Serving Tray Feature

So, I found a great idea on The Little Brown House and Sharyl kindly said I could show you on my blog! Look at her fantastic cabinet door makeover.

 

Diy Serving Tray

So, my oldest sister has a birthday this month.

And she mentioned to me that she would like a serving tray.

Don’t tell her you saw this!

She doesn’t read my blog but others she knows do -

you know who you are!

I decided to make the tray out of cabinet door

(big suprise!)

And where would I go for one but the Habitat Restore Store!

I found an incredibly ugly one – not on purpose, but it was the right size and shape.

Ugly? Am I right or am I right?

I sanded it with my palm sander -

(Quite the tool Diva aren’t I?)

Then sprayed it with a primer coat of….

wait for it…

Heirloom White! (heavens own color)

Then I brush painted it, so that I could get the look

I was going for. I used a Behr paint that is really close

to Heirloom White (heavens own color)

It is called Table Linen if anyone is interested.

Please forgive this photo – night, small dark room, that is all…

I knew that I wanted to put something vinyl on the tray, and was planning

on ordering something, but as usual time got away from me!

I went into my never fail dollar store, Dollar Tree, and found this great

vinyl with the word Welcome on it. Perfect! Guess how much it cost?

That joke just never grows old.

While I was at the Restore I picked up some cabinet hardware to use for tray handles.

They were .25 cents each, and the cabinet door was a dollar.

My sweet hubby screwed in the handles, and then all that was left was putting on the vinyl.

Isn’t it too cute!

She can display it when she isn’t using it as a tray.

Here is is ready to serve coffee and treats to guests!

What are those treats, you ask?

Why, those are my failed attempt at Bakerella’s Cake Pops,

I call them Cake Bombs…

So there you have a Diy serving tray -

Not bad for $2.50 huh!

I really like it, and of course now want to make myself one!

Don't you want one?!? I do!!! I need to find a cabinet door.

Halloween Giveaway!

Hey all, if you haven't checked out Tatertots and Jello, you really need to! They do great things over there.

Like give away these cute kits.

Check out this post for guidelines on how you could win!

Apple Pie in a Jar

Have you heard of such a thing? Well, it looks amazing! Lisa over at Recaptured Charm was kind enough to share this with us. (She said the idea wasn't original, but I want to give her credit since that's where I found it!)
Check this out.


I’ve been so busy sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, sanding, painting, that I just needed a sweet diversion.   And here it is! 

Apple pie in a jar.   In case any of you have missed this phenomenon in blogland, here is where I found it.  These gals are amazing!!! Our Best Bites has the recipe over there. Check it out.

These little babies were a hit in my household !

Ok… Now back to our regular scheduled sanding, painting, sanding, blahhh ..blahhh… blahhhhhhh

Don't they look scrumptious?! Mmm. I can't wait to make these. I'm sure it will be a hit in our family. Do any of you have any favorite recipes?

Something everyone in our family loves is Grandma's chocolate chip cookies. Delicious. Sometime, I'll share it! 

Tutorial: DIY West Elm-esque Decorative Balls

Stef at Frugal Home Ideas came up with this super simple way to make some decorative twine balls for accessorizing. I just love this idea and can't wait to use it. Read how easy it is!

I forgot where I saw this tutorial so if you know where this is from, or if it was yours - let me know so I can give credit.

 

I need some knick-knacks for my built-in in the dining room, but here's my problem.  I just can't buy knick knacks.  Yes, I've done it before - but usually only when staging a house, so I considered it more of an "investment" to get the house sold.  Don't get me wrong - I love knick knacks.  I walk through the aisles of Home Goods and drool.  It's one of the first things I envy in others homes.  But when it comes to forking over the cash for a ceramic dog, or in this case, "balls of string" (as my husband named them), I just can't do it.  I can't pay for something that doesn't have meaning or function or sentimental value that will just need to be dusted.  I hate the idea of spending money on something random purely to take up space. 

But that doesn't mean I won't accept a gift!  Or re do a tacky good will find, or make something from scratch.  That I can handle.

So this time, it's made from scratch.

This is so easy, and I am pleased with the result.

All you need is a few balloons, a ball of twine and some Stiffy

(make sure you have your search engine on "safe mode" when googling an image of this product)

Blow up your balloons to your desired size, then wrap them in twine.  You're just wrapping them at this point to determine how much twine you want. 

Remove the twine from one of your balloons, and put it in a ziplock baggie

(this baggie was left over from a diaper consumer research that I participated in.  If you are ever asked to participate in one of those - don't do it! Gross)

Then pour some stiffy in the bag to saturate your twine, rewrap the balloons, and hang 'em up to dry

(that poor little one on the bottom.  the balloon deflated when it was already wrapped and it didn't quite turn out right.  I was sad for it, like the runt of the litter.  He did make it into the arrangement - I didn't have the heart to throw him away, but he's toward the back.

Tip:  it may be worth it to invest in new balloons, rather than using some that has been kept in a tupperware tea pitcher at your mother in law's house dating back to at least 1985

Here is West Elm's version. 

The largest chiming in at $50! Followed by the next size at $30 and the next at $10.  My arrangement would have cost at least $75 from West Elm, but it only cost me about $8 total!  Granted theirs does look way better - mine has the same-is effect for WAY less money. 

 

great new blog i just found.

i just found this new (to me) blog. perfectly imperfect. shaunna (the writer) is seriously amazing! i was going through her whole website and found this section of faqs she gets asked. here's a link. what a valuable resource! i hope you have time to read all of her tips.

mason jars...

so, i have all these mason jars sitting in a box at my house, waiting to be used. but for what? i had no idea until some inspiring things popped up on my blog today!

um, hello! can you say storage in craft room? weeping cherries

how easy is this? soap dispenser decor chic