I Made a Box for Your Card; You're Welcome.

I was in the check out line of the local grocery store a while ago and an orange clearance sticker caught my eye. They were stuck on these fake book box things - I'm sure you're familiar. I grabbed two of different sizes ($3.50 & $5) with immediate intentions of using one of them as a card box.  I "fixed" the smaller box and will stack it on the larger one to add depth to the table's elements.

The lining on the inside was a wine red color - not one of my wedding colors - so that had to be "fixed." I'd also already picked up a little glittery banner that said "Cards" that I wanted to use. I remembered I'd bought this book of freakingamazing paper from the craft store so I snagged that, cut the paper to size (only for the lid since that would be most visible. Then I washi-taped the edges which doubled as a clean edge and also held on the fishing line from the banner. The lid would flip open too far so I added a length of blue ribbon and boom. done. 

See:

Toot Toot: Wonderland Edition

I cannot remember how old I was, but my Nana once gave me a copy of Alice Through the Looking Glass. It has always been one of my favorite tales - an escape into another's wild adventure. As an adult I remember small details from the story: A girl, Alice, who has presumably fallen down a (tardy!) rabbit's hole and proceeds to drink some magic potions, join a Mad Hatter for a tea party, and meet the Queen of Hearts. Oh, and something about a sly kitty cat and chubby caterpillar that smokes. These are things around which my mind has formed my own story and will now be the centerpiece of...

My bridal shower :) 

A few lovely bridesmaids are working their imagination around the clock to come up with the dopest Mad Hatter Tea Party inspired ideas that they possibly can. My Type-A brain has set up a shared Pinterest board and an Etsy board for us to share ideas and to use as inspiration for projects, one of which I'm about to share! (This is just the one project so far that my MOH has let me do [thank you!] because I'm 94% done with wedding stuff and am antsy to help with this shindig!) 

Wedding Craft: Gold Polka Dotted Vases

Shortly after getting myself engaged I came across these 9" tall cylinder vases at Crate&Barrel. Sooo I bought ten and they sat in the box in our room until this week. 

I considered wrapping them in some leftover lace with floating candles but I wasn't totally sold on the idea; I'm glad I waited until I found the inspiration for my final product via StyleMePretty.

This process was pretty straightforward, as usual. I used the same gold paint I used on the ring box and "&" and a pack of variable sized round sponge ...brushes? sticks? thingies? that I found at Michael's.  I also grabbed an "artist's palette" (that red bowl there) & a paper towel for when I spilled a bit of the obligatory glass of wine (spoiler alert - I didn't spill any!). And the other obligatory-tool-whilst-crafting: Arrested Development. 

Before:

The After, with romantic-lighting:

I started at the bottom of each vase using my largest round sponge and then polka-dotted about 1/3rd of the way up. Then I used the next two smaller sizes in the same manner, overlapping the sizes slightly. A sweet fade, if you will. Go ahead and click that link, you'll be delighted by it. Also, let me know if you were surprised by the result...

Initially I wasn't digging the texture the sponge left but it kind of reminds me of a lacy zinnia flower and I was ready to be done so I left it as you see it. AND it only took seven episodes of AD to get 10 of them done! 

I grabbed and lit just the two 3x3" candles to see how the light reflected off another vase and I just adore the look! It's just what I imagined - a little bit of vintage, whimsy, and mod!

Hanky Bed for My Preciouses

A couple of weeks ago I finished a wedding project, the box for my precious, but I didn't exactly finishfinish it as I still needed to make two little pillows with a pretty ribbon to tie the rings in. 

I have some scrap lace from some table runners I snagged from another bride (she knows about it, I assure you.) and thought it would be really pretty to do two little ring pillows using that lace. Well, I didn't have any polyfil and after pricing a bag of it at Wal-mart the other day - the price wasn't an issue, it was a quantity thing. You can only buy this stuff in quantities like: Fill the Penthouse or Cover Everest with Fluff. 

Cue impatience. I'm for reals ready to cross another thing off my to-craft list!

I only needed a handful of stuffing so I figured I would just find a sacrificial pillow around the house and steal some from it. It would be an unceremonious event and everyone would be better for it. ...right?

A Golden & & a Box for My Precious

Actually, it's a golden box to hold two My Preciouses. I realize this goes against there's only one "My Precious" but this is me not caring.

