Loving Lavendar

I'm on a bit of a lavender kick lately.  It all started when my friend Ashley got me hooked on this lavender syrup

It's delicious, but a little on the pricey side.  So, my DIY instinct kicked in and I decided to try to make it.  I found this great recipe here and figured I had nothing to lose.  Sounds a little weird, but don't knock it till you try it, you just might love it as much as I do.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried or 1/4 cup fresh lavender blossoms (I got mine from Fresh Market)
• 1 cup water

Preparation

• Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and cool. Cover and store in refrigerator.
• Lavender Iced Tea: Stir 2 tablespoons Lavender Syrup into a 12-ounce glass of iced tea.
• Lavender Lemonade: Stir 2 tablespoons Lavender Syrup into a 12-ounce glass of lemonade.

I add mine to a glass of sparkling lemonade for a refreshing summertime treat.  At first I thought it might taste like a potpouri sachet, but nothing could be farther from the truth.  It's refreshing and delicious!  I've even gotten my sister hooked on it.

I bottled mine up in a thrift store bottle and labeled it with this label from the graphics fairy just for fun...

I even made it for a recent bridal shower...(check out my $8 drink dispenser from Walmart)

Not only do I love it in my lemonade, I also love it in my decor.  If lavender is the color of the year for 2012, I'm totally taking credit for it ;)  

This room has me inspired to redo my office, stay tuned for more on that...

images via casasugar

O Happy Day!

I've been scouring craigslist for weeks looking for one of these gorgeous hutches.  Then, last Friday I stopped by Goodwill for a quick run through after work and there she was and only $49, not too shabby.  Sure, it needs a little work but the lines are perfect and the size is just right too.  I plan to use it as a bookcase in our office instead of the ordinary MDF one we have now.  I primed it this weekend and it already looks a thousand times better.  Stay tuned for the full reveal!

It reminds me of these beauties I've had saved in my inspiration file, some of these have pull out desks but it's a similar concept and feel.

image via Eddie Ross

via decorpad

via decorpad

via decorpad

Seltzer Soap Pump

So today I need your help, thoughts, input on this little seltzer bottle I found.  I actually bought several because they were such an amazing deal and sold the rest in my booth.  I kept this one because I loved it so much and had grand intentions of turning it into a soap dispenser.  Anyone know how I can do this?  I know I could just replace the top with a average soap pump handle but part of what makes this so cool is the pump at the top.  Any ideas???

it's from 1948, I just love old treasures like this...

by the way I got this at Tuesday Morning, who would of thought?

Keep Calm and Wear a Bandaid

Maybe you're over this slogan, but I still think it's cute.  I found these at Zgallerie and thought they were adorable and what better slogan for when you are hurt than, "Keep Calm and Carry On."  

I guess it's a good thing that I haven't needed one yet, but the next time I have a need I'm surely going to reach for one of these!

Bathroom-Full Reveal

OK, drumroll please....Time for the final reveal of the guest bathroom.  As I've taken you step by step through all the projects in the bathroom you've pretty much seen the whole thing, but I will compile all the pictures here, along with a few others.  Now, to answer few questions that I've been asked so far.  The color of the bathroom is black, just black.  I asked the Sherwin Williams paint man for a gallon of black eggshell paint and this is what I got.  Doesn't sound super fancy or anything but it was just what I was looking for. :)  As for the color of the stripes on the shower curtain, I wish I could tell you.  It was leftover paint from a project my mom had done (which means it was free to me, no complaints here) and there is no label or anything on the can.  The paint for the mirror is Rustoleum Gold Metallic spraypaint.  I love this stuff.  The coverage is amazing and it dries in no time flat.  Please feel free to leave any additional questions in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them!

Onto the pictures...

A few before pics...

First it looked like this...

then this...

 now it looks like this...

Striped Shower Curtain DIY style

Back to the guest bathroom today.  I decided to DIY the shower curtain because I just couldn't find what I wanted.  I wanted something that would bring out the coral color in the room and I also wanted it to be a little longer than an average shower curtain for some drama.  I searched and searched to no avail.  So, I found these curtain panels at IKEA for $15 for the pair.  They were extra long and canvas so it would work perfectly for what I had in mind.  I sewed the two panels together and then sewed two additional seams to make the seams look more intentional, not just like two panels sewed together.

Then, I laid a large tarp in our driveway, this is the only place I could fit it because this thing is HUGE!

Then, I laid out the curtain and taped off my stripes with frog tape.

I painted two coats of regular paint from home depot and let it dry.  I removed the tape and voila!  Extra long shower curtain custom made for my bathroom!  It's hard to tell from the picture but it's really tall, 98 inches to be exact.  I tried really hard to get a good picture of the curtain, but this bathroom is pretty tiny so it's hard to get it all in.  The color reads more coral than terra cotta in person.  My husband says it's the biggest shower curtain he's ever seen but I love it!

 This project was inspired by KFD designs striped shower curtain.  Check her's out and her great tutorial!

Fun Frugal Find

Here's a fun frugal find to brighten your Monday!

Love this, if only I needed a mirror, hopefully one of you will love it and be able to use it.

Crate and Barrel

I think it would look great centered above a bed instead of the typical starburst mirror or even styled like the picture below with one over each nightstand.  For around $20 you can't beat it!

source

Super Simple Art

The area above the towel bar in the bathroom was looking kind of lonely.  It needed something simple, not too fussy.  So, I framed a simple quote that I printed using a coral colored font.  Just what the space needed.  The frame was a product of a previous DIY so this cost me nothing.  

Appropriate for a bathroom don't ya think?

I'm working on something creative for the towel bar but haven't gotten there yet...

Mirror Mirror

I went back and forth between what color to paint the mirror in this bathroom and finally settled on gold.  It's funny because I used to hate gold, but now it's probably one of my favorite finishes to use.  It had already undergone one makeover to suit the old decor so this will actually be a before and after and after...

Before...

after....

and how it looks now...

Under the Sea

The next stage of the guest bathroom makeover is artwork.  It started, again, with my love for coral and seafans.  I have actually already used these in another area of my house, but you can never have too much coral, in my opinion at least. 

I found these inexpensive shadow boxes at Michael's for around $5 (they were 50% off and then an additional 25% off)  I think they are actually meant to be used for T-shirt displays but they were inexpensive and just the size I needed.

It looked like this, the black would work in most spaces, but obviously not in this one so I gave it a coat of white spraypaint.

source

Then I purchased seafans from this ebay seller.  They arrived in great condition, exactly as described.  Although I liked the natural color, it just didn't fit in with my idea for a glamorous bathroom.  So I simply spraypainted them aged brass.  I also added a sheet of coral colored scrapbook paper to the back for a more customized look.

here's what the seafans looked like before I got my hands on them...

(picture is from the Ebay listing)

and here we have the finished product!  I love how they just "pop" off the black wall.