Putting Pinterest to the Test

I have been doing a lot of Pinterest pinning lately, further fueling my recent obsession of redoing items and making crafts. Well, not all crafts. Fabric scares me and my drawing skills leveled off in third grade. But paint? Glue? Combine? Sure. I’ll give it a try. I have tons of projects on my “To Try” list, but I thought I’d start my Pinterest test with an easy one. And trust me, this is so easy that I am almost embarrassed to blog about it and call it a “craft”. But if I can blog about a mattress, surely I can blog about a centerpiece.

Fall Centerpiece

I found my inspiration for my fall centerpiece from the blog My Heart’s Desire via Pinterest. I don’t normally decorate much for any holiday except Christmas, but this year I thought I’d add a touch of fall to my dining room area table.

Supplies

I stopped at a yard sale on Saturday and found this vase. $1.

I picked up some popcorn kernels, navy beans, kidney beans, and green split peas at the grocery store. $3.

I rummaged through my closet and found a forsaken candle.  Free.

Process

I ran the vase through the dishwasher to wash off the “yard sale germs” and then started layering. I dumped in navy beans, then kidney beans, then… oops. I was almost full and had only put in two types! Heavy hand. That is a mistake I won’t make again. I had to dump all of the beans out onto my floor, sort them into their corresponding piles, and then start over. I felt like I was in Kindergarten. Resorting those stinkin’ beans took forever.

A Hill of Beans

I started again by layering lightly.  

Then I stuck a candle on top. 

Wow. That was (not) intense.  I’d like to say that it was easy peasy, but that’s just corny.

Final Product

Taa Daa.....

Yes, my table is always set. Recently my friend’s daughter came over for a visit, saw my table, and said “Oh! Are we having a tea party?!” No. No tea party. But here is my secret. I don’t have a lot of cabinets. And most of the ones that I do have are over my head and really hard to keep organized since I am 5’3”ish.

High Cabinets

My table is set out of necessity, but it totally works. Plus I think that my table would just seem so empty without them.

Speaking of Cabinets...

Thinking about painting your cabinets? I often get asked how I painted mine. Well, I didn’t personally paint mine so I can’t tell you how to do it, but if you are looking for some encouragement, just know that I love them painted. Mine started out as a light brown oak judging by the insides.

Previous Color

I would have been terrified to paint them, but the previous owner was much braver than I and painted them with a high gloss black. I must admit that the high gloss shows fingerprints and have to be dusted fairly regularly, but I happen to like them shiny. When I moved in I added the hardware (which was purchased in a ten pack at Target. Nothing fancy.)

Hardware Makes A Huge Difference

Now they are perfect.  


I have just lit a pumpkin candle. Now my kitchen looks and smells like fall. I must toast pumpkin seeds asap.