DIY Tiffany Blue Velvet Bow Clutch

Tutorial coming soon.

DIY Polka Dot Nails

Currently, I am obsessed with polka dots. So, tonight I decided to brave it and make something happen with my digits. I painted the base a shade of grey (Essie: Eiffel For You) and the dots were made out of beige (Maybelline: Sheer Satin Slip). I am loving the results!
1. Paint two coats of your base color
2. Using the tip of the brush, paint dots while slowly rotating your nail back and forth
And voila! You have cute, sophisticated nails.

DIY Ruffle Skirt (One Hour)

Here it is!!! Finally!!! I have posted the DIY Ruffle Skirt Tutorial. This is one skirt I have been dying to make. Of course, you all know I love ruffles. So, why not make a fancy ruffled skirt?

The entire project took about an hour to complete and used about 1.5 yards of fabric. I would recommend buying 2 yard's just in case you need more or your measurements are different than mine.

The result? A fabulous dress, wrinkle free and ready for a weekend night out! I added the sash and tied it using the Martha Stewart favorite bow.

I will also be posting a tutorial for the glittered heels soon!

Materials Needed:

• 2 yards of ruffled fabric
• Yardstick or ruler
• Measuring tape
• Marker
• Scissors
• Thread, pins and sewing machine

Healthy Pomegranate Autumn Smoothie

Here in Houston, it's always warm. Our winter season is about 3 weeks long and my husband hasn't owned a coat in 10 years. It's a blessing and a curse. The summers are always blazing, but the winters and falls allow you to wear anything you want for Halloween, because it's still 80 degrees. The mornings and evenings are getting crisper and less humid which is a sign the seasons are changing. I love autumn. I have lived in many places across the world and autumn is the most beautiful to me. I love the rich foods like pumpkin and butternut squash. I love adding caramel to foods and the fragrance of spices and apples. In September, it's still warm enough to have cold drinks opposed to hot chocolate.

Recently, I decided to do something I have never done before...buy a pomegranate and cut it open. I have eaten pomegranate dishes, dressings, and desserts at several restaurants. I rarely cook real meals, but I do make snacks, desserts, soups and sandwiches pretty often. Pomegranates always seemed like a "high maintenance" fruit. Knowing that fall is the season's for the big red babies, I grabbed two fruits for $4  at my local grocery store and bravely brought them home. Fearlessly, I decided to just cut it open and see what happens. What did I find?

About a hundred seeds.

So, I slowly pulled the piece of fruit apart and removed the seeds. I added a few ingredients listed below and blended with ice until cold and smooth. The results... fantastic! My three year old even liked it. The whole thing took about 7 minutes. Take that you $7 dollar for a smoothie! I made a large smoothie for less than $3. What a great way to kick off Autumn!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of coconut milk (I used Silk)
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 1 banana
• Add 4-5 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in the blender. Blend until cold and smooth.

Makes 2 small smoothies or one large one.

Preview: DIY Ruffled Pink Skirt

I will be posting a tutorial with instructions soon! Check back within the week. The entire project took about an hour of work!

DIY: Elegant (and cheap) Party Decorations

Here is a list of my favorite decorations and materials to create an elegant party. These can be used for any birthday, reception, shower or event. Hey, you can even use them for a small dinner party! They are easy to make and inexpensive. Use your imagination and feel free to leave a comment below!




Colors:
Pick a color scheme and stick to it! My recommendation to get the most bang for your buck is to visit your local dollar store or local wholesale party store and see what is available. You can get really creative depending on what's in stock. For instance, below I needed pink tissue paper, but the only thing the dollar store had was white. So I used pink in other areas to create a light, girly effect! It was easier to find pink favor bags than pink tissue paper. Being flexible on a budget make such a difference in stretching a dollar!




Balloons create pops of color throughout the space. Whether you decide to string them without helium or have them floating in the middle of the room. Balloons can be elegant when the colors are monochromatic setting.


 


Tissue paper:
I love to use tissue paper to create flowers. I like to use pipe cleaners to secure the middle. They are easy to hang on Christmas trees, tie to the backs of chairs, or even create hooks. You can find a great tutorial http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to. Below, I tied three to the back of a chair and used tulle ribbon to attach. Then, balloons were tied in a cluster to the back of the chair. Every third chair had a single white tissue paper flower attached.

