I have spotted this awesome Book Wreath all over blog land and decided that I wanted to make one.  But then I was experimenting with these acordian-like flowers and decided to make a book wreath my way, using them.  Here is the step-by-step (and I am not a good photographer so my apologies):

First I started with pages from a book from Goodwill.  I got a tour book of Chicago to make it more personal and this actually worked out well because there were little maps inside that helped to mix up the patterns.  The size of the flower will depend on the size you cut your paper (book pages).  Then, do something you haven’t done since grade school when you used to make paper fans:

 Basically you fold the paper back and forth until you make as many as you need.  (You will need three acordians for each flower).  This is the most time consuming part of the project.

Next, fire up your glue gun.  Each acordian piece must be folded and where you fold it, you glue the insides to one another:

That part is kind of hard to explain but hopefully you get the idea.

Now you see how you have three pieces that should fit together.  You glue the sides of one to another and so forth until you have glued it together (3 spots).

So that’s how you make the basic flower.  Repeat as necessary.

I cut out a crude wreath form from some old cardboard to glue my flowers onto.

I glued buttons of various colors into the center of each of my flowers.

Then, you arrange your flowers onto the form as you want them, and hot glue them on.  This is a bit tricky because the flowers don’t lay flat.  I used a lot of hot glue!

And here is the finished product!  I added ribbon to hang it with and a bow (a good bow tie-er I am not)

And here it is bringing a little springtime to my dark door!

Quote of the Day: “Stay with me till time turns over – I want to feel my feet leave the ground.  Take me where the whispering breezes can lift me up and spin me around.  If I could I would… Hear you laughing as we go – Flipping backward through the doors and through the windows… I’m melting into nothing.” –Phish

All of the lovely ladies whose craft/decor blogs I follow always highlight their mantles.  And they are always so awesome and wonderfully decorated.  Alas, I lack a mantle.  Such is the life of a condo dweller.  So, I spruced up the window above my kitchen sink as my makeshift mantle:

I have had a recent obsession with colored glass, my favorites being the light blue mason jars.  Luckily, my antique spot in Indy sells them for cheap.  I’ve seen them on Etsy and in Chicago antique stores for a lot more money than is necessary.

The frames to the left are dollar store frames.  On the top and bottom ones I took old sheet music and made it the base, then cut out the fleur de lis with my Cricut and modpodged it on.  The middle frame I covered in burlap and hot glued old keys I picked up at an antique store.  (Another craft I’ve seen circulating around blog-land.)  Antique keys similar to these sell at Pottery Barn for $19 for 7.  Mine are way cheaper, and way more authentic! 

The birdhouse I got at Michael’s for a dollar.  I spray painted it Robin Egg Blue and then distressed it with a brown stain.

I love how the light from the window shows through the glass.

I would also like to add that the plant is from Ikea that my mom got me when I first moved in.  That’s right– I have kept this baby alive for almost three years!!

Pet Peeve of the Day: Bank of America

Quote of the Day: “People only see what they are prepared to see.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

A few weeks ago when I was suffering from a broken heart, I threw myself into crafts instead of drinking; fancy that! I’m so grown up! So here is a pair of candleholders that I made:

First, I started with candlestick holders and cup-ish things I got at Dollar Tree.

I glued these together using E600 glue. (I hate this glue because it is smelly but it is nice for this because it doesn’t dry right away so you can move the cup around on the base if it’s not centered on your first placement).

I took some tissue paper that I had lying around and decoupaged it to the outside of the cup. Despite its modern flair because of the zebra print, I think it still works with my other non-modern decor because of the neutral colors.

Then I glued a piece of teal ribbon around the top and glued three maroonish buttons to the ribbon. The pictures don’t really do the color justice, I swear they don’t look as jettie-ish as they appear in the photo.

I placed tealights in both holders. The total cost for these candleholders was around $6–you can’t beat that and I don’t think they look cheap.

I was originally going to do this with scrapbook paper but was glad I had tissue paper on hand because the light really shines through on the tissue paper.

Pet Peeve of the Day: The intense jealously I feel for the East Coast right now! I want that much snow in Chicago!!

Quote of the Day: ”She never stumbles, she’s got no place to fall.” –Bob Dylan

As I writer, you have to be a reader, so I have found myself with a lot of books– too many for my current bookshelf.  And since I like to keep all the books I read and never give them away or pass on to friends, I knew I needed a solution.  There has been an empty space in my house that I thought would be perfect for a small bookshelf, but again, I lack the funds to spend $80 on one.  So as I was antiquing a few weekends ago, I discovered all these old wooden boxes that were being used to display various antiques.  I thought if I bought 4 or so of them, I could create my own bookshelf.  Awesome.  I found two boxes at a store in Indiana, and two more at a store in Michigan.  The boxes ranged from $3 – $14.  I was very excited to get them home and put my idea to work.  Here it is:

I really got lucky that these fit so perfectly into this spot as I did not have measurements!

The box on the bottom left is my favorite– it is an old ammo box.  It has metal handles on the side and weighs about 20 pounds– it was one of the more expensive ($14).

The vase is a Dollar Tree glass vase that I lined with a piece of scrapbook paper.  The branches I found on the beach in Michigan!

You may have also noticed that I grouped my books on the shelves according to color.  I got this idea from a Real Simple article and I really like the effect it gives.

All in all I am extremely excited about my bookshelves– I absolutely love them and the look they have!  I think they look a lot better than a run-of-the-mill, expensive bookshelf would look!  And we all know I love unique things!!  What do you think??

I am submitting this project to Do It Yourself Day over at A Soft Place to Land.

 Pet Peeve of the Day: Rain in January

Quote of the Day: “Let us be thankful for the fools.  But for them the rest of us could not succeed.” –Mark Twain

After taking my Christmas tree down, I didn’t want to put the lamp I had in its spot back.  So that left me with a rather large empty space in the corner of my living room.  I decided a plant stand for one of my plants would be the perfect solution, except all the stands at Target were too expensive.  I mean honestly, it’s a freakin slab of wood with legs, nothing special.  The cheapest option was like $40+, not in my budget at the moment.  So I went to the Village and scored this perfect, basic plant stand for $8:

The color was too light to match with my other dark brown furniture so I had to paint it.  I wanted to spray paint it, but alas they don’t sell spray paint in the city and I didn’t feel like trekking out to the suburbs.  So I painted on a white base coat that I had on hand:

And then covered that with a dark brown paint (it’s not this shiny, must have been the flash):

And here it is in my living room.  For what it is (basic) and what it cost me ($10 after paint, etc.) I am quite pleased with it:

 I am submitting this project to Do It Yourself Day over at A Soft Place to Land.  It’s an awesome craft blog I suggest you check out!!

Pet Peeve of the Day: Pizza cut “New York” style

Quote of the Day: “I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” –e.e. cummings