terra cotta: 3 ways.

my pots needed help. in a bad, bad way. i had painted them for an event several years ago with leftover paint from our old town home walls and the rain had started peeling it away.

*hangs head in shame* 
yes, this was sitting on my deck.

thankfully, after a massive pinterest hunt for DiY flower pot ideas, i transformed my sad herb garden into something a lot more perky!

#1 - hemp and hot glue

idea from http://pinterest.com/pin/280912095480196871/ {exact link is broken}. this is pretty self explanatory. the original idea kept the terra cotta unfinished on the top, but clearly i didn't have that option. plus, i like the pop of color! 

#2 - toddler art

i used to be obsessed with everything in my house matching perfectly. if something was going to be on display, it had to coordinate with my decor. mommyhood gave me a radical change of heart - emery's creations are like gold to me - there's no way it has to match my house for me to want to set it out to be seen everyday! she made a flower pot for each of her grandma's for mother's day and i was so sad to see them leave our house that i quickly ran to the store and got a pot for her to paint for me!

can anyone tell me why my dill
 is dying at the bottom but
continuing to grow at the top?
i'm a newbie and confused..

#3 - free-hand stripes
this one is original...i  liked the bright colors combined with neutrals of the color blocked pots i was finding on pinterest, but i didn't want it to look too similar to pot #1. i only wish i had fewer stripes, more spaced out, but i'm too busy with 2 kiddos now to even day dream about redoing it!

i'm loving using fresh herbs in my cooking! i just started culturing some pickles with our dill a few days ago and can't wait to make pesto with my 2 basil plants! i'm also going to try my second attempt at mint extract...i tried it once with store bought mint, right before all the hospital stuff happened, but it smelled weird. hope it works this time around!

emery loves helping in the garden &
is great at watering the plants everyday!

i have to tell her to stop stealing herbs
 from the garden - she could eat them all day!

love and fresh picked deliciousness,
amber.

burlap bean bag door stop tutorial.

my door was driving me crazy. 

 

i love to have it open when we're expecting guests, so they can just come right in, but i always had to move our ottoman to prop it open.

i wanted a small, simple door stop but didn't feel like shelling out much cash. i searched on pinterest {like always} for different ideas and came across a few super cute burlap ones on etsy. they had basic silhouettes painted on them, but were $10 plus shipping and handling. i have burlap (only a dollar or 2 per yard, with coupon), i have black paint, i have a bag of beans, and i have a hot glue gun. how hard can this be?

crazy easy.

first, i found the images i wanted through a google image search for clip art silhouettes {i did 2 different pictures, one on each side.}

second, i cut out and traced the images on the burlap.

third, i filled in the images with black paint, 3 times because it was hard to fill in all the holes.

fourth, i cut out the images in a square shape {i wish i had left more room around the edges :-( allow space for glue!!}

fifth, i layed the burlap pieces on top of each other with the pictures facing each other. then i hot glued 3 of the 4 sides together IN BETWEEN the burlap pieces. {sry, i was so focused i forgot to take pics}

sixth, once cooled off, turn the burlap right side out, fill with beans half way. fold the edges of the opening and hot glue HALF of the last side.

seventh, fill bag rest of the way. finish gluing  {if you try to fill it all the way with beans and then glue the whole thing all at once, the beans pull the sides too far away from each other to glue easily. and if you, on step 5, glue 3 and a half sides, when you flip it right side out, the burlap rips apart because the hole is too small. trust me, i speak from experience.}

love and a welcoming door, 

amber.

tea stained gift tags.

i'm a little obsessed with antiquing paper. i've done it for ornaments, framed art, a cowboy wanted poster,

 and now gift tags for christmas.

i love it because it's easy, cheap, and has such a stunning effect.

in the past i've always used coffee, but i'm not a coffee drinker. i'm a tea girl. i was always under the impression that  tea wouldn't work as well - not the case.

