The Furry Ones

Introducing.....
The other two members of the Hurst household.  Yep, it's not just us two holding down this fort. 

Meet Baxter

and Harley

We adopted sweet Baxter from the Humane Society last November 

and Harley came to live with us awhile back, after living with my parents while I was in college. She waits for me to put these on, so we can enjoy our walks together.

Baxter sleeps

while Harley works on her tan

and, together they keep watch over the neighborhood.

But most of all, they are the sweetest pets.  They make us smile everyday and our house would not be the same without them.

We both had pets growing up, so naturally, our home wouldn't be complete without a few paws running around, and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Recycle your 2010 Calendar

I always have calendars that have some really great pictures or artwork and there was no exception for 2010! Our 2010 calendar had beautiful images of New York City. So, in an effort to recycle some artwork from our old calendar, in this case, a map (I. simply. love. maps), I whipped up these coasters.  Why coasters?

Maybe it is because I am picky, but really, it's simply because we like to do things on the cheap around the Hurst house. I just can't justify spending $20 on coasters that I don't even like. I didn't have any luck finding coasters that actually looked good.  They all had monograms, or weird things that I just didn't care for.  I just wanted something simple to set our drinks on. That's all. Nothing fancy.


After coming across these tutorials and already having some artwork in mind (that aforementioned map) that I could recycle, I knew my best bet was to simply make my own. 


And, let me tell you, they are so easy, and even better, they can be personalized anyway you want. 


Here, you can see my map from the 2009 section of our calendar.

Then, I picked up a few plain white tiles from Lowe's.  I think they were about 18 cents each.  

Next, I did some measuring, and then some cutting.

Next, I glued my map to the tile with Modge Podge and then cut some cork to size (it's actually self adhesive drawer liner). 

After letting the glue dry, I peeled the cork, and placed it on the back of the tile.  Then, I applied a coat of modge podge on top of my map. Once they were good and dry, I then sprayed them with a clear coat of glossy sealer to help protect them.


Since I already had the calendar and modge podge, all I had to buy were the tiles and cork drawer liner. Both of which I found at Lowe's for a total of about $7 and I have enough drawer liner to make a ton (literally, an entire bathroom worth of tile coasters).


I let them dry for a day or so before using them and am really happy with the results.   

They are just what I wanted: simple and inexpensive! (and, I like the way they look much better than any coasters I came across in the stores). Win! Win! Win!

Happy New Year and Thank you for reading! I am thankful for your kind comments, and I hope that you find something here you can use to make your house a home! 


Cheers to 2011!