Antique Mantle Makeover

Long time no see!  2014 has been a busy year, which is why I haven't posted in so long!  Let's see...the fiance graduated law school, we moved across the country, I interviewed for 20+ jobs (no exaggeration!), started a new job, and I'm ridiculously busy with wedding planning...so you can imagine why I haven't posted in awhile. :)

But!  I have a ton of cool DIY wedding projects that I will hopefully be sharing here in a month or so after the wedding, which is fast approaching.  And I wanted to stop in today and share a before and after picture of this cool mantle I picked up antiquing.

Since we moved, we no longer have a fireplace in our apartment, which made me sad since I love decorating it for each season.  So when I saw this (beat up) mantle at an antique store, I decided to buy it and paint it with white chalk paint!

If you've never used chalk paint before, I highly recommend it.  Normally I hate painting, but the chalk paint made it so easy and quick!  I wanted a distressed look to match these antique molding pieces we hang as art in our house, and the chalk paint was the best paint I could have chosen.

There's no sanding or prepping involved.  You slap a coat or two of the chalk paint right onto any surface, wait 20-30 minutes for it to dry (no kidding!), sand the edges a little to rough it up (only if you want), and then rub on this special wax with a white t-shirt, which helps give it that distressed look and also seals the paint so it doesn't rub off.
 

We finished the entire project in about two hours.

We hung the mantle on the wall with a picture hanging kit for really heavy photos (75 pounds and up).  We didn't nail into the studs so I'm hoping it doesn't fall over.  I'll let you know if it does I guess!

Nice and simple, and turned out lovely!  My kind of project. :)

Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

This past Saturday we had our annual Christmas cookie exchange party.  I have to say I was slacking a little bit because I didn't even tie any ribbons around the wine glasses or get out the paper straws like I did last year.  Ha!

Everyone brought delicious cookies.  We had hot cocoa cookies, gooey butter cookies, M&M and chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip with pecan, Oreo brownies, peanut butter bars, and our cookies...

We made double chocolate cheesecake cookies with mascarpone glaze piped on top (recipe from How Sweet It Is).  They weren't quite as cheese cake tasting as I had hoped, but they were just the right balance of chocolate and they were moist and chewy, so we loved them.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies with Mascarpone Glaze

P.S. Sorry I didn't take more pictures of everyone's cookies...we were trying to keep the new puppy from eating everything in sight. :)

We also made the cream cheese and cucumber crostinis again like we did at our housewarming party (in addition to other things).  This time I switched out the plain cream cheese and Italian dressing mixture for onion and chive cream cheese.  It was easier to make and I actually liked it better.

It was also a goodbye party for our friend Allison, who just got a new job in Missouri.  Since it was her last party with us, we played Apples to Apples, which is a tradition for parties at our house. (Oh, and the animal babies joined in, too.)

Apples to Apples! :)

And of course we had to get a good group photo. :)

We had a great time.  The best part of Christmas is spending time with friends and family, so I'm glad we've made this an annual tradition to help us enjoy the season. :)

Hope your Christmas is just as bright!

--CC

Bean Soup Mix in Mason Jars

My Christmas shopping is just about done and I can officially say I bought nothing at the mall this year. :)  I stuck to Etsy, Amazon, local small business, and my personal favorite--DIY!  

Every year I like to make something edible that I can give to my assistant at work and my grandpa/other people who are hard to buy for.  This year I tried out this great Five Bean Vegetarian Soup Mix recipe from Back to Her Roots.

I loved this tutorial because it had printable labels with the instructions for making the soup.  Saved me a lot of time!

The tutorial called for a quart size jar, but I bought pint sized and cut the recipe in half.  Of course, this required me to use the very sophisticated program Microsoft Paint to fix the instructions on the printable.  But it did save me some money, so I got to make a lot more gifts. :)

I also trimmed the budget by using washi tape I already had for the spice packets instead of buying labels.  All in all the project cost about $2.50 per gift.  Not too shabby!  And I love the way the turned out.  My favorite part is the layers of colorful beans.

I hope you're wrapping up your holiday crafting and enjoying the season!  If you need some last minute ideas, stop by this post and check out my suggestions.  Until next time, happy crafting!

Oh Christmas Tree

Just wanted to stop in and share a few pictures of our furry animal babies by the Christmas tree.  Still working on getting that perfect shot, but these aren't too bad.  Good enough for a Christmas card, I'd say!  Hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

5 Out-of-the-Ordinary DIY Christmas Gifts It's Not Too Late to Make

 With the holidays fast approaching, I thought I'd stop in to share five unique handmade gifts that are quick and easy.  That means there's still time to make them!  Links and descriptions are below.  Enjoy!

1. Etched Glass Bakeware from Make It & Love It

2. Sharpie Plates from Darling Doodles

3. DIY Terrarium Kit with Printable from Wit & Whistle

4.  Wine Cork Keychains from Simple Crafter

5.  Vegetarian 5 Bean Soup Mix with Printable Labels from Back to Her Roots

No Sew Fleece Blanket for Puppy

A couple weekends ago I made a second no-sew fleece blanket for our puppy Sterling.  He likes to go swimming in the pond then take naps on his blanket.  Needless to say it often stinks, so I made him a second blanket he can sleep on while the other is in the wash.

I found some great fleece fabric at Jo-Ann's that says "Super Dog Bow-Wow!" Adorable!  Plus it was 50% off. :)  I paired it with some red polka-dot fabric because I thought it looked comic bookish.  My puppy loved it.

Sterling loves his no-sew fleece blanket, and the selvage I cut off the edges...

Wondering how to make your own blanket?  It's easy as pie and quite relaxing.  The instructions are after the break.  (Sorry, no photos yet.  I'll add them next time I make a blanket!)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  I think this year was our best year yet.  We had plenty of good food, friends, and pie! Nothing even boiled over. :)

I was very proud of my table.  I made a centerpiece with a clear vase, a bag of cranberries, and a floating candle and swiped up a tablecloth at Target.

Then we got cooking and eating. Among traditional fare, I made our teriyaki bacon wrapped green bean bundles again and tried this amazing recipe for ranch carrots.  :)

Why, yes, that is an apple crisp cheesecake that my lovely fiance made.

 And in holiday tradition, I made everyone take a group photo.

By the way, it wasn't so easy to get a shot of the new puppy...

I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving as well!

--CC