This project started when
there was an outdoor light that was being thrown
away at my job because it no longer worked.
Makes sense right? Call me a hoarder but
I went and grabbed it from the trash because I had
bigger dreams for this little broken light…

The broken light before….

This project was actually really easy & only involved some
tools, moss, & a cute little birds nest..

 First things first.. I removed the socket by simply
taking off some nuts & bolts.

 Next I had to remove the socket adapter which just
twisted off with ease.

 I filled the light with moss & added a cute little nest with some
eggs that can all be found at your local craft store.

 After screwing the lid back on… there you have it,
your very own DIY terrarium.

A terrarium is a great way to add spring to your decor.

I still have my dried hydrangeas from my hydrangea plants
from last summer… I can’t wait to have some fresh ones again

 You can find a very beautiful terrarium at Pottery Barn for a very hight
price {here} but I will take my free terrarium any day..
unless you are buying

Have you made a terrarium before? How did you make it
& what kinds of items did you use?

I love my new DIY terrarium so much.
Not only because it was free, easy, & turned out
so cute, but because it means spring is almost here!
Have you started decorating for spring?
What kind of spring like DIY or Crafts have you done?
I would love to see them.. Link them on the
facebook, tweet them, or comment below!

Talk to you soon!

Liz Marie

 O hey! This is my comfy chair that I love sitting to blog, read,
& just to unwind.. Do you have a spot where you love
sitting to relax? You can read more about this
lovely chair {here}.

 So Mr. LMB did the sweetest thing for me for Valentines day…
A little background on the amazing man I call my husband,
he is amazing at surprises & planning romantic things.
Way better than me.. I am jealous!
Well, after I bought him his new phone & tablet for valentines day
{I had to give it to him early, because I couldn’t keep it a secret!}
I told him to not spend too much on me, because
the tablet was like a present for both of us.
His sneaky little booty knew that I had wanted a Keurig for some
time now so he surprised me with one on Valentines day morning.
I woke up with a coffee mug on my nightstand with a note
tied with twine around the handle…
The note read, “Go to the kitchen & fill me up.”
It was 6am & I was still groggy, so I just assumed he had
made me coffee.. to my surprise the keurig was on the kitchen
counter waiting for me.
& ever since then, I have wondered how I ever drank
coffee at home with out my Keurig.

 Today I chose the french vanilla K-cup.
I then mixed Almond milk & cinnamon in… It was delicious
& a healthier alternative to flavored creamers.
Don’t get me wrong, I love creamers.. I just chose
something else today to change it up a bit.
What’s your favorite K-cup?
Since I’m new to this, where do you find
the best deals?

Cheers! How do you like your coffee?
Any coffee tips & tricks you want to share?
I was a barista for many years, so I love trying new
things & learning more about coffee from
fellow coffee lovers like myself…

 Want to see something cute & exciting that I got in the mail today?
I was inspired to make these business cards for a while now,
& my friend Christine helped me bring them to life…

 Aren’t they adorable?
I was so excited to show them off & bring them
to some local businesses today.
What do you think of them?
For those of you wondering, we made
them on Photo shop & ordered
them from Vistaprint.

Thank you so much for stopping by my lovely little blog today…
Let’s do coffee again soon
I would love to hear what you think of Keurig coffee makers,
& your tips & tricks as well!

Talk to you soon..

Liz Marie

This is the most unique Birchbox that I have got to date..
It was filled with items I had never heard of, such as eye liner tape,
but I was very interested in learning about them all.

1. Colorescience Pro- Glow & Go Travel Puff
2. Dermalogica- Daily Microfoliant
3. Eye Rock- Designer Liner
4. Jouer- Luminizing Moisture Tint
5.- Nail File- It’s heart shaped {Not pictured}
6. Digital Download- Six free songs from Green River Ordinance

Like I said in the beginning of this post, one of the reasons
that I loved this Birchbox was for the skin care product
{Dermalogica Microfoliant}. I am a skin care junkie due to my
problematic skin, but the full size of this is $50, so I probably would
not have ever tried this product if it wasn’t for Birchbox.
& now if I love it, I know it is worth my $50.
Reason #97684787 why I love Birchbox.. I get to try high end
products for only $10 a month. Love it!

I’m excited to try all my new products this month.. the tinted moisturizer
looks amazing & may become my new favorite.
Have I mentioned before that if you love any of the products that
come in your Birchbox, you can order the full size right off of the
Birchbox website? Well, you can & you can also get free shipping.
How awesome is that? You can order your Birchbox {here}.
For $10 a month {Free Shipping} & you can cancel anytime,
you too can try high end beauty products… go ahead…
Pamper yourself!

Do you already have Birchbox? Tweet me, facebook me, or leave me
a comment & tell me what you think of Birchbox. & don’t forget to
“follow” Liz Marie Blog using the new Linky follower found in the
right hand side of the blog.

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

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It’s a roll top desk with three drawers for
great storage. The client wanted the
piece to be painted all white.
Pretty standard right???
But the unique part was that she wanted
the inside of the drawers painted blue.
I was up to the challenge & happy
that I got to try something new…

The lovely little desk was a shade of blue before & needed a little update….

