moss covered initial

here's a really simple project that only took me a few minutes to make.

i found this wooden "M" from a thrift store for 50 cents about a year ago. but i never really knew what i wanted to do with it. until yesterday, when i came across a bag of moss i used for christmas ornaments last year. once i got the idea, the glue gun did the rest...and voila!

happy autumn everyone!!

wooden wall art.

i am not a huge fan of traditional wall art, and thus i love anything that plays off of my obsession with old wood and tarnished treasures.  my friend and i decided to make these wall pieces for our homes several months ago and i must say, i can't get enough of it.  using some wood, stain, and simple letter stencils or stamps, it's a fairly easy project and a lot of fun. 
we followed the tutorial on the lettered cottage blog.  although they no longer have it up, you can follow a similar tutorial here.

doesn't this piece just make you yearn for the warm breezes of summer?  i, for one, cannot wait...

i say goodbye, i say hello.

earlier this month, the hubby and i found a new place to live. it is a small cottage-esque house in a neighborhood inhabited by little old ladies who plant flowers. we are so blessed because it's not that much more a month than the small apartment we are in now. there is an extra room, a backyard, and a red front door. i'm in a happy place. 

but even though we are so excited, it's still all a little bittersweet. these past 11 months of marriage have been the best of our lives. and all those cherished memories are inevitably wrapped up in #E108--our first place. 

it's been good to us. 

in preparing for the transition, i am on the lookout for ways to make things i have seem new and different. because of course as my Pinterest is filling up with resources, my bank account is not! here's one such project i did last night. 

a simple revamp i like to call:

if you like it than you should put wheels on it!

this is a solid wood crate i salvaged from a dumpster. i loved it so much i couldn't let it get tossed. originally i wanted to make a shelf out of it, but seeing as it is pretty heavy and landlords aren't so thrilled about you ripping up their walls, that didn't happen. it's been off to the side, stuffed with craft supplies, not really getting noticed. but now since our new place has all wood floors i thought adding caster wheels would be a cute and functional way to get this treasure out in the open. 

be on the lookout for more project updates as i work at making our new house a home:)

revived chandelier

over the past few months i have been fiddling with making and tweaking light fixtures for our home.  many of our everyday household items have become unwilling members in these experiments.
even my dear husband's old soda bottles have not been exempt.

some of these fixtures have been successful projects, and some sort of... not  ;o)

but i was recently inspired by the lighting in the restoration hardware magazine.  i thought that i would experiment myself by taking an old chandelier and enclosing it with two dollar store hanging planters.  it adds a new whimsical twist to our guest room chandelier, and i love the depth and dimension it brings.

our guests now have a cozily-lit little nook, perfect for snuggling up with a book on these windy February nights...

charming storage.

i am ever in search of the perfect way to store items in our home.  ways that are both practical and charming.  i was instantly  hooked when i put up these glass jars in my kitchen.
with pastas, chocolate chips, and sugars within easy reach, i am one happy chef.

if you are interested in doing something similar, it's a pretty easy project.  simply drill holes in the tops of the jar lids.  then screw the lids to the bottom of the mantle using a power drill.  attach your jars to the lids, and there you have it.
i am lucky enough to have this mantle in my kitchen, but you could always put up a long shelf in the kitchen to do something similar.
here's to a captivating and functional storage solution.  :)