I spray painted it cream... 
Then I used an antiquing medium and rubbed it on the vase with a soft cloth to give it an aged look. It took me less than an hour to do and I am so happy with the results...and don't the hydrangeas look real? I bought them at Michael's a couple of weeks ago 70% off! 
I started out with a plastic photo book that I bought at a craft store for $2. The plastic makes it perfect for a cookbook because you can wipe off any splatters or crumbs that might get on it while cooking. The album I used measures 8"x6". It holds two 4"x6" photos (or in our case recipe cards) on each page. You can also buy 4x6 albums for $1. I have seen them at Walmart, Michael's and the Dollar Tree. They come with tacky pieces of card stock for the front cover, but you can slide it out and replace it with something cute instead :)
Here is what mine looked like before:
Here is a view of the inside, with the plastic pockets for pictures or cards. 
First, I took the front and back covers out of the sleeves. Next, I made a cooking themed collage using decorative papers and vintage images from my scrapbook supplies. I used a glue stick to attach the collage right on top of the tacky card stock it came with. Then, I cut a piece of coordinating card stock to slide in the back cover. Lastly, I got glued strips of muslin to the inside of the front and back covers so that the book can be tied shut with a bow ( I love bows!) 
Hope you are having a lovely weekend! ~Molly
A few posts ago I mentioned that I have been working on giving my guest room/sewing room an update. The inspiration for the room came from my love of Lilly Pulitzer and my love of pink and green. My starting point was a pair of vintage pillow cases I picked up a few years ago at a thrift store (you can see part of them in the photo above). I finished the art over the bed last week and I wanted to show you. I bought the Ung Drill frame from Ikea. It was originally black but I used Krylon white spray primer to cover it and then I painted it with Krylon indoor/outdoor spray paint in "watermelon". I love that pink! Next, I removed the glass, and covered the cardboard frame backing with an adorable Amy Butler fabric. I picked up a wooden initial from Hobby Lobby and used more spray adhesive to cover it with pink card stock (I sprayed the letter, laid it onto the pink paper then used an exacto knife to trim around the letter (you could also paint it, I just liked the look of the paper). Finally, I affixed the letter to the frame with hot glue. 
She spent hours in the sand. It is so amazing how children can be entertained for hours with a bucket, a shovel and some sand. So simple. So fun. Her bucket is a $1 bucket from Micheal's that I decorated with a permanent paint marker. I make her one each year for our trips to the beach. 
I love this one of her eating a strawberry. Seriously, I wish I looked as hip as her at the beach :)
Obviously this photo below is not at the beach, but this is Lilly sporting a shirt I made for her this week and I wanted to share it. It was actually a dress I made her last year (I used a pillow case dress tutorial, don't remember which one but here's a good one) She had outgrown it so I cut it off a little and took it in to turn it into a top. 
I hope you all are having a relaxing summer weekend.~Molly
I finally got around to making a sailboat using the tutorial by the amazing Ann Wood. I made the paper mache hull a few months ago and just finished the sail today. (I bought the little shelf it is sitting on at Ross for like $5 a few years ago. It was bright and icky gold (wish I had a before picture). I painted it, distressed it and encrusted it with shells.) 
If you haven't visited Ann Wood's blog you have to! Her work is breathtaking and her apartment/studio are so inspiring. I hope that I can own one of her pieces one day.
Have a great weekend~Molly 
Lilly has a new big girl bed! She picked it out herself at Ikea last week (I was so happy that she picked my favorite bed there...whew!) As soon as she saw it she jumped in it and said "Mommy, it's Goldilocks's bed!" While she was away at Maw Maw's house for a couple of days last weekend, Daddy and I decided to get it for her and put it together as a surprise. When she came home we took her to her room and she had this huge smile on her face and she ran and cuddled in it. It was priceless. She said "Thank you so much. I appreciate it." Of course later that night when it was time to go to sleep she tried to rebel and said "You and Daddy did a bad job putting this together. I want to sleep in your bed." Happy to report though she did sleep in her new bed after all :)
Another new addition to her room is this Cinderella garland I made and hung above her bed. I found a vintage Disney Cinderella book at a thrift store a while ago and had been wanting do make her something with it. If you are a Disney memorabilia fan and you are cringing that I cut up an old book, don't worry the cover was ripped off and some of the pages had writing on them so I didn't have any guilt hacking into it. I picked illustrations that show main parts of the story and I mounted them onto card stock to give them durability. Then I punched two holes in the top and strung them up with pink velvet ribbon. Lilly loves it. For the last year we have had to read Cinderella to Lilly every night before bed so it is really special to her. She sits in her bed and points to each picture and retells the story. I love when she loves something I make for her.
Last July I did a tutorial on the patriotic crepe paper fringe and linked these printable cupcake toppers. You can find it all here.
Next, we made red and blue kool aid ice cubes...
Then I made some patriotic tissue paper pom poms because I love pom poms and I have to drape something from this chandelier at every holiday...
Next, I made the kiddos some festive goodies. I picked up some red and blue tin pails in the dollar spot at Target and filled them with my favorite childhood fireworks: snakes, pop-its, and smoke bombs. I also included packs of skittles that fiz and pop in your mouth! At Walmart I found some cute red and blue melamine plates and used a permanent paint pen to personalize them for the holiday.
I completed the place setting with a box of Cracker Jacks tied up with sparkly stars and ribbon. I love the Cracker Jack packaging, still the same as it was when I was a kid and so perfect for the 4th!
A fun time was had by all!
Happy Birthday U.S.A.! I wish you all a blessed holiday.
