DIY Stained Glass Votives & Decorative Tealights

I signed up for Craftaholics Anonymous' Handmade Gift Exchange and I'm hopeful that this will be the time where my partner reciprocates... fingers crossed! My partner lives in Northern California and seems to like many of the things I do. I decided to make something and gift something that I myself would enjoy receiving. 

These stained glass votives would be right at home on our patio so I'm hoping my partner loves them!

The best part? These are upcycled baby food jars!

2014 Memories & Blessings Mason Jar

On New Year's Eve, Joe and I were chatting about our resolutions and plans for the year. I was telling him about how I wanted to choose a word for the year and about this really cool memory jar idea that I stumbled upon on Pinterest. 

Have you seen them? If not, here's the rundown: Throughout the year, you toss in notes of the good things (big or small) that touched your life. Then, at year's end, you pull them out together and reminisce.  To my surprise, he thought the jar was an awesome idea. Almost three weeks later and I finally have the jar done. 

What I like most about this is that while it's obviously a fit for the New Year, it could also work just as well to record what happened between birthdays. 

Need some ideas of what to share? Try some of these:

Surprise gifts

Daily blessings

Happy moments

Special memories

Momentous occasions

Life's little pleasures

Milestones

Accomplished goals

How To: Single Bloom Centerpieces

I'm a fan of simple centerpieces, especially for casual get togethers. Low profile arrangements are my absolute fave! Rather than one gigantic bouquet, consider clustering a variety of glasses/vases/jars with a single blossom in each. The end result is just dreamy, if I do say so myself. Simply choose colors that go with your theme and run with it!

These single bloom arrangements were the perfect addition to my Candy Confetti Bridal Shower. 

Kibble Container with Mason Jar Scoop

Ever since Quinn came into our lives two months ago, I've been scouring HomeGoods for a rustic dog food container with no luck. Is it just me or do they only make dog products in either bone or paw print patterns?  I finally came across a huge glass apothecary jar at A.C. Moore and with a 40% off coupon, I decided to give it a chance.


The only problem was that a plain cookie jar was not exactly what I had in mind. I really wanted something with more character so I grabbed my Krylon Looking Glass spray paint and went crazy. You can see my Mercury Glass Tutorial here.

After that part of the project was finished, I spelled out "KIBBLE" with distressed rub-on letters. Since rubons usually only contain one version of each letter, having two cloned Bs next to each other looked a bit silly.

To eliminate this, I went in and scratched away random spots on each of the Bs. They went from identical twins to close cousins and I'm completely on board with that. 

I absolutely love how it turned out. The mason jar is no prop either, it's the new measuring scoop! Ingenious, I know. I left the metal rim on so I wouldn't have to worry about the glass chipping if I accidentally smacked the jar against the wall of the container. 

After all was said and done, I realized that the container was too big for the counter but sat too low for the floor. I remembered a great wooden plant stand that I found on clearance at Jo-Ann Fabrics and I knew it was exactly what I needed. To marry the two pieces together in one style, I stained the stand with Behr Premium in Slate. Doesn't it look like the most perfect weathered wood ever?!

I'm really loving this project, but what do YOU think? It's a simple way to make ugly clutter transform into fabulous decor and who doesn't love that?


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