Shells, Shells & More Shells!

As you might know, my family and I recently vacationed at Cocoa Beach and I returned with HUNDREDS of shells! I created some pretty cute gifts for my friends (in an earlier post), but I still have a few hundred left! I scoured Pinterest for inspiration then headed to Goodwill for a few frames. I found one really cheap...I think it was 75 cents but had an ugly photo that I couldn't remove. Why I chose it was because it was raised and the back had about an inch of empty space. 

After meticulously scrubbing each shell with Dawn dish soap, water and a toothbrush, I realized I had quite a few broken ones. I slowly started to add them to the inside of the frame on the far right above (ugly picture still facing out on what I now consider the back). I was out of my favorite craft glue (Liquid Nails for Projects), so I broke out the trusty old glue gun and glued them onto the back of the photo & mat. I then gather up these awesome blue muscle shells and used them as petals for flowers that rested (glued, of course!) On top of the broken shells.

 For the final touch, I found some pearl jewelry at Goodwill (a bag full was only $2) and cute the pearls apart. I attached them with hot glue to the center of my "flowers."

Overall, it was super easy, inexpensive and I get numerous compliments on the unique way to display our Florida treasures! 

Upcycling Project - From Old Railings to Stunning Compost Bin!

As many of you may know, we have been updating our front porch. My husband removed the old, bowed railings but I would NOT let him burn them in our bonfire pit. He LOVES to burn everything, in fact I still think a few of my "missing" dressers & chairs ended up in the pit while I was at work...He denies it but I don't quite believe him! Anyway, I was able to convince him to save the railings as would would use them for another project. A few weeks later - inspiration struck us both and we decided to upcycle them into a compost bin. I showed him some ideas on Pinterest and by the time I got home from work, he had built us a brand new, stunning compost bin!

The gate in the front can be removed so you can get your compost out! I was quite impressed!
Maybe I'll move on from the missing furniture...maybe. :)

It works so well, my daughter even built her own (with some help from her Dad)!

A Front Porch Makeover

Curb appealing now, but how did we get there?

My husband and I finally decided that the front of our home needed a MAJOR makeover. The process is long and far from over but I would love to share how it's going...

Original Front View

It always seemed so dark and, well, blahhhh.... One of my Home Depot co-workers once told me that a great landscaper is one who can decided to remove plants/trees as well as plant them. After consulting Pinterest for ideas, we decided step one was to remove - the ugly Arbor Vitae and the bowed and ugly railings (after consulting our state and local building codes to make sure that we could have a railing-less porch).

After that was done we were amazed at how large the porch felt. In four years, we have never sat on it as it always felt crowded - NOT ANYMORE! The next step was to purchase some large, beautiful Boston Ferns from Home Depot to give it a welcoming feel. Then, I decided I needed to paint the posts. The posts were in bad shape, so after washing them, I used Spackle to repair cracks and divets. Worked like a charm.  Next, came the paint! I used the brand new, Behr Marque in semi-gloss Ultra Pure White. It has the primer built right in and resists dirt. I LOVED it!

The posts made it look so much cleaner! I have plans to paint the front of the porch white as well, but for now, I am happy with the posts!  Now for the landscaping. For years, I have tried to line the long walkway with hostas, but the deer see this as their personal buffet, so I purchased various deer-resistant plants from Home Depot and got to work!  The first night was scary for me, and I went out in the morning to find the had nibbled at the plants, but not devoured them. I made a deer repellent spray with eggs, dish soap, & cayenne and that stopped the late night nibbling all together.  I think the landscaping will be a work in progress as well, we will have to continue to add to it over the years, but already it looks so much better!  I then stumbled across a beautiful, bright yellow in our "oops" paint. It was Behr exterior so I thought, "Why not?" I painted our front door yellow. But then, I stepped back and realized that with the screen door, you couldn't really see it so I painted the screen door as well! I LOVE how it turned out!

After a few weeks, I still wasn't quite happy with walking away from the project. I hated the area up by the porch! Even though we dug up the trees and left only dirt, weeds and trees began to grow in what we call, "The Dead Zone." We call it that because not only does it rarely get sun, but the trees changed the soil so most things I plant won't grow. I ripped up what I could, smothered them in plastic, and added a ton of mulch. Of course, while I was buying mulch I had to grab a few more plants! Now, I think I can rest with the way it looks...

From drab...

To Fab!!!!!

At least for a few weeks :)

And adding even more as years go by!!

A Shell in Your Pocket...

