pleasure in simple things

repurposed brown bags

April 16, 2013

April 22nd is Earth Day…in the spirit of the day, I am repurposing the brown bags I have accumulated from my Terrain purchases to use them in some fun and beautiful ways. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a Terrain near you, any brown bag will do! The Terrain bags have one up on the traditional brown bag since they are embellished with some beautiful floral designs. You may have other stores you frequent that use brown bags with some type of design that would make your creations more interesting…Trader Joe’s, as an example.

Once I got started with this, I realized I could create a number of posts…I had so many ideas! But, I limited my creations to seven. Here is the bag I started with:

This first item I made is a place card. I used a piece of cardboard from the bottom of the bag and glued some of the bag onto the front and back. Then, I rounded the corners and stamped a name onto the front of the card. Anchoring it into a piece of driftwood gave it the perfect finishing touch!

Wrapping paper is an obvious use for the bags and here I used a bag as wrapping… in combination with some pretty forest green ribbon and a natural twig pencil (both from Terrain):

Cutting a bag into strips and weaving the strips together suggests a wealth of possible items…here, I created a basket with some woven strips. I also used the handle of the Terrain bag as an accent on the edges and shredded (in my home shredder) some of the tissue to create the filling. I was even able to utilize a piece of Terrain ribbon that was used on one of the bags I received from the store.

For the next use, I created a pretty utensil holder using a bag, a bag handle, and a paper punch:

If you read my Valentine post, you know I made Valentine treat containers…I love to make treat containers for any occasion. Here, I printed this beautiful vintage rabbit image I found on The Graphics Fairy onto the bag…I cut a piece of the bag and fed it through my home printer. Then, I used my sewing machine to create a beautiful treat container. This one contains jelly beans…the container needs to be ripped open to discover the contents! Fun, right?

Here is another Terrain bag…notice the green stitching on the bottom of the bag and the cut out handle…

I was able to utilize the stitching and the flower description on the back of the bag in creating a couple different variations of a bookmark. The one with the stitching also utilized the handle from another bag:

I embraced the style of bag for the dry erase board I created. I simply framed the bag. I love how the opening for the handle serves as a place to write ‘notes.’

So, these are some of my creations made from repurposed brown bags…a great way to serve the environment. I hope you will be inspired to create some repurposed projects of your own :)

Thanks for visiting!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

I am sharing at Little Red House, Pinch of Joy, Craftberry Bush, Common Ground, The Shabby Nest, and Coastal Charm.

12 comments

transforming terracotta pots

April 12, 2013

We won’t be going very far for Friday field trip today…just outdoors! The weather this week in Connecticut has been amazing, and any free time I had this week was spent on planting preparations… It didn’t help that I had a garden club meeting this week…during the lecture portion of our meeting, I was furiously writing notes of all the things I ~~want~~ need for my garden. My thoughts have been consumed with plants!

Planting isn’t done around ‘these parts’ until Mother’s Day (my traditional planting day), but that hasn’t stopped me from planning and dreaming. It is going to be a particularly tough year to make the yard look nice since we had a couple really bad storms this year that destroyed much of the garden – particularly large shrubs and trees.

The beautiful results of my terracotta pot transformation using house paint and gel stain.

Because of this, there is so much more I ~~want~~ need than my budget will allow. One thing I was determined to replace this year was the ugly terracotta pots that we use to plant some of the herbs. I say ‘ugly’ because I really dislike that new terracotta orange (you know how I feel about orange) look. For me, they are an eyesore. I thought they may ‘accidently’ break in the garage before planting season this year, but I want to use my garden budget to buy more living things, not to replace pots.

So, I decided to see what I could do to transform the terracotta pots I already have into something I could enjoy looking at! I found it was a really easy fix and I wanted to share the process with you in case there are others out there that are cringing over the look of their terracotta!

Certainly there are plenty of methods to ‘weather’ terracotta or to create moss, etc. I did not do that. I went on a ‘hunt’ around the house to find things I could use for the transformation without making a purchase.

And, I found I needed very little. Some leftover house paint, stain, and a rag did the trick!

