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Wall Decal Coasters
This project was a complete accident.
In our home and garage, there are typically 3 gazillion things going on at once. I was making a serving tray out of a Rubbermaid platter and it was not going as planned. I had a brilliant idea to add wall decals to it, to give it some pizazz. As I was talking to my sister on the phone, kids screaming in the background, I went to place a decal on the plate. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention to what I was doing and placed it on a white ceramic tile from another project instead. I loved how it looked and decided to turn it, and a couple more, into beverage coasters.
To make these water mark preventers, I used three white ceramic tiles purchased at Lowes for $0.16 a piece, some cute bird wall decals I found on clearance a few years ago for $2.50, one package of cork squares I picked up for $1.20 with a coupon, and Krylon UV Resistant Clear Gloss Spray bought with a coupon from JoAnn Fabrics for $4.00.
After placing the decals on the tiles, I pressed the birds, from the centers out to the edges, with a craft stick to release any bubbles underneath.
To give the drink coasters a moister resistant finish, I sprayed them with a clear gloss. Yes, my drop cloth is very well loved.
Once dry, they were flipped over. Using my grubby
hot glue gun, I attached the cork squares to the back of the tiles to prevent scratching the surface the coasters are used on.
These little babies protect your wood surfaces from evil beads of condensation and would make excellent gifts.
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Ruler Drum Shade
If you follow us on {Facebook}, you may recall earlier this week that I posted a teaser photo of a project I was working on using 43 rulers. And for the 2 people who actually care, I’m here to share with you the fate of those foot-long wooden measuring sticks. Behold, the ruler drum shade, aka, the thing that hides a boring, ugly light fixture.
Do you know what I can’t stand? Boring, ugly light fixtures. Yup. Especially, this particular one (pictured below) in our dining room. Why we would need to illuminate other areas outside of the dining room with this trio of directional spot lights is beyond me. I want to see my food and not the corner of the floor!
Unfortunately, we can’t change out the fixtures because we are currently renting. However, since they are directional, we can point them down over the dining table and cover them up with a removable shade.
I actually only used 37 of the 43 rulers, but it was good to have a few extras around in case of mess ups. I also used a 14” embroidery hoop, gray acrylic paint, foam craft brushes, wood glue, binder clips, string and some little white ceiling hooks. Only about half of these items actually appear in my supplies photo. Oops.
To start out, I mixed a 1 ½ to 2 ratio of water and paint in a cup. I wanted to give the rulers a gray washed look and still be able to see the numbers and marks. Using a foam craft brush, I applied a thin coat over the front and back of each ruler. I also separated and painted both pieces of the embroidery hoop with my water and paint mixture.
Once everything was dry, I grabbed some wood glue and attached my rulers around the outside of the embroidery hoops; one hoop on the bottom and the other on the top. The spacing was completely guesstimated and the last ruler I added had to go on the inside of the bottom hoop to avoid the screw on the outside. My binder clips held everything in place while the glue dried.
Next, I screwed 3 hooks into the ceiling around the light fixture, tied 3 equal pieces of string to the top of the shade, and looped the strings around the hooks, making sure the shade stayed even and level. (This involved a lot of climbing up and down to check things out.)
Then, I admired my new dining room shade. Here’s an interesting view from below. Nevermind the mismatched bulbs.
From this angle, it kind of looks like the boogeyman when the lights are on. See the two eyes and wide smile? Eat your veggies, children, or the monster in the ceiling will get you.
We love not having to look up and see the weird spot lights all of the time, and I’m so glad that I gray washed everything because it gave it a cool vintage look. What do you think?
Oh, and just in case you are wondering, here is the cost breakdown of the shade itself.
- 37 Rulers ($.25 each from Walmart): $9.25
- 14” Embroidery hoop (from garage sale): $0.25
- Gray acrylic paint (from Walmart): $0.97
- Foam craft brushes, wood glue, binder clips, string and ceiling hooks (all already owned): Free
Total cost: $10.47 plus tax
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Simple Silhouette
Warning: Extremely easy tutorial ahead. I know that some people enjoy working really hard for long periods of time with little to no progress (yeah, right), but I’m not one of them.
I love the classic and timeless look of silhouettes. They are so fun to decorate with and also make great gifts. And the only supplies you need to make one are a camera, a printer, white card stock to print on, scissors, a pencil, colored card stock (I chose black card stock to keep to the with the traditional look, but I think using other colors would also work great), and a few extra minutes.
First, take a side view photo of your subject, preferably in front of a solid background. It doesn’t need to be good quality; any image will work, as long as you can make out the perimeter of your image. I used my daughter, Pinky, who likes to intentionally make funky faces when I take her picture. Goofball.
Next, print out the photo on to white card stock (this was an 8″X10″ print) and cut around the outside of your subject. I left some extra white space on the bottom and added a little extra roundness on the lower back of her head to balance out the poof above her pony tail. Excuse my freaky looking print out. My printer is super low on colored ink.
Then, trace the template on to the colored card stock, add embellishments, like longer eyelashes and a curved bottom if you like, and cut out your silhouette.
And there you have it!
I framed my silhouette by centering and taping it to a piece of white poster board, which was cut to fit the size of my frame.
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Grilled Bread Salad
A few years back, I took a knife skills cooking class and made a salad that over the years has transformed into the one I will be sharing with you today. This salad is so delicious and bursting with flavor.
Grilled Bread Salad from Elizabeth Joan Designs
Recipe
Olive oil for brushing bread
1 Baguette
6 Handfuls of salad greens
Fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces
4 oz. Spicy capicola, thinly sliced and cut into bite size pieces
1 Red bell pepper- finely chopped
1 Green bell pepper- finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
2 Tbsp. Basil leaves, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp. Chives, minced
1/4 tsp. Crushed Red PepperFirst, slice the baguette.
Then brush bread with olive oil.
Grill until brown on both sides.
In a large mixing bowl, put salad greens, bell peppers, mozzarella, capicola, crushed red pepper, basil and chives. Toss.
Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve with bread and dressing of your choice.
This is one of my favorite salad recipes of all time and I love it with a good vinaigrette. Yummy!!! What salad dressing would you choose?