New Apartment Tour!!

Guys....I need a minute to gather myself......

OK, drum roll please...

After a, very long, very stressful, journey moving (yet again) to our new home in Minnesota, we are FINALLY here...and I have no words to explain my obsession with our new place. No. Words. It's a perfect one bedroom apartment for my little family in the perfect location (i.e: walking distance to endless shopping...cough* Home Goods cough*....and 30 minutes to The Mall Of America..) It's like my own little slice of Heaven over here!! We'll see how far into the winter I get before calling it my own little slice of Hell...But shhh. Let's just, for now, live in this fantasy world where there is no winter and Maple Grove, MN really is the perfect place. Yay! 

 Alright, so basically over the next couple weeks I'm going to be unpacking and getting settled, and unpacking some more...but if I'm being honest, we've been here for almost 4 days now and I haven't even attempted to unpack the closet. I don't know if anybody else can relate, but when I get into a new place, all I want to do is plan exactly how I'm going to decorate the whole place, room by room. I literally can't even help it. I would much rather spend my time wandering around Home Goods and TJ Maxx taking mental notes of everything I plan on buying, than spend it unpacking...because...boring, am I right?! Anybody? 

As you can gather from my posts, I'm going to be documenting my process in making this apartment into our home here on California Cupcake! So since the process is officially underway, I wanted my first post to be pictures of the new place completely empty before we moved anything in or unpacked anything! That way we can get a real feel for what we are working with and what I have planned! 

Let's start the tour!

This picture is taken from the front entry. This is the kitchen island and the living room. The whole place has wood floors except for in the bedroom which, as far as personal preference goes...is perfect! It makes the living areas so so easy to clean but keeps the bedroom nice and cozy.

 

That door to the right is the washer and dryer. and the hallway leads to the bedroom and the bathroom. The wall space to the left where the outlet is...(if you can even see that) will be my little office space!!! So many plans I'm gonna pee myself...not really, but I'm excited.

Here is a view of the whole kitchen. I think this is my favorite part of the whole apartment...major swooning over the granite counter tops for real!

**Note Tyson telling me to take him on a walk...

Here are a couple pictures of our bathroom...ignore my road trip hair and attire...you try getting your shit together while you're in a car for three days ;)  Can I just say how seriously excited I am to have a double vanity this year?! No more hoovering over the same tiny sink when we brush our teeth or trying to share a tiny mirror while Mr. Princess does his hair in the morning...Sorry Cam, you're secret is out...

It was actually rather challenging to get a picture of the bedroom...this was the best I could get. When I first walked in, it looked a little on the smaller side, but once we put our bed in it I realized it's actually the biggest bedroom we've had in the four years and five homes we've lived in together...who wouldn't be excited about that!?

And finally, the closet!! Again, it's really hard to get a picture of this closet, so bear with me.. (bear..bare? idk.) Anyways...I have BIG PLANS for this closet...excited is an understatement!! But shhh, that's later.

Alright guys, that concludes my little virtual tour of our new home! I hope you like it! I have so many crazy plans to spruce this already beautiful place up and make it my own. I can't wait to show you all the great ways to decorate a rental! Stay tuned cupcakes!

P.S. Right now, I'm working with nothing but an Iphone 6 camera, but a new camera is in the works so hang in there!! :) 

Thank you so much for reading guys! It means everything to me! Don't forget to subscribe at the top of the page and follow me on social media! Pinterest: Shannan Gladwin  Instagram: @thecaliforniacupcake 

XO.

Five Dollar DIY Dessert Tower

Hi Cupcakes! 

It feels so good to finally be getting another post up for you guys! I'm sorry I've literally been MIA here for like over a week now. This week is our moving week (from Califoria to Minnesota for those of you who haven't read my About Me post) and I've been so wrapped up in packing and goodbyes. But I'm back! And I'm so excited for the next few posts I have planned! 

I'm currently in the middle of nowhere (somewhere on the I-80 in Nebraska) typing this post up on my Blogger iPhone app. I've literally typed this whole post like three times now and it keeps force quitting on me. I'm gonna lose my ish for real if it happens one more time, so let's hope I get through it! Bare with me guys...

So originally I was calling these babies "Cupcake Towers" because I made them for the cupcakes we had at Rachel's bridal shower. But I felt like that didn't give them enough credit for how versatile they really are so now I'm calling them "Dessert Towers". But you can call them whatever your little heart desires. :) 

Things you'll need:

- 3 glass plates (got mine from the 99 cent store) 

- 2 glass candle stick holders (99 cent store)

- Epoxy glue ( had on hand but you can buy it at lowes)

STEP ONE : Clean all of your pieces before you start anything because once you glue them together it's harder to get the finger prints off! 

