Delightful DIY: Vintage Birdcage Wedding Card Holder

Hey friends! Hope you're having a good Sunday! I'm on the homestretch and finishing up all my last-minute wedding projects. I finally got my act together and started putting together some posts for you all. Here's a project I've been working on for the welcome table. I knew I wanted something very three-dimensional and vintage-looking to hold cards and when I found this reproduction birdcage at Value Village for $7, I snapped it up.

I didn't love the boring silver colour, so I dug around my paint supplies in order to give it a bit more character. *Please note: many of my wedding DIYs will be very 'corner cutting' oriented so take my steps with a grain of salt, you could easily put a bit more effort into this if you want!

I had white rust primer on hand, so after cleaning it, I set up outside and gave it several coats of spray primer. If I had more time, I would have painted over the primer with a nice antique white spray paint. But I settled for white due to my giant 'to do' list!

After the paint was dry, I used a sanding sponge to go over it and take off bits of the paint to give it a more aged and rustic feel. This was followed by a few coats of clear white spray finish to lock in the paint.

I printed off a label using the same paper and font used for the wedding invites and tied it on the birdcage with twine.

Supplies Cost:

-reproduction vintage birdcage: $7 at Value Village

-Spray primer and spray finish - on hand in my studio

-cream cardstock and twine - on hand as part of my wedding supplies

There you go, fairly simple and definitely 'my' personality! Can't wait to see the whole welcome table come together....there's lots of other goodies I'm working on.

Have a lovely Sunday friends!

Delightful DIY: Bring the Beach Home for Free

 

Hello everyone! Happy 'day before the long weekend'! As I blabbed on about yesterday, I'm sooo excited to relax for four whole days. I can't wait to get out to Gimli, even though it's only been four days since I was there!

One of my favourite things about Gimli is the washed out beachiness of the area. I love the endless grey skies, the steel coloured water, the faded sand and stones in shades of cream, taupe and pale grey. I long to bring it all indoors to my home, so I can always feel like I do when I'm there. I also love to decorate with as many natural elements and shades as I can. So when we were laying on the secluded remote beach we found last weekend, my eyes wandered to all the pretty bleached out driftwood laying around.  It has the most lovely gray-brown colouring to it and it's smooth from the elements.

I collected the prettiest pieces and brought them home. To keep the arrangement from looking too country, I used a tall and sleek modern glass vase to give it a more contemporary feel. I love how it turned out. It's tall enough to sit on the floor and provide a really natural feel to the space. Plus it always reminds me of my favourite place on earth! (Do make sure you're not removing something that shouldn't be! Fallen and dead branches, a few beach stones or sand and dried leaves are generally ok.)

I see lots of rustic arrangements at places like Pier 1, Potter Barn and Restoration Hardware. But why spend all that $$ when you can scour your own landscape for treasures? I smile everytime I walk by it now!

Do you decorate with natural elements friends? What is native to your area that makes a great display?

Delightful DIY: Madras Madness

It's Sunday, the weather is finally AMAZING and I've crossed the two giant projects off my list for summer (getting my invites out and finishing my two Red River College workshops). I know I keep going on and on about it but I feel ready to just enjoy the summer, do things on my own time and do lots of fun creative projects.

Remember how I finished my straps last weekend on the maxi dress? Well I picked out my very first pattern to do from start to finish and that's what I've been up to the for the last day and a half. Obsessed much? Yup!


Pattern: Simplicity 2593 
Difficulty Level: Easy
Pattern $: 5.95
Fabric Cost: $13.00 

I picked out this 'easy' simplicity pattern with a design by Cynthia Rowley (fashionista to the end!!).  For the fabric, I went with a super summer madras plaid cotton in a feminine pinky-brown colour palette.

I won't pretend to be able to do any sewing tutorials that will actually help you but I when I feature my sewing on Delightful DIY, I'll share my pattern details and lessons learned! For this shirt, i had big plans to do the twisted collar on the cover shot but I ended up losing steam after finishing the basic tank top.

