DIY – Painted Wooden Vase

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For the past few months I’ve been interested in home decor, sprucing up our apartment, and finding creative ways to add color and something unexpected to our home.

One piece that would always catch my eye is a painted/dipped wooden vase. Instead of paying $40+ on a painted wooden vase, I challenged myself to make my own. It’s a simple and fun activity you can do at home cheaply.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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  • 2 wooden vases (different shapes/sizes recommended)
  • 1 paint brush and 1 sponge brush
  • glue
  • 2 paint colors of your choice
  • 2 glitter colors that match your paint choices
Remember to bring along a furry friend/helper to add to the fun.
Remember to bring along a furry friend/helper to add to the fun.

For my vases, I decided to go with gold and pink as my colors, one of my favorite color combos at the moment. Begin by choosing how far up the vase you want color. I wanted to show some of the natural wood color with my vase, so I painted everything but 1/3 of the vase gold.

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Let the paint dry on your first vase before adding any desired glitter, and start on your second vase.

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My second vase features both colors. I recommend painting one section at a time, starting from the bottom. Make use of the vase opening to paint the different sections without getting paint on your table or accidentally sticking your fingers in the fresh paint.

Once all is dried, it’s time to glitter! Make a glue + water mixture as we did in the sprinkle post, helping you easily smooth on glue with your sponge brush. Then sprinkle on the glitter.

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One trick I discovered was to use the little foam covers that are inside the lid of the glitter container to help control your glittering. Not only does this help minimize the amount of glitter you get on you (and we all know once it’s on you it’s there forever) but it’s a great guide to ensure your glitter doesn’t go on the wrong colored sections.

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Viola! There you have it!

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If you’re interested in using the same neat shaped wooden vases for your own project, I purchased everything at my local Michaels.

  1. Large “rtf wd geo-shape” vase – $4.99
  2. Small “rtf wd geo-shape” vase – $3.99
  3. Glitter stacker – $3.99
  4. Multi service paint – $1.49 each

 

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Sprinkle Art

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When I named my blog, A Sprinkle of Life, I knew that eventually I had to incorporate sprinkles somewhere. Today I created an easy craft using, you guessed it, sprinkles!

This activity is extremely easy to do, quick, and kid safe. What you’ll need:

  1.  One tiny canvas (4″x4″) – $2.99 at Michaels
  2. Sprinkles
  3. A small cup or container (I used a dixie cup from the bathroom)
  4. Elmer’s glue
  5. Plastic bowl
  6. Sponge brush

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Now let’s get started!

  1. First take your plastic bowl and squirt some glue into it (you don’t need a ton, so around 3 squirts should be fine).
  2. Add a splash, and I mean just a splash, of water into your bowl.
  3. Take your sponge brush and stir the glue and water together. Glue + water will give you a watery and easily smoothable  liquid which is great for brushing large surfaces (canvas, wood, cardboard, etc) without the extra stickiness that comes from using just glue.
  4. Lightly coat the canvas. Try doing just one pass or line on your canvas as you see above to see if your glue to water ratio is correct and will hold down sprinkles.
  5. Now take your small cup (or you could just use your fingers) and pour in a small amount of sprinkles.
  6. Lightly shake the cup of sprinkles over the canvas, keeping the sprinkles from piling on top of each other, creating a thin layer of sprinkles.
  7. Pat down very gently with one finger to ensure the sprinkles stick and then let sit to dry – that’s it!

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A look back at recent weddings

IMG_4232In the past year I’ve attended three weddings, one having been just a couple of weeks ago. Going to weddings is a great way to gain ideas for your own wedding. While I’m not engaged yet, (still waiting…) I love to just absorb everything. Now onto the juicy stuff…

Buffet style cocktail hours need labels!
At the last wedding I attended there were a number of food items around the room but none of them had labels, nor were there wait staff present to let you know what was in the dish. I personally won’t feel too adventurous if the food on display isn’t labeled and is hard to distinguish. Keep in mind there might be people in the crowd with allergies or food sensitivities so labels just make sense.

The couple should always greet guests individually.
Most of the couples at the weddings I’ve attended have come around to each table and greeted guests, thanking them for coming, but one couple didn’t which I found to be a bit disappointing. Sure, you may not know everyone really well (or in some cases at all) but saying “hi” and “thank you” is a pretty painless thing to do. I find this to be a great touch, and makes your guests feel important and appreciated. I really felt touched by my friends who made this effort and I’ll remember to reciprocate when my day comes too.

Guests are going to touch your centerpieces.
Guests are always curious when it comes to elaborate centerpieces – are they real or are they fake? Flowers are crazy expensive, so I understand why some couples opt to go down the fake flower route, at least for their centerpieces. Just expect people to touch your centerpieces out of curiosity. If you’re cool with that, power to you!

 

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April Obsessions

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Every month I’ll be posting a handful of things (shows, treats, activities, etc) that I can’t get enough of. This month I’m digging:

When Calls the Heart (tv show)
A romance tale set in the early 1900s in the midst of a small coal town. The show currently airs on Hallmark Channel but I’ve only recently discovered it. For those like me, Netflix binging is highly recommended.

An Idiot Abroad (tv show)
The show follows around a guy named Karl who happens to be friends with Ricky Gervais. Ricky and his buddy Steve decided to send Karl around the world to see the 7 wonders, putting him in unusual situations just to see him squirm. Watch this for some intense laughing!

Stitch Fix
A stylist service where you get 5 items shipped to you to try on in the comfort of your own home. I’m not a monthly subscriber, but I’ve requested 2 boxes in the past month and am considering a third. Blog post coming soon on my Stitch Fix experiences.

Real Housewives of New York (tv show)
Not a new obsession in any means, but since the show recently came back I figured I had to add it in this month’s rundown. For those who don’t know me, I’m a huge Real Housewives fan. Since I work in NYC, how can I not love following these ladies? Stay tuned for a future blog on my thoughts on the various Real Housewives series (Like most of you, I have my favorites and some I just can’t stand).

Magnolia Bakery
Finally having spring weather in NY/NJ made me think of Magnolia bakery. Strange I know, but I blame it on the fact that their cupcakes are frosted in cute (spring like) pastel colors. With Magnolia now having a location in Penn station it makes it easy to pick up a little treat on my way to catch NJTransit.

Let me know what you’re excited about this April!

 

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