Guest Post: Ombre Lamp Tutorial

Happy Thursday All! Today we have a guest post from one of my sponsors this month - Ayla from Eyelah blog (and shop). Her blog is full of great inspiration, and her shop features tons of awesome clutches and pouches. Be sure to check her out!

Hi I’m Ayla over from Eyelah blog. Today I am going to share a tutorial on how to paint an ombre lamp! It’s surprising simple and you can get it done within an hour or so.
 

Supplies:

-Paint Brushes
-Lamp: I bought mine for 2 bucks at the goodwill. I also purchased a new lamp shade which was 10.00 from Ikea.

-Paint
-Painter’s Tape
 

You want to start off with taping the base and the light-bulb case portion. Try to make sure you get tape as even as possible to avoid any small amounts of paint getting through.

I started with a layer of white paint to cover the designs on the lamp.

I then started with the darkest color at the base of the lamp.

You can either buy the different shades you need or you can just create the shades by adding white
paint to the darker color. I like to create my own shades so I get it just right. It does take some playing
around with the paint.
 

After you get the shades you like you want to gradually add lighter colors as you paint up the lamp. It
may take a few coats depending on the color and how light or dark it is.

At the very top of the lamp right underneath the light bulb base I left as white.

After you finished painting the lamp you can add a clear gloss spray paint to have a nice shiny finish.

After your lamp dries, just add your shade and you are all done!! Enjoy the pretty lamp!

I love the way her lamp turned out - I may have to try this soon! Thanks so much for sharing Ayla! Be sure to visit Ayla's blog and shop, or say hi to her on Twitter or Facebook!

I hope you all have a great week!

 

Guest Post: Washer Pendant Necklace

Hey All! I'm still trying to get my life under control with our new little additions, so in the meantime one of my favorite bloggy friends is here to share an awesome project!

 Washer Pendant Necklace

by Karen from QuintonWench

The humble washer .... a plenty lying around in my husband's garage waiting for a DIY use.

I rarely step foot in the garage, but I'm glad I did today, because I have found a 'Karen' use for one...

A washer pendant...

First I punched out a circle from a random piece of patterned paper - luckily I have a hole punch the same size as the washer.

I stuck the paper circle to the washer with Mod Podge and once dry I used a craft knife to cut out the centre. Then I brushed on a top coat of Mod Podge.

Finally, I added some black cord and a bead to finish it off.

What a great project - I love how it turned out! Thanks Karen!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday's Menu Highlight - Guest Post!

 Hey All! Meet Shana from Organized Chaos! She's here guest posting today while I try to figure out how to be a parent to our new guys and not lose my mind! Thanks Shana! :)

Get Your Little One to Eat Sweet Potato!! 

Hi Handy Andy readers! I'm Shana and I blog over at Organized Chaos.

 

I found Liz through a little group on Facebook and immediately fell in love with her blog! When I heard about the exciting news of them expanding their family, I couldn't wait to jump in and help! I blog about a world of topics, but being a mommy is one of my favorite! Parenting brings a lot of issues to the table that a person may not have previously thought to much about.

Things such as potty training, language, and even what we're eating all of the sudden become front runners! For me, what we're eating has been a HOT topic since the day Lil Mister was born! I had just known I was going to breastfeed and it was going to be perfect. Ah-hem....well no things didn't work out as planned and Lil Mister was switched to formula.

When it came time to introduce solids, I was bombarded with 'words of wisdom' from many. I was told what to do, when to do it, and how. Luckily, my MIL was understanding and helped guide me through the waters of all this 'expert information.' We found a wonderful website for baby foods. I suggest you check it out if you're still in the beginning phases! What I did learn through all of this is about how important the proper nutrition is! Kids will eat what you teach them to eat! If you've never given your child fish sticks, he won't know he wants fish sticks! I LOVE eating healthy and wanted my children to do the same. However, I also enjoy to indulge and may have introduced a few...umm....goodies to Lil Mister.

So, I'm always on the lookout for how to combine some great nutrition with great tasting recipes! Did you know that sweet potatoes are SO much better for you than the normal white potato?? Hey, I'm not dissin' on some mash here! I love some good ol' southern mashed potatoes. But reality is that sweet potatoes are jammed packed with good stuff! Sweet potatoes are actually loaded with Vitamin A of which a white potato has none! Try 39.2 mg Vitamin C in a sweet potato versus the 20 in a white. Potassium is winner too with more than 300 mg more in a sweet potato! Calcium, Iron, and magnesium are also ALL HIGHER!

But...what I didn't like (okay I loved it...thank you Grandma!) was how I'd always been exposed to sweet potatoes. Smother them in some syrup, brown sugar, and marshmallows and bake them till SUPER ah-mazing! As tasty as this is, sweet potatoes are sweet enough on their own and what good is all the nutrients if we're just turning them into the latest fad dessert?? Personally, sweet potatoes were one of the first foods I introduced to Lil Mister and simply mashed them and added a little of his milk to it for texture. After months of mashed foods though, kids get sick of it! Finger foods are where it is at people!

