Repurposed Drink Mix Containers!

I don't like water.  It's true and I'm not proud of it.  Shamefully, I can skip drinking water for days (now coffee is a totally different story).  Now that the warmer weather is here, I try to be mindful of just how much water I'm drinking.  When I'm out and about plain old water in water bottles is what I choose.  But at home I like to jazz it up with powdered drink mix.  You know the ones...lemonade, iced tea, raspberry ice and the likes.  They are good!  And they come in these adorable cylindrical plastic containers that I couldn't bear to throw away.  Yes, I have hoarder tendencies.

After the containers started piling up I decided I needed to make use of them.  My family is heading out on a road trip soon and these containers can be used in so many ways!  But first I needed to personalize them and make them pretty...can't have cat fights in the car!  I got out my super handy Cricut and some leftover vinyl and got to crafting...

The final result for each one of my girls...

We plan on using them in the car to corral...

DRY SNACKS!

CRAYONS/COLORED PENCILS

GAME CARTRIDGES

IPOD/LIP GLOSS/BRACELET/TOYS

Does your family drink powdered drink mix?  Will you start saving these containers?  What will you use them for?  Tell me all about it!

Linking up with...

Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

Cowgirl Up @ The Famhouse Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Market Yourself Monday @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Before & After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Royal Design Studio Winner

True Random Number

Result: 5

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 

The winner of the Royal Design Studio stencil is Bethany from Pitter & Glink!  Congrats Bethany!

Give the World the Best You Have...

A few days ago I stumbled upon an unfinished board in the basement.  I have no idea where it came from or how long it's been sitting there.  Clearly I need to clean out my stash (hoard) of furniture, wood and decor.

The wood grain and knots were beautiful so I used a stain and poly blend to bring them out a bit more.  After the two coats were dry, I used my Cricut (LOVE that machine) to cut out a few lines from my husband's favorite poem (it is Father's Day this weekend after all).  I used the negative from the vinyl and painted the letters with one coat of matte black paint.  I hung the three foot board above the fireplace with some dried hydrangeas in my urns. 

It's been raining here so I couldn't snap any great photos, but you get the message...I know I do, each time I sit in the living room!

Surprise, surprise...some of the spacing and letters are off.  I was annoyed when I realized this and questioned starting over or even posting this to begin with.  Then I realized the irony in the sentiment of my sign.  I slaved over this for a few hours and it's perfectly handmade.  And I'm sharing it!

Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Theresa

**Don't forget to enter my Royal Design Studio's Giveaway (that is ending this Friday) if you haven't already!**

Linking up with:
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Royal Design Studio - My Review and A Giveaway!

When I came in contact with Royal Design Studio, I could not have been more excited!  Deciding which room I would stencil was the easy part!  Choosing one of their stencils, not so much.  Royal Design Studio offers so many different designs.  I poured over their site, daydreaming of all the possibilities.  Ultimately, I chose the "Tiger Stripes Allover Stencil" for my twin daughters' bedroom.  The longest wall would be the stenciled focal point.

Before my stencil arrived I painted the walls with Glidden's "Misty Aqua".  It was an improvement already but I was itching to get to the stenciling.  When I received my package I quickly read through the instructions and helpful tips and got my supplies ready.  My daughters chose Glidden's "Pink Flamingo" for the tiger stripes.

To begin, I found the halfway point of the wall and centered the stencil on it abutting the ceiling.

I was so anxious to get started that I decided to skip the spray adhesive tip and used frog tape to adhere it to the wall.  In my experience, this was a big mistake.  I wanted crisp lines but instead ran into some bleeding.  This also could have been due to the paint roller being overloaded with paint.

I'm so thankful I realized this on the first "square" that was stenciled.  I let it dry, repainted with the "Misty Aqua" base color and decided to begin in the morning - this time with spray adhesive in hand.  Using the repositional spray adhesive made the job move along so quickly.  My helpful hint with the adhesive is that less is more.  That stuff is sticky!

My favorite feature of the stencil is the repeat registration cut into the Mylar.  It was a dream lining up the registration marks and keeping everything level!

