DIY Soap Dispenser

I've been wanting a mason jar soap dispenser for quite some time now, but wasn't exactly sure how to do it. Well, let me you, it is by far easier than I would have ever thought! You only need a whopping four (five--with the soap) tools and products to create this beautiful and rustic piece of work. I'm guessing that you probably already have all of these items on hand anyways so the cost is essentially.... free! I love DIY!

Seriously... how much easier could it get?!? First, I gathered up the items I would need.

I grabbed the plastic soap dispenser I had been using in the guest bathroom, and a pint size mason jar with the screw top and lid. I originally thought I wouldn't need a bigger drill bit than the one in the picture, but Mike quickly informed that I was wrong. Oh well. That's what husband's are for right? ;)

With the assistance of my very helpful husband, he drilled a hole through the lid.

If you will be using a similar soap dispenser we used the following drill bit:

Next, we checked to make sure the hole was big enough for the soap dispenser. While the dispenser fit just fine the actual pump was a little too long. So, we had to cut it down a little bit.

Ok, I lied. Six items. You'll need a pair of heavy duty scissors to cut down the pump. Then, on to the hot glue! You'll want to get inside the actual screw top and around the pump, and then slightly down the pump "straw". **Don't use TOO much or you'll have a lot of excess hot glue on the top of your lid.**

Then, press the pump (and hot glue) firmly through the hole in the lid to ensure it has a tight fit. Flip the lid over, and make a bead around the inner pump. This will make sure that the lid is secure from both angles.

I don't suppose you would have to hot glue the lid to the screw top, but I definitely think it would make adding new soap a little easier in the future. So, make a little bead around the inner edge of the screw top, and smack that puppy onto the lid.

And wa-la! The "hard" part is all done. All you need now is a little bit of liquid soap.

Aww, ohhhhhhhh...........  how pretty, and just what I wanted! :)

The Living Room Series--Part II

Sometimes I find it extremely hard to just pick one idea (compared to the thirteen hundred other ones running through my head!) and just go with it. Wouldn't it be nice to have a room that changed with the weather or your mood? Your favorite songs instantly switched from Citizen Cope (on a calm, relaxing day) to Maroon 5 (upbeat and sunny weather) or even a little Paramore (when you're in a fist-punching kind of mood). However, until someone figures this out (hint, hint!) I'm just going to have to pick the best theme that works for just about any time of day or season. And this of course, is a twist between a coastal type of style prepared with a little bit of farmhouse glam.

As you can see I decided to paint over the brown-ish/suede-ish color that I originally started off with. I'm still amazed by how much this one wall has brighten up and extended the entire room with such a quick fix.

Next, I decided to rearrange the picture frames on the opposite wall and add a little bit of color. 

All of these frames at one point or another been various shades of brown, black and silvers, but I definitely love how well they pair up with each now that they are in the same boat. Spray paint is your friend!

Our beautiful 12"x18" chalkboard is also featured, and can be purchased right here. I tend to use it in the living room for quotes and positive messages for Ava and my husband. :) Gotta share the love right?

This week the quote is:

The "Love" sign is so simple, but true, and it brought in my never-say-no-to-aqua color that I really can't say no to! Find this absolutely smashing hit over here.

The artwork is all of my own (8"x8"), but if you are looking for similar pieces I would check out the endless talent that Etsy has to offer. A personal favorite of mine is Susannah Tucker. Her photography prepared with incredible quotes is just stunning! For instance:

Isn't this just gorgeous?!? It can be found here.

Unfortunately the couch slipcover that I had been drooling over had a three month wait! And unfortunately..... I really couldn't wait. So, I had to find myself a new lovely which was not an easy task to do. Hopefully next week it will be in, and I can show it off!

Last, but surely not least, I also painted and distressed the entertainment to match the remaining furniture in our living room. You can find directions on this super, easy DIY furniture fix on this past post.

I'm still psyched about how well the distressing turned out! And yes..... that is a gigantic wooden rhino. :) Mike was deployed to Africa a few years back, and bought this solid wood piece. The detail is simply amazing, but jezzz it's a beast! It weighs around 60 lbs!

Well, good bye for now! There is a delicious glass of homemade strawberry wine that keeps calling my name! 

It's finally spring!

Well, he-llowwwwwwww my lovelies! Long time no talk! It has truly been a most beautiful spring month in the ridiculously, crazy state of North Carolina. In the last week it seems as if time has shrunk back to only 10 hours a day, but with 20x more work. However--I love it! I do have to say that I absolutely enjoy being outrageously and inexplicably busy throughout my day. I tend to go a little “cabin/island crazy” when I’m sick or have run out of projects to keep me occupied. It’s no wonder that I have pages and pages of ideas, crafts and projects to keep me busy! ;)

Have you ever seen the movie, 'You've Got Mail'? It's turning into kind of an oldie now (which makes me feel a little old!), but it's a goodie. It's probably one of the very first movies about online dating, and stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. How couldn't you love it?!? Anyways, one of my favorite lines in the movie is by Meg Ryan's character, Katherine Kelly:

“I like to start my notes to you as if we're already in the middle of a conversation.  I pretend that we're the oldest and dearest friends". 

