Sea Glass Jar DIY

I just love the way these jars came out. I place them in my kitchen window, and let me say it makes doing all my dishes by hand a lot more enjoyable!

Aren't they pretty? I heart them.

I have seen quite a few tutorials on these aqua colored mason jars. I chose to follow this tutorial because I wanted a true seaglass (frosted) look.  Also, I wanted to be able to fill them up with water so I could put pretty flowers in them! This tutorial is so easy. This is all you need:

That's right.

-Glue  (3 Tablespoons)

-Dish Soap (1 drop)

-Food Coloring (3 drops blue + 1 drop green)

-Paint Brush

-Jars of Your Choice (Got mine at Walmart, super cheap!)

Mix 2 parts glue with 1 part water. Which is homemade modpodge!! Did you know this?? I did not until I did this tutorial. For these jars I used 3 tablespoons glue and 1 1/2 tablespoons water. Add your food coloring drops plus 1 drop of dish soap. This is important! It gave it just the right texture! Stir together until it looks like this:

Use your paint brush to paint one LIGHT coat on the jar. I tend to over-do things. (shocking I know) I tried this a few months ago and I went over and over it trying to make it look even smooth and perfect. They did not turn out well!  Luckily  you can get the food coloring and glue right off with warm soapy water.  I washed them and decided to give it another try! Do not put a thick coat on, do a very thin coat and it will dry evenly I promise! All beautiful and frosty seaglass like. While drying it will look like this:

Don't worry and don't touch it! The streaks will fade, as long as you did one even light coat. Then you should have this!

Do this. Put them in your kitchen window. (if you have one) If you don't put them in any window. You will adore them.....seriously!

Linking up with these lovely parties:
The Gunny Sack 
Sew Much Ado 
Uncommon Designs

Painted Countertops Q&A

I wanted to answer some questions I have received in response to my Painted "Granite" Countertops Post. I hope this information will be helpful to everybody! If you have any other questions please make sure to let me know!

Are they durable?
When I say they are as hard as a rock I mean they are as hard as a rock. The coat on top is equal to 50 coats of varnish. They are extremely durable!

Do they chip?
Pretty sure the only way to chip them would be to use a hammer and a chizzle! They don't chip.

Is the product that you put on top safe?
It is non-pouress hard as a rock like I said. It doesn't leak into your food, once it cures (for 72 hours) it is super hard. Also it is polyurthane...... which is what they use to seal Granite and Butcher Block and many other types of countertops! So those people that have Granite "sealed" countertops or a "sealed" butcher block countertop, or many other types of fabricated countertops have the same type of top coat as this method! P.S. I don't put raw/bare food on any countertop or surface besides a clean plate or cutting board.


Will it burn my countertop if I put a hot pan directly onto it?
I don't know about this one. There again, I have never put a hot (like fresh off the stove hot) pot or pan on a bare countertop/ table in my life. I always use potholders. That's what they are there for. To protect valuable things. :) So I do not know if it would burn the countertop or not. On the Envirotek instructions it warns that placing a hot item directly onto the countertop can leave an impression. Like I said, I have never tested this to see if it was true or not. I don't need to, I just use potholders like I believe most people do!


Do you have any tips on how to use the Envirotek? 
Yes. First thing my husband and I did was by a simple blow torch ($10.00) and used that for any air bubbles that may happen during the process. Go over them super lightly with the heat and then as soon as they pop remove the heat. We only had two air bubbles. Secondly we bought foam brushes (the small craft kind) For if we had to lightly smooth it out or help it pour over the edges. We didn't have to do this much because it is self leveling. You want it to completely pour over your edges and onto the floor (where you have laid plastic) Once dry you will have hardened drips that you will sand off once cured. We didn't have too many of these!

Is this process difficult to do?
I think you will find that it is a little time consuming in between coats, but it is not difficult at all!


What brands of paint and glitter did you use?
I posted a picture below of the accent paints I used. The paints were purchased at Home Depot and the glitter at Walmart. Yes, just regular craft glitter. I used Martha Stewart brand. The base coat of paint I used was actually the Disney Brand Paint at Home Depot and the color was Mouse Ears. The paint lady there told me it was their truest black.

 Via: Home Depot

How did you paint your cabinets?
I know I have been promising a tutorial of cabinets for a while now. We got so busy when we moved back to Idaho that I haven't painted our cabinets yet. I will tell you this, the only Primer I use on anything is Zinsser. We only used ultra smooth foam rollers (never brushes) and then for the top coat (I know it is wierd but I swear by it) we used Porch and Floor High Gloss paint. The OIL BASED kind.  You will notice that it has  Polyurethane right on the can! :) Painting the cabinets with oil base paint ensures absolute durabilty and such a professional glossy finish. They do not look "hand painted" at all! If you get anything on them the surface is so slick and smooth it will wipe right off! I had the porch and floor paint mixed at Home Depot in a Behr color called Moon Rise.

Via: Home Depot

Has anybody else tried your tutorial on this?
YES! Which makes me really excited! I have been notified by three different people that they did my tutorial and painted their countertops! I will try to gather some pics, I know that they are in love with the way they came out! Here is picture of General Spledour's painted countertop. (Which is where I got the idea from to do mine) Don't hers look awesome?