Our family took our first vacation in about six years and went to Florida!  What a fantastic time! Of course, every time we hit the beach, there I would be collecting shells.  One time my daughter looked up and I had wandered about a mile down the beach with my shirt FULL of shells! I can't help it, they are such a beautiful gift from God, and hey! Free souvenirs!  When we got home I had over 300 shells! What to do with them? Of course, I went to Pinterest for inspiration. There are sooooo many awesome ideas out there! Then I stumbled across a number of pins that said I had to clean them. :( I was not a happy camper. We live near lakes, so I am aware of the need to clean shells we find here because the water is stagnant, but really? The beautiful, ever changing ocean needed to be cleaned from my shells? I was NOT going to bleach them - NO WAY! I do that with lake shells and it makes them white. I wanted to keep all of the glorious colors where they belong so I grabbed Dawn dish soap, a bucket of hot water, a strainer and a toothbrush and I scrubbed every single one. That sucked! It took about three days to clean them all.

So, they were finally clean and I had one day before I had to go back to work. I wanted to make something for my co-workers at Home Depot, because there was no way I could afford to buy everyone something in Florida. I combined a number of ideas from Pinterest and created a pretty cute little gift for my friends!

Simple. Easy. Pretty cute! How did I make these? I chose the biggest and unbroken shells with smooth insides (to write on). Then, I rifled through my craft supplies...

I took a super fine Sharpie made for porous surfaces and wrote the phrase, "May you always have a shell in your pocket and sand in your shoes..." Someone had pinned that for a wall and I loved the saying! Once I wrote on all the shells, I took metallic Sharpies and colored just the edge of the shell (front and back) and then added a little starfish after the phrase.

For good measure, I wiped a layer of Mod Podge over the markered areas and let them dry.

That's it. Simple, fun and a great little gift for all my co-workers at the Depot! I made about 25 the first night and another 25 the next night because they went so fast!

Easter 2014

I hope everyone had a great Easter this year! I know we did! As usual, I volunteered to host Easter - again, it is the BEST holiday to host for sooooo many reasons! Most important of the reasons - it is usually a brunch, so the food is pretty easy to make! Another reason, it is not a long, all day & night party. It is at most, a few hours long, so prep & entertainment is a lot easier! This year, I had to work right up to the holiday - not getting home until 11 pm the night before, so I knew it was not going to be extravagant. I still looked to Pinterest for ideas, and I have to say, they were ALL winners (unlike the chocolate covered strawberry "carrots" of last year)! I saw this idea on Pinterest and actually combined 2 posts to make this awesome bouquet...

I printed off the "Get Your Peeps On" sign from ModPodge's website. I then stuck the Peeps with plastic silverware and assembled them into a cure bouquet! I would have used skewers, but I didn't have any, and the utensils worked fine! I even put sugar-fee Peeps in for the diabetics in our family.The picture on Pinterest showed the rabbit Peeps, but sugar-free Peeps only came in the chick design, so they all became chicks! 

 Along with the Peep bouquet, I also put the flowers that we get for the moms on the table. It offers a great decoration, and the moms get a great gift at the end of the meal!

 One of my favorite ideas from Easters past was sticking parsley in the end of baby carrots and standing them up in "pots" of veggie dip. They are sooo cute, and sooo easy! I always make a "pilot" hole in the barrits with a fork or a skewer!

I also thought it would be cute to make edible robins' nests for each person. SUPER simple. I did what I always so - I combined a number of different pins to make the end result! I melted a bag of chocolate chips with about 3/4 cup of peanut butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds each time, stirring between intervals & stopping when it was all melted). I then stirred in some Craisins (some fruit is always good) and the then Chow Mein crisps. I added enough to cover all the noodles with chocolate.  Then I sprayed my hands with Pan and assembled the nests! I molded them on a foil-lined cookie sheet. I then let them chool in the fridge over night.  The next day, I picked out all of the baby blue Cadbury chocolate eggs and splattered them with a watered down chocolate mix. I placed them in the middle and then each person got their own nest!  So cute and so easy! Another Easter tradition?

 I also saw these on Pinterest. I used low-fat cinnamon rolls and unrolled them and made them into bunny shapes. SUPER easy! When they came out, I placed the icing on them and two Craisins for eyes and 2 almond slices for teeth! 

You might have noticed in the picture above the giant paper flowers on the table.  I used paint swatches in robins egg colors and cut them to resemble flower petals. I glued them to look like a flower and then sorted jelly beans by color, placing each different color in its own color coordinated cupcake liner. I then set them out!  Even something as simple as this made a huge impression! My guests loved having the jelly beans sorted and were always moving their favorite closest to them! 

 I always wanted to include this cool idea my hubby had... The Easter bunny always leaves a scavenger hunt for the kids. THis year I used Pinterest to make a more religious based hunt and it was awesome. My 19 year old daughter doesn't live at home any more so I had made the comment that I wouldn't have to do clues for her. She made a sad face and I knew I would have to. My hubby had the aewsome idea of "making her work for it, then" and we did all of her clues, then TRANSLATED them using Google translator into Spanish! It was funny and awesome! Latin next year?

 We had sooo many different foods, that I used a picture frame painted with Chalkboard paint to list off the menu. It was awesome for our guests and helped to keep me organized and not to forget to put anything out!

Another great Easter on the books!  I hope I inspired you to hold one of your own!

Easy Spring Project!

