The Hazel Bloom

DIY Wedding Favor Sneak Peek

I'm all about the Do-It-Yourself for our upcoming wedding. And heck yes, I'm planning to share and share and share all our fun DIY wedding projects after the big day ... but (except for today) not until after. (And afterwards is soon! This thing came faaast.)

We finished one of our wedding favors this weekend and I am amped about how these things turned out. Have you heard of Swedish Ivy? It's this crazy, cute, hard-to-kill indoor plant that is so easy to take cuttings from. In fact, the original plant started with a cutting that was sent to a friend, who then gave a cutting to me, and eventually I gave cuttings to my mom and sister, who both have lush Swedish Ivy plants as a result. When I decided I wanted to share cuttings with others as a wedding favor, my mom and sister started several, as did I - and we've ended up with a bunch of little Swedish Ivy plants to share with our wedding guests.

 
Yup, those are cans. Covered in scrapbook paper, tied with a tag I printed out at home. 

Specific instructions will be posted in a series after we tie the knot in a few weeks.

(Holy crap! I'm tying the knot in a few weeks!)

Woodsy Moss Vases

I'm into moss right now. I know it's sort of a weird thing to be into, but as a Pacific Northwest native, I guess it does make sense. It practically grows on us in the winter.

Really, I'm into moss because of its woodsy and whimsical vibe, its wonderful texture, its beautiful shades of green. Plus, it's super easy to work with.

Take this vase, for instance. So easy to throw together, and so terrific looking. It'd be perfect DIY decor for our upcoming wedding, but I've gotta chill on the projects already!

 

It's a soup can!

I love this kind of stuff.

Here's how to make your own.

The cast of characters: A soup can, some sheet moss, and a glue gun.

Rip off some moss the approximate size of the can. Wrap it around and rip it a little to fit.

Glue the can, or the moss (careful not to burn your fingers!) and just stick the moss on there. Seriously. It's that easy.

You'll probably have a few holes - just glue a little moss here and there to cover them up.

And then add flowers.

That's it, folks. Mossively cool, right?

Ha. Ha. Mossively.

Sorry.

(Have fun.)

Save Some Green with a Fresh Christmas Swag

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a wreath on the front door, am I right? Okay, maybe that's a little rigid, but wreaths are just so dang festive - so perfect for the holidays - and when they're fresh, they smell so nice and piney. I love when they're just simple - fresh and green - with one beautiful wide silk swath of ribbon suspending them in a window or on a door.

See, I have nothing against wreaths.

Except that I don't really know how to make them. I'm sure it's not too terribly difficult, but I've got too many other things going on this year - and it's just far, far down on the list.

And because I don't know how to make them, I need to buy one if I want one. But I have an extremely difficult time forking out $25 - $40 or more for one of these (admittedly beautiful) numbers. Because, you know, I could make it myself for less then five bucks, or for free. If I'd just sit down and learn how.

Vicious circle. (Pun intended.)

But Christmas just isn't Christmas without some kind of greenery on the front door, am I right? (I'm very good at this justification and changing-the-story-for-convenience's-sake thing.) 

Enter: The swag! Also known as the bough, we're talking about an equally festive gathering of evergreen branches tied together, turned upside down, and topped with a bow. Pretty!

 
I made this one with $4 worth of varied greenery from Wight's Nursery in Lynnwood, Washington (oh, what a wonderful place, especially at Christmastime).


 
Better yet, I could have raided a few trees around here (I live in Seattle after all) for a few branches, but I was okay with forking out a couple of bucks instead. 

I also supplemented with a branch recovered from this year's Christmas tree (you know how you've got to cut off a few of those bottom branches? Ta-da! Instant swag!) I added a bow and a sparkly ornament and ended up with a festive door decoration that I love just as much, if not more, than any ol' wreath.

 
I made this thing within about two minutes in the freezing cold out on the front porch, so I'm afraid I don't have photos this time around. But I do have instructions. So, so easy.

