DIY Gold Skull

 

I have been updating the downstairs half of my house little by little for a while now.  I can't wait to share with you the end result when everything is completely done, but for now I will share with you my latest project (that has since led to an obsession with spray paint). This super easy, DIY gold painted skull is now by far one of my favorite things I own.

This skull started out at my brother's old restaurant on the wall, then made it's way to my parents house, and eventually wound up with me. I was thrilled to have him. I've been really digging the glossy, white faux taxidermy trend for the last couple of years, so when I got my hands on this I immediately had a plans. I initially wanted to coat it in a glossy white, but the rough texture made me decide otherwise. So gold was my next option. I'm loving everything gold right now, aren't yall? From my jewelry to notebooks and planners, to home accents, anything! Anyway, when I saw this spray paint at Hobby Lobby I knew I had to give it a try.

 

It's Krylon Premium Gold Foil spray paint, and I am now obsessed with this product. I promise I'll show you all the other random things I used this stuff on another time. It's amazing! It comes a couple different colors, but the gold color was exactly what I wanted. It had just the right amount of metallic shine to it. Also, bonus...it's only $6! Like I said, you can get it at Hobby Lobby, and I also heard Walmart sells it, but I haven't checked. When all else fails, there's always Amazon.

The first part of this project was sanding the whole thing lightly, focusing on trying to get the old restaurant logo off. The logo didn't completely disappear, but it did help a little. After I wiped it down I just dove right in!

Being that I had never used spray paint before, I did some research on the best way to apply it. Since I am far from an expert, I would recommend you do the same if you're thinking of trying it for the first time. I just tried to go back and forth to give it a light first coating. The cool thing is it only needs a short amount of time to dry in between coats, per the instructions on the bottle.

After 2 coats were applied, I let it cure for a couple of days before hanging it in it's new spot on our living room wall! I wasn't sure at first if I was going to try to sand it down more between coats, or put a polyurethane topcoat on it for more shine, but I really loved the way it turned out. I love that you can still see the natural texture under the gold. So cool!

Doesn't he look handsome? I'm obsessed!

xo,
Summer




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Christmas Cookie Mason Jars

So, it's been a SUPER long time since I last posted! Like, a crazy long time. I'll address our goings on another time.... And I plan to be back in full force (I hope)! Today I want to share with you a cute Christmas gift idea. If you're looking for teacher gifts, neighbors, etc., this is a perfect solution. It's no secret that the Smith family is on a major budget. We also have a ton of people to gift this year between the hubby's coworkers, school teacher, dance teachers, etc. I was totally freaked out trying to come up with something affordable for so many people. Baking always comes to mind, so I searched Pinterest (duh) for a yummy cookie recipe. But how to package them in a cute, creative way? Mason jars! They are too cute, and you can do just about anything with them. So here's what I ended up doing.

I chose a recipe that I found on Pinterest for soft and chewy dark chocolate sugar cookies as my main cookie. You can link to the pin here. I totally wish I could take credit for this deliciousness, but all the glory goes to The Baker Upstairs. Genius! As a backup I used a recipe for chewy brown sugar cookies, also from Pinterest (here), thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction. Both cookies turned out AMAZING! The chocolate cookies were the standout though. I did love the brown sugar cookies, but the chocolate got RAVE reviews from everyone my husband works with, so I'm making another giant batch this week. You could bake just about any cookie for this.

Besides the cookies, the only other things you need for this little project are Mason jars and ribbon. I always use grosgrain. Just a personal preference. Anything works. I didn't measure, but I would estimate I used about 2 feet of ribbon per jar. Also, make sure you buy wide mouth jars, otherwise you'll be making some tiny cookies. :) Once you're done baking and everything has cooled, put your ribbon inside the jar like this.

 This is for decoration, but it also helps to get the cookies out when you're ready to eat them. Load your cookies in one at a time. I did some jars with just chocolate, and some with alternating chocolate and brown sugar. Anything goes!

When you've filled your jars to the top, take a break and let them settle for a bit. I noticed that a little while after I filled and sealed the first batch, they settled so much I could have added 1 or 2 more cookies in some jars. You just want to give it a few minutes so you don't end up with a big empty space at the top of your jars. Then the tops can go on, and you can tie a pretty bow! Viola! I also added hand stamped Christmas ornaments that I made to the bow for an extra something. You can be creative!

 

I'd love to hear some of your creative gifts on a budget! And if you try this, let me know!

xoxo,

Summer

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Dining Chair Makeover.....FINALLY Done!

OK, so, I'm in the process of SLOWLY redecorating our house. We're on a tight budget, so I'm just doing a little here and a little there. Kind of piecemeal, so things don't really flow right now, but we'll get there! I'm trying to tackle one small thing at a time. My most recent project...the dining room! We have had on old antique round pedestal table and chairs for years, and it was time for it to GO! It had been around! From College Station, TX to Colorado Springs, Houston, back to College Station, and now to Vegas. Needless to say, it had seen better days! It was so wobbly! When my girlfriends would come over for coffee the table top would tilt back and forth. I'm shocked we never had any dishes slide right off! We decided to keep the old rickety dining chairs and just give them a makeover (actually, our bank account decided that for us!). Here is our new dining table and redone chairs!

Check out that gorgeous table! I am so in love with it! Custom made by Iron Horse Studio Ltd. We were able to specify the exact dimensions and finish we wanted. They make the most AMAZING furniture! Check out their website!

 

The chairs were stained black, but I painted them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and reupholstered the seats. I'll do a separate post soon detailing how that went. But just so you know, I am now completely OBSESSED and want to paint absolutely everything in my house. The hubs is not on board. Oh well.

 

I would love to know what you think of the finished product! Disregard the wall color and window treatments. Those are both high on my list! Like I said, one thing at a time.....