Birdcage Candleholders

I am glad that spring is here for many reasons, one of which is getting to have dinner on the back porch again. I was having girlfriends over the other night and wanted to add a couple of fun new things to the porch to welcome my guests. I was at T J Maxx, and about to buy a large lantern for a candle, when Zac talked me into buying a large birdcage-esque container. Considering its size, I was surprised it was only $24.

I already had this uber cool moss ribbon that I purchased in Fairhope, and have just been waiting for a reason to use it.

I threaded it around the bottom of the cage.


I placed a pillar candle into a glass cylinder and then sat in on a wrought iron stand. It fit inside perfectly.

I covered the table with one of my favorite old tablecloths.


It made for a nice cozy welcome.

Oh, and I liked the black one so much that I bought this pretty white one, too. This one came from Garden Ridge. It was only $14.

These birdcages are a beautiful, yet inexpensive way to add a lovely bit of candlelight to any part of your home. Thanks, Zac.

Uncommon Dollar Tree Candles

I think that battery candles are amazing. You can place them in areas where actual candles with a burning flame can't be used, such as a closed in shelf.

I found these really cool pillar candles at the Dollar Tree. They require batteries, which I also bought at the Dollar Tree. These candles have a soft light that actually flickers like a real flame.

I used this fiber-filled tissue paper that resembles handmade paper. It is available in a virtual myriad of colors at World Market.

I cut the paper to size and poured a generous portion of glue onto some parchment.

I brushed the glue onto the candle.

Then I adhered the paper to the candle, smoothing it out gently to remove any bubbles or wrinkles.



Here they are on my mantel. They add a very cozy glow without the hazards that a flame can produce.

I am going to make a dozen of these in some happy colors and line my screened-in back porch with them this spring.

Have fun with this quick, easy, and super cheapo craft!

Glass Etching 101

"Would you like to see my etchings?"

A guy actually asked me that on a first date back in my college days. Turns out he was an artist and really did have a portfolio of etchings. I'm fairly sure he used that line a lot, though. Lame.

I have wanted to try glass etching for quite some time now, and it turned out to be really easy. I did learn some of it by trial and error, however, and I hope this post will prove to be helpful to those of you who want to try it.

The supplies you will need are:
Etching Cream
Glass stencils
Rubber gloves
Small stencil brushes
Lots of paper toweling
Something glass to etch onto (Dollar Tree has lots of options)

I found the etching cream and stencils at Michaels. Hobby Lobby has them as well.

Place the stencils on clean, grease-free glass, and make sure it adheres well.

Dab a generous amount of the cream onto the stencils. Be VERY careful not to go outside the stencil. You might want to block it off with tape. I had a mishap or two because I didn't use tape and some of the cream etched where it wasn't supposed to.

Leave it on for about 15 minutes.

Rinse it off in the sink. I know I don't have gloves on, but you are supposed to wear them.


We found these "Decorative Accents" at the Dollar Tree. They are some sort of polymer that absorbs water. We had to have them. Plus they were only a dollar.

They are marble-sized, and are very squishy and slippery.

The label says to keep them away from pets.


I sat a candle holder inside the glass I etched, and sprinkled some Decorative Accents in between. The extra designs you can see in this picture are what I did around the top on the other side.

It's really pretty when the candle is lit.

My friend Meagan came over the other night to do crafts with me. She etched a design onto a square candle holder.

Zac and Meagan's boyfriend, Dustin worked on candle holders as well.


This is Meagan's. I love her polka dot design. Such a creative idea.

Dustin actually poured candle wax into the container and made his own candle. The initials he etched didn't show up well, so he went over them with a red Sharpie. Very cool.

Zac poured his candle also, but first he colored some Decorative Accents with food coloring and poured them into the bottom. Then he poured in the wax. It turned out to be very interesting and volcano-esque. He outlined his letters with red Sharpie as well.

Oh, and thanks to Zac and Dustin, we know that Decorative Accents are not flammable.

Happy Etching!

Lemon Squares

This is a recipe that has been around for years and years. It is a creamy baked lemon curd with a buttery shortbread crust. I needed to make these for a tea last weekend and couldn't find my mom's recipe, so I decided to use this one from All Recipes. It was very close to what I remember of my mom's. (I altered it just a tad.)

Lemon Squares

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, melted

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.
4. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.


Bake the crust at 350º for 15-20 minutes.


Prepare the filling and pour into the crust.


After the first batch was tricky to cut, I lined the baking dish with aluminum foil. After it cools, you can remove it and cut it into very neat squares. Clean-up is easier, too.


Bake until the filling is set, and a very light golden brown, which will be about 20 minutes.


They are so good. And I'm not a fan of citrus.

But I love these.

Chicken Parmesan Mini Pizzas

I found this recipe in this Southern Living publication. I made them for an actual meal, but they would really be great for an appetizer.

Chicken Parmesan Mini Pizzas

1/2 pound fried chicken fingers (I used Publix)
Ragú Pizza Quick Sauce
1 loaf French bread
fresh basil, sliced and chopped
Italian cheese ( I used Sargento Artisan Parmesan and Romano)
melted butter

Slice chicken into small pieces.

Brush bread with melted butter and lightly toast at 350° for about 5 minutes.

Spread a small amount of sauce onto the bread. Top with chicken and basil.

Top with cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

I served mine with a salad. These are delicious and very easy!

Create Your Own Vintage Bottle Brush Trees

I have always loved the look of tiny bottle brush trees, circa 1940's. I ran across a very nice blog called Hazelruthes and realized I could make them myself. It turned out to be one of my most favorite Christmas projects ever. I think it's because the transformation is so dramatic and the result is so magical.

I started with a large bag of these little trees. I got this bag of 21 trees at Michaels. With a 50% off coupon, they were $9.99. I have seen and used these trees for years and never realized they were actually bottle brush trees.

They are a kind of ugly dark green with snow-covered tips. Not too special.

You simply fill your sink or a bowl with clorox and leave them to soak.

They start bleaching out fairly quickly. The longer you leave them in, the whiter they become. You can pull the snow off at this point if you want to.

Soak in a solution of vinegar and water for a few minutes to neutralize the clorox smell. This is how they look when they are wet.

They look like this once they are dry.

Zac and Alex helped me.

We mixed different colors of liquid Rit Dye with water and dipped the trees into it. The longer we left the trees in, the more intense the color became.

One of my favorites is the pretty blue tree that Alex dyed.

Some of them looked rusty and a couple of them broke. I simply glued them back and dyed them extra dark colors. They turned out just fine.

To decorate, I lightly applied glue to the tips of the branches with a paintbrush, then poured pretty glitter onto them. (Shake off the excess, of course). I added small pearls to some of them.

I decorated my dining room table with them. Details coming in my next post.

Who would have thought that a simple bottle brush could be so pretty?