Homemade Tile Coasters

So far, this whole attempt at being crafty has been pretty successful. Not only are the crafts turning out well, but they are also pretty darn cheap to create, which definitely increases my satisfaction with them.

We made these coasters as favors/prizes for my sister's bridal shower, and they were super easy.

Supplies used (all but the tiles, which we found at a hardware store for twelve cents!):

Cork, Mod Podge, Foam Brushes, and Waterproof  Clear Acrylic Spray. You'll also need scrapbook paper or whatever you plan to decorate the tiles with.

Directions (sorry I don't have pictures to go with the steps; we were a little rushed the day we were making them!):

Glue cork to the back of the tile (I suppose I should have included super glue as one of the supplies. Whoops!). I just glued a small square of cork to each corner, but if you could do as much as you feel is necessary.

Cut your paper to fit the tile--we found that it worked best to cut the paper just slightly smaller than the tile so that we didn't have to deal with excess hanging off the edges.

Apply a thin layer of mod podge to the tile. If you use too much mod podge at this step the paper will curl as it dries (you could also use a spray adhesive for this step, but I opted not to because I didn't feel like buying another item if I didn't need to).

Place your paper on the tile and cover generously with mod podge (don't worry if it makes the paper look a little milky-colored; it will dry clear!).

Allow to dry, then coat with waterproof acrylic spray.

That's it! Super easy, reasonably cheap, and totally customizable! The possibilities are endless; I even had guests at my sister's shower sign extra pieces of paper so I can turn her "guestbook" into coasters. Hopefully I'll get that done before her wedding (which is next week already!), but I'm not making any promises.

Beach Week 2013

If you've been reading this blog for any period of time, this annual beach trip will be nothing new to you. And if you are a new reader (I'm flattering myself by pretending that random people actually stumble on my blog and follow it... Humor me), you can check out my 2011 and 2012 recaps. This year, not surprisingly, was a little different from years past since we had a two-month old to deal with, but it was still a wonderful vacation (we never actually got more than our feet in the ocean, but it was totally a worthwhile sacrifice). And if we thought this year was different from previous years, I'm sure we'll be even more blown away by the differences when this crew of boys is another year older!

From left to right: Dayton (4 months), John (4 1/2 years), Evan (14 months), and William (2 months)

Not surprisingly, we have lots of photos, so rather than bore you with mindless jabber I'll let the pictures (and a few random entertaining captions) do the talking. 

First family photo at the beach! William's shirt says "Beach Bound"--totally couldn't pass that up when I found it at a garage sale!

Silly faces

William's first dip in the ocean! He wasn't too impressed

Grandmom also brought an inflatable pool so the little ones would have something to play in without having to be out in the sun. William seemed to enjoy it much more than we thought he would.

Those eyes! Swoon.

Just lounging by the pool. No big deal.

John was such a good cousin. He was always excited about holding his little cousins...

Would pat them on the back to calm them down when they got fussy...

And even read them a few stories! (Of course, he may have done all of those things just to get people to take his picture, but whatever)

Who would guess these two are two months apart? (You can say it, William is a chunk. We're well aware.)

Four Generation Picture--Love it!

How cute are the boys in their matching shirts?!? Aunt Kim is super creative and crafty!

The siblings and their spouses

With their kids

Grandmom and Granddad with their boys

The whole family! (As you can see, William was done with pictures by this point)

The week went by way too fast and it's hard to believe we won't see this whole crew again until Christmas--it'll be shocking to see how much all the boys will have changed!

#LifeHack

What's one to do when on vacation with an infant but without a baby monitor?

Use cell phones to make one, of course!

Darrell and I didn't have a baby monitor with us when we went to the beach with Darrell's family, and since William was sleeping in a room upstairs there were a few times we were worried we wouldn't be able to hear him if he cried (or at least not until he got to a full-blown scream). So, we improvised with our cell phones; Darrell called me via FaceTime, and I propped my phone up in the room so it looked into the crib. Then Darrell turned his phone on mute so no sound would be transmitted to William (but we would still be able to hear him), and viola! Instant baby monitor. You can bet this won't be the last time we try this trick. Life hack for the win!