A few things I learned:
-the size is really the size Lenore so you don't need to add extra inches all around (hello boxy!!)
-I don't need to pin the pattern to the fabric to cut it, just weighting it down is enough and saves tons of time
-always, always practice your seams on scrap fabric (good think I picked out a patterned, textured fabric to hide all my flaws!)
-patterns tend to be too short so I always make my length longer then pin to fit perfectly
-adding darts is not so hard - thanks google!
-there is no satisfaction like making my own clothes...so so cool!

Here's some pics of the finished product. Forgive me for I'm make-upless...how's that for brave??

So yes, it's definitely on the boxy side and it's a big big in the neckline but all in all - for under twenty bucks it was a great first project.

What are you up to this weekend friends? Hope it's lovely where you are!

From the Kitchen: Summer Soiree Appetizer Wraps

Did you all have a fabulous Easter long weekend? I did and I took today off to get some extra recharge time in!

Last night we had family dinner at J's aunt and uncle's place and it was a blast! We had an egg crack-off (new to me!) plus lots of delicious food. I was in charge of a cold appie so J and I spent yesterday morning putting together our assorted wraps. They're super easy to make and provide a snazzy, colourful and tasty addition to any summer party. Here's how we made them:

You'll need:

-Assorted flour tortilla wraps (we used plain, tomato basil and three cheese for lots of colour)
-spreadable cream cheese
-Assorted fillings

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on each tortilla, then spread your toppings across the middle lower part of the tortilla. Then roll it tight, put it in the fridge to set and cut it into angled slices before adding them to your tray.

We made the following flavours:

Dried Cranberry and Cream Cheese 

Pickled Asparagus, Ham and Cream Cheese (thin layer of shaved cooked ham topped with two pickled asparagus)

Mild Pepperoncinis, Ham and Cream Cheese (Pepperoncinis are like a jalapeno but not as spicy)

I also made some fun little labels on toothpicks to tell guests what the different flavours were,  a variation on the ones I did for my niece's birthday cupcakes... (see this post on how to make them)

They were a huge hit at the party and we came up with all kinds of variations for the wraps - from smoked salmon, fresh dill and cream cheese to salsa and grated cheddar to pepperoni, sundried tomato and cream cheese. Oh my, the possibilities are endless! We also decided that would be our 'signature' appetizer to bring to family gatherings so I'll definitely be experimenting with different flavours.

What's your signature dish you always tend to bring to family gatherings?

Happy Monday friends!

Delightful DIY: Charmed Cupcake Flags

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a happy Wednesday. I'm a little under the weather so I'm holed up at home in bed, but I prepared this simple little DIY project on the weekend that I wanted to share with you. Plus, I'm SO EXCITED about the handpainted necklace hanger I made for my 1-year blogiversary giveaway winner. There's a couple days left to enter so be sure to get your name in the running!

It was my niece's 11th birthday the other day and I was charged with making her cupcakes. But I wanted to make them a little extra special so I decided to make little birthday flags for them. These have been done a million times, so they're definitely not a new idea, but here's the step by step in case it's new to you!

You'll need:

-a colour printer

-paper

-scissors

-toothpicks

-craft glue

1. I started by playing around in Photoshop and making large rectangles with small motifs like little birds, the letter H (for my niece Hailey) and phrases like 'Happy Birthday', 'Cutie Pie' and 'Birthday Girl'. Each item was doubled to allow for a double-sided folding flag.

2. Using the middle of your two prints as a guide, cut out a large rectangle and fold it over. Cut it into a triangle flag shape.

3. Using craft glue, dab both sides of the flag and the end of the toothpick. Fold the paper around the toothpick and press it closed.

Ta da! Teeny little cupcake flags!

I baked these chocolate cupcakes using my usual cheat method (a boxed mix) but glammed them up with luscious homemade buttercream icing (I use Martha's recipe). Of course i had to make it my own so I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa and 3 tablespoons of peanut butter to the icing. The result? Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with charming personalized flags for the 11-year old birthday girl!