STEP TWO:

Get your glue ready and line the bottom rim of the candle stick holder with it. Place the glue lined candle stick holder on the center of your bottom plate. Wait a minute or two for the glue to dry. Now Line the TOP of the same candle stick holder with glue and place your second place (centered) on the top of the candle stick holder...wait for it to dry...it should look something like this...

STEP THREE :

Repeat step two for the third tier and let the whole thing set and dry! And that's a wrap! 

Remember those cute cupcake toppers we made?! 

Guys! These were so so easy I can't even stand it. Literally, there is no trick or tip to make it work, it's just simple all on its own! And it literally cost five dollars! What?! For real guys. 

Here is a couple of pictures of them in action at the bridal shower!

Ugh!! But seriously how amazing are these babies?! I'm obsessed! And the BEST part of this project is that I plan on repurposing these guys in my bathroom and on my vanity for all my fave products!! Are you dying yet?! I am. I can't wait to show you guys!! Look out for my upcoming post with more pictures from the bridal shower! That dessert table was the reeeaaalll deal guys...can't wait! 

Hope you loved this as much as me! So glad to be back! This week will be crazy moving into our new place but I am crazy excited to show you the new place and start decorating!!

P.S. Sorry if this post isn't centered or the formatting is weird. I have such little control using the app compared to using the computer. I'll fix whatever ugliness comes out of this as soon as I have access to my computer! But for now, I'm writing to you from the middle of nowhere...so you'll live! 

Leave me comments or email me at TheCaliforniaCupcake@gmail.com. Ill be adding links to all my social media soon but for now subscribe via email and find me on Instagram @thecaliforniacupcake! 

XO. 

Repurposed Wine Bottles!

Hi Cupcakes! 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week and a happy hump day! The future hubs is away for the week at training camp so today I spent the afternoon soaking up all the puppy snuggles and Gossip Girl episodes I could get before getting up and being somewhat productive with my day! P.S. Blair Waldorf is everything, and if you don't know who that is, stop what you're doing right now and go watch season one of Gossip Girl...

Alright, onto the good stuff...wine. Or rather, wine bottles. Today, I'm sharing a fun DIY project that can be used in your home, for a wedding, a birthday party, anything really. They are totally versatile...and super pretty! 

Here is a list of all the things you'll need for this project:

- Empty Wine Bottles ( emptying them is half the fun ;) )

- An Oven (and oven mits/hand towel)

- A Knife / Razor Blade 

- Baking Soda

- Dish Soap

- Vinegar

- Peanut Butter (secret ingredient)

- Spray Paint In Your Choice Color ( I used Champagne Mist )

Side Note: I don't have pictures for every single step because I did this project for a bridal shower and this whole process happened at 10pm the night before the shower. Needless to say, I was in a rush...my bed, and my puppy, were calling my name! But not to worry, I have pictures of all the important steps!

STEP ONE:

First off, I want to explain that there are two different methods for getting the labels off your wine bottles. You will most likely need to use both methods depending on how many bottles you have and if they are all different or not. I had six bottles of wine that were all different brands so I needed to use both methods. The best way to test which method you will need to use is to wedge your razor blade or knife under the top corner of your label..just enough to test the tackiness of the glue. If your corner lifts fairly easy AND (this is the important part) the razor blade or knife sticks to the back of the label, then you have a tacky glue and you will use the oven method. If your knife or razor does not stick to the back of the corner and the glue feels a little more crunchy rather than gooey, then you are going to want to use the soaking method. Don't worry, we'll go over both methods so hang in there! 

STEP TWO: Oven Method

Go ahead and separate your bottles into a soaking pile and an oven pile. Turn on your oven and preheat it to 300 degrees. Once the oven is preheated, put your "oven bottles" in with the top labels facing up. Set your timer for 10 minutes! Once the ten minutes are up, get out your oven mitts...seriously, if you follow any of these steps, let it be "get out your oven mitts"!! (So freaking hot). Pull out all your bottles and place them on your counter..carefully! Holding the bottle with an oven mitt, you can wedge that blade or knife under the corner again, as far as you can this time...once the label has started to peel back, go ahead and peel the rest off with your fingers...again...carefully! The labels should come off in one piece, however, if you misjudged a label to be an "oven label" and it's just not working...don't freak out! I intentionally put all my bottles in the oven so I could show you the difference! You can see in the photo below that the bottle on the left is completely label free! But, the other two bottles are being a pain in the you-know-what...that's another way that you'll know those bottles need to be soaked. 

