Halloween Paper Lanterns

Did I mention I like Halloween? Yeah. Sure do. This year we’re adding a bit of drama to the walkway for all the kiddies with paper lanterns. If you want to light the way, here’s what you’ll need…

• Flameless candles (they run off a LED battery, and cost under $6 for 6 at Wal-Mart, batteries included).
• Paper bags (with or without window).
• Hot glue gun
• Felt cut-outs (bought or home-made — I found mine at the dollar store, 6 for $1.00).

I’m sure you can guess the rest from here, but take a few minutes with that glue gun, attach your spooky felt critters to the front of the bag, and add a flameless candle. Safe, cheap, and adds a lot of drama…

Happy Halloweening!

Halloween is near!

I love Halloween. It’s everybody’s chance to be a kid again, dress up, and make yourself sick from… Too! Much! Candy!!

Well, with just under a week to go, it’s time to get busy with some spooky decorating! Today’s project… Mad scientist experiments!

I wanted to keep to using items around the house for this project, so I used an egg for an eyeball, but I’m sure there are many great Halloween eyeballs out there in the stores for the season. Using markers, I decorated the egg, and then placed in a container with some yellow food colouring.

Then to make the water a bit frothy and more disgusting… I melted some marshmallows in the microwave, and mixed them in with the water. Adds a bit of grody texture!

And the best tip ever? I learned this one from Martha… use a hot glue gun to create spider webs!! So easy. Just make sure you start with a glue gun friendly base (I used a glass coaster). Then, I used a toothpick to carry the glue string from point to point. All of my containers are glass or steel, so it will be very easy to remove it all, come November. The finishing touch is a bit of cornstarch and cinnamon, as decades of dust, and a big juicy spider on top.

What is in the other spooky jars? I’ve got a pretend squid, with some dead vegetation from the garden, a handful of natural sliced almonds serve as toenails (ew!). And, some rice paper softened in water doubles as a big yucky snake skin! So fun. This display will have some scary lighting added, and will sit out on the front porch for all the kiddies to gawk at.

Do you have some great Halloween ideas?! Post some pics on our facebook page!

Happy Halloween all you ghosts and ghouls!

DIY: Place Cards

With the holiday season quickly approaching (can you believe I’ve already seen a Christmas commercial?), I thought I’d revisit a project from last year. Place cards!

We used this project for a large office Christmas party. We needed something cheap, sparkly, and festive. And, these hit the mark perfectly. But, these would be fun for a Halloween or Thanksgiving gathering as well.

What you’ll need:

• Mandarin oranges
• Hot glue gun
• Glitter
• 2 different coloured or patterned paper
• Toothpicks
• Scissors or paper punch

Start with the small Mandarin oranges. Simply use a hot glue gun to dot little dabs of hot glue at random all over the tops of the oranges. Sprinkle with some glitter and shake off the excess. Set aside to dry.

I chose to use a word processing program to type in all the names and print them out onto paper. But if you have great penmanship and a little more time, you could handwrite these in a script style, and it would look fantastic!

Then its simple. Cut each name tag out in a shape of your choosing (I had kind of a flag vibe going on here). Maybe you even have a fancy paper punch shape you can use. And, cut the same shape in a complementary paper. Place them a bit askew from one another and use a little got glue to not only stick them together, but also pop a toothpick inbetween them too.

All that’s left to do is pop your name tag into your sparkly orange and you’re done! When candlelight hits these little cuties, all over the table, it really adds to the atmosphere for the evening.

Have fun crafting kids!

 

Fresh Find: Shelving

I’m loving these beautiful shelving options… all inspired by our pollinating little friends. I think bees are on to something.

Boom Hive Wall Shelf – $160 USD
CB2 Hive Storage Unit – $79.95 USD

DIY: Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

So, I’ve been inspired to switch up our main bathroom a little bit, and the thought of a mason jar soap pump seemed pretty charming. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, but quickly learned I wasn’t the first one to have this thought. Apartment Therapy had a very similar project earlier this year — and it was great to know I was on the right track.

