DIY Wine Bottle Chalk Messages

 Today, I am sharing a do-it-yourself project that I have been working on, wine bottle chalk messages.

It's pretty simple, it just takes a few days for a few minutes each day to do it. It makes for a great home decor piece, a perfect wedding table sign, or any party you are hosting.

Here's what you need to do.

1. Soak your wine bottles in soapy water over night.

2. In the morning, use a sponge to scrub the labels off of the bottles. They should be fairly easy to scrape off. There was a little extra stickiness to the bottles at the end that I found easier to scrape off with a knife. Just be careful!

Here are the bottles once the labels/stickers were cleaned off.

3. Now, let the bottles completely dry before doing the next step.

4. Once the bottles are completely dry, spray glass primer all over the bottles (I usually do at least 2 coats) and let them completely dry. I choose to do this step at night before I go to bed so they can completely dry by morning.

5. Next, paint each bottle with chalkboard paint. Let it completely dry (usually a few hours) and add another coat. 

6. Once those are completely dry, remove the label across the upper part of the wine bottle.

Now all of the wine bottles are level with chalkboard paint.

7. Now, go ahead and write whatever you'd like on them!

That's it! Pretty simple and a fun little project!

Linking up with Cheryl for Monday Funday and Huckleberry Love for Much Ado about Monday!

Happy DIY-ing!

-A

4th of July Banner

Today is the second post for my Summer/4th of July inspired mantle. Last week, I shared my family's mantle decor (you can find that post HERE) and now I'd like to share with you how to make the red and blue banner.

What You'll Need:

-Red and blue scrapbook paper

-Glue

-Ruler

-Scissors

-Pencil

-Ribbon/Twine

Directions:

1. First thing you need to do is measure your ribbon against the frame it will hang from so you have a sense of how much ribbon you'll need. Make sure to leave room on both ends so you can tie it to the frame at the end.

2. Next, cut out the triangles. Mine are 4.5 inches by 5 inches.

 I needed 6 to fit on my picture frame. Yours may differ from mine depending on the size of your frame.

3. Once you have cut out your triangles, place a piece of scrap paper on the table and lay your ribbon down on top of the paper.

4. Next, line your triangles up next to each other on the ribbon. Once you have the placed where you'd like them, glue the triangles to the ribbon and let them sit until dry.

5. Once the banner is dry, secure each end on the frame. I chose to have one end in the top left corner and the other in the middle on the right side.

And that's it! Not much to it and can all be done for under $5! Easy to do for every holiday!

Linking up with Cheryl for Monday Funday andHuckleberry Love for Much Ado about Monday!

Have a wonderful day!

-A

Kids Korner: DIY Playdough

I love this recipe. Ry is just starting to get to an age where things like this are fun and interesting to her. It is something new to discover and for me it is so fun to watch her explore. It's inexpensive to make and last a long, long time in a ziploc bag. It's not crumbly at all which I love!

What to do:

To make 1 color

1. Turn stove on and begin boiling 1.5 cups of water.

2. While that is working towards a boil, mix flour, salt, cream of tartar & oil in a mixing bowl.

3. Add food coloring to the boiling water in the saucepan (NOT TO THE DRY MIXTURE).

4. Add boiling water with the food coloring to the dry mixture and stir continuously until it becomes sticky & combined.

5. Allow it to cool & then take it out of the bowl & knead it until it is no longer sticky (add more flour if the mixture stays sticky after a few minutes of kneading it).

I added lavender spray from Trader Joe's to the dough to give it a calming, fun smell.

To make 5 colors

Follow the same directions, but after mixing the ingredients together, separate them evenly into 5 different bowls (preferably not plastic) then boil a 1/4 cup of water for each color before you add the boiling water to the dry mixture. Repeat the boil water step with each color adding it to a different dry mixture bowl as you go.

Make more or less colors adjusting the water amount accordingly.

I gave Ry some things to play with like a spoon & some plastic cookie cutters.

Be careful about them thinking it's food and putting in their mouth. A little won't hurt them but you don't want them going overboard.

One thing I thought about after doing this is how, with her age, hiding an object in the center might be a fun way for her to really get acquainted with the playdough. You could hide blocks, toy figurines, small bouncy balls, etc.

This was a lot of fun to do with Ry & we will definitely be doing it again! This would make a great birthday party favor too!

Hope you all have a happy Monday!

Monday Funday: DIY Spring Mantle

I love a good DIY project and I also love to save money. This mantle is both things. In February, when I started preparing for our "switch" to a Spring/Easter mantle, I knew, as I was pinning inspiration, that I wanted to make a simple/fun mantle without breaking the bank. Find my post about inspiration here. Would you believe me if I said I spent a total of $20 on the entire mantle? Here's how...

What you'll need:

-scissors

-glue

-White Vase

-Various flowers from Dollar Tree 

-Monogram letter

-2 mason jars

-burlap ribbon

-ribbon to secure burlap ribbon

-a large, old frame

-ribbon to hang wreath

-8x10 frame

-chalkboard paint

-chalk

-paintbrush

-floral wire

The white vase I found at Goodwill for $.49. The "L" was a Michael's find for $3.00. The flowers are front Dollar Tree (there are two sets of flowers in the vase).