First, I simply painted the (bright terracotta) pot with some house paint (it happened to be Benjamin Moore Kingsport Gray). This color will coordinate nicely with the exterior of my house which is sided in cedar and stained with ‘driftwood’ (of course my house is painted a color with a ‘beachy’ name…what did you expect lol).

After that dried (I left it overnight), I used some gel stain (Minwax in Hickory that I had left in the basement) on a rag to give some dimension to the look. I rubbed some on, and using the rag, rubbed it off…pretty easy, right? My pot had a design on it and I made sure to get a lot of stain on the design part so that I could have it settle into the crevices. Although my pot had a bright, new look, it was a few years old which made it even better for this process since any cracks or scratches looked great when the stain settled in. You can do this same process repeatedly if you want more color or depth. After I was done, I dabbed a little of the paint onto the highest part of the design…just as a highlight.

My first purchase of the season…some herbs from Gilbertie’s.

What an easy way to give terracotta pots a little more interest without making any purchases! If you don’t have these items in your house, you can do a simple whitewash. Everyone has some white paint left somewhere…just thin it down a little bit and paint it over your pot to get rid of the new orange look. These pots may be the least expensive, but they don’t have to look that way! You can easily transform them with some leftover paint and/or stain. Have fun with it! I can’t wait to add some plants to my new creation :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Crafts a la Mode, Craftionary, and The Well Crafted Home.

1 comment

zip code catch-all tray

April 9, 2013

I have been wanting to make something using a zip code for quite some time. I don’t think 90210 is the only zip code worth embracing…the zip code from wherever you call home is the perfect one to display! Or, a place you dream about visiting (should I look up the zips from the locales with the best beaches?…) Anyway, this time I am using the zip code from my daughter’s home away from home…aka school.

It is an easy DIY project…I will guide you through the steps…

If you follow my procedure, you will need the following items:

a clear glass plate (I purchased mine at Target)
Con-Tact adhesive paper in clear
Krylon looking glass spray paint
a clear coat of some type (I used a spray)
a clean spray bottle
a computer printer

The first thing I did was to figure out how I would get the zip code onto the glass. I decided to print it onto clear Con-Tact adhesive paper so that I could easily adhere it to the glass. I picked out a font called Stohr Numbers on www.dafont.com. Once you have the image you want to use, you will need to print it out in reverse image…to do this, either indicate the proper setting on the print settings of your printer or, you can use a graphics software. You need to do this so that the sticky part of the Con-Tact paper is on the front of the numbers because you will be adhering it to the underside of the glass.

To accomplish this, I used clear Con-Tact paper (I love this product – I use it for so many things!). I simply cut a piece of the Con-Tact adhesive paper and hand-fed it through my computer printer. I used a scissors to trim closely around the numbers. You can cut out the numbers individually, but I chose not to because I wanted to keep the spacing between the numbers exact.

I peeled off the backing of the Con-Tact paper and positioned the numbers where I wanted them, affixing them to the underside of the glass by rubbing firmly. I scratched up the letters a little bit…just so they looked a little distressed.

Now, I just needed to create the mercury glass effect. You have probably seen items created with the Krylon looking glass spray paint – it seems to be one of the hot craft items right now…with good reason! It is so cool! It creates a mirror effect on glass. This is created by spraying five thin coats of spray on the underside of the glass.

But, I did not just want a mirror effect…I wanted a mercury glass look…that is where the spray bottle comes in.

Put a little bit of clean tap water into the spray bottle and adjust the nozzle to a fine mist. Then, read the instructions on the Krylon paint.

Before you start your spray painting, spray a fine mist of water on the underside of the piece. Immediately spray your first coat of looking glass spray paint, following the directions on the can. I sprayed a fine mist of water onto the paint after each coat for the first three coats. After three coats were completed, I blotted (not rubbed) the back of the piece to absorb the water so that the mottling would receive two fine coats of the paint. I guess everyone develops their own technique after trying this product, but I like the depth created by this method.

After the paint was dry, I sprayed a clear coat on the underside of the piece to protect the paint from scratching.

That was it! I finally got my zip code tray and I think it is a perfect place to drop off car keys!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY for a zip code mercury glass tray…what zip code will you choose to display?

Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie

I am sharing at Coastal Charm, The Shabby Nest, Craftberry Bush, A Pinch of Joy, Craftionary, and Common Ground.

6 comments

coastal nail colors

April 5, 2013

This is an unusual Friday field trip. It is a trip to the beach…we all need that right about now, don’t you think? I know, a Friday field trip to the beach is not that unusual…especially for me. But, the reason for the trip to the beach is a little unusual…the reason is to create a nail polish collection!

I have always wanted to create a nail polish collection and I have been inspired to do so from so many sources…I could create an entire collection just from the colors of my sea glass or, an entire collection of neutrals just from the white flowers in my garden.! And, there definitely is plenty of color inspiration at the beach…many more colors than I wanted for just one collection. I decided the collection would be six shades…the top six…and these shades would be the ones I most wanted to wear. A versatile collection and, a realistic one. Cutting it down to six was not easy! This meant I had to eliminate watermelon slushie, beach donuts, gull, lavender sea glass, and ragosa – to name a few.

I think a beach collection has to contain some blue…there is so much blue at the beach. Rather than go with the obvious…water…I decided to get inspired by the sky.

The beauty of the sky at the beach is that it is always changing. Sometimes, when the weather is the most severe, the sky is the most beautiful. A clear sunny day may be what a beach lover craves, but it certainly is not the most beautiful sky at the shore. This photo illustrates this point perfectly… a clear, sunny day would not be as beautiful as the sky I captured in this photo on a very cloudy day. Because of this, the blue shade inspired from the sky is named cloud.

Neutral colors are definitely my favorites and there are plenty to choose from at the beach. Just as beautiful as a shell or a piece of sea glass, are the many stones at the beach. They are sometimes speckled or striped…some are the most beautiful when wet with salt water. The color inspired by one of these beauties is called beach stone.

Old whitewashed fences and posts are everywhere at the beach. The old ones have so much more charm than anything new. The age of the shore is part of the beauty contained in the wood. This is the inspiration for the third color called old fence.

Not all the color inspirations at the beach are natural objects…a beach umbrella, a horse on the carousel, or a striped beach towel can all prove to be color inspirations. Here, I am inspired by the color of my sunglass lenses and I am naming this color reflection.

An obvious choice for color inspiration is a shell. The subtleties of color on some of the shells (both interiors and exteriors) on the beach are just so beautiful. Here it is the blush of mauve. I’ve named the color shell.

For the last color, it really needed to be a gray tone to round out the collection. And gray is an easy color to come by at the beach. For this shade, I was inspired by the wet footprints on the sun-bleached wooden path and named it footprint. That makes six…

I present to you, the entire CONNECTICUT COAST NAIL COLOR COLLECTION 2013:

What do you think? I would wear all of them!

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to the beach to create a fantasy nail polish collection.

Dreaming of warm days and salty breezes :)

Thanks so much for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

I am sharing at Boogieboard Cottage, A Pinch of Joy, and Little Red House.

4 comments

lemon floral place setting

April 2, 2013

For a great pop of spring color at a place setting, arrange some flowers in a fresh lemon. Since you only need a few flowers and some lemons to create these cheery floral arrangements, they are an economical way to add some pretty freshness to a spring table.

You will need half of a large lemon for each place set at your table, in addition to some fresh flowers and some floral oasis. As you can see, I am reusing an old piece of oasis. After slicing a large lemon in half, cut and remove the insides of each half, keeping the rind intact. (Don’t waste the insides…I used mine to make Arnold Palmers.) Cut a piece of floral oasis to fit snugly in each lemon half. Saturate the oasis so that it is wet but not dripping.

Arrange a few flowers in the color(s) of your choice – purchased or from your garden – in the foam. You will only need a few for each half. I have also added a little Spanish moss to mine.

The perfect little arrangement to adorn a place setting :)

Hope you enjoyed today’s easy diy fresh lemon floral place setting arrangements. A fast, easy, and inexpensive way to add some bright freshness to your spring table.