First, find yourself a mason jar.  You’ll also need a drill, a twist bit, a hole saw bit, the threaded top from an old soap bottle, and some contact cement. Don’t forget to find a soap pump top. I had an old soap dispenser under the sink, not being used, but you can find them at the dollar store and some craft stores, if you don’t already have one on hand.

I began my project by finding and marking the centre of my jar lid, and drilled a starter hole with the twist drill bit.

Next, I used the hole saw bit to cut a hole to accommodate the soap bottle top.

Make sure your bottle top will thread through the hole, but has and edge that will catch and stop it from being able to fit all the way through. This edge is what the contact cement will connect to the underside of the jar lid with.

I chose to use contact cement, but you could use epoxy, or a number of other adhesives that work with metal and plastic. It is important to keep in mind, that contact cement needs to rest before actually pressing the two surfaces together (10-60 minutes depending on your project). And, you may require a few coats, as I did.

After letting it dry completely (this took patience!). I twisted the soap pump onto the threaded top, and was done!

Now the rest of the bathroom just has to catch up! But, it’s a good start.

What do you think? Do you have any crafty DIY projects you’d like to share? Email a few low-res images here or share on our Facebook page!

Before and After: Antique Vanity

It’s been a blast from the past for me this week. This antique vanity used to be in my room as a kid, and once I moved out on my own, it went into storage. Well, it’s time has come to join the world again and get the attention it deserves!

Of course, it needed a little TLC. This was originally part of my grandparents bedroom set, given to them as a wedding gift in 1940. This vanity has seen some action over the years, and it shows. The semi-solid dark red stain was so marked up, it had me questioning what I was going to find underneath!

I used a belt sander for a quick couple of passes, and then finished up with a small hand-held sander (Black and Decker mouse). And, much to my enjoyment, found a beautiful wood grain underneath.

After sanding down the drawer fronts, I decided the best fit would be the existing hardware. You just can’t find them like this anymore. Considering the age, I feel so fortunate that they are intact with no chips or cracks.

Each handle has two pieces. A faux marbleized plastic topper with a brass-like metal pull.

The drawers have really come to life after a little clear Varathayne stain.

And, after all the sanding, cleaning, staining and sealing…

The matching stool needed a little update as well. This before is very… well, boring.

A fantastic addtion to our bedroom. And the new fabric on the stool matches the window seat cushion, for a special little touch. It fits right in! Couldn’t be happier to finally give this family heirloom a little attention, and bring a bit of history home.

What do you think? Share your own projects on facebook!

Photo Frames – Before and After

Friday gave me a little inspiration. Nope, not the day… the cat. My cat. My cat, Friday. She was perched in her usual spot on my bedroom window sill. The sunlight was pouring in and she was hiding behind my grasscloth blinds. This is what I saw:

Immediately, I imagined her silhouette in a frame, and what a cute way that would be to incorporate her into some artwork on our walls. But of course we can’t leave Oscar out of the fun…

The vision for this project all came together when I was rooting through my hope chest and came across a couple of 30+ year old, small plastic frames. That’s me on the right, and my big brother (not looking so big) on the left.

A coat of Krylon Fusion paint fixed the old-fashioned brassiness…

I took my pet’s images into Photoshop and outlined their faces to create their silhouette’s. I printed them out on my inkjet printer on regular paper.

All that was left to do, was cut out their images to best suit the oval shape of the frame, and insert into the frames! Easy!

I think it will be so cute to do one of me and the hubby, and group them all together on the same wall. Now, to keep my eyes peeled for a couple more larger scale frames that will compliment each other.

How do you incorporate your furry family members into your home?

Fresh Find: Homesense

Every once in a while, a sparkle catches my eye and I’m like a moth to a flame. Not one for impulse purchases, this one is an exception. I found these adorable cake stands at Homesense this weekend for $39.99 each. Not chump change, but I have a feeling these little beauties will have a nice long life, at home with me.

Welcome home ladies! I feel like baking a cake…