Pine Cone Garland

 Pine cone garland looks so festive during the holidays hanging from a mantle above the fireplace!


This project cost me less than $5 to complete.  If you have twine, a glue gun, and a pine tree, this craft might not cost you a thing! 

 Since I didn't have pine cones on hand, I bought a pack of them (cinnamon scented) from Michael's craft store.









First, I lined up 12 pine cones from largest to smallest to largest.  I wanted the smallest ones in the middle of my garland strand, and the larger ones on the ends.







I wound up only using ten pine cones.  After taking the twine to measure the appropriate length at my mantle,  I realized with the amount of space I wanted, ten would be sufficient.

 

Because I wanted to have the middle of the garland attached to the middle of the mantle, I would need an equal number of pine cones on each side.  I marked both ends and the middle of the twine with a black marker.

 I spread out the twine and placed each pine cone where I wanted it before I began gluing.  This gave me a good visual for spacing.

The way I glued each pine cone to the twine was to add hot glue at the base of the top stem.  I then took the twine and looped it around once, pulling tight on each side and waited ten seconds for the glue to dry.

After each cone was securely glued to the twine, I took my completed garland to the mantle.  I secure the middle of the garland with glue to the top of the mantle, and then placed my mason jar votive on top to hide the tape.

On either side of the mantle, I placed a candle over the end to hold it in place.  You could also add tape for extra security.

I love the way the garland turned out.  I can't believe how quick and simple this was to do with materials I already had (minus the pine cones)!

 

Feel free to pin or share!  Keep Improving!

Cheers!

Nancy

Mason Jar Votive Candle

I think you could make these mason jar candle holders any time of year, really, depending on the color glitter you choose to use!


Materials you need:

* Elmer's glue
* paintbrush
* mason jars and/or old salsa jars (my personal favorite!)
* glitter- any type/color
* tea lights
* a teaspoon of water

I first started by cleaning my salsa and mason jars. 

Next, I added a small bit of water to my glue in a plastic container.  I mixed that together with my paintbrush until it was consistent.

Then, I applied the glue/water mixture to the inside of my salsa jar.  I started at the bottom, then worked my way up the sides.  You don't need a lot of glue here.  The first time I did it, the glue ran back down the sides and was too thick in some places.  The less glue mixture applied, the better!

Once the jar is coated almost completely to the top (next time I won't go all the way to the top because of the lip with extra glue accumulating there), you are ready to add the glitter.

I used an embossing glitter which is very fine.  When I do this again, I will use larger pieces of glitter.  I want to experiment with all types to see which produces the best effect when a candle is inside.

I poured the glitter down four of the sides to the bottom.  I swooshed the jar around so the bottom was coated.  Then I held the jar on its side, gently tapping the bottom of the jar and rotating it until the sides were covered.  Then I poured the excess glitter back into its container, making sure I didn't miss any spots.  Okay, so it didn't all  make it back into the container...

Here's how the salsa jar candle holder looks when lit:

A few days later, I tried again with larger glitter.  Here's what that votive looked like:

Thanks for reading (and pinning)!!

Keep Improving,
Nancy

Metal Bed Frame Makeover

Ever since I moved in April, I have been on the lookout for a queen bed frame for my guest room.  The mattress and box spring have been living on the floor.  The only one in my house who likes this is my dog, who thinks it's his own personal bed.

Luckily, a relative was looking to get rid of a queen bed frame, and this is what I acquired:

I decided to use my trusty spray paint and make the bed look more like the cast iron beds you see in Pottery Barn magazines.

I used the following materials:

Flat black spray paint for the body of the frame and then metallic silver for the four ball posts.











Below are a series of "during" photos.  I spray painted one side, all hardware, then let it dry for about 2-3 hours.  I flipped everything over, painted the back side, let it dry for a couple more house, then brought everything inside overnight.  I used about two coats on each side.

The next day, I needed to do some minor touch ups to any area that wasn't completely black.

Once everything was completely dry (24 hours later)
the bed was ready to be assembled.

  I love the way the bed looks in our guest room-  upcycling at its finest!

 
If you come across anything brassy (bed frame, light fixtures, etc.), that you'd like to update, 

I would highly recommend using a matte spray paint for the job!

Thanks for reading!

