Decorating for Rabi al Awwal!

Hope everyone had a great long weekend! We took advantage of Family day with a super fun skating date down at the Harbourfront :) 

So you may or may not have missed me the last couple weeks :) I’ve been busy with this enormous hutch project that has been kicking my bottom at every turn! But I hope to have it done real soon, stay tuned!  

We’ve also been celebrating the Islamic month of Rabi al Awwal, the month in which our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was born. This is one of my absolute FAVE times of the year! So many beautiful mawlids to attend, so much love to share :)

While we spent the month celebrating our love for the Best of creation, I wanted to give our home a festive feel. The best way I know to express my love is through creating something beautiful :) It was a bit of a challenge with my honking huge hutch taking up most of the living room, but we still managed to get a little décor up. 

As I confessed here, love me some twinkly lights! This month, they've helped remind us of the luminescence of our beautiful Prophet :)

  

I got the idea for tissue pom-poms from a bunch of friends who made them last year, although mine are a bit deformed, but cute nonetheless :) For a step-by-step, click here (the instructions call for floral wire, but I just used ribbon!).

The glitter cut outs are also knock-offs of the super crafty ladies who decorated the school I work at. The first shape is that of the Prophet’s radiant sandal, a glittery reminder to follow in his footsteps!

The green domes represent the Rawda Shareef, the burial place of the Prophet in Medina. Below them I placed calligraphy cut-outs of his beautiful name, Muhammad.

To make these shimmery shapes I picked up some glitter cardstock at Michaels. I made a stencil for the domes freehand, but for the sandal and the calligraphy I just pulled up the image I wanted on google and traced it right off the computer screen :) Maybe not so good for the screen, but it worked!

For all those celebrating Rabi al Awwal, Mawlid Mubarak! For anyone else, thanks for reading and sharing in this little piece of my heart :)

   

Fresh Flower Love!

I’m not sure if there’s anything that can make me smile like fresh flowers. Something about them just puts you in a good mood :) 

For my birthday last week my honey got me these bright and gorgeous blooms, he knows me so well :) I adored them so much I split them into two different arrangements to spread the love!

It’s so easy to pick up a bouquet or two when you do your groceries – fresh flowers are such a simple way to enhance any space. No need to splurge at the fancy florists – these roses were from the clearance bin at Superstore! A couple of them broke apart in my hands when I went to change the water today, but they've been prettying my home for over a week now so no biggie. And I still saved the petals in the fridge to reuse later - perfect for a romantic evening :)

I'm loving these vibrant colours - especially since I've been so deprived of pink since getting married and moving in with a man! But I'm not complaining, after all he's the one who bought me these flowers :) 

A DIY Hurricane Vase Get's Dressed Up With Rub n Buff

I got a little package in the mail a few weeks ago - my first ever order of Rub 'n Buff! Um, can anyone say Wonder Product?! For those of you well acquainted with it, excuse my excitement, but they don't sell this stuff in Canada! For any Rub 'n Buff rookies like me, it's a super cool gel-like pigment you can rub on for a metallic finish, available in tons of colours. I ordered a tube of 'Antique Gold' to update the hardware on a project I'm working on (stay tuned for more on that!), but when I read the package it said 'Any surface, ANY material'. I had this sudden urge to start rubbing and buffing everything in sight :)

Lucky for my husband I spotted a wooden candlestick before I saw him :) I'd picked up a pair of them awhile ago at Value Village (maybe a buck each?) and I was planning to spray paint them in the spring, but now I didn't have to wait :). I also found a great vase too, just slightly flared and perfect to DIY myself a hurricane vase. If you give this a try, here's what I used:

After rubbing and buffing the candlestick, I applied some silicone sealant to the top (any strong glue will work) and centered the vase over it. Then I just left it to dry with some heavy stuff on top (any HP fans out there? Fun to read AND craft-tasticly useful!)

Other than drying time, I think this took a total of 5 minutes! And it cost like 3 bucks! Not to shabby for one glammed-up hurricane vase!

  

Love the height it brings to this little corner vignette. And I can't get over the finish! Rub n Buff is seriously my new best friend :) We have a lot of glass in our place too so I love the hint of gold.   

Its versatile enough that I can change up the fillers from time to time too. How cute would this look in pink in a little girls room?! Not that I have any babies yet..just sayin :) Or even aquamarine - the it colour I'm seeing everywhere this season. You could also keep it a clear sparkling glass (like these DIY Cake Stands) and fill it up with something fun for that pop of colour. Gosh the DIY possibilities are endless! Are you as in love with hurricane vases as I am?! 

Sharing at: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, February Before & After Party, Tuesday's Treasures, Twice Owned Tuesdays, Show & Share, Overflowing with Creativity, Transformation Thursdays, Pin'inspirational Thursdays,