As Lil Mister has gotten older...well he has learnt more about the 'goodies' this world can offer. Fries being one of his favorite! Honestly, the thought of slivers of potatoes soaking it up in hot oil and then being smothered with salt and sugary tomato sauce...well it sends chills down my spine. As delicious as it can be, it is giving my child NOTHING but nonsense. That was when I discovered this absolutely b.e.a.utiful recipe for sweet potato chips! They're oven baked and use minimal oil. They're so naturally sweet that no dip is necessary and Lil Mister will devour an entire large potato on his own if I allow him! Even Hubby Dearest approves! So here you go....I hope you enjoy! ;-)

Oven-baked Sweet Potato Chips 

Ingredients:
4 medium-large Sweet Potatoes
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sea salt (ground)

Directions:
1) Peal your potatoes and cut them in half width wise (the cutting them in half is just because heck...these things are MUCH harder than a normal potato if you've never had them before so it makes it easier to deal with!)
2) Cut your potatoes into chip shape. I don't feel this needs a lot of instruction. You've all seen or eaten a french fry before so cut up your potato into 1/4" sections and go from there. If your potato has the pointy ends that most sweet potatoes have...I suggest you cut those suckers off! ;-)
3) Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. I prefer using this as to oil or grease. It is quick and doesn't put as much onto the food.
4) Space your chips out evenly on the pan. DO NOT LET THEM TOUCH! If they're touching or too close together they will become soggy and you will not be happy and I will blame you for not following directions!
5) Drizzle your oil evenly over all of the chips. It is enough!! Don't worry...you DO NOT want them sitting in oil! Just enough to give them a bit of a shine!
6) Sprinkle with pepper and salt and pop them into a preheated oven of about 200 C!
7) Bake them for 15 minutes. DO NOT OPEN the oven. Leave them to simmer and bake! No testing the product before it's finished so just go keep yourself busy!
8) Now you can open the oven, only to flip them over! Flip each chip keeping the spacing between them and bake another 10 minutes!

Your product should now be crispy and yummy!! Go ahead...taste it. It's soooo good! ;-)

Shana..

Guest Post - Tutus & Tea Parties

Happy Friday! I hope you've enjoyed the party on my blog this week -- don't forget to go enter the giveaways from Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the last giveaway of the party!

Well, onto the guest post. My bloggy friend Lauren from Tutus & Tea Parties is here to share this fun project with you...

I am so happy to be here on Here's to Handy Andy! I'm Lauren and if you don't know, I blog over at Tutus & Tea Parties about crafting and parenting...and sometimes crochet projects. I also am the co-host with Here's to Handy Andy for the weekly Pinteresting Party where we link up our post and pin one another's link ups. It's fun! I'd love for you to stop by and say hello. Onto the post...

I'm not the biggest Halloween person, but I do love me some Halloween decorations! Over the years of moving (yes, we've moved 5 times in the past 7 years...don't ask) I've either lost or broken most of my decorations so I figured why not make some?! To go along with my cute little pumpkin candle holders (his smaller, chubbier friend has missing eyeballs so he's not in the photo), I made a candy cane colored rice jar. I think it's pretty cute, and it was cheap and easy to make. Yep, gotta love them cheap & easy projects!

Materials:

• White Rice (I got 2 large boxes at Walmart for under $2 each)
• Food Coloring (you only need red and yellow)
• 2 large zip top bags (one for each color you'll be mixing)
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Cookie Sheet (to dry the rice)
• Mason Jar or Glass Bottle with labels removed
• a kid who likes to shake things (optional)

Process:

I used about half a box for each color only because I am using the leftover rice for a kiddo project which you'll see soon! Otherwise, just use about a cup or two of rice for each color, depending on your jar size.

Pour your desired amount of rice into a bag. Add a splash of rubbing alcohol (I used about 2 TBS for my half a box) and your food coloring. I found that mixing the red & yellow (to make orange, duh) is better done in a bowl and then poured into the rice for even coloring.

 

Grab your kid (or do it yourself) and shake that bag until all the rice is colored. Add more alcohol/food coloring if needed. (It's always fun to sing Shake Senora as you do it...but that might be just me.)

Repeat for yellow. Lay out the rice (separated) onto a cookie sheet and let dry overnight.

 

Layer your rice into the jar and there you have it! Cute, eh? You can even go as far as painting the lid (which I clearly should have done noticing the rusty spots as I look at the photos now).

Enjoy your Candy Corn Jar! 

PS- I love when people blow up my Facebook wall, so do it and share your project...or just say hey!

