DIY: Vintage Inspired Tiered Tray and Candy Dish

I have seen the projects posted about making tiered trays out of glass plates and candle holders. I loved that idea and I wanted to try it out. I had been traveling around for a long time, and typically when I stay at a place for a while I will use a site like AirBnB.com and sublet an apartment or condo for my stay. In this instance I was staying up in this adorably trendy part of Brooklyn in a condo that belongs to this really great lady. Throughout my stay there I became friends with this lady through correspondence and I wanted to leave something nice for her to find once she came back to her home after I left the city. From the looks of her cute little place it seemed like she was into the whole shabby chic look and I immediately thought of this project.

So I went shopping for supplies. At first I couldn't find a single glass candle holder, not even one. Then I couldn't find any good large glass plates. Now, my options were to take a train to the nearest Target or Walmart or try to be creative with what I could find in the mom-and-pop shops on the block. I decided to forgo the train and to use a bit of creativity. One store had martini glasses in various sizes, so I picked up a standard size and then one with a teeny stub as a base instead of a stem. Then I found a large glass shallow bowl and a medium sized dessert plate. Finally I picked up some loctite epoxy.

This is what I came up with. I think it turned out alright. Once I made it I realized that I could have gone one step further and added some pearls into the cavity made by the martini glass in the middle, that would have been really pretty. I also would have liked for the base plate to be flat, but alas I could find no such thing.

Now, after this piece was created and dried and set out I had a few days left in Brooklyn so I figured I'd wander around a bit more in between meetings I had there. That's when I found a glass candle holder. Just one! It was sitting on a shelf in a health food market along side votive candle holders and scented candles, it was the last one they had in stock. I grabbed it and bought it impulsively, it was only when I returned to the condo that I remembered, "oh yeah, I already made the project without this dang piece." So, not to be deflated, I decided that I was going to create something, anything with this one single glass candle holder if it was the last thing I do.

I had just finished off a jar of whole fruit preserves that came in a pretty jar. I love reusing pretty glass jars, even if it's just a jelly jar, as long as it has a nice shape or design to it. So, since there was no point in me keeping or reusing the jar myself, since I had been traveling for nearly 4 months at that point and I was going to continue for at least another 2 months, I figured I would reuse it with a secondary project. The lid of the jar was a red checkered pattern, so I took some white enamel paint (read: nail polish) and a paper towel and I distressed the jar lid. Then I attached the candle stick to the bottom of the jar.

I left Brooklyn to head to my next destination which was Chicago. Before I arrived I received a text from my Brooklyn Condo Lady Friend, she loved the gifts and asked me where I got them. I told her I made them and then she called me to express her thanks and to inform me that she uses them as jewelry organizer; bracelets on the bottom tier, earrings on the top tier, and rings in the jelly jar. Now why hadn't I thought of that!

Easter Tradition Revisited

Yesterday was Easter and it was the first time in a while that I dyed Easter eggs. Big thought it would be nice to dye eggs this year and celebrate a proper holiday together. I thought it was a great idea because I love holidays so much, plus he and I are rarely together for holidays because of his travels. I thought it was cute that he wanted to do this.

Our Easter was very domestic and quiet. Not at all exciting or worth note, millions of people celebrate Easter in a very similar way...however I lived such a nontraditional life for such a long time that sometimes going along with tradition seems a bit "kinky" to me. See there? See how I can't even post about something as innocent an innocuous as Easter without using the word kinky.

So yeah, back to our day. It was so cute! The only thing that would have made it perfect would be to add my friends and family from back home. I miss them so much!

When we got up Big made coffee and took me to the grocery store to buy eggs - that's love right there, you'd have to do some hefty convincing to get me to drive to the grocery on easter sunday to buy eggs! Eggs in hand we returned to the apartment where I made bacon cinnamon rolls for brunch and big made a nummy bloody mary for us and then prepped his marinade for the t-bone steaks to come later for Easter dinner. He's old school Italian where it's tradition for the men to do the cooking, it reminds me of Gran Gran, my grandfather, who would also cook the big family meals and I loved it.

The rest of the day is spent playing wii, dying eggs, and watching excellent movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and lots of conversation and cuddles until it was time for Big to make Easter dinner. The night before, Big and I were at the Lil Wayne show where we were working it back stage with the tour manager for Nicki Minaj who's meet and greet party was nuts. There were both kids and adults crying and she was sweet and hugged each one and posed for photos, there was a pink confection table and it was just adorable...but it was nice to kick back at home the day after all that and enjoy a holiday.

Here's the eggs yall. Because you have to look at them. Each one. It is mandatory. And thusly is deemed so.

Big holding an egg!

See those pink bunny pot holders? Big picked those out.

I made this one with swirlies and rainbow stripes

Big's egg, he's so sentimental!

I made this multicolored one with paper flowers and hose

springtime yellow!

My attempt at sentiment, think I'll stick with the swirlies

We made one each with fishnets, Big added a flower to his green one

We both worked on this one, it's orange and pink and swirly and speckled and it's my favorite one.

Creation - Scrapbooked Recipe Box

Watch my YouTube Tutorial

The other day I decorated a recipe box and I wanted to share the tutorial I made for it. 

I am really proud of this new home that I am creating and I wanted to make sure my things reflect this. I have seen some designer recipe boxes with motivational quotes and pretty designs, but I didn't want to spend over $20 on a recipe box that may or may not reflect my personal style - so I went ahead and made my own! I used an index card file box that I got from the dollar store and scrapbook paper and embellishments that I had lying around from a previous project. I even got the glue gun and glue sticks from the dollar store too! My project cost about $3 all told. Not too shabby huh!

Sometimes I take my surroundings for granted and I barely glance at household things that I use on a daily basis...but now that I am starting to practice awareness and gratitude I am noticing that my visual surroundings are important to my state of mind. It is not vain to decorate your home or to add your personal flair on your things, that's what makes them truly yours after all!

I also created my own recipe template with Photoshop so that I could type in my recipes and print them neatly on gorgeously designed cards. There are beautiful and affordable recipe cards out there, so you don't have to design your own, especially if you don't have a design program like Photoshop. However I hate my handwriting, I write like a hurried doctor (which I am definitely not!) and it doesn't seem right to ruin those pretty cards with my crummy handwriting so I just made my own so I can print them out with my printer. Also, having the recipes typed out on my computer also gives me an instant backup of my recipes just in case. Here's a random recipe card that I designed and I think it came out pretty good!

Creation

The other day Big and I had a glorious day together. He made one of his patented picnics and we drove to the beach. He had an errand to run on the way so we decided to make a beach trip out of it.
It was so lovely being out in the open air and the sand with him. It was also nice to get out of the house. Though I must say the new dwelling is coming along nicely. He and I have arranged and rearranged the meager furnishings we have until they were placed perfectly, it was nice that he gave input into the decorating. I also made a bunch of things and crafted many pieces for the new house.
I made a flower arrangement out of pink gerber daisies that looks like a little flower cupcake, and I decorated some tulip shaped votive holders and turned them into a pretty matching bath caddy set to hold tooth brushes and toothpaste. Little things like that. I like nesting. I will be the first to admit it. It makes me happy to create things for the house that I live in, it just makes things feel much more comfy to me.
I have been toying with the idea of creating a blog to document the things that I create. It really is such a wonderful outlet for me, and for the most part I create things just one time to give as gifts so I rarely keep them around and consequently I forget about them. It would be nice to have a collection of videos to remind me what I made and how I made it, in case I ever forget.