diy – Page 4 – emerald city diaries

a pinterest christmas: mason jar snowglobe forest.

welcome to the second week of a pinterest christmas! {see last week’s here & here} this snowglobe project is one that i have been wanting to do for the last few years & i am so thrilled with how it turned out {& how easy it is}!

{original pinterest link – mason jar snowglobe}

supplies:

jars – i used various sizes including mostly mason jars & baby food jars
trees with wooden bases* – i picked up an assortment of trees from Michael’s
craft snow – i picked up some at Michael’s
glue – i used a hot glue gun
cardboard or paper to cover your workspace

*you can add anything to your snowglobe so be creative! i loved the idea of a tree on top of a toy car {see here} & ordered this West Elm ornament.

first, be sure your jars are clean & dry. the mason jars i used were brand new, but i had to wash & dry the small baby food jars. {note: if you are like me & need baby food jars but don’t have kids, pick baby food that you can actually use – i chose applesauce – if you feel bad throwing the food away.}

then i set out each tree to match up with each jar. i chose to put the bigger trees in the bigger jars & the smaller trees in the smaller jars. i put a glob of hot glue on the bottom of a tree base & stuck it to the thin metal lid of the jar, right in the center. i would recommend gluing all of the trees to the lids at once to make the next step easier. with the car {after making sure the car would fit into the mouth of the jar} i globbed glue all over the bottom of the 4 “tires” & stuck the car to the side of the jar.

this next part is easy, but messy, so lay down your cardboard or paper over your workspace. fill each jar with the “snow.” i found that i didn’t need nearly as much as i thought, so i would start with just an inch, maybe two. once the snow is in the jar, put the lid {with the tree glued on} onto the top and then put on the ring & close the jar. once sealed, you can turn the jar over to see if there is enough snow. if not, then turn the jar back over, shake the snow off the lid, & add more as needed. i liked having the snow line be under the bottom of the tree or else it looked like the tree was swimming, but this is completely a personal preference. also, the snow that i used had big glitter chunks in it which is fun because those chunks stick to the inside of the jar & make it look like its a real snowglobe {but sans liquid}.

amanda convinced me that i could do an entire snowglobe forest & i love the grouping of all of the snowglobes – thanks amanda! i have them acting as a table centerpiece, but sort of love the idea of using lots of snowglobes together – a good alternative to a christmas town scene!

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?

a pinterest christmas: gold-tipped pinecone garland.

yep, this is the second project for week one of this year’s a pinterest christmas {see the first project here} – i am planning two projects per week so stay tuned for those.

today i wanted to share a fun new garland. it is definitely festive & has some sparkle {which i love!} but could be awesome to keep up year-round too!

{original pinterest link – pinecone garland}

supplies:

pinecones – i had some displayed in our living room plus my mom mailed over some from idaho – thanks!
craft paint – i used a metallic gold paint from Michael’s
glitter – {optional} i used a fine glitter by martha stewart from Michael’s
paintbrush
twine/string/ribbon – i used this twine with gold from Amazon
cardboard or a box – i recommend this to contain the glitter

this was a really simple project that i was able to complete during a crafternoon with Amanda. it was easy enough to paint the pinecones while chatting & catching up, so you could do it in front of the tv as well.

i used a small flat craft paintbrush with a small amount of gold paint to brush just the tips of the pinecone {note: amanda used a small foam craft paintbrush which worked well too}. i avoided painting the very top stem of the pinecone so that i had something to hold onto once i started painting. i started from the top of the pinecone & worked my way around the top, moving down once i had painted the tips in the top section.

if you are adding glitter, be sure to be working at a space that you don’t mind having residual glitter for a while. i used a shallow cardboard box {Amanda got it from Costco} so that i could contain most of the glitter.

i would recommend painting just two or three tips in a section near each other & then sprinkling glitter on while the paint is still damp. you don’t need a lot of paint to coat just the tips, so if you wait until all of the tips are painted, the glitter won’t stick to the section you painted first. i used a very fine glitter so the tips weren’t encrusted with glitter, but just enough stuck so that there was a shimmer.

