DIY Starburst Mirror

This was literally one of the most simple lil' projects that completely erupted from me having a bunch of crafting scraps. I was in the process of cleaning out my workshop and found a small round mirror from the Dollah Store. I dug a little deeper in the basket and found two bags of wooden skewer/dowely things and the ole' brain started churning. I really do love the kind of 1960's pop of these starburst mirrors I am seeing everywhere. After deciding on the horizontal yellow cabana stripes for the laundry nook, I immediately thought the silver starburst would really tie in.

I initially just laid out a bunch of dowels and started experimenting with different lengths to see what I liked.

I knew right away that I wanted it to feel fuller, so I just started filling in and tried to keep things symmetrical. I worked in groups of four. I would lay out four dowels across from each other and just kept working in a fan. I used our skill saw to cut the dowels to various lengths once I had the idea of what I wanted. Next up was simply firing up the hot glue gun and gobbing on glue anywhere I could fit it.

Figuring out how I wanted to arrange the dowels.

Glue get at me.

I created a hook to hang the mirror by forming a loop out of floral wire and using the glue gun to secure it to the back. Lastly, I used a metallic silver spray paint to finish off the look. **HINT: I placed blue painter's tape all over the mirror in strips. With a scalpel, I followed the edge of the mirror to remove the excess. This way I ensured that no spray paint would find it's way onto the mirror.**

Totally worth the 5 minutes it took me to arrange the dowels. For a total of $4, I think it makes a great statement in the laundry nook and really helps to tie it all together!

A Laundry Room Worth Loving

Hello Everyone! Happy Spring. In true New England fashion, it was in the high 60's on Friday and then actually snowed for a little while yesterday. (And this is why we love it here!) That jolt of sunshine and warmth got this house in action and inspired everyone here to get busy! We spent most of the day Friday outside, plotting out our gardens, planning out the arrangement of the boys new swing set and turning our compost pile!

On the inside, things got cranking too. Maybe it was because we had all the windows open, maybe it was the sun I got all day, but suddenly I had a crazy desire to use the new yellow paint I picked up at Lowe's. The paint was a great find. I usually swing by the "2nd's Table" right when I walk in....this is that sad sad table filled with paints that were not good enough to go home and be splashed on a wall....but another person's trash is my treasure. On a recent trip I found this lovely shade just sitting there, begging to be taken home and used!

Bonus!

After chit chatting with the Hubs, it hit us where we could use this! After tossing around Option A: the master bedroom walk in or Option B: the laundry nook, we unanimously decided on the laundry nook. It was an easy decision based on the colors that are used in the half bath that is attached to the nook. Check out these curtains I made......love this print so much!

To give this post some serious WOW power, here is the hideous "before" shot (this would be why I was slightly obsessed with keeping the doors to this nook shut).

Fairly typical. Overflow of cleaning products, white walls, boooooooooooooooring! So I started by removing everything from the shelf and pulling the washer and dryer forward by about 5-8 inches. After surveying the shelf and measuring the height of the wall from the baseboard to the ceiling, I decided the easiest thing to do would be to paint horizontal stripes. This way, I didn't have to get crazy behind the washer and dryer, I used the least amount of paint and time and the graphic punch of stripes would draw the eye in from the bathroom.

I decided to start my first stripe around the shelf and work up and down from there. This way I did not have to remove the shelf as it would be a white stripe. Using a level and a tape measure, I lightly penciled in 8 inch wide stripes. **A little hint to keep yourself from going crazy is to mark the stripes that will be painted. I lightly penciled a "Y" for yellow in these stripes.""

I didn't feel like messing with painter's tape so I hand cut each stripe with a small angled paint brush. It took absolutely no time at all and I didn't have to worry about bleeding through (as sometimes....ok most of the time happens to me with tape.) Since there were only a couple of stripes it really flew and in no time I was starting to really like the look of what was happening.....

Loving this color even more!

Wow! Me likey!

One coat seemed to do the trick and since I can be lazy sometimes, I did not bother with the wall behind the washer and dryer. Those appliances aren't going anywhere and I needed to be able to do this quickly (working in a nap time again!!)

After some reorganization in our broom closet, I was amazed at how little needed to go back in to the nook, but it still felt like something was missing.....Voila! My DIY Starburst Mirror. LOVE. THIS. NOOK.

So without further ado.....

BEFORE

AFTER

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DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Oh man....here I thought I was all smaht and stuff with coming up with this to match our new kitchen sink pendant light, but MANY an amazing DIY'er has conquered this territory. So here is my quick and dirty tutorial. I love it and am sending major kudos out into the atmosphere for all those who have one of their own!

