DIY Marble and Copper Tray Hack

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We love, love, love to shop West Elm. But, we often love a good home decor hack even more. Our DIY side is totally satisfied when we successfully pull off a home décor hack that looks almost identical to the real thing sold in stores, at a fraction of the price.

One can never have enough trays, especially pretty ones like the Copper and Marble serving board at West Elm. So, one must make this DIY version of the Copper and Marble tray and West Elm hack. It’s so simple, and stunning.

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Materials:

  • Copper Coil, 1/4 inch, Home Depot
  • Marble Tile, Home Depot
  • Super glue or Epoxy glue, Home Depot
  • Pliers and wire cutter, Home Depot

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 Directions:

Step 1: Cut the wire to approximately 8 inches long for the handles. Adjust the size according to your preference. Round the copper coil to the shape of a handle – it’s easy to bend and can be done with your hands.

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Step 2: Insert the ends of the copper into the pliers and press firmly. This will flatten the round shape of the copper coil.

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Step 3: Add glue to the ends of the copper coil and press it into the back of the marble tile. The flat sides of the copper should not show on the top side of the tray because it should be glued directly to the back of the tile.

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Important note: if you use super glue, be extremely careful when pressing the copper ends down because your finger will get glued to the copper almost immediately. Wear gloves and/or be aware of the glue.

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After holding the handles in place for several minutes, I got wise, and flipped the tray over, and placed heavy books on the tile where the copper was glued.

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Step 4: Let it dry overnight.

This tray can be used as a cheese appetizer tray because it’s food safe, but we prefer it on a shelf with pretty jewelry, a bud vase or perfume.

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If your eyes go straight to the Bourbon and Bowties bracelet, we’re a lot alike, because we love them! Buy one at Nordstrom {and while you’re there, shop the sale} – your arm will thank you.

DIY Sleep In Pillow Case

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Let’s get real – sleep went out the window when we became moms, and we’re not convinced it ever comes back. Our children were not born good sleepers, they don’t know the meaning of sleeping in {no matter how late we keep them up}, and even when they are teenagers and we won’t be able to wake them up, we will be up late waiting for them to come in {and lose sleep over our worries about where they may be or what they may be doing}.

Just one day a year, it would be so lovely to sleep in. Not wake up at 7 a.m., then go back to bed for another hour. Like, really sleep in where we lose track of time. Remember those days?

Don’t get us wrong, we love motherhood, and feel incredibly grateful for every day on this earth we get to wake up to our beautiful children. It’s a gift, a priceless treasure. But, just one day of extra zzz’s would be so amazing.

Mother’s Day seems fitting for such an occasion. We made a pillowcase so everyone will know what we have in mind when we lay our pretty little heads down on Mother’s Day Eve.

When our DIY Sleep In pillowcase is on the bed, don’t even think about waking us up, ok?! Even if our family misses the memo, at least we can dream about sleeping in. We were inspired to create the pillowcase after this mirror at West Elm caught our eye. We love it, just like we love everything in West Elm stores.

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If you’re looking for a cheap, fun and last-minute gift this Mother’s Day, this is it. Anyone can do it with just a few supplies.

Materials:

Directions:

Pencil in your design, or trace a design. We styled our pillowcase just like the West Elm mirror.

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Trace your pencil marks with the Stained fabric marker, and then color in.

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Insert a pillow in the pillowcase. Set it on your bed and sleep in.

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Sweet dreams to all you amazing mother’s out there!

Holiday Cross-Stitch Cards Workshop at West Elm

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The Every Hostess and your truly hosted a lovely event at West Elm, Denver just in time for the holidays. We gathered to cross-stitch holiday cards, sip coffee and apple cider and snack on cheese, crackers and, of course, cookies! We made wonderful memories with old and new friends, and laughed as we crafted at our 2nd Make & Mingle workshop.

Thanks to everyone who joined us, and to Colby Elizabeth Photography who captured all the cross-stitching fun.