And here were mine after completion in case you missed the original post:

Linked up to these lovely blog parties:
Sew Much Ado
Uncommon Designs

Beautiful Outdoor Area On A $100 Budget!

This is our patio area I put together when we lived in Oregon! I was so happy with the way it came out.  I truly believe that you don't have to sacrifice something that is gorgeous just to get something that is cheap. I am so passionate about being thrifty and frugal, but I never want myself or my home to look "thrifty" or "frugal". I spent about $15.00 on stuff I didn't have already. ($100.00 total on everything including the chandelier) I truly believe you can have the best of both worlds. Hopefully this post will give you some guidelines on how I accomplished this when doing our Patio Makeover!

1) Lighting:

I cannot express enough how important lighting is in a room. (outdoor room in this case) You can have gorgeous decor, colors and everything laid out just right, but if you don't have good lighting it throws everything off. Whether the light fixture is ugly, or there is inadequate lighting; you just will not get good results if you do not have "good" lighting. I have seen people spend so much money re-doing a room and then leave a 20 year old ceiling fan as the only lighting in a room. To me, when working on a make over, the first thing I consider is "do I need to change the lighting?" Having proper lighting in a room, or taking it one step further... having beautiful lighting in a room can change everything! 

The chandelier I hung on my patio was actually one I had ordered for our wedding through Koyal Wholesale. It was $60.00 full price, but since I had ordered a bunch of stuff  through them, I ended up getting quite the good discount. It plugs in to the wall which is an awesome choice for outdoor dining because you generally don't want to hard wire anything in. There is another online website called Shop Wild Things, that has awesome, cheap, plug in lights as well. If you have kids and want to do something  more casual they have some great options for that as well.

2) Color Scheme:

I won't get into color theory because it would probably bore most of you to tears. (personally It really excites me, but I am weird ;) I love color!) But I will say this, given a choice between monochromatic neutrals or adding in splashes of color I will, more often than not, choose color. I love using pink and blue/aqua together because they are on opposite sides of the color wheel. (it really does make a difference!) If you want to go with a more monochromatic neutral color scheme than you must add texture, lots and lots of texture, otherwise you will end up with a space that is really not visually appealing at all, it will just look boring. If you want to add in color you can never go wrong using fresh flowers! I ended up getting these flowers and the vases for super cheap at our  local Safeway. The vases are so pretty and I got them for $4.00 a piece. Just in the floral dept. They were marked clear down!

The runner I got at Big Lots! and the wine glasses at Dollar Tree. I know right? I love Dollar Tree! Click here to order them from Dollar Tree online. Did you know you can order from Dollar Tree online? Well now you do!

3) "Window" Treatments:

For this project I used Lill curtains from Ikea that I already had! They are $2.50 per panel. You could not make them for that price! They are huge, and I also use them indoors behind floor to ceiling (96") curtains. They are so cheap. and actually surprisingly durable. All we did with these Lill Curtains is hang them up with thumb tacks. Then tied the middle into a knot. It instantly changed the look of our patio!

4) Candlelight:

I think that typically when the average person tries to pull off the less is more look, they end up with something that looks piddly (is that a word?) and sparse and quite honestly bad. I want you to imagine what this table would look like with just three candles on it. It would not look as nice! Use all the candles that you have, you cannot go wrong with more candles. If you are worried about things looking messy than do a straight line like I did here. But I am telling you Lots of candles = Big impact! Plus candles are so cheap. These votives in glass holders I also got at Big Lots for $6.00.

Here are my sources again:

Chandelier: Koyal Wholesale
Vases and Flowers: Safeway
Sheer panels: Ikea
Runner and Votives: Big Lots
Wine Glasses: Dollar Tree

Now maybe you are looking to do something more family friendly or less romantic for your patio, I still believe that if you follow the basic design principals I have laid out you will be so pleased with the results!

Here's to Happy Outdoor Living!

P.S. The patio set I had got for $25.00 at Fred Meyer it was the floor model. It was 90% off!

Linking up at these awesome blog parties:
The Gunny Sack 
DIY Showoff 
Sew Much Ado 
Uncommon Designs 

Kitchen Redo Progress > Part 2

I have said it a million times and I will say it again, go to Habitat for Humanity Restore!! Although.... if you live in the Boise area I sorta wanna hog our two local stores all to myself! My husband and I could spend hours and hours in there. Picked up this light at our local on for $6.00! The fixture pictured  on the right is called the Hundi Lantern from Pottery Barn. It retails for $299.00!! Yes, I know the one I purchased is brass,  however, I will paint it! In order to save $294.00... I am game! Be watching for a tutorial!

Pictured above is where I will be hanging the fixture. It drives me crazy how the existing builder grade light is not centered, (not even close)... above the window. Well because my new $6.00 fixture has a chain I will be able to mount it and then center it with a hook. And I am really happy about that!

This is the overall look I am going for above my sink, only with a "Hundi" style fixture instead. I think I will paint it chrome,  to go with the other fixture I talked about it Kitchen Redo Progress > Part 1.

Via: Caitlin Creer

Here are some gorgeous kitchens with the "Hundi" style lantern in them. I am so excited about my awesome find!

Via: 1, 2, 3, 4

Have you been to a Restore?