DIY Cork Board

As you may know, I have been on a roll crafting for my new office. My most recent project was beautifying the massive 4'x5' cork board hanging on my wall. Inspired by Two Twenty One's recent cork board project, I immediately purchased fabric from Jo-Ann Fabric, picked up some tacks and headed to the office, husband in tow...

I love how it turned out. In fact, lots of folks on my floor have stopped by and commented on how happy it makes my office.

Here’s how it all went down…

 Cover your cork board with fabric, leaving several extra inches to wrap around.

Start pushing in your tacks. This is the hardest part, so you may want to have your husband do it for you. Matt's thumb ached for days after pushing in 350 tacks - that's true love, friends. 

Once all your tacks are in, flip your board over and staple the fabric down on the back side.

 Add pretty push pins and hang!

TA-DA! Hope I can keep it pretty as it fills up with work stuff!

De-tarnish your silver {in less than 2 minutes}

Last Christmas, my mother-in-law surprised me with my first piece of silver - a tea pot! She warned me it would eventually tarnish and require a little maintenance, and well, 6 months later it was definitely overdue for a little TLC. Removing tarnish by hand can be a daunting task, so I chose a much easier route following these simple steps...

You Will Need:

Aluminum foil

½ cup salt

½ cup baking soda

Almost - boiling hot water

Line your sink {or a dishpan} with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Pour the baking soda and salt into the sink. Fill sink two-thirds full with almost-boiling water.

 Submerge silver for 1 - 2 minutes. Rinse with hot water, and then immediately dry with a soft cloth.

Ta-da! Like brand new, in less than 2 minutes!

Why this method works: the foil, soda and hot water produce a chemical reaction that sucks the silver sulfide, or tarnish, from the silver item, and onto the foil. After cleaning several pieces, you will notice that the foil has become quite dark.

Happy de-tarnishing!

Folly Beach Vacation

  We're back from our vacation at Folly Beach with Matt's family! If you follow me on instagram, you've seen these...

The view {at low tide} from our back porch

{on the beach!}

{a few beach necessities...}

{Lunch and margaritas at Taco Boy}

{a little paddle ball action}

  {Crepes from the Tokyo Crepe Truck}

  

{2012 family Christmas card photo}

  {Clue - Family Game Night}

  Skinny Beer-garitas {recipe here}

 {the boys at the PGA tournament in Kiawah}

Our last breakfast at Lost Dog Cafe before heading home...