonal décor, and I'm really looking forward to using it throughout the year!

The filler in the basket is a mix of items from Hobby Lobby and Michael's

This glittery pumpkin is from the dollar store also. The vase in the back is a duplicate one that I got flowers in. I just spray painted it white. The wheat décor is from Hobby Lobby.

12 Days of Christmas Crafts | Day 9 | Sugar Scrub

Today's craft is all about the scrubs! Sugar scrubs, that is. ;) And three different kinds, to be exact.

This is probably one of the easiest and fastest gifts you could make for someone, and the possibilities are endless!


Here are the ingredients we used for the first two:
White sugar
Baby oil
Essential oil

The first two we made were with plain old white sugar. I added about 1 cup of sugar to a bowl. We then measured out 1/4 cup baby oil. This is the only oil I had on hand, so that is what I used. Olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil would make excellent alternatives! I then added about 15 drops of essential oil. We did one peppermint, and one grapefruit. They smell delicious!!

 I used separate bowls and spatulas for each one so that I did not have to wash in between. I was on the phone, and it was just easier to grab another bowl! I was done with each one in less than 5 minutes!
Each scrub got put into a little jar with some Christmas colored ribbon and a tag. :)

The brown sugar scrub was a little more involved than that!
The ingredients were:

1 1/2 C Sugar
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup baby oil
1/2 Cup Oats

As you can see, this one has more to it. I was able to divide this recipe into 3 jars. Small size mason jars. This means in less than 5 minutes, I made 3 gifts! :) The jars got ribboned and tagged like the first ones, and they were ready to go!!

I have no idea why I didn't get a photo of all three jars together. I really thought I did since they all looked so pretty...

And, of course, I had to make some for myself! You will want to, also! Your hands will thank you!!


 Tomorrow I will be showing you how they got packaged along with out gifts that had to be shipped out! I can't wait. I'm very excited to share! You should be, too! ;)

Head over to Facebook for a sneak peek!



If you would like to know more about Young Living Essential oils, or purchase any, you can view the website HERE  My Member number is 2322868 :D
You can also feel free to message me about any information you would like! :)

12 Days of Christmas Crafts | Day 6 | Pillow Covers

Today's post actually comes from a couple weeks ago. I took a trip to IKEA. I really really love that place!! I found these great pillow covers for only $6! I couldn't decide which one I wanted more, so I got one of each. I don't have enough pillows in their size to get two of each. Our living room couch has 6 pillows on it, 2 of each size. I had the middle size covered, so I needed to find something for the others. I ended up going to JoAnn Fabrics a few days later on a mission. I wanted something Christmas-y, but I didn't want Christmas Trees and Presents and such. I also wanted a heavier fabric than all the holiday prints offered. Our living room is very neutral, so I wanted to bring in some seasonal color. I ended up finding a solid marigold color and a green printed fabric that I love.

I usually make envelope-style pillow covers, but I found a bunch of zippers in my stash that I decided to use this time! They were the perfect size! I even love how the colors compliment the fabric, but aren't the same color (or just plain white!) There was no method to these covers. I laid my pillow on top of the piece of fabric, added about an inch, cut it, and sewed it shut. I wanted something quick and easy, and that is how I accomplished it! I don't always have time for pre-planning and measuring and pinning and such!

Here's how they all look on the couch! What do you think??
I am very pleased with how they all turned out. I love walking into the room to see the bright colors. It's even better to know that I MADE it! (Except the two from IKEA, of course!)

This guy is sure enjoying them! :)

 I have no idea what we will be crafting tomorrow, so be sure to check back!! :)




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12 Days of Christmas Crafts | Day 2 | Coffee Filter Snowflakes

Welcome to day 2!!
Today we made coffee filter snowflakes. I've had a stack of coffee filters hanging around for a while. We own a Keurig, but, we had a drip coffee maker for our camper. We got rid of that coffee maker when we moved , so I really had no use for the filters. I decided they needed to be put to good use!
I'm sure you have seen the gazillion tutorials for different versions of these on Pinterest. If not, you're in the right place!! :)

This craft was kid-friendly enough for my almost 4 year old. He really enjoyed cutting all the shapes. I didn't get a picture of our supplies, but we used:
Plain scissors
Decorative scissors
Hole Punch
Markers
Spray bottle with water
Tape
And, of course, coffee filters.
I folded each filter in half 3 times, so it looked like a piece of pizza when I was done. For a couple of them, I drew shapes that Kyle could cut, but we mostly just free handed everything.