Super easy and you can literally use any glass container you want with this. I was looking for something a little farmhouse-esque and a Bell mason jar fit the bill. Using a drill bit the size of the base of the soap pump, I cut a hole in the pop out lid of the jar. Next I simply slid the pump in and poured in some hand soap. I know this is so basic, but I had to share because it makes me happy!

To make your own hand soap, just mix 2-3 parts water with some scented dish soap! (I may or may not have learned that from watching Special Agent Oso on the Disney Channel)

DIY Pottery Barn Spring Branches

Spring is springing 'round these parts as evidenced by my kitchen window being slightly cranked open. It feels good to air things out in here. The bambinos have been under the weather the last few days which has equated to me not sleeping and being able to recite EVERY.SINGLE.WORD. of Finding Nemo. On the plus side, snuggling on the couch seems to do wonders for them (and me) and I guess there are worse things in the world than Dory.

So, chalk it up to my lack of sleep and the spring air, but I tackled some smaller projects while the lil' meatballs napped today. There have been a few projects out in the blogosphere that I have been itching to try and with my limited time frame, today became the perfect day to conquer them!

The first project is Pottery Barn inspired. How drool worthy are some of their spring displays? I am in heaven with all the soft muted colors and freshness of all of it. Makes me crave Easter and weather above freezing. Kara at Tizzi Lish created her own pear blossom sprigs which are AWESOME. I had already picked up some branches from the yard to display in a white pitcher I had, so I figured I was half way there! A stick of faux hydrangea from the good ole' Dollah Store and I was ready. I spray painted the twigs that I already had in a white satin spray paint I had leftover from another project.

Super easy and only needed one coat. Next I snipped off the hydrangea buds from the plastic stems. I found that they seemed a little more realistic if I cut them fairly close the actual bud.

Then I simply eyed each individual stem and started dropping a little dab of glue from my trusty hot glue gun in areas that I thought would naturally have a flower bud. I kept each one a little more sparse than the ones at Tizzi Lish.

**A little trick I often use when displaying branches or twigs is to fill the bottom of the pitcher or vase I am using with dried beans or rice. Instant stability for the branches and you can arrange them how you like!**

I used these twigs in two separate containers and I am loving the finished product! So THANKS Kara for your inspiration! Instant spring feeling in the house!

How to Turn a "Miss" Into a "Hit"

Ever have those moments where you find yourself staring at something in particular in your home and thinking it "needed" a little something extra? After putting up my PB Inspired Knock Off Drapes, I found myself staring at the DIY bar and thinking how cute it might look with some accent paint. I went through a few different scenarios and ultimately chose a light yellow border for the drawers. Oh and if you can't already see the MISS that is coming up.....well, brace yourself.

I went ahead and busted out the painting tape and taped off the drawers in the rectangular border that I wanted.

I read about a tip somewhere (ages ago....sorry I don't have the link) that you can paint over the tape with the base paint (in this case black) so that the accent paint color doesn't bleed under the tape edges. Sounds genius and I believe it probably is. So....

I did just that and waited patiently for about 2 hours. Next up I hit it with the yellow color I selected and then immediately began to remove the tape. Removing the tape while the paint is still wet will ensure clean lines. Enter Problemo Numero Uno: the underlying black paint was lifting off with the tape and reeking havoc along the no longer clean and straight lines of yellow. I don't know if there was something wrong with the paint (maybe it was too old?) or perhaps the technique which I applied it (globbing it on?), but either way it was a bit messy of a finish.

After some paintbrush love and a little black antiquing glaze, I was left with this:

Cute? Maybe.....really it just wasn't working for me. Maybe the contrast was too much. Maybe the border lines were too thick. Not sure, but I let myself live with it for the weekend to see if it grew on me. The only thing that grew though was my overwhelming urge to cover it up and start over.

I grabbed the black paint and painted right back over those lines and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Yet.......still this morning when I came down to make some coffee, there it sat....and I still felt compelled to do something....Then I remembered some pictures that I saw online of people numbering their wooden stairs (which is UBER cute, may I add). I broke out my number stencils from when I labeled my recycling bins and.......

Love the leftover wine from the weekend!

I sort of love it. A little quirky and it definitely draws your eye to the bar. I am going to live with it for a few days and see how I feel, but I think I may have just turned this "miss" into a "hit" for this family.

