The Milk Glass Effect

I am so excited to share this post with everyone! This is by far one of my favorite projects to date. I have always been a lover of antique milk glass and I figured out a way to replicate the 3-dimensional aspect with liquid glass. The best part about this DIY, on top of it looking like something you picked up at Homegoods, is that the entire project is under $10. 

Supplies: 

• Liquid glass
• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton ball
• Spray paint (I used Rust-Oleum White Lacquer and gold)
• Glassware of your choice (I bought the two larger vases from the Dollar Tree and the small vase from Michaels)
• Paper plate

The Effect:

1. Place your glassware top down on a paper plate. 
2.  In order to remove any smudges and dust from the glassware, soak your cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and rub it around the outside of the vase.
3. Open your liquid glass and test it on a separate piece of paper to get a feel for the pressure that you want to apply to get your desired effect. 
4. Start your design. I decided to do polka dots on all of my vases, but you certainly don't have to. For my design, I worked from the top down. Make sure to rotate your paper plate as you move on to different sections. You do not want to touch the glassware until everything is dry. 
5. Once you are done, let the vase dry for 30 or so minutes. The liquid glass will turn from a milky white to clear when it is fully dry. Depending on how crazy you got with your design, your dry time may take a little longer.
6. Start spraying! I did two to three coats of the gold and white lacquer. 

I recently taught my first DIY class. Below are a couple of pictures of my students making their milk glass projects!

The Mossy Monogram

Who doesn't love monogram letters? You can use them to personalize any space, whether it be a window sill in your kitchen or a shelf in your office. I was recently wandering through Michael's searching for inspiration and stumbled across these wooden letters from the new Make Market line. Because they had raised edges with a rustic flare, I decided that they needed to be filled with moss. I absolutely love, love, love the way that they turned out. And, to top it off, the letters were 40% off at Michael's!

Instead of letters, I am now on the hunt to find similar wooden numbers. For all you ladies out there planning weddings, these would make for the perfect table numbers if you are going for a rustic/vineyard look.

Supplies:

• Hot glue gun
• Moss
• Wooden Letters
• Newspaper

Moss Magic:

• Prep you surface. I suggest using newspaper, as the moss can get a little messy. It just makes it easier to cleanup once you are done. 
• Apply hot glue and press in moss. Work in small sections so that the glue doesn't harden too quickly and your moss adheres. 

All done! This craft literally took me 20 minutes to make. If you want to make a hostess gift on the fly for your next dinner party, this is your craft — simple and thoughtful. 

Velvet Queen

Katie Kime is my design muse. I discovered her on social media over a year and a half ago and have been girl crushin' hard ever since. Like me, she is a lover of all things bright, white, gold and lucite. Her designs and accent pieces are bold and add character to any space. SHE IS A DESIGN GODDESS. Make sure you checkout her website.

When I decided to move into a one-bedroom last year, I realized that I had absolutely no living room furniture and not a big budget to buy new stuff. With the help of my crafty mother, I decided to refurbish my grandmother's couch and other hand-me-down pieces that I had received from friends or found on my neighbor's curb on trash day. The results? A living room filled with revived antiques, bright velvet, white lacquer and lucite/gold accents.

Marcelo Montgomery did all of my upholstery and he is absolutely amazing! Although I ordered all of the fabric for my pieces, he is the one that truly brought them back to life. If you have furniture that needs a little TLC, send it to him. The man can work wonders!

Furniture Makeover Details:

• Pink Velvet
• Leopard Velvet
• My mom and I used Annie Sloan pure white to paint the couch and chair frames

It's okay to dream, right? One day, these will be mine:

One. Two. Three. Four. 

 

Tea Party Animal

I have a serious love affair with tea! While some people collect coins or stamps, I am a collector of tea sets, old and new. To me, there's something elegant about the English tradition of afternoon tea. It's the perfect excuse to dress up and socialize.

Host a tea party for your girlfriends (or your child's birthday) on a budget! All you need is tea, dainty sandwiches and/or cakes and pastries to make for the quintessential afternoon tea experience. Little girls (and adult women) would jump at the opportunity to wear big hats and long gloves.

I recently had a tea party for two (me + my fiancé). He certainly wasn't as excited about the tea party as I was, which is completely understandable. :) See how I styled my tea party for two below and checkout the links to my favorite tea related accessories.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Mason Jar Crafts for the Animal Lover

Who ever thought desk organization could look this cute? This DIY is super simple and is a creative way to re-purpose your old mason jars. Whether you fill the jars with loose change or candy for a party favor, the animal lid toppers are surely going to create a stir, as in DIY envy.

Supplies:

• E600 Permanent Craft Adhesive
• Mason Jars - I used the Ball Collection half pint 
• If I were to do this all over again, I would have separately bought flat jar lids to cut out the first two steps below.
• Small animal figurines - I used animals from the Safari LTD Toobs (Wild)
• Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint 
• Krylon Crystal Clear Spray Paint

Get Crafting:

• Apply adhesive to the inside of the canning band and press the lid down firmly. 
• Allow the lid to fully dry for about 10 minutes. 
• Apply adhesive to the feet of the plastic animals and secure them to the center of the lid. 
• Allow the lids to dry for another 10 minutes. 
• Pick a ventilated area and spray your jar toppers. I did about 3 or so coats with about 10-15 minutes in between. Once you have the coverage you desire, spray the top with the Krylon Crystal Clear paint in order to protect the paint from chipping. Tip: Make sure to spray from a bottom angle so that you can fully cover the underbelly of the animals. 
• That's it! You now have made the cutest desk accessories in your office. Your coworkers will want you to make them one too!

Creative Cupid

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought it was only appropriate to share some super easy DIY ideas for your Valentine's (Galentine's) festivities. Think pink and creatively: red velvet push pops, heart-shaped watermelon snacks, homemade flower arrangements, pink lemonade, cosmos, ring pops. The list could go on, and on, and on.

The M&M Showstopper 

When it comes to flowers, I think that the arrangements sold online are too expensive on Valentine's Day. You can make your own beautiful arrangements by going local or visiting your neighborhood grocery store. 

• Two bags of Valentine's Day M&Ms
• Flowers of your choice
• Two clear vases (make sure the smaller one is cylinder and fits inside your larger vase)

1. Place the small cylinder vase in the larger vase.
2. Cut the corners of the M&M bags and begin to fill around the small vase.
3. Once the vase is filled to your liking, use a separate cup to fill the small vase with water.

That's it! The arrangement makes for the perfect centerpiece.

Crazy for Watermelon

What screams pink more than watermelon? This is probably the easiest party food I have ever made, and, to top it off, it is adorable and cheap.

• Watermelon slices 
• Cutting board
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter

The Push Pop

Growing up, I was obsessed with the Flintstone push up pops. When I stumbled across these heart-shaped push pop containers, I died. They are amazing! You can fill them with anything, from ice cream to daiquiri mix. Naturally, it seemed fitting to fill them with red velvet cake.

• Red velvet cake
• Cream cheese frosting 
• Push pop containers
•  Large Ziploc bag 
• Spoon

1. Bake your red velvet cake. 
2. Fill the push pop container about halfway with cake and use the heart plunger included in the package to compress the cake. Repeat this step until you have about half an inch of container space remaining. 
3. Fill your large Ziploc bag with cream cheese frosting and cut one of the bottom corners (I didn't have an icing kit so I had to improvise).  
4. Frost your push pops.