Hanging A Banner: A Quick Tip

Remember my sheet moss banner?

I still love it, but on more than one occasion I have walked into my Living Room to find that it has fallen down, leaving little pieces of sheet moss everywhere!

In the past, I would hang my banners using painter’s tape. However, something about my house (the humidity or direct sunlight, maybe?) makes it lose its stick.

Then, I had an epiphany!

 

 

Stick the upside down Command hooks onto the surface where you will be attaching your banner. {Obviously you would choose more discreet hooks if they were going to be visible!} I tried styling my mantel without the mirror and it looked naked. So, the hooks are adhered to the back of my giant mirror.

Now, I can tie an adjustable loop at each end of my banner and hook it around the Command hook for hanging.

Super easy and . . .

It’s my Dad’s birthday today (Happy Birthday, Dad!) and I am so excited about the gift that I made for him! Once he has seen it, I can share it with you!

In the meantime, do you have any why-didn’t-I-think-of-that tips or tricks to share?

 

P.S.  Check out another banner idea, here (it’s not just for St. Patrick’s Day!)

 

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I link up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid and The Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all the hosts!

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A Bit of Pinspiration: Bird’s Nest Pendants

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m back with another Pinterest-inspired project, or as I like to call it, ‘pinspiration’

 

As you may know, I enjoy making or repurposing jewelry. I can find my way around chains, clasps and jump rings, but I don’t do a lot of work with wire.

That all changed when I pinned this beautiful image to my DIY Jewelry Board:

 

Source: Sarah Ortega via Claire on Pinterest

Aren’t they gorgeous? You can view the full tutorial here.

All of the jewelry on Sarah Ortega’s website is completely my taste and the way that she styles her photographs is stunning. I aspire to take photos like hers one day!

I initially made several ‘test nests’ with galvanized wire from Dollarama and faux pearls, but then I became paranoid that wearing something made from galvanized wire was going to give me a rash on my neck.

I found my brown (or copper-coloured) craft wire in the jewelry-making supplies at Michaels. One package was enough wire to make more than 5 nests.

I wanted the eggs to look like robin’s eggs so I bought a string of beads that was a mix of the solid blue and speckled green.

Since I already had all the other jewelry-making supplies, the cost for multiple nests was less than $10.

Check out my PicMonkey collage below (a new feature that I just spotted this weekend!):

 

 

 

 

And, one more, using PicMonkey’s “dusk” effect.

 

 

Thank you, Sarah Ortega for sharing your tutorial so that I could learn how to make this beautiful pendant!

 

 

Have a creative week . . . and stay cool!

P.S. You can view two more of my jewelry projects here and here!

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I’ll be linking up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid and The Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all the hosts!

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Jonathan Adler Dishwasher Tab Storage Update

[This post could have also had two alternate titles: Don’t Pull A Loose Thread! and/or Not All Spray Adhesives Are Created Equal]

When I first started blogging, I read that one of my favourite blogs, I Heart Organizing, was having a link party for pretty storage ideas. I wanted to participate so I transformed a cookie tin into a storage container for my dishwasher tabs.

For a month or so, it looked like this:

Then, the spray adhesive started to lose its stick which made the ribbon start to come apart from the can. It didn’t look great, but it was still functional.

Not all spray adhesives are created equal. 

If you want it to stick for good, go for the good stuff!

Finally, about two weeks ago I made the mistake of pulling on a loose thread that was sticking out of the cupboard.

Don’t pull a loose thread.

The next thing you know, my container looked like this:

Time for a new container.

Fortunately, Jen of The Social Home recently shared about her fun Jonathan Adler cupboard makeover.

I had seen advertisements for the Jonathan Adler Respect the Roll campaign but I did not really want to send away and pay the shipping for a toilet paper holder. However, Jen’s post mentioned that these could be purchased at Walmart, and since she is a fellow Canadian blogger, off I went!

I was (a little more) excited (than I should be about a toilet paper holder) to find that they still had one left in the pattern that I wanted: Clover Green. I later bought the Chevron Pink version, too.

 

I cut the same contact paper shape with my Silhouette and adhered it to my container lid. The Cottonelle logo is almost covered by this shape (see the bump?).