once the pinecones are dry – i would wait at least half a day – you can string them. one of the tutorials i found on Pinterest {see here} had instructions on screwing eye hooks into the tops of each pinecone, which is definitely an option if you are up for it. i decided just to use the twine/string that i had to see if that would work. i enlisted aaron to help & he came up with a way to loop the string around the pinecone stem & another tip which worked out so well. so this is the trick: you take the string in both hands & make a loop; pull one piece of the string thru the first loop to create a second loop; place the first loop around the stem & the second loop around a tip right next to it; then gently pull the loops to close & repeat for each pinecone.

i added a garland of gold paper tassels that i had made for aaron’s birthday party {see here} though i think the pinecones are fun on their own, especially if you had a mantle.

also be sure to check out Amanda’s pinecone DIY over on her blog here!

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?

a pinterest christmas: envelope advent calendar.

welcome to a pinterest christmas 2013! for the past two years i have done this blog series of DIYs during the holiday season – the first season you can see here & the second season you can see here. there are a few other bloggers participating in the series whose blogs & posts are below.

i love the idea of advent calendars & it seems fitting to kick-off this year’s series with a calendar to count down the days of december. there are lots of ideas for advent calendars & i wanted to do them all {see my pins here}, but i decided i wanted to go with the minimalism look & to do festive daily activities {rather than toys, ornaments, etc.}.

{original pinterest link – advent calendar}

supplies:

24 envelopes – i made my own & created this template
printed paper – only if you make your own envelopes
gluestick or double-sided tape – to assemble envelopes & attach envelopes to board
foam-core board or cardboard
kraft paper – to cover the board
scissors and/or paper trimmer
activity cards – i made my own & created this template

i started by making envelopes. i picked up a package of christmas paper at jo-ann’s & made my envelope template based on the size of the paper. then i traced & cut out an envelope from each page, choosing which printed side i wanted for the outer envelope. {note: if you want some part of the printed envelope to show, it needs to be on the outside of one of the four envelope flaps as the flat side of the envelope (where you would usually write an address) will be glued or taped to a board – does that make sense?} then i assembled all of the envelopes by gluing a small strip of paper inside each envelope flap.

i arranged by envelopes on the foam-core board to determine how i wanted them to be laid out. i liked the more square shape & cut the board accordingly, leaving a ½ inch around the perimeter & a ½ inch between rows. then i cut & attached a piece of kraft paper to my board {as it was black & would have looked terrible with the envelopes}.

lastly, i printed out the activity cards – 24 in all – on white cardstock. i cut out each of the cards using the paper trimmer. {note: if you print out my version, trim all around the perimeter first & then trim vertically down to get two long columns or else you won’t have the cutting guides that i added.} then i just randomly placed one card into one envelope!

i chose activities for each day of the advent calendar & did so based on activities that i thought would be fun for aaron & me. i liked that i could change out some of the activities over the years that seemed more relevant {like once we have kids, etc.}. be sure to put in festive activities that your family likes to do!

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?

my weekend in pictures.

{traffic on friday night was nuts. the freeway was like a parking lot!}

{we played a tough shuffleboard game against new friends on friday night.}

{said good-bye to our good friend brian who is moving for work. we will miss you brian!}

{downtown belltown. every time I see the space needle, I have to take a picture of it.}

{worked on some crafty projects this weekend.}

{we saw the hunger games: catching fire on saturday. so, so good!}

{since we were at the seattle center to see the hunger games we got to see the needle. again.}

{waiting in line for the movie.}

{after filling up on popcorn at the movie, a light dinner was in order!}

{oregon lost to arizona? huge upset! a big deal for my huskies!}

{I finally got around to a much-needed mani & pedi.}

{we woke up to a beautiful day this morning. sadie was enjoying all of the glorious sun!}

{we saw a homeless dog on the way to the pet store this afternoon. so I bought him a treat. but then when we walked back past the corner where he was with his owner they were gone. sad. so then sadie got the treat. #spoileddog}

{ran to bell square in bellevue to pick up & return a few things. I usually park in 2A. this is the one bad thing about the holiday season…}

we had a great & productive weekend {at least it felt like I got a few to-dos off my list!}. this past week has really felt like winter since we are getting down below freezing at night, but we were spoiled with some sun & decent weather today! we are gearing up for a short week & a much-needed long weekend to rest up & recover from a crazy-busy schedule. how was your weekend?