Thanks so much for visiting. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing this post at Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Craftionary, and Craftberry Bush.

no comments

monthly book giveaway for april

April 1, 2013

the storyteller ~ jodi picoult

Hi everyone…how was your weekend? It’s the first of the month, so I need to announce the monthly book giveaway winner and next month’s giveaway selection.

Congratulations to Theresa N. from SC! She is the lucky winner of the March book giveaway – a signed copy of the New York Times bestseller, Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee by Hoda Kotb. You can read more about the book and see photos of Hoda by clicking here. I know you will enjoy the book Theresa! Happy reading!

For April, I have a very exciting selection! I have not yet actually had the chance to read the book myself…it has not been out very long. I know there are many Jodi Picoult fans out there who would love to win her newest release, The Storyteller! This book has been signed by Ms. Picoult at a recent appearance in Philadelphia. I have received offers to buy this book, but it is not for sale!

It is this month’s book giveaway…and, no purchase is involved! Just ‘like’ the pleasure in simple things Facebook page or leave a comment on the blog and you are automatically entered in the random monthly drawing. Good luck!

I hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Easter weekend :)

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

no comments

baby chicks

March 29, 2013

In the spirit of Easter, I thought Friday field trip today would be a visit with some baby chicks :)

These little ones are only one week old…

Sure to put a smile on anyone’s face :)

They are just so adorable!

A perfect symbol for Easter…one of new life.

Just remember, as you get involved with all your holiday preparations…

to take pleasure in simple things…

and to hold your loved ones close.

Easter is a time to celebrate with those you hold dear.

Wishing you and those you love, a very blessed Easter!

Thanks for sharing. Love, Jackie

Sharing at Crafts a la Mode.

5 comments

…a few more eggs

March 26, 2013

I know I already posted my favorite ways to decorate Easter eggs (including coastal style). But, I thought you might like to see the results of some of the natural Easter eggs I dyed. My grandmother always used onion skins and beets so I had to dye some in ‘old school’ fashion. I also dyed some using my gift of saffron I told you about in this post in addition to dyeing some with red cabbage.

If you don’t remove the insides of your eggs before dyeing, it is hard to part with the ones you really love..at least it always is for me!

I make egg salad from the insides of the eggs and recycle the outsides by using them in terrariums or houseplants…or to create mosiacs. You don’t throw out the colored egg shells, do you? When I was a kid I saved all the colored shells…I just couldn’t part with them. Over time, I discovered ways to use them…

My favorite was to create mosaics. You can do this too….or, as a project for the kids. I suggest giving your children the task of separating the shells by color (a good way to keep them occupied for a while!) and then use the assorted shells to create designs by glueing them onto notecards. A great gift to give grandma for Mother’s Day!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some more of my decorated Easter eggs. This batch used only natural dyes from plants.

You still have time to get some eggs dyed before the weekend! If you don’t want to use natural dyes, you can mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 tsp. white vinegar, and food coloring in a coffee cup and use that to dye your eggs…no need to buy a kit. I wish I knew this when I was a kid…we would split up the color tablets from the egg decorating kit between the four siblings and there was always a fight over a color everyone wanted!

Oh, and remember to save the shells so you can do some experimenting…

Have a blessed Holy Week my friends…remember to take pleasure in simple things :)

Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie

P.S. The natural dyes I used in the photos in this post: 1.saffron, 2.red cabbage, 3.onion skins, 4.saffron, 5.saffron & beets, 6.beets, 7.red cabbage, 8.saffron & beets

I am sharing at Coastal Charm.

4 comments

terrarium love

March 22, 2013

Today, Friday field trip is a visit to my friend’s house. Her name is Phyllis, and we are getting together for what she affectionately refers to as “a playdate.” On this occasion, we are making terrariums. We had recently picked up some terrarium plants and supplies at Terrain and we were very anxious to start creating! I am sure we will have future field trips to Phyllis’s home since it is amazing! I have so much inspiration I could share with you…her decor, her gardens, her handcrafted jewelry…well, everything! But, for today, I will limit my sharing to our terrarium creations.

