little projects

I worked on a few small & easy projects recently. It was nice to have instant gratification projects while the floors are in progress. All of these were on the cheap too! All three together cost me less than $30.

1. dresser drawers

We got a new dresser from IKEA recently and we actually didn't mind the hardware that came with it. It kind of goes with our grey & white trend that is happening in the bedroom. I got an Anthropologie coupon for my birthday so I got some schmancy new hardware (just over $20)... but just for my half of the dresser. Now it is like a "his & hers" piece. I like that it looks like two different dressers in one.

2. peg legs

We have two IKEA chairs in the living room. I really like the chairs, but was never crazy about their peg legs. I am not a big fan of blond wood, so I had always planned on painting them at some point. Then I came across this post on Design*Sponge. So easy, and $0 since I found some silver spray paint in the shed. A quick little update to the chairs. They look so swank on the new wood floors.

3. succulents

I think I have a brown thumb. I am not a big fan of landscaping, and I've managed to kill all houseplants I have ever had... except for one! I have had this little cactus thing for almost 2 years now and he's still kickin'! So I got a few more tiny succulents (less than $3 each at Lowe's) and put them in various containers we already had. Aren't they cute?

More floor update pictures coming soon!

favors

Wedding DIY - favors

The container store had plenty of choices for boxes in several colors and patterns. However, they ran 50 cents to one dollar each. That can really add up when you are making over 100 of these things. So, I got the cheapies on sale at Michael's, with a coupon. They ended up costing me less than 10 cents each. I hole-punched some of them, and the others I glued on the punched-out pattern.

On the inside, we placed a paper muffin cup which held a chocolate truffle, and a custom designed magnet favor. David and I designed 3 different patterns for the magnets. We used some of the same symbols from our invitations (made by Tamara). We added a cute little C & D on the edge with our wedding date.

cake towers

Wedding DIY - cupcake towers

Yeah. This did not go quite as planned.

I wanted to make several cake stands since we ordered mini cupcakes for the wedding reception. I planned on these going with my "colors." Turns out I really didn't pick "colors" for my wedding.

I used a guide from the wedding craft book I got in the spring. (There are a lof of fun ideas in the book, and they all can be done in a non-wedding-y way). I had trouble covering the edges of the support pieces. It was looking a little too arts & craftsy, even for me.

Then, the cake table ordered by the caterers would only fit ONE big tower of a cake stand. So, my multiple cake stands would not fit.

The project was fun to play with, and now I have some fun ribbon with which to decorate holiday gifts. However, I have a surplus of cardboard things just taking up space in the craft room.

Since I did 6 weddings in 2011, I think I am going to give the wedding stuff a rest for now.