 

Even though it is stored in the cupboard under the sink, it makes me happy to know that this fun container matches the accent colours of my kitchen.

 

As an added bonus, the new container also holds more dishwasher tabs. I can put a full package of 48 tabs in the Jonathan Adler canister versus about 20 in the old one.

 

Wouldn’t you agree that this simple update is

so

much

better?

 

I would never in a million years use this as a toilet paper holder, but I’ll definitely be thinking of a way to use my chevron pink container!

 

Thanks for the great tip and the “pinspiration,” Jen!

P.S. I love that I originally posted about my first dishwasher tab container on February 25th! I feel like my blog has come so far in those three months!

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I’ll be linking up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill,  I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid and The Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all the hosts!

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A Bit of Pinspiration: Mason Jar Planter Box

My next few projects will be those that have been inspired by something that I have pinned.

I have a board on Pinterest titled “Inspiration For Future Blog Posts” and it is full of awesome projects shared by amazing bloggers.

Check out my first bit of “pinspiration”

It started with a blog post about this lovely from the brilliant ladies of Shanty 2 Chic.

Source: Shanty 2 Chic via Claire on Pinterest

I’m sure you’ve seen it because it was pinned like CRAZY!

I followed the tutorial, but discovered that once you get a mechanic who is also a perfectionist (would you want any other kind of mechanic working on your car?) involved, it is not nearly as quick a project as they make it sound!

What kind of things did I learn while building my own Mason Jar Planter?

Well . . .

I learned how to properly measure and mark my cuts using the right tools.

I further honed my mitre saw skills (one of the few power tools I was already familiar with from my previous sign-making endeavours).

I learned about drilling pilot holes before gluing AND nailing my furring strips together (for better structural integrity!).

I learned that it doesn’t matter how many types of drawer pulls and knobs you buy because it is a door handle that you need (so that you can screw the hardware on from the outside of the box).

I learned that vinyl really, really frustrates me because it does not stick well to wood when you want to use it as a stencil.

I learned that adhesive cardstock makes an awesome stencil (saving the day and preventing me from throwing my box at a wall out of complete and total frustration).

I learned that a bar of soap does a great job of distressing spray paint when you can’t find your Vaseline (which you were going to try as a distressing technique for the first time).

{FYI: That’s Martha Stewart Acrylic Paint in Green Olive with Heirloom White on top}

 

I learned that less is more when distressing (I had to do my stencilling twice as the result of a mishap).

I learned that 220 grit sandpaper can make something brand new look aged and vintage.

I learned the importance of drilling pilot holes for screws and how to choose the right bit.

And finally, I learned that Mr. Mechanic is a great teacher, even though he could never, ever be a teacher!

 

 

(Did you spy those Crown mason jars? Love them!)

In a perfect world, I would have had some fresh cut flowers to fill my mason jars like I did here for my Mom. Since I don’t, I will wait patiently for my irises to bloom!

Thanks, Shanty 2 Chic for continually sharing your amazing ideas and tutorials!

Have I “pinspired” you at all? I’d love to hear if you have created something using one of my tutorials!

Linking up here as well as to these great parties!

Thank you to all the hosts!

That Kind of Weekend

This weekend is/was a long weekend for Canadians.

There were a lot of things that we would have liked to accomplish, especially in the yard, but, for the first time in years it was ridiculously hot (it usually pours on all the people who go camping).

Many people would be thrilled about this. Fair-skinned, sunburn-in-15-minutes me would prefer a more gradual introduction to summer weather.

Our cat, Pumpkin, will now demonstrate what our time outside this weekend looked like instead.

Yes, she is lying on the patio completely surrounded by ant hills, without a care in the world! 

 

I’m hoping to finish off a Pinterest-inspired project tomorrow . . . but I won’t complain if it rains and I can’t spray paint!

Have a great week!

P.S. Pinterest is being very uncooperative and currently displays an error message that my site links to spam or inappropriate content. This seems to be a blogspot.ca problem and I hope it is resolved soon!

 

P.P.S. Pumpkin is doing much better since I first shared about her ACL injury here.