PINTEREST!!!!

I have a new addiction and I'm not even ashamed to tell you that I have spent hours (and by hours I mean days) indulging in this addiction - it's Pinterest! Pinterest is a site that allows you to create vision boards from images anywhere on the web and consolidates them all in one, organized place.  You can "pin" onto your own boards AS WELL as view other people's! So, so, so LOVE IT!

Check out mine here !!

You do have to be invited however. There's a "Request Invite" option from the website but it can take a few days.  If you are invited by someone who is already a member you will receive your login quicker.  Just send me a message with your email addy if you wish to be invited!

Source: google.com via Donna on Pinterest

Source: media-cdn.pinterest.com via Kristy on Pinterest

DIY - Cake Trays

I came across this great idea over at SweetHome. DIY blogger, Renee Elliott, tells us how to make these simple cake stands here.

I haven't tried it out yet but they look really cute from the pictures and it's a major bonus (on my new student budget) that all the materials can be purchased at the dollar store!

What you'll need:

• Tin tray (available at Dollarama)
• Candlestick – look for one that’s wider at the bottom and has a flat top (available at Dollarama)
• Epoxy that can be used on metal and wood (available at your local hardware store)
• Spray primer
• Enamel spray paint in the colour of your choice
• Heavy objects, like a book or small hand weight

Directions:

• Following the directions on the packaging, apply a small amount of epoxy to the top edges of your candlestick and secure to the centre of the bottom side of your tin tray.
• Carefully place a heavy object on top of your tray and set aside to dry.
• Once dry, coat the tray and candlestick completely with spray primer and let dry.
• Next, spray your cake stand with enamel paint and allow it to dry.
• Finally, add some delicious treats and you’re good to go!

Tip: To make the cake stand food-safe, place printed or coloured paper underneath all food that isn’t wrapped.

Is this a DIY project you think you'd give a try?

K.

Via SweetHome

Easy DIY Christmas decor

All-Things-Creative Wednesday

Even though it hasn't snowed yet here in Toronto I've started to get in the Christmas spirit by watching Holiday movies and spiking my coffee with Bailey's :)

I'm super excited to get our tree this weekend and start to decorate for the season!

Here are some simple DIY Christmas decor ideas I found and I'm determined to use at least one of them!

And this idea will likely be the winner! We don't have French doors, but living in a house that's been converted into apartments we have a few unnecessary doors still hanging around (pun intended) that could be be fancied up and finally made useful ;)

Simple enough, right?

This idea is really adorable :)

This would be slightly more involved as I don't have artist canvases laying around (i.e. would have to buy them), I like how clean and fresh this looks though.

I like the idea of hanging a wreath over painted or papered canvases

If we get another huge tree again this year I may need every last Christmas bulb - but if some happen to be left over this would certainly be another easy project!


Okay, so this person may have gone a little overboard by gift wrapping their whole kitchen! I think I may try this with the splash wall above my stove though. All you need is double-sided tape and Christmas wrap!

This is cute - Christmas bulb shapes cut from felt and cardboard and then decorated with glitter and hung on a silver beaded chain.

Thoughts on any of the above simple DIY projects?
How do you get yourself in the Christmas spirit each year?

K.

Images via BHG

Beauty is held in the eye of the container ;)

All-Things-Creative Wednesdays

Below are a series of pictures featuring beautiful and simple ways to display arrangements and candles using jars, bottles, jugs, glassware, and non-traditional vases.

I love this idea here of displaying flowers in an old watering can.

So beautiful!

Glasses and teapots are really sweet as flower holders.

Floating petals in the water adds to the overall look of these minimalist arrangements.

I like the use of the wine glass for a candle holder!

A bundle of veggies can make for an interesting bouquet.

I thought this was pretty - don't try plugging it into a lamp though! :)

Incorporating berry branches into a floral arrangement looks darling and innocent.

Take advantage of the gorgeous Autumn leaves before they disappear under snow!

A single daisy in a glass soda bottle or old milk jug looks so pretty.

Very striking...

Again, use the changing seasons to your decorative advantage.

This could be hung on branches of an arrangement like the one above.

Floating mini pumpkins! This could be a great look for the coming American Thanksgiving

Using fruit to anchor an arrangement is such a great idea. It's functional but also adds a pop of colour.

I've done this before and it's great for adding additional citrusy scent to your home as well as additional colour to your bouquet. Use 2 vases that can fit one inside the other. Slice lemons, limes, or oranges. Insert them between the 2 vases and add water!

Jars as votive holders - love it! I'm collecting jars just for this purpose!

Vases don't necessary have to hold flowers all the time - the use of sand, stones, and sticks can make for a great vignet as well.

This would be so beautiful for an informal garden wedding.

I love this picture!

Using corn kernels is a really great way to display candles for the Fall/Thanksgiving.

These were discarded paint cans that have been wrapped in fabric - excellent repurposing idea!

These appear to be eggs... interesting look

This vase was made out of an upside down globe light - I call them "Sesame Street Lights" ;)

Decorated vases with glass beads and pearls

What are some other non-traditional ways of displaying flowers and candles you've seen?

What are some other non-traditional objects have you seen in arrangements?

What do you think about using cups, jars, and bottles as vases? I used to use wine bottles as candle holders but stopped once I got older because it seemed too college-student-like... do you think it can pass as grown-up decor again?

K.

Images via: Ashley Whittaker Design, Apartment Therapy, Better Homes and Gardens, Home, Debitreloar.com, Laura Resen Photography, Trouver, House Beautiful, Oliveaux, DIY, Max Wanger Photography, Shoebox Decor, The White Bench

Jack O' Lanterns, Painted Pumpks, and Pompons in Disguise... Oh my!

All-Things-Creative Wednesday

Oh what fun Halloween is!!!

There are oh so many ways to decorate for the occasion - the pumpkin being the most celebrated ornament to do so with!

Origin of the Jack O' Lantern

Originating from Irish folkfore, the Jack-o-lantern was used as a light for the lost soul of Stingy Jack, a notorious trickster, stuck between worlds. Jack is said to have tricked the devil by carving an image of a cross in a trunk of a tree and trapping the devil there. His pranks denied him access to Heaven, and having angered the devil also to Hell, so Jack was a lost soul, trapped between worlds. As a consolation, the devil gave him a sole ember to light his way through the darkness between worlds. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since.

The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern." People began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits.

Later, when immigrants came to the new world, pumpkins were more readily available, and so the carved pumpkins carrying a lit candle served the same function.

Yesterday we talked about the many faces of Johnny Depp for costume ideas here... and you can even carve your pumpkin in his image!

The infamous Jack O' Lantern

Some non traditional (aka less spooky) and pretty ways to display pumpkins at Halloween

Painted Pumpkins

Pumpkins looking ready to do a little Trick or Treating themselves!

And last but not least, pumpkin lobbiers!

K.

Images via Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Good Housekeeping