Friday Feature: A Few of My Favorite Things

It's that time again! I'm here to wrap up the workweek by highlighting a few of my favorite things. Oh, the excitement is palpable. I can tell....

1. Apothecary Jars

These are pretty fantastic, such great looking accent pieces and so incredibly versatile. Best I can tell, they are becoming pretty popular in the realm of holiday decor and at wedding receptions, and it's not too hard to see why! But they also can be used for the everyday, too. If I ever possess enough bottles of nail polish to warrant it, I'll definitely have this in my bathroom.

Who knows though? Even cotton balls and q-tips could take on a classier air if stored in these.

2. Baked to Perfection

This clever little craft is so popular it's practically a Pinterest plague (I hope you appreciated the alliteration in that sentence!) I have to admit, I'm somewhat skeptical until I try it myself, but supposedly it's as simple as decorate, bake, and enjoy. You simply write your message in a sharpie on a dollar store dish, bake in the oven for thirty minutes (...I have yet to find a temperature specification...), and then your message should be set in stoneware! Truth be told, I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination, but cooking up some cutesy dishes sounds well within my even my limited capabilities.

3. Dazzling DIY Dry-Erase Boards

The first time I saw this brilliant idea I felt like a complete moron for never having thought of it myself. Just so ridiculously easy, inexpensive, and just plain cool (for lack of a more eloquent phrase...)

Take a frame, insert pretty paper, and make it anything of your choosing! A to-do list, a calendar, anything! And you can even stick them to your fridge with the help of a little magnetic tape. Fantastic.

4. Quotable Canvas Art

Spoiler alert: I am going to make these in the very near future. Because they are awesome. The process eluded me for some time. Turns out, there's more than one way to get it done. You can either use small wooden letters Mod Podged to canvas and spray paint the whole thing white. Or if you--like so many out there--are not a fan of the limited selection of fonts in which wooden letters are available from your local craft store, you can use puffy paint and trace out your quote in whatever font you like!

I think these are so simple and classy and I have every confidence that they'll make a lovely addition to my mantle in my new home!

5. Memorable Monograms

You know me and my photo fixation. So, of course, I love these, too!

 Black and white photo collage on an over-sized initial? Yes, please. Absolutely love it.

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Alrighty everyone, I'm signing off for now. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

A Picture Frame is Worth a Thousand Words

As I've mentioned before, I am a picture fanatic. So I am always looking for neat new ways to showcase more and more of my beloved photos. Today's project is something I actually found on Pinterest (shocking!) and was, in fact, one of the first things I ever pinned!

I found the original tutorial here, and followed it almost exactly (except I used Gorilla glue instead of a hot glue gun). So far I've only done just the one frame, but I'll be moving in to a house in August (so incredibly excited!) and may have need for many more of these simple and chic little frames.

I used a cheap 8x10 frame from Walmart and primed it with spray paint.

I then spray painted it, along with a clip I got from the office supplies section at Walmart.

After that, I filled it with some of the damask scrapbook paper I had left over from my bookshelf project and replaced the glass.

I then used Gorilla glue to glue the clip to the glass. In hindsight, the glue gun is probably a better idea. The Gorilla glue was a little messy and I ended up having the clean the glass all around the clip. But it still turned out just fine in the end.

Finished! This particular picture happened to be the only 5x7 I had available, but I think I will ultimately end up using a color picture rather than a black and white one here. But that's the beauty of this frame.... it's so easy to change the pictures out whenever you want! No muss, no fuss, just a fresh way to add flare to your photos!

Creatively Crafted Clipboard

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have officially rejoined the work force--my week of complete and total freedom has ended. But not to worry... my summer schedule will be a cinch compared to the grueling days I've been used to these past 11 months while med school was in session. Plus I really like my cancer research internship and the work I'll be doing.

As you well know by now (and as I mentioned in a previous post), it's my goal this summer to do as much crafting as possible. In view of this, my friend Kayla and I adopted a certain mantra, one that has become exceptionally popular on Pinterest and has several different adaptations. The particular one we are using is pretty perfect, so of course we had to pull out the fabric paint and put it on t-shirts--you know, to make it truly official.

You can find the tutorial on her blog, but I just had to share the picture, too. I find them pretty adorable!

The project I want to share tonight is (as most of my projects tend to be) pretty simple! Since I'm once again a working girl, and a crazy organized one at that, I knew I needed something to keep my important papers straight this summer. After amassing an impressive collection of standard black three-ring binders for classes this year, I wanted to branch out. What better than a cute and crafty clipboard?! The internet is practically flooded with tutorials on DIY clipboard makeovers. The water feels find to me, so I'm diving in, too!

All you need need is a wooden clipboard, whatever lovely scrapbook paper you fancy, and of course some Mod Podge! Cut the paper to fit, mod podge it down, and add any embellishments you choose--I added some black sticker letters I had on hand to spell out my name.

