A New Series...

Hey Friends! Happy Wednesday! I'm so excited to be introducing a new series we'll be having here regularly on the blog! It has to do with awesome creative projects easy enough for anyone to pull off... 

Grace and I met on a trip to Uganda, Africa while we were both in college- and we've been buddies ever since. This girl seriously has talent for creating... I mean you walk into her house, and anything that screams cute, she made herself. She's the queen of DIY and doesn't even realize how talented she is. Not only is Grace humble, but she's an amazing friend who views life in such a beautiful way. She's one person who I feel completely comfortable telling anything to- our conversations always leave me inspired. Not to mention- she loves coffee just as much as me, which is totally a friendship bonus!

I know I keep mentioning this- but I AM getting ready to launch a new site (these things take time!) I asked Grace to come along and be my first regular contributor to my new and improved blog! She was so kind to say yes :) Needless to say, my new site is not up yet, but Grace started sending me projects and I couldn't help but post one! Just think of it as a sneak peak to all the goodness that's to come! 

So here it is, project #1!

What you'll need:

- Three small plants that will do well indoors (I would use succulents, herbs, or different types of fern)

- One 2x4 and a handsaw if you will be cutting it shorter

- Three mason jars

- Three silver things (I honestly have no idea what they are, I just know they live in the plumbing section at Home Depot. If you take a mason jar with you, pick the one that fits snugly around the mouth)

- Nails

- Small rocks or pebbles

- Fresh dirt

This project is a little more about spacing and placing according to what you feel looks right, so I'm throwin inches and precision out!

STEP ONE: Place the metal fasteners at even distances on your piece of wood.

Take the first mason jar, fit the fastener around it and nail that bad boy down (easy peasy). Repeat with the other two, spacing them evenly along the board.

STEP TWO: Put a few pebbles or small rocks in the bottom of your mason jars to make sure your little planties get plenty of drainage. This way you can watch the water level to make sure you don't drown the poor fellas.

STEP THREE: Fill each mason jar about halfway up with dirt.

STEP FOUR: Hang them. You may want to nail directly through the board, or drill holes in the back for hanging (I did both for extra support).

Now sit back and enjoy your little wall forest!

You can tweak this how ever you want. Maybe spray paint the fasteners gold, or paint the wood a bright color, use your creativity!

Thanks so much Grace! Looking forward to more DIY's!! (And a new blog- it's coming I promise!)

DIY Times

Decorating and putting together our house has made me really start looking at home DIY projects like never before. Even things like how to store cans better in your pantry are now helpful to me! (Use a magazine holder) Nolan and I both love to cook, (he's better) and come up with fun ways to have our home be functional while looking good. Its so much fun coming up with ideas together, and it doesn't hurt that he is so handy and can actually accomplish a lot of the ideas we come up with.

Here are some fun homey projects I've found on my web inspiration journeys.

Crock Pot Dinners: So simple, but so great to do and have. You can just grab a bag in the morning before heading to work and not worry about spending money on lunch! Home late and no time or money for dinner? Open up a bag- its always tasty and convenient!

Mason Jar Herb Garden: Great decoration while being functional. Better Homes and Gardens says that virtually any herb can be planted in a mason jar- and its always fresh ready for use when cooking. I'm definitely making a few of these for our kitchen :)

Vintage Chair Shelf: Not sure if we would ever put these up in our house, but it just goes to show how creativity and using what you have around can go a long way. I think something like this would be really cute in a garden area holding plants, gardening gloves and watering cans.

So much inspiration and fun to be explored. All it takes is a little time and determination to add these fun little touches to your home.

If you're on Pinterest- (follow me!) I found a lot of these ideas on this DIY board! Follow it for tons of awesome DIY ideas!

Jars and Tins

There's something about a good mason jar (or a tea tin) that makes me want to create something awesome!

The options are endless, but here are a few great ideas of what you can do with these guys:

1: Take vintage tea tins and use them as centerpieces / garden pots / backyard decoration. Learn how here.

2: Paint them! Simple but makes such a statement.

3: Make a mason jar meal! There's instructions as well as other fun mason meal jar how-tos here.
(thanks Black*Eiffel for that find)

4: Make a sweet light fixture! Design*Sponge always has amazing DIYs and this one does not fall short.
Check out how to make it here.