Wizard of Ozsome!

All of these garden projects I have worked on were leading up to my annual garden party. You may recall some of my previous parties. The first was Enter Eden, followed by the Blogiversary, and last year's 50 Shades of Fabulous! My girlfriends have come to know that I always throw a party with a theme, so they were especially excited when I announced this year's theme was inspired by the Wizard of Oz. My dear friend Melissa dubbed it "Wizard of Ozsome"
The inspiration for this party actually began a few years ago. One of my "long term" garden projects was to transform my ugly concrete into the yellow brick road. I want to create the magical whimsy feel in my yard and the yellow brick road was one way to do it!
Last summer I tried using a yellow tinted concrete stain but it did not achieve the look I wanted. So this year I went over the stain with a darker stain, and then used exterior paint that I sponged onto the sidewalk. The results were fantastic! Here are some before and after pics.

 

BEFORE

AFTER

  

With a sidewalk like that the Wizard of Ozsome party was only natural!

Unfortunately it was really windy that day so my rainbow backdrop didnt look as neat as I would have liked. But the effect was still phenomenal! 

 

Its not a real party unless I've got glittered wine bottles somewhere!

 

 

I had some bricks in the garage that I painted yellow. I used stained glass paint and a Dollar Store vase to create the Emerald City candle centerpiece. The poppies were also handmade out of crepe paper.

   

The buffet table

 

I made sure to add some whimsical touches to the buffet as well!

 

I made the Tin Man from soup cans and designed a custom wine bottle label too!

  

My Mom had made me a Dorothy inspired hostess apron, which went along perfectly with my current foster dog, Moxie.

 

 

We of course had to have a photobooth set up inside too! This is one of my favorite shots of the group.

Lastly, here is another one of my favorite photos that I instagrammed that night.  

 

This may be my favorite of all of the parties I've thrown! We had such a magical time!

For The Love of Teal

Hello! I know, its been almost all summer and I've hardly updated this blog at all! I am so sorry that I've been M.I.A. for so long, but I've thought of you guys all summer! I've got lots of projects and fun things to share so I hope to have more regular posts coming your way for awhile.
So let me start by taking you back to earlier this summer.  Minneapolis had a wicked storm roll through the city and it took down hundreds upon thousands of trees, almost excursively from the city boulevards.  On the night of this storm, I was enjoying the power outage down the road at a friend's house when my neighbor messaged me that a tree feel down into my yard.

 

It doesnt look too bad right? I mean, it missed the house! That is until you see how it looks inside the yard....

 

Nice huh? I cant really complain though. My fence is only a few years old, and I have a gate that I cannot stand. Its not very strong, and my dogs have broken through it before. Coincidentally, the tree fell through that particular gate! Thats was essentially the only damage! 

My parents were going to come visit and build a new gate for me. One that was sturdier and would keep my dogs from going crazy every time someone walked by. I had to wait about 2 weeks, so this was how I made it work until then.  

 

Classy huh?

But it was only temporary!

 

Gary got to work building the gate, I have a feeling he thinks this was the funnest project he's ever worked on!

 

 

A day and a half later, I had this beautiful new gate!! Now, I could have chosen to paint it white, but anyone that knows me, knows, normal is not my thing.

 

I chose to go with a bold shade of teal! I absolutely LOVE it!! I was so inspired I decided to paint the two other gates I have on this fence!

 

This gate is a slightly different shade. I had to use spray paint on this one because the gate is PVC. But I still love how it turned out. The difference is subtle, so I doubt anyone will notice.

 

This gate is on the other side of my house, not the street side. I painted this the same color and decided to add a decorate touch! My brother had given me this Disney door knocker a few years ago, but I hadn't had a door to install it on.....

 

Pretty fun right?!

So this was the first of many projects I took on this summer. I know we are approaching fall and everyone will be sharing their pumpkin recipes, but I am going to hang onto summer just a bit longer and share more projects from my yard! Stay tuned!

 

Pinterest Project: Dip Dyed Ombre Shoes

Earlier this season a couple of my girlfriends came over and both were wearing these super cute canvas shoes. They were different styles of course but I was having some serious shoe envy. I don't get shoe envy often and its almost never about casual shoes. I happened to be on Pinterest the next day and saw a variety of pins about DIY dip dyed canvas shoes. Low and behold Wal-mart was in stock of some simple white shoes for the wondrous price tag of $5.99! I couldn't help it, I had to try it out. So I picked up the shoes and some teal color dye.

