Make // St. Patrick's Day Conversation Bottles

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? While we're 100% not-Irish, we're still a family that loves corned beef & cabbage, leprechaun & rainbows, and pretty much anything green & gold.

Here's a festive way to serve up beverages for St. Paddy's. The bottles can hold a special tonic or, in our case, chilled water. And if flat water is not your thing, just remove the labels on some new Pellegrino or sparkling cider bottles and start decorating. Or, if you want smaller bottles, there always green beer bottles as well. Any way you serve it up, these conversation bottles will add a bit of flair to your tabletop on March 17th.

Click "Read more" for the Free Printable & Tutorial

Make // Marbleized Glass Hearts

I saw this technique used for fingernails a few years ago and tucked the idea away for a future project. I'm not one for painting my nails, so I found this to be the perfect way to use some of the nail polish that I have stockpiled in my vanity. Why do I have so much polish when I hardly ever paint my nails? Who knows?! I guess I'm attracted to all those pretty colors, but when it comes down to it, only my toe nails get gussied up…. And that's only during sandal-wearing season.

Anyhow… This project is easy. It's messy. There are fumes involved. That about sums it up. Luckily, if you have nail polish remover on-hand and you work in a well-ventilated area, it's not too bad. I think the end results are pretty eye-catching!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Make // Bath Accessories with Mod Podge Sheer Colors

I'm a sucker for transparent, beautiful colors and, if you've been following this blog for a bit, you've probably noticed that I also enjoy working with glass. So when the opportunity came up to work with the new Mod Podge Sheer Colors, my mind was bouncing around with the endless possibilities. Over the past year or so, you've probably seen a lot of techniques for coloring glass-- colored mason jars, anyone? Some techniques are more effective than others and many have a learning curve. Well, Mod Podge Sheer Colors takes out the guess work and makes coloring glass simple and easy.

After tossing around several project ideas, I decided to go with one that is not only visually pretty, but will also tackle one of the organizational projects that I have planned for this year.

The Project: Organize My Vanity

While this may not seem like a big "task"… For me, it is. For the last several years I've kept all of my cosmetics, including brushes, eyeliners, and lipsticks in a deep, bottomless travel case. While this is great for when we actually do travel (since I don't have to pack anything up), it's a bit of a mess when it comes to my daily routine. shuffle, shuffle... Lipstick, where are you? dump, dump… Where did my blush brush go? shuffle, ouch! darn you tweezers! I know there's eyeliner in there somewhere… So, procrastinator that I am, getting my vanity organized is a big deal.  :)

After a trip to the store to peruse some inexpensive vases, I decided to use stemless wine glasses. They're wide enough to hold a lot of supplies, but short enough so that items can easily be identified, pulled out and put back. Next up was choosing a color. Mod Podge Sheer Colors has nine very pretty, translucent options. I decided to go with sheer purple, which I think is reminiscent of radiant orchid, Pantone's 2014 color of the year. Our master bath is a very boring white and cream, so really, any pop of color is a welcome addition.

Click HERE for the Tutorial

Year in Review // My Favorite Posts in 2013

Yesterday I pulled together the most read, most liked, most popular posts in 2013 by you, the reader. Today, er... Tonight, I'm sharing MY favorite posts of 2013.

instagram photo heart

After 9 months of deciding where to hang this, I finally figured it out. It was almost like giving birth... Er, nev'r mind.  It's nice to look at from afar and when I get close, the photos, and the memories that go with them, just suck me in. Slooop!

faux glass glitter & translucent glitter eggs

So pretty and ethereal... Not to mention economical (epson salts & colored chalk). And you should see the eggs when they light up! hint: click the link!

heart-in-hands gloves

This was a Pin It / Make It project that I put together on the cheap-- $1 gloves and a $.25 sheet of craft felt. So much for my Pin It / Make It "series" though... this is the one and only.  :)

cork letter tack board

I still have this hanging in my office (aka that little desk-thing in the kitchen) and it's very good at keeping track of all the little notes that I leave for myself. 'Cause, you know, if I don't write it down... (sigh)

Click "Read more" for the full post

Year in Review // 2013 Most Popular Posts

Why hello there! How was your week? I feel like I was in some sort of time warp and can't account for the last several days. It was Christmas, I blinked, and now we're 2 days into 2014. Whooosh! Crazy how that happens.

Whether you're working or taking time off, I hope that the past week has been a good one. We enjoyed some much needed down time at our place in San Diego. It was nice to unplug for a bit and reflect upon the year gone by.

I always like reading "year in review" posts, so here's ours.

bliss bloom blog's top posts of 2013

#1 milk jug votives

I guess you guys like upcycle/recycle projects? This was a fun one and I'm now dreaming up earth day projects for 2014.

Click "Read more" for the full post

Make // Alcohol Ink Ornaments

This tutorial first appeared as part of Under the Table & Dreaming's 4th Annual Handmade Ornament Series. 

I discovered Alcohol Ink over the summer while I was coming up with ideas for restyling these recyclable glass bottles. The look was so iridescent and eye-catching that I knew that it would be the perfect treatment for simple glass ornaments. 

Flash forward six months and it was finally time to try my hand at decorating glass ornaments. I played around a bit and came up with four different, yet simple techniques. While they look a little labor intensive, they are surprisingly easy to make and not too messy (as long as you keep the ink off your clothes!).

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Make // Decoupaged Butterfly Display Box

After a long delay (four years to be exact), we finally have begun to update our family room decor. New couch- check! Accent chair- check! Coffee table- check! Rug and throw pillows- check! We just need a couple more pieces to finish it off and make it share-worthy.