STEP TWO : Soaking Method

For the bottles with stubborn labels, don't pull your hair out...believe me, I've tried that, it doesn't help. First make sure you plug the drain in your kitchen sink. Next, fill your sink with really really really hot water. While the sink is filling up, fill up the rest of your bottles with hot water and drop them in the sink. Add 1/2 cup baking powder, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 2 cups of white vinegar. Let them soak for like 10-15 minutes. drain the sink, and grab your knife/razor! I really hate the word scrape...it makes me cringe...but that's how you're going to get these wet labels off the bottles! So scrape away!

Soak the bottles for 10-15 minutes

use your knife or razor to peel off the soaked labels

STEP THREE : Get Rid Of That Glue!

Once all your labels are off your bottles will look (hopefully) like this...

You can't see it, but just trust me when I say there is a lot of left over sticky annoying glue where the labels used to be...if you spray painted them just like this, it would leave texture marks where the glue is...and nobody likes that, for real...

It took me so many failed attempts and so many hours of researching pinterest and googling like a crazy person to find the true secret to getting the glue off these bottles...and before you smarty pants say goo-gone...its not! Surprisingly enough...drum roll please...it's peanut butter? That's right, peanut butter... I don't know what it is about peanut butter, wether it's the peanuts, or the butter, (lol) but I swear it works, every time. 

All you have to do, is spread the peanut butter over the areas that have the glue on them. I used a rubber (batter spreader thing? I can't remember the technical name right now...but you get it). You can use whatever tool you want, if you really want to have some fun with it, use your fingers ;) Once all the bottles are covered in the peanut butter, grab that handy dandy razor/knife again and start scraping (Ew, theres that word again...) I learned that the best way to get it off is scraping horizontally, rather than vertically, because the bottles are round...obviously. 

The glue will come right off with the peanut butter. Do your best to get it all off, but whatever is left just wash off with dish soap and really hot water! Now you finally have clean, label-less, glue-less wine bottles!!! 

STEP FOUR: Paint

This was the other step I completely forgot to get pictures of...super spacey that late at night...sorry 'bout it! But it's super basic I swear! Make sure you put up some sort of paint cloth or cardboard behind the bottles while you spray so the fall out doesn't get all over your surface! Hold the spray paint a little less than a foot away from the bottles and paint in an up and down motion! Don't lay it on too thick, instead, put multiple thin coats, so it doesn't drip and so that it dries in a reasonable time. I stuck my finger in the top of the bottle to spin it around to paint the other side! The most important tip is to make sure you have your mouth and nose covered when you spray paint because the fumes are so nuts its ridiculous! Once you've got even coats on all the bottles, leave them to dry overnight and in the morning...done! You can coat them in a clear acrylic coat for protection if you like! I ran out of time so I was just sure to be extra careful, but for prolonged use or display, I would add the clear coat!

Here are a couple projects I snapped of these babies in use at the bridal shower! Aren't they so gorge?! I will be doing a whole post on the bridal shower soon so stay tuned!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! It means so much to have such amazing readers! I hope you guys enjoyed these repurposed wine bottles. Leave me comments or send me emails at thecaliforniacupcake@gmail.com !! 

Don't forget to subscribe via email at the top of the page, follow me on Pinterest and on instagram @thecaliforniacupcake for updates and inspiration! 

XO.

Small Changes Can Make A Big Difference!

Hi Cupcakes!

I know I've been MIA for a little over a week now, but between throwing Rachel's bridal shower, my own wedding plans, selling my car, planning our upcoming move to Minnesota (which is happening in 2 WEEKS?!) and packing everything up, I haven't even had a second to breathe, let alone sit down at my computer! So, sorry about that friends. But I've got a few really great projects coming your way over the next couple weeks that I'm excited to share and get your thoughts on! 

For today I just wanted to share with you a few little things we added to Rachel's apartment. I know that sometimes decorating can be incredibly overwhelming for some of you. Wether it's because you hate shopping (I heard there actually a few of you out there?!), or because you have so many ideas and don't know where to start, or maybe you're like me, and you know exactly how you want your space to look but don't have the budget to create your dream space all at once. I've found that the best way to create the space you've been day dreaming of is just a little at a time. Especially for newly weds, or people in our age range, budgeting is EVERYTHING... which is why I'm so happy that i was able to help Rachel take the first step in making her space feel homey! Keep in mind, these rooms are far from complete, but just an example of how just a few little purchases can open up a room and make a great difference! 

