FRESH LOOK: ANTICIPATING SUMMER WITH AQUA & TEXTURE

There’s something about the anticipation of summer that not only energizes me but also calms me. Summer days mean a less hectic schedule, more family time and more time for creativity. Yay Summer!

In order to announce the fact that summer is coming, I changed out the accent color on my hutch.

It’s only been a few months since I painted my hutch, covering up the original pine with a pretty coat of Maison Blanche Vanille. Since it was spring, I added cheerful yellow accents. And although yellow can be a summer color, it was time for some coastal accents. Since I didn’t have any aqua accent pieces, I created some using jars.


A few years ago I created some faux cranberry glass using this method and the tutorial has been very popular. I love creating colored glass – you can instantly change up your décor with items you have on hand.

To color your jars, mix 2 tablespoons gloss Mod Podge, 1-2 teaspoons water and a few drops of food coloring. Pour the mixture into a clean jar and swirl it around until the inside of the jar is coated. Let the excess drip out. You’ll want to wipe the rims of your jars every now and then so that there isn’t a thick layer drying around the rim. The opaque mixture becomes more transparent as it dries. You’ll also notice that my jars are various shades of blue. For the lightest jar, I used 4 drops of blue food coloring and 2 drops of green. For the darkest jar, I probably doubled that.


I found some other aqua and blue pieces to add to mix. Some pretty glass bits, a metal pitcher with nice patina, some mod Cera Stone harlequin mugs and a small dish that I filled with shells and coral.

Because it’s not summer until you break out the shells and coral!

I love this pitcher. The rough texture and aged patina always add the perfect touch no matter what room I put it in.

The retro Cera Stone mugs were a thrift store find. You can read about my thrift store victory here. 

I also added my little shell jar with the rusty lid. If you want to learn how to rust a jar lid almost instantly, I share the tutorial here.

I love how it turned out but after I took these photos, I tweaked a few more things. Are you like that? Once you start fiddling, you just can’t stop.

I'll probably fiddle with it even more tomorrow…

Are you excited for summer? Or are you just settling into spring? 

Thanks for visiting.

I link at the wonderful parties listed here.

THE DIRT: THE GRO PROJECT

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.


Last week I showed you my little Japanese Spring Garden Seedlings. I’ve been taking really good care of them and I’m so excited about the possibility of actually harvesting these yummy veggies. The seedlings are Kabocha, Japanese Eggplant and Japanese Cucumber. You can read more about these vegetables here.

GOOD TASTE: BLACK & WHITE CUPCAKES

I’m trying to learn how to frost cupcakes so that they’re oooh and ahhh worthy. This is my first attempt at the swirl technique. I definitely need some more practice but thankfully I had some pretty cupcake holders to detract from my mediocre frosting skills. The cupcake is in a black & white polka dot baking cup and then nestled in a beautiful pearl paper floral cupcake wrapper.

THE INSPIRATION BOARD: CREATIVE PARTY [103]

From my archives – diy cloche jar 

 

Welcome to The Inspiration Board creative party! I'm so happy that you are here and willing to share your creativity. Are you working in your garden, adding spring or even summer decor to your home or cooking and baking up a storm? Whatever you've been up to, I can't wait to see.

GOOD TASTE: A ZESTY GRILLED ASPARAGUS SANDWICH

Kraft sent me a bottle of the product to review, but they haven’t reviewed or approved what I wrote below. All opinions are mine. Enjoy!

Do I have a treat for you today. I made the most delicious sandwich the other day with the complimentary bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Anything Dressing I received. When I was chosen to review this product, I wanted to create something outside of my normal cooking box. Something that I wouldn’t usually cook at home but I would order at a restaurant. I came up with a grilled asparagus sandwich that was out of this world good.

EXTRA CREDIT: COLORFUL AND MODERN STYLE {#CB2NovogratzBrasilSweepstakes}

This post brought to you by CB2. All opinions are 100% mine.

I wanted to let you know about this great opportunity to win a dream trip to Brasil and see a beautiful collection of pieces inspired by the beauty of Brasil.

CB2 is definitely a source of creative inspiration. Whether your style leans toward vintage or modern it’s hard not to be inspired by the clean and colorful style that CB2 offers. CB2 has now partnered with the husband and wife design team Robert and Cortney Novogratz. As seen on their popular TV home design shows, they are all about a mix of modern and vintage with a playful edge.

THE INSPIRATION BOARD: LINK PARTY SPOTLIGHT ~102~

Happy Friday everyone! Another creative week has flown by. We had a busy week at our house. We survived a prom, had a wonderful Mother’s Day celebration, plus the regular hectic daily schedule, including sports practices and the end of season sport’s banquet {and guess who is team mom?}. I made several bouquets for the banquet out of beautiful sunny yellow sunflowers, hydrangeas, spider mums and more. I didn’t post them here but posted the photo to Instagram. I just joined Instagram – can you believe it? You can follow me here if you’d like.

And, in case you didn’t have a chance to stop by this week, here’s what I shared. My Asian Spring Vegetable Garden, A Facial Scrub Round Up and a Sympathy Card. 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and linked up their projects this week. There were some problems with the linky this week and the linky people are working on fixing the issue. If you had trouble linking up I’m so sorry. I hope you come back next week and try again. I’d love to see your projects.

As always, there were so many beautiful projects and I was so inspired by the pops of color. Here are the projects in the spotlight this week.

Good Taste: warm, flip, serve {ps don’t forget the cake}

This post brought to you by Private Selection. All opinions are 100% mine.


What can be better than homemade cake still warm from the oven? I love making cakes – for a family treat, or a dessert to take school events or gatherings with friends. But lately, I’m finding I have less and less time to whip up a cake even one from a mix.

Store-bought cakes are great in a pinch but you still can’t beat that warm-from-the-oven sensation.