Tag Archives: Chrissy

Make Something Monday: Capiz Shell Art

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I moved into my new apartment last summer, the walls are all painted a very dark tan color, which is a million times better than the normally all white very sterile feeling that most apartments have. But this also meant that many of the items that I brought with my from my last place didn’t really match or work well in my new spaces. Well, one of the non-working items got replaced this weekend because I bought myself a new shower curtain, white with sequins on it, totally girly! But I can get away with it; that is the beauty of living alone! But a new shower curtain means that none of my old bathroom accessories match, so I created a new wall hanging out of a bunch of old materials I already owned and came up with this Capiz Shell Art.

I had this framed piece of fabric hanging in my bathroom already so I used the frame, along with an old capiz shell garland that I have had for years. It was actually an after Christmas clearance find as TJ Maxx like 3 or 4 years ago. And some simple burlap to create this new bathroom art.

The frame is from the Goodwill, it is actually a cartoon puppy collage framed print originally from Target, but I got it at the goodwill a few years back because for $3.99. So I had already disassembled the frame once before. Framed prints often have the back of the frame covered in that brown paper stuff, but you can just use a razor blade to cut along the inside back of the frame to expose the staples that hold the back of the frame in place. Once they are exposed it is easy to bend them up and disassemble the frame to use it for something other then what was in it when you bought it. Buying ugly framed prints at a thrift store is a great way to get a nice large frame and mat for a very low price.

So for this project I just disassembled the frame again and removed the fabric that was in it. Then I cut a piece of burlap about a 1/2inche smaller than the frame on all sides and taped it onto the mat.

Then I cut all of the capiz shells and other sea shells free of the garland. It was really just a bunch of shells strung together with a long piece of fishing line so it was east to cut them all free. I also cut the top tabs off of the round sea shell things. The metal edge on these is just foil so it was easy to get under the little round tab and cut them free.

Next I arranged all of the shells on my burlap, making sure that everything was nicely spaces before I hot glued them all in place.

The last step is just reassembling the frame and hanging it back on the wall. Simple and easy and completely free because I already owned all of the materials! Now I have some new art in my bathroom which is a far better match then the previous one. Oh and I should mention that I LOVE capiz shells, and have for years and years, long before they were all the rage and everyone was hanging capiz chandeliers in their house. But now I am super excited to attempt one of those faux capiz chandeliers for my bathroom!

What do you think? Have you been framing anything that was not originally intended to be put in a frame? Or maybe you have reused some items that you have had around the house to create something new and fun? Share your projects in the comments I would love to see what everyone has been up to!

Chrissy

May Fashion Favorites

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It is a new month and summer is well on its way, finally! If you are here in Minnesota with me then you know that earlier this month we were all convinced that summer was on strike and we were all going to be stuck in perpetual winter. But the snow is officially gone and the weather is warm, and it is time for some May fashion favorites. So I put together a list of things that I am loving, and wishing I could add to my wardrobe this month, and of course I want to share it with all of you.

  1. Jean jackets are making a serious comeback this season, they always sort of live on the outskirts of “in style” somewhere between cool and grandma bit this year I have seen them in several places. This white cropped jean jacket is a nice alternative to the traditional colored denim. I found this one at Old Navy and it is currently on sale for only $25 bucks.
  2. Cork wedges are really a summer staple, well maybe they are second to flip flops, but I already have a hundred pairs of flip flops! I love the fin bright color of these strappy sling back wedges and because they are from Payless they won’t set you back too much cash. I am holding out for BOGO of course.
  3. This OPI polish just recently made it onto my “to buy” nail polish list. Seriously, I have a list in the notes section of my phone of polishes I covet. This one is from OPI’s Euro Centrale Collection and it is called My Paprika is Hotter than Yours! Looks like a lovely bright coral color to me.
  4. This sand colored lace embellished tank top is from my favorite plus size clothing store, SimplyBe.com. Simply Be is European fashion so there are always tons of cute things that are harder to locate here. I love easy yet but together-ness of this tank.
  5. A girl can never have too many earrings, the bigger the better really. This year I have been all about big statement earrings and finding new fun colors like these greens ones from Target is always fun
  6. I am in love with this purse from ModCloth! It is called the Savoir Faire Share bag and at $88.94 it continues to stay on the wish list. It is a great color for summer and has really cute lace detailing down the front.
  7. This last item is just for fun, cell phone cases are accessories right? So the total count as fashion When I was looking around on Urban Outfitters, which is one of my most favorite stores, I found this funny iPhone case with all the reasons coffee is amazing on it. I love coffee and am a strong believer that a good quality cup of coffee can make any day better!

There you have it my May fashion picks. Just some of the items I have been in love with this month and wishing I could add to my wardrobe. Is there something you have been repeatedly adding to your online cart and then later removing because you just couldn’t justify it, hello Savoir Faire Share bag. Share your most recent summer fashions loves in the comments, I would love to see what you are loving this month.

