Uncategorized Archives | Page 7 of 31

Get Your Home Ready for Thanksgiving

November 14, 2016 by Virginia Evans Leave a Comment

Fall is my favorite season. I love the chill in the air, the beautiful colors (for some New England colors, see this post!), the decorations, and the comfort food. So, since Thanksgiving is coming up soon, I thought I would do something a little different with this week’s post. Today I am going to share some of my favorite ways to get your home ready for Thanksgiving!

Simple Thanksgiving Decor

For years I lived in a place where I couldn’t use the great outdoors as a source for fall decor. Either the leaves wouldn’t turn colors soon enough or they would be soggy by the time I was ready to collect some. In our house we use a lot of faux leaf garlands, fun fake pumpkins, and wheat sheaves from the craft store in vases.

Pinterest has great inspiration for simple ways to use things you already own to make decor for Thanksgiving.

Here are some of my favorite:

Thanksgiving decor using items you already have at home

Acorn Centerpiece from The Thrifty Crafter – I love this idea! I used whatever larger, squat vases I had to make this. Mine ended up being round. Then, use some lentils from the cupboard and some fake acorns and fill it with flowers for your Thanksgiving table!

I don’t know about you, but I end up with so many clear vases. Pour in some popcorn, lentils or dried beans and add a candle! This works with a variety of different sizes and types of clear glass.

Pumpkin Candles from About.com – These were SO easy to make and so adorable. Mine lasted almost a month before they started to get moldy. Pick up some mini pumpkins at the grocery store (I saw them on sale after Halloween!) and cut a hole in the top to place your tealights!

Burlap – We used burlap for our rustic wedding (see photos here!) and so every fall I re-purpose the table runners and burlap banner for fall. I took the leaves idea from The Shabby Love blog and pin fake leaves over the top of the hearts and letters from our wedding banner. For a great tutorial on how to cut burlap, head over here.

Yummy Thanksgiving Recipes

Appetizers

Cherry Tomato Bites from The Curvy Carrot – I love simple, beautiful appetizers. These fit the bill. The best thing about them is that you can prepare them the day before rather than trying to build them into all the other things going on on Thanksgiving day. I used my food processor and my mom’s pastry bags (smaller, cheaper set) to make these.

Turkey Veggie Tray – Here is the link to to this image. I made my own version of this for Thanksgiving at our home. Pinterest has a great collection of ways to turn your appetizer tray into a work of art.

Side Dishes

Asiago Potato Stacks from A Family Feast – These have to be the prettiest potatoes I’ve ever made. They are simple to make, though they do take some time to cut up the potatoes. I would recommend using a slicer to save time. The Asiago cheese has a strong scent but it complemented the potatoes PERFECTLY!

Coriander Roasted Rainbow Carrots from The Corner Kitchen – These were a huge hit at Thanksgiving dinner last year. Not only were they super easy to make, but they were the perfect complement to the turkey and dressing. Plus, the colors in this dish bring color to your Thanksgiving table!

Easy Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes from Kitchen Treaty – Talk about easy…after making the Asiago Potato stacks the previous year, these were the easiest potatoes to make. Stick everything in the crock pot and let it cook while you do other things. It fills the house with a wonderful smell, and then right before serving, mash everything up!

What are your favorite ways to get ready for Thanksgiving? Share with me your favorite ways to decorate! Have a great recipe for Thanksgiving? Share it with me below in the comment section, I would love to try it!

Make sure to pin the image below so you can come back and find these recipes later, even next year!

Simple, Beautiful Ways to Prepare for Thanksgiving in your home!

Linking up this week with: Sincerely Jenna Marie Pumps and Pushups Style Elixir

Brown Faux Fur Vest and Flare Jeans

November 7, 2016 by Virginia Evans 2 Comments

Teacher Fashion Flare Jeans and Faux Fur

Brown Faux Fur Vest Fall Teacher Fashion

Teacher Outfit Flare Jeans Faux Fur Vest

Flare Jeans Teacher Outfit with Faux Fur Vest

I love everything about fall! Here in New England it’s simply stunning. Even running errands I look around me and think, “Wow…I get to live here!” The few leaves that remain on the trees won’t last long and I can feel that chill that comes as Autumn starts to turn into Winter. For the last few years I have fought off that fall chill with puffer vests and faux fur. In New England, the warm vests came out earlier and I find that I wear one almost everyday.

