French {The Bee} Lamp

The other day I went to Savers Thrift Store to look for lamps and lampshades. Luckily, I found both-

The lampshades I found were a little soiled. But they were super cheap so I thought a lampshade cleaning experiment was in order. I got to use one on these sa-weet

Crate & Barrel Mercury Glass Lamps.

While I was there I found

this brand new lamp. It's nothing special, something you may have seen a million times. At first I wasn't sure what to do with it and was about to pass it by, but the shape of the lampshade pulled me back to it. I figured there had to be possibilities with a near barrel shaped lampshade and figured I could come up with something!

MATERIALS

Unsure of what to do with it, I primed it white with Rustoleum's Clean Metal Primer.  Then, well, then it sat in my pile of to do projects. Does this ever happen to you? You purchase something and then let it sit because you have no idea what to do next. Well it collected dust for ages, until I finally found some inspiration online by browsing "painted lamps."

Isn't "Google Image" the bomb? I seriously do not know what I would do without that search engine. 

Any-who, back to the lamp. I now had an idea and I painted it black. Then it got a few layers of clear coat. 

While that was drying, I put the shade on another base (the mercury glass one I did a few weeks back.) The next step was to turn to Microsoft Word. I copied the image I wanted and played around with the text until I had something I liked.

Once I had the template I wanted to use I printed it off and taped it to the inside of the lampshade.With the light on- it was really easy to see it, but if yours isn't you could trace it with a  black sharpie and then tape it to the inside.

I used Krylon Short Cuts Paint Pen to trace, then fill, in the image. Here you can see where I started, with just the "L" done.



Here's the close-up of the finished shade. I was pretty easy- the brush is super thin and worked like a charm. I wasn't too concerned about about perfection- I wanted it to look sort of worm.

I put this lamp in the spare bedroom/office. But the way things go around here, it could be moved anywhere in the upcoming weeks. Doesn't it feel like this is the way the lamp was supposed to look from the beginning? Hope you liked yet another lamp makeover.

Thanks for stopping in! What have you remade lately? Lighting? Your whole house? 

Faux "Ceramic" Elephant

It's no secret that people are loving animal decor. I am definitely on the band wagon. I came across this little foam and paper mache elephant at Michael's for one dollar (no pic- whoops!!) I wanted it to look like it was ceramic instead of paper- I wasn't sure I could do it, but for a dollar it was definitely worth a try.

First I looked through some images online to decide what I wanted to do with my little elephant. There were tons to chose from so I grabbed a few to share with you guys.

The first thing I did was prime it. Unfortunately I can't find the pic I took {two blogger faux pas in one project, *bummer.}
Anyhow, when I primed it you could still see the ridges from the layers of paper. Fail.

Hmm... so I thought to myself, what fixes cracks? I got out the spackle and applied a thin layer. Then, after it dried, I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. It actually took two applications before I got a smooth surface.

Then I primed it with Kilz, painted it bright green with Krylon's Gloss Meadow Green, then finished off with Krylon's Clear Coat in gloss.

The elephant is not a huge piece, but it is a cute little accent. Well worth a dollar and a little elbow grease I think. Don't you think it looks pretty close to the middle inspiration elephant? I think the smooth surface and the MANY layers of gloss clear coat made all the difference.

It seems like I never finish this table area. I am forever changing it, like here when I did the Anthro letter knock off with foil and here when I finished the ottoman, oh and how about then I did the book page wreath. 

Thanks for checking out my project!!

 

✥Sneak Peak-Sectional✥

You all know how I've been shopping for a grey sectional for months?! You guessed it, we decided on one! Yahoo! It was custom made and will take a few weeks to be made but remember when I talked about the mac compatible room planner found on the pottery barn website? I decided to use it to give you a sneak preview of our new couch~ 

As you can tell, I went with the larger size but the curved back. I like how the seating works better in the corner seat with a curved back, it allows for a for someone to sit correctly and have full room for their legs. With the true L shaped sectionals you cannot sit back in that spot and have leg room.

For now that's all I'm doing, if I can get the pics off my new phone I'll give you a few fabric swatches to preview as well!