Crepe paper and tulle ribbon:

Create a tablescape. For this table, I took strips of crepe paper in pink and white and weaved a pattern onto the table. Then, a thin square piece of organza was laid on top of the weaved pattern.Miniature pink pacifiers were scattered across the table. Tulle ribbon was also tied in alternating pink and white bows to the back of every third chair. We also used the paper plates and napkins only on the dessert table. The dining tables used linens opposed to paper items. Miniature pacifiers were also added to the top of each strawberry cupcake.

Plastic Serving ware:

A cake and cupcake stands add dimension to any dessert table. This was one of those ideas I got from Pinterest. I saw this done using a candlestick and small plate as a cupcake tray on Pinterest. Well, we had 18 massive cupcakes. A candlestick wouldn't work in this scenario. So, the two tier cake took center of the table and then the cupcake stands were made using cement, two clear plastic bowls and two clear plastic serving plates. I found all of the items at the dollar store and the total cost was $5 for two cupcake stands.

Small Candles and Party Favors:

Double duty the packaging for the party favors as place settings and table decor. Pick a small item as the party favor, and then package prettily. The bags used below were found at Hobby Lobby. Here each guest received a small angel key chain placed inside pink polka dot bags. The bags were placed at the top of each placemat. For a more formal seating arrangement, you could add a tag that read each guests name. Disperse small glass candles throughout the dining tables for added ambiance.

Faux Flowers Centerpieces and White Linens:

This is another favorite trick of mine to create a formal centerpiece. By using floral foam balls, flowers and a candlestick you can create a mound of flowers. After glue the candlestick to a foam ball, you can hot glue on a low temperature each flower around the foam ball. I placed one on the center of each table and then a few on the dessert and food tables.

Display each centerpiece on white linen table cloths and white napkins. If you host your event at a restaurant, many have a rental event room and provide the linens for you. This can save you beau coup money when you are looking at an outdoor event.

Hope you enjoyed these tips!

DIY Ombre Desk & Chair

This was supposed to post yesterday, but work got the best of me. I have had this project finished for a while and really loved the turnout, but it seemed to take forever to turn it into a post. About a year ago my mom found this desk for $5. It's solid oak and heavy. I love old furniture! So I decided to turn it into an ombre painted desk. I used three shades of yellow craft paint.  Then, I taped the drawer front's off with painter's tape . Finally, I painted 2-3 coats on the surface of each drawer.

This chair is from Ikea. I will be posting a top 10 Ikea products link in a few weeks, but for now I will show you a few tips to paint the chairs. All I did was use vertical brush strokes to section the back of the chair into three. I just eye balled it, but if you need additional tips, email me at theruffledhouse@gmail.com. I would be happy to share. The total time it took to finish this project was about 2 hours including drying time.

DIY Paper Frames

So I realize I haven't posted in while. Wow! Time really does fly when you are having fun. Well, guess what? I have all sorts of different goodies for all of you. Let me begin this post by discussing this week's game plan:

• Today: Ikea frame wall art
• Tomorrow: Ombre desk
• Friday: Ribbon hand towels
• Saturday: The Ruffled House Travels: Ardmore, Oklahoma
• Sunday: Well, we will all rest
• Monday: Modernizing Nature to Decorate
• Tuesday: Beer Bottle Decor

Let's start with today's project. I wanted to share a little information about how I came to complete this project. About four years ago, I was shopping at IKEA for my first apartment I would decorate all by myself. I decided I wanted it to be girly, modern with organic and clean lines. So, of course I hit IKEA. Now I will warn you, their products are not meant for a lifetime, but a transition. I love the shape of their furniture, and you can decorate an entire bedroom for about $500.

However, don't get too attached if you move frequently. I will post at a later time, my top 10 IKEA moments with product specifications, but just know that longetivity is not the focus. Back to my new project. Well, last February I created a date book (Tutorial coming soon!) and used a booklet of scrapbook paper. I had several square sheets left over and decided to put them to good use with my IKEA frames. The frames originally cost $1.99 each, but now are going for $2.99 each. Inflation!

Using my ikea frames and scrapbook paper I covered each frame. The tutorial is listed below. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment. 

Materials Needed:

• Ikea Frames ($2.99 each)
• Scrapbook paper
• Elmer's clear glue
• Water

Step 1: Gather Materials. Mix 1 part water to 1 part Elmer's clear glue and SHAKE.  Cut paper to fit dimensions of frames.

Step 2: Apply glue mixture to paper and frame. Adhese paper to frame.

Step 3: Wait to dry and hang.

You can also apply a slightly smaller square (such as this one!) to the frame on the top to give a different effect (look at the very first picture of this post!). Please share what you come up with! I would love to see!