first, i typed up the label in word, changing up fonts and text size for fun. i printed them on card stock and punched them out with my mom's "stampin' up" gift tag punch. 

then i laid them out on my super gross cookie sheet (we switched to stoneware cookie sheets awhile ago, so i pretty much only use this for staining paper. incase you were worried i actually cooked on that greasy thing.)

i boiled about 3 cups of water with a tea bag (the darkest tea i had was a chai. something like sleepytime might not work as well.) for about 15 minutes to get it concentrated. i attempted the same method i used when antiquing with coffee (pouring it all over the paper on the cookie sheet), but the stain was so dark i couldn't read the tag.

i tried to water down the tea, thinking i had boiled it to long, but it still came out too dark.  3rd time's a charm - i dipped the tags in the tea and laid them out on the cookie sheet. perfecto.

you know they're done when the tags start to pull away from the cookie sheet. click here for a visual.

sorry this is a little blurry.

i absolutely love adding personal touches to homemade gifts! i also contemplated gluing the paper to fabric after i stained it to add a layer of texture, but didn't have any fabric on hand that looked right. these would also look neat with torn edges! the possibilities are endless!

love and personalized presents,
amber.

DiY banana invitation.

it has been a season for babies in my family and i love celebrating with mommies-to-be! while sitting on the couch this month, i had the chance to do a little prep for decorating a monkey themed baby shower! here's a peek into the festivities!

good ol' pinterest led me to this gem. i knew it was The One when i saw it - i'm not good at making cute traditional style cards on the computer and i didn't want to spend much on invites cause we had a tight budget. these cost 50 cents + cardstock i needed to buy anyway.

there was no tutorial on the site, just a picture, so i thought i'd do a step by step just for fun :-)

• first, i found a banana image on google and copied it into word. i used multiple text boxes to add the necessary info and make it curve with the shape of the banana. i added a monkey picture for good measure.  no worries if the text box takes away part of the lines - you're going to cut them off anyway.

• next, i printed off as many invites as a needed + 1. i cut out the extra banana OUTSIDE the black line and used it to trace the banana shape on the pieces of felt.

 

•  i cut out all the rest of the paper bananas INSIDE the black line, to be the actual fruit. i glued the bottom half to the felt, centering it on the felt peel.

•  once dry, i cut the peel in half, starting at the base of the stem.

how's that for cheap, easy, and adorable? gotta love pinterest.

love and soon-to-be babies,

amber.

cake stands.

this isn't a very exciting post, in my opinion. this project is so easy it's silly, but i love it so much i can't help but post it. 

i've seen these tutorials here and there on pinterest and am blow away by how quick and cheap it is to make a one-of-a-kind cake stand {that are way better than store bought ones}

creative idea #11: diy cake stand
idea sparked by: www.centsationalgirl.com

tools:

•  plate {one per stand. i chose plastic because this was for a kid party. i found it for a quarter at goodwill}
• glass or candle stick {one per stand. also, check goodwill - i got these for $2ish}
• hot glue gun
• drop cloth
• spray paint
• something to cover top of plate when in use {spray paint is not food safe, but there are so many cute things you could do to coordinate with your theme. i chose doilies for emery's girly party, but check out the pics at the end of the post for more ideas!}

directions:

• clean surface of plate and glass/candle stick, let dry.
• measure center of plate, on back side {this isn't my perfectionist self coming out, you really need to do this. i didn't and ended up with a few lopsided cakes stands that looked...interesting.}
• hot glue candle stick or glass to middle of back side of plate

• lay trash bag flat and arrange cake stand to be painted

• follow painting, dry time, recoating directions of paint can

• before displaying food, make sure to spruce it up and keep it food safe by placing something decorative on the plate.

i chose a doily.

martha stewart draped ribbon over hers...

pinterest user Jennifer Pappadouplos used scrapbook paper.

i thought ombre or multicolored layers of tissue paper would look fabulous! Or a bandana, vintage scarf, etc. the possibilities are endless! what are your ideas??

love and easy decor,
amber.