Moose On The Loose

 

Mason Jar Food Storage

I hate having 20 different packages of food and snacks in my cupboards.  Nothing fits, its all sorta just haphazardly thrown in.  Mason jars are the perfect solution.  They stack nicely, are guaranteed to keep bugs out and seal in freshness.  Yay!

For the salt jar, simply cut the round top off of a cardboard salt box and trim to fit into a canning ring.

1st Grader

Today is Carmen's first day of 1st grade.  Watch out world!

Zazen Stoneware - Turquoise Platter and Bowl

This platter and bowl are from Target by Zazen Home.  I purchased these about 4 years ago so I don't think Target still carries them.  I did, however, find a link that may sell these here:

http://www.replacements.com/webquote/HMQZAZE.htm

 

Sea Debris Pillow

Ive always loved the color turquoise, vintage bottles and beach-y things.

 

I was so lucky to find this fabric with all 3 things present!

 

I rummaged through my fabric stash and came up with several coordinating colors. 

Project in mind - a couch pillow and maybe...MAYBE matching throw.

 

UPDATE

 

I finished my pillow and it only took me 2 days!!!

I love how it turned out and I think Lizard (the cat) loves it, too.

 

 The front of the pillow sham features many aqua, turquoise, white and gray fabrics.

Sea Debris is from the Tula Pink's "Salt Water" line by Free Spirit. 

Gray Glimma Lotta Jansdotter - Little Kita Fog, Kona in Snow, Moda and Denyse Schmidt.

garden sign

For this garden sign I used an old broken fence post.  I didn't sand it or prime it in any way.

I used a font called High Tower Text in microsoft word and scaled it to the size of 350.  I then printed the letters out on my printer, cut the extra paper off of them and taped them to the fence post.

Using a medium point ink pen, I simply traced over each letter, pushing fairly hard so to make an indentation of each letter onto the wood.

The letters are very faint so I opted to gently go over each letter with the same ink pen to guide me when it was time to paint.

Heres what it looks like after the 1st and 2nd coat of paint.

All finished.

 I will wait a day or two before I pound it into my garden box.  For now it will grace my hosta bed.

 

A table makeover

We purchased this small table from an unfinished furniture store about 10 years ago and painted it this shabby turquoise blue color - which, back then, I was totally in to.

Jump ahead 10 years.  Im so sick and tired of this shade of blue - it seems so juvenile now.

Im in LOVE with this shade of paint called 'Cream In My Coffee' by Valspar.  Ive used it on several small craft projects and decided that I really need to incorporate it into my living space.  I decided to paint the top of the table cream and for a little something different I went with a dark gray called 'Knights Armor' (also by Valspar) for the legs.  I have several black and white ocean-themed pictures that will eventually get hung on the walls to better accent the table.  Stay tuned...

Yes, in case you were wondering, that IS a dancing Elvis clock in the mirrors reflection.  Don't judge.

Patchwork Pillow

 

I am soooo ready for spring!  With the drab, gray days lately, I decided to make a little pillow to brighten up my living room.

Mason Jar Chandelier

I HATE the light over the kitchen table.  It came with the house and I've just really never found another light that I like or can afford. 

I LOVE mason jars.  So after scouring the internet, I came up with this solution. 

A mason jar chandelier!  Brilliant!  Functional.  Almost free.  Yeah, this is right up my alley. 

This particular chandelier came out of our office (which used to be the previous owners dining room).  We replaced it with a ceiling fan and it has been living in the attic ever since.

 

Here is the original kitchen light.  80's gold.  YUK.

Here is the new, improved Mason Jar Light.  COOL!

 

 

I may end up painting the light fixture from black to white or even a light metallic silver to match my stainless steel appliances.  I am also throwing the idea around of tinting my jars aqua so that they look more vintage. 

Repurposed chandelier - free

Quart Mason Jars - $5  ($1 each but I had to buy a box of 12).

My hubbys handiwork - almost free.

Porch Rules

Ive seen Porch Rules signs all over the internet and just had to make one for myself.  After all, I spend countless hours on the back porch when the weather is nice.

Get your hands on an old pallet.  This one was given to me by a friend.

I had to disassemble a few boards and reassemble it.  Nothing a hammer, nails and some elbow grease cant fix.

 

Here it is all put back together again.

 

Sanding is optional, but I went ahead and did it.

 

Next I painted the boards with some old paint we had leftover... again... FREE.

 

Next comes the tedious part.  I printed out all the words I wanted but in mirror images.   Then put the printed side down on your board, wet the paper lightly and rub the paper with the back of a sharpie to transfer your printer ink onto the wood. 

You get nice, faint words on your board like this.  Next, I outlined the words with my trusty sharpie.

 

Next, I used a plain black acrylic craft paint and a small paint brush and filled in my words.

Then I had my hubby nail it to the wall on our deck. 

EASY, FUN and FREE!