Design Inspiration: Fall Fireplaces

Although my apartment is small, I am lucky enough to have the original 3rd floor marble fireplace from the building's construction in 1877. It's a nonworking fireplace, but it adds a lot of charm and decorating opportunity to my little place! I was perusing Pinterest for some fall fireplace inspiration because all I have set up right now is a pumpkin candle inside of a lantern and I wanted to add some more autumn touches to my living space. In case any of you were looking to decorate your fireplaces for fall, I'm sharing my favorites with you today. Let me know which one you like best in the comments below.

The Frugal Homemaker

Sweet Something Design

Utah Style & Design

Lately on Instagram...

It's been over a month since I last shared what I've been up to on Instagram! :) This summer is flying right by and I've been keeping super busy - here are some photos that show what I've been doing lately.

Spent a beautiful day in Newburyport where I got to climb to the top of Plum Island Light!

Miss Boston Princess Party & Funfetti Cupcakes

Last weekend was the big Miss Boston/Cambridge Pageant, and it was a crazy busy one for me! On Saturday, I helped out with the Princess portion where we threw a little party for the younger girls who appeared in Sunday's pageant. There were arts and crafts, mani-pedis and lots of rehearsing for the pageant! I also set up a DIY cupcake bar for the girls with freshly baked homemade funfetti cupcakes, vanilla buttercream, candy and little crowns for toppers and helped them decorate their own cupcakes to bring home. It was such a fun experience and I thought I'd share some of the photos with you! :) Click through for the recipes as well.

the girls loved my sparkly jacket - they kept asking if they could touch it!

DIY Glitter Champagne Glasses

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you may have seen my DIY glitter wine glass post before. It actually has the most page views of any post I've ever written, thanks in large part to Pinterest! I used to same process to create these pretty glitter champagne glasses over the weekend to give out as gifts. I hope the recipients will be happy with them! :) You can use any color glitter you want, but I chose silver and gold since I was making a whole bunch of glasses and didn't want to guess what colors people might like. I think they will be perfect for New Year's Eve among other celebrations!

If you don't want to make your own glasses, buy them here in my Etsy shop!

UPDATED: DIY Coasters

When I was stuck home after my surgery, I made a few sets of DIY coasters using all sorts of scrapbook paper. My favorites were the ones I made with glitter wrapping paper from the Paper Source - so fun yet easy to make! I've added some new photos below - aren't they pretty? :) (The music note ones are for my friend Ellie who plays the bass.)

Click here for the original post from 2011.

DIY New Year Gift Baskets

This evening's post comes to us from Jen of Apartment Wife! Jen has guest blogged for me before - check out her previous post on how to make a DIY mason jar vase.

Gimme some ooey gooey goodness and I'm guaranteed to break into a smile. The ooey-gooeyness I'm referring to is always sugary and usually involves chocolate chips or frosting. I'm talking about cookies, cupcakes, brownies and cakes. Yes, I like it all.

My well-publicized love for sugary treats goes a little haywire during the holidays when friends seem to come out of the woodwork to bring me plates of sticky sweetness. This year, the trend is continuing long past the close of the New Year, and my sweet tooth has been smiling since the beginning of 2014.

I love gifts and treats, but I thought I'd switch it up a bit by making my friends something a little different - New Year Gift Baskets that help them keep their resolutions. I asked my friends about their resolutions for 2014, and then I used their suggestions to make gift baskets that inspired them to keep to their goals.

DIY Shopping Bag Gallery Wall

Before I dive into the new post, I wanted to announce the winner of the Robyn with a Y wine glass set!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Kathy (@khsa_string on Twitter)! I will be in touch shortly with you and Robyn so she can create your set of glasses. Thanks to all who entered my giveaway!

A couple of weeks ago I shared a bunch of prints that I wanted to buy to make a gallery wall behind my couch. It's going to take me a little while to buy the prints and frames, so in the meantime, I decided to decorate with what I had on hand - shopping bags! My apartment was feeling a bit dull with nothing hanging on the walls, so these bags are the perfect temporary solution until I can create the gallery wall of my dreams. It's a super easy process and a great way to showcase your favorite brands!

PS: The little nooks under my loft are the perfect place to store my books, DVDs and more! :)

Guest Post: Apartment Wife

I'm excited to have Jen from Apartment Wife guest posting for me today as I continue to unpack and settle in after my move. Jen's blog is so inspiring and often features her amazing random acts of kindness that always make me smile, so please visit her and follow if you don't already. She's a fantastic writer and an even more fantstic person. :) I'm even more thrilled that she chose to make me a gift for her guest post - I had no idea!! Thank you so much, Jen!!!

