Home Decor

DIY: Snowman Mason Jar

2013-12-03T10:03:00.001+00:00

Hello everyone, hope you all are doing well. I have been down with the flu, as a welcome present of winter arrival.

So, have you all started preparing for Christmas season yet? If you are looking for ideas to get into the festive mood, you will love this cute snowman jar! It was so easy to make and looks amazing. This will surely brighten your mantel and look great next to the Christmas tree! Happy Decorating!

Things needed for this project are:

-Mason Jars
-White Spray paint
-Glue
-Colored crepe paper
-Permanent black marker
-Colored chart paper
-Paint Brush
-Poster Paints

First I spray painted the jar white. For the snowman body.

Then I began drawing the face, trying to imitate the stone smile and eyes as much as possible.

Then I took a piece of orange colored chart paper and twisted it to a cone shape for a carrot nose!

Now my snowman was missing a cute snuggle winter cap. So I drafted one out of pink chart paper! Mind you with all the shenanigans (pom pom)

This is what Mr. Snowman looked like. Then I thought of giving a festive wardrobe to him. He is going to rock in green polka dots ;)

And of course we had to have arms, so I took Popsicle sticks and painted them a brown resembling that of tree bark.

With the winter approaching, Mr Snowman was also given a bright red scarf to complete his Christmas look!

Happy Holidays and Happy Creating Folks, do see my DIY: Christmas Gift/Cookie/Candy Jar

xoxo
Eva

DIY: Christmas Gift/Cookie/Candy Jar!

2013-11-20T07:59:00.003+00:00

Good day everyone! Today I will be sharing a very easy and affordable holiday DIY! It can make a great gift with some candy, trail mix or cookies! Or you can just admire it placed on your beautiful mantle. Everything about it spells C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S!!!

It looks so festive, really got me into the holiday decorating/creating mood!

First start with taping the jar, (it looks great when you can see the goodies inside)

I did not want symetric stripes, so went with broad and narrow ones. Then began the spray painting.

You will need to coat twice so the white is evenly painted. After thoroughly dry, begin to take off the tape carefully.

I was a bit hasty thus explaining the staining at the back, need to keep patient and my hand steady!

Then I made my roses and leaves using colored crepe paper. First cut out about 2-3 inches and then begin rolling away.

Keep the glue handy as the flower may just decide to undo itself, and you will need it to stick perfectly

Don't worry if you don't get it perfect the first time, practice will give finesse to the flowers!

Voila! My beautiful rose!

Cut out the leaves to go with the roses.

After you are happy with the flower and leave arrangement, begin gluing it together.

I also covered the lid, so the color and texture would match.

Then I assembled my flowers and this is how it turned out. Really happy with the final look. All festive and calls out for celebration time!

No holiday is complete without sweets, so fill in your favorite goodies.

So get crafty and make this great jar, gift it to your loved ones who will LOVE the effort and Christmas spirit or keep it for yourself. In any case this holiday DIY craft will be admired by all!

Happy Creating Everyone!

xoxo

Eva

DIY: Coat Rack for Children's Room

2013-11-18T11:00:00.000+00:00

DIY: A Fun Coat Rack for Children

I’ve never been one for boring, but was assigned to work on a coat rack to hang miscellaneous items in my 6 year old niece’s room. So I decided to take the DIY route, and make one. As always, I’m most inspired by natural materials, and found the branches for this coat rack in my neighborhood. I always found such elements interesting and fairytale like!

And yes we chopped off an old drawer cabinet we had lying around at home. My niece and I decided on the design and colors together. Boy, did she feel like little red riding hood, getting all adventurous, then we finally agreed upon something she liked and I could manage beautifully too. Mosy of the materials we had at home. A couple hours of delightful family crafting later voila – a coat rack!

Materials Needed:

Base wood Branches
Leather Scraps
Paint
Colorful paper
Modge Podge
Foam Brush
Hammer
Screws
Power drill
Exacto knife
Wooden backboard (you may use something lying at home, like I did)
Sandpaper
Hand saw

How To:

Sand your wooden backboard first.
TIP: Always sand with the grain until all edges are smooth. You don’t want anyone getting a splinter.

Cut out your colorful paper into the shape you’d like using a ruler, pencil and scissors. We went to Blicks to get this special waxed, dried flower paper.

Apply the Modge Podge evenly to the back of your paper with the foam brush. Apply paper to the wooden backboard. Smooth out any wrinkles.

