Lollipop Spiders - Pinterest Win

So I am ALL about Halloween DIY crafts. I went to Michael's the other day and as I was shopping I had Pinterest open on my phone searching for things to recreate.

Of course I started with the easiest project that took me less than a half hour to create. This is a great craft for the kids as well. Well, depending on how you glue on the eyes. I decided that the hot glue gun was the answer and may have a lil less feeling in my fingertips as I type this post. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be cute for my spider bowl as well as the neighborhood kids.

Source via Pinterest

So this was fairly simple and cheap to execute! All of the products can be found on Amazon (affiliate links used) or your local craft store/walmart/target!

Supplies Needed:

• Black 12 inch pipe cleaners
• Googlie Eyes
• Lollipops
• Glue/Hot Glue Gun

Instructions. 

• Cut the pipe cleaners in half. I would cut three at a time so it gave me two sets of legs. 
• I then put them around the lollipop and twisted around. 
• Once twisted I would then bend the legs so that the lollipop spider will stand. 
• Last but not least glue on the eyes!

So simple and so cute!! 

Fall Spookiness Front Door!

So after ten thousand trips to Michael's, Target, Homegoods, Walmart, etc I finally finished decorating our front door. I had so many ideas from Pinterest but couldn't justify the cost of buying all those pumpkins. Nor could I spend $20 on a fake pumpkin (I will be stocking up after Halloween though)! 

For our mums I was able to score a bunch from the scratch and sent aisle st Lowes which I have mentioned before. All of the big mums I was able to get for 50% off. And since it has been such a rainy mess here I was at Walmart and bought all the pumpkins. They had the best selection and were super cheap. And for all the fall flair I was at Michael's where they had 50% off Halloween + 50% off one item, and then 25% off my purchase! If I had only looked at the coupons on my phone prior to checking out I would have bought more!!! I am sure I will add more pumpkins and flair as the weeks go by but just wanted to share in case you needed some inspiration! 

PS... Next year we will work on adding more spookiness! 

Nautical Wedding at the Annapolis Yacht Club

Hi everyone - Erin here!  One of the best feelings in life is knowing that your girlfriends have found their perfect matches. This past September, I had the honor to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend's wedding.  Kelley has been my partner in crime through college and beyond - you may remember us planning her Austin Bachelorette Party back in the Spring.  Seeing her marry Rich, who is a genuinely great guy, was a highlight of my summer.

Besides being the sweetest and funniest girl alive, we always joke that Kelley is a project manager to the core.  Her attention to detail is second to none and she's a get it done kind of gal.  So it didn't surprise me when, in the height of wedding planning, Kelley texted me freaking out that Pinterest had congratulated her for being one of the top Pinners in the country!

I would love to share with you how her nautical wedding theme came together - it was nothing short of perfection!  Kelley and Rich made the day effortless, fun and a full reflection of their passions...sailing and wine!

They were also so lucky to have the lovely and talented, We are the Mitchells, there to capture their big day.  I honestly can't stop gushing over their pictures!

Bridal Style:

Kelley went for a timeless look with a dress by Allure Bridals that she purchased at Betsy Robinson Bridal in Baltimore.  Her dress was a delicate lace with a neckline that was perfect for her Catholic ceremony and had a revealing keyhole back.

For the bridesmaids, Kelley let each of us pick our own style of chiffon dress by Amsale.  All of us really appreciated having free reign - everyone looked and felt beautiful.

  

Ceremony and Reception Details:

Kelley and Rich were married at the Saint John Neumann Catholic Church followed by a reception at the Annapolis Yacht Club.  The AYC has spectacular views and doesn't need a lot in terms of decor. Kelley tied in a number of DIY elements for her centerpieces and escort cards.

The DIY striped runners really popped on the table.  She added mix and matched lanterns and small floral arrangements.  Kelley is actually selling these table runners - please leave us a comment below if you are interested!

 Origami sail boats were a hit for escort cards - everyone got a kick out of them.  Martha Stewart Weddings has been adding Origami into their DIY features more often as well.  I thought this was such a fun and cost effective idea.

A Grand Entrance:

Kelley and Rich's wedding had by far had the best entrance into a reception I have even seen.  Since Rich's family is full of sailors, they decorated their boat with custom flags (how cute is the K & R flag!) and sailed the wedding party around the bay between the ceremony and reception.  And I have to give a hand to Kelley's make-up and hair team, Behind the Veil, our up-dos didn't budge a bit!

We have a great Pinterest board on this wedding with all the pretty details!  Are you planning a nautical wedding?  Tell us your ideas in the comments!

Happy Pinning!

Try New Things Tuesday DIY Mercury Glass - Pinterest Win or Bust?

Erin has a confession to share with us - She is OBSESSED with all things mercury glass. Her obsession started with her wedding a couple years ago and is always trying to incorporate it into her apartment decor.  The only issue with mercury glass is that it's expensive!!  Not friendly for us ladies looking for something pretty on a budget! And then for my own wedding her obsession then became MY obsession since I was going for the shabby chic rustic look in my decor. After the holidays we went to all the stores to buy as much mercury glass on clearance as we could but it still wasn't enough for all of my tables, fireplace, etc for my wedding. So therefore my sister-in-law Erin and I decided to tackle this project to save some pennies and recreate the Pottery Barn look for less. 

The pinspiration we used was from Martha Stewart! Because everything that Martha does is simple to recreate right? (just joking Martha I love you) The decorations were simple enough, and we had most of the supplies on hand. The only thing we needed to buy was the Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint. 

