Cute IKEA Candles

These IKEA candles are now a cute addition to a gift for my niece and they only took a few minutes to pull together.  It just goes to show that sometimes inexpensive items can be tweaked a little to make them special and personal :o) 

I picked up a couple of these candles from IKEA a few days ago for a $1.99 each.  They smell amazing, but the packaging was a little bland - a glass container with a large, unattractive sticker on it (sorry IKEA but they had to go) and a plastic fitted top.  Yeah, not really working for me.  

I picked up some clear backed letter stickers at Walmart for next to nothing and thought they would be perfect for these candles. 

There were two holes in the top of the plastic lid which were the perfect size for threading a length of pink polka dot ribbon through ... and I finished it off by tying a small bow.     

Since these candles are part of a little girl's gift the ribbon makes a nice, fun addition.  I added the words "luv u" and "QT" (aka cutie) to the outside of the glass and voila ... 

... a simple and cute way to dress up an inexpensive and yummy smelling candle!

I love how they turned out so I think I'll pick up a few more - maybe I'll try just threading the ribbon through the holes and trimming the ends for a more sophisticated and tailored look, or perhaps twine might be neat too?  Boy, if you had a Cricut or Silhouette you'd be all set - the whole etched glass thing would be very cool!  

- Kristin -

I'm linking to a few of these awesome parties:

happyhappyhousewife.blogspot.com, craftedition.blogspot.com, todayscreativeblog.net, trendytreehouse.blogspot.com, bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com, somedaycrafts.blogspot.com, bluecricketdesign.net, 733blog.blogspot.com, somewhatsimple.blogspot.com, firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com, theshabbychiccottage.net, paisleypassions.blogspot.com, houseofhepworths.com, simplydesigning.blogspot.com, funtocraft.blogspot.com, justagirl.blogspot.com, lovelycraftyhome.com, tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com, funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com, thediyshowoff.blogspot.com, iheartnaptime.blogspot.com, alittlelovelyblog.blogspot.com

5 Easy Steps to the Perfect Mom Cave - Part 2

Like many of you out there, I want an inspirational space where I can be creative, find relaxation and escape the hum-drum of everyday life as a mother to 3 young boys, i.e. my very own Mom Cave.

So, for my Mom Cave I am going to follow the steps I mentioned in my post 5 Easy Steps to the Perfect Mom Cave and see how things go.  I love making lists and planning my space in this way has really helped me focus (and made the project a more realistic endeavor).

Step 1: Carve Out Your Space

We are currently building a playroom for the boys in the basement.  It was easy to see where the room could be sectioned off to provide a small space for my Mom Cave.  My vision is to be able to craft, sew, paint and be creative while the kids play ... not sure exactly if this play out in reality, but I can always dream :o)

Step 2: Seperate Your Space

I am lucky enough that I will be able to separate my Mom Cave off from the playroom with doors.  We already had doors chosen for the playroom, so we will have to go back to HD and get two more.  They look something like the one pictured below only they have beadboard in the two raised panels.  I plan to paint them Benjamin Moore's Oxford White.

Since I love crisp white paired with black, I'm definitely going to pick up some black hardware (knobs and hinges) for the doors.  

Step 3: Colour, Colour, Colour

Since this is MY space, I want something with a pop of colour for the walls, something totally unexpected for me, and I'm leaning towards this from BM:

Typically I am a monocromatic type of gal - I like black, white, brown or beige.  Those are my comfort colours.  For this room however, I think that a bolder colour that takes me out of my comfort zone will be a good/creative thing.  It is a small space so if I end up not liking it, it isn't too hard to change.  I think that white will be the accent colour with small hints of black ... there is only one small window, so I have to keep things light.

Step 4: The Comfort Factor


One of the things I am going to do with this space is play around with textures.  You know, ruffle pillows, geometric patterns, cozy throws, and definitely a white chair or couch.  I feel confident that I can maintain the white since this room is to be off limits to the boys.  This sofa chair by IKEA would be perfect, but I'll probably have to find something a bit more economical.

Step 5:  Add Personality

With a bold wall colour I think that I need to focus on creating an open airy look to the space.   I love the glass table top from IKEA as a desktop - it has LOVE written all over it in different languages thus it qualifies as very girly so it is a "yes" in my book.

