Faux Taxidermy: Still Not Loving It

Would you believe that the most viewed post that I've had on this blog since I started back in April is one about Faux Taxidermy? It really makes me laugh a bit, as I consider how many people are running Google searches on the topic every single day.

In honor of that post that leads so many newcomers to my blog, I'd like to share with you a product that I stumbled upon this afternoon. It combines my love of Lego with my dislike of mounted dead deer heads:

That's right, it's a Taxidermy Deer Lego Kit! It can be purchased from David Cole, and wouldn't it just make the most perfect stocking stuffer!? Admittedly, if one of these showed up for me on Christmas morning, even though I'm still not digging the faux taxidermy trend, I'd still be inclined to mount this on my living room wall!

Xmas Reflections

Sometimes I get to thinking that as rad as technology is, I have a certain discomfort with it. Take, for example, my lack of blogging lately- it's not to say that I'm lacking ideas, or have nothing to share, but simply that I'm just not feeling like plopping in front of a computer to execute my thoughts into words. Or, whenever I get a text message or email, I can take days, even weeks to reply to a message. I'm not sure why... I like to think of it as a technological fear or procrastination. Anyways, now that I've established a lame excuse to compensate for a lack of blogging lately, on to better things!

Not that it's a big surprise or anything, but it's just over a month until Christmas, and I'm getting pretty pumped for that. Having Hazel be another year older, and a bit more aware of her surroundings, I hope that this Christmas will be really special. As much as we flaunt the mantra of her already having too many toys and material goods, I can barely resist the urge to go out and buy her a million gifts! I yearly feel this way about Jackie as well, so I've been instructed not to get "too crazy" this year with the spending. I especially love wrapping gifts and preparing them for Christmas, and having them nestled under the tree for weeks! Speaking of tree nestling- we haven't put up the tree yet, but we may get around to that tomorrow. The bulk of our other Christmas decorations exploded into our place almost a month ago (right after Halloween!). And so, everything is twinkly, and bright, and nostalgic-like.

I've been crafting Hazel some felt toys for Christmas- once they're done, I'll share them with you. We've also decided to make as many gifts for family this year as we can- to save on cost, and to give a personalized touch. I'll also try to share as much of that as possible- without revealing who's getting what.

In the meantime, let's kick back with some eggnog lattes, and enjoy the best time of year!

Apothecary Style Candy Jar

A few years ago, before we converted to apartment living, we used to live in a townhouse built in the 70s. One of the things that I loved/hated about the place, was that in the living room, we had a ledge that ran the entire width of the room (I think it was meant to be a breakfast area for bar stools), and we used it to store random junk. It was impossible to keep it clean. But, one of the items that we displayed on the ledge was candy jars- and our guests would love to help themselves to candy whenever they visited. Due to downsizing, the 4 candy jars were one of the things to go, due to a lack of space. What didn't change was our habit of keeping a bit of candy around the house, and it's often difficult to find a place to store it.

With the removal of some of our Fall decor, I managed to free up a bit of space on our Living Room Dresser. The problem I struggled with was finding a candy jar that wouldn't get lost amongst the other decorative items- if only there was a way to give it a bit of height, the jar would be more accessible, and it would be easier to create a sense of layering in the dresser vignette.

Enter an old wooden pillar candle holder from Debbie Travis' home collection from approx 2006. I purchased the candle holder because it had a bit of height to it, and at the time, I couldn't find any pillar holders I cared for that were in my budget range. I'll admit, I was never too keen on the look of it- it was very plain and streamlined, and lacked any sort of embellishment, and thus, has been living in the back of a storage cabinet for the past few years. I was at the point of wanting to donate it when, I decided to use it as the base of the candy jar to give it a bit of height! For the jar itself, I purchased a simple glass jar from the dollar store (for a whopping dollar!). The jar had a silver lid, and I really wanted the jar and the candle holder to feel cohesive.

 

The cure for that particular ailment?: paint, of course! I teetered back and forth between painting it a deep green, or a muted blue, but I really wanted to give it a bit of punch, but just couldn't come up with the right shade. I asked Jackie for advice- her suggestion: hot pink. And hot pink it was! I used the same color as our pink feature wall, just for continuity (and because I already had it, and didn't need to purchase any more paint!).

Prior to painting, I removed the lid from the jar, and attached an old finial I had kicking around, just to give it a finishing quality. And the finial went perfect with the lines of the candle holder base. I primed all the pieces, slapped on severeal coats of Benjamin Moore's Peony, and gave it all a very light coat of water based clear coat.

Once everything was dry, I attached the base to the jar by using a generous amount of clear glue (I chose a glue that was meant for fixing fish tanks and other glass applications). The only set back in the entire project (and there's always at least one!) was that I didn't handle the finial/ lid with care while the glue was setting, and it came off! Oh well, nothing that a bit more glue and paint couldn't fix.

The hot pink certainly delivered that punch I was looking for. I filled it up with some LifeSavers candies and lollipops for the time being- but I can't wait for Christmas to approach and to stack it full of red and white peppermints, or some bright Quality Street chocolates! YUM!

The Pure Awesomeness of Mercury Glass

I'd like to dedicate this post to mercury glass, and my current obsession with it, and its awesomeness. Remember how 4 or so years ago, crackled glass was all the rage, and you could get that sweet effect in everything from candle holders to champagne flutes?- Well, this is better and a thousand times cooler than crackled glass.

First off- what the heck is mercury glass? Well, mercury glass refers to silvered glass, that, when blown with double walls, a liquid silvering solution is inserted, and then sealed. The result is a haphazard shimmering effect, that is heightened with a light source is reflected behind it (i.e. a mercury glass votive holder).

