Daily Gnome: Design | Home | Family

  • about me
  • daily
  • home + projects
  • design
  • the fam
  • discoveries

DIY Simple Holiday Vases

December 4, 2014 by dailygnome 1 Comment

It was fun to create these easy and inexpensive vases for our Thanksgiving table this year. Only took a few minutes and the kids enjoyed glazing the cans and arranging the flowers.

DIY_holiday_vase DIY_holiday_vases

Materials:
Tin Cans (soup, beans etc), labels removed
Festive Cardstock (I’m a fan of the 12″x12″ pads available at Michaels)
Glue Stick
EXACTO Knife
Ruler
Mod Podge
Paint sponge

Directions:

  1. Soak empty tin cans to easily remove labels.
  2. Choose cardstock and cut to height of can, just under the lip.
  3. Glue back of paper and wrap around the can.
  4. Cover with a couple of thin coats of Mod Podge and let dry.
  5. Fill with flowers.

IMG_0054

I’m looking forward to making some winter-themed ones for the holidays. They can be used for more than just flower vases, too. Pen/pencil holders, dish brush container, craft containers. So many possibilities!

IMG_0069

Related Posts:

  • Crafty Friday
    Crafty Friday
  • Friday Flowers and Dream Jobs
    Friday Flowers and Dream Jobs
  • DIY Halloween Spookiness
    DIY Halloween Spookiness
  • Paint Swatch Bookmarks
    Paint Swatch Bookmarks

Frozen Birthday Party with Scavenger Hunt

August 3, 2014 by dailygnome 5 Comments

Even I couldn’t help catching Frozen Fever planning Hadley’s 6th birthday. With the soundtrack on constant rotation combined with Hadley’s contagious excitement when the party wrapped up I just wanted to give Olaf an endless supply of Warm Hugs. On a recent balmy Sunday afternoon our house transformed into the Kingdom of Arendelle: Frozen_Birthday_Party01 Frozen_Birthday_Party02 Frozen_Birthday_Party03 Frozen_Birthday_Party04 Frozen_Birthday_Party16

Pin the Nose on Olaf Party Game:

Thanks to Jason’s mad freehanding skills he cut out Olaf using simple foam sheets from the craft store. Frozen_Birthday_Party09

Photo Booth:

I put together a pop-up photo booth and found some downloadable props on etsy. I had the print shop down the street adhere them to chip board and the kids loved hamming it up in character. Frozen_Birthday_Party06 Frozen_Birthday_Party05 With my instant Polaroid everyone took home a pic or two.  Frozen_Birthday_Party07 Frozen_Birthday_Party08

Frozen Themed Scavenger Hunt:

It’s become a tradition to include a scavenger hunt at our birthday parties and Hadley had fun helping put together the clues and prizes. We started at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post {and Sauna!} where they collected shopping bags and received their first clue.
Download all clues here Frozen_Birthday_Party10  Frozen_Birthday_Party12 Handing out “Olaf Noses” in the gardenFrozen_Birthday_Party13 The “Love Experts”Frozen_Birthday_Party14 Frozen_Birthday_Party15  Frozen_Birthday_Party17

Frozen_Birthday_Party22 Frozen_Birthday_Party18

The cake {ice cream, of course}:  Frozen_Birthday_Party20 Lots of Warm Hugs for Olaf!Frozen_Birthday_Party21 Happy Birthday Miss Hadley! Some people are worth melting for.Frozen_Birthday_Party11 Menu:
Sven’s Antlers {pretzels}
Olaf Noses {baby carrots} with greek yogurt dipping sauce
Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
Kristoff’s Ice Blocks {blue raspberry finger Jello}. A Pinterest fail but I set them out anyway
Frozen Grapes {forgot how tasty these are on hot days}
Melted Snowman {ice water}

Resources:
Arendelle Printable Banner
Frozen Printable Bookmarks
Snowball Playdough Recipe
Frozen Character Props
Frozen Printable Tags

Related Posts:

  • Butterfly + Bunny Birthday Party
    Butterfly + Bunny Birthday Party
  • Happy Birthday Hadley
    Happy Birthday Hadley
  • Hadley's Lollipop Birthday Party
    Hadley's Lollipop Birthday Party
  • Race Car Birthday Party
    Race Car Birthday Party

