Upcycled Gift Bags {w/ crafts}

hello world.

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The last few weekends have been filled with children's birthday parties. It's been quite fun actually, lots of cake, baloons, and laughing children. For my second cousin's first birthday I decided to make a personalized gift bag. I'll start by saying that am relatively new to the crafting arena. Luckily this project is very simple and easy, plus it is a "green" way to show you care.

Start with a plain gift bag. I love how Anthropologie uses high quality bags when you make a purchase. There's something about the sturdy paper and soft fabric handles that gets me every time. It's the same feeling I get when I eat out of my favorite floral print bowl and drink out of mason jars. I feel pampered.

I used simple brown paper wrapping and cut it into 2 rectangles to cover the Anthropologie logo on each side and to serve as a background for my letters. I attached it using double sided tape.

I free-handed the letters and then cut them out with an exacto knife, but you can easily use scissors. {and for more precise letters, a stencil}  

I spaced out the letters and taped them down.

The result is a simple, homemade creation.

Easy DIY Shelf {w/ style}

hello friends. how are you today? thought I'd share on a recent project from around the house.

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Have you ever hit a wall when it comes to home decorating?

When we moved into our condo nearly 4 years ago, I wasn't too concerned with decorating. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be concerned, but there were more pressing matters. Like putting up drywall, or having a kitchen.

Our DIY home renovations quickly snowballed, leaving us with our refrigerator in the living room and the microwave on the fireplace. Needless to say, it took a few months of heavy remodeling before I was ready to hang picture frames.

But once the dust settled (literally) I set about to decorate. I picked frames, hung decorative shelves and sconces, and bought wall art - all on a limited budget. I've been quite happy with our home decor over the years, and perhaps because of that, I stopped decorating. Which, in a sense is a good thing. I didn't want to keep adding more and more stuff and end up on an episode of Hoarders. But I became stagnant. Which is not a good thing. I stopped browsing through stores, flipping through magazines, looking for new decor ideas. Because, in my mind, there was no use for that. It would only make me want something I couldn't have. Oh the lies our mind tells us sometimes.

Enter the world of Pinterest and blogs. So many amazing ideas. I was inspired. Almost immediately I caught the bug. The design, change, renew, reuse, refashion bug. It's been a good thing. It's challenged me to look at things with new eyes. Instead of "this is the way things are", I now think "how could they be?" And, not to get too philosophical on you, but shouldn't we have this outlook on other things in life as well?

So... my dining room wall. It's been seriously lacking in design for the last few years. I hung some cheap wall art, a few sconces. It's been driving me crazy for the last year. But I didn't know what to do.

My overall interior design style is classic with clean lines. But lately I've been loving the juxtaposition of clean lines with a more earthy feel and some rustic pieces, a la Pottery Barn. I decided to build a shelf out of a 2x6 piece of wood, and apply the vinegar stain used in this project to make it look like reclaimed wood.

I picked out a piece of wood from one of the extras in our garage and the hubby cut and sanded it to the right size. I applied the vinegar stain using the same technique as before.

We attached them to simple brass shelf brackets and then attached it the wall. Voila!

An instant new vibe to the same space. I kept the same wall sconces and added some candles, books, and framed these prints from Vintage Printables.

I also added a mini Martinelli's apple juice bottle that I've been using as a vase to hold clippings from my garden.