There you go! A quick evening craft. I'm excited to use it tomorrow, and hoping that if my co-workers see it they won't find me completely neurotic.... not yet, at least!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

I would like to wrap up this weekend by posting just a little something I whipped up! Now I have absolutely no pretenses whatsoever about this being an impressive craft, but regardless I figured I'd share. It's just a little something I made to commemorate my first Braves game with the boyfriend. I used almost exclusively things I already had on hand, but I did take advantage of the opportunity to use my brand spankin' new Cricut for the first time. Just couldn't resist!

I started with a canvas panel and painted it with navy acrylic paint. I had some washers from the hardware store in various sizes and arranged them in the shape of the famous Braves emblem. That super cool baseball scrapbook paper was in a variety pack from the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle and I knew I wanted to use it, too.

I spray painted the washers.....

....and glued them down with some craft glue, a tedious process indeed. After that I added pictures, some baseball-themed embellishments, a clipping from our program, and as a final touch: some lettering from my Cricut!

Here's the final product. As I said, nothing particularly fancy or Pinterest-worthy, but I think my baseball fan likes it and I'm happy with how it turned out--it's something a little more special than just a scrapbook page by itself, a creative memory for us to have. And who knows... maybe the Braves will make it to the World Series this season? Here's hoping!

Friday Feature: A Few of My Favorite Things

I am practically bubbling over with excitement over all the projects that I have in the works, just so close to being finished. But unfortunately I am waiting on paint to dry, and since I can't sit and watch to any avail or satisfaction of interest, I'm going to write! (...truth be told, I'm also waiting on acquisition of a glue gun, but that doesn't quite lend itself to turning a phrase...) I'm going to try something new where every Friday I feature a few of my favorite things in the world of crafting, blogging, home decor, organization, and all that jazz!

1. Let the Sunshine Sunburst Mirrors In

These are just plain awesome. So chic, so simple to make, and with the real versions sporting price tags in the hundreds of dollars, it's no wonder these DIY knock-offs are taking the craft-world by storm, giving their exorbitantly priced high end predecessors a real run for their money. Spoiler alert: this is one of the many projects I alluded to currently having in the works, and I could not be more excited. I'm kind of nervous about how it's going to turn out since I'm still so new to crafting, but if it's even halfway worthwhile it'll be an excellent addition to my decor!

2. Pantry Perfection

Using clear glass or plastic containers with custom labels for bulk food storage is just about one of the most fantastic organizing things I've seen yet. And that's really saying something because I am obsessed with all things organization.

Jen from IHeart Organizing (one of my favorite blogs) was featured on HGTV's show "Clean Freaks" showcasing her similarly awe-inspiring kitchen organization system. After every shopping trip, she immediately pours all her groceries in to her own beautiful glass containers. She calls it convenient, I call it transcendent! If I have the time and the money and the storage space to start something like this in the near future, you'd better believe I'm just crazy enough to commit to it.

3. Furry Friends

Bunnicula - my fiesty lionhead rabbit

Laurie - my affectionate mix-breed pup

Okay, okay.... not really directly craft-related, per se. But, these lovable cuddle-bugs are among my favorites. I needed an excuse to give them a proper blog debut. And, as a matter of fact, my pup Laurie helps me with the majority of my projects in his own special way! In his mind, the success of each of my creative endeavors is contingent upon him being ever-present, always there to offer a supportive lick or a helping...... paw. That's unconditional love, guys.

4. Organized Entryways

These really don't require any explanation, just recognition for how great they look. With something this fantastic, attention must be paid. Can't wait to have a home of my own and an entryway to completely deck out!

5. My New Best Friend: the Manager at Michaels

Earlier today, I was making the rounds at the local crafts stores looking for some essential pieces for my Sunburst mirror and since I had some time to kill before meeting the boyfriend for dinner, I decided to mosey down the Cricut aisle. It was partly masochistic -- I don't own a Cricut (gasp!) and every single time I so much as see one I get hungry eyes worthy of a song by Eric Carmen. I would love to have a Cricut. I mean, without one, how could I possibly hope to realize my full crafting potential?

So there I was, ready to torture myself for just a glimpse of how the other half lives when wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles I see a SALE sign above the Cricuts. They were selling Cricut Expression v.1 (originally $199) for $78. After recovering from my heart attack, I started looking for the voucher for that particular one. But, no dice. I called over the manager who confirmed that they had stopped carrying those months ago in favor of the new Expression v2 and Cricut Mini. The ad for the sale was placed there erroneously. I was in the middle of thanking him for helping me anyway when the manager, ever the customer service servant, cut in to say "Well, if you want to get this new version, this Cricut Mini, I'll sell it to you for 40% off so that it matches that sale price."

I was flabbergasted, but I didn't miss a beat before marching my happy tail to the cashier so that I could officially be the proud new owner of a Cricut, all thanks to one man who, in my opinion, should have sonnets penned and ballads composed in his honor.

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So that wraps it up: a few of my favorite things to tide you over til the grand reveal of the projects I've been toiling over tirelessly. Hope you enjoy!

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.....