DIY METALLIC BAY LEAF TREE

I hope you had a great thanksgiving weekend.   I've been greatly blessed once again over this past year. I'm also thankful for the wonderful day we could spend with our children and grandchildren.

It's hard to believe that thanksgiving is past and Christmas is right around the corner.  While browsing through the Pottery Barn catalog recently, I came across their beautiful Metallic Bay Leaf Christmas Trees.  They have these trees available in gold and silver.  I was really drawn to the silver tree since I plan to decorate with a winter wonderland theme this year.  The trees are $89 to $99 dollars each.  All the silver trees were sold out, but since I'm a real DIY gal, I decided to try and make one my self.

In the photo below you can see the Pottery Barn Trees.

Source: potterybarn.com via Joy on Pinterest

Here's what I did to make my own.

~ The things you will need ~

-Bay leaves

- Cardboard cone

- Glue ( I used a hot glue gun)

- Sliver Spray Paint

I started out by laying the bay leaves on a piece of cardboard.  I then took my can of  silver spray paint and painted them, along with the cardboard cone.

Once the paint had dried,  I arranged the leaves largest to smallest.  I then began gluing the leaves to the cardboard cone using a hot glue gun.

I continued to glue the leaves working around the cone and then upward.

My bay leaves were old leaves and very dry, so they didn't curl outward like the Pottery Barn tree.  Despite this I was still happy with the end result.  The total cost for this DIY project was only $2.50 because I shopped the house and used what I had.  The cardboard cone is the only thing I had to buy from Micheal's.

I placed it on my thrift store silver tray next to my DIY faux mercury glass tree  and the fifty cent distressed mirrored  tree that I made over a few years ago.

I decided it would be fun to do something a little different this year.   I grouped the trees all together and made a vignette for display on my cedar chest.  I'll share that with you in my next post.

I'm being featured at Knock Off Decor!

I'm linking this post to -
 
At the Picket Fence Inspiration Friday 
The Best Christmas DIY and Crafts at Nesting Place
Shabby Creek Cottage
Organize and Decorate Everything linky party #77
 Home Stories A2Z

DIY EPSOM SALT ORNAMENTS AND CANDLE

I have some exciting news to share with you today.  Way back in July, Peter from the Epsom Salt Council contacted me in an email.  He explained that he'd seen my Epsom Salt Candle and Ornaments.  He told me that the Epsom Salt Council was going to add a new section to their website: crafts and projects people can make using  Epsom Salt. He was wondering if I minded being featured using my Epsom Salt Ornaments and Candle.  Of course I said "yes," and that it would be an honor to be an addition to their website.  The link  is now up and running just in time for the holidays.

The Epson Salt Ornament and Candle are something that I made back in December 2010.   I thought I'd share it once again since Christmas is fast approaching and some of you are new followers to my blog and may not have read the post.  The DIY candle and ornaments receives the most hits from readers.  Kinda crazy, because it was a craft I just thought up and decided to do on a whim while decorating one afternoon. 

DIY Epsom Salt Ornaments and Candle

I know there's been candles and ornaments
made with Epsom salt floating around blog land for a while now,
but I thought I'd share my version which utilizes simple things most of us have lying around our homes.

Here's what I had and you'll need if you're going to make these.
1. Styrofoam balls
2. Candle
3. Paint
4. Mod Podge or Glue
5.Epsom Salt

I made this project for mere pennies because everything I used I already had in my home.

Three styrofoam balls - from a "free" box at the local thrift store.



Paint (deco art) given to me by a friend who no longer had a use for it.


Glue

I didn't have any Mod Podge in the house, but
you can substitute glue watered down with a few
drops of water as a homemade version.

Begin by painting the balls.

Next, a rubber band was placed about 1/3 of the way from the top
of an old candle (left over from our daughter's wedding)...



.....and the bottom two thirds painted
(the rubber band acting as guide/stopping point for the paint).




After painting all the items, I coated them with glue followed by sprinkling Epsom salt on them.
(Removing the rubber band after everything is totally dry.)


I added some left over silver elastic ribbon to the top of the candle...




...and placed all the items on a heirloom tray
from my grandparents 25th wedding anniversary.






If you'd like to see my feature at the Epsom Salt website, it's listed under crafts, then snowballs, or just click on the link below to see it.

The Epsom Salt Council

I'm linking to ~

DIY CHALKBOARD LABELS

 I hope you all had a great weekend.  As you know, I've been  working on a closet makeover in my office. While working on this I made a little promise to myself.  I'm going to get our home more organized.  Not that it's a total unorganized mess, but it definitely could use some sprucing up.   Thus began the process of sorting, purging and organizing.