Light on Snow

So this is another book that I read way back during William's first weeks home from the hospital. And like The Deep End of the Ocean, I read it mostly during the middle of the night. So my review on this probably won't be the most accurate/reliable, but I'm going to share it anyway because this is my blog and I can do what I want  :-)

My biggest issue with this book (and it's something that has happened with other books as well--Suite Francaise comes to mind) was that I formed a preconceived notion of what I thought the book would be and it ended up not being that way. Which, for whatever reason, when that I happens I have a hard time getting into the book because I keep waiting for it to do what I'm expecting it to do. Obviously this isn't a flaw of the book itself, but just my understanding of the book and how I interpreted the synopsis.

In short, the book is about a father and young daughter who discover a newborn abandoned in the woods. And while there is plenty of excitement and anticipation with that discovery and the immediate resolution of it, things more or less fizzle out on that front pretty quickly. Instead, the focus seems to shift to how this discovery impacts the relationship between the father and daughter--a relationship that is developed through periodic flashbacks (flashbacks that seem, at times, random and disconnected from the development of the story).

Like I concluded with Suite Francaise, I think I would enjoy this book much more the second time through because I would have a better understanding of what to expect and wouldn't be waiting for something that was never going to happen. But even with my false perception of the book it was still enjoyable the first time through--the daughter was an entertaining character, the narrative style was easy to follow (aside from a few somewhat random flashbacks), and the plot was certainly interesting and unique.

Wasted

I'm not talking about being wasted, but it does have to do with alcohol. More specifically, alcohol abuse.

While dining in the Minneapolis airport earlier this week, the patron at the table next to us left these two swallows of wine in the bottom of her glass. Now, regardless of the circumstance, I think it's a total waste to not finish your wine (or any drink for that matter). But when you are dining in an airport, where prices are even more ridiculous than at a normal restaurant, it should be a crime to not finish your drink. I mean, given what she probably paid for the glass and the small amount that came in the glass we're talking one to two dollars worth of wine left behind! I don't care how close you are to missing your flight--popping that last bit of wine in your mouth and swallowing it doesn't take any time at all!


Disclaimer: I fully understand that wine (and most drinks) are meant to be sipped, not gulped. But special circumstances call for special measures. And, you know, maybe if she hadn't spent twenty minutes on the phone she would have been able to finish her wine (and meal! I swear it looked like she only took two bites of her salad) before dashing off to catch her plane. It's a shame this wine had to be wasted because of one woman's poor time management.

William: Two Months!

Okay, I promise I'm not going to be one of those mothers who is constantly "OMG my kid is growing up so fast", but for reals... Two months? (Two months plus since I'm a little late getting this posted!) Yikes. Maybe once our lives get less crazy time with him will seem to slow down. But realistically--will things ever get less busy now that we have a kid? I doubt not.

As far as basic stats go, William is up to a whopping 13 lbs 5 oz and 23 inches. He is subsequently out of most 0-3 month clothes and has moved up to 3-6 month outfits (albeit some are still a little big), in addition to a recent move to size 2 diapers. As of these past few days, he's started sleeping some longer stretches at night (usually from around 9 pm to 2 am), but I'm not holding my breath that he'll keep it up (only because once I start to expect that he'll do something and he doesn't it totally breaks me down). Aside from that, still not much of a routine, at least not one that we've figured out. Which we're okay with; month three is looking pretty busy for us and William (already!), so we're afraid that even if he did get into a routine we wouldn't be able to keep it up with the traveling and whatnot that we'll be doing.

Speaking of traveling, one of the biggest highlights from month two was William taking his first vacation to North Carolina!

He was a champ during all the traveling, which made us super proud (and happy--it's not like we're about to stop traveling on account of him). More details on that trip later, though; it's enough for its own post (or two!).

William has definitely become much more alert this month. He's starting to prefer being carried facing out so that he can "see" what is going on, although he doesn't really seem to be focusing too much on anything yet. And, much to Mom's enjoyment, he will actually be content lying on his back (or sitting in his chair) for a (short) period of time. Usually just long enough for Mom to get her teeth brushed, brush her hair, get dressed, and/or eat--it sure beats trying to do any of that holding William. Oh, and as you can (kind of) see in his two month picture, we're starting to get smiles! I'm convinced he gives them when he hears Dad's voice more often than when he hears mine, but I'm usually around to see those so that's good enough for me.