Apply Modge Podge over the paper, at least an inch beyond the edge of the paper onto the wood. This will secure the paper to the wood with an overcoat preventing tears, and allowing you to wipe the item with a damp cloth to clean it. Follow the bottles instructions for drying, many times you have to let it dry overnight.

Here is the interesting bit, where we went out to the ‘woods’ to gather the most artistic branches we could find! I cut the branches off the larger branch in such a way that they can be nailed to the backboard and provide the protruding branch to hang things off of.

Cut your leather to size using an exacto knife. We continued with the triangle theme. Leather added a very nice texture and contributed to the overall look I was wanting to achieve.

Hammer short nails into the edges of the leather to keep it in place.

Make a stencil to paint over. Use cardboard, or in this case an old poster. Grab your exacto knife again and after drawing your design use the knife to cut it out.

Place your stencil in the area you’d like the design. Use a paint brush to paint over the stencil. The most important thing is to hold the edges of the stencil down when you’re painting over it to ensure the paint doesn’t get underneath the stencil smearing your design.

The designs are done, now it’s time to hammer in the branches! Mark the backboard with a pencil where you would like the branches. Secure the branches at 2 points – one at the top, and one at the bottom with nails. Hammer slow and steady so as not to crack the wood. Finish both branches, and you’re done….almost!

Now it’s power tool time! We’re going to secure the rack to the wall. Use a power drill to drill holes in the rack and the wall. Then insert screws into the rack with the power drill. Finish them into the wall through the holes you drilled. First make sure to ensure your rack isn’t crooked with a level. The bubble should be in the middle of the two lines in the middle.

Enjoy! Note, I made sure to mount the rack high enough so there are no potential injuries to children in our household.

If you enjoyed this you will surely love my Decoupage Coffee Table :)

Happy creating folks!

Hogwarts’ themed Halloween Decor

2013-11-07T08:38:00.000+00:00

Halloween is such a fun time of year and there's nothing I enjoy more than an excuse to dress up! Also, being a hardcore Potter fan, this time of the year brings back all those Hogwart memories. So we're planning a bit of a party and plenty of (adult-supervised) trick or treating.
But our tired orange-and-black decos needed a bit of updating, so this year we've looked to Harry Potter for a little inspiration.

I used my home office desk and transformed it into something special from Hogwarts.

Step 1: Tea painting

I'm starting here because this is a really simple and fun activity and if you know any toddlers it is a great one to get them involved with! Steep a few teabags in some warm water. When the water is a nice dark brown, paint directly on to your sheets of paper using the teabags. Be gentle, so the teabags don't split, but really anything goes! Once they are dry you have some lovely old parchment to turn into Harry-Potter-style props! Also you could brew coffee and use a brush, that works wonders too!
Step 2: What you will need

Now you've made your 'parchment' , gather together the rest of your props. The great thing about using Harry Potter as a theme is it gives you a great deal of flexibility - JK Rowling imagined such a rich and detailed world, you can adapt the theme to suit what you already have lying around.
Make use of the usual Halloween paraphernalia - pumpkins, plastic spiders, cotton wool cobwebs etc. These broomsticks were picked up very cheaply in our local Supermarket.
Claret and Gold are good colours for table cloths and drapes as these are the colours of Harry Potter's house at Hogwarts: Gryffindor. Luckily I found a great Sparkle Table runner. And if you happen to have a birdcage with an owl inside...(that would be perfect!) ;)

Step 3: The Hogwarts Parcels

Wrapping up some empty boxes with brown paper and string is a really simple idea to create the Hogwarts look. What has Harry bought in Diagon Alley this year?

Step 4: Harry's Text Books

The 'parchment' you painted earlier is great for using as dust covers on books, spells, maps and other manuscripts. We've gone for The Standard Book of Spells, Quidditch Through the Ages, and Defence Against the Dark Arts here, but you could get a whole lot more creative if you wanted to - a great activity for older children to get involved with perhaps?
Step 5: Potion Bottles

These potion jars are a really simple, cheap idea that looks great in a Harry Potter theme. Wash out a selection of old bottles and jars and make some labels using the 'parchment' you made earlier like I did, or go for this amazing free printable from Over the Moon.