I've definitely realized over the years that I am one of these people. My posts start off so sane, reasonable and slightly plain. However, once I start getting into them I, and writing my little heart out, I feel the need to share everything going on. So, I digress... 

Azalea Festival

This past weekend Mike and I participated in the 29th Azalea Festival this past weekend. It was a two day event that calculated a visitor population of approximately 400,000 people! It was definitely a lot of fun, and the best part, we learned more about our business and customers. For instance, we have a wide variety of furniture and home decor items, and unfortunately quite a few of them are very heavy. This in turn hinders some of our customer potential due to this tiny little flaw. Isn't it amazing how important it is as a business owner to cater to each event, booth, store, etc. that you participate in? 

We've also learned that while this set-up is nice for our customers to look around and browse, it regrettably is quite uncomfortable for us. 

Exhibit A--There's no place for us sit without blocking the view of some of our inventory. Big problem.

Exhibit B--This set-up is also a little overwhelming. We definitely need to condense and pick the best items for these types of events.

Aren't these mason jar flowers the cutest!?! I swear you can do anything and everything with a mason jar. Your imagination is the only limit. I absolutely love it!

On a positive note though, we have (previously) discovered how important presentation is. Sometimes at festivals or fairs you only have one "look" by a potential customer. Make sure that you have items that POP, and will catch their eye(s). This is essential!

And my last piece of festival wisdom! :) Always make sure your (potential) customer is aware of all of your available options! Remind them to pick a business card. Let them know that you take credit/debit cards through Pay Pal. They won't know unless you tell them!

Spring Prettiness

There truly isn't anything better than the realization of the beginning of spring. 

Not to mention, the beautiful seedlings in our garden have started sprouting their gorgeous, little leaves!

And like always, Ava loves a nice ride around the yard with her daddy. 

Have a marvelous weekend, and .....

HAPPY SPRING!

Finding Your Own Way

I believe that for the most part, good things do happen to those who patiently wait and work hard towards their goals. However, it's never easy being patient considering that we live in a very impatient and instant gratification kind of world, but I've learned that when I find my own way and figure it all out, the overall feeling of success is quite amazing. 

For instance, it's pretty remarkable to look back at some of my old artwork, and see the evolution of my talent grow over the years. I'm still not exactly sure where I would like to go with it all, but with each step forward I know that I am one day closer to figuring it all out. :)

This weekend I finally finished a painting I have been working (on and off!) for months. I made countless mistakes, but the end result is just my style! 

Yay for completed projects!!

Happy Monday! :)

Living Room Madness and a DIY Distressed Coffee Table

It’s been almost a year since Mike and I added laminate flooring to the living room and hallway as well as painted the walls. I couldn’t be happier about this decision, and would most definitely encourage all to invest in this wonderful product! Mike, Ava and I drag in a ridiculous amount of sand, leaves and randomness by ourselves, but then you add three dogs . . . . . holy cow, it’s like a zoo!

Here is a picture of what our living room looked like before we moved in. For some reason I can't find any pictures of it with our furniture. Sorry for the crazy blurriness!

I still can’t understand why the entire house was painted this particular shade of … tan/beige/salmon? It would have been a nice shade in perhaps one bedroom, but it completely drained the house of any light and airiness.

And this is when we started to fix the corner where there was originally a fireplace that was turned into an entertainment center of sorts.

There is a huge wall that separates the living room and the kitchen which really isolates each of the rooms. This new "window" really helps open up both of the spaces.

This is the original idea and outcome for our living room. I think it was a good start in the right direction, but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

We also added another "window" near the front door/entrance way to open up this area. I am still so amazed how much of an improvement it has made. Love it!

I was attempting to use all of my furniture in its original state, but I soon realized that the dark colors of the couch just wouldn't fit into what I was trying to accomplish.

So, after looking at our budget I realized that a new couch just wouldn't work right now, and started looking into couch slipcovers. I have to say, I am quite amazed with the selection that is available. There is pretty much every color, pattern and style that you can imagine. Plus, majority of them washable!! That is right up my alley with the crazy crowd in my household. I've been swooning over the trending white/cream couches, but I've been afraid that they would get dirty too quick and I would have no way to clean them. BUT, now I won't have to worry about all the dirt and sticky fingers when I can just pop it in the washer!

I just placed my order for this beauty. I can't wait to get it!

You can find this gorgeous piece here.

Since I'm on a very limited budget (and I like my living room furniture) I decided I would just paint and distress to give it a more modern and cleaner look.