It took me only a couple of hours to complete my 12' wall.  The next morning I went back over my stencil work with a small paintbrush and "Misty Aqua" to touch up any areas that had bleeding.  There wasn't much to improve upon.  I really enjoyed this project and found it to be relaxing. 

My daughters' room is so unique and they are ecstatic with the results.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Giveaway

I am thrilled to offer one of my readers a Royal Design Studio stencil of their own!

To enter, hop on over to Royal Design Studio's website and select a stencil ($50 or less) that you would love to use for a project of your own.  For an entry in the giveaway, come back here and leave a comment letting me know which stencil you fell in love with!

For additional entries:
1. Like Royal Design Studios Facebook Fan Page!
2. Follow Designamour on Twitter!
3. Or follow Royal Design Studios Pinterest Page!
4. Follow Maxwell House Interiors on Pinterest!
5. Become a follower of Maxwell House Interiors or let me know if you're already following along.

**Leave a separate comment for each entry.**

The winner will be chosen using random.org on

Friday, June 15th at 10 a.m. 

THAT'S SIX CHANCES TO WIN!  GOOD LUCK!

Linking up with:
Lovely Crafty Weekend @ Lovely Crafty Home
Catch As Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life
Weekend Link Party @ Lolly Jane
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
SNS Link Party @ Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Before & After Link Party @ Shine Your Light

Tween Bedroom Redesign

I've been working on my tweens' bedroom this week!  My twin daughters are definitely wise beyond their years and wanted to ditch their lilac purple walls and create a room that felt more age appropriate (to them...I'm still struggling to figure out when they turned the corner). 

The trouble with identical twins sharing a bedroom is that, although they share the same DNA, they have very different opinions about how they wanted their bedroom to represent them.  "Twin A" likes the color blue and ALL things Selena Gomez.  While "twin B" loves bubble gum pink and puppies.  Which means Mama's gotta work extra hard to tie this altogether.

I was lucky enough to be able to work with Royal Design Studio in this redesign and they solved my problem!  With a wall stencil, I would be able to incorporate both of their favorite hues - teal blue and bubblegum pink.  There are so many wall stencils to choose from but they finally agreed that the "Allover Tiger Stripes" stencil was the winner!  With gentle coaxing I was able to explain that this should still be a peaceful place for them (they do go to bed at 8:30), so we chose paint colors that were airy and not super saturated.  We also chose to focus the stencil on 2 of the four walls in their bedroom.

Here's a quick inspiration board I whipped up.  And let's just say inspiration boards are not my forte.  After the wall stencil is complete (lots of pictures will be posted...and a GIVEAWAY to a reader), I'll be working on a wall length desk for the girls.  Currently, they use the dining room table for homework assignments, so it will be great for them to have a space of their own.  The desk from the inspiration board is from Young House Love and is pretty close to what I have in mind.  They also need chairs to go with their desk and I was lucky enough to find two matching, funky chairs in my furniture hoard in the basement that will be great!  They have a trellis-like pattern such as the chairs on the inspiration board that are from My Little Happy Place.

I have lots of other fun accessories to brighten up this space and I can't wait to share the end result! 

AND I'll be offering a wall stencil from Royal Design Studio of your choosing.  Stay tuned!

Lose Weight Drinking Wine

Did I get your attention?  I hope so. 

This post is a little off topic from my usual home renovation projects but there is a fun craft!

After having four little ones in four years I was overweight and miserable.  When my last born turned four months old I was ready to commit myself to Weight Watchers.  My sister was on the program and was dropping a lot of her baby weight!  I was diligent and it worked!  I lost over 50 lbs in about a year.  I was back to my pre-baby making weight and I even fit into my "old jeans" (which is probably one of the top 5 best feelings on Earth, for me anyway.)  I was able to maintain my weight for a few years but since our month long road trip last summer, I've definately fallen off the wagon.  I've gained back 15 lbs and sadly, those "old jeans" have been tucked away in the recesses of my pants drawer.

