Emily's Bridal Shower {post no. 1; decor prep.}

I'm co-planning my Sister-In-Law's Bridal Shower, and decided to share some of the party prep.  such as decor, invitations and menu, here, for inspiration if you're planning something similar.  I'll be doing a few posts regarding the whole event.  Also, most of her wedding is pretty D.I.Y. so I'll be sharing lots of that as the wedding gets closer.

This post is two part. First the upcycled ball jars I plan on using for either silverware or flowers. And the second, an upcycled book project to use as additional decor.

Upcycled Painted Ball Jars.

What you'll need:

thrifted ball jars, cleaned and dried.

paint colors of your choice

outdoor space to spray paint

These jars were going to be tossed after a prom event my other SIL worked at, she snagged them from going in the dumpster and shared a stash with me.  There is some candle wax on the inside, but if I use them for flowers or utensils it won't really matter.  {easy way to get wax out is freeze the glass and gently tap onto hard surface after wax has set. It will literally, pop right out}

Set upside down, spaced further apart wouldn't hurt if you have more room to do so. 

Spray evenly with first coat of paint, allow to dry and repeat where necessary. 

If you have the rings for the lids, you can get creative and add accent colors to the jars, since her colors are gold and teal I topped the lids with a beautiful teal ring. 

Upcycled Painted Discarded Book.

What you'll need:

ugly, discarded hard cover book

paint colors of your choice

scrap paper to cover the inner pages while painting the hard cover

outdoor space to spray paint

I work part time for an architect doing billing and such, we got the 2013 edition of this book in on Tuesday.  So, I snagged this old one and decided to use it for the Bridal Shower{and maybe for a shelf later}.

You can see the inside is nothing worth saving.  And I don't think you can recycle hard cover books, so upcycle it is!

First, open the book and hold the pages so you can paint the inside with the accent color.

Close and finish the other areas, hold the outside where it was first painting so you don't get paint on your hands.  IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU GET PAINT ON THE COVER IN THIS STEP, because you're going to paint the cover next! 

 Allow to dry before continuing to the next step.
Place something heavy on the book, lay flat to dry, this way the pages don't get waterlogged and wrinkly from the paint.

Once dry, cover the pages with scrap paper and easy to remove tape, as pictured below...

Make sure all pages are well wrapped and use tape to fill in any exposed parts. 

Then paint the top and binding of the book, allow to dry, flip and repeat. 

You *Might* need two layers of paint, but I didn't. 

Once dry remove scrap paper and taa-daa! a perfect matching book!

Probably going to be displayed with tea cups and such.

Happy Upcycling!

 Jenn

You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr!

p.s. if you have a moment, I'd really appreciate your vote. Click the banner below and then the owl on the left. {No email required and no spam generated! promise}