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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Ringing in 2012

Happiest of New Years! I hope you all have a wonderful night of celebration and ringing in this beautiful new year. I love new beginnings and transitions. It brings a sense of adventure and keeps life from becoming old and routine. One of my resolutions for 2012 is to complete one craft project a week. It is important never to be too busy to spend time on the things you love the most! What are some of your resolutions?

I thought I'd share a quick DIY that I completed this past as the first project of my new resolution!

DIY Salt 'N Pepper:






 Materials:

  • 2 Mini jars with lid (found at Joanne's)
  • Drill with 1/8" glass drill bit
  • Twine
  • Pretty paper
  • Stamps and ink
  • Buttons or other decorations
  • Laminator or clear gloss paint
  • Big eye needle
  • Super Glue

1. Determine how many holes you want and make a tiny dot with a sharpie to position them.
2. Grab your drill and carefully start drilling the holes. You should use some water as a lubricant and take breaks to keep tabs on your progress through the glass. For slightly smaller holes, stop drilling as soon as the drill breaks through the other side. It's a long process, so be patient.
















3. Clean out the jars to remove any excess glass.
4. Cut out tags from the paper and stamp "salt" on one, and "pepper" on the other.




















5. Laminate or paint with a clear coat to seal the tags.
6. String the twine on a needle and pull through the tag.
7. Tie the twine around the jar and make a bow.
8. Super glue the knot and a button on top for extra cuteness.




Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry, Merry Christmas!

My homemade Christmas cards. Scraps recycled into Christmas cheer for friends near and far!

























Merry Christmas, everyone!
This Christmas season quietly sneaked up on me this year, but now that it's here, I'm soaking it in to the fullest! Wearing my black and gold, sparkly sweater and red skirt, chocolate cranberry bars are baking in the oven, champagne is full in our glasses, and family is here for dinner. Just waiting for my dad to light a fire in the fireplace, and it will be perfectly cozy!
I hope you are enjoying a time of joy and love as we celebrate Jesus' birth. Sometimes Christmas becomes so centered around gifts and obligations, but it truly is the thought and sincerity that makes this season sweet.
Love and peace to you all! <3


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Let It Snow!


I love snow. It sparkles in the sun. It crunches under your feet. And it makes everything look cozy and romantic under it's white blanket.
*Keep in mind this is all coming from a naive Californian who has never driven in or shoveled snow in her life. I prefer the fairytale image.
But the only way LA can experience some of this magical substance is to make it themselves. Since I can't afford a snow machine, I'm cutting it out of paper (low budget). I wanted something a little more interesting than your typical childhood paper flakes, so I found a couple great instructional sites on Pinterest. This will be filling my spare time for the next couple days.

If you want to be scientifically accurate and create some 6-pointed snowflakes, click here.


Or get really crazy and go for the 8-pointed flakes. So pretty!



Once I get enough cut, maybe I'll try making something like this.


No need to buy. Find something to hang with, such as a hoop or branches, and some thread or string to dangle the snowflakes. Simple.

Add your pretty flakes to packages, windows, walls, trees, or candle votives. Hang from your car's rearview mirror or on your bedframe.

If you live in LA and still need your fill of snow that you can actually feel, head over to The Grove for snowfall at 7 and 8 pm until the 31st. Or, my personal favorite, snowfall while you ice skate at The W Hotel in Westwood. Somebody needs to take me there asap (*hint hint*).

Thursday, December 8, 2011

DIY Photo Transfer



Christmas is rapidly approaching and if you're like me, you want to make gifts for everyone, but also end up waiting until the week before. Anyone else notice this procrastination habit extends past school? Well, this DIY is perfect for planners and procrastinators alike. As long as you manage to avoid a few fateful mistakes, which I will share for maximizing procrastination.
The original tutorial came from A Beautiful Mess, but somehow, I managed to do everything wrong while still believing I was following the directions perfectly. It's a talent, I know. For once in my life, I started a gift early. Thankfully! I went through the process 4 times, which meant 4-5 days before it was done.

Here are the mistakes to avoid:

1. LASER printer. No, inkjet is not the same as laser. Inkjet puts the ink into the paper, laser lays the ink on top for easy transfer. If you don't own a laser printer, it might be a bit hard to find a copy place that does, but Office Depot saved me.

It should NOT look like this while drying. The side facing up should stay blank and white.
2. The cheaper and thinner the paper, the better! This makes rubbing the paper off so much easier. No need for finger burn. Office Depot gave me nicer paper since it was a color copy. When I went back to ask for the cheaper paper, the guy looked at me like I was crazy. Don't worry, it's worth it.

3. Use a nice paintbrush for spreading the gel medium. Try to get out any lumps or would-be air bubbles. Depending on how rustic you want it, make sure it is a thick and even layer throughout. My cheap paintbrush gave me a lot of thinner spots, so there were more places the picture rubbed off or didn't transfer.

4. Don't go overboard when spraying the paper with water. It is actually easier to get the last layers of paper off when it is just barely damp and you are creating a friction between your finger and the paper.

5. For an extreme time crunch, blow dry the project to speed up the drying process. If you're not blow drying, I would wait a full 24 hours, just to be safe.

6. If you have a cat, do not put it within their reach even if they are not allowed to be on said surface (unless you are attempting to obtain hard evidence of disobedience). Cats do naughty things when they think we're not looking.


Please try out this tutorial (just avoid the above mistakes)! It is so fun to make your own. I even added a little French saying on a tea dyed piece of paper. My friend loved her gift, so it was all worth it in the end!