I sent Amy a little piece of the Midwest to make her brand*sparkling*new apartment feel like home. A few days ago, she showcased some beautiful prints she was planning to put in her entryway, and so I made a Midwest flower vase to match.

Minneapolites use mason jars for everything from drinking glasses to candleholders, and so I thought it was only fitting to use the beloved jar for the DIY project. I started with a glass jar, spray-painted it ‘ocean breeze blue’, and decorated the top with a burlap bow.

DIY Project: Angel Cards

*Please check out yesterday's Sweet Treat Tuesday post that I wrote for BostInno.com! :) I shared my recipe for Creamsicle Cupcakes. :)

Back in college, my friend Joia introduced me to Angel Cards, little strips of paper with inspirational words written on them. Her and her mum used to make them together and pick one out each morning to focus on for the day. I absolutely loved this concept and recently decided to make myself a new set of Angel Cards to pick from each morning since my set from college was a bit old! They are super easy to make and great to give for a gift to add a bit of inspiration to your friends' and family members' days.

I have about 70 cards made but I only snapped photos of some of the words, so if you are interested in learning what all of my cards say, please send me an email and I will type up the full list!

Guinness & Bailey's Cupcakes

Hi all! Before I dive in today's recipe, I wanted to share some really exciting news with you! The popular local media website BostInno.com has asked me to write a weekly recipe column for their site, and my first post will go up today. My series will be called 'Sweet Treat Tuesdays' and I'll be sharing a recipe with their readers, Twitter followers and Facebook fans every week. I am so honored and thrilled to be writing these weekly posts, and I hope you'll all stop by BostInno.com today (and every Tuesday) to check out my column which should go live around 2pm ET!  Thank you all for your support! :)

This past Saturday, my friend Jen hosted a mustache themed party. She decorated her entire apartment with mustache decor, cut out mustache-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches and PB&J sandwiches and even gave out plastic mustache rings to everyone! She asked me to bring a baked treat, so I figured that Guinness cupcakes filled with chocolate ganache and topped with a Bailey's buttercream would be the perfect dessert. I also made cute mustache toppers using Mod Podge, card stock, glitter, toothpicks and tape. Don't they just make the cupcakes?

DIY Holiday Snow Globes

After seeing this Martha Stewart article on how to make DIY snow globes, I knew I had to make my own because I just love getting crafty during the holidays! :) Despite multiple trips to AC Moore, a few unsuccessful trips to the hardware store to find small Mason jars and one Amazon.com order, I finally got everything I needed to started the process. It was definitely trial and error at first, but after I figured out how to make the first one and got it right, it was easy as pie from there. I hope my steps can help make it a bit easier if you decide to try out this DIY project! :)

DIY Glitter iPhone 5 Case

My dad pre-ordered me the new iPhone 5, so I was lucky enough to get one right when it came out in September. It was my first time owning an iPhone and I absolutely love everything about it! Unfortunately at the time there were no cute cases out yet, so I needed to take matters into my own hands. I ordered this simple and very thin clear case on Amazon for just $10 and decided to do what I do best - put glitter all over it.

It was just as easy to do as my glitter wine glasses and glitter jars, but since I use my phone more often and it's banging around in my bag all day, I don't know if the glitter will last as long as it has on the glasses and jars. I think I may need to do a second coating of glitter and spray paint to fill in some areas that are becoming sparse. But I have had very little glitter falling off and haven't noticed it on my hands or in my purse, so this technique does do a great job of locking the glitter in. I just think after awhile it will suffer some wear and you may need to do some touch ups. :)

DIY Initial Wall Decor

Last weekend when I was cleaning up my apartment, I found this wooden initial that I had bought awhile back with the intention to create something but had done nothing with. I had some free time on my hands, so I decided to make this pretty, girly piece of art to hang on my wall. I grabbed some scrapbook paper, rhinestones and a flower embellishment that I had left over and crafted away!

This project takes about 40 minutes from start to finish and requires very little skill, so anyone can try it, even if you don't consider yourself "crafty!" These initials would also be great for kids' bedrooms or to give as personalized gifts.

DIY Glitter Jars

I am pretty sure I couldn't live without Q-Tips. I know that sounds extreme, but it's true. I use them for everything - cleaning up messy manicures, fixing my eyeliner if it's not perfect, removing my eyeliner at the end of the day...you get the picture!

