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Friday, August 30, 2013

Custom Painted Champagne Flutes

Are they flutes?
Or do we just call them toasting glasses?

Whichever...they are now hereby officially dubbed the
dragonfly wedding toasting flutes of Brie and Jeremy.


Brie is the oldest daughter of our dance studio director.
She approached me at her youngest sister's graduation in May
and asked if I would help her out with a problem of sorts.

It seems she and her fiancé found some fabulous flutes at a
thrift store and wanted to use them at the wedding.
As you can see in the picture below,
they had some sort of etching on them...probably some sort of event.


She asked if I could paint over them
with their chosen theme and colors...include the date...
I said SURE!

Their wedding was turquoise, white, and silver.
Very pretty.
And, as you can see...
dragonflies were the main theme.


I used glass paint from Martha Stewart
and another brand, possibly Folk Art.
I can't remember who else usually has it.

I was concerned that you usually have
to bake the glasses to set the paint,
but I discovered that you don't have to anymore.
The bottles say they fully cure on their own in about 3 weeks.

That was a relief since I didn't know how they would hold up.

I also used a black and a white paint pen for the fine lines and writing.



 Since I have trouble drawing symmetrically,
I cut out a template and used it against the
glass so my wings would be even on both sides.

Some turquoise green "reeds" cover up the original etching.
The dragonflies have little silver highlights on their wings.

I've said before I don't consider myself a great painter,
but I am happy with how these turned out.
The bride was thrilled so I was, too.


I was really happy to be able to do this for them...
since her fiancé was involved in an accident about a month before the wedding.
He does HVAC and fell from a ladder, breaking both heels.

Love perseveres...
their wedding venue was able to accommodate the wheelchair
and I believe some absolutely wonderful memories were made that day.

So what do you think of this thrifty endeavor?
For a couple of bucks and some glass paint,
anyone can have custom toasting flutes for their special occasion.

Have a super fun and safe holiday weekend!


Toasting  your happiness here:

Friday, August 23, 2013

NO Cook Chicken Caprese Pitas


Is it just me or is cooking in the summertime just too much to ask?
Maybe it's just me.

But if it's not...here's a simple and yummy no
cook meal with all the food groups!


Rotisserie or baked chicken from the deli, diced or shredded: Meat group, check!
Lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber diced: Veggie group, check!
Diced mozzarella cheese: Dairy group, check!
Pita bread pockets (whole wheat if you can find 'em!):
Bread/Grain group, check, check, check!


Cut up some fresh basil, add it all to your pita pocket...
swirl a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar together and drizzle it on...
and you've got yourself a cool, no cook
chicken caprese pita for your summertime dinner enjoyment.


Okay, so cucumbers may not really go with caprese...
but they were yummy and cool you can leave 'em out if you want. :)


These were so good I'm thinking I need to make them again real soon!

How about you...
do you avoid cooking in the summertime?
Or all the time :)

Have a spectacular weekend!


Making mouths water (hopefully) here:

Monday, August 19, 2013

$200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Happy Monday peeps!

I am super excited to share this with you!
I am helping Anyonita from Anyonita Nibbles
celebrate 1,000 likes with a giveaway!

I know...that's a lot of exclamation marks!!!


Check out the other fabulous blogs and enter to win
using the Rafflecopter widget below!

Enter by liking any or all of the Facebook
pages and/or following on Twitter!

Good luck!


Friday, August 16, 2013

Painting a Tile Floor ~ Tips and Grumbles


Hi! Allow me to introduce myself...
I'm Kelly...and someday maybe I'll start a chapter of
Northern Colorado Procrastinator's Anonymous.

Maybe...someday.

Perhaps.

I thought I should at least remind you of who I am since I, um,
apparently haven't been around for almost 3 weeks.
I know, right?

I couldn't believe it when I looked at the date of my last post.
I just shook my head and sighed.

Anyway...I am finally showing you that project I had to restart
and was dragging my feet on.


Yup!
I painted the ceramic tile in my entry.

I may be little crazy.
At least I'm sure my husband thinks so.


We don't have one of those large entryways where you can
put an awesome dresser and fancy it up with fun décor.

Okay, I'm a little jealous.

Anyway...so I wanted to add some interest to this
area and thought paint would be just the thing!
  

After cleaning it very well and using some Krud Kutter I taped it off.
Yes, I put little pieces on the squares NOT to paint in
case this redhead had a blonde moment or something.
{Sorry, blondes-but no one ever claims to have a brunette moment :) }


Okay, here's where the problem(s) started.
First, I hated it.
Okay, I know that's a biggie.

I love black and white checkerboard floors...
it just didn't belong in this spot.
{My husband said it looked like a circus.}


Second, NOT all chalk paint is created equal.
***I am not here to bash anyone, okay?***

I love chalk paint, but it's not all suitable for all uses.
The charcoal is CeCe Caldwell.
It did NOT adhere to the ceramic and easily wiped off after dry,
even after applying the "durable top coat."
That being said, I've seen in used on lots of furniture with awesome results.
Okay? Just not this ceramic tile.

{The other is Annie Sloan Old White, it seemed to do very well for this application}


So here's my dilemma:
I can't possibly get all the paint off and go back to the "before."

My solution?
I sanded off as much of the gray as I could and washed the dust off.
I chose 2 colors I thought would be less
contrasting and would go better in this spot.

I mixed up some homemade chalk paint and started over.


I knew wax would not be a good choice here,
so I sealed the whole thing with a couple coats of poly-acrylic.
I'll probably do at least one more.


And then there's this little bit of reality:
I almost didn't write this post at all.


A couple of days ago, I noticed a spot
on one corner of one of the tiles.
Some of the paint had chipped off.
{insert some cursing and grumbling here}

Upon inspection, I don't think I got that section sanded
and/or the paint dust wiped off before the next paint went on.


It's a small enough spot that I can fix it easily,
and I don't see any other signs that it will continue to happen.
So that's good.

Cuz I was totally ready for this to be done.
:)


So here's the down and dirty:
Not everything in the DIY world turns out the way
you like it and you have to go back to square one.

In my case, literally.


But I want you to know...
I am really pleased with the final product.
It add a little visual interest and lightens up the corner.
{Bonus...my husband really likes it, too!}

What would I do differently?
On this non-porous surface I would consider using
primer even though you normally don't have to with chalk paint.
I might have done a sample with sheets of colored paper to
simulate the checkerboard before I got out the paint brushes.

Why am I telling you this?
Because in my experience, if someone else can go
through the headache first and tell me about it,
I might not have to do it the hard way and find out myself. :)

So, what do you think?
And...should I paint the strip of wood
between the door and the floor?
If so, what color?  I can't match the walls...possibly the door.

Okay...I'll try not to stay away so long next time.
As a matter of fact...you'll want to come by in a few days!
I'm helping out a bloggy friend with her first giveaway!
Woot woot!!!

Stay sassy!



 Partying here:


Due to the ridiculous amount of spam this post receives...
I am disabling comments on it.
If you have a valid question, please feel free to send me an email.
Thanks,
Kelly