Pretty, Pretty Vases

Howdy all!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. What with recently moving & Christmas quickly approaching I've been pretty busy. But I'm most certainly not complaining. :)

Now, I don't know about you but I LOOOOVVE Christmas decorations. Among my favorites are sparkly glass & the glow from Christmas lights/candles. The glow of the Christmas tree on a cold evening with the scent of cookies baking in the oven takes me back to my childhood.

I have an incredibly easy project that will only cost you $4 big ones. You can't even buy a meal for that these days (unless you go to your local Taco Bell)! 

You'll need 5 things:

2 glass candlestick holders

2 glass vases

Gorilla glue

I got my candlestick holders & vases at Dollar Tree. But if you already have some then it's that much cheaper! :)

All you have to do is glue the candlestick holder to the bottom of the vases. 

That's. It.

You'll be amazed at the result!

I haven't decorated mine yet. I can picture a ribbon tied around the vase & perhaps some Christmas lights inside or battery-operated candles. Ah, did I mention how much I love Christmas?

The Big Reveal!

Hello, loyal followers (a.k.a family members)!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week thus far. I know I am! 

I'm finally packing everything up in R.L.! We're moving back to central Texas early next week. 

Woo-hoo!! Happy dance!

I really have enjoyed our time out here. It's been good for our first year of marriage & a great opportunity for Tyler. And we have met some of the nicest people. Ever. 

(We'll miss you, Washams!!)

So, needless to say, I've been pretty busy. Sorry for the delay.

But the day has come for you to find out what in the world the mystery piece is. 

Here's the mystery photo one more time...

Drum-roll please......

 It's a luggage stand! 

When I first laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her! We were meant to be.

When I got her home, she was pretty dusty. So, I wiped her down & made that wood shine!

Then I took out all of the staples that held the straps on.

It took all of 2 minutes. 

Then, I headed outside to give her a new look...

First, I sprayed 2 coats of primer. 

She was thirsty!! 

The wood grain just kept coming through, so I grabbed a can of white paint & brushed on a couple of layers. It worked! 

After it dried I just sprayed a few coats of white paint to make the finish smooth. 

I used webbing for the straps. It's durable, substantial & cheap.

The only thing I didn't like was the red strips. 

Enter the green ribbon!

Using invisible thread, I sewed along one edge & then sewed the other side, so that it won't come off easily.

Splendiferous.

Using the old straps, I measured out three new straps with about an 1 in. extra (so I could fold over the edges so that they wouldn't unravel). 

Once they were measured & cut, I simply stapled them onto the stand!

Easy as pie.

(Yes, I realize I didn't sew ribbon on the back side, but I figured it wouldn't show much anyways... and my time is better spent somewhere else... such as packing. Ugh.)

Now, for some after pics!

Look at those shapely legs!

Isn't she a beaut?!

L.O.V.E

Hope you found this post a wonderful surprise and not a let down!

I certainly enjoyed this lil' project! 

Teaser

Well hello! 

I just got back from a day of thrifty shopping! I am very excited about my next upcoming project.

Here's a look into what my next transformation will be...

Can you guess what it is?? 

Keep checking back for this fun re-do next week. :)

See you then!

Make your own cloche!

So... do you like this??

Or maybe this...

I sure do! But I certainly do NOT like the price tags attached to them. 

($199.89 & $79.99 = OUCH)

Don't worry, you can make them for a fraction of the price. 

Once again you'll just need a few random pieces. 

You can usually find a glass cheese dome or glass dome at your local Goodwill store. Just keep an eye out for one. 

You can use a regular plate, silver plate or perhaps a wooden cheese plate for the plate.... the options are endless!! 

If you want, you can add a candle holder to the bottom to raise it in the air a bit. 

Introducing my pieces...

Silver plate = $1

Glass dome = $3.50

Metal candle holder = $1

Yep. A grand total of $5.50! Boom baby! :)

Now, for the easy peasy directions.

Using a STRONG glue (I used Gorilla glue), glue your "plate" to the base. 

Once the glue has dried. All you have to do it paint it. The possibilities are endless! 