  

Make sure to read the directions on the dye, and have any supplies for that. In this case I just needed water and salt.

   

I read several tutorials for how to do this. One them suggested putting Vaseline on the soles of the shoe to keep that part from being dyed. I decided that was the best option because I wasnt sure the rubbery sole would really absorb the dye.

    

From here, its actually quite simple, just dip them in!

    

At this point I used a scrap of old fabric and dipped it in the dye, I continued to layer it onto the shoes to blend the dip line and create the gradual ombre effect. There really is no magic method, just keep dipping and spreading until you get an effect you like.

   

I left the shoes to dry overnight. You can expect that the color will tone down quite a bit as the fabric dries. 

 

This is the end result!! I love them!!  

  

These shoes are super comfortable and I love the bright color and ombre effect! Super easy, inexpensive summer shoe! 

YAY! Pinterest Project WIN!

Glow In The Dark Wine Glasses

Yesterday I posted about my DIY Patio Bar but there are a couple of other projects that go along with that. Today's project, glow in the dark wine glasses!!
I wanted some fun wine glasses for the patio, but I didnt want to risk breakage. I picked up some plastic glasses on sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond for just under $2 each. Then I headed over to Michaels for the paint to decorate them.

I grabbed a bottle of the Tulip Glow In The Dark Puffy Paint and got to work!

I decided to tape off the top of the glass for easier cleaning and so you dont have to put your lips on the textured puffy paint when drinking from them.

I didnt follow any sort of pattern, I just sort of went at it. I did all of the designs freehand off the top of my head.

 

After "charging" them in the sunlight, this is how they turned out! Its a fun little touch when your patio party stems into the evening hours. 

DIY Patio Bar

Summer has finally arrived and my favorite thing to do is hang out on my patio with friends. Previously I had my picnic table on the patio, but I never really liked how that layout looked and functioned. This season I was determined to come up with a better solution. Then it dawned on me, I had an  old door in the basement collecting dust. It was the perfect size for a bar/buffet!! So I moved the picnic table under one of the trees in my yard and got to work.
I went to Menards and picked up 16 cinder blocks and some construction adhesive.  Here is a picture of the bar in the making.

 

It really was just as simple as gluing and stacking the blocks together! I laid the door across the top, and viola! It was done! Last season I had purchased an outdoor tablecloth on clearance at Big Lots, so I grabbed that to cover the door.

I also got some picnic tablecloth clips to ensure it stayed in place.

 

Another fun fact about this set up, I got the bar tool set, brand new in the box, at a garage sale for $5. The wine glasses are another DIY project I'll be featuring soon, and so is the pink lantern! So stay tuned!
I gotta tell you, having this set up has made a world of difference. I had friends over for a cookout and we set up the buffet. Everyone enjoyed dinner comfortably at my picnic table under the tree and we weren't crammed for space. I love how functional this really turned out to be!
Do you have any DIY projects for your patio that just really made a difference in "patio living"?

DIY Mason Jar Cup

The leaves are turning, the air is getting cooler and that means its autumn! This is the time of year where we have friends over for fires, make smores, and get cozy in our hooded sweatshirts. Its also a great time to bust out some mason jar cups!! Here's how you can make some of your own.  Lets gather your supplies...

You will need:
Clean mason jars with rings and lids
Crop-a-dile Big Bite Punch (or hammer and nail will work)
#14 Finishing Washers (I found these at Menards in the nuts/bolts/screws section)
E6000 Glue
Straws

Here is a close up of those washers.  It took me a little while to find them.  At my Menards they were hanging above the screws and washers.

The next step is to remove the lids from your jars and punch a hole with your punch. You will need to punch a few holes to get your straw to fit.  I used the washer as a guide to determine where I needed to expand the hole.

After your holes are punched, you will glue a washer on top of the lid.  Once dry, also glue one on the bottom of the lid.

After all is dried, you can then enjoy your favorite drink in your jar!

If you've been following along on my posts about drinks on the patio you'll remember the beer bottle holder I made.  It just so happens to be a perfect fit for a mason jar too.

Enjoy your patio drinks this autumn!