Chrissy

New Kid in Town

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There is a new kid in town, or rather, a new polish in my every growing nail polish collection… OPI You Don’t Know Jacques! If you remember this post where I shared with you my nail polish collection and current favorites as well shared the fact that I had been working on growing my collection after an episode of “I have been watching Horders all day and now I need to get rid of all of my things”. So I thought I would share with you one of my newest additions and why I love it.

OPI’s You Don’t Know Jacques! It is a nice stormy dark neutral brown color with gray undertones. Ideally it is a great color for fall, but I feel like I can rock it year around too. That and the color choices were limited where I got it. Let me explain. The beauty college here in town does, mostly sub-par, manicures for only twelve dollars. Why would I go there if the services are sub-par you ask? Well because you get to keep your polish! That is right, a twelve dollar manicure and you get to take home an eight dollar bottle of OPI polish with you. That is a great deal no matter how you are! Plus, sometimes you get lucky and get a really good student and end up with a great manicure.

That is why the color choices were limited when I got the last bottle of polish. They usually only have 5 to 10 colors to choose from. And of those I usually already own more than half of the colors. So, that limits the color choices for me. But it also forces me to take a risk and choose a color I maybe wouldn’t have normally picked out, like in this case.

There you have it my most recent nail polish purchase. Have you recently found a new color you are in love with? Or maybe found an adventurous way to get a new polish for your collection?

Chrissy

Thrifty Thursday: There’s a New Thrift Store in Town

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There is a new thrift store in town, and I have been impatiently awaiting its grand opening!! WACOSA Thriftworks opened on May 4th and if I hadn’t had an out of town wedding to attend that day you best believe that I would have been first in line at 8am to enjoy all the new thrifty goodness! You know I love thrift stores right? But Sunday morning my sister and I sat in the parking lot as the seconds ticked down to 11am so that we could be the first people in the store when the doors unlocked. Ok, so maybe we are a little crazy about thrifing, but we just love a good deal!

 

WACOSA is a non-profit that helps individuals with disabilities receive training and support that leads to rewarding employment. You can visit their website and learn all about them here. They have been a part of my community for many years and their new thrift store gives me an opportunity to support a great company with a great cause. And of course the opportunity to share more of my thrifting adventures with you. So let us dive in and see all the things I found at WACOSA Thriftworks.

The first thing that I spotted when I walked in was this beautiful handcrafted, hand glazed serving bowl. It was a good size and priced at only $4.99 it was really a steal! I really do not need another bowl, I have tons I already don’t get any use out of so I didn’t bring it home with me, but I have been regretting that decision all week so I may have to go back and get it. If it is still there that is.

I also found this cute little plate with little tiny birds painted along one edge. I think that it would be a really cute addition to a plate wall. I have been pinning hanging plate arrangements like a crazy person on Pinterest for the past several days and am now also very sad that I left this guy behind as well. At the time I just didn’t think that I had a use for him. It was marked at 50 cents people and I walked away without it. I was apparently practicing my restraint that day!

I think that this green vase with faux Gruber Daisies in it would make a super cute addition to a little patio furniture set It is perfect for summer with its bright colors. They were asking $3,99 for it which is a more then fair price, these things sell for more than triple that at the craft store and thins one was in perfect condition!

This Burts Bees gift set was also marked at $3.99, unopened with several full size products inside. We all know that Burts Bees can be on the spendy side so this was a great deal. I however am not a huge fan of Burts Bees so I left it behind. But my sister thought I was crazy for passing it up and she snatched it up in a second and brought it home with her.

There were two of these flocked damask patterned candle holders available. They don’t match any of my decore but in the right room they would be really pretty, especially when a lit candle illuminates that pattern. They were $2.99 each, a little higher then I would have expected, but they were in great condition.

The last item I found, and the one I actually brought home with me was this gold purse. It is by designer Kathy Van Zeland and I scored it for only $5.99 which is a really great deal. It just needed a little cleaning up and it was perfect. It is leather with flecks of gold; almost glitter in it with a solid gold leather strip down the center. And of course some cute silver studs and hardware. I have been looking for a new purse for months and you can’t beat a deal like this!

There you have it my latest thrift store adventure. I have to say that this new thrift store may be my new favorite, dare I say almost better than the goodwill? The prices are much lower and there was a better variety of unique item. Though the store is much smaller it is still one the best I have visited in a long while. Have you been visiting any thrift stores lately? Share your spoils in the comments; I want to know what you have scores and what you are sad you walked away from

Chrissy

Pinterest Challenge Spring Edition: Anchor Art

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Guess what?!? Yep, it’s that time again, time for the Pinterest challenge. In case you don’t know what the “Pinterest Challenge” is, or possibly you have forgotten, let me give you a little refresher. It is a challenge dreamed up by Sherry at Young House Love and Katie at Bower Power as a way to motivate themselves (and all of us) to stop pinning and start doing. And they have invited all of us to play along. You can read all about the Pinterest Challenge here on YHL or here on Bower Power. This time they have also invited Emily from Sparkle Meets Pop and Renee from Red Bird Blue to co-host with them as well so be sure to pop over and check out their amazing blogs and challenge items. You can also see our previous Pinterest Challenge items here and here.

