Reader Feature

Check out the adorable acorns Mary made!  She used smooth and prickly acorn caps along with pearl, agate, and turquoise beads.  And how cute is the little acorn dish!

You can find the original tutorial here, and if you ever make any of my DIYs or recipes, send me some pictures to be featured on the blog!  Holly@goeslightly.com

60th Birthday

Hello, everyone!  Happy Monday!  I want to first apologize to all my blog-world friends for being a little absent on your blogs lately.  Life has been crazy busy for me!  I'm beginning a week long teaching experience this week on a course that I designed with a classmate, so I've been up to my ears working on that.  Plus, I helped to plan and put together my mom's 60th birthday party, which was on Saturday.  Happy birthday, Mom! 

Isn't this a pretty centerpiece?!

We got her a red velvet candle and a bottle of her favorite wine, signed by the label artist with a special birthday message, too!

But the biggest gift was a book I made on Shutterfly.  The book was filled with pictures, but in every page, there was also a letter or card from a friend or family member.  It was so much fun to watch her turn the pages and read the birthday wishes!

 And, of course, there was a birthday cheers! :)

So, now you all know what's been keeping me busy- what did you do this weekend?

Saturday Snapshot: Orange Berries

DIY Wax Painting

Is it still painting if you're using wax?  I don't know... and I don't really care because I think the results are pretty awesome.

You will need:

• Sealing wax in multiple colors
• Lighter (yes, mine is shaped like a gun)
• Canvas

Simply melt the wax and let it drip onto the painting.  Super easy!

If you're lucky, the colors might melt together some and create a cool effect.

You can also tilt the canvas as you go, letting the wax run until it cools.  I did mine in sort of a gradient, with the black concentrated in one corner and the gold concentrated in the other corner.

Totally doable!

New Office

I can finally share with you all what we've done to the office upstairs!  It's taken a while, and there are still some small things that need to be taken care of, but the bulk of the work is done!

Before...

After!

I furnished the room mostly with the furniture we already had, but I got a new chair and a ton of accessories from IKEA, including a bright floor cushion for when Inga joins me.  The art is a mixture of pieces I've made, souvenirs (like the DC metro picture above my desk and the grammar poster from Ireland), and family pictures (that's my grandma rocking the hula outfit).  I also finally found a place for the print of my grandpa's ship from WWII. 

I love having a quite, organized space to do school work and studying!

File Cabinet Makeover

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you all the makeover I did on an old bookshelf so I could use it in our new office space.  Today, I've got another makeover: an ugly old file cabinet.

I followed the same steps as before: sand, wipe down, prime, and paint.  But this time, I also listened to my own advice and did two coats of primer.

Before...

I removed the drawers and the hardware

Primer, round 1

Primer, round 2

And a coat of glossy white

I added new hardware, and it was good to go!

 A few tips to keep in mind:
1) Use an enamel primer- it adheres well to glossy surfaces, so you don't have to work so hard sanding
2) Make things easy on yourself! This is a file cabinet, it's okay to skip painting the back- no one will know! (unless you tell them on your blog...)

Our filing cabinet is in its new home now- come back Wednesday to see how I've decked out our new office!

Saturday Snapshot: Mossy Branch