So, I first removed the two glass pieces from the table, and then gave the table a good sanding. This just helps to remove some of the lacquer that was originally put on to protect the table. However, we want to take it off so the paint will stick.

Then with a cheap-o brush I quickly painted on a thin coat of white interior satin paint. It doesn't need to be anything expensive since I was just going to sand it down anyways.

As you can see from this picture, there are plenty of spots that aren't filled in completely, and it was done VERY quickly. 

**DISCLAIMER--I only use this method (quick, cheap and easy) when I'm distressing furniture. You'll want to take extra time and layers to achieve a more solid and clean coat when you're thoroughly painting furniture.

One of the nice things about this method is that you don't have to be as careful and such a perfectionist. If I mess up I know that it won't make that  much of a difference anyways. 

Last, lightly sand down the top, crevices and edges of the entire table. It will give it this beautiful, aged look that looks quite authentic! **Don't forget to put on a light coat of varnish though. I personally selected a matte finish in the spray paint section. Time and life saver all the way!

As you can see....... BEAUTIFUL! But, it doesn't quite go with my furniture. Good thing I purchased those slip covers! :)

Stay tuned for more updates! I plan on doing the same thing to the entertainment center, end table and who knows what else. 

Happy Thursday!

Egg-tastic fun!

Ava, Mike and I had a veryyyyy lovely evening coloring eggs for Easter tomorrow. I don't think Mike or I have done anything of this nature in years, and this was the first time for Miss Ava. I saw quite a few amazing techniques to use for this holiday on all of my favorite blogs, but I decided to go very basic. I mainly used the "rubber band technique" which just consisted of wrapping a rubber band around your hard boiled eggs.

I left a few of them blank, but either way, Ava had a blast! I do believe her favorite part was just getting messy!

She loved using crayons to add a little bit of variety to her pretty little eggs.

As you can see not all of the eggs survived! Unfortunately both Ava and Mike dropped two a piece. Oh well, more egg salad sandwiches for me! :)

Once Upon an Art Print

I'm a firm believer that you get what you sow. Garbage in, garbage out. Whether it be at work, cleaning your home, being a good friend or just eating healthy, it is always essential to give your 110 %. I know that sometimes it can be very hard (ok, extremely) to stand your ground and do the right thing, but have you ever noticed how much better it feels after you do? For instance, I once had a supervisor (who was a few rungs up on the food chain ladder) actually tell me that I needed to stop giving my all, and settle for average. (Side Note: I had been expressing my concern to him that productivity was significantly low, and often times sat on my shoulders due to my co-workers being allowed to get away with every excuse in the book) He explained that if I just gave half the effort, and only lived up to the lowest, average person in my section I would never get stressed, still get paid every day as well as still get pay raises every year like everyone else. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. What kind of supervisor would even endorse this type of behavior and work ethic? Apparently one that was not very motivated. If you don't know me very well here's a brief run down of my personality:

1.) I can't sit still. 

2.) I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and 

3.) I like finding solutions to problems.

With that being said, my former supervisor's solution to the lack of integrity from my fellow co-workers was not only completely unethical, but also no where near my level of commitment. Sure, I could have easily stopped caring at this point and took his advice, but why sink to their level? This beautiful world of ours needs individuals that are dedicated to helping our future and future generations to come. 

Ok, sorry, I'm off my soapbox! :) So, the point of that little excerpt (into my soul!) is that it's important to give back, and replenish the knowledge that you have soaked up from various sources (blogs, stores, nature, wisdom, etc). Sometimes you'll find that you can give back by volunteering your time to help an elderly neighbor walk their dog. Other times you might give back by designing a spreadsheet that will make it easier for others to understand where all of their paycheck has diminished to. Whatever it is, I encourage you to challenge yourself to push forward, and give back to your community (local or international). 

And....... ONWARD! 

As you've probably already figured out I absolutely love quotes, and find them very inspirational and motivating. One of my favorites is a very popular (and incredibly true!) Conan O'Brien quote:

A few years back when I was still in the Air Force I used to post a new quote on my whiteboard every few days. Some of them were silly (like Monty Python--with the help from a fellow co-worker), a few hit you in the gut and the remaining gave me that extra boost to perform and excel like there was no tomorrow. When I hit a personal snag in my "hopeful" life projection I stopped posting new quotes due to my pouting phase. I was very surprised when various co-workers stopped by, and commented that they missed having a new quote to read. 

With that being said, my way of giving back today is with this free art print. This was my first mixed media painting, and it actually started off as an absolute disaster. I couldn't get the texture right, then I didn't like the color(s) and finally I just started gluing and painting in a crazy frenzy. I became inspired by the realization that I can do whatever I decide to do. No one can tell me to stay in a dead end job, wear certain clothes or even live in a particular city. 

So, I present to you: BREATHE..... just remember: 

You only live once, so make it the best one time adventure.

You can upload it here.