It all started with this adorable cat illustration…

I put it in a frame as soon as I received it over a year ago… always intending to improve it’s situation “later”. As you can see, it’s a little awkward, the white areas seem a little strange, and contrast against the frame (a very affordable Ikea number I had lying around). Then, it hit me. I don’t want to hunt down the perfect frame, trim the artwork, purchase custom matting, there must be a way to use what I have, not spend a penny and be happy with the result. Right?

Enter the Mod Podge.

Call me crazy… but I wanted to Decoupage right over the frame, and over the glass, leaving that little kitty cat right where he was. I didn’t have anything to lose, so I gave it a shot.

If you have a cutting board, utility knife, thin decorative paper, and some Mod Podge, you can try this out too.

You can imagine what comes next. I took some paper cut to size to work with the frame, then… get that glue working for you. On the back of the paper, all over the frame and then use your paintbrush or sponge applicator, and more importantly, your fingers, to move and shift everything into place. That’s the sticky part. You can have fun peeling it off your fingers later on! ;)

And after waiting, very impatiently, for some drying time… ta-da!

I think it gives it a really nice folk art kind of a look no? Perfect addition to Olivia’s nursery.

Isn’t he swell? This gorgeous print is part of a collection of the most fun, and whimsical prints from Berkley Illustration. Find them on their Etsy shop, and to learn a little more about the Illustrator, check out their recent interview here.

Oh, I can’t wait to get him up on the wall in Olivia’s nursery in a fun photo grouping!

This was alright. Pretty simple, but not really doing it for me. Time to get a more layered eclectic look. So…

Ta-da! See the little greyhound working hard holding up our family albums and books? Going up the wall has given us the opportunity to include some family photos, and the framed sculpted paper art, makes it a little more special.

The vase, “E”, and floral tea light holder were already there, the books migrated to the mantle, and some natural branches add an organic touch. Let’s take a step back and enjoy shall we?

The 12″ depth of the mantle leaves it open for a few different options.

So there you have it. A very simple before and after. Hang a couple of photos, add a few books, but a very different look no?

The only thing that could be better… is if there were two! You knew I couldn’t leave his partner behind. Time to put these guys to work, and I know just the job…

After all the hard work we’ve put into the fireplace mantle, we need to do it justice with a little more personality than this:

Okay. But we can do better. Stay tuned… we’ll reveal the little doggie’s new home tomorrow!

Step one, find some pretty glass or ceramic bottles. Check. Peel off any labels and stickers. Check. (If you have a problem with extra sticky labels, try a little paint thinner on some paper towel, rub over the area, and presto! All gone.)

Next, enter the clear mailing label. Something like this or this. Check out Avery’s free templates here, so there’s no guessing when it’s time to print. It’s so simple! Just create your labels with your text and fonts of choice. I decided on “Wash your hands.”, “Do the dishes.”, and “Moisturize”. Print out your labels and apply to your fancy grown-up bottles, and…

Voilá! So pretty! Tip: Apply a second clear label overtop, to protect your work. When working with inkjet printers, your ink will run if wet!

So much better right?! But how about that tray?

Well, if you’ve got some left over Christmas chocolates, you might just have a tin box hanging around the house. Something like this perhaps?

It’s the perfect size, but I wasn’t diggin’ the brown chocolate swirls on the outside.

So, I taped off the inside leaving a small metal border around the inside…

Applied some creamy spray paint (suitable for metals of course)…

Let ‘er dry, and peel away your tape, and…

The perfect sized try with a mirrored effect on the inside! Free of cost, with materials already found around the house! So be sure to hunt around in your cupboards and under your sink. Who knows what you’ll find to reinvent into something useful!

So… for all my Canadian beauties out there… did you know Joe Fresh has nail colours??! And, they are affordable, and they have a ton of colours in the most trendy up-to-date shades. 3 for $10? Sold!

Fair-skinned like me? Try Coral or Sun-Kissed. Why haven’t I seen these before?!

So many uses. So simple, so pretty. A great investment at a very reasonable price! Check them out!

Who knew it would be a challenge to know what fits baby at any given time. Or, that reaching into a drawer and pulling out something the wrong size could be so disappointing.

All you need:

• thin cardboard (think cereal or gift box)
• scrapbooking paper (in the patterns of your choice)
• straight edge
• circular container (small baby formula size worked great)
• scissors
• spray glue
• pencil

For each divider, you will take one sheet of cardboard, and 2 sheets of scrapbooking paper. Apply spray glue to the front and back of the cardboard, and attach your scrapbooking paper to each side with the pattern facing out.

Next, take your circular container and trace two circles overlapping, and use your straight edge to connect the sides of the circles to achieve an oblong sort of shape. (I’ve shown it here on plain cardboard so you can see it a little better).

Use your scissors to cut out your shapes.

Next, take another circular shape (this can be anything, but remember it needs to be slightly larger than the circumference of your closet clothing bar), and trace it out on your divider, in the top centre.

Cut on an angle (consistently for each divider), into your centre circle, and continue cutting around the circle until it is completely punched out.

All that’s left to do is label each divider with the clothing size.

And, there you have it. Everything in its place. It is a wonderful thing.

As far as I can tell she approves of her nursery, her change table, and her dresser. Here is a peek at our little one, winking in the new year.

For a little extra fun, my photos were taken with the Hipstamatic App for iPhone.

What have you got planned for your Christmas baking?