{Recycled} Bottle Beauties

Wondering what to do with all of those empty glass jars that are stashed away, waiting for a second chance to be useful again? Martha Stewart offers a great DIY tutorial for transforming your recyclables into Bottle Beauties with the help of enamel paint.

Any clean and empty glass jar or bottle will work for this fun project. For the jars pictured above, white enamel was used, which yielded different shades of green depending on the tint of the glass. You can used colored enamel, however, to achieve whichever color and look suits your fancy. Have fun with it!

Here are Martha's DIY instructions:

Enameled Bottle How-ToDishwasher-safe enamel paint is sold at most crafts stores. Wash the bottle inside and out with soapy water; let dry. Pour in a small amount of the paint's surface conditioner, which primes the glass for the enamel. Swirl to coat fully, then pour out excess. Stand bottle upright, and dry for an hour.

Pour in enough enamel to easily coat the inside. Swirl, and return excess to container for reuse. Dry bottle upside down on a paper towel for 48 hours, periodically wiping excess enamel from the rim with a damp cloth during the first hour.

{Party Inspiration} A Mexican-Inspired Bridal Shower

One of my dearest friends is preparing to give her youngest sister a bridal shower and asked me to put together some ideas. Since the wedding is being held in Mexico, the shower's theme and decor is going to be Mexican-Inspired. Here is the inspiration board that I created:

The shower is going to be casual and FUN. So, I suggested that they incorporate lots of vibrant colors into the party decor through the use of flowers, table linens, and fun decorations (maybe a sombrero on each table, Mexican-inspired flags/banners, lanterns, etc.). I also suggested adding tea lights on the tables for a touch of elegance and sending guests home with a jar of Mexican wedding cookies.

Now I want to throw a little fiesta of my own! Who's in?

Image credits from left to right: (1 & 11: The Tea Room, 2 & 6: Social Couture, 5 & 12: Aymujer, 3: Good House Keeping, 2 & 13: The Little Things)

Celebrate Spring!

Spring is officially here. Hooray! Here are some fun ideas to help celebrate the new season and spread a little sunshine around.

Floral Cones: Paper cones can be great for popcorn and candy, but what about flowers! Make a stunning display at your next soiree by tucking assorted colors of your favorite springtime flowers (Cymbidium orchids are shown here by Martha Stewart) into handmade paper cones, then affix by ribbon to a board covered in pink linen to create a garden of floral favors. Each blossom is anchored in a tiny vial of water.



Daffodil Candy Cups: I love this idea from Martha Stewart. These would be great for an Easter celebration or spring-themed birthday party. And, they are really easy to make. Simply print the provided daffodil template, trace onto decorative paper, and cut out. next, fill baking cups with candy and place onto flowers. If desired, join cups to flowers with tape.


A Lavender & Lemon Cake: Bake and serve a slice of this Lavender & Lemon Cake by Rosie of Sweetapolita (one of my new favorite blogs to follow!) to your guests and warmer weather is sure to be on their minds.

A Surprising Fruit Centerpiece: Real Simple offers this fun and unexpected idea to turn fruit into a festive centerpiece! So spring-like, don't you think? Click here for the details.



A Garden To Go: A cluster of potted flowers can do double-duty at your next shindig. Grouped together, they make a gorgeous centerpiece for your table. When the party is over, let your guest pick one to take home as a favor and plant in their garden for the upcoming season.

Button Bouquet Tutorial

While both of my boys were at school and my husband was at home with our little princess, I was able to sneak out the other day for an hour to the fabric store. It was total BLISS! I loved every minute of it and could have spent many, many more hours there if time had allowed. I was looking for fabric for my son's upcoming birthday party when I came across some beautiful buttons and felt flowers. My focus then turned to "What can I do with these?". Here is what I came up with: Button Bouquets


These were put into a clay flower pot with spanish moss on top.



I put these into "grass" with floral foam underneath.




I think that these bouquets would be so cute on the table for decoration at a little girl's birthday party. They can be made to coordinate with the colors for your event and they are really easy to make.

Here is what you need:

- Assorted buttons and flowers
- Floral Wire
- Wire Cutters or scissors



To assemble, simply Cut wire into 3 sizes (for varied stem lenghts) 15", 14",and 12". Stack buttons and flwoers to create your desired look. Fold the wire in half (to form a U-shape) and from the top of the buttons down, insert and weave the wire into the button holes. Twist wires together to form stem.

You can insert the wire stems into floral foam and cover with spanish moss or "grass".