4th of July Mantel-- America the Beautiful

'Tis the season for 4th of July decorations!

I got my mantel all gussied up and I'm sharing it with you today!

For my focal point, I used a large piece of MDF and a LOT of painter's tape to create my "America the Beautiful" art.  I also created that heart and cut it out in vinyl to go over the top.  It was a lot of fun to create and I really like how it turned out!

My favorite part is the banner I created using the 4th of July journaling cards from the Holiday Edition Project Life mini kit!  I just used miniature clothes pins and some baker's twine and strung them up... easy!  I also used these cards as my color pallet.  I take my cues from the professional graphic designers as often as possible.  It makes my life so much easier.

Other elements were my DIY Mercury Mason jars I shared with you HERE and my scrapbook paper America art I used last year with some different background paper.  I still love it!

So I'm feeling all patriotic and proud to be an American now!  

Bring on the sparklers.  :)

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime

DIY Mercury Glass

We're back with our talented group of 10 blogger besties to share June's themed hop. Head on over to their blogs to see and save their projects after viewing mine! Last month's hop theme was CITRUS, so many cute ideas! Pin this collage below, and make sure you come back on the 10th each month! June’s theme is MASON JARS for this beautiful summer weather!

To see each contributors Mason Jar posts up close, join the Blog Hop! 

 1. Little Miss Momma sharing Quick and Easy Painted Mason Jar Vases 

 2 .Landee See, Landee Do is sharing DIY Mercury Glass Mason Jars 

 3. Thirty Handmade Days shares Kids Summer Jar Ideas + Printable 

 4. Simply Kierste is sharing an Easy Mason Jar Lanterns tutorial 

 5. Your Homebased Mom shares Mason Jar Picnic ideas 

 6. Lolly Jane shares some quick Mason Jar Vases 

 7. Six Sisters Stuff sharing a Rainbox Cake in a Jar recipe 

 8 .Eighteen25 sharing their Laundry Room Mason Jars 

 9. Or So She Says sharing a DIY Bug Jar Caddy 

 10. Capturing Joy shares Mason Jar Mod Podge Photo Art for the home

I was so excited to hear that our theme this month was mason jars because they are like little blank canvases.  So many possibilities with these versatile little jars!  Dress them up, dress them down, embellish, paint... anything goes!  

A friend of mine recently put on a beautiful wedding for her daughter.  She had done some amazing centerpieces for the tables at the reception, part of which were some flower arrangements in mason jars.  She had somehow treated the mason jars to look like mercury glass and it was gorgeous.  It was a much more romantic and luxe look than plain mason jars would have been.  So I asked her how she did it and today I'm sharing it with you!

You need very few supplies:  Looking Glass spray paint, a spray bottle with equal parts water & vinegar in it, paper towels and a mason jar.

Simply spray your mason jar with the vinegar/water mixture.  Then spray a few light coats of the Looking Glass spray paint over the top.  Allow to dry for just a bit and then rub off "bubbles" with your paper towel.  You might also want to rub off larger areas depending on the look you're going for.

What's fun is you can experiment to get the look you want... and each jar will be totally different!  You might even want to try spraying the Looking Glass paint first, then spraying the vinegar/water, letting it sit for a little bit and then distressing it with the paper towel.  Lots of fun possibilities and looks to be had here!

I plan on using these for LOTS of different things but for now I added a painted burlap star and some twine to use them on my 4th of July mantel.  I'm excited to get that all pulled together this year!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check back on the 10th of each month for the blog hop!  I love seeing what all these ladies come up with, don't you?  

Also, if you're new here welcome!  You can keep up with all things Landee on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram (@landeelu) and Pinterest!  

Summer Porch Makeover

I did some sprucing this week.

Our front porch was sad.  So so sad.  And has been for years.

You can see the before picture on the left below.  I mean, what is that?  Embarassing, that's what.  And blah.  And definitely doesn't make anyone want to come to the door for a visit.  And it absoLUTEly doesn't make me want to go out there for any extended amount of time.

I decided to change all that and make it a place where at least I wanted to be, you know?  So there is my "after" there on the right!

 

It's so nice to have a place to sit out there and put my Rte44 from Sonic now!  

This was mostly a matter of heading to Cost Plus World Market (no, this isn't a sponsored post) and purchasing some of their adorable things!  I got the bench, pillows and cute yellow table there.  I made the Welcome sign for my Etsy shop and love what it adds to the new space (available for purchase HERE if you're interested)!  And I snagged the fun doormat at Target and new yellow wreath from Joann.  And don't forget the flowers!

I did, however, do a little project to revitalize the blah green-ish pots I've had out there for going on 7 years now.  I added some stripes and glaze to breath new life into them.  I was so pleased with how they turned out!  Steps are below.

1.  Find an old pot around the house that could use a makeover.

2. Using painter's tape (and maybe some toilet paper!) mask off areas of the pot to create stripes.

3. Spray paint the exposed areas.  Realize the new stripes are waaaay too bright.

4.  Get out your favorite stain along with some mixing glaze and...

5.  Mix them together in a disposable cup.  How much stain you mix in with the glaze depends on how dark you want it.

6. Brush on your glaze/stain mixture and then wipe off with a rag.  Repeat process until you get the look you are wanting!  I love having the dark stain settle into the cracks and divots.

It perfectly toned down the white and gave the pots a very fun weathered and richer look.  It feels like brand new pots for just a few dollars or pennies if you already have some stain and glaze on hand!

I also love looking out onto the porch from the inside of the house now.  So pretty! 

