Halloween Decor: Potion Bottles

I pulled out the Halloween decor this week and added a few projects to my list. The first, was to make some mercury glass poison bottles.

I started with a few clear glass bottles and gave them several coats of Krylon Looking Glass paint. I used this tutorial of vinegar and water to distress the paint and give it that real mercury glass look. After it dried they got a clear coat to seal the paint, black painted corks, and vinyl decals cut from the silhouette.

 

 

Love the look of mercury glass, I'll have to paint a few more items for my regular decor!

Baby Carter!

Things have been quiet around here because the last month we've spent our time taking care of this guy and adjusting to our life as a family of three!

 

Carter Raymond Ortega was born August 10, 2012 at 2:56 a.m. after only 2.5 hours of labor we barely made it to the hospital!

He was 12 days early and weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long.

Needless to say we are completely in love! 

Projects are starting up, I'll get back to posting soon!

Stop, Look, & Link Party #3 and Features!

Hi! Welcome to our Linky Party - This party is hosted by Alexandra @ In Designer Jeans and Lauren @ All Things Homie. We are very excited to see all of your great projects and ideas! 

Once the party is done we will post the most viewed links and a few of our favorites so be sure to check back next week to see if you are featured.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO LINKED LAST WEEK! WE APPRECIATED IT AND LOVED LOOKING AT THE IDEAS, RECIPES, AND CRAFTING ADVENTURES!

Features from last weeks Stop, Link, & Look party:

Slouchy Autumn Beret from Hannicraft - this is perfect for the fall weather!

Fabric Covered BookShelf from Kayboo Creations - this is such a great transformation from a plain bookcase! 

Check out these super cute and easy Pom Cake Toppers from Here's to Handy Andy! Can't wait to give these a try. 

Lauren loved this cute and comfy V- Neck knitted Pullover from See Love Make:

Alexandra's pick was the Grandfather Clock painted in Mint Green from Crystelle Boutique! Such a fresh look on an antique piece -

Thank you again for everyone's support! <3

Now its party time!

The rules are simple, promise!

** Please follow both of your hosts! **
Link back in some way.. Grab a button on the side bar or a text link on your page

Link projects, crafts, recipes, fun stories, or anything created in some way by YOU
Please do not link up other parties, stores, or giveaways

It is not required but would be much appreciated to check out other links and share the blog love! <3

The party will start at 10am! 
Have fun!

Stop, Look, & Link Party #2 and Features!

Hello! Welcome to our Linky Party! This party is hosted by Alexandra @ In Designer Jeans and Lauren @ All Things Homie. We are very excited to see all of your great projects and ideas! 

Once the party is done we will post the most viewed links and a few of our favorites so be sure to check back to see if you are featured.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO LINKED LAST WEEK! WE APPRECIATE IT AND LOVED LOOKING AT THE IDEAS, RECIPES, & HAPPY DOGS!

Features from our first ever Stop, Link, & Look party.

Check out the DIY Photo Canvas from Teenah's Projects! Looks fun and easy! 

Making My Apt a Home revamped old furniture into a dog bed AND storage! Such a good idea!

Back to the Basics! Shared DIY tea gift ideas - Would make a great favor for a tea party!

Lauren's pick was the Anniversary Card Project from Heinz 57, using cards from your wedding to frame a picture is so special!

Alexandra loved the Sticky Bread recipe from Sew Fantastic  
 A sweet and Yummy breakfast!

Thank you again for everyone's support! <3

Now its party time!

The rules are simple, promise!

Please follow both of your hosts
Link back in some way.. Grab a button on the side bar or a text link on your page

Link projects, crafts, recipes, fun stories, or anything created in some way by YOU
Please do not link up other parties, stores, or giveaways

It is not required but would be much appreciated to check out other links and share the blog love! <3

The party will start at 10am! 
Have fun!

NEW! Stop, Look, & Link Party!

Hello! Welcome to our Linky Party! This party is hosted by Alexandra @ In Designer Jeans and Lauren @ All Things Homie and this is the first one EVER for us. 

We are very excited! Once the party is done we will post the most viewed links so be sure to check back to see if you are featured.

The rules are simple, promise!

