Monday was hubby’s 30th birthday and I spent most of that day running around, doing last minute things because my motto is typically, “Procrastinate now, freak out later”.

He had asked for cupcakes instead of a cake and I had wanted to make a cute cupcake stand that was a little more unique than the store bought one I have. I’d had this tutorial bookmarked for a cheap/easy cupcake stand using dollar store finds. I thought it was super creative and frugal! (Right up my alley these days!): The Little Brown House: Dollar Store Cupcake Stands…

Supplies from the dollar store

So I gathered up my supplies: glass candle stick holders, metal burner covers, super glue, scrapbook paper, spray paint (not pictured) and paper doillies. Unfortunately, I made a few fatal mistakes and instead of this being a “look what I made! How cute is that?” kind of post, it’s a “didn’t quite work out so great” kind of post….

• #1 – Do not wait until the last minute to assemble this bad boy. And I mean SO VERY last minute that dinner is over, your cupcakes are fresh out of the oven and you’re just barely spray painting your bases.
• #2 – Do not, I repeat, DO NOT drink two (full-to-the-top) glasses of wine before attempting to do anything involving spray paint and/or super glue.
• #3 – Do not grow impatient and not allow the bases to dry, just because your kids are about to launch themselves through the freakin’ roof if they don’t get a cupcake RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. Seriously I’ve never seen such monkey antics!
• #4 – Remember that being tipsy AND hasty is a super bad combination. Do not accidentally glue down the wrong side of the base to your top tier and then remark “Oh Shit!” after the fact. Upside down base = totally unsteady structure. Oops.

My monstrousity managed to stay intact up until the last “Happy Birthday to you!” was sung, then it proceeded to topple over into a nice little cupcake/frosting dollar store disaster.

Oop! A little crooked... right before the epic fail

We managed to salvage most of the cupcakes, however, my three-year-old decided to LICK like 5 of them straight away. I had hubby throw the whole stand out. I plan to get more supplies and try it again, this time hopefully without the wine. Heh :D

I’ve seen the art of stacking books w/knick-knacks to add height to objects and also to create visual interest. Using plain ol’ books seemed kinda boring to me, plus none of the books I had were right for my color scheme, because I’m all matchy-matchy like that. I was so excited when I came across two great tutorials on how to fabulize your old books (yeah, not a real word)….

• The Pleasures of Homemaking: Painted Books & A Mantelscape
• Decor Chick! A Book Makeover! Yes, A Book Makeover…

Love it! Now my turn!…

I’ve acquired a wee stash of spray paint and have been spray painting everything in sight! Just ask the hubbs ;) So I first spray painted my books, one ivory and one black. I also decided to use a coordinating paper on the spine of each book, rather than one single pattern.

My two old books, repurposed

I think they came out decent for my first attempt. There are still many crafts I have yet to master (i.e. I’m SO not talented with a stencil/paint). However, I do fancy me some Mod Podge and I’m getting better at using it without bubbles and/or mess-ups. The trick is to work fast and to cover your object with the Mod Podge, not the actual paper (D’oh!)

Here they are, displayed on the bookcase

Those two tutorials above are super helpful, but here’s a few tips/suggestions in case you decide to try it out:

• If spray painting, you WILL want to tape off the book’s paper edges with painter’s tape.
• You still might have some places on the cover’s edges were the spray paint didn’t hit. Use a thin brush and matching craft paint to touch up the spots that were missed.
• I measured each book and used a large paper cutter to make sure my scrapbook paper was perfectly cut.
• Using a foam roller to apply the Mod Podge was super effective/fast.
• Definitely use a ruler to smooth out the paper from top to bottom

So lovely!

I don’t really have any stamps to try out, but I’m just thinking of all the color combinations that I could make with my scrapbook paper stash… *dreamy, far away look* !!! But I’m going to try to refrain from over doing it with decorative books all over the house! I have a habit of getting carried away with stuff… heh.

Ok, here’s the freebie I was talking about. I’ve seen wine bottle hang tags for sale on Etsy and wanted to take a stab at making one myself. This is my first, but I’m hoping to make more. They’re pretty easy to make and a really cute way to quickly dress up a wine bottle that you plan on gifting or taking to a dinner party…

Halloween Wine Bottle Hang Tag

You can download the PDF file by clicking HERE. I left a blank spot near the top so that you may embellish it with ribbon or whatever you like. I used a thin black ribbon to make a bow and glued on a purple gem stone. Aleene’s Tacky Glue did the trick!

Recommended: use a paper cutter!

I recommend that you use a paper cutter, if you have one, to get the straightest lines when cutting the tags out.

For best results use a craft punch

If you’re good at cutting circles out, go for it! Me? Not so much! For best results, I used a 1.75″ circle craft punch. You can get them in all sizes at Joann’s (use a 50% off coupon!). I have Marvy, Fiskars and EK Success punches in several sizes/styles. I definitely prefer/recommend the EK Success punches! You can typically get a punch for $10 bucks or less when using a 40% or 50% off coupon.

So there you go! Happy (early) Halloween! Now, let’s go DRINK some wine! ;)