DIY Apothecary Jars

Apothecary Jars are a huge decorating craze right now! They are so classy looking and can be used in just about every style type. These suckers are not cheap though! pictured below are from William-Sonoma that run anywhere between $39.99-$49.99 each!

William-Sonoma Apothecary Jars

My friend is getting married and has been longing for some Apothecary Jars. I decided there has got to be way to make these without spending big bucks....well lucky for me (and you!) I found a way!

I stopped by my local Dollar Tree and picked up some supplies. I found 2 candle stick holders ($1 each) and 2 hurricane candle holders ($1 each). I then went over to my local craft store to find something to use as a lid. I happened upon the perfect sized teal light holders that fit perfectly into my hurricane glasses. They ended up being $1.99 each. I then found 2 wood pegs to serve as my handles. I then got a mini glass glue tube ($3.99). So my total for 2 apothecary jars came to about $14.00 after tax! 

I painted my wood pegs with white acrylic paint and then put a layer of modge podge on for sealer. I followed the directions on the glass glue that were very simple. Put it on and let it set for a few minutes then stick together. I did a layer of glue on the candlestick holders and then on the peg for the lid. I let them sit overnight. I now have a beautiful (and thrifty) bridal shower gift for my friend! I may have to make myself a couple also!

Vinyl Word Wall Art

I had the joy of having my sister and 2 nieces come to visit me this last week. We had a blast, but since they live so far away (Nebraska), I wanted to do a special craft to have a memento to keep and represent this time in our lives. I decided I wanted some wall art that I would actually want to showcase, but would  not be a coloring book page (if you know what I mean). So I came up with this Vinyl Word Wall Art. This is a perfect craft for babies to children of all ages!

Items Needed:

• Canvas
• Vinyl Words or Image
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint brushes or sponges

First, you will put your vinyl letters on the canvas. Then I set up the girls with two colors so there would be a mix for depth. I let them go ahead and paint it however they wanted with designs or circles or just swirling it however they want. Then you will let it dry, and peel off the vinyl letters to have a beautiful masterpiece and the girls had fun doing it too! I had them sign the back or each and put the date. I now have a memory and art to forever remember their vacation to visit Seattle. 

 Stella (left) Age 7, Riley (right) Age 3

For the Love of Nautical

So I am totally IN LOVE with the nautical theme going on right now! With the stripes, the navys, the reds, the anchors, the whole thing! So when I saw the blog on "You Seriously Made That" about a super cute nautical knot headband I knew I had to make it! The knot looks super hard to make but once you start it, it's way easy!

You can check out the step by step directions on the "You Seriously Made That" blog. The supplies you would need are:

Then pair this with your favorite nautical top and you are ready for that summer boat trip! Have a lovely 4th of July lovlies!

Chalkboard Dollar Tree Tin

It has been one crazy month! I feel so bad that my blog has been neglected, but I have a fun project for you today! This is my Dollar Tree chalkboard tin! This makes a great gift and decoration. I was at the Dollar Tree one day and came these adorable little tins for only $1! The quality is really great for only $1.

I had been wanting to try a project with chalkboard paint and I thought this would be the perfect chance! I had the spray paint version but I now think a type you paint on would be easier.

I then found a picture frame stand from Walmart for $1 also! So the total for this project come to about $3 if you take into account that you will have chalkboard paint left over for tons of other projects! You can then write whatever you would like on the board. This would be super cute for weddings, or parties, but I decided to put our last name on it and display it in our living room. Happy Crafting!

For the love of Tufted Headboards

One of biggest trends today in home decor is a beautiful tufted headboard like the one shown here.

BUT they cost usually around $250 and up. What if I told you they are pretty easy to make for half the price and a couple of hours? A great Saturday afternoon project and then you can not only have a super cool headboard to show off, but you can also say my favorite three words, "I made it!" 

So pictured below is my headboard I made for my husband and I for Christmas, but I did not document it.  So I was super excited when my friend Sonja asked me to help her make one for her and her fiancé's new home!

