DIY I Tried: Book Page Jars

I've decided to start a feature called "DIY I Tried" where I find DIY tutorials that catch my eye on other blogs and give them a whirl. Sometimes I follow the instructions to a 'T' and other times I may put my own spin on it.

I wish I could say that all the DIY projects I've done have been thought up by my little noggin, but that would be a total lie. Granted there are projects I have done where I saw something I wanted to try and figured it out on my own. I created my own way of doing the subway art I saw everywhere and loved so much. I also taught myself how to paint stripes on Lucy's wall. But other projects I see and I just want to give them a try. For those types of projects I thought it was only fair to give credit where credit is due. The pom poms in the nursery were taken from a wedding website where I recreated a reception decor idea, but quadrupled the size. The wood stained painting I made as an anniversary gift to Jordan featuring our wedding song was taken step-by-step from Nicole's tutorial at Me oh My. 

Today's DIY I Tried is one that I mentioned before on the website More Design Please full of fun DIY ideas that caught my eye. Decorative jars made by mod podging old books pages to the glass and using votives inside.

Project: Book Page Jars

Website Found: More Design Please

I also did my own spin on this project by using a large vase and doing the same with the book pages.

I love the texture of the wrinkles as the pages wrap around the glass.

For now it sits on the shelves in the living room. 

I'm still to this day playing around with how to decorate them.

Missoni for Target

Just a reminder: Missoni for Target launches tomorrow.

I plan to head out early tomorrow morning to check things out.

Images via here and here and here.

Fall To Do List

Happy Monday!

We had a low-key weekend and I'm having an even lazier Monday. 

When I made my Baby Countdown To-Do List, it was a good motivator to help me stay on track and get things done. And I surprisingly got almost everything done before Lucy came. Maybe it was the looming list in the back of my head, or the fact that I shared what I wanted to do with everyone on here and felt that I had to get it done so you all wouldn't be disappointed. Either way, I've decided to make a new list for the fall. Now that we have Lucy and I'm going back to work in October, it may become more of a Fall-Winter list.

- Make a mobile for the nursery. Lucy is still sleeping in a bassinet in our bedroom, but when she does start sleeping in her crib, I want something for her to be able to look at. Unless it's bedtime she tends to get bored while in her bassinet with nothing to look at. And she loves to stare at the bugs that dangle on her activity mat and the turtles that hang on her swing. I already have a plan in mind, I just need to pick up the necessary supplies.

- Work on dining room. This includes new furniture, wall art and a rug. I'm on the fence if I want to add any sort of window treatments. I love the faux wood blinds we have, but some fabric may soften the room a bit and make it look a little more formal. 

- Spruce up the laundry room. The only time I really showed the laundry room is when I did this update on the shelves. It's a room that none of our guests ever see, but why should that stop me from making it a place that I like to look at? I have an art project in mind, along with a possible paint job on the walls. Although that will be tricky with the washer and dryer, so I haven't made a definite decision. I basically want to make it a brighter and more organized space. Plus a little decor doesn't hurt.

- Repaint the powder room. The powder room is actually the only room in the house that I could technically say is 100% finished, doesn't need anything. So why paint it? As you can see from this post, it doesn't look that much different than how it looked before we moved in. I swapped out the mirror and added some wall art, but besides that it is still the design of the old homeowners. While I think the gray-black-white theme works, I'd like to repaint the gray walls and make it a little more "ours". I have a few ideas of what color I want to paint. More on that later. I am also considering removing the two towel rings and replacing them with a towel hook instead.

- DIY Projects. I have a few little miscellaneous projects in mind that I've seen on the web or have planned on my own. As usual, as I do these little projects I'll keep you updated. 


- Guest Room. Ugh. This is the room that I feel I will never get done. I'll need to tackle it bit-by-bit, but it seems as I have had little to no progress in the past three years. I think once we install the old light fixture from the nursery and are able to get some decent light in the room I can start making it feel a little more like a 'real' room. I mentioned a few days ago that I am also looking for a bench to refinish for the foot of the bed since there is no place for guests to place their bags in the room (We are getting rid of the wicker chair). 

This list is a lot smaller than the first list, but the bullet points are also a lot broader and less specific than before. I'm hoping that if I keep the list somewhat small, I will have a better chance of getting everything done. 

And the list starts.....NOW!

