How was everyone's weekend? Well, I said I was going to clean and do some DIY projects this weekend and that's what I did! I feel like if I share these ideas with the world, then it kind of pushes me and inspires me to actually get them done! So, if you remember two weeks ago I shared with you our lovely, yet boring lamp shade...

We've had this lamp for about three or four years now, and for the last year or so I kept looking at it and thinking that there must be something I could do so it wouldn't be so dull and boring. In my first post about the shade I shared a few ideas I like; one using Shape Tape™ to create a wave design, writing a love note around it, or perhaps forgo a shade to give the lamp an industrial look.

Well, after seeing this post on my friend Katie's blog Busy Bee Kate, I was at first inspired to find fabric tape to decorate the shade the easy way. So, I ventured to Michaels Arts & Crafts Store yesterday and could not find any fabric tape...perhaps I was looking in the wrong place? Any how, I did stumble upon the Martha Stewart aisle, which I love...and who doesn't...and that's where I found her beautiful stencils. Right then and there I knew that was the DIY project for my lamp shade...

Did I mention that my brave hubby came along for this DIY adventure with me? We could not decide on a pattern and kept comparing them and trying to figure out the perfect stencil for our style. That's when we found the Martha Stewart Crafts™ Geometric Patterns that had a stenciled lamp shade on the cover! I was done, even if he wasn't...I was! 

It's funny I was going to title my post, "How to Stencil a Lamp Shade", as you can see in my photo above, but I came to the conclusion that, "The Adventures of a Lamp Shade Makeover" was more suitable! As you'll see below, I forgot to grab some painter's tape or as I just learned on Michaels' website, Martha Stewart Crafts™ Stencil Tape!

Do you recognize the type of tape I tried to use to hold my stencil in place? Yep, that's washi tape! It wasn't a very successful choice, so while the first line of geometric shapes were drying I ventured over to Home Depot for ScotchBlue™ painter's tape. I was surprised to find out that painter's tape wasn't sticking to the shade either, was I doing something wrong?! 

The paint we chose was Martha Stewart Crafts™ Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic in Deep Sea. I used a stencil foam pouncer as they call it, to dab on the paint. 

Here she is, the before and after! What do you think? It was an interesting adventure in giving a lamp shade a makeover, but I'm really glad I pushed myself to not be afraid to try something new. I really love the way it turned out, the color works perfectly too. The stencil job isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be! For my first stencil work on a lamp shade, I'm pretty proud of her! 

I have a few DIY bloggers who inspired me that I want to thank. One of them, or two I should say, is Monica and Jess from East Coast Creative. I went to a local ladies' night event they were hosting before I became their blog assistant and something they said stuck with me. It's not word for word but it was something about the biggest obstacle we have in DIY and home decor, is being afraid to fail, being afraid to try, and just having fear of jumping in. So, ladies lets get rid of that fear and pick up a paint brush!

Another blogger I would like to thank is my friend Tairalyn over at Little Miss Mama. She is one amazing woman. She's a mom to an almost three year old, and blogs about motherhood, fashion, homemade recipes, sewing her own gorgeous tulle skirts...she does it all! We "met" online a few years ago and she has since become a top Vancouver Mama Blogger and top Fashion blogger. She inspires me to want more out of my own blog and out of myself. YOU ROCK GIRL!

I also want to thank my girl Katie over at Busy Bee Kate, have you checked us out on Facebook? When we reach 100 likes we're hosting a blog giveaway together! Katie introduced me to a local women's business group when I first moved to the area a few years ago and I would be lost without it and her! 

One more is my sweet girl Heather over at High Heels & Flip-Flops! She's a night owl like myself, so whenever I'm up late and need to talk she's always there to listen. She's an amazing friend, I'm so glad we got the chance to meet in person last year. I can't wait to hang out again. 

OK, so enough talk from me...I want to hear from you! What do you think about my lamp shade makeover? Would you consider using a stencil on your boring lamp shade, have you stenciled a home decor item before? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! Stop back tomorrow for the adventure I took with my brass owl bookends makeover! 