They can be filled with bits of twigs and leaves from the garden or maybe some jelly worms or gobstopper eyeballs. To age them, drizzle a little kitchen oil around the top of the bottles and then dust with talcum powder. Wine corks make for good lids or try greaseproof paper tied on with string.
Step 6: Novelty treats

These apothecary jars also make for great little treats. Fill baby food jars (as shown here) or small jam jars or sauce bottles with a few scary-looking treats. It keeps unwrapped sweets from being handled by two many little fingers prior to eating and makes it a bit easier to monitor how many everyone's eaten! Seal the tops with greaseproof paper and string and they are really convenient to distribute at the door or take home at the end of the party. These little jars would also be a great way to serve up fruit jellies.
Step 7: Wands and branches

In the world of Harry Potter no two wands are the same - so wand creation is a great opportunity to go for a forage for twigs in your local park or garden! If you're lucky enough to have access to some twisted hazel, these unusual branches also make for a great table decoration. Strip the leaves. You can then either fashion your twigs into wands or use them as a Halloween table decoration.
Step 8: Lighting

The lighting at Hogwarts is fab inspiration for a Halloween theme - when it comes to candles, lanterns and scones more is more!
There are so many ways to develop this theme. Thanks to the imagination of JK Rowling, the world of Harry Potter is rich in inspiration - just let your imagination run riot! Happy Halloween!

Get 'Old School' with Shabby Chic Decor!

2013-10-28T07:35:00.000+00:00

Via Modern Country Style

Although I am 20-something, I often get remarks like, "Oh dear, You have a granny's soul" or "Sweetie, you were just born in the wrong era, this new century is just not your cup of tea!"

And I proudly claim that its true, when it comes to home decor and interior, I am an OLD soul still ravishing olden styles and designs. One of my favorite is Shabby chic style of interior décor that revolves around furniture and furnishings that look aged and time-tested, without actually being in poor condition or broken. It is possible to create the look with entirely new furniture, and this requires a steady hand and great finesse to get the look exactly right – in the Goldilocks zone, as it were, 'just right!' It is not necessary to have every piece of furniture and every accessory and soft furnishing be shabby chic – in fact, that can create an overwhelming aura of just 'shabby,' and very little 'chic!'

Via Ruffled

Highlight the Room

Choose one or two pieces to carry off the shabby chic theme, keeping everything else beautifully modern or neutral. A large old-fashioned sideboard, with a collection of vintage ornaments or old sepia photographs on top can create a wonderfully old-fashioned air in an otherwise up-to-date room.

Image Source

Small Touches Nodding to History

If you love your brand new furniture, you do not have to make any of it look old or 'tatty'. You can add that wonderful nostalgia purely with small touches. A retro telephone, black and white photographs that hearken from the desired era, or even authentic vintage cushion covers and curtains can infuse enough old style into a room to create the perfect shabby chic living room.

Image Source

Make Your Own!

If you have scoured car boot sales, auctions, charity shops and second hand furniture shops looking for the iconic shabby chic look, but had no luck, do not give up your shabby chic dream just yet. You can create the look fairly easily, with the investment of an hour or two and some paint and sandpaper.

Image Source

Source a sturdy piece of furniture, in the style that you like. Sand it down lightly to remove the polished finish, then paint it in the bottom colour. Do not worry about making the paint even, gaps and streaks are fine. Once that has dried apply the top colour to the furniture item and allow that to dry. Take the sandpaper and gently 'distress' the edges and corners, removing the top coat to allow the bottom coat to show through in patches. When this is done properly (and it is only practise that will teach you the best methods!) the piece of furniture looks like a wonderfully sturdy, old heirloom that has stood the test of time. And ofcourse, accessories always look ravishing matched with smart furniture!

Fabrics Can Play Their Part Too

Image Source

Many people adore the vintage and retro styles of curtains and fabric coverings, and they are now widely available. You should be easily able to source curtains that strike a nostalgic chord as being exactly like those your grandparents had! Vintage, old-style curtains, an abundance of lace or crochet – especially antimacassars – can add just enough of that old-school charm to infuse your living room which that shabby chic air that is so popular at present.

Image source

Study your current living room, and plan out what changes you would need to make in order to add a hint of past glory to the room. Once you have a plan of action, begin to make changes in order to achieve that dream, and before you know it you will have the shabby chic living room of your dreams!

Share your thoughts and comments would LOVE to know your views!

xoxo

Eva

BLOG HOP!

