Daily Threads: A New Clutch

top: tj maxx {similar}, shorts: target {similar}, cardigan: belk, shoes: jack rogers

chains: self-made, watch: fossil, clutch: self-made

So this cardigan definitely wasn't necessary, but my arms aren't ready to make a debut. Just wanted to throw that out there. Moving on, I feel like I have been seeing large, simple zip clutches all over the Internets lately. When I spotted this American Apparel one I almost gave in, but found a couple DIY tutorials that seemed simple enough that I could try and hopefully save myself about $45. And I did. 

It's definitely not perfect. In fact, it's no where close to perfect, but it will do. It was only the second item I've ever sewn, so I'm actually counting it as a true success. I got my fabric (vinyl) from Jo-Ann's and there were several gorgeous colors I wanted to grab, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself. So I only got one. And the most neutral one I could find. There was a deep blue that I may have to go back and snag and give this clutch a second go! 

If you have superior sewing skills, you should definitely give this project a try. If you have beginner sewing skills (that's me) this tutorial was great, but I'd definitely say do additional research. I like to have options of how to do things, so I combined about three different tutorials. Good luck!

DIY: Coasters

One of the gifts I gave my bridesmaids was these home-made coasters. Coasters are a great way to add a personal touch to any room - and they are easy to make! I was in Hobby Lobby last week and as I passed by the Valentine's Day cardstock I just could not turn down heart candy paper or the vintage Valentine paper. I thought coasters would be a great way to subtly bring in some Valentine's Day decor. 

Although Valentine's Day is already upon us, that doesn't mean you can't do this project! Just take a stroll down the cardstock aisle and pick paper that matches your living room, the next holiday or season, or a friend's living room for a gift. 

Trust me when I say this is an easy project - it's just a bit of cutting, gluing, and waiting  - that's it! It does take a couple days (to get through the drying process), but that's the worse part - especially if you are like me and want things right now. So for almost nothing you can add a personal and functional touch to your living area! Here we go!

Need:

Cardstock of choice ($0.29 - half off!)

Paper cutter (or scissors if you can cut straight lines) (already had)

4 4x4 white tiles ($0.13 each)

Mod Podge (glossy or matte - your preference) (already had)

Small sponge brush (already had)

Sealer (already had)

Felt dots ($2.96)

Total Cost: $3.77

Directions:

1. Measure exact length of tile and cut four pieces. I didn't want any white peeking around the edges, so I cut the pieces the exact measurement of the tile. If you would like a bit of a white boarder, just cut the paper 1/8'' shorter.

2. Wipe off each tile piece with alcohol. This cleans the surface from dust, dirt, and finger prints - which will help the paper to stick more cleanly. 

3. Pour Mod Podge into paper plate. Use sponge brush to apply a generous layer of the glue onto the tile. Then apply one of the pre-cut pieces of cardstock - be sure to center the paper. Press the paper firmly - start in the middle and work your way out to eliminate air bubbles. Also, pay attention to the edges as it is important for the edges to adhere well. 

4. Allow the layer to dry (about 10-15 minutes). Then apply a top layer of the Mod Podge. Be sure to apply glue in one direction as there will be stroke marks. 

5. Repeat applying Mod Podge layer 2-3 times - until you are satisfied. I do a total of three top layers. Let these layers completely dry over night (about a 24 hr period is best). 

6. Set up in a well ventilated area - outside is ideal, sealer can be very strong and extremely harmful to inhale. Follow sealer instructions. The one I used required an initial layer of quick, short sprays and then a couple more layers of slower, thorough spays (about 15 minutes between each layer).

7. Allow sealer to completely dry (again, at least 24 hours). 

8. Apply felt dots to each corner of the bottom of the tile. 

Then your coasters are complete. Wrap up the set or place them around your living room and you are in business! 

BEV: DIY Moss Covered Letters

Early in the wedding planning I knew I wanted to incorporate a couple moss-covered "J" letters into our special day. I also knew I wanted to make them myself.  These can get quite pricey if you purchase them already made, so making them yourself can help you to save quite a bit of cash. 

I ultimately decided to make two 12" J's and two 24" J's. I had the 24" letters placed on the two windows at the top of the stairs at the church, and I had the 12" letters hung on the doors of the country club. 

{via}

Need:

Mod Podge ($7)

Small-Medium sized foam brushes ($1)

Large sheet of plastic ($3)

Scissors (already have)

Paper mache letters ($4-$10)

Paper plate (already have)

Moss ($2.50)*

Directions:

1. Lay out your large sheet of plastic on the surface you will be using. You want a large area to work on as you will be making a mess - moss pieces will get everywhere and you will need extra space to leave the letters to dry.