I feel like we've added a room onto the front of our house.  We love sitting out there and enjoying the no humidity, breezy, enjoyable weather that exists here in Colorado this time of year!  It's also a lot more comfortable now to take in the front yard wiffle ball games that keep breaking out spontaneously.

I love summer!

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime

Teacher Gift Idea: Time to Relax

Today I'm sharing my last End-of-the-Year Teacher Gift Idea!  

You can see my other ideas here: 

Target Gift Card Holder

Bucket List

The Strain is Over

It has been fun to peruse the Target Dollar Spot and find cute ways to give teachers what they really want... gift cards!

Today's idea is also brought to you by the Target Dollar Spot.  I found these super cute "daiquiri glasses" for (you guessed it!) $1 just sitting there and begging me to buy them.

I thought this is the perfect way to get the teachers in VACATION MODE for the summer.

I added some paper crinkles (you could also do candy or something), a little drink umbrella, a stripey straw and a Spa Finder gift card (any gift card would do) and it was looking like summer to me!  A little tip: I taped the umbrella to the inside.  The straw didn't seem to need it.

I then wrapped the middle with some contrasting baker's twine and added a cute tag and I was done!  

{You can download the tag HERE.}

This is getting me excited for summer so I'm guessing it will do the same for a teacher!

I hope you've enjoyed this little mini-series on End-of-Year Teacher Gift Ideas.  I realize this might be a little late for some of you who plan way ahead or whose kids get out earlier than mine do but you can always PIN the idea for next year! :)

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime

Teacher Gift Idea: Now That The STRAIN is Over!

I love the Target Dollar Spot area.  I really do.

I spotted this adorable little colander there a few days ago and, since I was in "end-of-year teacher gifts mode" I immediately started thinking of how I could use it to package up something fun for my kids' teachers!

I filled it with paper crinkles, candy and a spa gift card....

...wrapped it in cellophane, added a cute ribbon and a tag (which you can download HERE in FOUR different colors!)...

...and I was done!

The tag says "Now that the 'STRAIN' of the school year is over it's time for you to relax!  Thank you for a wonderful school year!" 

Get it?  STRAIN?  And it's a strainer?

I know you do.  :)

Easy & cute.  Boom!

{you can see my other teacher gift ideas here & here}

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime

Teacher Gift Idea: Bucket List

Today I'm sharing another idea for showing your appreciation to your child's teacher at the end of the year (you can see my other idea for a Target gift card HERE)!

I am a big fan of giving gift cards since they are small (easy for the teacher to get home) and useful (teachers LOVE gift cards!).  But my creative side cringes at the blah-ness of a regular ole' gift card.  I'm sure many of you can relate here.

So here's a cute little way to give a gift card using a small tin bucket I found in the dollar section at Target!

Everyone loves checking off things from their bucket list, right?  Side note: if your child has already gone skydiving I guess you need to find a red marker and check that one off as well.  :)

Here's all you need to make this for your child's teacher:

• small bucket
• Bucket List tag printed out and trimmed (K-6th grades available), download HERE.
• black cardstock for matting the tag (optional)
• corner rounder (optional)
• hole punch
• ribbons, twine, etc. for embellishment
• filler for bucket (crinkle paper shreds, candy, etc)

Then you just need to put it all together as pictured and you're all set!  

It's easy, satisfies the creative side of gift-giving AND you give the teacher something he/she actually wants!  Win-win-win!

I'll be sharing two more ideas this week so be sure to check back!

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime

Teacher Gift Idea: Printable Target Gift Card Holder

The school year is coming to a close very quickly here (::insert me crying::). 

I know we all want to show our children's teachers how much we appreciate everything they have done throughout these past nine months!  NINE. MONTHS.  That is a loooong time, you guys.

Now, I have seen some ADORABLE ideas for teachers like beach bags full of summer fun supplies and giant popcorn buckets filled with movie-going goodies and whatnot.  But, when I see these things, all I can think about is how that poor teacher then has to carry all of that out to her car on the last day of school along with all the other junk stuff she received and I just can't fathom it.  I HATE carrying loads of stuff to my car so my empathy kicks in and I can't do that to these poor teachers.  Unscientific studies have shown that really, all teachers want is GIFT CARDS, GIFT CARDS, and more GIFT CARDS.  Why do we stray from this? Because we want to give them something cute and creative, that's why.  

So today I'm sharing a cute & creative project to give a Target gift card to your child's wonderful teacher!  This can be easily thrown in her purse so she can be on her merry way.  ::sigh of relief::

S U P P L I E S  N E E D E D:

• A printout of the card trimmed to a 4x6 size, preferably on cardstock.  Downloadable HERE.
• A piece of black cardstock cut about 1/4 inch larger than card.
• Corner rounder (optional)
• Baker's twine (or ribbon)
• Adhesive
• Scissors
• Exacto-knife
• Target Gift Card

I N S T R U C T I O N S:

1. After trimming card down to size, use exacto-knife (on cutting surface) to cut a slit for the gift card.  Follow the line along top edge of the white part of the target.  Only cut the slit wide enough for the card to fit through snugly.  Not too wide.

2. Round the corners of the printed card and black cardstock (optional).

3. Adhere the printed card to the black cardstock.  Note: Do not put adhesive where the gift card will be.

4. "Cute up" the card by wrapping it in baker's twine or ribbon.

5. Slide gift card in and give to your child's teacher!

I'm hoping this makes the end-of-the-year craziness just that much easier!

I'll be sharing a couple more End of the Year Teacher Gift ideas in my upcoming posts so be sure to check back!

Link parties I participate in: Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime