I can’t recall where or when I saw a bottle cutting kit, but I spied it somewhere a few months ago and thought it was completely cool.  Around the same time, I saw a set of tumblers in a local shop made from the bottoms of wine bottles and thought they were a great way to repurpose old bottles into drinking glasses.

DIYer that I am, I determined bottle cutting was definitely on my ‘learn to do this’ list ASAP.  The kit I bought (seen below) ended up on a shelf in my office shortly after it arrived months ago, but last weekend as I was cleaning and sorting I noticed it again, and decided to give it a try. I spent a fall morning experimenting with the kit with mixed results, but in the end arrived at two decent cut glass vases made from a wine bottle and a champagne bottle. 

Take a peek:

Here’s the kit I used to cut my bottles and turn them into vases:

I must caution you, in my limited experience, this kit was a hit and a miss.  The miss may be attributed to my lack of skills in this craft, but I did not end up with perfect edges.  Read on!

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For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to make some thick wood cutting boards for use around the kitchen and to give as gifts.  Cutting boards are just about the most useful tool in the kitchen, but store bought or hand crafted wood ones can get pricey quickly.  

I had this vision in my head of a thick slab of wood with a lot of character that could become a focal point on a table.  Over the weekend I created a few of my own wood cutting boards out of a slab found at a local salvage yard. 

Here’s a look at the trio of wood cutting boards I designed:

This project began last week when I dropped in on my local salvage yard in search of the perfect piece of wood.  I talked to the people who ran the place and told them I was looking for a harder wood like maple or hickory, but wanted to avoid any grainy or porous woods like oak.

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Greetings and happy weekend y’all!  Announcing the winner of the last giveaway with Kelly + Olive.  Congratulations to #67 Larissa who wrote:

“The room that I would love to get some direction and insight on is my bedroom.  The space is great with large windows and great views, but my current decorating is lacking in everything.  I would love the opportunity to get some professional help”  Congrats Larissa, can’t wait to see the full room design! 

Today, because it’s spring, and because Mother’s Day is five weeks away and you best be thinking about Mom!!!  I’m thinking about you too, so I’m bringing you a timely giveaway from my longtime sponsor The Vintage Pearl.  Last year, I bought my own mom the Circle of Love bracelet and she loves it!  It’s the only keepsake she has with her four children’s names on it, what Mom doesn’t want one of those? 

The Vintage Pearl is a great source for the prettiest hand stamped sterling silver jewelry and keepsakes.  In fact, VP has the PW seal of approval, how cool is that?  Take a peek at this small sampling of the pieces available for babies, teachers, grandmothers, sisters, friends, and even dudes. 

The last day to order for Mother’s Day delivery is April 20th, so get shopping!

This time, two winners will receive a $75 store credit to shop The Vintage Pearl.

Eligibility to win one of two $75 dollar store credits:

1)  Hop on over to The Vintage Pearl and pick a favorite among the collection.  Come on back and leave a comment telling which piece(s) you’d choose if you won.

2) For additional chances to win, link to this giveaway on Twitter, and/or link to this giveaway on Facebook, then come back and mention in additional comment(s) where you linked (FB or Twitter).

Giveaway ends Monday April 4th at 8 p.m. PST.  Two winners chosen by Random.org.

Good luck and happy weekend!

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I’ve had this vision in my head for months now, a vision of crafting a picnic blanket that we could bring on our outdoor adventures, something with a country feel, but with fresh modern color too.  We’re a picnicking tribe on the weekends when sunny skies appear, whether we head to the coast, the local park or ballgame, or just movies in the park.  Having a cozy picnic blanket is always ideal! 

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It was a dark and stormy night.  Really, it was.  Last weekend, I was home on a Saturday night in my pajamas, experimenting with some brands of colored chalkboard paint, making vases, and halfheartedly watching a movie.  This is the suburban life I lead. 

All of a sudden I had an idea.  What if I didn’t want to stick with the manufactured  colored chalkboard paints I was working with?  What about a DIY version in any color I could possibly imagine?  I remembered that Martha Stewart had published a recipe years ago for homemade chalkboard paint, but I had never tried it.  When I went to find it online I couldn’t.  That dark and stormy night had killed my internet connection.  I recalled it was some combination of non-sanded grout and paint, so I started experimenting, mixing up batches of my own, wondering if this would really work. 

Pay no attention to that Cabernet.  I swear it had nothing to do with it! 

OK, maybe it did.

At first, I came up with 2 tablespoons of grout to 3 tablespoons of paint ~ a combo that was way too thick.  So I kept at it, adding more paint each time, eventually ending up at a formula that was made up of 3/4 cup of latex paint and 2 tablespoons of non-sanded grout. 

With the blue paint left over from my boy’s room, I created this little toothbrush holder, with my very own homemade chalkboard paint.  Love it!

(If you want to recreate something similar, read this article about applying water based chalkboard paints to ceramics.)

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