2. Pour some Mod Podge onto a paper plate. You'll want to do this because as you start covering your letter, your sponge will most likely get moss on it and if you are dipping back into the Mod Podge bottle, you'll get those pieces into the jar. 

3. Start with the top of the letter and work in small areas. I'd  spread the glue on a 2x4" area and lay down the moss. 

4. Continue working in small areas down the front of the letter until it is completely covered.

5. Once covered, use scissors to trim around all edges.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each side of letter until it is completely covered. 

7. Once completely covered, use scissors to snip away any remaining pieces that are sticking out.

8. Set aside to dry over night.  

After finishing all four of my letters, I noticed a four-leaf clover on one of the J's. Lucky me!

A couple days before the wedding I gave the completed moss covered letters to my florist and she hung them for me using a navy colored ribbon that perfectly matched my bridesmaids' dresses. This ribbon was also used to wrap the bridesmaids' bouquets and used around a couple vases on tables. 

If you find that you do not have the time, patience , or whatever else to make these yourself, I would suggest heading over to Etsy and checking out the selection of moss covered letters. Purchasing letters online will cost you anywhere from $25-$150+ depending on size of letter, moss material, and person selling. 

Check out other ideas for using moss covered letters!

*You can get moss at Walmart or at any craft store. The craft stores, like Michaels or JoAnn, will have more of a variety of moss, so pricing will depend on what moss you want. I purchased six bags of the Walmart moss and had one bag left over after doing all four bags. 

DIY: Empty Frame Collage

I can't even begin to tell you all how many pictures I have saved on my computer as inspiration for this DIY. One of my most favorite home decor looks is a collage of empty frames. In living rooms, hall ways, dining rooms, bedrooms... anywhere! I love it! And I knew I wanted to have it in my house. And now I do!

Need:

5-20 empty picture frames (be sure to get a variety of sizes, shapes, and designs around the edges)

2-4 cans of white spray paint in semi-gloss finish*

Nails

Hammer

Directions:

Before painting your fames, go ahead and lay them on the floor and play with the arrangement until you get it the way you want. Then snap a photo to reference back to when you begin the hanging process. (My arrangement changed a bit. I broke one and then another one wouldn't take the paint)

Lay out a large piece of cardboard to lay your frames on for painting.

Spray the frames with 2-4 coats of paint or until they are completely and evenly covered.

Once dry, begin hanging your center frame(s) and work your way out. Be sure to refer back to the photo you snapped earlier. Or feel free to hang as you please for a less uniformed look. 

                          

*As always, I like to mention that you can pick any color that you prefer or that may better suit the room you are doing this project for. Same applies with the finish of the paint.

Glittery Pumpkins

Not too long ago I posted on a Martha Stewart craft that turned boring orange plastic pumpkins into glittery and beautiful decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Early last week I tackled the project and I'm ready to share!

I bought a large white pumpkin and two smaller orange pumpkins. As far as the glitter, when I walked into Michaels there was a basket stand full of $1 goodies. One of the $1 goodies was a pack of four different fine, colored glitter. The colors were gold, purple, dark pink, and pink. I decided to buy seven of these and I essentially got a decent amount of four different colors for seven bucks. Quite the deal. The pay off was great, but it was a pain to open each packet to pull out a color every time I ran out. And the tops to each little container just sat on the top, it wasn't secure. And I spilled a lot. And made a mess.

 But the task is over and I think they look fantastic! I'm not completely satisfied with what I've done with the centerpiece. I think this particular set up would look great on a hallway table or the top of a entertainment center that's under a hanging flat screen, but not the dining table. It's not dramatic enough. So I'm either going to completely move it somewhere else and find something better for the table OR I'm going to try out some candle sticks to give it some height. Whatever happens, I still absolutely love the results!

                                

 

Guest Post

Today I am sharing a guest post with everyone! One of my great friends, Tyra Dee Minton Phillips (hey fraaaand!), from graduate school, has been working on a DIY project of her own. She was telling me about it and I asked her to send me some pictures of and directions for the project so I could share it with all of you! And she did!

She was also married over the summer and was one of the many weddings I attended throughout the summer. So she and her hubby (also referred to by Chris and me as 'Keif an'dem') have been working on turning an old dresser into an entertainment center for their living room. Well they've finished and it looks great!