There were a lot of imperfections on the wood, but after some sanding & repairing
with wood filler, the desk was ready to be painted.
The client wanted the desk to be white just like the coffee table I had painted
for her this past summer. You can read more about the coffee table {here}

The desk coordinates well with the coffee table with
it’s fresh white coat & pop of blue…

Ready for that pop of color I keep talking about??

There it is.. The blue I used is the same color blue used on
the baskets in the coffee table pictured above.
She wanted the inside of the drawers painted blue,
but I decided to take it a step further & paint
the outside of the drawers blue too…

 I personally wouldn’t want to put anything in the drawers
because the blue is too pretty…

The hardware was the hardware that the client had on
the desk before & she wanted it on the refinished piece as well.

& some more pictures of those lovely drawers…

What do you think of this desk makeover? Are you a fan of the pop
of color on the drawers. It reminds me of “peek-a-boo highlights”
haha.. I am personally a fan of the added element of surprise,
but let me know what you think! Tweet me, facebook me,
or leave me a comment… I would love to hear from you!

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

linking to…

The table & chairs before…

Well, we all know how bad I am at remembering “before” photos,
so here is the table after a lot of sanding & prepping.

 & here are the lovely chairs ready to get painted.

The chairs were painted my favorite white, Dove white, by Valspar…
& later they were lightly distressed for a shabby chic look.

 The base of the table was painted the dove white as well &
later lightly distressed. Please ignore our lovely little set up
in her backyard… we had no strategy, but we had a lot of fun!

The next step was staining the top of the table,
we used a dark walnut to really contrast with the white.

To seal the top we used water based polyurethane,
& voila.. the table and chairs were done!
I love the top of the table the most, look
at that beautiful pattern in the wood!

Sorry for the picture overload, but I seriously love how this
table & chairs turned out…

What do you guys think? Are you a fan of this table?
I would love to hear what you think about it!

A couple of anouncements here on Liz Marie Blog as well…
For a while now Google Friend Connect has been unavailable
here on Liz Marie blog. Kind of sad to see it go, but no fear!
There are a lot of ways  you can still follow the blog.
The new way to follow is through “linky followers” which you can
see in the right sidebar here on the blog where it says “Follow Me”.
You can also follow through Google+, Facebook, Twitter,  RSS feed & Pinterest.
{Holy crap. That’s a lot of social networking sites!}
These are just some of the ways you can keep up with my life, my work, & also these
are all places you can ask me questions, & chat with me too.
I would love to hear from all of you!

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

linking to……

haha. Those faces.. They were squished because they
were laying so peacefully in their beds, & I made
them sit up for pictures.. I’m so mean.
Needless to say, they love them!

Before….

First I painted the drawers & then slightly distressed them
for a shabby chic look…

After painting & distressing I added numbers to the front
of the drawers {Mine were from Lowes for about $4}

 To make the cute little burlap pillows, I simply took two
extra twin pillows we had in our linen closet & cut
the burlap to size to fit the pillows.
I then sewed the burlap into pillow cases, leaving
one side open so they could easily be removed for
cleaning… Very simple & so cute!

 Number 1 & 2 is perfect for my dogs new beds,
because they are 2 of a kind.. Bear is Bella’s son
{she had 6 puppies November 2010}
They do everything together, where there is one,
there is the other.. Never separated &
I love it like that!!

Honestly my dogs {shih tzus} are so small that one drawer
would be big enough for both of them, but I wanted
to make one for each of them because they are spoiled like that…

I am thinking about changing the hardware out on each of the
drawers, but for now I distressed the original wooden
hardware on the drawers…

Mr. LMB wanted to make them into bunk beds, but I kept having
flashbacks to Step Brothers & didn’t want the babies
to get hurt, so here are the cute little bunk beds beds…

I know you are dying to see more pictures of the dogs,
but do you know how hard it was to make them both look &
not lay down in their comfy new beds… I gave up…

 Sleepy bear He was falling asleep sitting up durning our
photo shoot, probably because he woke us up at 7:30am on a Sunday
wanting to play… pay back time!

I have not found a permanent place for the dog beds yet, but
for now this spot in the dining room works pretty well &
it’s puppy approved!

What do you think about the drawer dog beds?
Have you ever made a dog bed?
Leave a comment below if you have, I would love to
hear about them!
If you have pictures of them, feel free to share the
on the facebook, Twitter, or Google+ page!

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

linking to…

This was an order I had for a bed, vanity, & mirror this week.
She wanted a simple white shabby chic look…

This was the “before” well, I had started priming a little… Listen! I
am kind of bad at remember to take photos,
but I should get credit for at least remember at this point…

You can see my dogs behind the table, they enjoy
being my little helpers.. Hi Bell & Bear!
& after…

She got a nice makeover didn’t she?

 The customer is going to be using this slim table as a vanity
which is great idea & an awesome space saver.

 The old hardware is not pictured in the “before”
picture, but I ended up changing it out for the customer
for a more ornate knob to add more detail to the piece.

