Nope not winning or whining, but wine-ing. But not me…

Remember the baby shower that my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw for me last week? Well, I wanted to give them something to thank them. They all like wine, so I knew I wanted to do something wine related. My friend Laura came up with the idea of giving them each a bottle of wine with a note that said “Grandma’s Bottle”. I loved the idea and decided to take it one step further…

I decided I wanted to give them each a fancy painted wine glass (sippy cup) to go with their bottle. I know those fancy painted wine glasses exist, but I figured the chances of finding one that said “Aunt Jen’s Sippy Cup” were slim to none. I headed to Michael’s to weigh my options and see if I could find some glass paint to whip up a design. Once I finally found the glass paint, I saw it came with a warning that said “CONTAINS A CHEMICAL THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS AND/OR FERTILITY ISSUES”. Um… pregnant person here, creating a baby themed gift, to give as a thank you for throwing a baby shower. I decided using the traditional, bake in the oven, glass paints were not a good idea.

As I was leaving Michael’s, I walked by a display for Martha Stewart non-toxic craft paint that was good to use on glass. The label said that it was microwave and dishwasher safe after curing for 21 days. Jackpot!! I picked up 4 different colors… aqua, orange, hot pink and lime green in high gloss. They had several different finishes and a bunch of colors available.

I also found some clearance wine glasses at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They were marked as part of a set that was opened, so they were less than $2 each. Jackpot again!

I followed the directions on the paint bottle and cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol before painting.

Then I wrote out what I wanted each glass to say on a post-it.

Then I taped each post-it inside of the wine glass as best I could so that I could trace the letters.

It only took me a few minutes to trace the lettering with a thin paint brush on each glass.

I added some random polka dots and doodled on each stem a little. Here they are after the first coat of paint.

The bottle recommends leaving an hour of drying time between each coat, but I gave it a day.

Ta-da! All done!

I paired each wine glass with a bottle of wine with a little tag on it.

But then something happened. I took these quick after pictures right before I left for my shower. I even took what I thought was a cute picture of Macky admiring my work…

Do you see where this is going? Macky liked Nana’s wine glass a little too much and it ended up on the floor as I foolishly trusted him. I don’t have a picture of the shattered glass since I was worried about little paws, but by some miracle, the painted part stayed intact…

So Nana was given just a top of a wine glass to open. Thankfully, my mom has 5 cats and understood (especially since I had photo evidence), but it was still so frustrating that my hard work ended up on the floor. I have to make her a replacement thanks to my dear son, though I even apologized to him after the incident. He actually was being quite sweet that morning and just wanted to do the kitten facemark on my wine glass and yell “MINE!” He totally didn’t mean to knock it off the counter, he was just being my biggest fan

Up until this point, I think we’ve had a pretty good vision for what we want for the nursery. One element I haven’t put much thought into is what the heck to put over the crib. Though mirrors and pictures always look nice and classy, I still like the idea of having a fun mobile for the baby to look at. I’ve been assembling some happy medium choices on Pinterest since, well apparently, before I was pregnant.

First there are the tissue pom installations, which I always find appealing…

(from Melanie Bauer via Pinterest)

(from Sweet Tea Paper on Etsy via Pinterest)

I’ve always liked big poofy things on the ceiling and they remind me of the paper lanterns we had at our wedding. I’ve even seen paper lanterns used in nurseries, which is a great option because those lanterns are cheap

(from Cheap Chic Nursery via Pinterest)

Though I like the idea of something large that catches the eye, I think I’m leaning towards something smaller and more subtle. I love the idea of sticking with a pom, but on a smaller scale like these…

(from Petite Lemon via Pinterest)

(from First Time Fancy via Pinterest)

Then I found some mobiles made out of various shapes and they got the wheels in my head spinning. I definitely want to DIY something and here are some of the non-pom ones I’m currently loving…

I love the idea of pretty circles…simple, not complicated, but with major impact.

(from Lil’ Sprout Creations on Etsy via Pinterest)

(from The Whimsy Boutique on Etsy via Pinterest)

(from Jenna Bee on Etsy via Pinterest)

I also like the idea of more unique shapes, like this butterfly mobile…

(from Little Nest Box on Etsy via Pinterest)

Or this one made out of letters…

(from Project Nursery via Pinterest)

Here’s one made with stars…

(from Little Dreamers Inc on Etsy via Pinterest)

I also love these little crocheted hearts…

(from Fave Crafts via Pinterest)

I do know how to knit and I started to learn how to crochet right before I started this blog. But then, my ‘hobby’ time went here. I wonder if I could knit a shape instead, considering that is more natural to me than crocheting? Hmmm…

Regardless of whether I use fabric, paper or yarn, I definitely want to make something that is appealing to a baby, but keeps some style to it. I’ll have to think of something creative to go with the rest of our nursery… whenever we start it

While still mourning the loss of my favorite fall wreath, I’ve been trying to think of ways to replicate the simple repeating berries of it that I loved so much.

