CasaSugar

Casa Quickie: Mason Jar Blossom Vases

CasaSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:00:10 -0700

When your garden is in full bloom, nature will do the work when it comes to outdoor décor. But the rest of the year, you can get by with a little help from your local flower shop. The tree in your backyard may not be dripping in blossoms, but thanks to a trick from interior stylist Paul Hopper, you can still transform it into a floral fantasyland. Wrap some wire under the lip of a mason jar, twisting it to itself. Then, with the same piece of wire, create a handle, and fasten it back to the wire under the lip of the jar. Fill the jar a quarter of the way with water. Snip the stem off of a big blossom (try a peony or gardenia) from a flower shop and set it floating inside the jar. Make several more, and then hang them from your tree. Suddenly your garden is in full bloom!

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DIY: Recycled Glass Chandelier

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:00:19 -0800

This holiday season, many of us may be throwing dinner parties, and expecting more guests than usual on a typical Saturday night. Maybe we'll pull spare seating out of the basement, or rent chairs, fold-out tablecloths, and white linens for the evening, but the last time I checked party rental shops didn't rent light fixtures. So, the next best thing is to fashion one of our own. With a few recycled materials and some tea lights, you can make a gorgeous, energy-efficient, glass chandelier that you may just end up hanging year-round. Make one to hang about each table, and your guests will be well-lit. Just add good food, wine, and conversation! To learn the steps, read more.

Supplies:

10-12 spare glass jars (mason jars, baby food, jam)
Circular gridded cooling rack
Thick and thin gauge wire
Beaded chain and locking links
1 large S hook
10-12 small S hooks
Wire cutters
Sand or small pebbles
10-12 tea lights

Here's how, from Ecologue:

Wash all your recycled materials.
Turn over your cooling rack, and at its center cross two lengths of the thick wire, looping their ends through the feet on the rack and twisting them to secure them.
Attach the large S hook by twisting the wire at the point where the two wires cross (at the center).
Under the lip of your jar lids, wrap the thinner wire around the tops three or four times, and tuck the ends underneath the wire to secure it.
Cut various lengths of beaded chain using wire cutters at twice the length you want them to hang from the cooling rack. You may consider a random arrangement or some sort of pattern for hanging.
Loop a piece of beaded chain through the thin wire on one jar, and then lock its ends together with the links. Do this with all the jars.
Fill the base of the jar with sand or pebbles, and then place a tea light on top.
Hang the cooling rack above your dinner table, or wherever you'd like it to be.
Then, hook your candle-filled jars with the small S hooks onto the cooling rack.
Use a long lighter to light them right before guests arrive, and fini!

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DIY: Mason Jar Garden Lights

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:00:52 -0700

Considering the prices of garden lights these days, I've been looking for a low-cost alternative. Lucky me, I found a DIY for temporary garden lights you can make from only LEDs, lithium coin cells, mason jars, and a little bit of tape. The lights will be temporary, until the battery runs out, but you can always refresh your battery supply just for about 30 cents each.
Supplies:

One ultrabright LED with a diffused lens per light
One CR2032 lithium coin cell per light
One mason jar per light
Tape, masking is fine

To learn the steps, read more.

Connect an LED directly across the terminals of the lithium coin cell, so the long lead goes to the positive (+) side of the battery.
Wrap it once with tape so the LED stays touching the battery cell.
Half-twist the LED 90 degrees from the battery cell so that it can bend that way and the two leads of the LED don't touch each other.
Tape the light to the inside of your mason jar lid.
Screw the lid on. Fini!

View 7 Photos ›

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How-To: Be the Hostess With the Eco Mostess

CasaSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:38 -0700

Want to learn how to make your Summer soirees a little more eco friendly? Elizabeth Rogers, the best-selling author of The Green Book, recently gave me some tips for throwing parties that won't negatively impact the planet. So many times when we're busy organizing a backyard bash or a big dinner party, we forget the impact that all of our disposable cups and plastic party favors can have on the environment. But not to fear! Just because you're keeping the earth in mind doesn't mean that your party has to be any less fun. In fact, it can be even more so - and these tips are even budget friendly! Elizabeth recommends that, "While preparing for your party, stop by a local swap meet or thrift store for fun vintage items you can reuse all summer long."

