Shiny Candy

I figured instead of keeping everyone waiting on pretty after photos of the bookcases I might as well just dive right in.  But first lets back up.  To paint the bookcases I really only needed to take off what was on the shelves.  Everything else could stay in the drawers and cabinets. So I took off all the books and piled them neatly in front of my fireplace. 

 

Fast forward 3 weeks when the bookcases were ready to be used, I decided it was time to give the office a good cleaning.  Yes, this is my husbands 'space', but in my defense this 'space ' is like a black hole of crappola.  I was sick of putting his mail neatly on the side of his desk only to find it a week later spilled on the floor, unopened.  Nails on a chalkboard I tell you! 

 

So I took the opportunity during one of his out of town business trips to go to work....

 

Just keeping it real here folks! Good design isn't just about the pretty after pictures all the time.  There is usually a process in getting there, and here is mine. 

 

 I labeled bags and sorted for hours. It was liberating! 

And for the record, he was very appreciative that I took the time to do this because in the long run it will save him HOURS of looking for lost documents.  So it was a win-win.

Anywoo, as a reminder here is where I left off last time-

 

And here is what they look like now!!

 

 

Ahhh, so fresh and so clean!

 

I cant even tell you what a little white paint does for this space.  It has completely opened up the office and made it feel so much bigger than it is.  For a pair of bookcases that were headed to the sale pile, I gave them a new life (till I change my mind again).

And since everyone loves a side by side- here is the before and after one more time..

  I've still got a few more projects for the office to show you, but for now I'm so happy with how they turned out.

 

Now go grab that white paint brush and get to work! 

 

Polka-dot-in-time

Ever since I saw Stephanie's adorable closet nursery post I've been looking for a spot to do my own dots.  (PS if you haven't seen it, go check it out, it is beyond cute)

 

The stencil seemed easy enough, I mean who cant tape up a stencil and color in a few dots?  WRONG. 

 

Holy cow does it take time, and patience and did I mention time.  I thought my bathroom was the perfect place to add some pizazz with dots, after all I have been looking for a way to give that pink tile an update.  But after 2 full nights work, this is where I'm currently at

 

 

I thought I had a tiny apartment bathroom, UNTIL I look at it in measurements of 1" dots and 12' ceilings. Holy time consuming to say the least. 

 

Needless to say my weekend will be filled with stenciling and more stencling.  Good thing the weather man says its going to rain all weekend, I wont feel as bad staying indoors. 

 

In the meantime lets take a look at how I hope my walls might look when I'm finished

 

Good Homes

 

via avotakka

 

anyone know the original source to this one??

 

 

Wish me luck this weekend, I'm going to need it!

 

 

 

Upgraded Brown Paper Packages

Like other Christmas crazy folks out there each year I plan a different color palette for my decorations and wrapping.  This year I decided to go back to an old standard, red, green, silver, gold & tartan!  I start searching for ideas for tree skirts, mantle decor and wrapping paper early in November.  Yes, I am totally that crazy lady asking the folks at Homegoods when the Christmas wrapping paper is going to hit shelves.

I purchased early and planned out my wrapping combination.  I had red faux crocodile, silver stag heads, candy cane print and gold faux bois.  

 

But after putting them all together I realized something was missing... something more than just ribbon.  It was green wrapping paper!  After hitting the stores again I just couldn't find what I was looking for, a matte paper with a simple green pattern.  A DIY project was in order, I had to make my own.

Polka dots!!

I had left over wrapping paper from last year, so using Frog Tape I secured it to my desk with the plain white side up.

Using an existing stamp I had on hand, I simply glued a small round rubber dot on the other end

 

 

I used my favorite Evergreen Color Box stamp pad. The name seemed Christmas appropriate

 With my single polka dot stamp I went to town stamping all over the sheet of wrapping paper.  A smart person might go out and get one of those polka dot sheet stamps, but I used what I had.

 

All done!!

I didn't let the first sheet dry long enough and ended up with green hands.  So do yourself a favor and let this dry overnight, if not longer so the ink is good and set.

Check back next week to see my packages all wrapped up in this festive green polka dot paper.  But to hold you over till then here is a little sneak peek I posted on Instagram (you should follow me if you don't already, everythingLEB)

 

10 more shopping days till Christmas!!

Bottled with love

Right before Thanksgiving I get in the most insane Christmas crafty mood.  I research, prepare and make list after list of what DIY projects I'll do that Christmas season.  This year my list of things was HUGE.  I have not finished everything on the list, but I'm staying positive I will!

 

Anywoo- I've been meaning to make my own vanilla for ages now.  Not that I really bake (actually the last time I baked was last Christmas)  but I sure love a good DIY project.  But seriously, I wanted to make them for stocking stuffers. 

 

This might be the easiest project ever- one stop at Trader Joe's to pick up Vodka and vanilla beans, then a jaunt over to The Container Store for

airtight bottles and I was in business.