 This order was actually for a customer I had worked with in the
past on her master bedroom furniture which I never blogged about,
but It was in this same “simple shabby chic” style. I love it.

 A little close up of the detail…

I wanted to also show you a quick peek at the bed I did for the customers
daughter, I am not showing you the mirror I did for her, because….
okay, I’ll admit.. I forgot to take pictures. oops!

The bed is also a simple shabby chic look fit for a little princess.

 The white I used for both pieces is “Dove White” by Valspar…
My holy grail white!

I wish I could show you this bed all put together
with bedding & everything, but these sneak peek
pictures will have to do…

I look forward to sharing more of my custom orders with
you guys! Let me know what you think about that.
Also, I would love to see your projects every week,
I have something in mind for that {Coming soon!}
Until then.. share your projects on the facebook, google+, &
Twitter pages … I would love to see your projects!

Talk to you soon!

Liz Marie

Meet January’s advertisers…

1. Birds Papaya 2. Leah Marie V. 3. PB & J Stories 4. Jennifer Lynn Events
5. Cutting Edge Stencils 6. Perfectly Posh Vintage 7. All My Heart
8. The Old Block House 9. You!! 

I would love to work with you, so send me an email to advertise in february…
Spots are limited & go pretty quickly so jump on it!
You can click {here} for more details on advertising.
I would love to work with you!

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

Until then find me on Facebook, Google +, Pinterest, & Twitter… I would love to  answer your questions, see your latest projects or just chat about all things DIY & lovely…

I went to Michaels & bought
some Martha Stewart stencils & grabbed a few other
items I had around the house & I made my very first stenciled sign…

 So, it’s not perfection.. but it’s my first attempt & I love the shabby chic
sign that reminds me of where my home really is.. After being moved from my home in Michigan to North Carolina because of the Marine corps & going through deployments with my husband being away from me for seven months at a time, I realized what home really meant… Home is not a house or a structure, home is the presence of the ones you love.. no matter where you are. I was inspired by the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes… 

 What I used for my DIY sign…

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint- Olive
Martha Stewart Paper Stencils-Typewriter font
An old dresser drawer
Sponge paintbrush

More about the drawer I recycled for my sign…

 I had these drawers laying around from my dresser
to shelves makeover & I didn’t want them to go to waste.
First I removed the face of the drawer from the rest of the drawer &
then removed the hardware. Finally I patched up the holes where
the screws were & prepped the drawer face for painting…

From a drawer to a sign… I love it! & I have plenty more drawer
fronts to practice my new love for sign making…

 For now this little sign is sitting on my office desk,
but I’m sure it will find a more permanent home soon.

I hope you liked my first attempt at making a stenciled sign.
Have you made one before? I am not the most patient person
when it comes to stenciling & figuring out where the letters should
go & making them strait & perfect. Do you have any tips or tricks
that would help a sister out? I would love to hear them!
Share them in the comments below or on facebook, twitter, or
google+… I would love to chat!

Talk to you soon…

Liz Marie

linking to…

The dresser before…

I wish I would have taken more before pictures, including one with
the drawers, but as you can see it was pretty beat up &
not worth saving for use as a dresser.

The top of the dresser was not salvageble, so it was beadboard to the
rescue! We had some leftover from our kitchen {you can see it here},
I stapled the beadboard to the top of the dresser, & caulked the seams.

After a lot more sanding,caulking,removing, & adding, I applied a
few fresh coats of white paint & the dresser part was done.
For the shelves, I measured the drawer space & had boards
cut for the shelves at lowes. I wrapped the shelves in burlap & stapled
the burlap on the wood….

 It fits perfectly in the office closet & this is just the beginning of
this closet getting organized…

I didn’t nail the shelves down to the dresser because they fit very tightly into
the space & it was’t necessary.

 Now for putting all of the stuff back in the closet…

 Those white drawers were going to be thrown away by a company,
but I knew that I could use them for something… They are now great
for organizing on my new dresser shelves.

On the top: My sewing machine, Glass containers, Glass vases for my
knob collection, some vintage key shadow boxes I made.

& the dresser has become a great place to set things that
I’m working on, or that don’t have a home yet…

On the shelves: Printer, books, fabric, craft supplies.
For storage I used my Birchboxes, drawers, & baskets.
Also do you see that lovely kaboodle? Very handy!

The size of the dresser is quite large & I still have room on the sides
for fabric & other large supplies.

Of course there are going to be lots of changes in this
little closet & you guys will be the first to know about
all the lovely little updates…

 I love how organized the closet is now! I want to add prettier shelving at
the top & making the closet more decorative so I can keep
the doors open & have it be more a part of the room.

I’m thinking of removing the closet doors & maybe adding some
curtains…. we shall see!

On the top of the closet for now, I am storing art work
& photos that I do not have a place for at the moment…

I hope you like my dresser turned into craft organizing shelves
for our office! It’s one of my favorite projects ever, just
because it gives me that joy of being organized & clutter free!

I would love to see what you guys think about this furniture re-do
comment below or write me on facebook or twitter.

I hope you all had a great weekend!!
Talk to you soon,

Liz Marie

ps. check out another post about the office here:

linking to……

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