Photo Collage

 We first saw this layout for a photo collage at a friend's house, and I immediately wanted to do it for our guest bedroom! I love that together the frames make a substantial piece of art that fill the wall without being cluttered. I also like that we can change out the photos or use it in any house we move into.  I purchased all of the frames at Michael's with 40% off coupons, so the total ended up being about $80.  I didn't think that was bad considering a piece of art that large would have cost at least that much!   The photos are of our immediate family who stay in the room when they visit.  We used all sepia tone photos for a consistent look. 

Although this layout could be done with any size frames, this is what I used:

Three-8x10" Photo frames with Mat (used vertically)

Three-5x7" Photo frames with Mat (used horizontally)

The key is to make sure the outer edges all line up, so the outside edges create a perfect rectangle. Since the frames are all different sizes the gaps between them will all be different, but if the outside lines up your eye won't notice! 

Bloody Mary Bar

For my husband's birthday this year we hosted a brunch complete with this Bloody Mary Bar!  All of the ingredients were set out so everyone could make their own just how they like it. I also had champagne and orange juice available for those who prefer Mimosas.  We plan on doing it again this football season! Here's what we included in the Bloody Mary Bar:

Mixers:

Vodka selection
Bloody Mary mix

Clamato Juice

Hot Sauces: Franks, Tabasco, and Sriracha

Fixings:

Cocktail Shrimp

Celery

Lemons & Limes

Beef Sticks

Olives

Pickles

Cheese

Celery Salt

Necessities:

Ice
Skewers & Toothpicks

Cups

Napkins

Fun Straws (I set out many colors so they doubled as drink markers)

Champagne Tags

I knew I had to do something with this quote, since it is so true for me:

"Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions.  Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of champagne in the fridge".-Hester Browne

I decided to make some bottle tags to give with Champagne as a gift!

I started with these mini-frames from Michael's which are found in the dollar bins for $2 each.

 I typed, printed, and cut out the quote to inset in each frame.  I threaded ribbon through the holes of the frame and tied a knot in the back, so it could hang from the neck of the bottle as a gift tag.

 Since the frame is left in-tact, it will stand on its own without the ribbon too, which would make for a cute favor along with a mini bottle of bubbles!

Since I love this so much and always have a bottle in my fridge to celebrate whatever life brings, I hung it up in my fridge for a little 'fridge decor'!

Summer Sunshine Box

I recently sent these 'Summer Sunshine' boxes out to some friends and family. It was fun to put them together, and I finally used all of the boxes I had been saving from my Birchbox shipments! 

I found the labels and card on pinterest, so all I had to do was shop! Click here for links to the box labels and cards.

Below is a snapshot of everything I included in the boxes.  There were a lot of things I could have included, but I chose small, light-weight, and inexpensive items since I was mailing about 10 boxes.  I tried to stay away from dollar aisle items, since they added up quickly.  Instead, I looked for yellow items that came in packages that I could split-up.

It was hard to find non-food items, so I made a mix CD of Summer/Sunshine songs! Here is the playlist if you are interested!

In The Summertime -Mungo Jerry  Night Moves- Bob Seger  Here Comes The Sun -The Beatles  Summer Nights- Lil Rob  Summer Girl- LFO  Island In The Sun -Weezer  Santa Monica- Everclear  Doin' Time (Uptown Dub) -Sublime  Summertime- Kenny Chesney  Pocket Full Of Sunshine -Natasha Bedingfield  Steal My Sunshine- Len  Girl -Beck  Cruel Summer -Ace of Base  Summer of 69- Bryan Adams  Summer Breeze -Seals and Croft  Halo / Walking On Sunshine- Glee Cast  Blister in the Sun- Violent Femmes

We Met. We Married. We Live.

 After installing the board and batten in our entryway, we needed new wall hangings as our large mirror would no longer work due to the small ledge we created. I had first visioned a map for the space, so I decided to create  'We Met, We Married, We Live' decor as I had seen using maps to fill the space.

I purchased an old atlas at Goodwill to get the maps.  Not only was it inexpensive, I like that they have a vintage look (so much that I plan on using the pages I didn't use for this project as wrapping paper!)

I purchased the frames at Target and used scrapbooking letter stickers to put the words on the map.

 To mark the actual location on the map, I punched a small hole with a pun and secured a small, pink heart-shaped brad.

I hung the frames very close together, which I think makes them look more grand and high-end than simple Target frames. Here they are in the space! 

Entryway Up-date: Board and Batten

We decided to add Board and Batten to our entryway to lighten it up and add more character--which it did!  My husband figured it all out so I won't tell you how it was done, but here are some pics!

Before                                                                     After

Paper Cutting Tip

I learned this tip from Kathee at Craft Club! Wrap a piece of tape around the ruler of your cutting board at 5.5" so you don't have to measure each piece of 8.5 x 11"card stock when cutting for cards!

Simple Must-Haves: Box of Pens

I purchased an inexpensive box of 50 pens from Target that I keep for showers and parties only.  Not only do I not have to scramble to get enough pens when hosting an event that involves games or writing, but the ink is consistent if writing on something to give the guest of honor.  At the end of each party I just have to collect them, put them back in the box, and they're ready to go for the next event!

Utensil Holder Swap

I was unhappy with my plastic Utensil holder in the kitchen.  It was way too small to hold everything, would tip over and the black plastic looked cheap.  So I moved it to the bathroom and it now holds my hair bushes and hand mirror and works great!

I keep it right inside the door under the cupboard.  It's so easy to toss them in there so they don't sit out on the counter all day like they used to!

I used one of my white ceramic planters from Ikea to serve as my new utensil holder.  It's large enough to hold everything, doesn't tip over, and the shiny white ceramic looks good enough to set out on the counter!

DIY Earring Holder

 This DIY Earring holder works great for keeping all of my earrings that aren't studs. I love how it displays them so I remember what I have and don't just wear silver hoops with everything!

I started with a hallow frame.  This one game inside of a picture frame I used for my Scrabble art, sort of like a mat, so I had it lying around.  I measured my earrings so I had the spacing correct and marked where I wanted the stings to go.  I planned it so shorter earrings would go on top and longer earrings on the bottom.

I placed strings across the back side and held them tight to create tension while securing with hot glue.  I used some thin, grey, twine-like string that I already had.

 The finished product sets on my dresser and  leans against the wall  so the earrings can hang.