One of the best things I started doing this month was watching the clock when he started getting fussy. I discovered that if I'm not paying attention to the clock, one minute of fussing can seem like ten minutes, and I would start to feel horrible that I couldn't console my son. Once I realized that he wasn't actually fussing for as long as I thought he was, though, I was a lot more relaxed (mind you, I'm almost always holding him during these bouts of crying. I haven't quite gotten to the point where I'm able to put him down and let him cry). This has been most helpful when William is fighting sleep; my instinct when he is crying is to move him around until I find a position that calms him down, but when he's trying not to fall asleep, moving him around just keeps him awake. So even though he may cry for a few minutes in the position I have him in, he'll usually settle down and fall asleep as long as I'm holding him still. And even though the three minutes may seem like an eternity, watching the clock and knowing that he's only been crying for three minutes makes me feel a whole lot less like a mean mother.

We're excited to see what month three will bring--and hopefully it goes by a little slower than month two did!

Nursery Addition

As soon as we found out William was a boy, we knew there was one more purchase we had to make for the nursery:

Of course, I think it would be totally appropriate to hang something like that in a girl's room as well, but since William was a boy it was a definite must. Isn't it awesome? Gives me further reason to smile every time I walk into the nursery.

Rainbow Cupcakes

One of the most time-consuming projects I undertook for my sister's bridal shower was these rainbow cupcakes. I knew they'd be perfect for the event, but they took a little more work than I was anticipating. Thankfully I had Macy and my mom to help--both with the cupcakes and watching over William. Here's the final product:

And on the inside:

Totally worth all the effort. And really, making them was quite simple--just tedious. Having a glass (or two....or three) of wine while working on this project is totally advisable.

All you need for this project is a basic white cake mix and food coloring. Divide the batter equally into six bowls and color each bowl to the desired shade. Then layer the colors into a cupcake tin, being sure to spread the batter out to the edge (of course, if you don't care about trying to create even lines, you probably wouldn't have to spread the batter). That's it!

As I mentioned though, in spite of the directions being very simple, the actual process is quite time consuming. The cake recipe we used was fairly sticky, which made it hard to spread (although maybe all cake batters are a little sticky? I don't make cake very often). Plus the whole process of divvying up and coloring the batter takes a little bit of time. But are they worth it? Totally.

Modified White Cake Mix

Someday I would like to find a delicious from-scratch cake recipe, but for my sister's shower a few weeks ago, I just didn't have the time to experiment with different recipes to find a good one. Judge me if you'd like, but I always trust that I can get a quality cake starting with a boxed mix. For the shower though, I wanted something a little more than just a boxed mix, so I found a recipe that used a boxed mix as a base but modified the directions and ingredients slightly. The end result was a super easy, deliciously moist cake that would work for just about any event!

If you can get past the crazy colors, you should be able to see how light and airy the cake is--and this was three or four days after I baked it! Tomorrow I'll share how I got the colors to layer like that

Modified White Cake Mix
(recipe originally found here, along with a much better--and less colorful--picture)

1 box white cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1 3 oz box instant vanilla pudding
8 oz can of Sprite

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans (I made 24 cupcakes instead with no issue). Mix ingredients on low until just combined then mix for two minutes on medium. Pour into prepared pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (I think the cupcakes were done after closer to twenty minutes).

Hospital Bag Packing List

Somewhere in the chaos of life with William and trying to keep the blog up-to-date, I completely forgot that I started this post a few months ago. But hey--better late than never!

As a first time mother, packing my hospital bag was a little bit of a daunting task (and one that I put off for many weeks--although thankfully Darrell got on my case to finally get it put together the week before my due date, which was fortunate since William decided to come a few days early). I didn't have a clue what I would need, and while my philosophy is normally to pack everything "just in case", I didn't exactly want to look like I was moving into the hospital. So I consulted my friends. I consulted website after website, list after list. And while I found a few consistent staples, I found a lot of items that some lists swore by and other lists dismissed as completely unnecessary. Helpful, right? After lots of Google searches, I finally found one list that was super helpful. Not because of the items it had on it, but because the writer took the time to explain why those items were (or were not) important to pack.

However, even with all the lists and advice and explanations for why certain items would/would not be needed, I still ended up packing Way.Too.Much. And while I know my experience (and hospital accommodations) is different from what other people will go through, I figured I'd share my two cents on the matter. At the very least, I'll now have my own personal list to reference for the next time I have a baby--and hopefully that time Darrell and I won't need to tote four bags into the hospital for all our stuff (in our defense--one bag was all of Darrell's items because he stayed with me in the hospital the whole time, plus we each had our computer bag. So our load wasn't that ridiculous). So here's a comprehensive list of the items I packed for the hospital--and an explanation as to why I did or didn't need them.


