Final Room Reveal: Office/Craft/Guest room
Ok here’s the deal. I’m an Aries. 1000 ideas, love to kickstart the project…but follow through? Eek, so not me. But guys, I have a FINISHED room. Yes, that’s right. Approximately 14 months ago I started to redecorate the 2nd bedroom in my condo. I lost a little motivation along the way, but I got there. My goal for the room was to make it multi-purpose. A space that could at any time be a guest room, an office, or a craft room. And I wanted it to be full of colour. I find colour inspiring. And this room needed to be inspiring. I can now show you the final room reveal.
So what was I working with originally?
I would rather soon forgot that bizarre combination of colour. The previous owner was a huge fan of accent walls – in colours that seemed odd together. I can appreciate an accent wall, but 3 of them in a small 2 bedroom condo? Not necessary.
Alright, so first I started with a fresh coat of paint:
I wanted to have a pattern on the wall to make it unique.
I DIY’d an Ikea bookshelf that would work as storage for the space:
The futon got some sprucing up with a new custom cover from CustomSlipCoversNow.com and pillows from Bouclair.
My old corkboard was refreshed with a simple DIY chevron project.
I had some artwork that I had up in my last place, but it just didn’t work in this condo. So I used wrapping paper to make it something else.
I picked up these mini-pails for the desk from the Target Clearance section – just $1 each!
And finally, I’ve gradually been picking up some storage boxes from Michaels for my scrapbooking/craft supplies. Thank goodness for coupons!
Here’s the finished room:
Links to all the projects in this room:
Wall Stencil
Transforming an Ikea Bookshelf – Part 1 | Part 2
DIY Chevron Corkboard
Wrapping Paper Art
I’m so excited to cross this room off my list! I may at some point get a little table/storage for towels etc for guests, but that’s not on the top of my list at the moment, so I officially declare this room DONE!
What do you think of the final reveal? Have you tried any of these projects?
May Ipsy MyGlam Bag
I am insanely in love with the May Ipsy MyGlam bag. Check out the video to see what’s included (there was a bonus item!)
Nume Finishing Serum (10 ml $4.83)
Yaby Concealer Refill (refill size $5.11)
Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss (14 oz $7.50)
Pacifica Bronzing Body Butter (Full Size $7.00)
Zoya Nail Polish (Full Size $8.00)
Total value of this month’s bag is $32.44, not including the bonus item.
What did you think of this month’s Ipsy bag? Did you find it was personalized for you? If you’re interested in subscribing to Ipsy, it’s only $10 per month ($4.99 shipping to Canada). Steal!
May Julep Maven Box
Remember my Halloween costume last year?
I was a flapper girl – I am completely fascinated by the Roaring 20′s…so when my May Julep Maven box arrived and this was the exact theme, I was pumped! Just look at the first peek:
Here’s the goods:
This month I took the Boho Glam box. I flip-flopped back and forth between Boho Glam and Classic with a Twist, but by the time I went to change to Classic with a Twist it was sold out. But that’s okay because I’m happy with this one :)
See those bobby pins? They were a bonus item! They were included in the upgrade boxes, but I didn’t buy one of those. Maybe they had extras? Either way I think they’re adorable and will definitely wear them.
The two polishes from left to right are Julep Millie and Julep Alice. PLUS the box came with three 1920-ish lipsticks. They shades are Lady in Red, Tea for Two, and Satin Doll. The lipsticks also came in a really cute matchbox-style case.
Julep hit it out of the park yet again. Interested in subscribing? Complete a style profile, and for $19.99 a month (including shipping) receive two polishes plus a few goodies. If you sign up, your first box is free with promo code FREEBOX. They also have a fabulous reward program. This box here? It was a free one!
DIY Chevron Corkboard
You know I love a good DIY, right? Well I have a ridiculously easy one that I am a little bit in love with.
I have a corkboard that has followed me around since I think I was in high school. Now that I’m supposed to be an adult and all, I decided to step up the look of the corkboard. Enter DIY-ville.
For paint you will need an acrylic base. I used Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint in Pearl (Mother of Pearl) and Metallic (Florentine Gold). I used a sponge brush to spot paint. Any foam brush should work though.
Tape the frame so the wood doesn’t get any paint on it:
Using your first paint colour, use the sponge to paint a solid layer across the entire corkboard.
It took about three layers of paint until I was happy with the base colour. Let completely dry before going to the next step.
Now comes the most complicated part of this project (and it’s not as complicated as it seems). For the chevron pattern, I used painter’s tape to mark where to paint. I measured the width into thirds to identify where the points should all be. Once I had the first row done, I sort of guestimated the distance between the remaining rows of tape. As long as your points all match up, you should be fine (I also used the width of the tape role as a sort-of guideline).
Full pattern:
Using the same painting technique, paint between the tape with the 2nd colour.
And the final product!
Are you still loving the chevron pattern too?
Nail Polish Canada Haul
Alright, this is my first official “haul”. I had a very enjoyable shopping experience at Nail Polish Canada :)
Remember that anti-Glymm deal that Nail Polish Canada was offering? Well of course I took them up on it! It was a $25 value box for free. I then may have added a few other things to the order…
From left to right:
China Glaze Towel Boy Toy
Deborah Lippman Like a Virgin
Color Club In Theory
Deborah Lippman Amazing Grace
China Glaze For Audrey
Zoya Blu Mini
Tend Skin liquid
Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat
Have you tried any of the products from this haul?