Please follow your hosts
Link back in some way.. Grab a button on the side bar or a text link on your page

Link projects, crafts, recipes, fun stories, or anything created in some way by YOU
Please do not link up other parties, stores, or giveaways

It is not required but would be much appreciated to check out other links and share the blog love! <3

The party will start at 10am! 
Have fun!

Customized Ikea Cabinet

One of the last things I've been searching for is a small table to put next to our glider in Carter's nursery. I was hoping to find an old tool chest but nothing was quite narrow enough to fit in the space.

 I saw this guy in the Ikea catalog in white and was thrilled to find it in red in the store. Perfect color and just the right size.

Of course I couldn't leave it alone so I used my silhouette to add a few vinyl graphics. There are several Carter Chevrolet dealerships, including one in Calgary where I was born so I added that logo to the top and numbered the drawers.

We're hoping that between this and all the license plates around his room, Carter will learn his letters and numbers early on!

Such an easy project and it will be the perfect place to store his books and hold my water while I sit in that chair for countless hours...

We're ready for you any time now Carter! See his entire nursery here.



Wooden License Plate Valances

I debated about making traditional curtains for Carter's nursery, but decided rustic valances fit much better with the rest of his room and would allow us to incorporate a few more license plates.

This project was very simple and only required one 8' pine board. Each window is approximately 3' long so Eric built 2 simple wood valances.

We stained them to match the rest of the furniture in the nursery and used screws to attach 3 license plates to each panel.

We hung them above each window using two L brackets.

So simple, but love what they add to the room!

Go here to see the complete nursery tour.



Armoire to Dresser Transformation!

When we first started working on the nursery I posted about how Eric took this broken armoire

And turned it into this:

After Eric had it all reassembled it was ready for a new coat of red paint.

Then I added a coat of glaze to give it a vintage aged look.

It fits perfectly in the corner of his nursery and I love the extra storage!

One of my favorite additions is the new Corvette drawer pulls we bought from Hobby Lobby.

So glad I have such a handy husband, this is the perfect piece for Carter's Chevy nursery!

Carter's Vintage Chevy Nursery Reveal!

Over the weekend we were finally able to put the finishing touches on Carter's nursery. Of course we have a few more things we would like to do, but for the most part it is ready for him to arrive!

We went with a vintage Chevrolet theme, not your typical nursery decor, but it was so fun to do! A lot of it was DIY and I'll have a few more tutorials to post about soon.

Here is what the room looks like when you walk in the door:

And the opposite wall:

We have the glider I reupholstered and posted about here. With the beautiful quilt I received as a shower gift. My mom found the red ottoman which also serves as a great place to tuck away his books.

We found this 57 Chevy shelf at Hobby Lobby and it was the perfect place to display Carter's custom license plate (also a shower gift).

Above the closet we hung vintage Canadian and Mexican license plates I found on ebay to represent Carter's heritage.

Instead of curtains, Eric built wood valances so we could incorporate some California and Montana license plates.

I posted awhile ago about making the crib bedding here, here, and here. I couldn't find anything premade that went with our theme/my vision of the nursery so I found some fabric and made my own.

Before we knew if Baby O was a boy or girl we decided on names and I found this at an antique fair. Not only did it say Carter, but my mom is from Montana so I figured it was meant to be!

The other wall has a collection of Chevy items from Hobby Lobby.

I made a mobile to hang above the crib by spray painting a metal wreath form and hanging felt tools from Ikea from chain.

One of my favorite parts of his room is this old rusty tailgate we hung on the faux brick wall I posted about here. This was a craigslist find we anchored into the wall over his changing table. The little metal tools next to it are also from Hobby Lobby.

I've also posted about the broken armoire Eric upcycled into this fabulous tower of drawers here and how we painted it here. We added Corvette drawer pulls from Hobby Lobby.

I found some red metal bins at Target that I've used to organize the diapers on the changing table and the little red motor oil cup next to it holds his diaper cream and hand sanitizer.

Lastly, we found this amazingly soft navy rug at Homegoods, somebody has already staked his claim ; )

We are so thrilled with how it turned out, now we just have to wait on Carter to make his appearance!