Early in the wedding pinning planning process I cam across a DIY that seemed pretty quick and easy. Turns out it was! Although, I managed to spread the project out over about 4 months. Talented, I know.

I bought an unfinished little box and "Sahara Gold" metallic acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby, ordered some vinyl decals from CraftCuts.com, and grabbed a quart of paint I've been saving for (seriously) nearly 8 years. That last part I don't recommend; I'm pretty sure that's a no-no. But it was super duper high quality paint from PPG called Newport Berry Blue or Newberry blue. I'm too lazy to go look. I've been saving it for a very special project. 

I was also working on finishing an  "&" sign I purchased off Etsy. I was pretty sure I wanted it gold so I bought some green spray paint while I was at Hobby Lobby. Which was a good thing because I decided I didn't want it all gold. I know me so well...

A series of mildly-acceptable-quality photojournalistic moments captured during the process:

So, I'm getting married.

Stephen asked that I be his forever and I said "omg omg omg omg omg omg YES!" There was some jumping around, smiling like smiling is my favorite, and all around "AAAAAAAH's!" throughout the evening. He got the boys in on it - just after I finished taking their pictures on the porch of them in their costumes, they insisted I go back in because "Daddy needed my help with something." 

I'll be honest - I was suspicious. They way they were smirking was indicative of more than "I'm about to get a bunch of candy, y'all!" It was more of a "I'm about to load up on candy like I'm on Oprah's Favorite Things episode!!" smirk.

But another nugget of truth - I really had no freaking idea. 

This was no trick, it was allllll treat :)

We picked a venue before we picked a date - of which we now have both. I've found an amazing duo of wedding coordinators, Fabulous Fete, to help me out. Photographer is booked. And the really important parts - the food and bar - are underway. This is soooo stinking exciting!

In the midst of all this I'm taking a few more classes - I aced Accounting 100 & Humanities 112 last semester. I'm working on (well, supposed to be at this very moment) Sociology 100 and my first Project Management Class, BUS 375. 

Even more important than that, though, is that my best friend in the world, Sarah, got engaged mid-November! She's opted for a short engagement so life is about to get a lil bit more fun for all of those closest to me! I'm getting a hot pair of red heels out of the deal, too, sooyouuuknooowwww, I'm absolutely delighted!

The biggest project I've worked on so far is finding a way to officially ask my girls to be my wingbitches. I scoured the internet (*pinterest) for ideas and came up with a box full of goodies relevant to The Big Day (TBD from here on out. ain't nobody got time to keep typin that shit out.)

Here's what I came up with, from their POV:

she's all like "GASP! I have maaaaaaail!"

Warning Labels & Glass Etching

You know a project is going to be fun when a label's warning reads:  

Eye Contact: May cause severe irritation with possible corneal burns.

Skin Contact: Causes severe burns and fluoride-like burns which may not be immediately evident. Skin contact may cause hypocalcemia by skin absorption. The fluoride components of this product can penetrate the skin and destroy the deep tissue layers, including bone tissue. This damage to the body's tissues may continue for days, as the fluoride ion reacts with the calcium in the skin and bone. Severe skin-contact exposures (especially when the skin contamination exceeds 160 Sq. Cm.) can cause hypocalcemia, a life-threatening lowering of serum calcium in the body.

Inhalation: May cause irritation to the respiratory tract and lung damage if exposure is excessive. Inhalation may lead to hypercalcemia, due to absorption of the fluoride components.

Hmmm... Sounds like a blast!! This particular project isn't the first that I've done using the glass etching stuff, but it was the only one I've remembered to photograph. And even at that, I didn't do any "during" photographs - too busy not getting hypocalcemia. Sorry (but not really), I can't risk lowering my levels of serum calcium to life-threatening levels.

The bestie had a birthday recently and I knew I wanted to make her some Rolo Cookies but I hadn't decided on an acceptable presentation of said delectableness. I found a simple white box with a "window" like those you might take home from a bakery; it was inexpensive and would suffice. But THEN I remembered that even a carrier should be used to enhance a gift - aesthetically pleasing and useful! For instance: I refuse to buy gift bags anymore - I buy those $1 reusable shopping totes; they're mega cheaper, generally have cooler designs, and the recipient is likely to get more use out of the bag - as opposed to using it just one more time to give away.

