Pre-Oscars Glitter Ice Cubes

Here's the thing about DIY's: you never know if they're going to work. Seeing that the Oscars are this weekend, I had dreamed up an idea to use sugar stars in ice cubes for a glammy cocktail. I bought supplies & had everything I needed. What I realized was that the water quickly dissolved the sugar stars I purchased, and there was no beating around the bush that this cocktail was not going to happen. 

I was sad. 

I wasn't going to let these cute straws go to waste nor my new ice cube trays that I'll never use again. I filled 'em up with water and began sprinkling *inedible* plastic stars into each cube. 

While you cannot consume these stars, they make for a fun presentation added to an ice bucket with bottles of champagne! They're very beautiful and extra fun. I only wish you could drink them, too. I'd love to see anybody tackle this and figure out how to make it work!! I'm sad they're inedible but can find other ways to use these pretty things!

A Floral Centerpiece in 30 Seconds

I love flowers. I wish I had more of them in my home, and I'm on the verge of buying a vintage planter to stick next to the couch. In the mean time, I love adding an element of surprise when it comes to floral arrangements. Whether it be changing up the vase, throwing a bright flower in the mix or filling the vase with something quirky, I'm all for it. 

I wouldn't even call this a DIY. I would call this a cheerful, 30-second flower arrangement that I'm sure would brighten anyones day (or at least mine!) 

I saw these gorgeous Tulips and had to buy them. I filled the vessel with fruit loops (because i'm the most colorful person I know) and tossed the brightly hued flowers in the vase. Ba da bing, ba da boom! Done.  

I've seen vases filled with sprinkles, gumballs and any type of candy under the sun. You simply can't go wrong with this one. It's all about mixing and matching!

Happy Monday!

DIY Painted Bottles

I was recently talking to a friend about how time consuming and costly it is to furnish a house! The sad thing is that Tyler and I don't even live in a house - we have a 783 square foot, one bedroom apartment. 

I always thought that when we would move into our "home" it would be fully furnished. Boy, was I wrong! We've been in our pad for 6 months and we still need a coffee table, curtains in our bedroom, a side table for the couch and a credenza for the TV. Thinking back to how naive I was, I now cannot even imagine decorating a 1,500 square foot home. OMG! 

Our place is coming along well, but we have to compromise in some aspects. Example: we bought the cutest bar stools recently. Having set us back $300, we are now DIY'ing other stuff cause we cannot fork out that kinda money for anything else right now. Ha! But I don't mind the DIY :) 

I saw painted glass bottles on Pinterest and thought this was a lovely idea for our kitchen cabinets. The cabinets don't touch the ceiling, and I'd love to add some color to the kitchen, so we chose 5 colors that best matched our color scheme, and we went for it!

I must say that if you are thinking of doing this, I would recommend doing it OUTSIDE and over an old towel that you don't mind getting paint on. Also, our glass bottles (below) are antique. I would recommend new bottles. Our bottles, although beautiful, had rust inside some that even paint couldn't cover up!

What you'll need:

Paint

Glass Bottles

A Towel

Flowers

We evenly laid out our bottles and chose which color would go in what bottle.

All you do is rotate the paint inside the glass bottles. It's that easy!

Ta- da!

If your apartment or kitchen has low ceilings, you'd be crazy not to do this. It makes such a big impression (and it makes our ceilings look much taller!)

DISCLAIMER: DIY funded by Tyler Weir. Thank you, sweetest boy, for curing boredom by funding all of my DIY's. You're the greatest.

DIY Ban.do Drink Stirrer

Glue the sequin brooch onto the bamboo skewer with hot glue. Top the fizzy drink rim with a strawberry. Voila! How easy is this for a New Years Eve party?

DIY Face Mask

So I tried out something new today. And it was gooey, and icky and weird. But I kinda liked it.

For a year now, my face has been breaking out like that of a 13 year old boy which I find very ironic because I've never had this issue before (yes, I eat my veggies and drink loads of water), and i'm getting married this year. Lucky me.

I was looking up face tips, and I'm totally down when I see stuff using natural ingredients you can find in your fridge. All those harsh department store chemicals really dry out my face!

If you're looking for glowing, clear skin (think Emma Stone or Gwyneth Paltrow) read below for the perfect trick! This recipe is from Joanna Vargas, an esthetician for celebrities.

What you'll need:
1/2 cup plain yogurt: anti inflammatory, contains lactic acids. Use it on its own and it still exfoliates you!
1/2 cup Corn meal: helps scrub your face.
Grapefruit juice: contains salicylic acid which cleans and tightens your pores.

Mix together to get nice and creamy. Stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes to thicken. Put it on your face for 10 minutes and rinse off. You'll have tight, smooth skin!

What are your favorite beauty tricks?