I party HERE-

✥Cake Pots for Self Reliance {Visiting Teaching}✥

This post is a quickie I wanted to get out before the stinkin' month is over!

But sorry Ladies, I just got my visiting teaching done today! 

This month's message is on Self Reliance.

I had a thought that gardening is a HUGE part of self reliance. But instead of giving the girls a potted plant, I thought little cakes with icing and crumbled cookies that look like dirt would be perfect and maybe give a seed packet, too.

Here's what you wanna do to make the cake pots:

(1) Clean the pots and let them air dry

(2) Mix up the cake batter

(3) Cut parchment paper into circles and cover the hole at the bottom of the pot

(4) Oil the inside of the pots

(5) Cook for 40 to 45 minutes-they needed that long { My advice is to rotate the pots half way through. They wanted to cook better on the outsides of the pots. }

 

(6) Throw chocolate cookies in the food processor

(7) Ice the cakes one at a time once they are cooled

(8) Immediately sprinkle the chocolate crumbs on the iced cakes

Once you've done all that you can move onto the seed packets. I was a total copycat and just googled for one. You can check out this awesome one from Kristin called SeeMeVT. I didn't do a thing to it, just printed it out on green paper. Kristin did an awesome job and the scripture she chose was the same one for this month's lesson, so it was perfect!!

 For my seed packets I decided sprinkles would be the perfect "seed."

I love how this project all came together and the girls loved it too!

I party HERE-here

Ottoman Makeover

Here's a ottoman I recovered last week. When I found it, the legs were cracked and discolored. Unfortunately, I didn't take a true "before" pic, because I decided to knock out the stained portion while up at my in-laws. They have a garage, while I only have a condo. 

Recovering an ottoman is simple and easy. You'll love how fast the little piece can be transformed! 

1. STAIN: I decided the legs would look best stained dark because of the chrome feet. So I used some I got on clearance. Ragged it on and wiped it off.
2. STRIP: That takes us to the next potion- the silk fabric was all discolored. Initially, there may have been only a small stain- which someone may have impatiently used some Resolve Carpet Cleaner on, which was sadly with her at her in-laws. Yeah, it didn't work. No matter, it needed to be updated anyhow. It was easy enough, just a few screws held the base to the top. Rip off/remove the black backing hiding 30,000 staples. I also pulled out the tufting at this stage. I like tufting- as you can see here for my dropcloth ottoman makeover- but I thought this one would feel too "stuffy".
3. WRAP: I seem to gravitate towards geometric patterns. But this was a lot easier to work with than stripes were on the headboard I covered. It's simpler to keep everything lined up when the object is small enough to manipulate and move around. I grabbed this fabric from JoAnn's ~ it's a Waverly print.  got it for 50% off-so 10 bucks a yard. If you've never reupholstered an ottoman, it's very easy.

(a) Lay the fabric, good side down, on the floor.

(b) Lay the fabric, good side down, on the floor.

(b) Lay the cushion on top of it and line up the fabric.

(c) Staple one side, then the opposite side, pulling fabric taut but keeping pattern lined up.

(d) Then do the same to the opposite two sides

(e) Pull the corners down and staple them once you like how you've folded them. It's like wrapping a foam and fabric present-umm, with staples.

Thanks for stopping by! What fun patterns are you using in your home? Have you redone an ottoman lately?

Update:  Check this out! I was featured on About.com in an article and "Color and Pattern"!! Make sure to check out these other AWESOME sites that featured my makeover!
Hope you like the "after"! Now if I could just learn to sew I could tackle my other ottomans.

Cleaning Supply Recipes & Printable Labels

This would be the 3rd post with all-natural, homemade cleaning supply recipes. But this time, I'm also posting a collection of downloadable labels for them. {yay} If you missed the other cleaning suply posts, you should definitely check the out. I posted quite a few recipes for all types of cleaners. You can click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

For the first label source, head over to Making Chicken Salad and grab these cuties for glass cleaner, soft scrub, counter cleaner, and powder cleaner. She even provides you with recipes for these four cleaners, but hopefully you've been grabbing the ones I've been posting and will only need the one for soft scrub. Here's my soft scrub recipe and she has another option posted!