I always thought they kind of looked like cherry tomatoes obviously not a good choice to use for a wreath. But while I was at work today, the wind was hurling acorns at my head and I had a lightbulb moment, can I glue acorns on to a wreath?

If this were possible (okay, I knew it was physically possible but wanted to see some ideas), it would of course be found on Pinterest. So I headed over to what Mike calls a glorified google image search and typed in “acorn wreath”. I was not disappointed.

(from The Nest via Pinterest)

(from Dana Made It via Pinterest)

There were even some painted ones, which I am considering to get the bright tones of my former wreath….

(from Dana Made It via Pinterest)

…And an embellished one!

(from All You via Pinterest)

One thing I felt that all of these wreaths were missing though is the cute little hats that come with acorns. I feel like those are what defines an acorn for me and I really wanted to find a way for those to make it on to my wreath. I wasn’t sure if they were removed for a cleaner look (which is probably the case), but I finally managed to find one example of a full-acorn wreath!

(from Ashley Ann Photography via Pinterest)

And I love it. The only thing I may change is the color since my door is brown and I loved the pop of my old bright wreath. I’m not sure if I want to attempt multiple colors, though in theory I would like to. My problem these days is finding the time to do all of the above. Collecting acorns will be tedious, gluing them on will be tedious, so I’m not sure if I want to tackle painting them and giving them time to dry. I guess we shall see where the weekend brings me, but I’ve already planned a day to collect some of these bad boys

Too bad Macky can’t come with us, I could definitely train him to pick up acorns (as I watch him play fetch with Mike as I type…)

Waaaay back in January, we visited the Crate & Barrel outlet and finally purchased something(s) I’ve wanted for about a year. We scored these bookends for 30% off the original price.

I have always loved the wooden chunkiness of these guys. I love the ampersand and I actually handwrite it often. The “@” symbol has become a little part of me since I started this blog. I comment on other blogs and use it as part of my name multiple times per day. Throw in the discounted price and I felt like we could finally take the plunge…the only problem was where to put them.

I’ve shared our original office plans before, which included built-in cabinets in a dark stain. We have since obviously decided to go with a black/gray/white/green color scheme that the bookends did not fit in with. I thought maybe we could put these in our bedroom or on our dark wood entertainment center in the family room, but at the end of the day they felt much more office appropriate.

The solution? Spray paint them white.

I know, it hurts. I love the wood grain in these possibly more than anyone. My rustic loving self is still shaking this one off. But at the end of the day, the symbols were the right fit for the office. I’d rather have white symbols than no symbols. So yesterday, despite 20 mph winds, I managed to get outside to do some spray painting. Scratch that, I decided to spray paint in the garage. No worries, I left the doors open of course, I just needed some barrier from the wind.

I used the same box that I used to spray paint my Pier 1 star basket at Christmastime, how is that for thrifty?

After a quick coat, I was feeling much better about my decision.

It was a little tricky to get in all of the nooks and cranies of these things, but all it took was one coat and a round of touch ups and we were good to go!

They are definitely different than they were before, but I love the crisp modern vibe that the white gives off.

I love the contrast between the shelves and the symbols and how they add that pop of white we’ve wanted to have in this room. Once we add the other white items we have planned, as well as some actual books to the shelves, I know they are going to look great!

ps- I did use my green spray paint this weekend, but the verdict of that project is still pending…

Since the weather this weekend is supposed to be this…

I’m hoping to finally get outside to play with this…

And even some of this…

I bought this spray paint a while ago, but because of cold, rain and being busy, I haven’t had a chance to use it. I’m hoping to spray some office accessories this weekend, as long as the weather cooperates. I would tell you what I’m spraying, but I am slightly nervous to take my beautifully traditional things and make them funky with glossy green spray paint. It is either going to be a brilliant idea or a complete disaster.

Good thing I have this blog to publicly humiliate myself if this doesn’t work out, but I have a feeling I’ll be just fine