Supplies: 

• Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint - Note, we had a hard time finding this in stores, so we ordered it from Amazon
• Vases/Votives of your choice in clear glass - Most of these we picked up at the dollar store and Michaels
• Newspaper and painter's tape 
• Spray bottle with water

Directions:

• Step 1:Tape the outside of the vases with the newspaper.  You will only be spraying the inside
• Step 2: Spray the inside lightly with the water bottle
• Step 3: Spray the Looking Glass Spray Pain into the vase.  You will see it pool at the bottom.  Rotate the vase so the paint coats the inside evenly
• Step 4: Place the vase upside-down to dry overnight.  Repeat as necessary.

The Verdict:  Pinterest BUST! 

We were disappointed with the way the paint coated the vases.  We found that we had to repeat this process 5 times and waited 4 hours between sessions (yes, we got impatient!) and found that it looked really dingy. 

We tested a few different kind of vessels, above are pictures of our results! We found that using a vessle with groves/texture let the paint adhere better.

Special note, if you plan to put flowers in the vases, you have to place a plain cup inside first with water.  The paint is not safe for plants. Which did not help me for my wedding since I wanted to use mercury glass vases. I ended up scrapping the idea of mercury glass for the wedding reception and just used mason jars, jelly jars, and antique jars! However, all of our mercury stuff we purchased did go to good use at my rehearsal dinner! 

Have you tried to make your own mercury glass?  Let us know if you had different results and most importantly what we did wrong! 

Try New Things Tuesday - Arts & Crafts!

So today I woke up and realized I didn't have any projects to work on. I mean we always have cleaning and housekeeping, but that isn't any fun. So I have been exploring Pinterest for some new arts and crafts ideas to work on. What are your favorites?

I thought these would be cute for someone who has a toddler! A way to make fancy refrigerator letters, but with stainless refrigerators not sure how many people still use magnets! Basically all you need is magnet letters, spray paint and some painters tape to cover the magnet while painting.

For the backyard I thought this could be a cute hostess gift! I love the way they used the antique chalk paint to give the ring toss game more charm. I love how they added sparkles to the rings. Not sure how long they would last but definitely gives it some flair!

And last but not least I am running out of my Bliss Super Minty Soap & Scrub, and considering all the beauty purchases I made last week I need to be good and not buy a new one since they are pricey. However, definitely curious to try out this recipe for homemade bath salts. I would use peppermint essential oil to mimic the smell of my Bliss Minty Scrub. Considering this is just for me I will eliminate the gel coloring! If these work out well they could be cute stocking stuffers for the holidays!

I would love to hear your thoughts on if you have made any of these, or any tips if you have done anything similar!

Happy Pinning!

Free Printables!

So I recently stumbled upon a site via Pinterest that allows you to print free monograms! I am slightly obsessed and keep printing out all the free printables (printable monograms.com). I don't know what I am going to do with everything, but I guess that is for another blog post to figure out!! Make sure to also follow Jenny Bevlin on Pinterest. She has some great ideas on how to use the free printables and love all of her pins.

Basically Jenny has 3-4 sites that offer different types of free printables. Everything from parties, to weddings, and stationary. WARNING it is slightly addicting and I now have to order new cartridges for my printer. If you want to save on the cartridge ink you can always buy Jenny's products on her website.

Below are some ideas of what I am going to do.

Make monogram bows for gifts...

I printed this out this monogram for my office, and am going to use an Ikea Ribba frame.

Love the calling cards/luggage tags! I just need to head to Staples and get some business cards to print on.

I can't wait to have a party to use the mason jar decorations!!

Okay, enough of me thinking about what I am going to do and time for me to start doing! Off to Michael's and Staples to pick up more paper and ink cartridges!

Happy Pinning!!
By Jennifer Shelton

DIY Catch-All Bowls - Pinterest Fail!!

Not everything we find on Pinterest is a win. One of my favorite blogs posted about making your own Catch-All Bowls. I was so incredibly excited to try this because I am always looking at these types of bowls at Anthropologie.

So off to Michael's I went. The Small Things blog where my inspiration for the project, used acrylic paint. The source they used (The Lovely Drawer) had used opaque ceramic paint. At Michael's in the glass painting area I was drawn to the Martha Stewart paints. They seemed to be paints that you could use on wood, glass, etc. I thought these would be perfect since that is what was used by The Small Things Blog. I needed paintbrushes as well and just bought one of the combo sets that was $8. I found the dipping bowls at Target for $1.99 and they are made by Threshold. I can't seem to find the link online.

So according to the directions just paint away! I did two bowls and realized that simple lines and basic polka dot patterns are a lot harder then I thought. The good thing is that if the paint is still wet you can use a damp paper towel and start over. I am not really upset with how my design turned out since it was my first time. However, the paint application was not as smooth as I thought it would be.

When painting I used cheap brushes and the bristles would fall out onto the paint and glass. I was constantly picking out the strands and ruining the paint. Also I used painters tape on the 2-toned bowl and it left remnants of paint on the bowl. I almost need to sand the bowl to make it smooth. I was hoping when the paint dried it would smooth out, but you can still see all the brush strokes.

I let my bowl dry over night since I wanted to make sure that the paint was dry. In the morning I pre-heated my oven to 150 degrees and baked for 30 minutes. The results are below. You can't tell in the pictures but basically it just looks like I painted a bowl. In my head I thought it would have a more glossy finish and similar to the bowls I love at Anthropologie.

My advice for you is if you are looking for something with a glossy and smooth finish go to a paint your own pottery store and work with their products. Not to mention the kiln will bake the paint on and give your bowls that glossy Anthropologie finish!

On a related note, I used the same paint on some plastic frames I bought at Ikea, and the paint application was the same as the glass. It got cakey and you can see my brush strokes. I am going to try and spray paint the plastic items to save these frames! Worst case scenario I just head back to Ikea!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton