Decor Before and After

When I first saw these going around Blog-world months ago I got so excited! I really wanted to make myself a set and knew I would love them. Little did I know I would not love the process of making them.

I searched every dollar store , thrift store and discout store for WEEKS looking for the perfect pieces. I ended up settling for something a bit less than what I had envisioned. I got it all at Dollar Tree; one tall cylinder vase and two of the same smaller ones with a little 'lip' at the bottom. Since I already had the
E-6000 glue it cost me $6 to make.

Figuring out something to put in them was another story, and one that I don't think is done. These have been in my room for a few weeks now but I am still on the lookout for something better to put in them. I didn't want candles since I would never light them anyway and they would fade eventually as well. Plus, I couldn't find any 'cheap' unscented but colored candles; I wanted them in a shade of red. I had the river rocks from an old project and had found these apples on sale at Marshall's and picked them up for next to nothing and figured I would eventually use them in something. It's ok but I don't know if I 'love' it. Any suggestions??

Well, here are the pictures. Please ignore my bad photo skills and the reflection in the mirror :)

This is the 'before". My husband had fake plants ALL OVER the house...this is one of the last ones I replaced. I couldn't wait to get it out of there. I knew the family pictures and butterfly would stay...my husband used to collect butterflies when he was little and that is the only one he saved as he grew up since it's his favorite. It even makes ME nostalgic :) The dried flowers are my wedding bouquet; they went up there after the wedding and I just never moved them after that.

And here is the new setup:

Here is a really bad up close shot...the apples ARE indeed red but are covered in those clear beads so my falsh kept bouncing off of them...I suck at taking pictures.

 In order to make the hurricanes three different heights (since I got two of the same sized cylinders) I grabbed three romantic books (this is the boudoire after all :) ) and stacked them and put my bouquet and one of the vases on top.  Even though it is not exactly what I had in my head I like this setup MUCH better than the previous decor.