Traveling Treasures Mason Jars

If you're like us and you not only love to travel, but you love to pick up nick-nacks from your destinations, then you probably have a few pieces scattered around your house.  We always get an ornament for our Christmas tree, but we also pick up random things that catch our eye while on vacation.

In an effort to organize and use some Mason Jars that I just bought a case of, I made these "Traveling Treasures Mason Jars".  I think I've seen something similar to this in an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

You can find Mason Jars at any craft store.  I bought a case of 12, surprisingly, at Big Lots for under 8 bucks. 

What I needed:  My traveling treasures, Krylon Fusion paint in Satin White and a mason jar.  Start by removing the caps.

 The Krylon spray paint is awesome.  You don't have to prep, sand or prime prior to using.  I did a second coat after the first dried.

Then I got all our goodies from our trip to Jamaica, where Matt proposed, together. 

You can laugh at the Bob Marley rolling paper - of course we had to buy that! Our bellhop even tried to sell us some illegal substances and I'm not just talking marijuana.  Most people believe that Mary-Jane is legal in Jamaica, but in fact it is NOT. And you can get arrested there just like you'd get arrested here. Except its far more scary.

We also have a Jamaican $50 bill and some change.   It's probably about $1.65 in US money 'cause, ya know, we roll in the Jamaican dough.  You'll also find our plane tickets and the flag from Ricks cafe, one of the top 10 bars in the world. The locals cliff dive right there at the bar, right next to the sign warning you to jump at your own risk and "spinal injury may occur". Yeah... that's happening.

 I also did one from our trip to Hawaii.  I have more to do, but this was a good start.

I'm offically in love with mason jars.  They have so many different uses and are so inexpensive.  I hope I don't turn into the weird "mason jar lady" with random jars scattered through the house and even making it outside.  Pray for me.

PS if you say "Beer Can" with an English accent, it sounds like "Bacon" in Jamaiican.  Random and awesome.

Removing wallpaper is the worst...

It's a sticky job... but someone's gotta do it.  Half of the master bedroom closet was covered with a textured wallpaper.  It looked like a DIY project gone wrong.  We all know how that goes.  It was bubbling, peeling, bumpy and everything else bad you can think of.  Here is a picture of the type of wallpaper it was.

I broke the blogging rule of taking a picture before I started, so about 10 minutes into peeling back the top layer of wallpaper I took these shots.  The left side of the closet is the wallpapered side.

 Here is Mya helping out... and my fugly toes.

 First I removed as much of the top layer as I could just by peeling it back.  Then I took a spray bottle and filled with hot water and a little bit of soap, just a couple of squirts.  I sprayed the entire wall where the bottom layer of wallpaper was left.  Then I took a spackle knife, started from the bottom and shaved off the wallpaper.  It actually came off really easy!  Be careful though, the glue on the wallpaper is sticky again so you should try to bag it up quickly/immediately if your room is carpeted.

You'd think that after all that we'd just have to paint and all would be well.  But no... it left this hole-ridden, spackled, unsanded mess of a wall.  Apparently that's why they covered it up with wallpaper and the reason for all the bumps and bubbling.

 I called in reinforcements, aka Matt, and respackled and sanded everything.

 Then we painted it good ol' fashion antique white.  Nothing fancy, but definitely an upgrade.

Have you found a DIY job to be much more than you bargained for? 

Got Wine?

Corks... 
This post will be short and sweet since this project was quick and easy.  What you need is that pile of white and red wine corks you've been storing in that junk drawer of yours.  Take those and find a wooden box.  You can probably get a really inexpensive one at Michael's or Ben Franklin.  We had one lying around that was the perfect size (my mom gave Matt a Saki set that came in this box). 

I was originally going to do this as a monogrammed "O" but that doesn't look quite appealing in "Cork Font".

If you drink more red wine than white wine, then do your letter or number in white wine corks.  If you drink more white wine than red, then do what I did and use red wine corks for your number/letter.  You don't have to glue them in or make this permanent so you can adjust this as often as you want.  Every year I'm going to change it to match the years we've been married.  We just celebrated our 2 year anniversay this past Monday, May 30th. 

Simple and free!  And TRIPLE BONUS:  You get all that space back from your drawer.  As Sherry from YHL would say  "Amazeballs"!