When I got to Phyllis’s house we started right in…covering her large kitchen island with newspaper and taking out all our various supplies. In addition, her entire dining room table was covered with assorted containers and possible decorative terrarium items. She showed me the terrarium she had already completed. Wow! It is so beautiful…a little watering can!…and a hanging plant! Isn’t it great?

Because Phyllis already knew all the terrarium basics, I didn’t have to worry about doing alot of research. She explained about the rocks for drainage on the bottom (I think I would have figured that out) and a layer of activated charcoal (I would not have figured that out) before the layer of soil. So, after a quick lesson on how to proceed, I needed to decide exactly what I wanted to put into the terrarium.

I figured I had two ways to go. I could do an Easter/spring theme and use eggs and nests OR I could do my standard (coastal/beach) theme. I decided to go with a ‘beachy’ theme and got some possible items assembled. The interesting thing about putting a terrarium together is that you don’t really need as many plants or decorative items as you may think. Less is really more. So, I decided my main decorative item would be a sand castle.

From there, I would use some rocks, shells, sea glass, and moss that reminded me of the beach. For the plant? Phyllis and I had both fell in love with a plant called Breynia Snow Bush that we found at Terrain and that would serve as the highlighted plant in my creation.

And…this is what I came up with…what do you think? I love it! Isn’t the little colored gravel so great? I think it is sold as fish tank decor. I had some old glass ‘bubbles’ that were used many years ago with floating candles that lent themselves perfectly to the ‘beachy’ terrarium.

Adorable, don’t you think?

You are probably wondering what Phyllis was working on…wait until you see! Phyllis and I had both been intrigued by the ‘pussy willow teepees’ we saw in some of the terrariums at Terrain…like the one on this bunny arrangement. So, Phyllis decided to create one in a pretty metal container she had on hand.

This beautiful arrangement is what she came up with! So gorgeous!

She created the “teepee” from stalks of pussy willow. She attached them on top by putting an elastic band around a piece of moss she harvested from her yard. So beautiful…and with the pussy willow and the addition of some real quail eggs from Terrain, the perfect Easter arrangement! You can see in this closeup that the elastic is not even visible once it is put into the moss.

Playdate successful!

Consider ‘shopping’ your basement and garage for possible terrarium containers and decorative items…Terrain has some really cool terrarium items if you want to purchase some or supplement what you can find around your house. Miniatures from train sets or Christmas villages can also be used. The sand castle I used was actually a repurposed photo holder – I just trimmed off the wire stand. Just remember to use soil appropriate to the plants you select.

I hope you enjoyed my Friday field trip to create terrariums. Special thanks to my partner in crime! I forgot to mention the homemade golden pea soup I had for lunch (so yummy!) or the eggplant and famous key lime pie (heaven!) from The Pantry in Fairfield…ahhh..the perks of the playdate! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie

I am sharing at Little Red House, Serenity Saturday, The Inspiration Gallery, Craftionary, Common Ground, Give Me the Goods Monday, and The Well Crafted Home.

16 comments

easter butter cookies

March 19, 2013

I always loved the butter cookies my friend Kim would bring to bridal showers…rich, buttery cookies that looked so sweet and tasted wonderful. They were small round sandwich style cookies, with a pastel tinted filling. At one point I finally asked her if I could have the recipe and I started calling them “Kim’s shower cookies” whenever I would make them.

For Easter, I decided to make “Kim’s shower cookies” but cut them in egg shapes rather than circles. I chose to tint the filling a lavender color.

Don’t they make a great “Kim’s Easter cookies?”

Easter Butter Cookies Recipe

Cookies

1 cup softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups flour

Filling

1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring

Combine the cookie ingredients and chill for 1 to 2 hours. Roll dough out to 1/8″ and use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies, putting on an ungreased baking sheet.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar and pierce each cookie 3 times with a fork. Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 7 to 9 minutes. Cool cookies.

Combine filling ingredients and mix well. Tint the filling to desired color with food coloring.

Assemble the cookies, sandwich style, spreading the filling on one cookie and placing a second cookie on top.

The number of cookies will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutter. I made two dozen completed cookies using a 2 1/2″ egg shaped cookie cutter.

These cookies can be made ahead and stored in your fridge to make your holiday a little less hectic :)