Heavy Flow Sanitary Pads: Sanitary pads are a must if you have a vaginal delivery. However, chances are you won't need to bring your own. Not only did my hospital provide sanitary pads (and brought me more when my initial supply ran out), but the hospital pads they had were much larger than the ones available in stores--and you'll definitely want that extra coverage those first twenty-four hours.
Depends: Because my water broke at home, having Depends on hand was a lifesaver. However, they definitely don't need to be in your hospital bag. Stash a pair in your car, at your office, at home--but no need to take these to the hospital with you.
Nursing Pads: If you had leaking issues prior to delivery, I imagine these are a must. And even if you didn't, I'd still recommend them. Even though your milk probably won't come in before you leave the hospital and you may not have to worry about leaking, those first few days of nursing will leave your nipples pretty tender and it will be nice to have something between them and your bra/shirt.
Coming Home Outfit for Baby: Kind of a necessity. Doesn't have to be anything special, although that decision is up to you.
Outfit for Hospital Website Announcement: I'm not sure if all hospitals do this, but the hospital we used posts pictures of the newborns to their website for people to view (with the parents' permission, of course). While the hospital provided us with a basic, generic outfit for this photo, we opted to bring our own (much cuter) outfit.
3 White Onesies: We only used one of the onesies, and that was to go under William's coming home outfit (thankfully we had packed a long-sleeved onesie; his coming home outfit was shorts and a t-shirt, and that just wasn't going to cut it with temperatures in the thirties). The rest we didn't need; the hospital had clothing to make sure William didn't go naked while he was there.
One sleep gown: Although we did put William into this, it definitely wasn't necessary. The hospital has clothing, and guests probably won't really see what your baby is wearing anyway because he/she will likely be swaddled most of the time.
Lotion: I was an avid lotion-user every day of my pregnancy. But in the hospital? Not so much. Didn't even touch it. Perhaps worth bringing a small amount if you are concerned about dry hands or something, but you probably won't feel up for doing any full-body applications.
Chapstick: Yes. It's been over a week post-partum and my lips still feel chapped. I don't have a clue why, but I was definitely applying chapstick regularly in the hospital.
Pony Tail Holders/Headbands: Again, yes. Our hospital was kind enough to have blow dryers in all the bathrooms in the post-partum wing, but I definitely never used mine (who has the time for that?). I lived in braids and pony tails at the hospital--quick, easy, and still presentable for family and friends. Bobby pins and barrettes are also useful if you have stray pieces that have a mind of their own.
Toiletries (Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner, Face Moisturizer): Used them all. Travel sizes are great; you won't need more than that.
Makeup: Stick to your necessities. I realize that is different for everyone, so use your own judgement. I personally never leave the house without mascara on, but could do without most of the other makeup products (although I do wear them regularly). Subsequently, mascara was the only beauty product I used in the hospital. However, if you swear by a fully made-up face, chances are you'll take the time to use all those products in the hospital as well. It's just a matter of preference.
Makeup Remover Towelettes: I was definitely grateful to have these. After laboring all night (with my makeup still on from the previous day), it was nice to be able to do a quick cleanse.
Two Pairs of Sweatpants: I only ended up wearing one of the two pairs, although I suppose if I had gotten that pair dirty I would have been glad to have a second pair. I'd also advise pants looser than traditional yoga pants--you'll probably have a few things stuffed in your underwear and the bulkiness might not be comfortable under slightly tight pants (or shorts).
One T-Shirt: Never pulled this out of my bag because I wanted to wear nursing-friendly shirts. In retrospect, the t-shirt probably would have been more comfortable (see notes for next item for more explanation).
Nursing Bras/Camis/Tops: I way over-packed in this category. I had a regular nursing bra, two "night" nursing bras, a nursing cami, and two nursing-friendly shirts. And what did I do every time I nursed? Stripped down so that I could go skin-to-skin with William. This made the process of learning how to breastfeed easier for both of us, and while it meant we had to ask visitors to step out of the room, we had no qualms about doing that (and our visitors had no issue obliging us). I'd worry more about packing comfortable tops than making sure they are nursing friendly (and definitely pack stuff that has plenty of room for your boobs--they're going to get pretty large!).
Three Nightshirts/Nightgowns: Ha. For starters, why on earth did I think I would need a different nightgown for each night I was in the hospital? I don't even change my pajamas that often at home. And secondly, did I think the hospital was going to let me go naked? Of course not. They have gowns for you there. And while I totally get that you probably want to have something else to wear during the day when you might have visitors, this is night we are talking about. The nurses won't care what you go to bed in. Plus--easy access for nursing!
Four Pairs of Socks: While I didn't do a whole lot of walking around the first day or so, I'm never a fan of going barefoot on public floors (even a hospital floor), so socks were a necessity. An extra pair or two is nice because with some of the leaking that might be going on it won't take much to dirty a pair.
Two Pairs Underwear: There's a few options here. If you are willing to wear the mesh panties that the hospital provides, you really don't need but one pair of your own. If the idea of the mesh panties makes you uncomfortable, you'll probably want a handful of your own pairs, but most likely in a size or two larger than you normally wear. Between a (very) large pad, some ice, and the swelling you'll be experiencing, you'll need plenty of room in your underwear.
Snacks: We did eat through most of the snacks we brought with us, which wasn't a whole lot (a bag of almonds and some craisins). I expected that we'd (well, Darrell) be doing most of the snacking while I was in labor, but with the timing of my labor/delivery (middle of the night), we actually didn't eat anything that night. And we probably didn't need to have it in our hospital room because the hospital did a pretty good job making sure we were well fed, but it was still nice to have a little bit.
Laptop (and charger): This got put to lots of use. Between Skyping with Darrell's family (and my friend in London) and uploading and editing photos, we definitely needed the computer and its charger.
Cell phone (and charger): Definitely a must. Doesn't really need an explanation.
Camera (and charger): Although we used this less than we thought we would, still something I would deem a necesity.
Slippers: I brought my own slippers, plus the hospital provided a pair, and I didn't wear either. I suppose that if I hadn't had the epidural and had been able to walk around during labor, I may have wanted something with more traction than just socks. But as it were, by the time we were in our postpartum room, having a pair of socks on was sufficient (you should know that I don't like wearing my slippers without socks, so by the time I had a pair of socks on it seemed unnecessary to put slippers on as well. If you wear your slippers with bare feet, then I could see how it would be easier just to slip those on instead of fussing with a pair of socks).