My final product:

How fun the holidays will be! Wouldn't some Christmas ornaments look fabuloso?!

Final finials!

Ever drool over this baby @ Ballard Designs?

http://www.ballarddesigns.com/rooftop-finials/163063

Who hasn’t? EVERYTHING at Ballard is AmAzInG (but with a hefty pricetag)!

Well, now you can have them for a tenth of the price. Yes. I said A TENTH! Whoop!

Here’s how:

First, you’ve got to do a little “thrifting” (or digging around your house) for random odds and ends. Christmas ornaments work AMAZINGLY!

You’ll also need some reeeaaallly strong glue (such as Gorilla glue)  & spray paint.

My supplies were mostly Christmas ornaments…

Strange how a mismatch of objects can be transformed into something beautiful.

Once you get your supplies together, play around with them and decide on what you want the overall shape to be. Then, follow the directions for your glue & stack the doodads in the order you decided upon.

Once the glue has completely dried (don’t get all antsy…. wait for the glue to dry. It’ll be worth it.), you can then take it outside and give it a couple coats of paint. I used Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze:

I. LOVE. this. paint. You can paint just about any surface. And it really looks like bronze metal! Woo-hoo!

Here’s my final finial. I’m SO happy with how it turned out!

Jealous aren’t you? Well then get to work!

a whole new world...

Hi there!

If you're reading this, I apologize. This is my first blog. So... I'm still figuring everything out. Most of my posts will be about DIY crafts. I LOVE decorating my house on a budget (although, I wish money were no object...sigh) & making old things new.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

First things first.

There is a new addition to the Mercer familia. Her name is Sophie. she adopted us last Friday.

While playing frisbee in the backyard with Jasmine & Jada (our black lab & collie), I heard a faint "mmeeeeoooww..." Being the cat lover that I am, I had to investigate. It took me a couple minutes to figure out that the faint cry was coming from a tree in the neighbors yard. After searching for my husbands ladder, with no luck, I decided to trespass venture into my neighbors yard & fight off their tiny, yet yappy dogs & rescue the tiny feline from it's shelter. Once I got her inside the house, I looked her over. She had a few sticker burs (sp?) deep in her grey & white fur. But the thing that worried me most was her mouth. It was BADLY injured. It didn't seem to phase her, but it made me want to cry. I called the hubs to seek his advice (I couldn't just let this adorable little baby all alone in this big world!). Being a fellow animal lover, he came home immediately. We cut the stickers out & gave her some moist food & water. She ate it right up & it didn't seem to hurt her wound.

Now we had a decision to make. It was about time to head to my parents house for the weekend. So we decided to call the vet in my home town & make an app. for him to take a look at the kittys' jaw (literally). So, we loaded up the car with our luggage, 2 dogs & one tiny little kitten. (I guess I should add that Jasmine is very aggressive interested in cats.) But the car trip went flawlessly the entire 4 hours. Jasmine didn't even know there was a cat in the car! The kitten slept in my arms the entire way, like it was the first time she's been able to relax in her (6 or so weeks of) life.

The following day, we took all 3 animals to the vet. The dogs needed a checkup anyway, so it was perfect timing. After the vet handled the dogs, he then turned his attention to the 2 lb. kitten. He told us that her bottom lip had been pulled off and that her jaw was exposed. (Doesn't this make you want to cry?!) If it had happened that day or even a day earlier, then surgery could have possibly helped. But there was a high chance that it wouldn't help now since we didn't know when the incident happened. I asked him what our other options were & he said to...... put her down. That's when a storm of emotions hit me. HARD. How could we end this adorable kittens' life, all because of an injury that didn't seem to bother her one bit?! Once he saw my crocodile tears, he suggested we wait it out & see if she survives. She'd just have a bad deformity. He said we should know something within a month. If she stops eating or her wound changes colors we'll need to say goodbye. So my hubby & I decided to wait & see what happens.

So far, so good! Sophie is the cutest/cuddliest kitten there ever was. She's been eating wonderfully & is very active!

So the reason I've told you all of this, is because Sophie needs your healing prayers. We've grown attached and would hate to see her suffer because of this unfortunate accident. Sophie thanks you!