As part of the organization process, baskets were added to the closet shelves.   Wanting to know exactly what was in each basket, I add chalkboard labels.

You can buy  ready made labels in stores like Pottery Barn, but they come with a price tag of $8  for a set.   I thought making my own labels would be more budget friendly and a  fun project to try using some chalkboard paint.

Here's is what I did.

Taking a piece of scrap wood from the garage.  I sanded the wood smooth and had my husband cut the wood into  2 1/2"  X  3 1/2"  pieces.   I then  had him drilled two holes at the top of each piece.

 Taking these pieces, I then applied three coats of chalkboard paint.  Making sure the paint was completely dry, I allowed it to dry over night.  (One step I didn't do was sanding between each coat of paint.  I would recommended doing this, because on mine the grains of wood did shine through a bit in the end.)

The next morning I prepped the chalk board labels. This was done by talking a piece of chalk and rubbing the entire surface with chalk.  Followed by cleaning the chalk off each board with a dry cloth.

The next step was to thread a piece of twine through the drilled holes, using this to attach the labels to the baskets.

The last thing I did was simply label what was in each basket.  I did this by writing with chalk the contents of each basket;  fabric, gadgets, stamps and WW (weight watcher).

These labels were made for mere pennies by DIY!  They'll also help keep my office organized and make it  easy to find things.

 

FAUX MERCURY GLASS TREE ~ Tutorial

Do you love mercury glass as much as me?  I love its vintage look with its shimmer and bling.

While shopping, I noticed that Pottery Barn has some beautiful mercury glass trees.  However, they are asking $39.50 for a small tree up to $74.50 for a large tree. Sad to say, those prices are not in my budget, so I decided to create my own.   As I told you in my last post, I'm working on a few projects to get ready for the Christmas holidays.

I started out with a glass tree that I found at Goodwill for .99 cents.  I think it originally held candy because it had a plastic lid on the bottom. You can find these quite frequently at thrift stores.

Supplies needed for this project

A jar or glass vase

Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint

Q-tips

Paper Towels

Spray bottle with water and vinegar in it.

 {Before I began the work on my tree jar, I did a small test run using a baby food jar.  I didn't want to mess up on my tree jar.  I was glad I did a practice jar first.  It helped me to get a feel of working with the paint and how much drying time to allow etc.}

The first thing you'll need to do is to wash  the jar, followed by drying it well.  You don't want any grease or lint left  in the jar.

The next item you'll need is Looking Glass spray paint.  I had a hard time finding it.  I was told it's in such high demand that the manufacturer can't seem to keep up.  I finally found some in our small town True Value store.  I guess I should have checked there first.  I assumed it would be easier to find in the big stores.

 

Taking the looking glass paint, paint the inside of the jar. {You need to paint the revers side of what will be showing).  This was a little tricky, since it was a tree.   The paint is a little runny, but  I found short light bursts of the paint worked best.   Allow the paint to dry for a few minutes, then with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar (placed in a spray bottle) spray lightly the inside of the jar, spraying  directly over the looking glass paint.  The water/vinegar will bead up.   Allow it to set about one minute, then using a q-tip or paper towel, blot or pop the little vinegar/water bubbles.  You can repeat this process one or two times until you get the look you like.

Then allow the paint to dry completely.  It will look a dull gray color first, but as it dries it becomes a shinny mirror finish.

   

There you have it -  faux mercury glass for a fraction of the real thing!

 I think it looks pretty close to pieces of mercury glass you see in the stores.  What do you think?


                                           Joy
I'm linking this post to ...
DIY Show off 3rd Annual DIY Holiday Highlight Party
Creative Cain Cabin ~ Christmas Decorating on a Budget

DIY CHRISTMAS TREE

Can you believe it's almost the middle of November and Christmas is right around the corner?  The weather is turning colder, I even saw a few *** snowflakes this morning. The stores are starting to look festive with all their Christmas decorations.  I usually don't even think about Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but we'll be out of town the first part of December.  So I've started thinking a little earlier about Christmas projects.

 This weekend I made a Christmas tree to use for a part of  my decorations this year.

Here's the DIY instructions if you'd like to make your own tree.

The supplies you will need -

            - wire ( I used a floral wire purchased at a thrift store .49 cents)

            - cone shape object, either paper mache or styrofoam (cone - $2.49 from Micheal's)

            - wire cutter

This is so simple ,  all you do is start at the tip of the cone with the wire.  Bending  the wire tightly around the tip of the cone, then begin  wrapping the wire around the cone in a downward spiral.