Guest Post - 52 Mantels

Hey All! Today I am so excited to have Emily from 52 Mantels guest posting today. Her blog is one of my favorites - she has so many great ideas for decorating! 

I'm SO excited that Liz has invited me over to share with you today! I'm Emily from 52 Mantels, a blog about all things home, including weekly mantel makeovers (I'm on mantel 50 now...woohoo!), easy recipes, seasonal crafts and simple DIY projects! 

Today, I thought I'd share a little round up of some of my past Pumpkin Crafts. Don't you love Fall? I sure do! And, I love, love, love decorating with pumpkins! Fast crafts are kinda my thing, and these are no exception. With an 18 month old daughter, I've got to keep my projects quick and easy! 

Scrapbook Paper Pumpkin

Colorful Sock Pumpkins

DIY Pumpkin Picture Holders

Mini Pumpkin Place Card Holders

Monogrammed Pumpkin

I'd be thrilled if you tried out one (or more!) of my fast pumpkin crafts! And, if you do, come tell me about it!

Come see me sometime at 52 Mantels!

Like what you see? Follow 52 Mantels!

Guest Posting at Bella Nest Today

Happy Friday! I'm guest posting over at Bella Nest today, so head on over there and take a look!

DIY Home Improvements for Spring

Guest Post by Christina Johnson

Whether it’s a crocus flower pushing up through a bank of snow or a shaft of sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky, the first signs of spring are always a welcome sight. Spring is a season bursting with energy. It’s the perfect time for homeowners to try their hands at some DIY home improvements that will give their homes a fresh new look. Here are five DIY projects that are easy, fast, affordable and
fun.

1. Country Flower Box

Stock Image

A planter filled with spring blooms on the front porch sends a cheerful greeting to visitors. Homeowners can easily customize inexpensive flower boxes by dressing them up in beadboard, painted in bright spring colors. Molding can be used to contour the edges.

2. Eco Table Cover

Topping as inexpensive side table with cork gives it an organic look that suits the sensibility of spring. Cork sheets, available at hardware and crafts stores, can easily be cut to fit the surface of the table. Cement adhesive holds the cork firmly in place. The edges can be trimmed with wood molding for a finished look.

3. Spring Wall Décor

Source

Homeowners who may be wondering what to do with old CDs can reuse them to create a springtime tableau. The square plastic containers work perfectly as mini picture frames. Photographs of nature in all her springtime glory are fitted into the CD cases. A foam board backing holds the photos in place. The CDs look best when arranged in a symmetrical grid configuration.

4. Light Up Spring

Stock Image

Many lampshades features inner linings that make it easy to add a touch of spring to the shade. Rice paper, available at crafts stores, can be cut into flower or leaf designs, and then glued onto the shade’s lining. Spray adhesive works best to attach the design. When the lamp is turned on, the springtime pattern will appear as a subtle shadow.

5. Shades of Spring

Stock Image

Homeowners can welcome the light of spring into their homes by creating a seasonal window treatment and can do so without fuss or expense. While making Roman shades can be tricky, the look of Roman shades can be fabricated by stitching the folds into half of a length of fabric. A simple piece of balsa wood can be used to hang the faux shade. For best effect, the shade should cover no more than half of the window.

Christina Johnson who works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the New York City Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.

Pinterest Thursday - Guest Post!

Hey All! I'm traveling this week for work, so I've asked one of my favorite bloggers to share some Pinspiration with you today. Kelley's blog The Grant Life is full of crafts, recipes, link parties, and other fun -- so go check her out!

Hi all!  My name is Kelley and I blog over The Grant Life.  I share all kinds of crafty, thrifty, foodie goodness over there.  I also have a series going called Labor of Love, where brave mommas share their labor and delivery stories!  I'm so excited to be here today because Liz is so sweet and I love her blog!  

I know that Thursdays are her Pinterest days so I'm going to share a few of my favorite pins with you.  I know I said my blog was crafty, thrifty and foodie.. but lately Ive been concentrating on the 'foodie' part the most.  Why?  Well, because I'm trying to get my body back!  I had two (absolutely amazing) kids in two years and I need to be healthy for them.  So I use Pinterest for recipes and weight loss tips.  

My favorite recipes are:

Spinach Rolls

BBQ Chicken Salad

Lemonade cupcake with raspberry frosting (for my off day of course!)

And the workout tips I've picked up are:




A good ab routine






Resistance band workout






A guide to food portions

I hope you liked my pins.. if you have any great diet tips or exercise routines Id love to see them.  I love trying new things.. and making new friends!  Make sure you stop my site, or my twitter and say hi!  Thanks again for having me Liz!

There you have it -- I hope you're inspired by Kelley's healthy food faves and workouts! Don't forget to visit Kelley's blog and her Pinterest boards for more great recipes and ideas! Thanks so much Kelley!