While I like our new furniture, there's a lot of grey and dark wood and it was starting to look a little too masculine and serious. No-can-do. I need whimsy! I need fun!  Enter the teal chair, bull's-eye pillow and this butterfly display box. 

click "Read more" for the tutorial

Upcycle // Cool Jar Series - Part III

Jars, bottles and other recyclables... I have a ton of them and I'm determined to do something with them. So far, some have become colorful translucent vases, others have become photo votives and now I'm down to a bunch of glass spice jars.

I rescued these cute little jars back in January when we were purging my in-laws storage unit. They were still wrapped in their original packaging and had been in storage for over 30 years.  I think they were waiting for me.  :)

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Upcycle // Cool Jars Series - Part II

It's time to do something with all those jars and bottles that you've been saving for the odd project or two. For the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to come up with some new ways to beautify old glass vessels (in this case, former salsa jars). For my first project, I experimented with alcohol inks. This time I decided to try my hand at printing on tissue paper to create these translucent photo vases. 

I used flowers, but I think these would also turn out great with family, pet or cute animal photos. 

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Christmas in... June?

So I know it's probably a bit early to be thinking of Christmas-- which, ahem,  is just a mere 6 months away... But I had to share this.

There is a small learning curve with these. I will be sharing the tutorial when we get closer to the holidays!

Upcycle // Cool Jar Series - Part I

My stash of recyclable jars and bottles has grown out of control. It's time to do something with them!! After sorting through and discarding many in the recycle bin, I thought I would try to make something decorative with the remainder. I love to try out new techniques and new-to-me products, and these free vessels are the perfect guinea pigs.

If you've been following this blog long enough, you've probably picked up that I love anything translucent-- gemstones, votives, stained glass... They just catch my eye-- I must've been a magpie in a former life.  :) Anyhow, when I stumbled upon alcohol ink and their translucent qualities, I knew that I had to try them out on glass.

Click "Read more" for the full post

In the Pipeline // 6.5.13

This month has been extra busy, but I've been determined to push through a creative slump (ever get those?) that has been hanging over me like a dark cloud. So I decided to tackle a couple of projects that have been on the back burner for a while.  It's slow going, but I *think* I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel... Which is always a good thing, right?

Anyhow, I plan on sharing these project over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

bliss bloom blog // Favorite Projects

A compilation of some of my favorite projects...

Click "Read more" for the full post

[Make] Faux Bois Vases

A faux bois project has been on my to-do list for a while.  It fits with my decor and I like to bring in the look of the outdoors whenever I can.  With just a few materials, some of which you may already have on-hand, these faux bois vases can be created in an afternoon.

One of my favorite things about faux bois-- It's perfectly imperfect. The less straight and the less perfect the lines the better!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Glass Bubble Vases

I like the idea of a bunch of small vases lined up on a window sill. However, the last thing I need is to be buying more "things", so I decided to use something that many of us already have on hand (probably sitting in a bin right now).

It is pretty and simple on its own...

Or it can be jazzed up a little...

You probably have guessed what I used for these little vases...

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Painted Stained Glass

I love anything translucent and have been wanting to experiment with glass paint.  On a recent trip to Joanns, I didn't find exactly the glass paint that I wanted so I decided to try out stained glass paint.  It's not dishwasher proof, so not something you can use on drinking glasses or glass plates, but for pure decorative purposes, it was easy to work with and did the job.

Since this was an experiment, I decided to use upcycled jars. Now that I know how it works, next time I will paint-up some glass vases and ornaments.

Click "read more" for the details

[Upcycle] Moss Vases

I love repurposing recyclable materials-- they're sturdy, usually come in nice, simple shapes and more importantly... they're FREE!   I've repurposed a few bottles for past projects, but I think that these moss vases are my favorite yet.  They're simple and, with the natural elements and texture, make an interesting focal point.

Click "Read more" for the full post

[Make] Winter Wonderland Snow Globe Ornaments

Last week I did a guest post at Under the Table & Dreaming

click on the button above to see all of the fabulous ornaments!

I shared the tutorial for these Winter Wonderland Snow Globe Ornaments--

In case you didn't see it, here's the tutorial again!

·٠•●♥Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ♥●•٠·

These ornaments are inspired by the mason jar snow globe trend that I've been seeing everywhere this season.

photos via anthropologie

I found myself pinning a bunch of snow globe ideas on Pinterest, but since I have young boys who are still in the "throwing" and "climbing on the tables" phase, I thought I'd have to shelve the idea for another year.  But then, I thought-- ORNAMENTS... out-of-reach ornaments... I can do ornaments! And that's how these Snow Globe ornaments were born.

click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] 6 Elegant & Simple Ornament Projects

Last year I started a Christmas decor make-over, changing from a burgundy & gold theme to white & silver. I wasn't about to buy ALL new decorations, so I knew it would be an ongoing annual DIY project.

A few things were completed last year--

3 ornaments were felted...

1 tree was completed... 

a couple of decorations were painted...

and then Christmas came in a hurry and that was that.  

So fast forward a year and the little bell that sometimes goes off in my head rang-- *ding*.  While I've tackled many projects, I haven't done much with the Christmas tree ornaments!  So this week I've been busy-- I unearthed the boxes of old ornaments from the depths of my closet, readied the materials and got to work.

Click "Read More" for the full post

[Make] West Elm Feather Ornaments

Who says that pretty has to be complicated?

Inspired by this Feather Ornament from West Elm...

I decided to make my own for a fraction of the cost.

Click "Read more" for the full post