Mini-Project: Shoe Drying Tray

I've stone-filled shoe trays on Pinterest before and thanks to the endless rain we've gotten over the past 2 weeks, I thought it might be time to give it a try!  My shoes have been wet, muddy and grassy but I was getting tired of leaving them in the entryway on the rug.  So, when I was at the store buying cheap runner rugs for the office, I spotted this shoe tray:

That reminded me of the few pins I've seen with this type of setup.  This was $4.97 and should have room for 3 pairs of shoes.  I went over to check out the rocks in the crafts section, but MAN were they expensive.    As in $5 for 2lbs of smooth river rocks.  Over to Dollar Tree, I went.  Sure enough, after some riffling through their decorative rock area, I found the large river rocks that I was looking for.  I wanted the multi-color version.  Now, I will tell you that I also got a small pouch of rocks from Lowes because they had more unique and eye-catching colors.  However, I only used 1 of those (also $5) and mixed it in with the rest of the Dollar Tree version.  $.50 per 1 pound of rocks is cheaper than $1 per pound of rocks.  

Mini-Project: Serving Tray

I was cleaning up my ottoman a week ago and as I was cleaning the tray on it, I had a moment of genius.  This cheap tray, which I've had for 3+ years, could get a new lease on life!  First of all, it just doesn't match anything.

I got this lovely tray at Ikea for about $8 because I got tired of not having a place to set my drink.  Now, it's time to bring it into the style of the rest of my home.  I have dark wood all over.  Luckily, my brilliant idea was that I already had the gel stain (leftover from my oak vanity makeover) to transform it!  

Oh My Wreath.

It's that time of year: the season of seasonal decorations!  I will admit it now, I am decorationally challenged. I don't always do well with crafts and it seems to be pretty hit and miss.  But I try my best and that's what counts?  That's what my mom always told me and I'm sticking to it.

I started with a wreath that I bought from a lovely neighbor who does crafts.  I've had it for a year and always thought it needed.... just a little something.  I put it back up this past week and that feeling came back.

Here's what I started with:

While I really enjoy the colors and the lack of yellow compared to make wreaths, it just looks anemic.  What is a non-crafty person to do?  Cheat.