Items Needed:

• Particle Board (cut to length of your bed plus 2 inches on each side) $10
• Upholstery foam 1.5 - 2 inches thick (cut to the same size as your board) $50-$75 (cheaper online)
• Batting (cut to have enough to fold over each side of the board to cover the edges.)
• Fabric (Upholstery or strong cotton) 2.5-3 yards depending on size of the headboard. Prices range
• Buttons (as many and as big as you want!) I recommend the buttons you can cover with the fabric of your choice
• Spray Adhesive
• Big eye needle
• Yarn or a very strong thread
• Staple gun and plenty of staples
• Drill and drill bits
• Tape measure
• Marker
• Sawtooth Picture Hangers

1. Map out where you want your buttons to go on your board and drill holes.

This involves some math skills, a marker, and calculator. Our board already had lines on it, but not where we wanted the buttons to go, so the picture may look confusing. We did two rows with 4 buttons and two rows with 3 buttons staggered. You want to drill a hole big enough for about 4 yarn strings to fit through it. You don't want it to be too small as it will be hard to locate later. 

2. Glue down the upholstery foam, re-map out buttons and dig out button holes.

The Elmers spray glue does not offer permanent hold, it just helps to hold it in place. To find your buttons holes after the foam is on, stick something through the back of the board through the foam and then remark the placing. You will then take scissors and cut an "x" about the size of your button. Then simply pull out the foam to be the same size. You will want your button to be able to sink into the foam, but don't make it too large. This enhances the tuft look. (forgot to take a picture :( )

3. Attach the Batting

You will want the batting to cover the edges and all to pad the wood. We even took an extra piece and added extra padding to the edges. If you do not do this the wood's sharp edges could pierce through your fabric.

4.  Loosely attach your fabric. 

Loosely staple your fabric with a few staples in the back just to hold it in place, but allowing enough slack to make your tufts. You will probably end up having to go back and tightening them after the buttons are attached.

5. Attaching the buttons!

This honestly is the most time consuming part of the whole project. Once you get a rhythm it goes faster though! Take a large needle and string one 3 ft long pieces of yarn through it so you will have 2 tails off your needle. Poke your needle through the back of the board and up through the foam and fabric. Pull about half way through and string on your button then poke back through the way you came. Pull all tight at you can and staple the stings in place on the back in a zig zag effect to ensure tightness. You may need to hammer the staples in for better attachment.

6. So close! Tighten the fabric in the back and attach the Sawtooth Hangers to the headboard!

You will now be seeing the headboard coming together and probably falling in love! Go through and remove the original staples you put in to hold in place. When stapling the fabric you will want to fold under the edges so you are stapling through 2 layers of fabric. This will ensure a better hold and that the fabric won't rip under the pressure. You don't want to pull too tight where you flatten out the tufts, but you don't want it too looks either. The edges take some practice, of figuring out how you want it to go, but we do two folds beside the actual edge and it looks great!  You will probably end up cutting off excess fabric. Now you can either leave the back unfinished (since no one will see it, or if you are anal (like my friend Sonja) you can take another piece of fabric and cover the unfinished part. Lastly attach the Sawtooth hanger. Two don't seem like it would be enough to hold the entire board, but it actually is! You will want to put anchors into the drywall with nail, or nail directly into a stud. Tada! Enjoy!

Congrats Sonja & Aaron! I'm so happy for you guys and enjoyed being able to help you with this project!

For the love of...ladders

About six months ago I went to a DIYer's heaven! It was the Junk Salvation put on by the Funky Junk Sisters. There was so much inspiration, ideas, and "junk" to buy and refurbish! What caught my eye was an old ladder in the back of this one booth. I just had to have it!

See I have been in love with the leaning bookcases and shelves I've seen at places like Crate&Barrel seen below, BUT I could not bring myself to spend $149!

So here is my leaning ladder shelf!

First, I had to separate the two sides. Depending on how the ladder is made, this may be done in various ways. Mine was a really old ladder, so it took some elbow grease and trial and error but we got it apart! I put a fresh coat of paint on and sanded the edges to give it a shabby chic look. I added some cute framed pictures and nic nacs. It is seriously a center piece in my home now! People ask and comment on it all the time. Below I have put together some other recycled ladder ideas. Happy hunting!