I recently bought a couple of cheap clear jars at the Christmas Tree Shop for my bathroom sink - one to keep Q-Tips in and one to keep cotton rounds in. I wanted the to be readily accessible but also wanted to keep my sink neat and organized. I have a tiny bathroom so I don't have much space to work with! I totally forgot to take a before picture of the jars, but they were just basic, clear jars that cost about $2 apiece.

I decided to jazz them up with some glitter, just like I did in my glitter wine glass project. They were just as simple to make and look much cuter in the bathroom than the clear jars did! You could do this project with any size jar for any use...they don't necessarily need to be little ones for the bathroom sink!

DIY Pet Bed

A while back, I decided to make my cat Phoebe her own pet bed to avoid her sleeping on my pillow/head each night, like this:

I mean, she's adorable and all, but waking up with cat hair in my eyes and her claws in my hair isn't exactly ideal. So I do what I always do: take something ugly and cover it up with scrapbook paper to make it pretty!! This DIY project is super simple, takes hardly any time, looks great and makes your pet happy - it's a total win!

DIY Embellished Bobby Pins

I don't know about you, but I wear bobby pins almost every day. I mainly use them to pin back my side bangs when I don't want them in my face or when I am in between days washing my hair and they don't look quite so nice! :) I decided to jazz up some of my boring bobby pins with some sparkle and charm and I wanted to share the quick and easy DIY process with you.

sequins

charms

DIY Trinket Boxes

If you've seen my post on making picture frames, you know that I love working with paper and wood. In addition to making the frames, I also like to make little trinket boxes to display around my apartment. They take a bit more time than the frames do, but they are really fun to make and also make great gifts! I wanted to show you two boxes that I made for myself and let you know what steps I took to create them.

Gift Guide: For the Hostess

Whether you are attending a dinner party or a housewarming party, it's always a thoughtful gesture to bring a small gift for the hostess. After all, she probably spent all day (or even multiple days) preparing for the party, so it's nice to treat her to a little something! :)

It's much easier to pick out a gift for someone you know well, but there are a few safe gifts that will appeal to all. Here are some great hostess gift ideas under $40 - which is your favorite?


Flowers - prices vary. Flowers are an easy way to show your hostess appreciation for all she's done before the party. They make a nice addition to any room and smell fabulous! Peonies, gerber daisies and tulips are my personal favorites - I would skip roses as they are too romantic and lilies because they are often used at funerals. If you have time, put the bouquet in a mason jar and tie a pretty ribbon around it!

Bottle of wine - prices vary. Wine is always a welcome gift at a party! Whether it's red or white, your hostess will definitely appreciate a new bottle to add to her collection. You don't have to spend a ton - just pick a bottle that you know she'll enjoy! I recommend trying any bottle by Cupcake Vineyards, especially the Pinot Noir, Red Velvet and the Riesling for dessert.

Home Decor: Wall Decals

As an apartment renter who can't paint her walls, I'm a big fan of wall decals. They give me the option to cover a large amount of wall space and add some color without putting holes in the walls. I also have really high ceilings for a studio apartment, so it's been a challenge for me to fill up all of the wall space I have without painting!!

The first wall decal set I put up was a tree with many branches and little birds. I bought it at Urban Outfitters last year and it's unfortunately no longer available. I used it to fill up the space in my living/bedroom area to the left of my TV and dresser. It took hours to get all of those little branches up in the right spot without ripping them, but it was worth it in the end!

(click to enlarge)

Last week, I decided I wanted to add a few more wall decals to the main room. I ordered these whimsical Victorian Hot Air Balloon decals from tweetheartwallart on Etsy. I fell in love with them immediately because I've always dreamed of riding in a hot air balloon! I also really loved that you could choose the colors of the balloons to fit your decor. My room is decorated in black, white and jewel tones, so I went with turquoise, gentian and violet. I decided to put them up above my TV over the weekend and wanted to share the final result with you.

DIY Glitter Wine Glasses

**NOTE: If you don't want to make your own glasses, you can buy a set from me on Etsy!**

Hi everyone! I took last week off from blogging because I was visiting my dad in St. Louis. We had a great time catching up, visiting museums, riding to the top of the Arch and seeing the Bruins beat the Blues!

When I got home this weekend, I had some free time and decided to put my leftover glasses from the chalkboard wine glass project and my new Martha Stewart glitter set to good use by making these pretty glitter wine glasses. This project hardly takes any time at all and the results are fantastic! These make great housewarming gifts and many people have told me that they want to make them for their bridesmaids as well :)