My DIY elephant

Well if you were to ask me, you would open wide and try to fit the whole thing in your mouth.  You would remain lady like and not choke.  Oh, you know you will choke but you try anyway.  That is how my "Yippee! I am finally getting a new mattress became "Oh no, what have I done?"

You see, 17 years ago, before I was a mother or a wife, I purchased a queen size mattress.  Oh, how life has changed since that first night I slept on it.  The things we have shared.  Those late night prayer sessions when I was looking for guidance.  A soft place to lie when my daughter was little and slept with me because of the monsters under her bed.  The late night conversations I shared with my husband. Yes, it has served me well.  But time has not been nice to queen.  She has become lumpy and unreliable.  She gives me pain at night and no rest.  So after many years of debating on whether or not we should get a new bed, we finally take the plunge and buy a king bed.  And that is the start of my horror story of how to eat an elephant.

Let me set the scene and  introduce you to the main characters in my story:

The old  mattress:

My old bed frame:

The wall in my daughter's room:

The master bedroom

The dining room

The bedroom furniture

Do you see where I am going with this?  Do you see the elephant in the room?  Over the next few weeks I will introduce you to each character individually.  I will share the good, the bad and the ugly...and there is plenty of ugly.

And remember, it all started with one mattress purchase.
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Lollipop Topiary

Pinterest has been a lifesaver. Well maybe not a lifesaver but definitely it has added flavor to my life.  I saw this lollipop topiary on Pinterest and had to try it.

You can see the original pin HERE.  But it didn't give any directions on how to do it, so I thought I would create one.  Here is a list of items you will need:

• 6 inch styrofoam ball
• big bag of dum dums or other lollipops ( I bought mine at Sams)
• a chunky candlestick (mine came from Goodwill and that I switched candle holders)
• hot glue

Insert lollipops into stryrofoam ball.  Leave room at the bottom to hot glue ball to candle holder. (I just kept inserting lollipops and then every once and a while I placed it on top of candle holder to see if I needed more lollipops)

Once you have all the lollipops inserted in the ball, hot glue ball to candle holder.  You may have to hold it for 30 seconds just to make sure it holds.  

It is extremely easy to make and took very little time.  I watched TV while I made mine. I would have spray painted my candle holder white but my daughter wants it in her room and wants it to remain black.

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How to make Candy Jar for Candy Bar

I finally did it!  I hosted my first event in my home!  It only took 7 years but I finally did it!  Sure I have hosted family gatherings,  like Thanksgiving, and two church gatherings. But those I did when I first moved into my home.  I use to say it was because I didn't know any better.  My house wasn't decorated enough, painted enough, pretty enough etc.  But you know what?  It is never going to meet my standards and I had to come to terms with that reality...or my perception of reality. I read a blog post once about not waiting for your house to be ready for guests because it will never be ready.  That the most important part of hosting people for a gathering or for the weekend is to make them feel comfortable and at home. It was a great article.   If I find it again, I will update this one with the link.  I read it years ago, but it planted a small seed.  A seed so small that it took years for it to break through the ground and finally bear fruits.

I decided to use Pinterest for ideas and I fell in love with Candy Bars. Not like a Hershey's candy bar but a bar much like an alcohol bar but filled with candy instead of spirits.  But I knew I didn't want to break the bank so I had to improvise.In this video, I will show you how I took two vases from the dollar store and made my own candy jars for a Candy Bar.  I originally saw a similar idea on Pinterest, using mason jars. Those can be seen at http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/04/pickle-jar-project.html.  However, I didn't have any mason jars so I bought a few candle holders for the tops.  These candy jars are so easy to make and inexpensive.


Supplies needed:
- candle stick holder (dollar store)
-  wider candle holder jar or bowl (dollar store)
- strong liquid adhesive ( I used E6000 which can be found at  most hobby stores)
- candy (optional)
-  candy scoop (optional)
-  any items you want to use to decorate jar (optional)

Make sure both the top and bottom candle holders are clean and dry.  Put glue on both holders where they will connect. Since the glass in not porous, wait 2 minutes and then put the two items together.  Make sure the top is center.  Allow to dry for 48 to 72 hours before using.

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