In addition to the things we brought into the hospital with us, we also had some stuff stashed in the trunk of our car just in case. And I'm glad we left it in the car because I didn't really miss any of it.

Boppy Pillow: This would probably be the only thing on the list that I would consider bringing into the hospital with me next time. While we didn't have any issue getting comfortable nursing with the pillows in the hospital, it might have been nice to use the pillow I would be using when we got home.
Additional Sanitary Pads: Definitely didn't need.
Towel: While the hospital towels certainly won't win any awards for plush-ness, it was worth it not to have to worry about bleeding on my own towels. Plus I think I used two or three every time I showered, and I definitely wouldn't have wanted to worry about ruining that many of my own personal towels.
Pillows: Again, the hospital pillows certainly won't win any awards for comfort, but they get the job done. And quite frankly, we were so exhausted by the time we'd lie down that we would have slept on a piece of wood. However, if you (and/or your neck/back) are really sensitive about your sleeping arrangements, you may want to consider bringing in your own.
Cough Drops: Didn't need these, but I wasn't much of a screamer during labor. I could definitely see your throat getting sore if you were screaming or talking a lot, though.
Robe: The only robe I own is a large fleece robe, which is certainly nice to have during the South Dakota winters, but it definitely would have been unnecessary in the hospital. It would have been large, bulky, and uncomfortable against my tender boobs, plus I would have been worried about it getting stained. Maybe I'm just too simplistic, but the robes at the hospital were plenty sufficient for me.

I know everyone has a different tolerance for things that make them comfortable, and everyone's hospital probably provides slightly different amenities, but these are the things that did (and didn't) work for me and why. Hopefully there is something on here that helps you decide what to pack in your hospital bag!

William's Baptism

So not only did I have my sister's bridal shower over Memorial Day weekend, but it was also a big weekend for William. His Grandmom and Granddad from North Carolina, and his Aunt Kim from South Carolina, flew up to meet him. Since we had such special visitors in town, we decided that it would be a good weekend to welcome William into the Lord's family. Unfortunately, William wasn't quite as thrilled with the idea, and he cried and screamed through the entire baptism--after blowing out of his diaper at the beginning of the service (thankfully his baptismal outfit was spared or he would have been baptized in a pair of pajamas). Of course, everyone thought he was still plenty cute, and Great-Grandpa Will was thrilled by William's performance because he finally had proof that William's lungs worked. And by the end of the service, he was perfectly calm and sleeping like a baby--which at least made it easy to take some pictures.

