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Halloween Party Invitations in Repurposed Apothecary-Style Spice Jars

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Christy

Are you still trying to figure out invitations for your Halloween party? Look no further–I’ve got you covered! Check out these darling mini-apothecary jars (they used to be spice containers) that have been turned into frightfully fabulous invitation holders, courtesy of a little imagination and Aleene’s glues and adhesives.

I find these little jars at yard sales and thrift shops for just a few cents each. I use them to hold beads and other craft supplies, and, of course, spices. But when I recently found myself with a surplus of them, I started to think about the fact that they look just like tiny apothecary jars. Wouldn’t they look cute~and slightly poisonous~holding Halloween invitations?

The nice folks at Aleene’s recently sent me a big old box of love–bunches of their products to try. Look what was in my box:

So fun! I immediately used the Jewelry & Metal Glue to fix a pair of earrings that had broken (thanks, guys!), but that’s beside the point. I then gathered the supplies for my project:

an apothecary-style spice jar (mine measures about 4″ tall)
Halloween scrapbook paper
raffia and ribbon
a plastic spider
Aleene’s glues. I used the Repositionable Tacky Spray and the Original Tacky Glue. I thought I might use the Tacky Dot Roll, so that’s why it’s in the picture, but I opted to use the Original Tacky Glue instead.

Next, I typed up an invitation on the computer. I used the font “Chiller,” but I’ve seen tons of other free fonts that would work well for a Halloween party, too. Knowing that the invitation would be rolled up message-in-a-bottle style, I printed it longer and shorter. I cut the cobweb scrapbook paper slightly larger, and used the Repositionable Tacky Spray to stick the invitation on the cobweb paper. (**As a random aside, we use this tacky spray every year when my kids are doing their science fair projects. It’s the best way to stick paper and photos to the tri-fold presentation boards that we use!**)

The spider looks cute there, but he doesn’t get to stay, or the paper will never roll up!

I tied my rolled-up invitation with a tiny piece of raffia, although I don’t think this is an essential step.

After tying raffia and black ribbon around the neck of the bottle, I used a drop of to hold my scary spider in place. And yes, this is a paid review (the disclaimer is at the bottom), but I can easily and truthfully say that I use Tacky Glue all the time! I used FOUR bottles of it to build my daughter’s dollhouse three years ago (read about that post HERE), which is the biggest project I’ve accomplished with it, but there’s always a bottle in my craft supplies.

So, why not whip up a batch of these and get ready for a thrilling and chilling Halloween celebration?

If you want to learn more about Aleene’s products or their I Love to Create program, check them out on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest!

Disclaimer: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Aleene’s Glues and Adhesives and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Autumn and Fall, Autumn/ Fall, Crafts, Halloween, Holidays, Reviews | Tagged Aleene's, apothecary, Halloween, invitations, jar, party, review, spice | 2 Comments

The Real Story On {or Pros & Cons of} Marble Countertops

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Amy

I apologize to those of you who have emailed and asked when I would follow-up on my first post on my kitchen about the “pros” and “cons” of having white carrara marble counters in the kitchen. We have actually had them for almost a year in our {not so} new house now, so I thought it was a good time to give an assessment for those of you who are considering installing them.

Before I get into what having them has been like, let me say that the countertop fabricators will scare the life out of you if you want to install them. As I was told, they will not warranty them, so you will get what you get as far as damage, stains and scratches.

Let me also mention, for those who might be wondering, we paid a minimal upgrade for these over granite. I was told they are a natural stone and despite information to the contrary are not “that much more expensive” then other stone surfaces. Every area may be different, but that was a nice suprise. We also would have preferred “honed” {as honed doesn’t show scratches as much} vs. the shinier polished look we wound up with but had to go with what was in stock.

After much thought on what to say, the best way I can put it is that I still LOVE them and there is nothing out there like them. I can’t imagine any other type of stone would give my kitchen this same look and feel.

But are they a bit of a pain?

Yes.

Absolutely.

In my next house {or my forever house} if I have the chance to have even more control over the kitchen {we had a very short time frame to build, read more HERE}, I would probably use a different material at least on the sink/island area.

I really like to cook, so my counters get a lot of use. I have three kids, and frequent guests, so something that can handle spilled grape juice, spaghetti sauce and the worst culprits of all acids like lemon juice, orange juice and lemonade in the sink area might have made more sense.