2013-10-23T11:00:00.000+01:00

A warm hello from me. Sorry I have been MIA, was travelling and had a blast last week. Now there is hardly anytime for Halloween, but I am so EXCITED to be co-hosting with MOMMY IS COOCOO!
read on ;)

Are you looking to grow your circles on Google+? Do you want better SEO and increased website exposure? Then this is the place to be!

Welcome to the mommy is coocoo Google+ Link Party HOP!

(Or, as I like to think of it mommy gets around.)

If you want to GROW with us on Google+:

1. Add all of the cohosts to one of your circles.

2. Link up your Google+ url NOT your blog url.

3. Share a post on Google+ and include the hashtag #mommyiscoocoo.

I personally will be sharing several posts. Post with the #mommyiscoocoo hashtag were shared over and over again by our supportive group. Thanks ya'll!

4. Socialize - The more shares a website or blog post has the better chance it has of ranking well.

Add new friends to your circles.
Comment and share post you really enjoy!
Throughout the day +1 posts with the hashtag #mommyiscoocoo on Google+

*This is a weekly party!*

*If you want to grow your presence on Google+ email (me) Amanda at mommyiscoocoo(at)gmail(dot)com to cohost

Marvelous Monday Linky Party!

2013-10-10T13:48:00.001+01:00

Hello all your wonderful people! Happy Thursday & a very happy October (whatever is left of it!). I am loving the chill that has started here. Getting cosy with my cup of coffee. I have a surprise for you,

*DRUM ROLL*

Welcome to the ‘Marvelous Monday’ Link party hosted by Home Décor by Eva! I am so very glad to have you all. May I add that this is my very first linky party! So I am super excited!

Please do show all the encouragement you can and share it along on facebook, google+ and twitter, because I hope for your efforts to make this a huge success!
Counting on you lot ;)

Never linked up to a party before? Don’t you worry! All new comers are most welcome along with the regular party crowd!

Scroll down, find the little blue “Add your Link” Button and click on that.
Follow the instructions on the next page – add a great image of your project and an interesting title. Make sure you link to the direct page of your budget friendly post – not the main page of your blog!
Try to visit at least a few other blogs at the party. Be sure to leave a comment to let them know you stopped by!

Feel free to tweet, post on facebook and google+ so others can join the fun, and don’t forget to check back here Monday evening to see which posts have been featured this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

New found LOVE: Cushions and Pillows!

2013-10-10T07:27:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone! Hope you're having an amazing morning, just like me. Yes, I have again found a new love to entertain you with while my Halloween decor is in its final stages. I hope to be done by Monday hopefully.

Anyways, I have mustered up the courage to try my hand at sewing. I have loved some DIY's and pinned them to look into later. And that 'later' just came. I am in LOVE with these unique and beautiful cushions. Also, I could really use some to brighten up my home. Have a look and give me your thoughts. Also any advice, tips etc would much be appreciated.

*Drum roll please*

SEWING FOR DUMMIES BEGINS...NOW :)

I hope I can accomplish any of these wonderful ideas!

These look fairly easy and simple. Though, I am in doubt about washing and laundry. Will the fabric paint come off or smug over? Will just have to do more research (please don't roll your eyes at this point, encourage a beginner if you're a pro!) *pretty please*

Via Brit + Co.

Love these candy stripes! Looks so chic and funky. Lovely idea.

Via Living with Punks

Round cushion look great with textured fabrics, such as these white beauties, love the ruffled look.

Via 11 Magnolia Lane

If you have colored upholstery and furniture then black and white combinations just do the trick! My favorite is the polka dots!

Via A Beautiful Mess

Chevron works beautifully to give a classy look to the room.

Via Two Girls Being Crafty

I especially want to try this, again after researching the washing instructions. I love tree, flower, plant stenciled patterns. This coral one is done brilliantly!

Had I come across this earlier, I could include it my my Hogwart's Feast themed Halloween decor by stenciling the 'Whomping Willow' on my lounge cushions. Oh well, maybe next year ;)

Via Mer Mag

Ahh, this heart painted cushion on a vintage distressed chair just takes my breath away. *Heart fluttering*

Via Craftberry Bush

These cuties were just adorable! I so wish I could have started on this earlier this month, would have incorporated so many of these in my Halloween Decor!

Via Flickr User

And yes 'bows, flowers and hearts' are my weakness. By now I am not shy to disclose the 'romantic' I am at heart! These look divine!

Via The Simple Things

Hope you enjoyed my cushion ideas, do drop in your thoughts, tips and advice. It would be highly appreciated by a new comer!