DIY Child's Silhouette

As a relatively new mommy, I have been coveting the cute lil' silhouettes I have been seeing from the blogging world to my sister-in-law's hallway! I think they are simply precious and a lil' ole' school to boot. And like many new moms that see them and think "soooo cute, must have" I began to look at different blogs and sites to find the best "how to" out there! There were many options, but I really liked Living with Lindsay's tutorial. So armed with my camera, I set out to capture a sweet profile of Braydon and Miles. Flash forward to twenty minutes later while I am trying to simultaneously turn Miles head and use my other hand to flash a rapid succession of a kajillion photos. Plan B.....hop on my online album and snag a shot. I mean, I take pictures of these two bambinos daily, so there had to be some profile shots in there somewhere!

Braydon

Miles

Voila! Way easier than harassing my children staging a photo shoot. I printed out 4 x 6 copies of each photo in black and white (save the color ink peeps!!) and readied my supplies.

Photos, scissors, black construction paper, crafting glue and some cheapy Goodwill frames ($0.99 each). I cut out each child being careful around the lips and nose so that the detail there would carry over. Another little hint is to cut the neckline in a scoop rather than a harsh line. 

"real" shot on right, traced version on left

Another little hint is to add some luscious eye lashes on the cut out version. I free hand drew some in. These children were blessed with gawjus lashes, but that didn't quite transfer in the photo and without them added in then you miss that depth to the silhouette. 

See the eyelashes!!

I repeated the same process for Miles, but I felt the need to add a little something extra to differentiate the two. Enter Miles naturally growing faux hawk. This kid is growing his own DIY version of the popular faux hawk. I figured since we laugh about it now, why not add that humor to this shot too!

Braydon (left), Miles (right)

Lastly I applied a few light dots of my crafting glue and adhered them to some white card stock. A little Windex to clean up my Goodwill frames......

Love love love. I am contemplating two different spots in the house.....Need. To. Decide. Oh and because I felt I couldn't waste those sweet lil' floating baby heads.....

Notice Miles is exclaiming "Mom Rocks"!! Moohahahahahahahaha!!

UPDATE! I found a spot to hang my "cuties". I decided to place them with the spoon they each had their first solid food with!

Knock Off Pottery Barn Inspired Drapes

It sometimes astounds me when the easiest option ends up being the best one. Case in point, I have been really hesitating to choose a window treatment for our sliders leading out to the back yard (oh and by back yard, I mean the muddy, wet, brown, sorry looking, it's still not spring here yet area in back of our house). I wanted something that would tie in with the other drapes....I should mention here that there are 5 other windows in this space...HELLO open concept living! Since finding more drapes in the same pattern as the rest would be both a nightmare (bought the rest on clearance) and boring, I decided to step off the beaten path and make my own.

I really love the simplicity and tailored look of these drapes from Pottery Barn. Or maybe it is the view from these doors that sucked me in! Seriously though, the slider was screaming for a little love and I figured I could find a thrifty way to make these bad boys.

After contemplating different fabrics, I ended up going in the opposite direction with my "fabric" choice. Bed sheets....yes, peeps.....twin sized white bed sheets. They were cotton and I liked the feel of them in my hand and well...hey...why not, right? What really is there to lose?

They were $5.00 a sheet so I invested a whole 10 smackers and cautiously made my way to my ribbon drawer to pick out something fun.

Little sidenote here, I am a total ribbon-a-holic. I am that person that sees grosgrain on sale at the craft store and just "picks it up" on the whim that I will use it. And lo and behold, I actually DO USE IT!!

SO armed with my cute black grosgrain and some fabric glue, I headed down to the dining room table to spread out. **And I should note, that I did iron both sheets before applying the ribbon.**

After playing with some different ideas, I really liked the look of doubling the ribbon rather than one continuous thick stripe. Just a little detail, but I figured it would give it a little something to catch the eye.

I laid the sheet out and started dotting the back of the ribbon with my fabric glue. I worked in 5-10 inch sections of ribbon, dotting and then firmly pressing down along the seam of the sheet.

Small dots of glue.

1st Stripe

Once I had both stripes applied, I allowed for one hour of drying time. Next up, I attached some black drapery rings (coincidentally these were actually more expensive than the darn sheets!).  The sheets are 96 inches in length which is typically a great length for floor grazing drapes. That being said, you could easily just cut them to the length you need and glue a small seam along the bottom. Oh the beauty of fabric glue!

Love the clean light look.

 

 

Easy peasy!

For a total of $6.98 per panel, I was able to find a thrifty, but elegant option for our slider!! Now if I could just get the view through them to be a little more colorful! Boo hiss mud!