I knew what I was getting into, don’t get me wrong.

But, here is a bit of what I have learned over the last year…

Water may leave a small mark but its not really that noticeable once they are sealed.

Don’t ever, not even for a second, put a lemon martini on the counter without a coaster on New Year’s Eve, even the tiny bit of acid around the bottom will etch a lovely ring in your brand new counter.

Guests do not really care that their red wine glass will leave a mark on your counter. I have also learned that since I don’t want my guests having to worry in my house, I am going to get stains on my counters.

Most people who come in your house will remark that your kitchen is really pretty, different, nice, etc. They may not care, or even know what marble counters are but the counters do add something “special” and still kind of unique and that’s kind of nice.

Don’t wear a belt and lean over your counter. Ever.

Unless you want a chip in your counter.

Marble has quite a bit of veining, so some of the spills and marks mix in with the natural colors in the marble and you won’t notice them. Our marble has this large white vein which I knew about before it was installed. I like it, I think it adds character.

Pay a professional to seal your counters. We did not, and its not really a fun job and not something I am looking forward to doing again. The better they are sealed, the less staining you will have.

Use sheets of glass (or something) to help protect the counters. We used some glass we had on hand to the right of our sink {the area shown above where I do most of my cooking prep} and in the desk area and they give us a “worry-free” zone.

Marble counters will get scratched, stained and marked up but they are still –in my opinion– really beautiful. After the first few scratches, stains and marks, its not such a big deal and you learn to let go.

To summarize, this is my take…if you are the kind of girl {do we have guy readers? If so, sorry} who doesn’t mind the pain of high heels and the extra time it takes to put on jewelry, these counters are for you. If you don’t like the hassle, I might suggest going a different direction.

As I remind my husband often, nobody ever said I wasn’t high-maintenance.

Like my counters

XO,

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Posted in Home Inspiration, Kitchens, Reviews | Tagged carrara marble, kitchen, marble counters, new kitchen, white kitchen | 5 Comments

Dove Intensive Repair Conditioner: TLC for Fried Summer Hair

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Christy

My hair is telling me that it’s been a long, hard summer. Between chlorine, salt, sun, hair dryers, flat irons, and curling irons (and that little box of hair color I–shhh!–use every couple of months), my golden tresses are looking a bit like straw. Plus, it’s been a shocking FOUR MONTHS since my last haircut, for a variety of good reasons, top among them that my friend Robyn, who cuts my hair better than anyone else in the world, lives in Virginia, and I live in Tennessee. I guess I’m lucky it’s only been four months given that we live 12 hours away from each other!

So, given that my hair is in desperate need already, and we’ve got another couple of months of summer-like weather down here in the South, I was pretty happy to shoot my hand up in the air to volunteer when Dove asked bloggers to review their Intensive Repair Conditioner. It arrived in the mail last week and I put it in the shower line-up right away.

OK, the first thing I noticed has to do with the packaging–the flip top popped open easily. Having broken more fingernails than I care to remember on balky shampoo and conditioner tops, this was a big deal for me! The second thing was the smell–yum! I don’t have a very sophisticated nose (all white wine tastes like white wine to me, not like “oak” or “butter” or “citrus”), but I can tell you that the conditioner smells great. My daughter even commented on my great-smelling hair later that day.

The folks at Dove say that their Intensive Repair Conditioner has “Fiber Active technology that penetrates deep inside the hair strand, helping rebind damaged proteins.” What that meant for my hair is that it felt really soft when I rinsed the conditioner out (by the way, it’s a daily conditioner, not a deep conditioner, which I prefer anyway). My hair combed out much more easily, and when I blew it dry it felt softer and smoother. I’ll admit that my hair went right back into my standard summer hairstyle–the ponytail–but it was a bouncy and shiny ponytail, and my hair didn’t feel heavy or greasy.

I tend not to be very brand-loyal when it comes to hair care products, buying whatever is on sale (or I have a coupon for) and mixing in a few higher-end styling products when I feel a specific need. But I can definitely see myself using this whole bottle up–and I’ll probably pick up the shampoo to go with it this week. Anything that can get me a few more weeks between hair cuts is worth its weight in gold! Oh, and since they conveniently provided a coupon for us–just scroll down for it–you know I’ll be out buying more for sure!

Want to know more? Visit www.dovehair.com.