SimplyFine Design Studio Tour

May 23, 2014 by dailygnome 1 Comment

When we moved back in to our home after the remodel I was so happy to have my own private studio, no longer squeezed in a nook off the kitchen.  My own sanctuary where I can close the door and create. A peek at the space where I spend my days:

pen_holder

design_studio

portland_web_design_studio

office_decor_ideas

Free Wall Art:
A group of designers assembled posters symbolizing their “favorite worst feedback” from clients. I printed up a few of my favs on white card stock and framed them up. View all posters from the Creative Catharsis Project here.

client_feedback_posters

Why use a boring business card holder when you can use a pretty glass dish?

creative_business_card_holder

My coworker:

designers_studio_tour

My other coworker:
bosley2A fun way to display kids artwork: I arranged a collage of some of my favorites, then had a piece of plexiglass cut to size and laid it over the desktop. Super easy to swap out when the kiddos bring home a new masterpiece.

kids_artwork_ideas

A shout out to my journalism roots. I found this old newspaper box at an antique shop in Sellwood:

vintage_newspaper_box

you_can_go_your_own_way_poster

Deets + Resources:

Furniture:
White Parsons Desk | West Elm
Tufted Club Chair | Overstock
Modern Writing Desk | Overstock
Vintage Filing Cabinet | Rejuevenation
White Storage Cabinet | IKEA

Carpet Tiles | FLOR
Pendant Light | Schoolhouse Electric
Accent Pillow | Izy and Oly
Rhino Wall Bust | Cardboard Safari
Letterpress on Antique Portland Street Map | Amy Rice Art

Related Posts:

  • Free Notecard Download
    Free Notecard Download
  • Home Studio Makeover
    Home Studio Makeover
  • Living Well Events
    Living Well Events
  • Kitchen Nook Makeover
    Kitchen Nook Makeover

New Life for our Family Victrola

February 27, 2014 by dailygnome 3 Comments

Before I was born my parents purchased this old Victrola at an estate sale dirt cheap. Small town. Midwest. Growing up it housed a turntable on top, stereo in the middle and an impressive collection of viynls in the bottom cabinet. Oh the countless times I lifted the needle to replay I Feel Pretty, pretending to be starring on Broadway. And listening to the first pop album I purchased as a preteen for hours on end. A stark contrast to this childhood gem years earlier.  Irony. Throw in Van Halen, John Denver and Buddy Holly and it housed an eclectic collection to say the least.

Victor-Victrola

For the past couple of decades while my parents moved around the Victrola has resided in multiple storage units and garages. A few months ago I spotted it in my parents’ garage and had an idea to convert it into a bar. I asked. They didn’t resist.  At first I was going to strip and paint it, but in the end the “antique” treatment it had in the 60s started to grow on me, chips and all.

Victor-Victrola_before

A little craft paper, a splash of color on the interior and knobs for pop…

Victor-Victrola_bar

The top is perfect for serving drinks during small gatherings and parties

Victor-Victrola_bar2

Wine glasses, bar ware…there’s a place for everything:

vitrola_bar

And for the finishing touch, I found this over sized D on etsy:

d

I’d love to meet the craftsman who made it 100 years ago. I’d mix him/her a cocktail and give a proper toast.  CHEERS!

Related Posts:

  • Best 25 Cents Ever Spent
    Best 25 Cents Ever Spent
  • Bean Bags
    Bean Bags
  • Friday Flowers and Dream Jobs
    Friday Flowers and Dream Jobs
  • I Could Live In A Small Town...
    I Could Live In A Small Town...
Next Page »

{ daily feed }

subscribe in a reader or email

Looking Back

My Filing Cabinet

{ daily quotes }

As long as you embrace struggle and mistakes, you can learn anything.
–Salman Kahn

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.
– Henry David Thoreau

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
– Hodding Carter, Jr.

{ daily chatter }

  • dailygnome on Portland Bungalow Remodel: Before and After Exterior
  • Gillian on Portland Bungalow Remodel: Before and After Exterior
  • dailygnome on 100 Things About Me
  • Sarah G. on 100 Things About Me

{ Daily Pics }

Daily Gnome | life. family. home | Website Design by SimplyFine Design