While I'm generally of the opinion that anything is DIYable on the cheap, I'm not sure if this is acheivable with this finish. There's numerous tutorials circulating online on how to get a mercury glass effect, but all of them involve using Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint- a mini spray can that is practically obsolete- and can run you about $15 per can. For cheaper, you could get some mercury glass votive holders or vases from most home decor stores. There's a certain satisfication about doing something yourself- but at the same time, if I could get the same effect for significantly cheaper, I'm likely to choose that option.

With Christmas looming around the corner, I'm on the look out for any decor in this finish, and hope to incorporate some of it into our decorating for this year.

Speaking of which, one thing I often struggle with at this time of year is when is it considered too soon to bust out the Xmas decor? I know that the answer is personal and everyone has a different opinion, but Fall is legitamately around for another month and a half, and I spend so much time waiting for September to approach to bring out the Fall accents- it just seems short changed to only have it out for a month or two, and then to transition to Christmas so quickly. If possible, I think I'd like to try a slow transition. Maybe throw out a few rotting pumpkins, incorporate some metallics and silver candlestick holders. And save the tree for another few weeks. Knowing us though, Christmas will probably hit our home by the time the weekend is through.

A Second Pipe Dream

It's pretty amazing when one DIY project can effortlessly lead to another. Last week, I posted about a candlestick holder that I had fashioned from some metal pipes and paint. That project in itself was a test, or "rough draft" that led to the project I want to share with you today.

Almost 5 Christmases ago, IKEA had a 3 tiered candelabra that I had purchased and loved dearly. Over the years, the metal candle holder developed a bit of rust (probably from improper storage) and became very difficult to open and set out. I tossed the thing out last year, and since then have been on the search for a new candelabra. To my dismay, I had yet to find a new one. Upon a stroke of brilliance a week or so ago, I realized- if you can't find what you like for sale, you should make it yourself! And the idea for this candelabra was born! Similar to last week's candle holder, this project took maybe half an hour to complete. I cleaned all the pipes, assembled them into the shape, primed it and painted! I used Autumn Purple for the color, and gave it a good heavy gloss, just to give it some eye candy qualities! (yum)

 

The only potential setback I came up against with this project was the pipes were about 1/16" too big for the candles- meaning that they leaned or tended to sway to one direction. The solution: wrap the bottom of the candles in several layers of tin foil to build up the depth.

I think what I admire most about this project is the blended contrast of the industrial pipes, with the punch of color. It currently is adding a dose of humor to our dining room table- but I think this candelabra is versatile enough to fit into most schemes!

P.S. Happy Halloween!

Color Of The Week: Hazy Lilac

This week's color is a muted dusky purple- a tone that I just can't seem to get right. It's a fine line between being either too pink or too gray. I think this purple hits it right on the mark. I used to have this impulse to paint our bathroom this color- and who knows, maybe someday, that dream may come true. But, while I truly love muted tones, it's a struggle to incorporate them into a house full of bright, saturated colors. I'm also a pretty big fan of the Hazy Lilac color, as "Hazy" is a common nickname that we use for Hazel at home- so it just fits nicely.

Hazy Lilac 2126-40

While I have given up on purple hues over the past few months, the onset of Fall has brought them back to my mind, and I am feeling particularly inspired this week by a new line of furniture at IKEA. This is the ISALA Laptop Table- a style that fuses traditional elements with a modern twist. I absolutely love the color- and feel it fits in well with the Hazy Lilac tone.



ISALA Laptop Table

Lilacs carry with them a great deal of serenity, and are usually thought to be represented as a spiritual color. I'd stray from using a lilac as a main neutral, but rather in small rooms that could use an airy vibe. In the meantime, I'm going to save this one in the "color bank" as a resource for a well-deserved furniture project for the future. 

Declutter

I think that it's come to light that hoarding simply is one of those unforgivable sins in our culture (just think of all those hoarding TV shows that now exist)- the problem is, whether we want to admit it or not, we're all guilty of the crime on some level, and watching others hoard worse than us makes our own hoarding feel a bit more acceptable.

When you look around your living quarters, ask yourself this question: is my junk functional and contributing to my daily life? It's good to be surrounded by items with nostalgic value, and not everything has to be dual purposed. But, how much of our junk exists simply because we once spent money on it, and simply can't bear the thought of parting with it?

Enter the rule of 10%, which is: in your living space (specifically in your home organizers), you always want to reserve 10% of the space, or leave 10% empty to allow for new things to enter your life. If you're always living with no vancancy, you're not opening yourself up to any newness, or clutter will accumulate pretty quick!

To help assist with the decluttering process, consider having an outbox in your home. The outbox doesn't necessarily have to be a box, but an area that can house items that are ready to be parted with. Think of the outbox as a tool to help you seperate first, and to remove the item from your home later. Give any item in your outbox a week's stay, to allow you to process whether or not you're ready for the item to be removed from your life. After a week, consider whether the process worked and if you're ready to part with it, or if you feel it has substantial enough value to remain in your home.

Decluttering is an avid choice, and requires very little work- but rather, the emotional choice of letting go of the things around us. But, in reality, if you haven't used an item or appreciated it within the past 3 months, there's a strong chance that the item is ready to be decluttered from your life.

If our homes are a reflection of our lives and our personal journeys, perhaps having too much stuff, and leaving no room for growth or change speaks volumes as to who we are as people. Give yourself 10%- it will go a long way.