Hello World,

In a previous post, I blogged about the free Bath and Body Works mini candle I received complimentary of Influenster. Well, I actually had a few burnt up ones hiding in my junk drawer. (I already milked all the scent out of the wax by placing the candles on my candle warmer.) I didn’t want to just throw the jars away, and I found a way to reuse the little glass jars.

My friend’s grandmother gave me a small chunk of her succulent garden this summer, and since then it has been budding like crazy. I already have replanted some buds in old tea cups and such, but here is a new take on the succulent garden that is super easy and looks pretty modern!

Check out how to make your own below:

1.   Gather your jars, they can be any size. Here I chose the BBW mini candles.

2.   Peel off the labels. The new labels are way easier to remove than the ones from this summer.

3.   Wipe.wash off any remaining sticky residue.

4.   Either melt the candle on a candle warmer or in a saucepan full of simmering water. You also could pop out the wax with a spoon. Pour the melted wax into an unwanted plastic/glass container. I poured all my wax into an empty 4 oz candle jar. (it ended up looking similar to sand art… but with wax.)

5.   Fill your mini candle jar with moist soil.

6.   Evaluate your succulent garden, and determine where some ‘breathing’ room would be needed for your larger plants.

7.  Gently, snap off a succulent bud, and trim the stem to have a clean break.

8.  Put the stem into the soil and in a few days your succulent will start to take root. It’s that simple!

You also could use this same technique with a larger candle jar and plant multiple buds in it.

Does this candle jar look familiar? I removed and reused the wax in this tutorial: link.

I had quite a few mini candles in my stash.  These look cute lined up on a windowsill, and would be a REALLY easy gift to give someone. You also could decorate the jars with rhinestones, glitter, ribbon, ect to make them really unique!

Such cute little succulents!  When they get too large for the mini candle jars, just replant them in a large container. (Oh, and water them periodically and let them get enough sunshine to be happy campers!)

IDEA: You totally could make a few of these and use them as PLACEHOLDERS for Thanksgiving! Each person would get to take a mini plant home with them!  I bet they would be thankful. 🙂

(Disclaimer: I was not paid in anyway to make this tutorial. I really do have a ton of burned-up candles.. lol)

I not only sell my zipper flowers online at Etsy, I also sell them at the Prichard Art Gallery here in my college town. Previously, they were displayed in a wooden jewelry box, but I think this new display will encourage more sales since they are all visible instead of flipping through them like a book.

I took an old window, broke the glass out, and then used a putty knife to remove the cracked/leftover glass and sealant.  I then scrubbed the chipped paint off where-ever it was loose (so it didn’t shed all over the shelf).  I put 8 hooks in the window frame and strung wire between each set to hang my items on.

Look at my new professional tags! Fancy!

And of course I had to include some of my Moo Minicards. I actually have to bring some more to the Prichard, my business cards are almost all gone!

Hello World,

My parents recently installed custom cabinets in our dining room.  The original estimate from Home Depot for the cabinets and trim was around $7,000 (not including the countertop and hardware).

They wanted the cabinets in the dining room to match the kitchen, but our kitchen Thomasville cabinets were discontinued. So, my parents DIY-ed and made their own cabinets/counter for $2,000, saving themselves $5,000!

Check out below for pictures (thanks to my Mom):

My parents ordered and picked up standard, unfinished, oak cabinets from Home Depot.

Here is a closer look at the plain cabinets.

Previously, there was a china cabinet in the dining room. (But they needed more storage- that thing was packed previous to this picture.)

Here are the plain cabinets installed thanks to my Italian father.

My dad bought a long butcher-block countertop, which he sanded and stained. (My dad mixed black acrylic paint and stain together to get this color because the stain alone wan’t dark enough.)

My mom carved everyone’s names in the countertop.

My mom used a primer on the outside surfaces of all the cabinets.

My mom sanded, primed, and painted all the doors of the cabinets.  She painted the doors and trim a light cream color to match our current kitchen cabinets.

Then my dad installed the finished countertop. My dad also installed the glass panels.  He bought glass for $8 a door (compared to $120 per cabinet door through Home Depot), cut out the wooden faces of the doors with a router saw and popped the glass in place.

My mom then painted all the edges of the cabinets with a mushroom brown paint. She rubbed the paint in random areas with a sponge to make them look more vintage.

She painted in all the crevices with a tiny paint brush.

My mom also aged the cabinets to make them match the kitchen. She used forks and screws, and lightly hammered them into the wood surface.  Next, she rubbed brown paint into the dents and wiped off the excess with a damp cloth.

She also found the knobs at Lowe’s for $3.00 each.

They added braided trim and crown molding to the top of the cabinets to match the kitchen,

Plenty of visible storage!

And here is a picture of or kitchen island with the old cabinets.  Pretty decent match huh?