Let there be light!

A little over a month ago I won a giveaway over on the awesome blog The CSI Project. My prize? The opportunity to design my very own lamp and lampshade from Lamps Plus using their very cool "Design It" feature! Woohoo!

We really were in desperate need of a new table lamp for our living room so this win was perfect timing. I played around with the different lamp bases available to me, but the real fun was in choosing a lamp shade. Talk about options! You get to choose from TONS of patterns but the really neat thing is that you can actually customize each of the colors used in that pattern. And you can even choose the trim color you want! Talk about personalization. Seriously, it was cool! And I highly recommend checking it out.

Anyway, we ended up going with a yellow shade as it is the accent color we're already using in that room. The lamp arrived within about a week of placing the order which was great. Here are a few pics of the lamp in the room.

And one final "full room" shot.

Well, I'm no interior decorator (I'm a numbers gal, remember?!), but I think it looks pretty darn nice! :)

What do you think? YAY for giveaways!! :)

How to {frugally} Dress up a Dessert Plate

I know I am a little late with this post as it relates to a craft I did for the 4th of July, but you really can use this "trick" for any occassion so I figured I would share it anyway. It's fast, super easy and cheap frugal. Just the way I like it! {TWSS} ;)




How to dress up a simple dessert plate



We went to a BBQ for the 4th of July and were asked to bring a dessert. I raided my pantry and found a box of funfetti brownie mix that I had bought on clearance after Christmas for some ridiculous price like 50 cents. The kids helped me whip the brownies up and instead of using the green, red and white "funfettis" that came with the mix (since the colors weren't exactly patriotic), we used our own mix of sprinkles from the pantry and just sprinkled them on top. YUM!

Who doesn't love some gooey brownies??

When it came time to pack them up and head out to the BBQ, I decided not to use one of my fancy glass/metal/ceramic platters so I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it off when we left or leaving it there or whatever. So instead, I went for my dessert plate "trick" of choice which is to dress up a simple disposable plate.

First I selected a plate. I've done this before using those nice thick paper plates but didn't have any in my "stash" that day, so instead, I used a simple white stryofoam plate. Really any type of disposable plate will work for this project as long as the plate isn't too thick. You'll see why in a minute...

Next I took a hole puncher and made holes around the outer lip of the plate - about 1" apart. I just eyeballed it. (This is why you don't want the plate to be too thick or plastic or something that would be difficult to hole punch).

Then I found a piece of ribbon in my "stash" and threaded it through the holes.

Tie it off with a bow and TA-DAAA! From drab to FAB! :)

Since it looked a little too valentine-ish with all that red and white, I colored a few simple stars in the gaps with a blue Sharpie. Much better and definitely nice and patriotic. :)

Everyone thought the plate was so cute and I had no qualms about leaving it at the BBQ to be thrown away later!

What are some of your favorite ways to dress up otherwise plain items?



Linking up to these fun parties - be sure to check them out:
Someday Crafts
The Thrifty Home
The Frugal Girls