Easter at Deception Pass

As a Christian, Easter is the most important holiday to me! More than Valentine's Day, my Birthday, and even Christmas! This is the day that I remember the ultimate sacrifice of God, His Son Jesus. We started out the day by attending Canyon Creek Church and heard an amazing message from our Pastor Brandon Beals who answered the question, "Is the Resurrection Real?" If you have ever asked this question (I think we all have) you need to go listen to this sermon. You can do that here!

Damian and I then decided to go celebrate by enjoying what God has created at Deception Pass. If you are into history you will be interested to know that  Deception Pass was founded by a group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbe, part of the Vancouver Expedition, on June 7th 1972. They named it Deception Pass because it had misled them into thinking Whidbey Island was an island. It is absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to share with you some moments I was able to capture. I am so thankful for the life I have been given and the freedom to experience the beauty of what God has created. God loves each one of you and wants to experience a relationship with you. Easter is not about bunnies, eggs, or even food and gatherings. It is about True Love that laid down his life to reconcile the sin that lives within each one of us.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 1 Peter 1:3

Vintage to Modern Side Table

So begins one of my summer loves....Garage Sales!  Some of the greatest treasures are found here! Here is my first feature of a lovely garage sale find. I picked this table up for 5 bucks! I saw so much potential...do you? Well you should!

My first order of business was redoing the edging (there was a part broken off in the back). So I went to Lowes and picked up a piece of decorative molding for $8. I only needed one for the whole table. I took a hand saw and cut it down to size on a slant to fit the edges. I then nailed them in place. Because I am no carpenter, I had a few areas that had spaces on the edges so I used a product called Plastic Wood. Worked great and unless you are super anal you wouldn't notice my mistakes! 

After this I simply spray painted the entire thing with matte black spray paint. It took a couple coats to get it completely even. To add some dimension I took some metallic acrylic paint and watered it down and painted it on to the top and edge of the top part of the table just to add some dimension. Lastly, I did 3-4 coats of polyurethane clear gloss on the top to make it durable and give it a nice finish. It almost looks like glass on top! Here is my finished product! Next on my list is to refinish my chairs to the side of the table to match and recover them in a similar modern fabric. This is how you  can take an ugly vintage gold table  and turn it into chic and modern, for about $15!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!! 

Simple Infinity Scarf

My mother growing up made me tons of clothes and passed down some of her skills. I have a very basic knowledge but it is enough to get me along. When I got my first sewing machine, my mom gave me a bunch of fabrics to practice with. Some are older from the 80's or 90's which ins great because now they are back in style! So today I will show you how I came up with a simple infinity scarf!

First, I picked a fabric and folded it in half to be 22" in width and cut it to be 35" long as seen here.

Next, you will sew along the long edge with the fabric inside out to make a big tube. This is not the hole where your head will go. You are now going to sew together the two openings on either end. Gather both ends and measure to see if you like the length. If not, cut off a little at a time until it is the desire length. I found 35" to be good for me. Here is where it may get hard to explain. Turn the tube right side out so that your hem is now on the inside. Take each end of your hem and bring those together (see below).

Bring together the hems with the right side of the fabric on the inside of your enclosure. Make sure you are sewing the inside of your fabric and not the outside before you begin! Sew all the way around except for about 3 inches. This is so you can pull the inside out so your right side is exposed. Below I am showing the amount of space I left to pull the inside out.

Next pull the inside out!

Now tuck the unfinished ends in and sew the remaining 3 inches.

All done! I'm kind of in love and now want to make some in all kinds of fabric! I may take on copying the American Apparel circle scarf! This pattern would totally work for it! Now I just need to find the perfect jersey fabric! Happy Crafting!

For the love of ... Spray Paint

It's amazing how just a little paint can totally change the look and feel of something! Below I featured some things that I have done that were transformed by simply getting a new coat of color!

These are some candle sticks that needed a modern boost!

An old patio table and chairs that were weather worn and rusted, but brought back to life! For the table top I found a sale on a round table cloth and added elastic to the edge so it would fit tight and cover the table top. For the chairs I made big pillow cases out of rectangular table cloths and sewed them in. Tada!

A regular glass vase that came with some flowers turned modern and unique after spray painted with rubber bands!