Why not take a minute to enter their sweeptstakes for a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate? You know you could use one! Just follow the directions below. For a), once you’ve entered your contact information, you’ll want to answer the question, “How did you manage to fry your hair this summer?” I’ll go first: I sat by the pool with my hair full of sweat and chlorine! And I LIKED it!

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 – 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

***While I have been compensated for this review, the opinions expressed are entirely my own.***

Thanks for stopping by!

Posted in Reviews | Tagged conditioner, Dove, hair, intensive repair, product review, summer | Leave a comment

New Gallery Wall

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Amy

My plan has been to create a Gallery Wall in my foyer since I first saw this open staircase in our new home. After all, what kind of home blogger would I be without a gallery wall? Just throw in some chevron, some chalk paint and some drop cloth curtains and my home is complete, right? But I digress….

Anyway! We have a large foyer, and these high white walls needed something, well, interesting on them. Here is a before picture from the holidays, you can see the boring white walls going up the stairs.

I have been collecting photos, frames and ideas over the last few months, but really got motivated when we were offered a sample photo canvas from Photo-Canvas.com, which specializes in photo to canvas prints. I had already edited and saved my favorite picture of my kids from vacation last year intending to get it printed, so I sent it over and couldn’t wait to see how it would look on canvas.

Canvas from Photo-Canvas.com

I couldn’t have been more thrilled when it arrived. I have ordered pictures printed on canvas from other vendors before, so my expectations were that it would be grainy at such a large size. The Photo-Canvas came out perfectly, we were so impressed with the quality and the crispness of the print, even in black and white. And, the shipping was lightening fast–even though they are in London with the Olympics going on!

I just had to get all the other photos and decor up on the wall once the canvas arrived.

{While I am at it, see the fabulous picture of my daughter on the right? That was done by my talented friend Michelle of LuMa images, see more of her work HERE, and check out the adorable butterfly birthday party where she snapped it}.

Here is the whole wall, its partially done for now, and I will be adding pictures to fill it up. I mixed in some Pinterest inspired date artwork and my Ballard Designs “B”, but I have quite a bit of space to work so its certainly going to take awhile to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by!

{While I was provided a complimentary photo canvas from photo-canvas.com, the opinions in this post are purely my own}

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Posted in Home Inspiration, Projects & Printables, Real Spaces, Reviews | Tagged black and white, foyer, gallery wall, hallway, home decor, photo canvas, photography | 3 Comments

A New Summer Drink–Michelob Ultra Hard Cider

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Amy

When we were asked to review and share our thoughts on Michelob’s new Ultra Hard Cider, we immediately knew we’d add it into the drink mix at Terry’s 30-something fashion birthday party.

After all, a group of girls…a hot summer night… and a party–what better place to introduce something fun to our friends? Well, finding the cider wasn’t as easy as we thought, as it’s still being rolled out in many grocery stores, and we had to go with Plan B–bringing it to a pool party the next day instead! (And, by the way, I found it at Wal-Mart, if you’ve been looking!)

So, I passed it around for taste testing and even women who looked at it a bit warily –the ones who said “I don’t really like beer” — gave a surprised look and said “That’s really good!” It definitely has an unexpected, fresh taste. It might be said it could cross over into the “sparkling cider family” vs. the “beer family.”

Hard cider would be the perfect offering at a summer BBQ or picnic. This the drink for those times when only beer will refresh you. You know, like a baseball game, a concert, or a hot day on the beach–when you can’t just break out your wineglass? And, if you are like me and you don’t love the (slightly bitter) taste of beer this would be the perfect choice.

So, I would say this cider is a great “girl” twist on traditional beer. It’s got a fresh taste, with a hint of apple, that was a pleasant surprise to the women who tasted it.

Among its other attributes, it’s gluten-free, made from natural ingredients, and sweetened with stevia. While the brewing process for cider follows that of beer, the main difference is in the ingredients. While beer brewing mainly uses barley and hops, cider brewing uses apples (yum!).

Michelob Ultra Cider only has a 120 calories (1/3 fewer then the regular leading hard cider) and interestingly, you can even serve it over ice. While I didn’t try that, I think it would be lovely to not deal with the typical “too warm” drink after a few minutes outside on a hot day!

All in all, it was a fun introduction to the Michelob Ultra line.

So, what favorite summer meals or activities do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Light Cider?

Visit the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com HERE and the Sponsor’s Site HERE.