How to Make a Fresh Christmas Swag

Cast of Characters:

• 4 - 5 evergreen tree branches (a variety is best)
• Floral wire (or, when you're in a pinch, black wire ties or green twisty ties can work)
• Ribbon for a bow
• Optional ornament

Instructions:

1. Start with a nice flat branch that is about the size you want your overall swag to be.
2. Add more branches atop the first, layering different varieties and sizes for interest, and shifting them as necessary for at least a bit of symmetry.
3. Attach the branches together at the base - just slip the wire or tie around each branch at least once, and fasten tightly at the back. Include a loop for hanging. In the photo below, look very closely under the bow, and you may see the black wire tie. I hope.
   
   
   
4. If you're hanging an ornament in the middle, either attach with wire so it's hanging at the level you want, or just hang from one of the branch ends.
5. Tie a bow - a simple one or a loopy one, whatever you prefer - and attach the bow with more floral wire.
6. And hang!

Serious swag for less green. Gotta love it.

Unrelated: I love this snowman ornament. Not only is he adorable with wide-set eyes and his little smile, but he's sparkly. He makes me smile. I hope he makes you smile, too.

Oops, I Used Cupcake Liners on String Lights Again

I bought these at Macy's. I had to. They're darling.

Polka dots and gingerbread men! You can't tell here, but there are green ones and red ones. 

So then I had to, I just had to, make little lampshades out of 'em. You may recall when I did this for Halloween. Well, I pulled the liner shades off after Halloween, but the lights stayed up. Who can take down twinkly lights unless it's January?!

So I poked holes in the middle of the liners and slipped them over each bulb.

My niece helped. She's adorable. And a little goofy. I can appreciate that in a person, and not just because I'm 100x more goofy.

 

Okay, fine, maybe that's exactly why.
 

Thanks, Martha Stewart and company, for coming up with these cute cupcake liners! And thanks, whatever magazine it is I got this idea from that I cannot remember for the life of me!

Super Awesome Ikea Chalkboard

Originally this was titled simply "Ikea Chalkboard" but that was just so boring. And the truth is, I do think it's super awesome. Super totally awesome. So I thought I'd share.

A chalkboard around the house, and especially in the kitchen, is hardly a novel idea. But me, I was a chalkboard virgin. So I'm completely thrilled to have one now. I can jot mushy love notes, must-get grocery items, and menus for dinner parties. And apparently my guy's buddy Todd will be drawing dirty pictures on it for our enjoyment. That should be interesting.

Here's a glimpse of the super awesome Ikea chalkboard (along with our Sunday-after-Thanksgiving menu) before I digress for a bit.

So, an aside for a moment. About Ikea. My first few times at Ikea probably 15 years ago, I was giddy. I was bright-eyed and bought lots of stuff. For instance, I bought an office chair. I tried to put it together by myself. The hydraulic thingy flew out of the bottom after I thought I was done, and I had no idea how to fix it. It was trashed. Some of the other furniture I got there eventually fell apart. I was no longer giddy. I was over Ikea.

(Well, except for their cheese grater. Their cheese grater is the best ever. I do still have my cheese grater from those first visits, and it's still awesome.)

But I've gotta say that today, I'm not over Ikea anymore. In fact, I'm totally back under Ikea. Yes, I do steer away from certain furniture items that I know likely won't stand the test of time. But their Expedit line of shelves? Come to mama. In the last month, we've picked up three. Okay, so the second one was the wrong size but it was so huge that we really couldn't get it back down the stairs to take it back, so it went into the spare bedroom. And the third one - a smaller size of 60x60 - was meant to replace the second one in the craft office. (The first is a black-brown 3' x 6' unit acting as a buffet in our dining room. And it's perfect!) And I love some of their picture frames. Super classy. And the fabric they now carry? To die for. I picked up some Fredrika in the orange and red and recovered the stools with it.

So anyway. Another cool thing Ikea has is the Luns chalkboard. Here's a picture from the Ikea website.

We painted ours red (an idea stolen from the most awesome Ikea kitchen I've ever seen in one of the showroom areas) and left the hooks off.

And I guess that was a lot of writing just to tell you, I love my super awesome Ikea chalkboard. It's not cool or different enough to be an Ikea hack or anything, but I just thought I'd share.

Here it is again.

 

Love it!