Since storage will be at a premium, I think that two of these drawer sets, one under each end of the glass top would be perfect.  These drawers slide easily and provide the necessary space for all my pens, stamps etc.

For the chair I am considering the Tobias chair from IKEA - again in keep the space light; I just wish it could swivel :o)

I have already picked out two artwork pieces for the room (like the one at the top of this post).  Normally I would insist on doing my own, but I have so many other projects on the go right now that when I found these at Home Sense I just knew I had to have them.

That leaves shelving and lighting to consider- two important aspects of any crafty space.  I love those painted buffet/hutch ideas because you get decorative and functional storage in one.  A side table for the chair and a second hand chandelier painted white to top it all off might just make it my perfect Mom Cave!

Any recommendations for the rest of the walls?  Have you any experience with vinyl wall art?  I'm still at a loss here...

 - Kristin - 

IKEA Coffee Table Makeover

I love making over an old piece.  It gives it new life, new potential and in doing so, can totally change the look of a space.  Take for example this old pine IKEA coffee table.  When we first bought it, we used it as a coffee table.  Really.  It held decorating magazines, displayed a nice vignette or two and was a safe place to put your coffee down. 

Then kids happened and the coffee table suddenly took on a new, more dented identity.  Put in the playroom, it started sporting some impressive battle scars … none the least of which were the monster truck demolitions that would take place on it – the small HotWheels cars being pummeled with the massive metal Tonka dump truck, you know the one… 

The picture below does not do justice to the depth and breadth of the scratches, dents and punishment this IKEA coffee table suffered at the hands of those two little fellas :o)

 

Oh my.

  

Since moving into a “new” home, our old furniture is in the process of finding their way back into their rightful places.  Since I knew that this old IKEA coffee table was headed back upstairs to our sunroom, I knew that I needed to give it a fresh start; and what better way that with a coat of fresh white paint. 

First I sanded it down, then sprayed on a quick coat of Rust-oleum’s Espresso on all the edges and ledge trim.  

After it dried I applied one coat of primer.  This is sometimes where I wonder if I am doing the right thing because it looks so awful!  

After two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Oxford White in eggshell, I distressed it with a heavy grit sanding block and this is what I ended up with:

 

... a purposefully distressed finish!  

 Partying over at MissMustardSeed

IKEA Cabinet Makeover

When we purchased this IKEA stand about 5 years ago to hold our TV, it was in IKEA's signature light pine with laminate in the back (see picture below, taken from craigslist).

It's not that we loved the pine even then, but it was one of the few cabinets that could hold our monster of a TV (we went and bought a big screen tv right before the flat screens came down in price- sigh!) and while the thing is large, it holds all our TV related stuff and it sports a lock too which is great for keeping out those curious and sticky little hands :o)

While undertaking the building of a new playroom in our "new-to-us" home (pictures to come) I decided that the pine had to go, that I had to get rid of the "university furniture" and do away with the wood (oh, oh, am I in trouble here with all you wood lovers out there?).  My mom doesn't get it either as she is a big fan of natural wood ... then again she also loves brass ... enough said.

My big hesitation =  I'm afraid of making. it. look. worse.  A little inspiration from Centsational Girl (Kate) and Marion from MissMustardSeed was all it took to give me a kick in the pants, so to speak, as these gals yield paint brushes like nobody's business! 

So before I lost my nerve, I disassembled the cabinet making notes of what pieces of hardware belonged where (sounds obvious, but I have made the mistake before of thinking I could remember).  Then after taping off the windows I used some BEHR primer and primed all of the wood as well as the laminate back.  





Then after deciding where I was going to be distressing the piece, I took a can of Rust-oleum's Espresso spray paint and sprayed those areas.  


After that dried, I used a small foam roller to apply several coats of Benjamin Moore's Oxford White in an eggshell finish (I think it was three coats).  Then with a sanding block I sanded the piece in the areas where I wanted it to look distressed.  You can see where I got a little keen on the sanding as I sanded right through the espresso paint right down to the pine.  I'm okay with that though as it gives it some dimension, which is simply fancy talk for "it looks okay so I'm just gonna leave it"!  :o)


While I still need to apply a coat of Poly to the cabinet to seal everything before putting the TV back on, I have to say that I am very happy with the final results!  There.  One more thing that I can check off my list ... now on to the next! 

Linking this post to Furniture Feature Fridays & Fireflies & Jellybeans