See the beautiful party in its entirety at Couture Colorado. You won’t want to miss all the pretty little details…and the big ass balloons, literally.

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Vendor List

Photographer: Copyright Colby Elizabeth Photography | @colbsta
Location: West Elm, Denver | @westelmdenver
Florist: Ladybird Poppy |@ladybirdpoppy
Stationery: Fleur de lis, a paperie | @fdlpaperie
Balloons: Big Ass Balloons | @bigassballoons
Polka Dot bags and straws: Bake It Pretty | @bakeitpretty
Planning/Styling: The Every Hostess | @theeveryhostess and J. Sorelle | @jsorelle3
Cookies: homemade by J. Sorelle @jsorelle3
Food and Hot Apple Cider: The Every Hostess | @theeveryhostess
Ornaments: Sage 8 Studio | @sage8studio
Chocolate bars and peppermint malt balls: Curly Girl Design | @curlygirldesign
Business card holder: Cory Renee Handcrafted Bags and Clutches
Coffee: Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Cherry Creek North | @peetscoffee

Make and Mingle Event at West Elm in Denver

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Thanks for all the amazing comments and supportive words after our most recent ‘keeping it real’ post. We feel all the love. It felt good to keep it real on the computer screen – we’re real behind the screen, so may as well be real on it, huh? We know y’all have joys and struggles, too, so now let’s get together to stitch n’ bitch…and have fun, of course! Join us, will you?

We’re at it again. Kaitlin at The Every Hostess and us are hosting our 2nd Make & Mingle event at West Elm in Denver, CO. We are going to make DIY cross-stitch holiday cards. No sewing experience required – seriously, none – if we can do it, you can too! Buy your tickets here.

We’ll provide everything to make the cards look a little something like this…

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Thanks to amazing sponsors like Curly Girl Design, Fleur de Lis a paperieCory Renee, Bake it Pretty, and Sage 8 Studio you will go home with some wonderful swag. You can sip cups of decaf or caffeinated cheer thanks to Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Plus, Ladybird Poppy will lift your spirits with her gorgeous floral arrangements, too. It’s going to be pretty. Colby Elizabeth Photography will be there to snap all the memories.

Help us keep the lost art of hand-written cards and old-fashioned mail alive, and join us for a night of crafting fun! Plus, who doesn’t want to spend the evening in a gorgeous store like West Elm? Spread the good cheer, and invite friends!

thanksgiving inspiration

Please accept our apology for a non-complete post that accidentally went ‘live’ yesterday. 

We’ve searched high and low for our favorite Thanksgiving inspiration from the blogosphere, and here are our faves so far this year…

We love the colors, gold confetti, feathers, natural touch of the cotton centerpiece and the salad plates in this gorgeous table setting by A Place for Us, with accessories by West Elm. You have to see the rest of it here.

There is no better time to reflect on the people around us, family and friends, things or people we are grateful for and even past family traditions or past Thanksgivings…and I think the best way to do that at the dinner table is to create a photo table runner. We saw the beautiful one featured on Ruffled Blog, so why not recreate for your Thanksgiving table? It’s on my to-do list.

Kids Thanksgiving Placemat, My Sister’s Suitcase
The kids will be fully entertained with this adorable and FREE printable.

This Thanksgiving, think about Paying Gratefulness Forward. We love this idea by Small Fry. Read more about it here.

We love this simple place mat idea for adults or kids by Skies of Parchment that can be easily made with Kraft paper. It’s a great activity for guests too.

We LOVE these customizable Word Search Placecards. So adorable, and a fun activity. Read this full tutorial at My So Called Crafty Life.
 This Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate by Good Life Eats looks amazing! Find the recipe here.

Think about adding a mini treat to this year’s dessert table with these Apple Pie Cheesecake Bites by Baked by Rachel. OMG delish!

{images via A Place for UsMy Sister’s SuitcaseRuffled Blog, Small Fry, Good Life Eats, Skies of ParchmentMy So Called Crafty Life and Baked by Rachel}