Glittered gold taxidermy

If you follow me on instagram (dwellingsbydevore) then you'll recognize this little guy.  I picked him up on clearance at hobby lobby for around $8.  I've been wanting to add just a touch of taxidermy to our home, but never could find the right piece for the right price.  So, when I came across this little fellow it was a no brainer.  I actually didn't mind the finish on it for a more masculine space, but I wanted this to go in my daughter's bathroom so girly and glittery it was.  

I removed the antlers (they just popped right out) and gave the body a few coats of glossy white spraypaint.  I had someone ask a while ago about whether or not I prime when I spraypaint.  I don't unless I'm spraypainting something super shiny or slick or something that I know is going to get a lot of use.  Also, a lot of spraypaints are now made with built in primer so you can usually skip that step when using those products.  Once the body got a coat of white, I spraypainted the antlers gold.  I planned to bedazzle them with some gold glitter, but wanted to create a gold backdrop just in case the glitter didn't completely cover the surface.  I'm glad I did this step because the glitter didn't completely cover the surface. 

Once the gold paint was dry, I used a foam brush to coat the antlers in glue and then sprinkled them with some gold glitter.  I picked it up on sale at Michaels for my daugther's party and had plenty leftover.  This glitter is more like little strips instead of small dots like normal glitter so it added a little bit more texture to the antlers.  I think if I try this again I'll do just regular glitter, I think it would adhere and cover better.

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We had a boring towel ring in this bathroom before so I thought this would be a great place to use this hook.  This bathroom is used for guests as well as for my daughter so I like that it's feminine and girly but still sophisticated.

I can't seem to find this hook on Hobby Lobby's website so I would check your local store, probably in the clearance section if you are interested.  There's some great plastic taxidermy on ebay that would be great for this project.  I think something like this deer would be great because of the large antlers.  It would make such a statement to have them covered in glittery gold. 

DIY gold dipped planter

This project was inspired by my new fiddle leaf fig tree.  My hubby got it for me for Mother's day.  I actually picked it out while we were shopping around at IKEA last Saturday.  I had heard others mention that they had found them there for $12.99, but had never seen any until this past weekend.  I told my hubby that I would prefer this over flowers for mother's day and he happily obliged me.  I think  he was secretly breathing a sigh of relief knowing that would take a little pressure off of him having to go out later and find flowers. 

You may remember a while ago when I purchased my first fiddle leaf fig tree.  I'm sad to report that it died a slow death.  I tried to do everything right, but every day I would find another leaf on the floor.  When I took it outside to dump everything out I realized it had gotten root bound, so this time I made sure to go with a much larger pot.  Which leads me to this little DIY project.

I started with this really inexpensive plastic planter from Target.  I think it was around $7.  

I sprayed it with some Rustoleum paint in Berry Pink.

I had this paint leftover from the cozy coupe makeover I'm working on (hopefully it will be finished soon!).  It says it's made to bond to plastic so I figured it would work well for this planter and it did.  After I painted it pink, I sprayed the bottom portion with some gold spraypaint to get the dipped look.  This planter has a removable base that acts as a tray so water doesn't go everywhere so I just took it off and spraypainted it and then put it back on.  If your planter doesn't have a removable base you could just use painters tape to get a nice clean line.

So here's to hoping it can survive my black thumb and a toddler who is into everything.  I would love to have it for many years and have it grow large enough to be an actual tree.  A girl can dream right?  Have any of you had any success with fiddle leaf fig trees?  Please share your tips, I'm all ears.

Mason Jar Bathroom Storage

Mason jars are great because they are inexpensive and so versatile.  If you peruse Pinterest much you'll see them used for everything from gift wrap to soap pumps.  I picked up a few while thrifting the other day and thought they would make great storage for a few essentials in our guest bathroom.  I gave the lids and rims a quick coat of gold spray paint.

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It was super simple, but I think the gold really classes them up. 