This brown faux fur vest is my absolute favorite. I bought it two years ago at Forever 21 and it has been one of my favorite fall clothing items. It is the perfect brown color and the high neck makes it super cozy and warm. I haven’t featured it much on the blog (I did show one way I wore it here) because I feel bad showing an item that you can no longer purchase.

I have kept my eye on faux fur vests for the last two years, hoping that Forever 21 would it back but it never happened. Last week as I was browsing new arrivals I discovered this beauty! It’s the closest I’ve come to finding a dupe for my favorite brown faux fur vest and wanted to share with you one of the ways I wear this vest. I’m sure you remember these flare jeans from this post. They sold out quickly but I have a few other options of affordable flare jeans for you in the widget below that are still in stock.

What is your favorite item to wear as the fall chill sets in? Would you wear a brown faux fur vest? Let me know in the comments below!

Get the Look:

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I am compensated if you make a purchase using these links.*

Lush Long White Tunic, Nordstrom. Outfit Staple!!
Bell Flare Jeans, Express (almost sold out). Other great options in widget below. Flares for Under $20. Plus Size Flare Jeans.
Faux Fur Vest, Forever 21 (old). Brown Faux Fur Vest that is in stock! Plus Size Brown Faux Fur Vest
Same Edelman Leopard Pumps, Nordstrom (old). Edelman Leopard Pumps. More options in widget.
Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Patina, Sephora.
1″ Monogram Necklace, Jane.com
MG Collection Cognac Purse, Amazon.com. Similar Smaller Cognac Structured Purse.
Tori Burch 3 Strand Bracelet, Tradesy.com
Michael Kors Two-Tone Darci Watch, Areatrends.com. Under $150!
Mason Ring, Nordstrom. Also here.
Ice Lateral Ring, Baublebar. Similar Gold Pave Ring 1 / 2

Clickable Outfit Widget:

Today I am linking up with Elegantly Fashionable, More Pieces of Me, Sincerely Jenna Marie, Living in Color Blog, Stylin’ in St. Louis and Style Elixir.

Thanks for stopping by!

How to Paint Ugly Ceramic Bathroom Tile

October 31, 2016 by Virginia Evans Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween! It’s the perfect time to talk about scary, ugly ceramic bathroom tile! When we moved into our new house (see post on it here!) I couldn’t wait to get started on “projects.” I took stock of what I had to work with and though our house had great high ceilings, beautiful shiny wood floors, and large windows that let in a lot of natural light, the kitchen and bathroom were in particular need of updating. Luckily, both can be updated on a small budget if you know how!

The first project I took on in the new house was the bathroom.

I know, beautiful, huh!? Eventually we will do a full bathroom remodel because the tub will need to be replaced (I can tell the tub has been painted and won’t last more than two or three years), but at the moment that’s just not in the budget. So, what do you about that old, ugly, blue tile? Removing it would be very involved and could get expensive if you pull away the drywall behind the tile.

After a lot of research I decided to paint the old ceramic bathroom tile with Rust-Oleum’s Tub and Tile Refinishing 2-Part Kit in White. There are more expensive products but for $25 this product coated the entire bathroom twice and got rid of the ugly old ceramic bathroom tile. To see how I did it, keep reading!

*UPDATE! See Part 2 and Part 3 of this DIY Bathroom Transformation!*

Painting Old Ceramic Bathroom Tile: Planning Ahead

Once you start the process of painting the ceramic bathroom tile, you will not be able to get it wet for 3 days. Since we only have one bathroom, and our tile was actually above the shower, I had to plan ahead so that our 3 days were over the weekend where schedules (and showers!) were more flexible.
Check the weather report for the days you will paint and leave the paint to dry. You will need to have the windows open so make sure it will be warm enough to do so.
Gather materials.

Painting Old Ceramic Bathroom Tile: Materials

*The following links are affiliate links and may result in a commission for More to Mrs. E. See here for my whole affiliate disclaimer.

Rust-Oleum’s Tub and Tile Refinishing 2-Part Kit
Bleach

Scrubber (or this scrubber would work well)

Sponge

Comet
LimeAway (I recommend the spray version after using the non-spray version myself)
Abrasive Pad
Orbital Sander and at least five 100 grit sanding disks
Microfiber cloth
Household fan (for air circulation)
Painter’s Tape
4 inch roller and roller cover (others have used foam rollers. This roller kit is a good deal.)
4 inch paint tray
Paint brush or here
Bucket to mix paint
Wooden Paint Stick to mix

Painting Old Ceramic Bathroom Tile:

Day 1 – Thursday

1. If you have caulk surrounding your tile, remove it. The paint will not stick to caulk. The caulk that was present around my tile was rock hard and paintable so I skipped this step.

