Hi, friends-
I wanted the dragonflies and ketchup and mustard color scheme to go away ASAP, so I picked a color without testing it out and without thinking about how it would actually look in this room.
Inspiring creativity at home with crafts, DIY, and home decor projects.
by Bre
Hi, friends-
I wanted the dragonflies and ketchup and mustard color scheme to go away ASAP, so I picked a color without testing it out and without thinking about how it would actually look in this room.
by Bre
Last weekend I got to go shopping by myself.
As a mother of small children, do you know how precious that time was?
I was actually able to browse around and go into stores with breakable merchandise. It was so liberating and SO INSPIRING!!!
A direct result of that shopping trip was this project . . . my knockoff West Elm Brass Base Terrarium.
West Elm’s Brass Base Terrariums are beautiful. They come in two sizes – small and large – and are priced at $29.50 (small) and $59 (large). The interesting thing about the West Elm terrarium is that it looks like the bowl is almost tipped on its side, as opposed to being straight up (like mine). West Elm also sells the succulents to go inside of the terrarium at $12.50 a pop.
I love the low-maintenance nature of succulents and I wanted one of these terrariums. But I wasn’t about to lug one around the mall with me, nor was I about to pay $42 for a terrarium and one succulent. So yeah, I decided to try making one myself.
West Elm’s terrarium definitely looks nicer. But I think mine is okay, too. And for just $7 all in (like, with the plants), I’ll take it. And since my glass bowls aren’t tipped on their side, these can be used for taller plants as well. Bonus!
Here are the materials I used:
Determine the desired size of your wood base by placing your glass bowl on top and deciding how large you want the bottom square to be. Measure and cut. (Ignore all the junk in my garage. We just finished a renovation and had to store a bunch of stuff in there. It’s normally not this messy!)
Once the paint has dried, apply the glue to the bottom of your glass bowl. Affix to the wood and follow the package’s instructions for proper adhesion. (NOTE: the glue does not dry clear so be sure not to apply too much or it will squeeze out the bottom of the bowl and leave a visible glue ring around your bowl and base.)
by Bre
Oh my gosh.
I have been going through total furniture painting withdrawal. The warm weather cannot come soon enough. I need to get back in the garage and breathe new life into some worn and weathered pieces that have been waiting for me since last fall.
Since reliable outdoor painting weather in Chicago is still pretty far away, however, I have to settle for smaller projects that can be accomplished indoors. Case in point, a plain wooden tray that I painted with a grain sack motif – a motif I’ve envisioned using on a coffee table that’s waiting for me in the garage. I needed a place to corral remote controls and coasters in the living room and I figured this tray would do the trick.
This was the perfect chance to test out painting grain sack stripes and to attempt a freezer paper image transfer technique, which is something I’ve wanted to try for awhile now. It turned out better than I expected, so naturally I loooove it. (Clearly my son loves it too. Or maybe he just loves stealing the tea light out of the bird candle holder I’ve temporarily placed in the tray so that it looks more “interesting” in the photo.)
by Bre
Over the weekend I tackled a project that’s been on the to-do list for far too long – repainting our main staircase. In the process, I was reminded of how much of a pain in the you-know-what repainting a staircase is, and I thought of five important tips for painting a staircase to share with you . . . tips that I wish I would have known the first time I painted this staircase.
by Bre
After dealing with sick kids all last week and over the weekend, this week just has to be better for me! Fingers crossed that my kids will spend less time in front of the TV and more time in their playroom having fun (and not whining and crying – I can’t take much more)!
Speaking of their playroom, I’m so excited to show you some art that I recently made some to help liven the place up a bit. This “PLAY” art used leftover canvases, scrapbook paper I had on hand, and materials from Dollar Tree. It was easy and inexpensive, which are necessary attributes of any project of mine!