I would love the fill the middle jar with some pinky coral soaps to add some color, I may even attempt to make my own.

Have you done any fun things with mason jars lately?

Work Hard & Be Nice To People

I love the saying, "Work Hard & Be Nice To People."  I think it really is the basis to being successful as simple as it sounds.  So, naturally I wanted to incorporate this into my office.  I first saw this saying and was inspired by Anthony Burrill's prints.  

via Anthony Burrill

So, I decided to make my own using my Silhouette.  (If you don't have a silhouette you could create your own stencil or just use vinyl letters.)  I started out by using one of these plastic shadowbox frames.  It's the same one that I used for my lucite tray.  They are so inexpensive and versatile, I've been trying to think of lots of projects to do with them.  

I didn't take lots of progress pictures, but it's pretty self explanatory.  I get so wrapped up in what I'm doing sometimes I forget or my hands get covered in paint before I can take pictures.  Anyways, I printed the saying out on vinyl (backwards so it would be facing the correct way on the front) and then adhered it to the inside of the frame.  I also taped off the edges to protect them from overspray.  If I had it to do over again I would have just adhered it to the front and sprayed it.  

  

Then I gave it a few coats of Rustoleum Gold Metallic spray paint and let it dry.  Next, I took out the cardboard insert from the shadow box frame and wrapped it with some wrapping paper just like you would wrap a present.  I had some gold/white wrapping paper leftover from my spice storage project that coordinated perfectly.  I like the way the letters have a gold foil look to them.  I think I'm going to start a mini gallery wall over there with a few more prints.

It was a little tricky to photograph from straight on with the glare of the window so it looks a little wonky...

Here's a better, up close view of what it looks like.  I still love the way the inspiration print looks and may add one to my collection one day.

If you follow me on facebook you already saw this, but I got to work on this little cozy coupe this weekend, the painting is all done, now it's just time for the finishing touches!  Can't wait to share!

  

Carved Wood Side Tables

Do you ever find it hard to pass on something that's a really good deal?  Sometimes I stumble on things that are great deals and things that I love, but just have no use for them so I share them with you.  It makes me feel better :)  

Ross is one of those stores that can be hit or miss for me, especially in the home decor department.  I didn't find anything I needed, but I did come across these great, very solid and heavy carved wood end tables.  They looked bigger and better in person and they had a pair, which can be a little hard to find in discount stores.  They were only $99/each which I thought was a great deal!  I don't have a need for them, but I think they are great so I just had to share.

Reminds me of these carved wood side tables from West Elm, which are reasonably priced at $199/each, but in this case you can get the pair at Ross for the same price as one at West Elm.

The other thing I found that I'm kind of kicking myself for not buying is this large owl vase for $16.99.  It would make the perfect umbrella stand don't you think?  I would probably paint it a glossy solid color although the blue/white is kind of charming, but it's probably not practical with a little one running around.  

found any great deals lately?

Take a look around

Hi everyone, if you haven't already noticed I finally got a new blog design.  It was definitely long overdue.  I worked with Elizabeth at The Mustard Ceiling Designs and the process was very smooth.  If you are reading this through a reader I encourage you to hop on over and check out the changes.  I have started updating some of the tabs to include helpful information like a home tour and a list of DIY projects.  Let me know if you are having any trouble with any of the links or anything, hope you like it as much as I do!  Thanks Eliazbeth!

Patio Picks

I don't know about you, but around this time of year I always get antsy to start sprucing up the outdoors.  I'm sad to say that our patio is a mess right now.  It is in desperate need of an update.  It's one of the least used spaces of our home and I'm on a mission to change that this year.  I'm even attempting to grow a few flowers and veggies.  I'm starting by giving our patio set a fresh coat of spraypaint which it desperately needs.  I'm tempted to go with a more bold color choice instead of my usual black, but we'll see.  Here's a few inspirational patio picks that have given me itch to get things started sooner than later.  

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(not a sponsored post, just some things I'm liking right now)