Luminaries from Leftovers

So our new Pottery Barn coffee tables came yesterday and they are beautiful. Spare me any lectures you might have on the cost of Pottery Barn, they were on sale and I got a 10% Registry Completion Discount. I love Pottery Barn and you can't change my mind. Nope, nope, nope!

So anyway, now I have these awesome tables but they looked fabulously ~~naked~~ bare in the middle of our living room.

Looking at them, I knew I needed baskets, mason jars, candles and vase filler, but I didn't have those items lying around the house. **Light Bulb** Why not use some leftover pieces from the wedding?

Enter vellum, glass beads, LED candles, glue dots, and a pair of small square vases that have been hiding in my linen closet since we moved here over three years ago. (Holy cow has it been that long?!) Most of these materials were leftover from the table number luminaries I created for the wedding (shown at right).

I threw together a quick design in Photoshop to print out on the vellum paper. When printing to vellum, be sure to set your printer settings to transparency and let the ink dry before touching the paper (or it will smudge!). Because the circumference of the glass vases is more than 11 inches, I had to piece strips of the vellum together. That's where the glue dots came in. They're a little tricky to use with vellum, but I didn't have any glue sticks lying around, and the glue dots are hard to see when the product is finished.

I filled the vases with the glass beads before inserting the vellum pieces. The beads helped to push the vellum into the corners of the glass and ensure it fit properly. Then, I inserted the LED candles in the middle... and voila! A luminary centerpiece in under 45 minutes... and no more naked table tops.

Please ignore the ~~awesomely~~ bad 80's love seat. The hubster won't part ways with it no matter how convincing I can be.

Comments

TOS - Thoracic Outlet Syndrome or The Only Snag?

When I was about 14 years old, I was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), a condition wherein excessive pressure is placed on a bundle of nerves that pass into the arm from the neck causing pain and weakness in the arm. I was a fast pitch softball pitcher and first noticed symptoms of TOS after pitching at an all day tournament. My arm swelled to the point that I could not bend my wrist, and although it's my favorite color, it turned a very unpleasant shade of purple. My parents took me to a specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital , but little was known about TOS or its treatment at the time. They simply told me to remedy the situation by quitting sports. I played softball for another year after that, relinquishing the position of pitcher and taking on second base so I wouldn't have as much strain on my arm, but eventually I gave up softball all together. Three years ago, my younger sister found she had the same problem while playing softball in high school. Unfor...

Treadmill Love

Returning to work and business as usual after having a 12 day vacation has proven a more difficult task than I had initially hoped. Mornings are slow and painful, the commute in the evenings drag on forever, and healthy meals are making their way back into the diet at a painfully slow pace. One thing that I am grateful for, now more than ever, is my treadmill . Say what?! A lot of people have treadmill hate misconceptions, the most common misconception being that running on a treadmill is boring. SPOILER ALERT: Running on the treadmill can be lots of fun! Oh yeah! Before you start making excuses and looking at me like I have a third head (but how would you know? this is a blog, not a camera; and why a third head, do I already have a second? Gah, why would you think I have a third head, weirdo ), try some of these tips for making your treadmill workout more entertaining. Add entertainment. Most gyms I have been to provide a row of televisions hanging in front of their treadm...

While I was Away...

To those of you who have stuck with me through blog post frenzies and lulls, I would like to thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart. I love having an outlet for writing and to have an audience, even if there's only two of you, makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I am sending you virtual hugs through your computer right now. Go on, reach out and hold it. While I was away, I was not just resting on my laurels. I did complete my 8 mile long run two weekends ago, as scheduled. It was an amazing experience. My hubby came along with me, but felt pain in his shins around 2.75 miles. He urged me to go on without him while he limped along behind. I had let him set the pace for the first two miles, but when I left him, I increased my pace drastically. I set off for the third and fourth miles at a comfortable pace, but as I turned around to head back to the truck, I felt an overwhelming urge to catch up with the hubster and finish my miles with him. As a result, I was chasing hi...

Kelly Trepp, Author

Search This Blog