Thrift Store Finds for November

It was a busy, busy month, but I ended up finding a little time to poke around a few thrift stores. The November verdict: Furniture was a big thumbs down, vintage glassware thumbs up.

I've already featured a few things in earlier stories, like the...

Formerly White Candlesticks

I painted them red. I absolutely love them.

Fireplace Tool Holder

I scored this for $1.29 and turned it into a giftbag holder. 

Here's some of the glassware. I also came thisclose to buying a stunning carnival glass apothecary jar for $15, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not - but I so didn't need it. It was gorgeous though. Okay, now I'm just kind of irritated I didn't pick it up. I'd better move on before I get downright grumpy about thew whole matter. 

Lidless Jadeite Sugar Bowls

These were $2.99 each at a Goodwill in Renton, Washington. I actually wasn't sure what they were supposed to be at first - other than jadeite. I love jadeite. I did some googling when I got home and found they were sugar bowls - sans lids. I'll use them as vases or matching pencil and pen holders. Or something else.

Hobnail Goblets

I don't think these are vintage, but I love their look nonetheless. $1.49 for the pair.

Ironstone Dishes

Yet another type of vintage pottery or glassware I'm gaga for - ironstone. These dishes - four dinner plates, two salad plates, two dessert plates, and four bowls - were $10 for all.

I totally didn't need them. 

But look at the pretty pattern!

I had to.

Sloppily Painted Yet I Love It Anyway Pitcher

This little pitcher is definitely an antique - but I know nothing else about it other than it was painted kind of sloppily. Some things just grab me anyway though. It was only a buck.

Oh, and check this next one out. I got it on shopgoodwill.com, which is completely addicting, I must say. 

Still Life

I had several moments of weakness and bid on some art items on shopgoodwill.com. I love this one, flaws and all, but unfortunately it's not quite fitting into our newly redesigned dining room, plus I'll need to get it framed, so I have no idea what we'll do with it. It was about $20 with shipping. Not too bad!

Check out the optical illusion above the two oranges. Is it a bowl? Is it a fish? It was hard to tell in a picture. In person, it's definitely a bowl and not a dead trout. *Whew*.

 

That's pretty much it for November! We'll see if December turns anything up... if I have any time!

Fireplace Tool Stand Made Gift Bag Holder

Have I mentioned how much I love taking someone else's castoff and reimagining it in a completely new way? It's a fun way for anyone to tap into their creative sides, and also do something cool on the cheap. Plus it's all in vogue right now and stuff (and hopefully forever) - reduce, reuse, recycle, revamp, really rad and stuff!

Recently I turned a fireplace tool stand into a gift bag holder. It works perfectly!

Today's episode of Trash to Triumph is brought to you (not really, they don't know I'm pimping them) by Goodwill, my favorite set of thrift stores in the Seattle area - they're relatively clean, packed to the gills with wonderful stuff, and reasonably priced. In this case, the fireplace tool stand I repurposed was reduced from its whopping (ha) $2.99 price tag to only $1.29 during one of their tag sales - all red tags were $1.29. It was already in my cart, so, double score!

The fireplace tool holder was simply a heavy wrought iron base with a pole and four hooks on top. No fireplace tools in sight. Didn't need 'em anyway. (Please ignore the shadows in the photo. I was having a bad camera day.)

At first, I was thinking that, spiffed up with a coat of bright spray paint, it may make an excellent holder for some of my long necklaces. But after further consideration, I realized it would work even better up on the shelf in the Craft Office, butlering some gift bags. It's a perfect way to not only keep gift bags from getting crumpled stashed away somewhere, but also to help add more fun color to the space - there are so many cute gift bags out there. (See it there off to the right?)

I just hang the large ones on the front and back, and the small and skinny ones on the sides. 

I may paint it someday, but it works just fine in plain ol' black, as far as I'm concerned.

Thrift Store Candlesticks Made Happier

Hold up! Did you enter the $50 Sur La Table gift card giveaway? It ends tonight! Yes? Okay, great. I now return you to your regularly scheduled The Hazel Bloom.