I'm linking my project up with The Party Bunch over on The 36th Avenue! 

She Will Move Mountains...

I have recently discovered the wonderful world of free printables that many DIY bloggers create, whether they are for holidays, birthdays, or just have words of inspiration on them. So, I thought I would use the photo editor site Pic Monkey to create my own...

As you can see I made two versions, one with white mountain tops and one without! I was searching for inspiring quotes and stumbled upon this one and now have fallen in love with it. Did you know that it may have originated with Napoleon who said, "Let China sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world"? So somewhere in between what he said and now it has been translated to "Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move mountains". 

The mountains I am hoping to move this weekend are the ones that need to be sold for our Summer garage sale! We just have too much stuff in this house; stuff from when the girls were little, from my college days, and just junk lying around that is collecting dust that no one cares about any more. So, this weekend I am hoping to get a start on what to donate, what to put in the garage sale, and what should just be tossed. 

What mountains are you moving this weekend, next week, this year? For this year, I am planning on moving my blog over to WordPress and getting an entire new design with fun social media buttons. I really want to make something out of my blog instead of just letting it sit. I love what I do and I'm learning so much, but I'm more of a behind the scenes person on other blogs and only share round up lists on AWS. I want people to see me and to learn more about who I am and what goes on in "The World Around Her". So stick around, I plan on moving big mountains this year! 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend! 

xoxo

Fun and Creative Mason Jar Craft Ideas

My step-daughter keeps getting on me about my collection of empty mason jars, telling me that I NEED to do something with them! So, I have finally searched on Pinterest and found a few fun and creative mason jar craft ideas that I would like to DIY, however there are a few jars I have that I won't touch though or change...

Besides the one that obviously doesn't look like the rest, these are my vintage mason jars and they are staying as is! I love the glass lids and the handles. I'm not sure when they date back to, but I just discovered this mason jar logo image during a Google search...

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It's a little tough to decipher between a few of the logo dates, from 1896-1960 they look pretty similar. But with the way the curve comes off the B in Ball, it looks like mine may be from 1933-1960. That right there is the reason no one is going to touch these vintage mason jars I have in my collection, I mean it's pretty amazing to have something that has that kind of history! I only wish there were more information on the jar so I could actually discover where it may have come from. 

So other than these jars, I also have a few in my collection that are a little newer and easier to find...

A few of them have the little ® on it meaning that they are from 1975 to present according to the logo image, however I just noticed that one of them has the same B on it as my glass lid jars and may also be from 1933-1960! (PS, the owl drawing was made by my step-daughter and the owl stitched hoop was made by Jennifer over at Homespun Happiness, she's a sweetheart!)

As you can see from the photo above, a few of the jars have my rubber stamp collection in them, two of them are empty, and the blue one has small pieces of paper in it. A friend had posted at the beginning of this year an idea on Facebook of writing down little notes of when you have a great day and then keeping the notes in jar. Then on New Year's Eve you open the jar and share all of your favorite memories with everyone. I don't always remember to do so, but when I do it's something really good! I can't wait to look back at 2014 on New Year's Eve with my family! 

For the larger empty jars I am considering going with either a terrarium or a more craft inspired idea ....

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All of these ideas just make me smile, especially that angry gnome! Terrariums seem to be trending big time now that Spring is finally here. I love the pop of colorful stones in the two succulent mason jar ideas, those two are my favorite. The beach mason jar is a fun idea as well, I actually have a few vases from my sister's wedding that have sand and sea shells in them and just love how they look. 

Here are a few of my favorite mason jar ideas that are a bit more crafty using paint and stencils...

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How sweet is the heart stenciled out on the chalkboard painted mason jar? I also love the distressed painted mason jar look, it gives the new jars a more vintage look. The globe mason jar idea has been floating around on Pinterest for a few years now, and every holiday season when it pops up again I keep saying I'm going to make one! How adorable is the vintage car with the tree tied to the top?!

So, perhaps one of the jars will get a terrarium makeover, while the other becomes a globe? Do you have any empty mason jars or have you created any of these fun mason jar craft ideas before? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!