Sadly, I wasn't feeling well enough to eat them but my niece gave them two thumbs up for taste AND appearance!

Have a lovely week friends - I'll be showing you a sneak peek of the handpainted necklace hanger in the next day or two, so cross your fingers that you're the winner!

Delightful DIY: Pretty Fabric Bulletin Board

Amazing things always seem to happen when I hit my absolute fave place - the thrift store! Well remember how I said I needed to spruce up my new white walls at work? After stumbling across a selection of used bulletin boards, I decided to mix function with fashion and customize my own! I love love fabric hunting so it was a great way to add some pretty textiles into the mix.

It was super easy and it cost me only $5.25 for the whole project...yup, it was that cheap! Stay with me to find out how...

You'll need:
-an old bulletin board
-approximately a metre of fabric
-screwdriver
-scissors
-heavy duty stapler

I picked up this old bulletin board while thrifting recently for a mere $2.25. It was plain and boring and the cork was a bit knicked up but that doesn't matter because we're covering it up.

Then the fun part - fabric shopping! I headed straight to the bargain walls at the back of the fabric store and found this adorable aqua crafting cotton with navy line-drawn flowers. It was the perfect colour to match the pops of aqua around our new office. Plus it was marked down to $3 a metre and I only needed one metre to cover the board, with plenty to spare.

The bulletin board I bought had hanging clips so I simply unscrewed them and put them aside to re-attach after I applied the fabric.

Then I cut the fabric to fit the board, leaving a couple of inches around each edge to fold over and staple.

 Using the stapler, I worked my way around the board, starting with one staple in the centre of each side for placement and then working my way around, tightening the fabric as I went.

Then I re-screwed the hangers back in to finish it off.

Wowza! That only took about 10 minutes and now I have a unique and pretty bulletin board to cheer up my workspace!

$2.25 used bulletin board + $3.00 fabric = $5.25 total! That was so easy, I may have to make some fun boards for my home office now (any excuse to go back to the fabric store...).

Hope you're having a lovely weekend friends!

Delightful DIY: Sweater Wine Bottle Bags

The older I get, the more I think that giving a bottle of wine is a great gift.  If you know the recipient is a wine drinker than you're guaranteed they'll enjoy your present. Plus you have a huge price range and selections to choose from - making it always budget-friendly!

Know what's even better? Wrapping your bottle in an inexpensive and cozy DIY gift bag made out of old sweater sleeves. Love this! Although I have to say, my old sweaters are NOT that cute!!  If you'd like to make your own snug and warm wine bottle gift bags, check out the full 'how to' here. This project comes from the Dish Jeans blog - I'm a faithful Dish jeans wearer (cause they come in 34" inseam and they're Canadian!) and now I see why I read their blog!  Enjoy!

Have a great day my friends!

Delightful DIY: Luggage Laptop Desk

So speaking of vacation, J and I are currently planning our 2011 holiday.  We have a week and we're contemplating a Boston/Cape Cod trip or a heading west to North Vancouver Island/Tofino.  Any other recommendations to add to the mix?

Don't you just love packing up your luggage as you bubble with anticipation for your departure?  It's one of my favourite parts of travelling!  They truly don't make luggage the way they used to and I love the look of old vintage suitcases in delicious colours like these.

{Images via Pinterest}

I came across this amazing DIY project over at fellow Winnipeg blogger Everything is Ticketyboo that just knocked my socks off and I had to share.  Author Zenbecca turned an old suitcase into the ultimate laptop desk.  It's just so brilliant!

{Image via Everything is Ticketyboo}

She makes it sound so easy!  And you can pick up gorgeous old character luggage for a steal at most thrift stores and antique shops.  Read all about her delightful DIY here! 

Any other ideas to add to the mix before J and I settle on a vacation destination?  Remember we only have a week and we'd like to keep it in North America for easy access from Winnipeg.  We love to mix exploration with relaxation...

Have a lovely Saturday friends!