Here is a before and after of the dining area. The dining room table is from my last post that you can read here! My favorite part of this room is the huge window. A big window really brightens up a room. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to really dress up a room with big beautiful curtains! Ordinarily, because Rachel is renting the space and doesn't want to paint the walls, I would take this opportunity to dress up the room with some statement curtains, something patterned or bold. However, Rachel loved the idea of having a color scheme of blacks, taupes, and creams, so keeping that theme in mind, we found these amazing, creamy, dream-like curtains at IKEA. (We bought them in 55x98" but make sure you measure!) The best part about these curtains in that they are only $20 for two panels! we used 4 panels for a full look! I think the most important tip of all that I can give you for any windows, but especially big ones like these, would be to hang the curtains at the top of the wall rather than at the top of the window. This really opens up the room and makes it seem a lot bigger. Plus, you won't have the awkward task of decorating the tiny space above the windows that would otherwise look blank and like its missing something!

Before

After

Here is a before and after of the bedroom. They didn't have a bed frame and the way their furniture was laid out was that the door is located in the top right of the before picture. I may not be a feng shui   master or anything, but I have learned that your bed should never be in the direct path of your door because it can disturb sleeping patterns, but you should be able to see the door when you are lying in your bed. (If that makes any sense). So the first thing we did was rearrange the furniture in the bedroom so that it was facing the door but not in line with it. The after picture was taken from the doorway so you can get an idea of placement! Another detail we added was a bed frame from IKEA which you can find here! Adding a bed frame changes the entire feel of the room. It's so important to get your bed up off the floor, I literally can't stress that enough! Finally we threw on their clean bedding and a few throw pillows and it INSTANTLY looks a thousand times better. The last little thing I did was hang those Mr. and Mrs. signs up on the wall. Before they were just leaning against the wall on either side of the bed and hanging them just makes it look way more intentional and a lot less like you just tossed it there. This room DEFINITELY still has a ways to go, it could use a patterned rug and some serious wall art, but the curtains from Bed Bath & Beyond that Rachel bought using a gift card she got as a bridal shower gift also help to tie the room together. It's a work in progress as are the rest of the rooms in the house, BUT remember, little by little, it'll grow into a dream space!

Before

After

After

The last update I have for you guys is a really basic update to liven up the living room! Their new couch is just about the comfiest of them all ( I would know, I've slept on it more than once ;) ) but it's lacking character and life! So we added a few throw pillows, including these from IKEA! We also added some flowers and a basket as a coffee table center piece as a place to organize the coasters and remotes! Finally we added this throw blanket from IKEA for a comfy and cozy look. I think the most important tip for this room would be the flowers. Adding flowers to any room can instantly give the room more life. It's like magic! 

Before

After

Alright friends, I hope you enjoyed this (long) post! I know it was a lot, a maybe decorating isn't your things, but if not, don't fret, because I've got more DIY projects coming up for you soon! Stay Tuned!!

Let me know if you have any great tips by leaving it in the comments or emailing me at thecaliforniacupcake@gmail.com. Don't forget to subscribe via email at the top of the page and follow me on instagram @thecaliforniacupcake!

P.S. I really do try to stray from these lengthy posts because I know it can be ridiculously boring to read that much, so if you read it all, cheers to you, and if not, don't worry, my next post won't be so looooong. ;)

Thanks for reading!

XO.

Dining Room Table Make-Over!!

Hi Cupcakes!

So today we're talking about another piece of furniture that needed an INTENSE make-over. The future bride that I mentioned in my previous post, called me up one day because she found this (kind of hideous) dining room table and a set of four (equally hideous) chairs for like $40 at goodwill. (I really have a love/hate relationship with that place) Anyways, Rachel really liked the style of the table and the height, but it clearly needed to be spruced up. Of course, the little DIYer in my head was like "buy it now!". So,  Rachel gets a dining room table for $40, and I get to share the make-over process with you guys...that's like, a serious win/win, am I right? And so the process begins....

Before       /       After

Okay, so here is a list of the things we used for this project:

- Ugly table and chairs from Goodwill ;) $40

- Sand paper -$3.97

- Interior paint (black) - I used this paint! $27.47

- Primer - I used this kind! $11.98

-  Foam Rollers - Don't forget to use the right rollers that we talked about in this post! -$5.37

- Small Brushes (like this) for the tiny (annoying) crevasses!! - $0 (had these on hand)

 - Drop Cloths (Sheets, newspaper, or be totally legit and grab some for like $2 at Home Depot)

 So this is what the table looked like when Rach first brought it home...I mean, I guess I wouldn't call it hideous, but let's be honest, it aint pretty.

 

As you can probably (hopefully) tell, the chairs were not sold with the table as a set, it was honestly such a lucky find for Rach and it just happened to work out that the chairs were the perfect height.