2. If possible, remove the toilet tank. (Here is a great article for how to do this) My husband and I attempted to do this, to no avail. The screws were simply too rusted into place on the bottom of the tank. We didn’t want to end up having to replace the toilet too, so just left it in place and painted behind it (not recommended).

TIP: If you do this, you will still be able to use the toilet if you have a bucket handy, filled with water that you can use to cause the toilet to flush after being used. You can either fill the tub to make filling the bucket easier or have a bowl that will fit under your bathroom faucet that you refill each time after using the toilet.

3. Remove mildew by scrubbing with bleach and water.

4. Scrub the tiles with Comet. Then, wipe the tiles down with a clean, wet sponge to remove any residue. Let the tile dry thoroughly! (I let it dry overnight)

Day 2 – Friday

Morning

DIY Paint Tile Bathroom: Clean surface of tile

1. Clean the surface of the tiles with LimeAway and an abrasive pad. Rinse with water! Repeat if necessary.

2. Sand with 100 grit synthetic sanding disks and an orbital sander. Wipe away any dust with a microfiber cloth. Rinse away any residue. Allow to dry.

There are different recommendations here. Some say you need to sand away the shine on the tile. Others say you just have to scuff it up so the paint will stick. After trying two different grits of sanding disks, all my sanding did was make the tile very smooth and shiny. I decided to try to paint and see what happened. Though my tile was not scuffed up by the sanding (and therefore didn’t need rinsing), the paint stuck well. I will update this post later if I notice any paint peeling away from the tile.

Afternoon

1. Very carefully tape off the areas you don’t want to paint. Remove any bathroom fixtures you can or light switch covers. You won’t really be able to “touch up” this paint so make sure that your tape line is exactly where you want your paint line to end. I would recommend starting your fan around this time as well. As soon as you start painting, you will want the fumes to be sucked right outside.

2. Now it’s time to paint! Mix the paint according to the instructions. This includes mixing the paint and activator together in a separate container before pouring it into the paint tray. I recommend mixing only half at a time so a smaller bucket would work to mix the paint. I used a paint bucket that I’ve had from previous projects.

Pour the paint into your paint tray. Use your brush to thickly apply the paint close to your tape and in corners. Then, use the roller to paint most of the surfaces, rolling over your brush strokes to even out the brush lines. Be careful! Don’t get too close to the tape in case you get the paint on the wall or floors.

Tips: How to Paint Ceramic Bathroom Tile

Keep in mind as you paint:

The more paint you have on the roller, the more it tends to slip on the tiles. I eventually got into a groove where I would roll the roller in paint just enough to give it coverage. It made the roller grip the tiles better and gave it a more even coat.
Once you start using the roller you will want to keep going until you get to the end. Once on the tile, the epoxy levels out and dries down pretty quickly, so keep going! That way areas painted first don’t dry down too much before you come back and add the next section.
The epoxy paint is intense!! Every 10 minutes or so, walk to a room nearby and take a deep breath of fresh air!

3. Allow the paint to dry 2 hours after the first coat. Get out of the house during that time to give yourself more fresh air!

4. Apply a 2nd coat at the end of the 2 hours. You may need to mix the 2nd half of the epoxy. (1 container of the epoxy paint only JUST gave my bathroom 2 coats)

5. Let the paint dry 3 full days before getting moisture on the tiles. If you are just painting a backsplash above a sink this won’t be difficult. If you are painting the tile in your shower, keep from using that shower for 3 days!

Very carefully remove the painter’s tape before it has had a chance to dry. Epoxy paint is tough and you don’t want it sticking the blue tape to the tile and leaving behind blue chunks every so often along the edge of the tile.

DIY Ceramic Tile Paint Transformation

Though it is a lot of work, in the end it is totally worth it! Here is the final look after the paint!

This is only part 1 in the bathroom transformation! There will be more to come, but already, look at how much better it looks!

Next step? Paint the wall and the baseboard heater (which means that ugly wallpaper border has GOT to go!)! Stay tuned for more ugly bathroom transformations!

In the meantime, check out how to make a necklace holder out of an old frame or bathroom storage out of old Bath and Body Works Candle jars! Make sure to follow me on Facebook so you’ll be notified of the next DIY post!

Have you ever painted old ceramic tile? Ever thought about it? Let me know in the comments below!

« Previous Page
1
…
5
6
7
8
9
…
31
Next Page »