Christmas in July

I have been on the hunt for the perfect china hutch for SO long. It has been #1 on my wish list for couple years now but I had a hard time finding what I wanted, at a price I could afford. (Dang money!) I thought about going the refurbish route but couldn't convince my hubby to add another project to "the list." Everything store bought was either too expensive, too big, or just not right for our house. Finally I found this little baby online. It was affordable, the perfect size, and had the right lines to go with the rest of the furniture in our home. Since it also happened to be my birthday, I was able to get my Mom to contribute as a birthday gift and it became mine!



It was a ready to assemble piece and came to my door damaged. I was so bummed and worried, but the company I ordered from (Stacks and Stacks) was great about getting me a replacement. The replacement came and my hubby put it together for me while I was out of town. What a surprise to come home to! I was thrilled how well the top matched our table without the hutch being to matchy-matchy. (Although now the golden oak cabinetry, which has been bugging me forever, bugs me even more... so much for not adding to "the list"!)



And I just LOVE how all my pretty dishes look on display!









It's still a work in progress, I have to figure out what to do with the buffet top, which is in reach of my children so requires something durable. I also want to make a door to cover the open shelves on the bottom, which because of being in reach of my kids, is just not practical. (I'm seeing some etched glass in my future.) But so far I am thrilled!



What do you think? Do you enjoy having your dishes on display?

Bead-utiful Stemware

Sometimes when I make something that I'm really proud of I just love myself. But actually I love Kate over at Centsational Girl. Seriously, this girl is amazing! Her blog was the first "design" blog I started following and was the inspiration for starting this little blog. I hope to one day be half as cool as her!

Anyway, the other day Kate made the most amazing jeweled stemware. She found the inspiration at a local winery. They were $75 a glass and she recreated them for about $40 for a set of four. Amazing! So I decided to try my hand and make a few myself. Wanna see them?



Didn't they turn out great! I just love them! I got the glasses at TJ Maxx for 5.99 for the set and spent about $15 on beads (with a ton left over) and $5 for the silicone. So I made my set of four for only $26. I'm going to make four more since I have plenty of beads and silicone left and I might even try my hand on some hurricane glass.

You can see Kate's full tutorial HERE.

EDIT: The question has been asked, "How do you wash them?" Because they are glued on with silicone (same stuff used for aquariums) they are completely waterproof. Still, I would recommend hand washing and be gentle around the beads. Since I only use fancy glasses like this on special occasions anyway, hand washing is just fine with me.

Linking up at:
Under The Table and Dreaming
A Soft Place to Land
Creations by Kara
Someday Crafts
Women Who Do It All