Much love,

Eva

Harry Potter fever!

2013-09-27T11:32:00.001+01:00

Oh yes, it is that time of the year again, where I can not resist myself to start reading the books over again, but then who can?! This morning after my workout I made a cosy corner and blended a ncie cup of coffee to start on my never ending reading list.

Borrowed some, got some on discount, but my collection has stayed untouched. Reading is my place to escape. Which has been rather hard considering my busy routine. Can't escape too often now can I?

So despite a huge list to get started on, one particular classic kept yelling, "Pick me! Pick me! Read ME!". Really it was magical, so I gave up and picked Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Only to put it aside 4 hours later after miraculous ideas for fall decor started brewing in my mind, like a potion (Ok seriously, no drama, but really!)

Harry Potter themed Halloween would be fun now, so I am brainstorming ideas I can add. I like the potions master ;) so obviously.

Via Over the Big Moon

But I want to alter this one a bit, plastic bottle never appealed to me. I like old fashioned glass. If I manage to edit and make these prinatble labels, they would go beautifully with old wine bottles (now I am not too happy for using them as a center piece!, will have to fish out more)

Via Steve Spangler's Blog

Mason Jars seem like a good idea too, not that vintage or classy but can work especially with gooey jelly and lime green slime!

Via The Mother Huddle

Plastic spiders and such floating would also look neat, I love cork bottles! Love anything old, vintage, worn out.

Via Our House of Paint

This pumpkin design is simply adorable, will have to think of how to manage the glasses though!

But my personal favorite idea is this one, using different shapes and sizes of bottles and jars, frosting them before filling colored juice. The labels need to be very authentic to give this look.

Via Over the Big Moon

Stacks of books in various corners also look good, I like this idea and already know what materials I will be using, will be easy! (A few grocery bags, black marker and VOILA!)

Via Until Wednesday Calls

Some ideas look great but I will have to get my mind to them to figure out how to manage them and what materials I will be needing.

Via Undone

Via iVillage

Via Jane Deau

Via Hostess with the Mostess

So I will be rather busy this weekend, what about you lot? Any themes and Harry Potter ideas? Do let me know!

xoxo

Eva

Parties I am going to:
Ivy & Elephants
Remodelaholic

Instantaneously beautify nooks and corners!

2013-09-17T14:24:00.000+01:00

Quick tip coming up: Use old wine bottles for decorating nooks and corners. This actually took me less than 5 min. The picture colors are distorted, but it really brightens up the window now! :D

DIY: Rabbit cage for my niece!

2013-09-17T08:09:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone, hope you had a great weekend. I had been meaning to post this earlier, but have had a crazy busy weekend. I sure enjoyed some family time and welcomed some new members to our family. My sister got her daughter rabbits!

And of course the task to build them a beautiful home was on my shoulders. (that too on a meager budget! Ah the things you do for family!)

But I am so happy with how it turned out!

Had some wooden planks and such lying around the garage, I roughly put them together and calculated how much more I would need! I need to build a cage where the bunnies could roam freely, despite the litter box, water and feed bowl.

Needed nails and screw driver and of course a drill machine to build a swinging door

LOVE how it turned out! The lil one loves it too, it the the perfect size where she can enjoy watching them play and roam :D

They are ADORABLE!

Feasting away on the greens!

Really happy with how it turned out! Planned on painting it, but it wouldn't be safe for the bunnies! Inhaling all those chemicals! So leaving it NATURAL ;)

My Decoupage Art Coffee Table!

2013-09-09T07:57:00.001+01:00

Hello all you lovely people :)

I am so excited to be sharing my Decoupage Art with you today. I have been inspired by Selenarte Decoupage, and wanted to explore this art for myself, it turned out beautiful!

Hope you enjoy reading this tutorial, as much as I enjoyed doing it!

xoxo

DIY: Découpage Coffee Table: Art, Culture and History Spanning the Ages

Decoupage’s origins are speculated to have started with East Siberian tomb art. The tombs of the deceased from Nomadic tribes used to be decorated with cut out pieces of felts. The practice traveled from Siberia to China, which by the 12^th Century, using the decoupage method of cutting out paper became popular. It was vintage art which was used to decorate lanterns, windows, boxes and other objects. It’s thought these practices made its way to Europe by way of Italy, who in the 17^th Century, was at the forefront of trade with the Far East.