The mason jars were given to me as a gift when I had Riley. Some students at my school made salads for me when I was on maternity leave and they were brought to me in these mason jars. I wrapped burlap around them and secured it in place with some green ribbon. The burlap was a Target $1 section find. 

The wreath and flowers are a Dollar Tree find. Dollar Tree is currently selling flower wire so it makes it easy to secure the flowers to the wreath (and bonus easy to switch out each season!). The frame was also from Goodwill. See the details of how I made the frame look like this here. 

To create the bow, 

I took a 2 ft long piece of burlap and laid it flat, horizontally. 

Next, I took either end and criss-crossed them over each other, making sure they met in the middle and the loops they created were even. 

I then grabbed the center of the ribbon and secured it with another piece of ribbon (about an inch long), gluing it in the back.

Then I secured it to the wreath with floral wire. 

This is our Easter section of our mantle.

The family figure is from Willow Tree and we received it as a gift from my parents when we had Riley. The cross in the front is from Dollar Tree.

The framed chalkboard I created myself using an old frame I wasn't using.

To make the chalkboard frame..

I took the glass out of the frame and painted three coats of chalkboard paint right on to the glass. I let it dry overnight and then the next day I used chalk to write the Bible verse on the front. Simple as that. Both the chalkboard paint and the chalk I found at Joann Fabrics. The chalkboard paint was originally $6 but with a 50% off 1 regularly priced item I only spent $3 on it.

I want to encourage all of you to get creative with this! Look for coupons on some of these items, check out your local thrift store (you'd be surprise what you find!) and do some research! Decorating can be fun and rewarding without spending lots of money.

I hope you all were inspired by my Spring/Easter mantle and I hope it helps you create your own mantle without breaking the bank!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Pin-spired: March Edition

Today, I linking up with Shay, Sheaffer, and Mel for another edition of Pin-spired. Basically, we take things we find on Pinterest and recreate them ourselves. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pinterest (if I have some down time that is usually where I am), so needless to say I love this link-up!

Here is what is inspiring me this month.

1. Home decor

I love a good DIY project, and I get so excited to change over our mantle for different holidays. I have been pinning a lot of Spring/Easter mantle inspiration because Spring and Easter are right around the corner. I don't like to wait until we're actually in a season/holiday to decorate because I really want to enjoy the things I put out. If I waited until the end of March/beginning of April, I'd only get a short time with my Easter decorations. Here's my interpretation..

Our Mantle:

2. Early Spring Fashion

I just love how easy and put together this outfit looks! I love the pop of color with the green pant and if you know me I LOVE stripes. The booties really pull the whole outfit together.

My take:

3. Haircut Ideas

I need you help! I am in desperate need to a haircut. I haven't had one since November and this mama needs to be pampered a little. I think I am set on the "bob" look but I am having a hard time deciding between a long bob and short bob. I am also playing around with the ombre look. Here's what I have narrowed it down to..

Here is what my hair looks like now..

So if I went with a long bob, I would just need some angles and a trim.

Here are the options:

#1. Long bob w. ombre tips

#2. Long bob w. full ombre

#3. Long bob w/o any ombre

#4. Short bob w. ombre tips

#5. Short bob w. full ombre

#6. Short bob w/o ombre

Which one do you think I should choose?

So there you you have it. That is how I have been Pin-spired this month!

Follow me on Pinterest here.

My family happenings via Instagram here.

Happy Monday!

Saving Money: DIY Mantle Decor

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Pinterest. I really love looking at home decor ideas in particular. I am always browsing looking for new ways to spruce up my home decor. 

Last week, I saw this idea, on Mom 4 Real, and knew I had to do it (without breaking the bank).

I know large frames usually cost upwards of $50 and so I ventured to Goodwill with Riley on Sunday to check out what they had. I ended up finding a large framed picture (in gold) for $2.99. Can't beat that! 

I brought it home and stripped the picture frame down so all that was left was the frame (no glass, no picture) and set it down on an old towel on our kitchen table and painted the frame white using white Acrylic paint. I applied the paint with a paper towel to give it a worn, vintage look.

After letting it dry, I tied red ribbon around my Valentine's Day wreath and hung it on my mantle. I did a twist on the idea from Mom 4 Real based of this image. And also did a smaller version of the large one (far left).

What I really love about this idea is it is easy to use all season/holidays, you just switch out what hangs from the frame.

I love this idea to personalize a space using a letter.

 This is a fun summer time look, or a way to dress up your mantle for a birthday party.

I also LOVE this idea, a Christmas card holder! A great way to display all those holiday cards from loved ones.

In other news, we are gearing up for a huge snowstorm here tonight. They're calling for 30+ inches where we are. Ry and I are headed to the store after her nap to stock up on diapers, water, & chocolate (the important things!). Hope you all have a wonderful Monday morning! 

-A