DIY | Bathroom Tray

Since, the blog has been filled with tons of nature, travel, adventure types of photographs lately, I thought it was time to bring the girlieness back and this bathroom tray is just the ticket!

When we first moved into our new apartment, I spent several Home Goods trips looking for the perfect tray to accent my new soap dispenser.  All of the trays I came across were either too modern, bulky, big, or sloped in the middle like a saucer. I realized that an old picture frame was just the perfect size and had enough decoration to add to my otherwise plain bathroom counter. I planned to purchase some really cool, vintage looking fabric from Joann’s, but was to eager to wait for a trip to the store, so instead I used a piece of lace I had on hand. {The lace actually came from a pair of H&M lace tights which were hideous and oh so 80’s Madonna-esq, but they were only $10 and I knew that lace would come in handy for a project somewhere down the road!}

I removed the old picture from a 4×6 frame. I flipped the back piece of cardboard over, so the black velvet side would be facing up, not the cardboard side. Then cut the lace leaving about 3/4″ extra so that I could wrap it around the velvet and hot glue. Once all the lace was glued and the corners were cut down so they weren’t too bulky, I placed the glass back into the frame, followed by the new lace backing and closed the hinges. I now had a bathroom tray that would hold all my little girlie treats!

xoxo

DIY | Ruffley Table Runner

I find table runners the perfect way to dress up any table. I like them better than a tablecloth because they accent the beautiful furniture rather than totally covering it up. I made these table runners for the dessert buffet {pictured above} and again, sorry I do not have step-by-step pictures. I think it is a curse and if I plan to document a project step-by-step my project does not turn out to be something I want to feature because either {1} it didn’t taste good or {2} it was ugly. While there aren’t good step-by-step instructions hopefully this will inspire some ideas on how you can create your own runner. {Side note: adding ruffles or additional accent fabric  is a great way to make it longer just in case you made it a little bit to short}SUPPLIES:
– Fabric for Runner {16″ x 60ish”}
– Iron-on Hem Tape
– Scissors
– 28″ of Trim
– Chiffon for Ruffles
– Needle & Thread
– Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue
– Tape Measure

DIRECTIONS
– Cut table runner fabric to desired length, I did mine at 16″ wide x 57″ to allow 1/2 – 3/4″ fold over on the hem {this was placed onto a short console table which was only 45″ long and I wanted the runner to end up at 14″ x 55″}
– Follow instructions on the Iron-on hem box and hem all four sides of the fabric
– Cut chiffon 2 – 3x times wider than runner {mine was 30″ x 6″}
– Loosely sew thread through top of chiffon; gather chiffon to create ruffles
– Hot glue or sew chiffon ruffle to table runner {i hot glued because I am lazy and didn’t plan on keeping this thing after the party}
– Cut trim and glue to top of runner
– Place on table and admire!

xoxo

DIY | Love Story Beverage Tray

If you remember, we hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law a few months ago posted here. One of the many projects was a beverage tray for the champagne buffet.  When I couldn’t find a tray that matched the theme, I resorted to making my own {actually, I made two}! The best part, the whole cost of the project was under $14!

Because my hands were full of either paint or glue, I was not able to take step-by-step pictures, but in short…

SUPPLIES:
– Wooden tray from Michaels – $3 with 40% off coupon
– Mod Podge – $6
– Paint Brush – free
– Gold Stamp Pad– free
– Custom Paper {psd or .jpg} – free
– Paint – I used an ivory acrylic paint– $1.79
– Sand Paper {not pictured} – free
– Twine {not pictured} – free
– Hot Glue {not pictured} – free

DIRECTIONS
– Download paper from links above {or use your own}
– Print paper onto 11×17 paper and cut to fit inside of tray
– Paint wooden tray
– Sand edges to give a worn look
– Apply light amounts of gold (I used an ink pad) to sanded edges and wipe off excess
– Place paper inside of tray to test fit. Remove paper and apply a thin layer of mod podge to bottom of tray. Place paper into bottom of tray pressing out any air bubbles. Let dry.
– Apply one or two layers of mod podge to top of paper to give it a “seal”.
– Wrap twine around handles for accent and hot glue the end making sure the twine end stops on the backside of the handle.
– Grab drinks and place onto tray for display!

xoxo

BEACH TREASURES

So after we assembled our frame wall, I decided we had enough pictures up in the house and needed to switch out these two pictures for something else, not to mention one frame did not have any glass anymore because it shattered somehow at the wedding. I thought I might do the sketches mentioned here, but I needed several supplies such as fabric, iron-on transfer, etc. In the meantime, before I had a chance to purchase those items, I came up with the idea of using the sand dollars Ryan finds and brings home for me while at the beach surfing or on a run.

I removed the glass from the frame and used burlap that I had left over after making the table runner used at this photoshoot. I cut the burlap slightly larger than the back cardboard of the frame and hot glued it in place. You can see the burlap frayed a bit, but this will be the back anyways so know one will see this. I then took a huge amount of hot glue and applied it to the back of the sand dollar and stuck it straight onto the burlap.

I repeated this again on frame no. 2 and waw-la! The whole project took me about 20 minutes start to finish!

I love this project because you can take any fabric you have laying around, preferably one with a bit of texture, and glue any items onto it for instant “art”. While they are no Picasso’s, they certainly help fill an empty wall!

xoxo

Friday | Picture of the Week | Week 2

As you can probably tell, this picture was taken in Downtown LA. Some of the pedestrian bridges offer fantastic views of the streets below.  While this picture was taken during the day, I hope to bring my tripod one day and get a picture of same view at night.  Happy Friday!