When your wire gets to the bottom of the cone twist the wire slightly around the previous row of wire.  Then snip the wire using a wire clipper. 

Now carefully pull the cone out from the bottom of the tree, leaving the wire intact.  You've now have your own

 Wire Christmas Tree!

 Total cost for this tree .49 cents.  I'll be using the cone for another project.

Making this a very inexpensive tree.

I may look for a little star to put on top of the tree to dress it up a bit more. 

Joy 

disclaimer - I do not take credit for the originality of this tree, as I got the idea to make this tree while browsing a magazine or on line, but do not recall the source. 

THE OFFICE REVEAL

The day has finally come that you've all waited so patiently for: my office makeover reveal!  As you may recall, it started out as a closet makeover, but turned into a larger project when we had to treat a mold problem and do a lot of painting .  We also decided to add new baseboard and trim while doing this makeover.   I also did a lot of purging and organizing of this space including going through all drawers and files. The end result - a prettier more organized office that functions well for me.

 I present to you my new office closet.

I really had planned to go to IKEA to buy storage boxes and containers for this space, but we ended up not taking our daughter to the airport in October.  I couldn't justify a four hour round trip just to get them.  I've instead reused many items I already had in my home.  The baskets I bought a year or so ago at a garage sale for five dollars.  I did a little DIY project and made the chalk board labels for the baskets.  (I'll share how I made these in another post). The black boxes were bought several years ago at Micheal's  for $1.50 each.  My husband gave me a Jetmax modular storage system a few years ago as a gift.  I had two of these unites side by side on the wall as you come into the office.  I moved them to the closet and added a  board - making it into a desk.  I'm going to love having more work surface.  I also added my newly reupholstered chair.

If you recall back when we made over our master bedroom, I told you the room had been my husband's office.  My husband lovingly gave up his large office for a very small dinky  10 X 10 space.  He had to move two of his book shelves to a storage unite outside our home, and moved his tall oak file cabinet to my office.  You can see it on the left  in this photo.

I hung my memo board and stamp pad holder on the side wall making them very easy to access while working on a project.  If you've missed the posts on how I made the stamp-pad holder and note board, you can see the tutorial  here and here.

Every office needs proper lighting, so I did a lamp makeover and added it to the space.  You can see it hanging on the wall in the photo below.

On the desk top, I added file bins for in and out mail along with a few small bins perfect for paper clips, staples and other small items. I've also had the bins for a while, but they were originally purchased from Micheal's dollar bin.  The close-pin clip is something new I purchased for the space at Micheal's on clearance for .50 cents.

Every space needs some artwork so I add  photos of my husband and myself as children.

       Isn't he cute!

On the wall above the desk, I place artwork that I made.   Entitled  Sisters, it contains photos of my two sisters and myself as children and one of  all three of us as adults.   Even though we live 1700 miles apart, I can be remind of them while I work at my desk.

It's wonderful to have more storage shelves and the one up high that I can actually access!  I've placed all my magazines on the top shelf most of which were bought on garage sales .10 - .50 each.   I still need to organize them according to the type of magazine.  Before the room makeover, all these magazines were in baskets and bins scattered throughout the room .  It will be nice to have them all in one space.

I finally found a place to hang my chandelier on the opposite side of the room.

And finally, I get to make good use of a desk purchased several years ago!  I used to work on my computer in our family room on a roll top desk, but now I have my computer, scanner and silhouette machine set up in my new office.  We've decided to down size and make more room in our family room, so we'll be selling the old roll top desk.  I'm really enjoying having all my things in one room.  I now can sew, blog, scrapbook and do craft projects all in one room.  It's great having everything organized and having the two work surfaces in one room.

The scrap vinyl word previous hang above the closet door.  I re-purposed it by placing it on a framed piece of glass and hung it above the desk area.  On the desk I've placed a photo of our wedding next to a photo of my dear husband.  I'm also using my made over mouse pad and cup holders.
Here's a look at a few before photos

and the after

 I'm also glad I went with a white stenciled wall rather than having everything in the blue.

 I love the new white trim and baseboard, it makes everything so bright and cheery!    What do you think of my newly made over room?

I'll be sharing more of the details on the storage/ organization solutions for this room soon.

I'm linking this post to -
Beneath My Heart Best DIY Projects of November Party
Inspiration Friday @  the Picket Fence
Flaunt it Friday @ chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Thrifty Decor Chick: November Before and After Party