Spray Painting old lights for a cheap update

 Spray Paint is your friend!

So we love our new house. We also spent a lot on moving and may be a little limited on which updates we can do at a time. However, never under-estimate a can of spray paint to take 90's  brass to a more modern bronze look. 

Our master bedroom had these brass sconce lights on both sides of the bed that collected bugs. (I forgot to take a photo of them all put together. Opps)

I took the light off and then seriously dusted and wiped it down. It was gross and dusty. I took the pieces outside and sprayed them down with Rustoleum-Oil Rubbed Bronze. We are switching all the brass in the house over to ORB, for simple clean look. 

It took 3 to 4 very light coats. Make sure to lightly brush your hand side to side as you spray so you do not get any drips. 

When we put them back up, I had Erik install them with the bell pointing down. I picked up new bell shades at Home Depot for $3 each. 

I switched the old LED blub out for a LED Edison blub. It gave it a nicer updated look through the glass. 

All in all, the project cost, $5 for the can of spray paint, $6 for two blubs, and about 30 mins of work. 

New to Happy Planner? Embrace the quick layout!

How to do a quick layout in your planner...

    So I am so excited to be using my new Happy Planner this year. I wanted a way that I could easily set aside time for myself in the form of some me time. I dove all in! I have the most adorable Faith Planner (link) and dove deep into the world of stickers. It can be easy though to get overwhelmed with doing a layout each week. I was impressed by the incredible layouts that people are doing, but did not have the time to set aside one to two hours to make them. 

    To help me from becoming super overwhelmed, I created a simple "system" for my layout each week. I pick one roll of washi tape, a nice pen, and one sheet of stickers. I have created some really neat layouts in 20 mins or less! 

    For this week, I decided to use a sheet of forest animals from the Sticker book collection from Michaels- Craft Smart. I picked it up a few weeks ago for $2! I use a roll of thin green washi from this Amazon set. (link)

Prep: Blank Layout and gather your supplies

Step 1: Add Washi Tape-I use washi tape to cover up headings I am not using for the week. While I like my faith planner, I do not usually have a daily verse. 

Step 2: Use a pen to change the color of text. 

Step 3: Apply Stickers- I promise you can't do it wrong. Plus even if you do not like it, there is always next week!

    I mostly use my planner for memory planning. I do a little bit of pre-writing in for the week, but prefer to use it as a diary at the end of each day to think back on the big things that happened. As a mom to young kiddos, I know the moments are precious, so I try to fill it with simple funny things we did daily. I also use it to capture the bright spots so I can remember what I have accomplished when feeling down. 

    It has been a while since I have worked on my blog or shared. I am super excited to start up again in little baby steps. This gives me an outlet from some creative juices. :) Thanks for reading along as I get back into how to even do a blog. Sorry for any mis-spellings or grammar. It has been a while.