{happy two years!}

happy birthday blog! it been two years & 284 posts here at emerald city diaries, can you believe it?

i want to thank everyone who has supported this blog the past two years thru following, reading, pinning, & commenting. it means the world that you care about our little part of the interwebs!

i thought it might be fun to share the top two blog posts from this past year, not surprising that they are both diys. {& i know, diys have been a bit absent from the blog recently. i am working on changing that in the very near future!}

the most popular blog post is the diy swaddler tutorial. i ‘made this for amanda’s baby shower. her daughter just turned one this summer – eep time flies! {sorry for the terrible picture. this was back when all of my tutorial photos were taken via iPhone.}

& the second most popular blog post is the kitchen backsplash update. {yep, i was surprised too!}

also, a happy birthday shout-out to my big brother jason {who happens to share a birthday with the blog}!

thanks for celebrating emerald city diaries with us! its been an awesome two years!

diy baby shower gift: t-shirt hats.

when i found out my good friend kaleigh was pregnant – yay baby boone! – i knew i would make at least part of the baby shower gift like i did for amanda {swaddler} & kendra {appliqued onesies}. as much fun as the swaddler & onesies were, i also wanted to try something different.

i found a tutorial for these sweet baby hats on none other than pinterest & i knew i had found the perfect diy gift!

{original pinterest link: a trio of baby hats}

supplies:

fabric – i used three toddler tank tops from the Gap that i found on sale
thread
pattern
sewing machine

i don’t have step-by-step pictures, but it is really unnecessary because this is a simple project.

1. print out pattern and double-check the one-inch box is really one-inch. cut out patterns.

2. trace pattern onto fabric & cut.

3. pin pattern together.

4. sew.*

5. flip right-side out & tie a knot, if needed.

{adorable! they are so tiny though, it is hard to believe our heads were ever that small!}

*i had the worst time with my new sewing machine with this fabric – it wasn’t jersey, but t-shirt with a hint of stretch. i was trying to use my “serger” foot that would wrap the seam around the edge of the fabric, but i ended up using a simple, standard seam with my mom’s sewing machine.

i decided not to make the ear hat because i just adored the knotted hat so much that i needed to make two! we celebrated baby boone this weekend – aaron at the “dadachelor party” & me at the baby shower – in coeur d’ alene & had a wonderful time. congrats to kaleigh & nick!

do you make baby shower gifts or just buy off the registry?

west elm kitchen light pendants.

after i did the big kitchen update last spring, i wanted to live in the space & use it for a while before we did any other big updates. i have always disliked the lighting in the kitchen – track lights – and i had big plans for an update to them. luckily for us we were able to upgrade without bringing in an electrician – hooray!

i have been searching for light fixtures for months, & fell in love with these globe pendants some time ago. they are from, you guessed it, west elm! {this is my go-to place for anything home décor! the best i tell you!} while the junction boxes – is that what they are called – aren’t perfectly located {i would have preferred them closer together & centered over our kitchen island} these lights are far better than the old track lighting!

you can shop for your own here: west elm globe pendant.

{before}

{after}

we still need to patch up the holes from the track lights & find round, frosted bulbs {right now we have frosted LEDs that have a weird plastic top}, but overall we are very excited about these lights – such an improvement!

