Posts Labeled ‘craft’

August 23rd, 2010

Sniff, Sniff: Stylish Tissue Box Covers

My mother and stepfather were in town recently and, as when any houseguest is coming, I tried to check off a list of items that tend to make the guest room and guest bath comfortable and welcoming for guests.

In the bedroom, I set out reading material, an alarm clock, and a fan. I emptied the closet to make space for their clothes and left a variety of hangers. I set a tray on the console with two glasses and some bottled water…

In the bathroom, I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned! The bath mats were fresh out of the dryer. The mirror was spotless. I set out toiletries and placed a vase with some flowers and aromatic herbs on the sink…

After my parents had arrived I walked past the guest bath and noticed a new box of tissues. My mom had found a stash of them in our supply cabinet and brought one up to the bathroom. Tissues! Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that?

So that got me thinking about tissue boxes (I confess, this is the stuff that keeps me up at night!). The trouble with them is that, generally, they are pretty unsightly. They come in packages with funky patterns and colors and I cringe each time I set one out.

The solution to masking the ugly boxes is to hide it with a cover. Tissue-box covers, have a reputation of being really tacky, but I have found a couple that are surprisingly stylish.

This one from Restoration Hardware’s metal apothecary collection could work not only in a bathroom but also in other rooms around the house.

Restoration Hardware's tissue-box cover from the Metal Apothecary collection

How about this one for a little tike’s room? Adorable!

monkey tissue-box cover from Target

I love the idea of being able to customize a cover to complement the decor of a room. That’s why this project featured on Design*Sponge (one of my favorite, “go-to” blogs) caught my eye.

tissue-box cover by Brett Bara, featured on Design*Sponge

Brett Bara provides step-by-step instructions on how to sew a cover with the material of your choice. Pick a fabric that coordinates with your room, bust out the sewing machine, zip-zip…. you’ve now masked an ugly box and created a pop of color in your room!

November 1st, 2009

Candy-Wrapper Buckets

Every Halloween my husband and I stock up on mountains of candy in anticipation of an onslaught of trick-or-treaters. It never fails the next day we’re left with a ton of candy. You’d think we’d learn!

I love this idea from Martha Stewart on what to do with leftover candy — particularly the wrappers. Absolutely brilliant! I could see the cans used as a decor for a children’s birthday party or used next year for trick-or-treat pails.

Martha Stewart's candy-wrapper buckets

Martha Stewart's candy-wrapper buckets

August 11th, 2009

A Tablecloth for all Seasons

Looking for a way to add a little punch to the tablescape at your next party? Try a tablecloth embellished with magnet-fitted flowers, a craft courtesy of Martha Stewart. The magnets allow for changing out the flowers according to the season, color, or theme of your soiree. I could see this feminine tablecloth working very well at a bridal shower or afternoon tea.

Martha Stewart Craft: Magnet-Flowered Tablecloth

Martha Stewart Craft: Magnet-Flowered Tablecloth

 

July 18th, 2009

Birthday Garland

This week was my mother-in-law’s seventieth birthday and we celebrated with a low-key dinner at a local restaurant and cake back at our home afterwards. While the plan was to keep things casual, I wanted to do something special to help honor my mother-in-law and her milestone birthday. We were on vacation this week, so it had to be relatively easy to do.

I decided to create a special birthday garland that she would see when she walked into the house and would hang by the table as we ate cake. With a little inspiration from Martha Stewart, I created this pale pink and ivory birthday garland.

birthday garland

birthday garland

pinking shears give the letters a festive effect

pinking shears give the letters a festive effect

the letters are strung together with gold ribbon which provides a contrast and punch in color

the letters are strung together with gold ribbon which provides a contrast and punch in color

The garland was easy to make by following Martha’s template and instructions. I modified the instructions by adding a square cardstock backing to the circles to make the garland a little more prominent against the backdrop I was using.

Happy Birthday, Sookie! Wishing you a wonderful year ahead!

April 11th, 2009

Celebrating Easter

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It always marks the beginning of Spring, symbolized by the beautiful blossoming trees and tulips bursting up from the ground in colorful bunches.

It means I can retire my winter wardrobe and fill my closet with Spring and summer clothes — often pieces that I forgot that I had, making it feel like I have a brand new wardrobe!

But more importantly, it is the celebration of the central tenet of the Christian faith — that Christ died on a cross, was buried, and rose again. Nothing offers more hope than Christ’s miraculous resurrection.

And so I love to celebrate Easter!

This year, while on holiday in Naples at my mother’s house, I worked on a Easter centerpiece. We blew out eggs, died them, and speckled them with brown paint. It was the first time we tried the process and we learned a few lessons (the brush for speckling must have super-stiff bristles, for example) that we’ll incorporate next time to produce an even better result.

There is a lot you can do with speckled eggs. We set them in a bed of raffia on top of a cake server.

Speckled eggs on a raffia "nest"

Speckled eggs on a raffia "nest"

Close-up of the speckled eggs

Close-up of the speckled eggs

I will also use the speckled eggs in my place cards, which I am modeling after these.

Southern Living's Easter Place Card

Southern Living's Easter Place Card

I wish you and yours a very Happy Easter, and a beautiful Spring!