William's sponsors--Uncle Nick and Aunt Amanda

My whole family--and no, we did not coordinate the blue/yellow color scheme

William with all his grandparents

William with (part of) Darrell's family. We were sad to see them go, but knew we'd be seeing them again soon!

Biggest Fan

We'll have to re-do this picture sometime when William is more excited about being Uncle Mike's number one fan, but it's still pretty darn cute.

Go Saints!

For Real?!?!

I've learned that every brand of baby clothes is sized a little different, but why oh why is my little boy fitting into (and just barely at that!) something that says it's 6-9 months?!? He's not even two months yet!

Thank goodness I thought this looked a little small when I got it and put it in with the 3-6 month sizes (which, for the record, he wears on a regular basis). He would have never fit into it if I had waited until he was wearing other 6-9 month outfits.

The Deep End of the Ocean

To keep myself entertained (and awake!) while nursing William at night and then rocking him back to sleep, I've been reading through a few books that have been on my shelves for months. Of course, I wasn't very intelligent when I picked this book as the first one to read; the story is about a family (primarily the mother) and how they cope with the disappearance of their three-year old son. Great choice to read while I'm nursing my newborn :)

The clear disparity between my life circumstance and the book's plot aside, I actually enjoyed this book for the most part. It felt like I was following a news story about this boy's disappearance, complete with an inside look at the family life (and maybe it's just me, but I always get sucked into those kind of news stories. Remember those three missing Ohio girls who were found alive years later? I must have read every news article about that story. And I still occasionally Google for updates now that the story is out of the limelight). I liked how the characters seemed very "human", and acted in believable and realistic ways. I also found myself able to commiserate with the mother quite a bit, not just because I am now a mother, but because in stressful situations, I also tend to be more of a "flight" than "fight". And for about ninety percent of the novel, I enjoyed reading about the trials and sorrows of this family trying to cope and adjust to their "new" life.

However, the last ten percent of this novel seemed rushed and disjointed to me (bear in mind, I was reading this in the middle of the night, so perhaps that affected my judgement a little). You know how sometimes when books are made into movies parts are cut out or shortened to keep the movie from getting too long? I felt like that's what happened at the end of this book. It was like the author was quickly approaching her deadline, or felt like the book was getting too long, so she just hurried up and ended it. While there was still resolution to the conflict and an effort to wrap up loose ends, parts of the ending were just weird at times (at least to me) because it felt like the book was jumping from point A to D without any clear explanation as to why.

I would probably recommend this book (but maybe not to people who just had their first kid!), and I think I would even reread it myself--just not in the middle of the night.

Painted Vases

One of the craft projects that I was eager to try for my sister's bridal shower was DIY Painted Vases. It seemed like a really easy concept--cover some vases with painter's tape (in whatever pattern you want), spray the vases with any color paint, peel off the tape, and bam! Done.

And you know what? It was pretty much exactly that easy! Granted, I can't really take much credit for these particular vases because my brother's fiance Macy did all the work on them... But I'm confident I could mimic her efforts and create them myself.

Before...

After!

A few pointers. For one, be careful with curved vases. Macy found that it was difficult to get the tape to lay flat along the concave part of the vase, which left some of the lines not quite as crisp and straight once the tape was removed. Nothing terribly noticeable, but a consideration nonetheless. You may also want to consider doing multiple coats of spray paint, depending on how opaque you want the paint to be. We opted to finish the vases with a coat of waterproof clear acrylic spray just to give them some extra protection, but that step probably isn't necessary if you are going to use the vases strictly for decor and not actually put cut flowers in them. Oh, and the easiest way to spray them so that you don't get paint inside the vase? Turn them upside down. You're probably laughing because that seems like such an easy and obvious solution, but Macy and I both struggled trying to figure out how we would keep paint from getting inside the vase. Thankfully my mom was there to solve our problem.

Best part about this craft (besides how awesome they look)? Dollar store vases, $3 spray paint, and painter's tape that we already had on hand. Boom! Nice and cheap.