Drawing forth this ancient form of art into the modern world, I made a visit to Blick’s Art Supply store which had beautiful handmade paper. In decoupage bliss I picked out a few lovely pieces to work with. My goal was to use a desk from Shop4furniture; a hand me down from my mum.

Materials:

· Sponge brush – 4 inches for larger projects

· Paper of your choice

· Mod Podge

· Measuring tape

· Rag

How to:

1. Clean the surface of your medium

2. Cut out your pieces to exactly the size you need them to be.

Hint: As shown in the picture I smoothed down the corners of the paper around the surface I needed them to fit in order to create a bend I could follow to cut.

3. Arrange them and make sure they fit the way you’d like them to.

4. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the paper.

5. Apply the paper to your medium, one piece at a time.

6. Smooth the paper with your hand, starting in the middle and working toward the edges.

7. Take your sponge brush and start brushing on a medium thick coat in large brush strokes over the whole project. Be careful not to be too rough with delicate paper.

8. Allow to dry according to the bottle, and apply a second coat if necessary.

Voila, from boring table to a unique and beautiful piece for your home collection! Love your home for less has been my motto and I believe anything can be made beautiful if you put your heart and soul in it!

My newfound inspiration: The Inspired Room!

2013-08-22T12:09:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone! I have been away for a while! But have great posts coming up soon, so stay tuned!

Today I will be reviewing one of my very Favorite blogs; “The Inspired Room” (Melissa has provided me much needed inspiration) and I love the easy and quick to do steps; which are her trademark. Being a Home Interior fanatic, honestly plants and gardens were a second love, but now I think they've paired up equally with my love for interior and designing! I recently started following The Inspired Room, but have become a die-hard fan of Melissa’s work. I want to share some of my favorite pieces with my readers.

(Click on the images to see the original post)

For instance this amazing tea cart turned into plant stand is a fabulous idea for gardens with limited space, and especially for people who love to garden yet don’t have space. Therefore you may carry on your passion with limited space!

And, you can keep them inside and trolley them outdoors for sun and the photosynthesis process! What a great idea!

The 5 minute garden is also one of my personal favorites! So adorable, right?

But these 5 minute teacup plants are to die for! Not only do they look beautiful, but are an easy DIY project for beginners (like myself!)

Being a DIY/Home décor enthusiast, I am looking forward to getting a theme and teacup for each room of the house. They can easily be used to brighten a room and add natural elements.

A big round of applaud for Melissa and her wonderful creations!

Spice up your Mason Jars

2013-08-01T02:25:00.000+01:00

Dear all, Today we have my very good friend and colleague, Abeerah; I like calling her Abee! She came up with an amazing idea for Mason Jars! They look fabulous. Thank you Abee for the wonderful idea!

Spice up your Mason Jars

Today we’re going to take a little bit of the old, a little bit of the new, and stir them up until we find ourselves in the midst of a fun DIY project. This project is creative, inexpensive and practical - what more could you ask for? Find colorful backgrounds in old magazines to personalize labels for your mason jars that will contain bulk spices, seeds and teas from your favorite co-op, or that lavender from your last foraging adventure. Simple, yet this project brings new life to your kitchen with color, practical usage, and it never fails to get compliments from guests.

Mason Jars have been used for generations and generations from the times of our predecessors of the Wild West to our very own grandmas canning vegetables, delicious compotes and tart jellies. With our new awareness of the dangers of storing foods in plastics, especially long term or in hot or very cold conditions, we’ve got to move to glass. The second new trend in the health food movement is the purchase of bulk items. You save the environment from the over abundance of packaging, and save money on your favorite staples. This can be anything from sugar, pasta, rice, spices or teas. Today you’re going to learn to take this practical step in storing your spices and teas in mason jars, to the next DIY level. Join me!
Materials:

Old magazines with cool pictures
Mason Jars
Spices, teas, etc
3 inch wide clear tape
Scissors
Fine tipped permanent marker

How To:

Measure the tops of your mason jars. To be able to get a good legible label, I recommend going with the widest mouth jars you can find. I used the squat, wide mouthed Ball Jars available at eBay and Amazon.

Use the measurement you found for the tops of the jars to determine what pictures you want to cut out of magazines. I used travel magazines and favored brightly colored nature-scapes for my labels. Also keep in mind you’ll be writing over the background so you don’t want the picture to be too cluttered. Cut out your pictures. Get creative and go with different

Determine which pictures you want to go with what items. For example I choose a calm lake scene with blues and greens for my “Love your Liver” health tea.