 

 

Make sure to sanitize the bottle beforehand. Once it's clean just add the vanilla bean, fill 'er up with vodka and wait.....

Obvi I added a ribbon and a cute little label. 

 

I think they turned out adorable, if I do say so myself.  Such a darling little bottle, made with love.

 

 

(PS- You'll notice these are only light brown in color- that means they aren't quite ready to bake with yet. Directions online say to wait at least 4-6 weeks. You'll know they are ready when they smell divine and are a nice dark brown color)

 

Mala-I-can-do-it!

When those creative juices start flowing my apartment tends to blow up.  Meaning everything comes out of storage, there is stuff all over the floor and I live in this mess till my juices are all dried up and I decide its time to clean up.  The issue is, this clean phase only lasts a few days.  With all the open space on my family room floor it's the perfect place to start a new project.  And the cycle continues. 

The other day I had all of my paint stuff out (not for any specific project, it was out because nothing had been picked up from the last craft session) and I was sitting on the couch reading blogs, staring at this bottle of green paint.  Then it hit me like a light bulb.  MALACHITE!

There are so many awesome faux malachite projects out there and I've been itching to try some.  I had a wood box and a pile of old Ikea mats sitting next to me. I started with the mats and this is what I came up with

 

I don't think the black and white art will stay, I just whipped it up so I could show you all the mat in use.

 

Its not perfect, but it got me to cross something off my craft bucket list.

 

242,354.  Paint something faux malachite.

 

I also painted a box for my husbands dresser, but she wasn't photo ready yet.  Her debut will have to wait for now.

 

If you google faux malachite you'll be amazing at the awesome projects people have done.  Go forth and paint malachite. 

 

Happy weekend everyone!

 

 

 

Pinned into reality

I could spend hours in Pinterest.  Actually, I do spend hours on there.  There so many amazing ideas things people have made that I want to try myself. So I pin them and they go to rest in my Crafty Ideas Pinterest board never to see the light of day again.

Until today! Mostly because this was an easy idea and also a simple fix to something that has bothered me since the day I got them.

My problem: two keys that look exactly alike and always get mixed up.
The fix: nail polish!

Here was the idea I pinned

via

I settled on pink with a topcoat of glitter, here's how my new key looks

It makes getting in the door with an armful of groceries so much easier.  I cant believe I didn't do it sooner!

So this weekend go get the nail polish out and paint those confusing keys!

Happy Friday Everyone!



Get my paint on!

Just before school started last week I was feeling a bit creative.  I knew my free time was limited so I wanted to get in some me crafting time before school projects dominated my time.

I had purchased a few small canvases from my local art store that had been sitting unused for quite some time.  It was time to get my paint on.

(4x7 canvas)

Don't mind the photos with the flash, it was the only way to show the real colors of each painting

 

(5x5 canvas)

As with a lot of the projects I do spontaneously, I'm not quite sure where I'm going to put these yet.  But for now they are looking pretty on my dresser.  They give a little color to my bedroom when I don't have flowers in there.

Is it Friday yet?

A is for...

... a new towel in my kitchen.  A few months back West Elm had these super cute hand towels on sale and I had to have one.  They didn't have the monogram I wanted so I decided to make my own.

I used some fabric medium mixed with black paint

and some trusty stencils from the craft store 

And my West Elm hand towel turned personal in 5 minutes

It's the personal touches that make my rental apartment my own.

I just noticed that white bowl that's in the photo is empty again. Time to stock up at the farmers market before Summer is over. So sad it's coming to and end soon.  School starts next week!

Scrapbook Wall

Part of my updated gallery wall was peaking out in my post on Monday, so I thought I'd share pictures with you all on how it stands today.

As a refresher, this is what it looked like for the LONGEST time because someone I live with hated the idea of a gallery wall.  I won't name names.

And here is where it stands today

It is close to impossible to get a good photo of this wall.  It's in a hallway, there is zero natural light , and the fact that I don't have a go go Gadget camera to get the right shot makes things difficult.

I think of this wall as evolving, because it's constantly changing.  I'm always taking something down and tweaking it, or adding something new.  Each piece in this wall is meaningful and that's what I love about it.  Here are some of my favorites:

You can see more detail about certain pieces in the following links: PVE elephant art, Blue Boy, quote from my Grampy, Ork Poster, and the Handfasting cord

I guess you could call my gallery wall a scrapbook of sorts.  That's my new name for it, the Scrapbook Wall.

Tell me, do you have a Scrapbook wall or even a piece of art that brings back wonderful memories?

painted corners

It only took me a few months but I finally finished the umbrella stand my Dad made me.  The last time I showed you all the stand it looked something like this

I painted it white but unable to make any decisions about what else to do, it sat unfinished in my hallway for a long time.  Last week I finally made a decision and wanted to get some brass corners to fancy it up. Of course the brass corners I had my heart set on were out of my price range.