Anyways, here's the cookie carrier, in all it's etched "vintage" (read: imperfect) glory.

I used some glass etching crap I found at Hobby Lobby, a foam brush, some faded recollections of projects past, a razor blade, and contact paper. I can't recall the original tutorial I followed to make some Christmas gifts last year but basically went like this: 

• Find perfect "S" design and print it. Big.
• Reprint smaller.
• Revise fancy design.
• Find new, more simple design.
• Don't give up! (This step is crucial!)
• Figure out how you'll need to cut and then adhere your design to the sticky side of the contact paper. I have no more advice than this as I cannot remember how my brain worked it out.
• Clean glass, according to etching bottle mfr's directions.
• Stick contact paper to glass.
• Very carefully and patiently, with your weapon, start cutting out the portion that you wanted "etched".
• Foam brush the creamy stuff onto the glass and follow packaging directions from there. 

Boom. (not an action, simply an exclamation)

Hopefully yours won't look as "vintage" as mine :)

& Although she loved it, the lid didn't make it to the end of the evening; I knew I should've put a rim of hot glue around it... oh well. Now she can use it as a fish bowl. Or penny collector. Or cork holder. Or she can begin to collect cat hair; I hear there are tons of crafts that call for cat hair!

Blue Deer and Hanging Things

I had a rad post written out. Pressed backspace and Google deleted it. So here.

Deer bookends that I snagged at Goodwill. I painted them blue so they're cool as shit now.

And a serving tray I scored a great deal on at Tuesday morning. I slapped it with some wallpaper, screwed in some cup hooks (after predrilling, mind you - bamboo is easily split.) and then hung my shit up after I organized it. Boom.

Thanks, Ashley at Mini Manor Blog for the rough idea. Cutlery Tray for Jewelry!

The Green Monster

A while back I purchased a hutch from CL. $30 and a quick trip across town and this ole'thing was allll ours:

I knew where I wanted / needed it in the house but that was as far as I'd planned ahead. After a quick convo with Stephen we decided it needed to be bold: I threw out turquoise and he suggested red. I wasn't going red but almost simultaneously we both suggested apple / lime green.

Our green monster baby was conceived.

A few months later, he's herrrrre! er, done, rather. The process was less than intense but took much longer than the man preferred. I started by cleaning the unit with some TSP and a rag - carefully following directions. I didn't know I should've read the directions on everything first: 

Anyways; moving on. I've heard only great things about Zinsser Cover Stain so I decided to try it out. I applied two coats since the blue was so dark - one coat with a decent paint brush, the 2nd coat with a cheap ass foam brush. The foam sponge thing kicked ass.

Eventually I started painting it. I like to really, really make sure the primer has "cured" before step duex. I'm a dirty liar; I'm just lazy. Or was working on starting a few other projects instead.

After two, probably four (by choice & because one coat was done while drunk and it dried looking like it was melting), coats of paint - first with the brush then a final coat with the foam - it was ready for some 'urethane, what what! I grabbed a satin finish, because it just felt right, and foamed on two coats of it. The can suggested three but Stephen was not into having that thing in the garage for another week. 

We installed the mega inexpensive stemware racks I found on Amazon and then he spray painted the beadboard slat things high-gloss gray, nailed them in and tadaaaa. The gray grounds that bright ass shade of green and doesn't overwhelm you to the point of convulsions. I also like how the cork worked as a shelf liner; I intended to use it on all three shelves but didn't feel like cutting anymore to size. 

There was original brass hardware that came with it; we considered replacing it but noticed the holes for the existing pulls were nowhere near standard width so I decided instead to paint them with Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze. <3

It's still not quite done - I need to grab a case of wine for the middle shelf and I want the stemware hangers to be hung slightly different. Eventually the drawers will be lined with contact paper or something equally cost effective and aesthetically pleasing. ..eventually.

Stephen is getting used to his scotch being across the room. Seriously, we're gonna have to find a way to bring the kitchen counters closer to the alcohol; he did suggest putting the green thing on wheels. Not too shabby an idea, sir.

Anyways, I'm just thrilled with the results; all the hours spent in the hot garage, DEET'd up (skeeters suck.) and sometimes drunk-up, were well worth it.

Now, to figure out what to fill those drawers with... ;)