Happy Heart Day!

via

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

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Snow Day!

We woke up to the first snowfall of the season. School is cancelled and we plan on taking it easy today.

Daisy loves the snow, she is really cute running around and playing like a puppy.

How is the weather where you are?

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Mister Bluebird On My...

BIRD FEEDER!

I was so excited when I noticed some action around the bird feeder. I put it in a spot that I could keep an eye on (in passing) and this blue jay caught my eye!!! Blue jays are pretty common in this area but I was happy to see them during winter (there were 2).
I wasn't sure if any birds would actually use the feeder (right now), it has been so cold and dismal.

 For some reason, I imagined several little dainty birds circling the dish, like animals on a carousel, not this big guy! Of course it doesn't matter, he is sitting on the edge, which is what I was hoping.

Then he proceeds to kick some seed out...

He didn't stay very long, he kept eye-balling me

I'm so happy the feeder is going to work! 

I never thought I would be this excited about a dang bird. Please don't think I'm a goober.

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DIY Tiered Stands (3 Ways)

Happy Friday! I promised I'd show you some other projects that I made along with the Jewelry Stand, and here they are. I made a fairly large one, a small one and a bird feeder. These projects have been really fun and actually addicting, I was searching high and low for things to glue together! :) I did stop at the four projects however, because I want to make sure they are durable with normal everyday use. I can see making some for sale too.
Have you noticed my fun 'pinable' pictures? With Picnik closing in April, I'm having fun taking advantage of the premium effects while I can.

Anyway, back to the projects. All you will need is E6000, vintage (or new) dishes, lamp parts and even candle holders. For the biggest one, I used a salad plate, a candle holder, a dinner plate, and the base of a lamp I took apart. And of course, because I can always stand more aqua in my life, I sprayed the candle holder with Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze and the base with with Valspar's Exotic Sea. I let them dry overnight and glued everything together.


Here you can see exactly what I used.

Is this too confusing??? I hope not!!

Cuties and bananas are living one the big one right now. Cuties are so easy to peel aren't they?

I really like the small one too, made with milk glass and lamp parts. Little mini cupcakes fit perfectly....in case you are wondering, I did not make the cupcakes, I picked them up at Walmart. I don't suspect they will last long with the boys around.


Ok, the final project, the bird feeder. Everything I used for this happened to be chipped, otherwise, I would have never given up my candy dish. The final piece of the milk glass lamp was chipped too, and the candle holder had to be glued back together....needless to say, if this one doesn't hold up, everything was broken anyway. Doesn't it look like a little carousel or something?

It's so cold here right now, that I haven't seen any birds feeding yet....but hopefully they will. If I can get a photo of that happening, I will certainly share!

I hope you are inspired to start gluing stuff together! I know I was, thanks Layla!

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Tiered Jewelry Stand {DIY}

Was it just me, or did your heart skip a beat when you saw Layla's Valentine cupcake stand? Talk about cute!! This project really hit home with me, and I was really inspired. How cupcakes translated to jewelry, I'll never know, but I got to work.
I literally had everything on hand including the E6000, which is just the best adhesive for this type of project. What else will you need to complete this project?? Patience. And a lot of it. This is not done quickly.

I played around with a lot of different configurations....I raided my milk glass collection and I have one in the works for the kitchen and even a bird feeder, so stay tuned for those. As soon as they are completely done, I'll show you. Anyway, I knew I wanted something for jewelry to go along with the Necklace Hanger I previously made (take a look at it HERE).

After I found the right configuration and scale/proportion, I started from the bottom and glued up. I only glued a section at a time, let it dry and then move on to the next part. This way everything stays level (which I recommend using). It ended up being 16" tall.

As per the directions on the tube of E6000, apply the glue to both surfaces and wait a couple of minutes before sticking together. I think that is the real trick here.

The metal and glass bonded together very well.