Lately, I've felt like my eating habits were heading into the danger zone...ya know, when you're just mindlessly choosing whatever you'd like to eat.  I kept choosing WW start dates that would come and go.  Or I would stick to it for a few days and then lose my mojo.  It was seriously starting to get to me.  After the New Year I started to think about the fact that this summer I'll be turning 30.  I would love nothing more than to blow out my birthday candles wearing a pair of my old jeans.  : )

WW works for me so I've committed myself to getting back on track.  One reason I've failed with other diets is because I hate feeling deprived of certain foods.  I love pizza, bread and wine and need to have those options in moderation.  Which brings me to my fun and useful craft.  Before Christmas I used a 40% off coupon at Michaels and bought etching cream.  I had never used it before but I had a few Christmas gift ideas in mind.  With minimal effort, I had some seriously cute gifts! 

So after recommitting myself to WW, a new idea popped into my head.  I love wine!  Sauvignon Blanc to be exact.  It rivals my love for coffee (although coffee always wins).  So I got to thinking that I'd hate to measure out a glass of wine with a measuring cup.  I've done it before but that seems a little excessive to me.  Eyeballing it's also not an option (ya know, a little more here and a little more there adds up).  So I whipped out my supplies.

My pocket guide tells me that 4 oz (1/2 cup) of wine is 2 points.  I use the old plan.  I have tried the new plan and do not like it.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I have a ton of wine glasses so I chose the first one I saw and dug through my drawer of stickers.  You don't have a drawer of stickers?  I ended up using larger stickers instead of the ones in the photo.

I measured out 1/2 cup of water.  I don't waste wine and it's only noon.

With the water in the glass, I placed painter's tape just below the water line and just above it.

And here is the star of the show.  This product is cheap, does it's job and lasts a long time.  And your project will be dishwasher safe!

The coloring in this picture is a little funky but you get the idea.  More is more in this case.  You want to completely cover the area between the painter's tape.  But not so much that it's a drippy mess.  It's pretty thick so no worries.

After about 5 minutes you run the glass under hot water and the etching cream will wash away and the tape will start to peel from the glass.  I dried it thoroughly and took a number 2 out of my stash.  You want the negative of the image and press it down good so there's no seepage.

The possibilities are endless.  You can forgo the line or number and place any sticker where the 1/2 cup mark hits.  I chose to have the 2 there so I could easily remember what to track...in case I were to have two servings and things started getting fuzzy! : )

This is just water and food coloring so the etching was more apparent.  Again, I don't waste wine.

See, you can lose weight and still enjoy treats in moderation.  I think I better make a few in case I have any WW buddies over for dinner!

Linking up with:
Cowgirl Up @ Farmhouse Porch
Rock N' Share @ The Shady Porch
Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Market Yourself Monday @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Thrift'n on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer

And the Award Goes to...

Last month I was so excited to receive an e-mail from Tara at Behind the Red Barn Door.  She had received the Liebster Blog award and was passing on the love to five other bloggers, myself included!  Liebster is German for 'dearest' or 'favorite' and the award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers.
   

I'm finally getting my act together and showcasing a few blogs that I love to read! 

First up is Barbara from 21 Rosemary Lane.  She has great furniture transformations!  You also don't want to miss her recipes and reading about her adorable family!

Jeannie from Flower Hill Design Company shares excellent tutorials, beautiful transformations and has awesome giveaways!  And hello, we have the same name!  : )

Double Take Decor features lots and lots of furniture transformations.  I love the work she does!  She's always thinking outside of the box and she's not scared of color! 

Erin from Lavender and Lemon Drops has a little bit of everything!  From inspirational vision boards, unique home decor or bargain finds...there's something for everyone!

Sherika from Passionately Perfect transforms decor and furniture around her home.  And we both share a love for spray paint and glue guns!  She also hosts a link party every Thursday called Coffee & Conversation!

And I'm breaking the rules to include a sixth blog that I love to read. 

I recently discover Jenny's blog, Northwest Lovelies, when I saw her jute spheres at a link party.  Her tutorials are awesome and I can't wait to see more of them!

So if the six of you ladies would like to pass on the 'torch', I'd love discover more new-to-me blogs!