We made quite the mess!!

  At the end, we decided we wanted to color a few. (This is where the markers and spray bottle come in!) We colored all over the filter with washable markers, then Kyle got to spray them with water. He really enjoyed watching all the colors run together. Once they were all dry, we cut them into snowflakes, too.

While they were drying, we hung up our white ones. They made a great decoration for our big sliding door!! (This photo was before we added the colorful ones!)

What crafts are you working on?? Feel free to share your photos over on my Facebook page!!

12 Days of Christmas Crafts | Day 1 | Painted Wine Bottles

Hey, hey! Welcome to December!

In an effort to get back into my crafting, I have decided to do a 12 days of Christmas crafts! They may not all be specifically Christmas related, but at least winter-y. Most will even be kid-friendly since I will be doing them with at least one of my boys. :)

I have been pondering painting wine bottles for a while now, but I never had a good idea of what I wanted for our home. I saw some really great ones on Pinterest, but A. I wanted ours a little more original, and B. They just didn't "fit" with what I wanted. This morning, I was rummaging through my craft box, and came across some Martha Stewart tinsel glitter and Pearl Ex powder pigments that I have had for a while and have never used! I thought they would be perfect! 

I gathered all the supplies I wanted...

    Then got to work removing wine bottle labels, and painting them all white. 

For the first bottle, I poured a little of the pigment powder into the lid so I didn't have a load dump onto my bottle! Then I sprinkled it all around. I really loved how it fell onto the bottle. I sed these two colors, and layered them until I was satisfied. I ended up doing two bottles this way.
These are the two colors I chose...

For the next bottle, I painted it white, and just sprinkled the tinsel glitter all over, heavier at the bottom, and lighter at the top. I originally had a different idea for this one, but I was happy with the simplicity of it. I may add  a glitter snowflake once we open our ornament box. I'll add an updated photo if I do. :) 

 

Here they are drying on my sink, out of the reach of the littles! I will be finishing the tinsel glitter one by adding a layer of mod podge for protection. For the powdered ones I will spray them with a clear sealant. We don't want glitter or powder all over the house, do we??

once that was all done, I added some leftover clippings from our tree and put them on the ledge at our entry way. I will be adding more to the entry way in the next few days! I can't wait to share my post on how we decorate our house this year!

 

There you have it. A super easy craft. I didn't have my son help with this one, but you could definitely have a little one pour on some glitter or help with the painting if you are brave enough! All three bottles took me less than an hour (during nap time!) to complete! I would love to see your versions if you decide to paint any bottles this season!

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will be sharing a kid-friendly snowflake craft! :)

Skirt Refashion!

Welcome back!

I have been so busy trying to get ready for our move! Only two more weeks until we say goodbye to Rhode Island! I am trying to be more diligent in posting here. I have a few posts scheduled over the next few weeks!

This week, I want to share something fun I got to do recently. I have been following this blog for about a year now. I love seeing all the new creations each week. It has totally inspired me to want to sew more! I finally decided to take a trip to our local thrift store. I found this skirt that I instantly fell in love with. I don't know what it is about it. The bright colors. The flowers. The fact that I have been loving skirts lately...

Anyways...I was *sure* it would fit. I don't like to try things on. The number on the tag matched my usual size. Good enough. I bought it. Then I got home and tried it on. Too small. :( Just by the tiniest bit, but enough that I couldn't wear it as is. I thought about just re-donating it, but I was so excited about wearing it one day that it went into my "one day this will fit me" pile. Don't judge. I know you have one, too! :)

A few days later, I got my latest ReFashionista email and was instantly inspired to "fix" my skirt. I got to work as soon as nap time commenced!

My first step was to remove the zipper. This was the piece that caused me problems during try on. My handy seem ripper helped me out!

One that was done, I sewed a new hem at the top. I somehow have a ridiculous amount of elastic in my sewing box. I made crib sheets frequently, and I think I buy new elastic every time because I think I'm out. Today, it got used for my skirt! Once I sewed the hem, I folded it over and sewed a "pocket" for the elastic to go through. I even pinned it! (As much as I don't like to try things on, I don't like pinning things when I sew even more!!)

Got that done and moved on to the not so fun part...Pulling the elastic through the pocket. I hook my elastic onto a safety pin to make it easier to pull through. Everything was going great until I hot a seam. There was too much fabric for the safety pin to get through! Grrr. I fought it for much longer than I should have before I finally gave up.  I unstitched that little spot, pulled the elastic through, then stitched it back up.

I now have a skirt that fits! I haven't worn it yet, but when I do, I will be sure to update this post with pictures!!


I have another refashion post lined up for you soon!!

Hey! Where have you been??

Here I am. Gosh, it's been a while. We have had so much going on the last few months with school ending, summer activities, and many other things! I feel so far behind!! We have been working on a few fun projects. I thought I would share one to get back into the swing of things!!
I have been seeing a lot about Rit Dye, and it got me wanting to dye something of my own. but it couldn't just be anything. I wanted to make it worth it! We have this bed set that we have had for 3.5 years now. I LOVED it when we got it. I still love it...super comfy, keeps me warm, nice and broken in, all that good stuff...but I just wanted something different. Last time I looked at new bed sets, the ones I wanted were over $200. I thought, "Not this time! I'm going to dye my own!!" SO I did!
Here is what they looked like before:

 The sheets were off white, and getting boring...

The comforter was maroon and white...



I went on the hunt for the perfect color...and was lucky enough to find just what I wanted!

 I read lots and lots of directions and tutorials before I got started. We have a front loading washer, so I had to make sure I did everything right. I found THIS super helpful article from the Rit Dye Company! I gave my sheets a quick wash, and began adding the dye! This is what it looked like:

 I decided to do the comforter a little different since it was so big. I didn't want to end up with a tye-dye comforter! I did MORE research about dying in the tub, and enlisted the two cutest helpers ever to help "agitate"

 Then we rinsed out all the teal water! (This took a while!)

 It only took me three days a little while to get around to cleaning the blue ring out of the tub!

After one more quick wash of everything to make sure the dye was all out...we had a brand new bed set!! What do you think??

Making a fire!

      We love to go camping in the summer! Every year, we try to go as often as possible! Our season usually starts in late April-May, but this year we get to go early! In fact, by the time you read this, we will be on our way home from our first 2013 camping trip!
        One problem we had come up quite a bit last year was getting the fire started (in a timely manner!) It was usually because the wood we got was wet. Because we travel out of state, and because there is a big bug issue up here, we are not allowed to bring our own weeod. This means we just get to deal with whatever the campground has or what we cam find around our site.
         Last year, my friend told me about these fire starters she found on Pinterest. I do not have the exact link that she used, so I decided to make my own. I have all these random half empty jars of candles floating around the house. I usually keep a jar on the stove,a nd forget to move it when I tuen the oven on, so the whole thing melts and the wax falls in :/ You would think by now I would have learned to move the candle before turning on the oven, but no. It is onyl after I start smelling the candle that I realzie why I am smelling it!
           Anyways....I gathered these jars and started saving the wax when I would change my Scentsy smells. I also added broken pieces of candles and tarts. I started saving my dryer lint in an empty spaghetti sauce jar. Since it was winter, I figured I would have plenty of time to save before I needed them. The last ingredient I needed was shredded paper. We have a shredder that always has something in it, so this was the easiest part. Of course, when I needed it, I realized my husband had just emptied the shredder! I just grabbed some junk mail and and newspaper and shredded it up real quick. I was sure to not use any of the slick pieces of paper, just newspaper type.

        First, I got a pot of water boiling to melt the wax. Add enough water to cover the wax level, but not the jar.

Then, I put the jar in the water so it could start melting while I prepped the rest. Isn't it pretty?

I grabbed a muffin tin and added some paper liners. I have an abundance of these, so I doubled up for extra holding power. I also thought it might help light better later.

I added a good layer of lint first.

Then I added some shredded paper. It is okayif it looks like too much. Once the wax goes in, it will help the pile go down.

Finally, once the wax started to melt, I began pouring it into the liners. (Use a hot pad, the jar is hot!)

I filled them to about 3/4 full.

 

And voila! Fire starter cupcakes!

          I am very excited to use these. They make the fire smell awesome, too! Just imageine all your favorite candles  rolled in to one! I love it!

Be sure to check back for the recap of our first camping trip of the year!! I am SO Excited!!!



Did you figure out what J made for his scratch art photo??