 Sad little dining room :(

And here is the paint used in this project...Glidden Premium Paint + Primer....Even though this is a duo paint with primer in it, I always ignore that and use my own primer...just to be safe, because who wants to spend all this time painting just to have it chip off at every little use of the surface...not me!

 Okay, so the best part about this project, is that it's so easy, that I really don't have a whole lot of instructions for you! Basically, the first thing you're going to want to do, is find a clean, dry, and ventilated place to work...(The ventilated part is important because, well, you can't finish the masterpiece if you're high on paint fumes...). We were originally planning on working in the backyard, so we dragged all of the (heavy) furniture outside and set everything up....and then (like ten minutes later), we came to the conclusion that we were nuts because it was 100 degrees outside and this was just not happening...so we (complained for like ten minutes) pulled it together, and moved back inside. We ended up working in Rachel's little dining room because it was right next to the AC, and right under a ceiling fan. 

Now, normally, once you're settled in your project spot, you should take apart whatever it is that you're painting. That was just not happening for this project. We just could not find a way to take this stuff apart. So we decided to just wing it. We sanded everything lightly, primed as usual, and painted a few solid coats. The tiny crevasses are seriously the BIGGEST pain in the butt (hence the little tiny paint brushes), but we worked it out and it turned out great!

 

Projects like these won't always go as planned so it's important to be able to just go with the flow!

And finally...the finished product!!

The cost of this whole project (including the cost of the table and chairs) was $88.79!! Obsessed. Not to mention that we did this whole thing in...wait for it...ONE DAY....and we had time to bake cookies at the end of the day...(which, lets be honest, makes everything better)

Well, that's it today! I hope you enjoyed this post! I'd really love to hear what you guys think so leave me comments and let me know if you've done any projects like this one! 

P.S. The dreamy curtains are from IKEA and will be featured in my next post ;) 

Don't forget to subscribe to my posts and follow me on Instagram! @thecaliforniacupcake  

XO.

Cupcake Toppers!

 Hi Cupcakes!

The last couple of weeks have been so unbelievably busy! One of my favorite people in the whole world (Rachel) is getting married in December, and I am lucky enough to be her Maid Of Honor. One of the many things I've been so busy with lately is her upcoming bridal shower! (along with a few home decor projects for the bride's new apartment that I'm so so excited to share with you soon!) These adorable cupcake toppers are one of a few projects I'm working on for the shower and I'm so glad I can finally get this post up for you guys! So let's just dive right in here...

 I absolutely LOVE the way these cupcake toppers came out! They are simple and classy and not to mention so easy to make! 

Here is a list of items you will need to make these little cuties:

- Computer paper

- A Printer

- Martha Stewart Crafts Heart Punch $9.99

- Black Satin Ribbon (I got mine for $.96 at Michaels)

- Hot Glue Gun 

- Toothpicks 

The first thing I did was open up Microsoft Word on my computer and create a new document. I made 4 rows of 8 " I do " 's. I browsed the fonts and chose a classic script font in black ink to go along with Rachels black and white classic traditional theme. You can choose whatever font and color your little heart desires! You could even change up the color of the paper and ribbon if you want to get really creative! I needed about 60 "I do"s for all the cupcakes, so I printed 3 pages just to be safe. Here is what it should look like...

 Once I had the pages printed, I grabbed my handy dandy Martha Stewart Crafts Heart Punch ( I can't even explain what a life-saver this thing is!)

 The best way to use the Heart Punch in the project is upside down. I totally realize that might sound weird, but using it upside down allows you to be sure that your "I do"s are centered on your heart cut out. And we all know how important centering is!! Cutting out all of the hearts took me maybe ten minutes MAX. ( I told you the Heart Punch is a life saver...you can thank me later ;) )

Once you have all the tiny hearts cut out, grab that glue gun and your toothpicks and start gluing! Make sure you are working on a surface that you don't mind getting a little glue on! (I used an old file folder) All you need is a tiny dot of glue...don't get glue happy because it will seep through the paper! (Yikes). Once all the little hearts were on my toothpicks, I started on the ribbon. After a few trial and errors, I learned that the best way to add the bows is to cut the ribbon to your desired length, tie it in a bow (or like a shoe lace), cut the excess ends off, and glue! After you're finished with allll that gluing, you'll hopefully end up with your own version of these babies!!

These are great for special events, birthday parties, bridal showers, etc. I had so much fun making them and I hope you do too!! 

Please leave comments or questions below! Or email me at TheCaliforniaCupcake@gmail.com . Dont forget to subscribe via email at the top of the page! 

XO