Tyra's Directions:

1. First, cover the gaping holes, that were originally used as handles, with wood putty. 

 We picked this up at lowes (you can see it in some of the pics). We had a little trouble with the putty. I assumed that we should just fill in the holes, scrape off the extra, and let it dry. Well....we let it dry outside and the putty sunk down some and cracked. I think it is likely due to the NC humidity! So, we put on another layer (literally, just glopped it on) and left it inside to dry. This seemed to work much better, it was much harder and dried a lot faster!!

2. Then sand down the extra putty (which was not too hard!)

3. Paint the drawers and actual dresser. 

We decided to brush paint this so it would have those brush strokes and we did not use primer. It worked great. we used two layers of black paint. 

3. Then we distressed - we just distressed this a bit, around the edges, and a little on the top and sides so the original wood would show through. 

4. Finally, we added handles over the old puttyed holes! Keith did this, and he used his electric drill and drill bit.

I love projects that turn an item or piece of furniture into something completely different. "Double Duty" I like to call it. I love the finished project Keif an'dem came up with and it really looks like something you would purchase as your own entertainment center!

If you have done a project (past or present) I'd love to see it and share it on my blog! Just shoot me an email or message!

Thank you, Martha.

Oh Martha, so good at what she does everything.

Because Chris and I do not yet have little ones running around, I don't feel compelled to do extreme decoration come holidays like Halloween and Christmas - you know bright orange pumpkins, neon green and electric purple witches or colored blinking lights covering every inch of the house. However, I like getting into the spirit of whatever holiday or season is lurking and provide a subtle, classy decor.

So Martha Stewart has made this extremely easy for me come Halloween (and I even think this particular project can hold up through Thanksgiving).  What is it? Glittered Pumpkins. Ah.

Don't they just look fabulous! Can you imagine buying these things? They would set you back quite a bit, but you can make them yourself! 

Need:

- Bottles of loose glitter powder (the orange and pink look beautiful, but I also think white, silver, and gold would be fabulous as well - and very sophisticated!)

- Adhesive (glue, spray, mod podge)

- Foam brush

- News paper

- Plastic pumpkins of varied sizes

Directions:

- Sit pumpkin on laid out newspaper.

- Use foam brush to apply thin layer of glue - I'd recommend doing small sections at a time

- Add glitter to glued section

- Continue these steps until entire pumpkin is covered. 

- Let dry, decorate!

I've yet to actually do this project, but by the end of next week I hope my house will be filled with glitter-covered pumpkins. I think they'd look so good on candlesticks on a shelf, in the middle of the dining table, or on the coffee table. 

{images via}

DIY: Chest of Drawers

In an effort to make our room feel modern, collective, and less "college-bachelor-pad-ish" I decided that Chris's old chest of drawers needed a little make-over. This particular set was a bright wooden color and had been missing a knob for quite some time.  Since I had been working on our dining room table all last weekend, I figured I should keep with the flow before losing momentum. And by keeping with the flow I mean staying high on paint fumes. 

This was a fairly inexpensive project since I had already been painting and revamping furniture around this place, and I pretty much already had everything I needed besides a couple extra cans of spray paint and knobs to replace the old ones. 

I've decided not to put a "need" and "direction" section on this post since it's the exact same "needs" and "directions" as the table I posted last week - the only extra thing you need is knobs - unless you just want to paint existing knobs. 

I can't find the exact knobs I picked out to share with you, but I got them from Target and they look similar to these. Now, let me just say, had it been up to me, I would have picked clear, vintage crystal-like knobs, or slate blue colored knobs - both were at Hobby Lobby and were screaming my name, but I share a room with a boy now, so we have to compromise. The knobs I ended up getting were black and looked kind of distressed with bronze underneath. I actually kind of like them, but they aren't vintage crystal. 

I didn't distress this chest of drawers - yet. I still haven't decided if I want to because I kind of really like it solid black. Maybe later. 

DIY: Dining Room Table

Our dining room table is the table Chris had throughout his college years. It was a two-toned rectangle table with windsor chairs. By the time we moved in together, the table was down to three chairs - and really, only two of the chairs are usable. The third is just too wobbly. Chris liked to release frustration during football games and while doing math problems on his chairs. Oop. At least three made it out alive! Here is the table and the chairs before the Labor Day weekend makeover: 

Giving the old dining table and fresh, new look:

Need: 

- Liquid sander or sandpaper $8

- Small can of black paint* $7

- 4-6 cans of black spray paint $15

- Paint brush already had

- Polyurethane $5

- Foam brush already had

- Plastic drop cloth already had

Total: $35

* It's your personal preference whether you would like flat, satin, or glossy finish for your table; however, if you are using both a can of paint and spray paint, be sure to coordinate the finish so that chairs and table aren't different finishes. Unless that's what you want. Then go for it!