Now the fun really begins! Use your fine tipped permanent marker to start decorating your pictures to complete the label. Use different fonts of writing and feel free to draw accompanying pictures. I also made sure to include ingredients of spice mixtures that I wanted to remember. I also noted that the chai tea I bought had caffeine in it. Make these notes on the labels under the assumption you’re throwing any packaging or notes on the bulk bags away. Another trick is to tape notes on the bottom if it doesn’t fit or look nice!

Use your wide clear tape to affix the pictures to the tops of the jars. I find that it looks nicer if your tape is wide enough to just use one strip, versus having ridges where the multiple pieces of tape meet.

Add your spices, teas and other food items to the jars! (I get an absolute delight trying new things in the bulk section. This coconut chai tea I tried from my local co-op hit it out of the ball park!)

Screw the tops of the lids on, adding any extra flourishes you like! For example, you could add ribbons to the jars.

Determine where you want the jar family to live! I choose a prominent area on the ledge separating the living room and kitchen. If you need a beautiful table to display your latest creations, consider checking out the great selection of gorgeous dining sets.

Go Green: Interior Decor to Save the Planet!

2013-05-30T06:20:00.000+01:00

Everyone wants to 'do their bit' these days by helping the environment. Many people do this by recycling paper, plastics and tins and even wood and fabric wherever possible but most are not aware that there are many other ways of helping the environment, some of which can even save them money!

A large difference can be made within the home, by changing the way the home is insulated and heated. Old boilers are sometimes inefficient and draughty doors, window frames and insufficient insulation in the walls and ceiling space can all cause a house to leak warmth pushing up bills and straining resources.

These matters are easily sorted, although they may require the outlay of a biggish lump sum, but they do not do anything to enhance the interior of the house. However it is possible to make your house a beautiful and welcoming home and help the environment at the same, simply by making good choices at the planning and purchasing stage.

Eco Friendly Paint for the Walls and Points of Interest

Traditional paints are known for being unsafe to breathe during use and for a short time afterwards. This is because these paints are loaded with chemicals that include formaldehyde, heavy metals and substances known as Volatile Organic Chemicals, or VOCs for short. It is this chemical cocktail that has seen painters and decorators suffering from dramatically increased incidences of lung cancer than the rest of the population.

Producing traditional paints is also very unfriendly to resources, each litre of paint resulting in some 30 litres of toxic waste. Paint manufacturers quickly realised that their product does not have the most satisfactory makeup and set about improving and innovating methods and recipes. Eco-paints used to be only available in powder form that requiring careful measuring to produce sufficient quantities of acceptable paint before you could begin, but manufacturers are now producing ready-mixed paint in a large variety of shades and hues.

Photo From: The Green Connoisseur

There is a reduced level of VOCs in these paints, and some still contain unpleasant chemicals, but they are a decided step in the right direction. They are a little more expensive than traditional paints, but help the whole family to reduce their carbon footprint, which is well worth the extra pennies. Guardian.co.uk recommends earthBorn and Pots of Paint as some of the eco-friendly paints manufacturers in a post here.

Soft Furnishings: Making Good from Old

Curtains and carpets can and should be recycled whenever possible. If you are redoing a small bedroom, off-cuts from discarded larger carpets can sometimes fit the bill perfectly. Purchase pelmet covers, curtains and any other soft furnishings from charity shops, estate sales and auction houses.

Photo From: Jane Foster

Reusing old items saves on the resources needed to make new ones and can make a significant difference to the eco-friendliness of your home. If you do not want a carpet any more, reclaimed wooden boards can be laid to create a wonderfully textured floor. Judicious use of a hired sanding machine can make old boards look like new, at a fraction of the cost and with little negative impact on the world's forests.

Photo From: KBCulture

Furniture Choices can Save Resources

Furniture should be chosen for the wood it is made of and the way those trees are managed. Sustainable forests grow quickly and well and each tree is replaced to ensure that the resource does not dwindle away. Get rid of damaged furniture that can’t be used any longer and buy new new furniture. Purchase old pieces and reupholster or paint them to perfectly blend into your vision for the room either. Some manufacturers specialize in making beautiful pieces of furniture from reclaimed wood, which is another excellent way to get maximum usage from timber, thereby saving the need for unnecessary tree felling.

