I'll raise your pretty, and give you fabulous

A few days ago, I posted my pretty Trader Joe's sparkling lemonade bottle vases. These bottles are just too pretty to throw away, don't you think.

As I was looking at the vases, I started thinking that they would be fun to decorate with a little scrapbooking paper and mod podge.

Here is the fabulous result ...

It was an incredibly simple project. These would be ideal hostess gifts (take one to the host with a pretty flower inside, or use twigs like I did). I think these would also be adorable as decoration for a party.

I took some shipping tags from Office Depot and added a few of my favorite bible verses right now to them and tied the tags to the twigs for a little added flair. You could customize the tags in so many ways - for a birthday celebration, a baby shower, a wedding shower, etc.

I heart Ikea.

Oh how I love Ikea. It is one of my favorite places to go with my kids. On weekdays. Weekends it is way too crazy. But, weekdays are lovely. We can cruise the wide aisles of the store and take a rest on the couches in the middle when we get tired. We can eat breakfast for .99 and enjoy the kids' play area for free. It is always the place to go when I am planning a party, need candles or organizing stuff. But, today I love Ikea for another reason. It allowed me to make a table for my entry way for $45. I have been shopping for one and could not bear to part with $200 for a table from Target, Cost Plus, Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. That is way to much money for something that just needs to hold my keys and fill a little space.
I found these desk legs at Ikea and I love the modern/vintage vibe to them. The stainless steel is sleek, but the curvy lines are feminine and funky. They are $10 each.

I got a 2 in x 12 in plank of wood from Lowe's that they cut to the measurements that fit my space for me. Took it home and beat it up with my hammer to distress it a bit. Kind of fun. Then, I stained it with dark espresso stain...only took 2 coats and about 5 minutes with each coat.

Drew and I screwed the legs onto the plank and that part took about 1 minute per leg.
Here it is... I dig it. It is one of my favorite pieces right now.

From the side, it has this curvy vibe going for it...

I love putting stuff together that is rustic/distressed and sleek and shiny. Kind like our lives, right? Oh, and the big lanterns were in the summer clearance section for $4 each. Score!

I have seen in the Ikea catalogue that they have the same legs in 17 inch height. How cute would they be on a rustic plank of wood for a bench? Maybe a vintage blue or torquoise color distressed a bit...

Nesting is fun.