Keep Improving,
Nancy

Wine Bottle Vase

This tutorial shows how wine bottles can be easily transformed into vases after you've enjoyed your grapes!  After seeing this on Pinterest, I began saving my empties instead of recycling them.  The only materials needed: bottles, spray paint, and rubber bands.  That's it!

When I use spray paint, I do it outside because the fumes can get pretty outrageous even in my open basement.

1) Place your rubber band(s) around the bottle in the desired design.  I placed one at the bottom of the bottle and made a figure eight on the body of the bottle with the other (see both sides of the vase in the final photos at bottom of post).

2) Begin spray painting in the color of your choice (I chose dark steel, but gold and bronze would also look great).

3) Let your vase dry, then *carefully* remove the rubber band.  The paint tends to peel, so slowly remove the band.

4) Add fresh flowers and display your up-cycled piece of artwork!
 

Hydrangeas look great in the vase

So do asters!

Thanks for reading- I hope I've inspired you to up-cycle something of your own for a fresh new look!  If you like it, Pin It!

Keep Improving!
Nancy

DIY Coffee Table Tray

What a steal!  Coffee table trays can be easily spotted in a number of hobby/craft stores like Michael's Crafts, A.C. Moore, and Hobby Lobby.  Pick up any style you want, some acrylic paint, and a foam brush.  Some sanding may be required depending on how rustic your wood's surface is.

I chose to create a coffee table tray and a wooden decor craft with our last name and year of marriage.

Mainly, I chose to use Martha Stewart acrylic paint in the below colors (the mint is called 'pea shoot'):

I started out by painting the bottom of the tray, waited for that to dry, then used blue painter's tape around the perimeter so I wouldn't get any mint paint on the bottom of the freshly painted tray.

Next, I used a stencil and painted the center of the tray.  The stencil design is optional, but I like how it makes the tray a little more unique.  

In retrospect, I would not suggest even a small foam brush if you plan to use a stencil.  I would instead opt for spray paint here, as I definitely encountered a bit of a bleeding problem.

For the Name/Year plaque, I also used blue tape to hold the stencil letters.  Below is a photo of the push-out part of the stencil as a template to see how I wanted the final product to look.



Finally, when everything was dry, I sealed both the tray and my hanging wooden tray with clear wood stain to seal it.  I chose a glossy finish, but a matte finish is also available.

 

plaque displayed on the bookshelf

Last step- display your tray and enjoy!  Feel free to Pin any photo above!

My next post will be about creating a vase out of a wine bottle.  Up-cycling at its finest!

Keep Improving!

Nancy

Stairway Transformation

Welcome!  Below is a photo tutorial of how we updated our staircase shortly after we moved in to our new home.

It was constructor-grade build, and I had fallen in love with images of white and black staircases online like the one at right:


The supplies required to turn the banister and spindles into a work of art are outlined below:

* high gloss black paint
* high gloss white paint
 (I use Behr for everything in my home.  Home Depot carries Behr and with lots of gift cards, it was an obvious choice.)
* 3M sandpaper
* painter's tape
* plastic or cloth dropcloths
* regular paintbrush
* large sponge brush

1) Sand down the entire surface to be painted.  This means each spindle and the entire banister on each side.
2) Wipe excess shavings off of banister and spindles with towel or cloth.
3) I chose to paint the spindles first.  I did not cover the banister while I did this, but I did tape off the bottom of each spindle in case my white paint wasn't *exactly* the same (didn't want the two whites to clash).

4) After finishing the spindles with the sponge brush for the curved parts (about 3 coats of white paint) and allowing them to dry, I covered them with trashbags I opened at the seams.  I did this to prevent any black paint from accidentally dripping on them during the banister painting process.
5) I dis-assembled the upper handrail (the one that attaches with brass to the wall that is not attached to spindles) and put that on a drop cloth in the living room.
6) Paint the handrails and the detached handrail with the regular paintbrush.  This took less coats than the white because it is so much darker.  This was about 2 coats.

See banister in living room in background of photo

7)  Let everything dry, then check for possible areas to touch up.
8) Re-assemble detached handrail and enjoy your newly updated staircase!

And that's it!  Voilà!
Thanks so much for reading.  I would love to hear your comments or questions.  If you've done similar projects, I'd love to see them, so feel free to share a photo or link with me!

Keep Improving!
Nancy