I love St. Patty's Day! I always have - I don't know if it's the color, the time of year, the parades or the celebration of my Irish heritage that I love the most! I put together a number of Pinterest ideas and created this adorable leprechaun hat (sorry about the blurry picture - my lens was scratched!).

I took a basic clay pot & saucer and painted the outside with Rustoleum's Black Chalkboard paint. After about three coats, it was ready to write on!

I them taped off a 1 inch band just under the rim of the pot. Using an 8 oz. Behr Ultra sample tinted to an Irish green.  That only too one coat. When I flipped the pot over onto the saucer, I had a leprechaun's hat!

I used chalk to draw a shamrock tucked into the green "ribbon."  I couldn't stop there...I then used Rustoleum Gold Glitter Spray and sprayed rocks to look like gold pieces and even a "buckle" that I make out of cardboard. It was a super easy and cute decoration for St. Patty's Day!

Afterwards, I was wondering what else I could do with this adorable clay pot. I realized it would be an adorable gift for Easter or Mother's day!

I flipped it back over and added some purple polka dots using a Glidden Dup paint sample that was tinted purple. I used the rounded end of the paintbrush to make the festive dots! I then used purple chalk to draw flowers and write a message for the gift receiver!  Inside, I tucked some garden tools, seeds and garden gloves! What an adorable gift!

Just an added note about the picture above...I have also used chalk paint on a coffee container (to write the flavor), around the base of a glass so people can write their names on them and on the glass of every old picture frame I have to create an inexpensive, portable and easy chalkboard!

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Chalk Paint

So, I have admitted (quite often, actually) that I am a Pinterest addict. Any Pinterest fan has heard of "Chalk Paint." I've pinned hundreds of pins detailing why to use it, how to use it, when to use it and even how to make it. 

According to the hundreds of pins, the reasons to use chalk paint is as follows:

1) No prep (other tan cleaning the surface) is required. No more sanding, deglossing, stripping or even scuffing. No priming - just use it!

2) Adheres to most any surface - wood, metal, glass, painted, varnished - you name it!

3) Most streak-free paint available

4) Smoothest, factory-like finish

5) Goes 3-4X farther than regular paint

Trust me, I have read all the write-ups and even though we sell Plaster-of-Paris in my department, I was a bit hesitant to try to make my own. Heck, I had just developed a love interest in liquid deglosser and it was working for my & my customers' needs just fine. Then, a few weeks ago, I received these small boxes marked, "New Product." Hmmmm. I left them alone for four whole days! I should receive an award. Protocol has it that I have to wait for our MET team to unpack new products in their new "home." Well, after four days, I couldn't wait. I ripped open a box and guess what! Home Depot now has Chalk Paint! Seriously! We have had it available on-line for months; however, here it was, sitting in my hands! It took me about two minutes to open one up and begin trying it out! I found some old cabinet doors and a heavily-used paint brush and tried it out.

 Guess what?

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?

?

It was just as awesome as all the pins had stated! Beautiful finish (even with the wrong brush), clung to the beat-up, varnished door without primer or sanding, and the finish was BEAUTIFUL! I put the door on display and everyone that passed the door had to reach out and touch it! Every. Single. Person. I scheduled a class for that weekend to educate the public about our new product!

The turn-out was amazing and even though we only have seven colors, we are selling out! I even tried a glaze/paint mixture over the top to age it and guess what? Perfection!

A little 8 oz jar is $8.48. People are always shocked - for that little jar? But that little jar does almost as much as a big quart! I tried it on a glass jar, a metal display stand - it does work on all of the surfaces! We completed one entire door and scuffed to to apply an aging glaze, but was so pretty that we left it as is. 

Americana Decora is the company and I have had numerous customers come in and clean us out because they said they have been purchasing another brand on-line and pay up to $35 for a little 8 oz jar! There is a wax that you can put over the top as a protective coat and even that is pretty cool! Most furniture waxes are heavy & STINKY & require a lot of elbow grease. This wax is actually a liquid that you can brush or rub on and has no smell. Pretty awesome. 

Now, I just have educate our employees that it is not "Chalkboard" paint...

Turn a Crate into Something Great!

 Every so often, my store gets in a shipment of storage crates. I snagged one and decided to try an idea I saw on Pinterest. Using a medium grit sanding sponge, I gently sanded all the rough edges. Then I decided to try a product that we sell called Polyshades by MinWax. Instead of staining 2-4 times, then applying a clear coat over top, it claims to have it all in one can. I chose Bombay Mahogany with a Gloss finish. I used a Wooster brush made for oil stains. When I began applying the PolyShades, the crate began to change immediately! I let it dry over night, gently rubbed it with 0000 steel wool. I removed the excess shavings with tack cloth and then applied the second coat. I let it dry over night and it was perfect! I chose some decorative shelf brackets and attached them to the shelf and the wall. The finished product is shown below and looks AMAZING! Needless to say, we sold out of our crates within two weeks and are patiently awaiting more!