DIY Candles!!

Hey everyone! I don't know about all of you, but I know that when one of my favorite candles burns out completely I am devastated! I love burning candles! I just feel that the look and the smell make everything so much better! Once a candle burns out I always make sure to save the wax. I collected wax for about two years with the anticipation of making my own candles out of it.

This was the wax that I saved!

Another thing that I save along with the wax is some of the glass jars. 

One day when I had nothing going on, I decided to give it a try. Instead of having to make a trip to the nearest craft store for a candle wick kit which is 30 minutes away, I decided to go to my local hardware store and purchase cotton fiber twine. 

I figured if I dipped this into wax and let it dry that it would serve as a wick.

SUCCESS!

After I dipped it, I let to dry on a paper plate. I made sure to dip it in a white wax so when it melted another candle the color wouldn't mix with the candle as well. 

I took a pencil to keep the twine centered while I pureed the hot wax into the jar.

For the picture above, I decided that I wanted to try and create a red, white and blue candle in a mason jar. After I poured the red in, I put the jar into the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden up the wax. 

I then repeated the steps with the white and the blue. BUT I did not actually have blue wax collected to make the blue nor did I have the colors to mix to make it. What I actually did was take an old white candle and melt it with a blue crayon.

This worked perfectly to make the blue wax that I needed!

After finishing the red, white and blue candle, I did the same thing in order to create other candles. At the end of the day, this is how all of my candles turned out.

This was a very simple DIY project and far from messy. I feared that I would have hot wax splashing all over my kitchen and it would dry fast but that wasn't the case at all. And also, don't go running out to buy cheap pots for this. I used the ones that I had in my kitchen. After you pour your melted wax into the jar completely, just take a paper towel and wipe out the inside. Once I was completely done for the day, I just threw the pot in the dishwasher and it was as good as new!

And for all of you who are wondering… the twine does an amazing job as a wick and the entire ball of it was less than $5.00! It is also totally acceptable to buy pre colored wax and wicks from a place like AC Moore or Michaels.

That's all for now! Have any of you tried to make your own candles? Was it successful or a huge fail?

Let me know!

XOXO,

Paige 

DIY Mirror Frame!

Hey everyone!
I have been hard at work with this new project that I am about to share with you. Last fall, my neighbors were cleaning out their house to prepare for their big move to the state of Florida. While they were cleaning out their house they had asked me if I wanted three giant mirrors. Even thought I said yes, I really had no idea what I was even going to do with them. For the meantime they were placed in our garage. 

(Don't mind the fake deer in the background ;))

After almost a full year of deliberation, I finally decided that I wanted to take on one of the mirrors and give it a frame. Since Jason and I moved in to our house two years ago, I have wanted to put a big mirror at the end of the hallway to make it feel bigger. 

First, I enlisted the help of Jason because he was off of work for the day. We went and purchased three pieces of white pine wood that were 8 feet long. They were 1in x 6in. They were also tongue and groove. 

We used the handy dandy rip saw to help us out with this project. 

First we measured out the mirror and decided that we wanted to make our cuts on a 45 degree angle.

(Such a handyman!) 

With all 4 pieces cut, I decided that I wanted to beat the wood up a little bit to give it a worn and older look. I chose a screwdriver while Jason chose a crowbar.

After all 4 pieces were cut and roughed up, I filled the groove side of the wood with glue.

I purchased this glue right a Sears but I am sure you could find something similar at any local hardware store!

Once all 4 pieces had glue, we slid the mirror in to groove as well.

To be sure that they would stay in place, we put clamps on all four corners.

With the clamps holding the wood in place, we secured wooden "L" shaped brackets on each corner for extra strength.

Once all four corners were complete, we gave the glue a few hours to dry.

Once the glue was completely dry, we decided to use some silicone to secure the mirror to the wood.

It's a pretty simple process!

Once all was said and done, we gave it some time to completely dry. But this is what it looked like!

After a couple of days, I decided that it was time to pick out a stain. This was what I chose.

Before applying it straight to the mirror, I tested it on a piece of scrap wood to make sure that I was happy with it. I was!

I took an old rag and decided to apply it to the mirror that way instead of using a paintbrush to avoid streaks. 

After two coats of stain, this was my final product! I absolutely love the way that the stain highlighted the marks that we applied with the crowbar and screwdriver. The knots in the wood also give it another level of character!

It is not hanging on the wall yet because we have to move a light switch first, but you get the picture! It turned out so awesome that my sister wants one for her housewarming gift! 

This by far has been my favorite DIY project because it beats purchasing a mirror for an absurd amount of money at the store. It is also nice to look at it and know that Jason and I put it together as a team and it is now in our home!

What do you guys think?

xoxo- Paige 

Receiving DIY gift!

I absolutely love receiving DIY gifts from people! It shows you that they used a lot of their time and energy to make you a gift that came straight from the heart! This past June was my four year anniversary with my boyfriend, Jason. He knew that I was putting in a lot of effort into our gardens around the house and made me the most beautiful DIY gift!

I had seen something like this on Pinterest a while back and showed it to Jason and told him how creative I thought it was. I was absolutely shocked when I found out that this was what my surprise was! (Good job, babe!)

One of the best parts about this gift was that Jason took the time to carve a little message into the side of the log for me.

It is a little difficult to see in the picture, but he carved "Happy Anniversary Paige -2014"

I have to admit, this may be my favorite gift from Jason because it has so much thought behind it. He took the time to find the perfect log, carve it out and pick out the flowers! He's such a hunk! 

Has anyone received a DIY gift that they are fond of? If so, share in the comments below!

XOXO, 

Paige

A break from DIY

Hey everyone! I know that it has been a couple of weeks since I posted my first blog post about my DIY wine cork wreath but I just want you to know that I am back at it! During these last couple of weeks I decided that I wanted to read the 50 Shades of Grey series since the movie will be coming out on Valentines Day next year. I love to read books and then see the movies! Any who, for all of you ladies out there… I highly recommend these three books. The books go in the order of 50 Shades of Grey, 50 Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed. The only thing that I will give away about these books is that they are all about a crazy romance between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steel. Check out the movie trailer for yourself… You may decide to read the books after you see it!
xoxo
-Paige

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA

PS- I will be back with a new DIY post in just a couple of days!!