In Layla's project, she used lamp parts, which is genius, and that's what I used for the base. I had an old milk glass lamp in the garage and it came apart beautifully.
I think that is why I'm doing more than one project....so I can use up all the lamp parts. The brass candle holders are vintage....well everything is vintage except for the little ceramic bird. I decided to use that for the 'finial' on top. He can hold necklaces around his neck and plus, he never stayed up straight anyway, so I glued his butt to the top. He won't be rolling around now! :)

I really love how it turned out and it's got a real vintage flavor, which is what I was after

A big thank you to Layla for the inspiration! Check out all of the cute Valentine's Day ideas (and more) at the Lettered Cottage.

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Ombre Canvas Totes {DIY}

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has noticed how the ombre trend is trickling into home decor. I have been enamored with it in fashion and I'm glad to see creative ideas for interiors too.

I'm a sucker for a good centerpiece, and I just love this one. Even the place cards are gradient!

Source: rangolijewellery.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

This coverlet from Urban Outfitters is a perfect example (and ruffles too, hello!).

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Michelle on Pinterest

So, I had to try my hand at OMBRE! I had to start small....I mean I haven't dyed anything since doing tie-dye t-shirts in high school (and high school is becoming fuzzy), so canvas totes seemed like a good project. Can you handle one more project for the laundry room? I hope so! Before the Laundry Room redo, I used these canvas totes to organize light bulbs and extension cords. I didn't think they made the cut, but I still felt like I needed them, and too much storage you can never have. The problem was, when I put them in their current condition in the laundry room, they looked dingy.

I found this type of dye at Walmart, I didn't even know there was any other fabric dye other than Rit, but I decided to give Tulip a try. The color selection is limited, but they have turquoise and I looked no further.

I followed the directions, boiled a gallon of water (notice the steam) and stirred in the dye. I put the tote in the mixture and let the dye start absorbing. Like I said though, I have never really done this sort of thing...I thought that the canvas would just keep absorbing to the top, but it did not. After 45 minutes, the color never rose more than three or so inches

I was a little disappointed that the color didn't go further, but it was just a matter of inexperience. It finally dawned on me to get a lighter color, do a quick dunk in the dye.....so I dunked each side quickly in the dye bath (wear gloves!). To get it even lighter along the top, I used the sprayer and rinsed some of the dye out.


I did all three totes in the same bath and let them dry overnight. I am really pleased with the results!


I had to do a little rearranging on top of the cabinets, but they fit just fine!

They don't look dingy anymore!

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The Kitchen Facelift: One Year Later

It seems hard to believe that a solid year has past since we did the kitchen facelift.

Do you remember where it all started? Not a bad kitchen, but it wasn't for us. I still get emails from people that are mortified that I painted the wood. For us, painted cabinetry was the way to go.


Do I have any regrets? Not.a.single.one.

One of the best decorating decisions I've made. Not much has changed in the year either (that's a good sign, right?) I thought that I would at least have some type of curtains covering the windows....nope. I like them with just the bamboo shades.

How about the wear and tear? Has the painted finish held up? For the most part, yes. There are some fingernail nicks that happen with everyday use and over time, especially around the handles. Specifically the cabinet right above the coffee pot where I reach in and grab a mug each morning....When I was painting the cabinets for the laundry room, I did a quick touch-up and it wasn't bad at all.

The new sink and faucet are still functioning well. The only design flaw with the faucet is that it has to be tightened every so often and the tightening screw is in a bad spot, but other than that I love it. The best feature is the pull out sprayer, I still love that.

Logan has done his fair share of damage to the lower cabinets, running his big plastic motorcycle into them, airplanes that have to make a 'crash' landings and countless other scenarios (Mother's of six year olds know what I mean). But that is, after all, the main reason for going black on the bottom! :)

Another decision that I made was to paint the oak trim on the counter tops....this has been great and held up remarkably well. I thought that it would get a lot of nicks, but it hasn't. The only wear has happened on the peninsula where most of my projects and crafting happen, but it's hardly even noticeable.

Overall, if I had to do it over again, I would in a heart beat.

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