How To: The Makings of a Lightbox
I needed a lightbox to take photos of smaller items (ie…my nails…). This was a surprisingly easy DIY and used really easy to find items. I found this idea from Lindsay at Always a Girly Girl.
To start you will need:
- a box
- white bristol board
- tape
- white tissue paper
- sharpie
- exacto knife
Step One: Cut the flaps of the box and mark the top and both sides with an X.
Step Two: On the sides with the X, mark a one inch line around all edges.
Step Three: Use the exacto knife to cut the inner box of the marked lines. (You can see the makings of another DIY in the background…)
Step Four: Cut the bristol board to the width of the inside box. Tape the edge to the inside top corner. Then slide the paper into the bottom inside corner without making any folds. Trim the paper so it lines up with the outer bottom edge of the box.
Step Five: Tape the tissue paper over the three holes. Make sure the tissue paper is tight, with as few wrinkles as possible, and no rips.
Step Six: Done! To use, put a small light on the outside of both sides. I need to go out and get proper lights, so I’m using the lights on my vanity table for now (not ideal, but it’ll do).
The picture on the left is without the lightbox. The picture on the right is with the lightbox. See the difference in how the light is controlled?
When Weekends Are Awesome
Last week I painted my entire main living area. The next time I get a great idea to paint a room…remind me that it’s the worst idea ever and that calling a pro-fesh is the way to go. Cool? (although I am in loooove with the colour).
So after all the pain and sweat from the painting I needed one of those one-of-a-kind-amazing-weekends.
It started with a Zumba fundraiser. My sister is taking part in The Ride To Conquer Cancer in support of The Princess Margaret Foundation (a 200km bike ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls – yes she’s nutty) so she held the best kind of fundraiser! We danced our butts off for 90 minutes for a great cause. It was such a fun time!
Here’s the proof:
And my mom, my sisters and me! Excuse the no-makeup, sweaty look but we were girls on a mission! Over $1,000 was raised for the cause…amazing job Nicole!
Saturday night was girls night. We went for a drink in Toronto, but apparently I didn’t take any photos :( Oh well, it was still a great time.
The cherry on top to the weekend was going to Canada’s Wonderland on Sunday. It was Scotiabank day so they open the park before it opens to the public in May for Scotiabank employees and their friends/families. Let’s just say we pretty much walked on to every ride!
Me and my cousin. Adorbs.
Biggest accomplishment of the day? Tackling the Leviathan. That first hill? The drop is 306 feet…on an 80 degree angle! Madness I tell ya.
Then we had a photoshoot on the Merry-Go-Round.
In conclusion, that’s the makings of a great weekend! What did you get up to?
Glymm: An Update
Perhaps you remember my errr…rant…about Glymm last month? And this one too? Yes well, I was on to something. Turns out Glymm has gone bankrupt. Out of business. Sayonara.
The March bags weren’t delivered (despite payment being collected), and last Friday, Glymm officially announced they were closed. Thankfully I cancelled just before the March payment was to be made, but many other people weren’t so lucky. I feel for the girls who paid for a year at once :(
I have great news for all you Glymmers who got ripped off though! Nail Polish Canada has come through and is offering anyone who purchased a Glymm bag in the past 4 months the opportunity to receive a FREE $25 value box. The boxes have some great things in them. You can find out all about how to redeem this and what boxes are available here.
Also, if you’d like to find out more about Glymm’s demise, you can read this Metro News article.
With so many subscription box options out there, it’s sad to see one go out in such a negative way. My advice is to watch the business practices of any boxes you subscribe to. I saw problems arising with Glymm so made the decision to cancel, and I’m glad I listened to my gut. If you are part of any subscriptions, I’d also recommend monitoring their social media accounts. You can find out a lot of information about them from other subscribers. I always do this prior to signing up for a new box.
Enjoy your free box from NPC! If you were a Glymm subscriber, write a comment and let me know what your experience was. And if you have any questions about subscription boxes, holla at me…I love chatting about them.
Beach Hair with a NuMe Pearl Curling Wand
Ever wonder how to get the perfect beach hair? Yea, me too. It’s like this elusive look that only models in magazines seem to achieve. But I found the perfect curling wand to get that look in no time. I purchased the Nume Pearl Curling Wand awhile ago, and have been wanting to share it with you. I put together this video to show how this tool from Nume can help you with that beach hair!
Here are some after shots:
Have you tried this tool from Nume before? How do you get beach wavy hair?
Get The Look: Spring Gray’s and Two-Tones
I’ve been wanting to do some sort for shop the trend type posts on here, and finally decided to call it ‘Get The Look’ and BAM! Here it is. Basically, I’ll be taking celebrity or magazine looks, finding similar items (with my own unique look to them) and from stores real people can actually afford.
The first look is from Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice). She always looks so put together so she’s a great fashion inspiration for this first post. Plus I love her hair!
Blazer: J.Crew | Pants: Asos | Scarf: Charlotte Russe | Shoes: Call It Spring | Handbag: Coach | Sunglasses: Go Jane
What do you think of this look?