Soft Scrub for Fixtures:

• ½ c. Baking Soda

• Castile Soap
• 10 drops of Antibacterial Essential Oil (optional)

Add enough Castile soap until you have a frosting-like consistency
Scrub, then rinse with water

I have to say these labels from Vinnie Pearce are my personal favorite. I heart them and will printing these off pronto! 

From this site you get labels for all purpose cleaner and carpet refresher- perfect to go with the recipes I've already given you. But I snagged this recipe for lemon dusters, from Wendy at Wendyl's Green Goddess, I wanted to make sure you guys had one handy.

Lemon Dusters 

• 1/2 c. Water
•  1/2 c. White Vinegar
• 3-4 Lemons 
• 6 drops Lemon Essential Oil
• 6-8 pieces of Cloth to be used for dusting

Mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a bowl

Add essential oil a and soak dusters until they're damp 

Peel the rind of lemons and lay a few on each piece of cloth

Roll clothes lengthwise then roll that into a ball

Use as needed

How cute are these next labels?! They are from the unceasingly creative Martha Stewart. 

Are you surprised? You should have all the recipes you need for this one, especially with the clever- but vague- label titles.

I really like these labels- my only wish would be more of them! I bet you could print some blank ones and write in your own name. We have the Darling Octopus to thank for these guys.

Next we have laundry soap labels from Yum Universe. These are fantastically cute AND she offers them to us in 12 colors! Count them, 12! Uhh, thank you! I know I gave you guys a recipe or two for dry laundry soap, but in order to do these cute labels justice I thought I'd share my liquid detergent recipe as well. Be warned! It is not as easy as the other one!

Liquid Landry Detergent

• 3 pints Water
• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap {grated}
• ½ c. Washing Soda
• ½ c. Borax
• 2 gallon bucket
• 1 quart hot Water

Mix soap in saucepan with 3 pints of water. Heat on low until dissolved. 
Stir in soda and borax until thickened. 
Remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to bucket, then soap mixture, mix well. 
Fill rest of bucket with hot water, mix and let sit for 24 hours. Use ½ c. per laundry load.

 

These next ones are not a download (*darn). But they are just lovely! So, for all those of you out there who own Cricuts, and the like, now you have some inspiration! Get on it and make your labels!

I'm pretty sure this goes to show our labels can be cute, even if they're just on cleaning supplies. I for one enjoy looking at beautiful things, even when it's while reaching for the toilet bowl cleaner...in fact, maybe a little but more then!

Make sure you check out my other posts, so you can bulk up your cleaning supply recipe lists!

 Check your basic supplies out here.

Add to your list here.

✥Happy HOMEMADE Birthday✥

Just a short little post to share with you the birthday present for my Mom.

I did a Happy Homemade Birthday themed day.

Some cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting-yum.

Here's the frosting recipe (it is delish!):

Cream Cheese Frosting     

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

For the cupcakes I used a box mix. But a little while back I discovered you could make cake with only a mix and 10 ounces of diet soda{no eggs, oil, or water!}. The cake turns out moist and basically perfect. The cake only has the fat that was in the mix originally- isn't that great! You have to try it.

 

Just right click to save to computer...or drag onto your desk top.

Got these awesome free cupcake toppers from Yesterday on Tuesday, they were for mother's day but I knew they'd be perfect for my Mom's birthday. By the way she hearts birds.

Then I bought a square vase from Ikea and did the mercury glass finish I perfected in the Crate & Barrel lamps I copied, check there for the full tutorial.

I really wanted to post it so that you could see the inside of the vase.
This is what it looks like when you paint the inside with gold to wear away the glass paint in places. Where you see the gold real thick on the inside is the place where the mirror paint has been worn off. I hope that makes sense.

And lastly, if you go to the craft store you can buy 20 cards for $10. They come blank, ready to be colored or whatever you want. Pretty perfect for those of you with extensive stamp collections and some time on your hands.

Hope you liked the happy homemade birthday-It was fun to do something more personalized.

Have a great weekend!

I party HERE-