Damask Bookshelf Done Quick-and-Dirty

I am a poor, poor medical student. And as a lowly pauper, I am obligated mainly to projects which involve working with things I already have on hand or giving makeovers to pieces that can be given a little sprucing up on a budget. The project I finished today is one I've seen all over Pinterest and blogs for months now, and it is just plain awesome--so cheap, so easy, so of course I love it! Take a drab-looking bookshelf, some pretty scrapbook paper, and good ol' ModPodge and you've got yourself something fancy!

Look at this sad little bookshelf, another of the many furniture pieces inhabiting my apartment that hail from my college days. After seeing so many fabulous bookshelf makeovers on Pinterest and reading the simple tutorials, I decided to make this my first summer project. I took a trip to Hobby Lobby, bought some damask print paper (which is a perfect addition since everything in my apartment is black, white, and red), and got ready to do it to it!

Unfortunately, I'm a moron and ignored my instincts to stock up on ModPodge while at Hobby Lobby (after standing on the aisle for what seemed like hours debating "Well....should I get some? Or maybe I'll just wait...." ) so after taking the backing off, I realized I had just enough ModPodge to glue down exactly one corner. Fantastic. But, being the impatient tenacious girl that I am, I made sure to pick some up at WalMart last night to get me back on track!

I used one coat to stick it down, waited twenty minutes, then did a coat on top. I left it overnight to dry and then got help from the boyfriend on his lunch break to nail the backing on again (mainly because he pointed out how much quicker he'd be able to do it than me, and I couldn't really argue with that fact).

I know it's subtle, but I can't help it.... I love it! I think it's a neat little touch to add to the apartment decor, definitely worth the effort it took to re-do it, even with the momentary ModPodge set-back

I'm completely satisfied with how it turned out. And I found out today that I won't have to start my summer research job until Monday morning, so I have a  little extra time to devote to crafting until then! Huzzah! Hopefully I'll have something new for you tomorrow.....

A Post of Projects Past

I've done it! I finished my first year of medical school! I am officially one-fourth a doctor. And to celebrate, I spent my holiday weekend doing mostly nothing... and it was glorious. Definitely much needed and fully appreciated. Once I was rested and refreshed, I took a day trip with the boyfriend to Atlanta on Sunday for my very first Braves game.

So, I have yet to do much by way of crafting. I do, however, have some ideas up my sleeve for some projects I'm planning to do this very afternoon. In the meantime, I wanted to post some pictures of projects I've done in the past. My pre-blog era spoils.

If you know me, you know that I am picture-obsessed. I am also crazy thrifty. Naturally, I loved the coffee table from the movie "P.S. I Love You" that showcased the couple's pictures in such a neat way. So, I wanted to make my own version of theirs using the cheap Target coffee table that survived its usage during my college years. I love how the makeover turned out, too. I stuck a collage of black and white photos to the surface using some adhesive putty from the craft store, then placed a thin piece of custom cut glass from Lowe's over the top of it, and voila! A faux-fancy and functional product.

I made this to adorn my entryway. It's super convenient for hanging up my four-legged friend's leash, and I was able to make it all for a low price that would make tails wag. A piece of wood from Hobby Lobby, chip board letter, paint, cardstock paper, embellishments from the scrapbook aisle, and there you have it!

I found this fun kitchen magnet board idea on Pinterest, originally from this blog. I actually looked at the original again just now when linking it, and I think I may add some magnets to it today along with my other projects. I used an old cookie sheet I already had that was past its baking prime, spray painted it black, then covered it in some scrapbook paper with my trusty Mod Podge. The "R" is just a chip board letter with magnetic tape stuck to the back!

Here is a small smattering of samples of some of my favorite scrapbook pages I've done. So far, I've only made one scrapbook, filled to the brim with memorabilia from my years of musical theatre, but I've started on the next one which I'll be using to document my time in medical school. It's one of the many projects on my ever expanding summer to-do list.

Last one! Just a little something I made for my bathroom. I had the canvas, paint, and scrapbook paper just laying around , and I borrowed a friend's Cricut to cut the letters to a part of my favorite quote. I'm in no way a visual artist, but it was cheap and easy DIY decor!

Alrighty, I'm off to Hobby Lobby. Wish me (and my checking account!) good luck.... and HAPPY SUMMER! 

How I'll Spend My Summer Vacation

I have to say, this is an exciting moment for me. Nerdy though it may be, I am elated to be sitting here officially writing my very first blog post!

...well, that's not entirely true. I am loathe to admit I did have a brief stint of an online presence years ago when Xanga and LiveJournal reached the height of their popularity thanks to droves of melodramatic adolescents. But as far as anything legitimate is concerned, this is my premiere. In a way, it's kind of funny that I've waited til now. I mean, I've been writing practically my whole life (I've kept a journal since I was five years old and did a lot of creative writing and journalism in college) and it's something I genuinely love to do. But until now I could never really find my niche, and I couldn't justify randomly starting a blog purely for the sake of publishing my random anecdotes. I needed at least some sort of premise to make it worthwhile. Well, by George, I think I've (finally) got it!

It would be a gross oversight to not give my good friend Kayla at least some of the credit for my internet debut. After all, I have followed her blog religiously for the past year, and for those of you who don't read it... you should! 

Kayla is fantastic. Okay, admittedly I'm a little biased, but really, she is. For starters, this is the girl that introduced me to Pinterest (...an act worthy of high praise. That site is, hands down, the best one on the internet. Sorry, Facebook). She's also fostered my growing love of all things crafts for the past year, between introducing me to some incredible and addictive blogs and generously letting me free-load on her impressive amount of craft supplies whenever we find time to do a project here and there.

I'm still new to crafting, relatively speaking. I'm sad to say, my number of Pinterest Pins far exceeds the number of completed projects in my repertoire. But.....here's the good news: I am less than twenty-four hours away from the completion of my first year of medical school and the beginning of my last summer ever! Never have I anticipated a summer break more than this one, probably because of all the wonderful things I plan to spend it doing! Oh yes, a Summer 2012 Bucket List is definitely in the works. And that, my friends, is where this nifty new blog comes in. In similar fashion to my med school cohort, I will be using this blog to document all of my projects... and maybe to share the occasional anecdote, too.

So there you have it, a succinct primer on why this blog exists. I'm off to revisit the mountain of renal pathophysiology notes that will be holding me captive just a bit longer. But I promise to return soon, with ModPodge in hand and something creative to show for it!