Directions (table):

- If you are working inside, place the drop cloth under table to protect floor.

- Sand entire table and chairs - if you are using liquid sander, follow directions on label. Mine suggested two coats and it took about 10 minutes for each coat to dry. 

- Once sanding is complete, apply first coat of paint. Allow adequate time to dry (see paint label), then apply second coat. Continue this process as desired. 

- Allow final coat to dry 24 hours.

- Apply first coat of polyurethane to top of table (or entire table - your preference)

- Allow drying time (generally 3-4 hours), then apply second coat.

- Allow final coat to dry 24 hours before being used.  

Directions (chairs):

- Find a workable area outside and place down cardboard or plastic drop cloth - if it's a windy day, you are going to want to go with the cardboard, Trust me. 

- Sand the chairs.

- If using spray paint, apply several light layers of paint. This helps to assure no running - which never looks good.

- Be sure to allow drying between coats. This takes about 3-4 coats and about 1.5 cans per chair.

- Allow final coat to dry 24 hours.

- If desired, apply first layer of polyurethane. I wanted the seats of the chairs to be protected - from possible spills or dropped food. 

- If you do not want this extra protection, feel free to stop here. 

- Allow drying time (3-4 hrs), then apply second coat. 

- Allow final coat to dry 24 hours before being used. 

And here is my final project:

(Please excuse the space. I still need an area rug and some decor on the walls.)

Because we were down to only two dining chairs, I needed to purchase four more to complete the table. I did my research and found some nicely priced Windsor chairs at Walmart by Better Homes and Gardens. The seats of the chairs are wooden, however, I kind of really like it. It gives the table a slight antique look and if I ever decide to distress the table, the chairs add to the look. And I can always bust out the spray paint and paint them black if I want to do that too. 

DIY: Framed Chalkboard

One of the first projects I wanted to tackle once settling in was making my own framed chalkboard. I came across a reasonably priced framed picture set at one of the local flea/antique malls. It was a set of three - two 15x12 framed pictures and one 33x27 framed picture (which is the one I used.)

This is a fairly easy and inexpensive project, and it can be as unique as you want it to be. Things that were most important to me were: size (I wanted something really large - and I got it.), a decorated frame, and soft color for the frame. 

                             

Supplies: 

1. Old frame, sized to your liking. ~$12
2. Can of spray paint, color of your choice. $3
3. Can of chalkboard spray paint. $6
4. Tools to disassemble and reassemble frame, Already had
5. OR paper and tape. Already had

Total Cost: $21

Directions:

1. Find a frame and pick a color. 
2. Decide if you are going to disassemble and reassemble your frame for the project or if you are going to tape and cover. (If the frame is difficult to disassemble, it may be easier to tape and cover up the portion you are not painting.)
3. Cover and tape up the inside of the frame. Move to a ventilated area and spray frame with several light coats - this ensures full coverage and no dripping.
4. Once frame is painted and dry, remove taping. 
5. Tape and cover up painted frame and follow painting directions for chalkboard paint. 
6. Let dry, remove tape and paper, and begin using!

I regretfully only snapped photos of the first half of this project (my B). The second half we actually took the frame apart and that involved pulling out staple, dealing with super sticky framing tape, and the deriving up our own way of putting it back together. 

It is easier to take the frame apart for painting purposes, so you may want to consider this before purchasing a frame. 

Finally, the hanging wire on the frame was running horizontally when it was purchased. For the space it is in, I needed the picture to hang vertically, so I simply had Chris unscrew the wire and screw it back on so that the frame could hang vertically. 

Projects

I've been working on a few projects to make this house a home. Some are simple and require me asking Chris to drill a hole here or there, and some are not so simple, but are getting done. Here are things I've done and plan to do:

• Paint accent wall in dining room
• Paint accent/tv/entertainment wall
• Hang curtains in living room, master, and guest bedroom
• Hang replace rod in living room
• Make framed chalkboard for kitchen
• Hang hooks in both bathrooms
• Paint dining table and chairs (chairs are getting painted today!)
• Paint master bedroom's chest of drawers
• Paint living room coffee table (Chris's request)
• Plant herb garden

And this list goes on, but those are projects getting tackled now and in the next few weeks. I've been photo-documenting everything I'm doing, so once projects get finished, they are sure to make an appearance here.