Inspiration: Farmhouse Table

When it comes to home decor, Jordan and my tastes are hit or miss. Some things we completely agree on (dark furniture, natural elements, etc) and others we butt head (i.e. painting over the red wall in the living room). Recently we have discussed the idea of getting new dining room furniture. The set we have now was given to us by his parents. It's a great set and I like the unique look of the furniture, I'm just not a fan of the honey wood color. Since his parents simply gave us the set to help out when we moved into the house, we know they won't mind if we replace it with something else.


Here are a few quick (aka sloppy) pictures I took of the dining room yesterday. Between the rain all week and the fact that the sun is starting to set earlier (boo!) I sort of rushed to get these photos taken. But they are the 'before' photos anyway, so who cares, right?

Note the miscellaneous baby furniture.

This was taken before the bar cart was added to the room. 

My plan is to not need a hutch in the dining room.

Isn't the bench cool? It had a custom cushion, but I took it off with the plan of filling the bench with a ton of pillows. Also, the Bud Light box isn't actually beer. It's filled with the left over items from the bookshelf we removed from the living room. And on top of the box is all the fabric and craft supplies I've recently been using. 

That white armoire used to be in the guest room and has been patiently waiting to be donated. We just need to borrow someone's car that it fits in. 

I stole this table from my mom brought this table from parent's house when I moved. I'm considering relocating it somewhere else in the house since the glasses have been moved to the bar cart I bought yesterday. Plus I'd like to find a new home for our cookbooks. 

I just noticed in these pictures that the bride and groom from our wedding are on the shelf. 
Jordan must have put them there. See how often I'm in the dining room?

As nice as this light fixture is, I would actually like to replace it with something a little more unique. 

Maybe this DIY one. 

These are the dining room chairs I reupholstered back in June.

Plates are Pier One. Napkins from Target.

The milk glass I received for my birthday and the plate I showed you from Pier One back in my St. Pat's post. Glass candlesticks were a gift from my aunt last Christmas.


One thing we have agreed on regarding the dining room furniture is that we want a big, rustic farmhouse style table. I've been doing a little research and found a few inspiration photos for the type of table we have in mind.

via here

via here

via here

Ideally, I'd love to stumble across a perfectly chunky, weathered table by chance at a thrift store or flea market (like my luck yesterday), but I know the chances if that, especially around here, are pretty slim to none.

I'm not against creating our own (especially after finding this tutorial), but I would need to get Jordan on board with that since I definitely would need his help. That and it needs to be a fairly easy and inexpensive project.

Thrifting

It's been quite some time since I've had the chance to do some good ol' thrift shopping. 

So I packed Lucy up for her first thrifting experience. She was pretty excited.

There are three things I've had on my thrift shopping wish list:

1. A bench for the foot of the guest room bed

2. A vintage bar cart for the dining room

3. A new table and set of chairs for the dining room

There are a few good thrift stores around me that I usually go to.

Today I decided on Goodwill. There is a Goodwill just up the road from our neighborhood where I always seem to find some good treasures. I actually found the perfect bench for the guest room one time and I didn't buy it. I could kick myself today for not getting it when I saw it.

Here is what I did see today:

I always wanted to get a great wingback chair like this and get it reupholstered in some fabulous fabric. I've seen so many other blogs do this and it looks awesome. Since the style of chair doesn't really match our living room and we have no formal room in the house, there really is no point for me to buy this. But for $40.00 this chair was a great find.

I love the heavy wood of this chair. Again, I have no place to put it. Even though I was so tempted to snag it and toss a great brightly covered pillow on it. And it was $6.00!! I'm trying not to let myself buy anything that I have no place to put. Ugh.. such a good chair, too. Typing this now makes me want to go back and get it... 

I loved this little table set. It would be great to repaint and save for when Lucy got older. The catch? It only had one chair! And for $20.00 that wasn't worth it to me. If there was a full set of chairs (or at least two), I would have gotten it.

A little message center for only $4.00. Just needs a coat of paint and some new letters.

This puzzle could make a cool piece of wall art. 

Maybe paint the frame red or black.

A great mirror to repaint and hang in an entryway. Only $10.00.

I have more mirrors than walls to hang them on so this was not going home with me.

A cool clock. Not that I'd actually buy it, but I liked the crystal knobs.

Then I came across this beauty...

A gold vintage bar cart! 

I was so excited that I found this baby within minutes of entering the store. What luck. 

For only $18.00 I rolled it over to the counter and took it home.

Here was my little thrift shopping partner by the end of the trip. 

Thrifting is exhausting!

A quick cleaning and the cart found a new home in my dining room.

First step in renovating the dining room done. 

Next step? Finding/creating a new dining set.

More on the dining room plans at another time.