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This month's thrift store travels have not only been few and far between, but a little lean. I've been searching for very specific stuff, because my current obsession is the dining room. We need curtains for the bay windows. We need special bay window curtain rods. We need to paint. I need to recover the dining room chairs. We need a nice big mirror. And I need... I need... a pair of cheery, chunky red candlesticks, or my dining room - heck, my life - wouldn't be complete.

Thank goodness for Value Village and red spray paint. I can't be going about life being all incomplete and stuff.

Last Sunday, I found these at said Village (pronounced "Vill-ajjj" of course). 

They're all find and dandy, but they lack oomph. They lack pizazz. They lack, you know, red.

So I painted them. And now they're cheery!

 
I totally did that makeover thing, didn't I? Where the photographer in the "before" picture tells the gal getting the makeover to take off all her makeup and look sad for the camera. And then she gets her hair cut and colored, removes the glasses, and has her makeup done, and smiles huge for the "after" shot.

I should have just made the before picture black and white while I was at it. Wah waaah.

Well, anyway. Cute, life-completing candlesticks: $13 for sticks and one can of spray paint.

It just goes to show that anything can be a blank canvas. Keep your eyes peeled for the right shape in the wrong color, and then make it perfect for you.

(Even if you have to paint at night, when it's going to start raining any second, because you have next to no patience.)

(Totally worth it!)

Thrift Store Finds for October

Thrift stores rock. Yes, they're usually pretty filthy. And yes, they smell terrible, absolutely. But I so totally don't care. I'm there to treasure hunt.

I wasn't able to make it too many in October, but here are my favorite finds from the couple of visits I did make.

Fantastic 70's clock

This thing is huge, and hugely awesome. I want to put a different clock in there, or a mirror, or something else, and spray paint the whole thing green. Or red. But probably green. $5!

 

Vaseline glass plates

Awesome in all their chartreuse lime green-ness, I wasn't completely sure these were truly vaseline glass, but a test under a black light was proof positive (they glow bright bright green if they're authentic, thanks to containing 2% uranium). I got a set of six for $10, and I have no idea where we will keep them or what we will use them for (we have plenty of our awesome new Fiestaware). I have a serious weakness for vintage glassware. Serious.

Little birdie egg cups

How cute are these? I'm thinking next Easter, I'll grow some grass out of some half eggshells, right in their heads. Goofy-haired birdie egg cups!

Weird liqueur bottle or vase that says "COD LIVER LIQUEUR." Umm, gross.

I got home and googled "Cod Liver Liqueur" and got no results. Now there will be one.

Regardless, it makes a cute vase in our beach-themed guest bedroom. The thing was like 50 cents.

Very tall cabinet 

Not only was this wonderful, solid piece of furniture only $20, it is a perfect excuse to hit Anthropologie for knobs! We'll fix this up and it'll probably live in the hallway. Not sure whether to repaint it white, just go with it and distress it further, or go with some other wacky color.

 

Little table

I love the brass (I guess that's brass) detailing around the edge. This guy is only probably two and a half feet tall, if that. A little clean-up and paint and something new with the top, and we've got a great little table for only $5.

Milk Glass Cups

I love the semi-opaque white of milk glass. These matching cups will work equally well as votive candle holders or little vases, and were only a buck each!

At least three future projects in this bunch - can't wait!

Vintage Postcards: Part 2

(Part 2, you say? Yup! Here's Part 1.)

It's a slight crime that I don't remember where I got these, or how long ago it was, or where they've been all this time. But when was poking around the garage and found these in a box full of all kinds of other miscellany, I carried them inside like a newborn baby and carefully spread them across the dining room table.

Heaven!

How can I not remember?

I mean, I've not lost it entirely – they do look familiar. And I love them now as much as I must have loved them then. If anything, my affinity for vintage postcards has only grown over the years. And I've always had a weakness for California and beaches and especially California beaches. 

Most of them are blank, but one with a drawing of Carmel Beach on the front has a note that I love.

It starts:

"We met like ships that pass in the night, and so very often I think of you as I bask in the sunshine on this beautiful Peninsula."

Sigh.

I need to put these somewhere (safe!) where I will always know I have them.

Or maybe put them far, far away again (safe!) – so that I can rediscover them all over again.