{in the bottom two pictures it looks like there are two bulbs in each pendant, but it is just a reflection off of the glass}

have you been changing out any light fixtures lately?

thirty before i am thirty: {ombre 4th of july cake}

number twenty-nine: bake a cake.

it is hard to believe but i made it to 28 without ever baking a cake. seriously. it is something that i have always wanted to do, but i just never found the time. when i was flipping through my new InStyle mag last month & saw a nine layer ombre cake in blue & red, i knew i had to make this cake! #gobigorgohome ideally i would have wanted to make the cake & frosting from scratch, but let’s be honest, the ombre colors & nine layers more than made up for that!

we were attending a fourth of july party at our friend jerry’s house which was lucky since this cake turned out enormous. seriously. it was 9 inches wide & eleven inches tall. such a beaut! i knew this would be a lot to take on being my first cake and everything, but it was fun & i had such a great support system thanks to aaron & local friends cheering me on!

{ingredient prep. see the full list & recipe below.}

{dying three sets of cakes.}

{baking, frosting, & stacking.}

{two other things: my sister taught me a trick years ago to use pieces of parchment paper underneath the first cake layer to keep the plate or cake stand clean – at the end you carefully pull the papers out. also, i didn’t cut any of the layers flat before stacking since they were all thin; as i built up the layers there was some curve on the tops of the top layers & i used a little extra frosting as glue.}

{that is my “hey i made a cake & i am super excited” face. & that is our wonderful friend jerry behind me – thanks for hosting a fab party jerry!}

ombre cake – recipe from InStyle magazine July 2013

makes one 9-inch cake {stands 11 inches tall}

ingredients:

3 boxes white cake mix
6 egg whites
4 1/2 cups Sprite
Blue gel food coloring {i used Americolor gel pastes from Amazon – royal blue}
Red gel food coloring {i used Americolor gel pastes from Amazon – super red}
5 12 oz. tubs of whipped vanilla frosting
cooking spray/butter
parchment paper
3 9-inch cake pans

one. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

two. mix one box of cake mix with 2 egg whites and 1 1/2 cups Sprite; divide evenly among 3 bowls.

three. create three shares of blue: add 2 drops of coloring to one bowl, four to the second, and 8 to the third.

four. coat three 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray {i rubbed butter on the edges of the pan instead}; line bottoms with parchment paper cut to size. pour each batter into its own pan.

five. bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. let layers cool; remove from pans. if needed, use a serrated knife to trim tops so they are level.

six. place darkest blue layer on a plate {or cake stand!}; cover with a thin layer of frosting. repeat with remaining layers, from darkest to lightest. chill cake in fridge. {definitely put the cake in the fridge every three layers, this helps tremendously with the cake stability!}

seven. repeat step two.

eight. add one drop of blue coloring to one bowl and one drop of red to another. do not tint the last bowl.

nine. repeat steps four and five.

ten. keep building cake with blue, then white, then red layers, frosting after each. chill cake in fridge.

eleven. repeat steps two to fie using red coloring instead of blue.

twelve. keep building cake with red layers, going from lightest to darkest, frosting after each

thirteen. coat outside of cake with thin layer of frosting. chill for 15 minutes.

fourteen. use remaining frosting to generously coat outside of cake. chill for at least one hour before cutting.

have you baked anything recently? anything ombre or layered?

diy his & her maps feature

be sure to check out a round-up of map DIYs over on the Catching Fireflies blog including my DIY his & hers maps!

dear john {a toilet story}

this weekend, as i mentioned here, aaron & i installed a new toilet in our newly-updated bathroom. we were going to wait to replace the toilet despite it being a fun pinky tan color because it really didn’t need to be replaced. then two weeks ago the lid hinge broke & we fast-tracked a new toilet.

& by fast-tracked aaron ordered it from amazon prime, but apparently toilets can only be ground shipped. so our usual 2 business day wait turned into just over a week of waiting. boo. but, it finally came in all of its low-flow, dual-flush, super water efficient glory!

there really isn’t much to this post except a pretty awesome before & after of our bathroom {because as cool as it is for us, it is really just a toilet}.

{before – april 2012}

{after – june 2013}

the installation was a relatively easy process, especially considering the first set of instructions we found online said it would take 3 hours! we {& again, by we i mean aaron} was able to get the old one out & the new one in in just about an hour. thankfully the floor bolts weren’t rusted out {which i believe contributes to the longer installation time} – phew! have you installed a new john recently?