summer garden party: easy centrepieces & diy heart garlands

A few weeks ago we threw a little surprise shindig for my parents anniversary - they rarely celebrate in a big way so I really wanted to make it special. But after spending weeks getting our backyard party-ready (laying sod and a new deck - more on that soon!), I didn't have a lot of time (or money!) left for other details. So when it came to decorating, easy and inexpensive ideas were key.  

I picked up some fresh flowers from the grocery the day of the party and threw together these pretty floral arrangements in my fave Dollarama vases. They didn't have a lot of stock that morning so I chose an assortment of whatever was on hand, but I was happy with how they turned out :)

The frayed-edge burlap runners were another quick and easy diy, cut from some jute fabric I found on sale at Fabricland. I thought it was befitting for a garden party :) No sewing necessary (I used this tutorial as a guide) - it took literally less than an hour to make 5.

To top it off, I added a little shimmer to the tables with some candle holders saved from my engagement (which were super cheap from Jordan).

We set up the buffet inside so I wanted to dress up the huge blank wall behind the table. These super sweet heart garlands (inspired via pinterest of course :) did the trick, and they were so simple to make. 

I already had a little heart puncher (bought years ago from walmart for $5), so I just used some red paper and punched out tons of hearts, then strung them together with a needle and thread. It was so mindlessly easy - just watch out for tangles!

I missed out on pics of my 40+ tissue poms, but I did get plenty of the pièce de résistance (which admittedly doesn't look simple or easy) - the amazing cake, handmade by our fabulous and super talented friend Farheen :)

Complete with a recipe for halal fondant - and trust me, it tastes as good as it looks!

We also diy-ed our own canopy to shade our guests rain or shine, at a fraction of the cost of renting a tent.

That tutorial will have to be saved for another post though - partly because I didn't have time to take pics of the process, but mostly because I almost ruined the entire thing by cutting the tarp way too short (so much for remembering the pythagorean theorem!). We'll be redoing this for another party in August so hopefully I can share the deets next time around :)

Baby News!

Hello again loves! I'm finally back after that long break - which was unintended, but with good reason :) 

source

The honey and I are expecting our first little one! Alhamdulillah, it's been such an exciting and blessed time. But I won't sugar coat it too much, the excitement has come with lots of less-than-fun symptoms - I'm sure many of you can relate! I'm SO indescribably happy and just over the moon thinking about what an enormous blessing this is, but I'm not going to pretend I haven't also been super cranky :)
 
Thankfully I've started feeling a little better as of late so I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things. Stay tuned!

Updates

Happy Friday everyone - Jummah Mubarak! 

It's been a slow week around here so no big reveal to share just yet, but the basement bathroom is almost finished! 

The shower is complete and the drywall is patched, all it needs is a fresh coat of paint and a little caulk around the trim. Then God-willing we'll be moving on to the kitchenette!

New potlights are going in today in the master closet - exciting stuff! So glad we had this done, it was uber dark in there before. 

Would have loved a pretty chandelier of course, but the potlights made more sense in a closet this size. Plus my parents had these fixtures leftover from their basement reno, so they were free!  

In other news, my beloved fiddle leaf fig tree is on it's last leaf, literally :(  

I had it in a spot with tons of light but it just hasn't adjusted well to the new house. I tried repotting it, talking to it, even reading Quran over it. I'm still hoping and praying it'll come back to life in the spring - any suggestions? 

Back next week with more deets on the bathroom  - enjoy your weekends :) 

DIY Penny Projects + A Winner!

I've been having so much fun going through all your fabulous DIY penny projects in the Value Village/Savers giveaway - a huge thank you to everyone who entered, as well as those who stopped by!

If you're looking for some penny inspiration or even just some eye candy, here's a look at the entries:

Tanya of Dans le Townhouse designed and created this stunning DIY penny ring from an old penny she found in her change after a trip to Value Village! I love this project so much - it's quick and easy but so so beautiful!

TicQuellia designed another gorgeous penny ring - she created her 'common cents' ring using pennies from years significant to her. What a great way to DIY a personal memento and a fabulous piece of statement jewellery! Follow TicQuellia at @ticquellia-elle. 

Jennifer created another special memento and a family heirloom - a beautiful penny bracelet featuring the year of her wedding and the birth years of herself, her husband, and her children! She attached the coins to a copper chain and the results are just stunning! Can you imagine how gorgeous this would look on?

Another easy DIY with gorgeous results comes from Jamie of Kreyv! She created this pretty penny vase using an oatmeal container and $2.50 in pennies. A couple coats of spray paint later and she had this cute textured vase!

This is the perfect idea if you love the shape and texture of pennies but aren't a huge fan of copper. I think it would be so cute as a piggy bank too! 

To put your pennies to work in your home decor, Crystal submitted her simple but ingenious idea to use pennies as curtain weights! She picked up some curtains at Value Village and sewed pennies into the hem every 6 inches - what a handy tip!

Another home decor project, Jennifer of Knit Wit on the Prairies DIYed this amazing penny tiled table just before saying goodbye to the Canadian for good. She used an old end table she had on hand and a piggy bank full of pennies to create her beautiful mosaic table top, and Jennifer's table has special significance too - she added a little cluster of pennies featuring the birth years of her family! 

Shannon's husband of C, Me & E loved the look of copper so much they decided to create this gorgeous penny tiled alcove wall. She wasn't originally a fan of the idea but I bet she loves it now! It took them about 4 days (and what I'm guessing was a ton of patience!) to attach each penny to their wall alcove using liquid nails. They used about $42 worth of pennies - not a bad investment for a showstopper of a wall! 

And finally we have an extreme DIY that is definitely not for the faint of heart! Ellen and her husband from The Sustainability Adventure built the eco-home of their dreams and recently added this incredible 16ft penny-tiled accent wall that is sure to blow you away! 

They used almost $200 in pennies and spent months making mesh penny tiles, tiling, grouting, and cleaning the grout. It looks like a TON of work (and forget about the work, I doubt that I could handle such a tall ladder!) but the results are SO worth it!

To see where my love for penny tile began, check out this penny tile inspiration post, and my own penny tiled mirror!

Now for the winner of the giveaway - there was no way I could pick my favourite from all these amazing projects, so we drew for it randomly. Congratulations to Shannon of C, M & E! I'll be in touch soon!

Finally a HUGE thank you goes out to Value Village/Savers for sponsoring this fun contest! I have to say I secretly wished more than once that I could enter myself :) I love that Value Village promotes recycling and reusing, and supports local communities, not to mention it's one of my fave places to go thrifting. My husband even used to hang out there with his friends as a teen - apparently it was the cool place to be in Sydney River :)   

P.S. I wasn't paid or perked to host this giveaway - I really do just love Value Village!

Last Day to Enter Your Penny Projects in the Value VIllage/Savers Giveaway!

Happy Monday everyone!

Just popping in to let you know that today is the last day to submit your penny projects to enter the Value Village/Savers giveaway!

It can be anything - big or small - so there's still some time left to put something together :) We've received a bunch of amazing entries so far - all of which will be featured later this week!

Enter here or via email at samaakhan[at]gmail[dot]com.