Want to hear Elizabeth's smart entertaining tips? Then read more.

Instead of running through dozens of plastic cups and paper plates, vintage glass-wear and dishes found at swap meets, will add a unique touch to your dinner party. Using dishes already in existence instead of buying brand new ones or disposable is 100% eco friendly. Plus they can be reused all summer long, saving you upwards of $100 in disposable paper, plastic and Styrofoam products.
Approximately 70 million bottles of water are drunk in America everyday and, because petroleum is used to manufacture these bottles, the impact on the environment is significant. For your party use vintage glass pitchers filled with filtered water. My favorite is PUR because it adds an extra level of filtration, so it has a crisp taste. Your guests will love the vintage feel, and you’ll be saving yourself the cost of buying all those plastic water bottles.
Vintage tablecloths and napkins, found on your swap meet excursion, are a more fashionable way to set your table than paper or plastic throw-away table covers. Antique lace will lend a summery elegance to your party, and after a quick spin through the washing machine it will be ready for your next soiree. Paper napkins and paper towels are two of the reasons paper waste in the US has jumped from 30 million tons to 84 million tons a year since the '60s. So, as well as being more durable, cloth napkins will prevent your party from ending in the trash.
Centerpieces are a sophisticated finishing touch, when decorating for your party. Instead of buying cut flowers that travel in gas-guzzling cooler trucks, and will be wilted and gone before the end of the week, potted plants are a beautiful alternative. Potted orchids require little care and will look stunning in your home after the party has ended. The cost of purchasing several potted plants for your table tends to be less than purchasing bouquets of cut flowers from a florist or the grocery store, plus the flowers will be ready to shine again at your next party.
Light your party with soy candles in Mason jars. You’ll save on electricity, plus soy candles don’t emit carbon or smoke as they burn and purchasing soy candles supports soy farmers. Mason jars, have been used for canning since the 1850’s and these antique glass jars can be purchased for a few dollars at local flee markets. The soft candlelight will lend a charming Midsummer Night’s Eve quality to the evening.

For more excellent tips, as well as to learn more about Elizabeth and The Green Book, check out her website.

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Nice and New: SUCK UK Moon Jar

CasaSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:00:36 -0800

The SUCK UK Moon Jar ($40), a luna-like light that comes equipped with a solar-powered cell and rechargeable battery that soaks up sunlight, is new at Elsewares these days. If it looks familiar, it is: it's the dimmer sister of the Sun Jar, which we've raved about before. Still packaged in that traditional mason jar, it automatically flicks on for five hours when it gets dark, or can be turned off with a switch inside. It's also a glowing holiday gift for anyone on your list!

Trend Alert: Pale Yellow and Gray

CasaSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 05:15:55 -0700

I love the color combination of pale yellow and gray, which showed up first on the Spring fashion runways before surfacing in the cheap and chic clothing offerings from Delia's and H&M. Even Kate Hudson was spotted in the chic color combo. Now, the subtle but unexpected pairing is coming to your humble abode. Here are four products that play expertly with the gray and pale yellow palette.

This Anthropologie Palm Frond Shower Curtain ($88) would be a great way to add a touch of bright citrine color to a white bathroom.

Three more, so read more

This Romo Fabrics Kimura Wallpaper ($74 per roll) uses a mustard shade for a floral pattern that's at once bold and muted.

Designed to echo an old glass jar, the Perch! Mason ($52) comes in buttery yellow and gray; buy both and get an instantly trendy display.

This minimal Judy Ross Clover Rug ($100 per square foot) is made from hand-knotted Tibetan wool but creates a very modern look.