Photo From: CalFinder

So you see, it is relatively easy to make 'green' practices an integral part of your lifestyle and your home, allowing you to feel the satisfaction of having a beautiful, comfortable and warm home and knowing that you have made good progress in reducing your carbon footprint, saving essential resources and making the planet that little bit more sustainable.

Photo From: Riva Interiors

Mother's Day Arts & Crafts

2013-05-03T12:26:00.001+01:00

Although this week is going really very hecitc. But I didn't forget Mother's Day. For some people out there it has been past and in some parts of the globe it is yet to come. Anyways, I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

I'd like to share some of the awesome Mother's day craft ideas and projects I came across this week.

1. I always admire hand prints and foot prints art work. Check this simple but creative Mother's day Hand print flower pot. It required just couple of steps.

I wish I could be so artistic to make such great artwork and drawings by hand prints and foot prints.
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2. Alison of Oopsey Daisy Blog did a fabulous job in the form of this word collage frame. She created words using different sizes and format that described her mom's personality and presented in a frame. It can be a good gift for your mom, I feel. She has also shared the image to be downloaded. You can custom create your own word collage image if you are very good at processing word documents.

3. Misty of Creative Itch Boutique shared these beautiful Mother's day candy boxes. She has shared the tutorials both for the candy box and paper flowers in different posts. Presenting your mom's favorite candies and chocolates packed in such charming box could be a cute gift for her on this special day.

4. A cute and easy to make DIY tutorial for Mother's Day card by Amy of Our Daily Obsessions. Do read the peom.

5. Found this lovely Mother's Day Hanging floral arrangement on Craft Unleashed. Easy to make, economical and simply beautiful.

Spice up the life of your home with boundless arrangements of bookends

2013-04-30T08:52:00.000+01:00

If your family is like mine, books are omnipresent in your home. I have books spilling out of shelves, boxes, the floor, garage, chairs, practically choking us with their sheer numbers. Arranging them into cohesive groupings is an art in itself and in this article I will offer a number of ideas to cohere them together aesthetically, spicing up your home while showcasing how brilliant and well-read you are

Let’s start with the premise that practically anything can be a bookend. Of course, you’re going to need a few bookcases to get started, but from there let’s get creative! Here I have a bookshelf in my library with a number of musically-oriented books including the definitive volume on Beethoven’s life, symphony orchestras, and Milton Cross’ vital Great Composer volumes. What better place to throw in my incredible Bose speakers? The Bose is hooked up to a turntable below and has a built-in CD player. It’s like a digital, musical book in and of itself!

Unlike the Bose’s musical shelf, here I have a classic selection of Gibbon’s seminal Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in all six volumes. It’s a weighty set, with gold leafed pages bound by the Franklin Library. It’s a quite valuable set in it’s own right and deserves to be proudly displayed, as well as discussed. Here I have presented it with marble bookends, themselves books, a material appropriate to Rome’s sculpture and famous columns. Note the emphasis to the volumes provided by the gradation of height provided by the bookends.

Similarly, this collection of Greek Plato’s philosophy and Roman citizen Plutarch’s history deserve classic presentation. These Greek vases match the tones of each collection. Note the royal purple of Plato’s volumes and the horizontal arrangement of Plutarch. Don’t be afraid to turn books on their sides. Sometimes an alternate orientation draws more attention than you would imagine. Both volumes are part of the Great Book series and possess, like the Franklin Library, gold-leaf pages.

For a change of pace, let’s take a look at my collection of humor books. Here I have the indomitable wit of P.J. O’Rourke and Scott Adam’s biting parody of office life. I’ve grouped them with my proudly recently acquired Get Smart DVD series with Agent 86 facing out, catching the eye of the passerby. Now every time I stroll past the humor bookshelf I can’t help but crack a smile at 86’s goofy visage. I can practically hear him, “Pardon me while I answer my shoe phone.”

I also have a spooky collection of ghost town books. They all concern old west towns that have long since ceased to be populated, but possess fascinating history’s in their own right. The donkey was procured near the mining town of Anaconda, Montana. It has special significance to our family and always draws attention, despite its miniature stature. Here I have layed 1/3 of the collection horizontal to provide a platform for the statue. This structure can be quite useful when you have a lot of books to display but also wish to showcase a small keepsake.

I hope readers will appreciate these few interesting ideas for displaying your books. I encourage you to experiment with a variety of books and bookends, and consider the impact the arrangement will have on your family and guests. Most fundamentally, book arrangements should not be a barrier, but rather invitation to pick up a book and read it. Enjoy!