 
So I improvised and painted my own brass corners.

It certainly has been getting a lot of use with all the rain we've had this Summer.  I'm happy my much needed umbrellas have a pretty home now.

One Room Challenge: The Final

Has it really been six weeks already?  I cant believe the One Room Challenge (and the Summer for that matter) have flown by so quickly!

While this is suppose to be the final reveal, I call it my work in progress reveal.  I had big plans to get my shams monogrammed, but thanks to the USPS and a few glitches they arrived just in time for week 6.  They head out tomorrow to finally get monogrammed.

Ok enough talking, no one wants words in these posts, they just want pictures. To check out my progress over the past weeks go here. 

These were the many looks of my bedroom over the years and where I started from 6 short weeks ago...

...and here is how my bedroom looks after 6 weeks of work

The view from the door

I switched up the art. I still love the other pink and blue frames I did, I just have to find a new home for them

You don't even want to know how long that damn bolster pillow took me to make.  Lets just say I watched the ENTIRE opening ceremony for the Olympics, plus some.  I mean it involved using Pi (3.14) and for a Friday night my brain power was limited to say the least.  But miraculously it turned out perfect. Or what I like to think is perfect.

That blue and white striped chair has been the one constant in this space. You can't go wrong with a good stripe.

Just imagine those orange trimmed shams with a lovely monogram on them, ok.

I cant get enough of my gold leafed mirror. I should have done it YEARS ago.

It started to get dark out, hence the yellowy photo.  I'll take better ones once the shams are done. But my new tray and the cross stitched art are a lovely addition to my nightstand.

 I whipped up those silhouettes just as an option for the bedroom.  Clearly I like to have choices and options.  But they came out better than I expected and replaced the crazy pink and blue framed DIY art. At least for today.

My new jewelry box used to hold a Wine Rabbit.  Spray paint and a monogram really can turn a pumpkin into a carriage.

The end.

There you have it.  This ends the super fun One Room Challenge for now.  I do have a few other updates (like those shams) but for now I'm so glad I decided to just go for it and give my bedroom a good overhaul.  It certainly needed it. 

A big thank you to Linda from My Crafty Home Life for organizing this- I had a blast!!

Be sure to check out the 18 other bloggers to see how their One Room Challenge turned out.

Beth – Chinoiserie Chic

Sherry – Design Indulgence

Barbara – Hodge Podge

Kim – Kim Macumber Interiors

Lisa – Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany – Living Savvy

Jessie - Mix and Chic

Linda – My Crafty Home Life

Danylle - Nana Moon

Nicole – Nicole Scott Designs

Julia – Pawleys Island Posh

Jennifer – The Pink Pagoda

Nancy – Powell Brower Home

Lindsay – The Pursuit of Style

Emily – Rue de Emily

Lindsay – Sadie + Stella

Lauren- The Cottage Mix

Lisa – Trapped in North Jersey

Telling Time

My kitchen needs a makeover, big time.  I started with the rug, but it kind of got put on the back burner with this whole One Room Challenge thing.  I've got a list of projects that need to be finished in there and zero time to do them.  But sometimes projects just fall in my lap like one did last weekend. 

I was shopping at the Crate & Barrel outlet last weekend and I spotted a stack of cheapo clocks in the corner.  My kitchen to-do list popped up in my head and I remembered that I needed to replace my sad, dust mixed with kitchen grease wall clock. At a cool $6 and change experimenting on giving this new clock a facelift (because it did need a big facelift) was not going to break the bank if it didn't work out in the end. 

The before.  I've probably had that clock since the day I graduated college.  It's plastic and glass in it broke about a month after I got it.  Now that I think about it why the hell have I held onto it for so long? gross!

Here is the before of the new $6 clock I was working with

Not horrible, but not what I wanted in my kitchen.  I was not even sure at this point if I would be able to paint it and give it a new face but I got out my tools and gave it a try.

After taking out 6 screws the back popped right off and with it the glass came too. Yippie!

I took the clock outside right that second and gave it a few coats of gold spray paint.

Side note, I just used some basic Rustoleum Gold Metallic color. But after I had already finished my clock I saw this post on Mint Love Social Club and she used Design Masters spray paint in 14k Gold and I love it! I need to get my hands on some bottles of that stuff so I can repaint my clock

Can't forget the clock hands

And this is where I got so excited and forgot to take photos of cutting my new clock face and putting it back together. So I'll just cut to the after shots

You can't really tell in these photos but the new face on the clock is a light greenish-blue or blintish (blue and green together) as I named it.

I'm still not sure if I should put numbers on the face or even paint in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 with gold paint.  But the fun thing about this clock is that I can change up the look of it in 2.2 since the back screws right off.

So much better for my kitchen than the flat black plastic before.

Yeah for another low cost makeover.

Happy weekend everyone!!