So without further ado… I bring you the Pinterest Challenge Spring Edition!

This time I decided to put my own spin on an artsy idea I saw on this pin. But instead of creating an animal silhouette I wanted to create an anchor. I have been obsessed with nautical things lately and all things anchors. So I created this Anchor Art.

I already had a white 8×8 frame on hand that I picked up at the craft store on sale a while back, it was just sitting in the craft closet begging for something to fill it up. In fact I had all of the materials for this projects on hand, an old magazine, mod podge and a foam brush. The only thing I had to look for was a picture of an anchor to use. I just did a google image search for “anchor silhouette” and found this free one here. I printed it on normal printer paper and was ready to get started.

I pulled pages out of my magazine, trying to find pages that had bright fun colors on the. Then I used a paper cutter to cut them into strips. I cut a total of 5 or 6 pages up, I needed FAR less then that but I wanted to be sure that I would have a good variety of colors to choose from. Plus, I knew I would not want to use the areas of the page that only had writing on them so that meant there were a lot of areas of my magazine pages which I deemed unusable.

Then I cut the long strips info varying sizes of rectangles. Leaving me with a pile of paper strips, I picked out all the fun colored ones and tossed the rest aside.

I then started attaching them to my paper with the anchor on it. I applied them staggered to the back of the paper, the printed anchor on the other side. I made sure the line up the edges so that none of the paper showed through my magazine clipping.

Once the entire anchor area was covered I sealed the entire thing with mod podge and let it dry; leaving me with something that looked like this.

Then I used the black printed anchor which is now on the back of my creation as a guide to cut out my anchor. Using this tiny little kid’s scissors, which I have seriously had for over 2 decades, I love how little it is for cutting in small areas like this. Is just gives me more control. It is pretty dull at this point so maybe I should invest in a new one?

Then I glued my anchor to a white square piece of paper, and glued the square to a piece of burlap and placed the whole thing in my frame to create this inexpensive Anchor Art.

I want to thank all of our lovely hosts for making this Pinterest Challenge possible, and please remember to scroll back up to the top and visit each of them and see what they made for the challenge! Did you participate in the Spring Pinterest challenge? Share you links in the comments, I would love to see what each of you tackled!

Chrissy

Make Something Monday: Workout Incentive Jar

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A few weeks ago, more like several, my brother asked me to make him a workout incentive jar. Something to help keep him motivated to reaching his fitness goals. After some searching around for some inspiration, on my most favorite place to find inspiration, pinterest of course, I found this pin. The thought is that you set several small goals for yourself along the road of getting to your end fitness goal. Then every time you complete a workout you add one dollar to the jar. The balance in the jar continues to grow with every workout and when you reach your next goal you use the money to treat yourself to something special in celebration of reaching your next goal.

Making this jar is incredibly easy, takes only a few materials, and maybe 20 minuets tops. The hardest part was picking the fonts you want to use. Seriously, choosing a font was the longest part of the process for me.

All you need is a jar, the one I used if from Wal-Mart. I have no idea how much it costs because my brother provided it for the project since the jar is for him. Along with a couple pieces of craft paper in any colors you desire.

The first step is printing the words on to your paper “Working On My Fitness” and “Each Workout: $1”, I used a font called “sports golf” for the working on my fitness part it was part of a free font download that I got forever ago. But you can use any font you want. If I were making this jar for myself I would have chosen a girlier font. But my brother really enjoys golf and I have a feeling that his rewards for reaching his goals may be golf related. Then for the smaller each workout $1 font I just used “comic sans” it seemed to work well with the golf font. I printed it on to my lighter blue craft paper. I had to cut down the 12 x 12 craft paper so that I it would fit into the printer.

Then I cut down the light blue paper with the print on it down to a square that would fit well on to the front of my jar. Depending on the size of your jar you may need to make this larger or smaller than mine.

Then I attached the light blue paper to the navy blue paper and cut this down as well.

Leaving me with this 2 toned paper sign/label to attach to the jar. Because my jar is for a boy I just left it straight and perfectly square like this. If I were making the jar for myself I probably would have used a craft scissors to cut a scallop edge on one of the papers, who are we kidding I probably would have made the entire thing out of glitter, but a scalloped edge would look nice too.

Lastly I just used hot glue to attach the paper to the center of the jar. That is it, simple and easy and ready for the singles. I like this incentive jar idea, it is sort of like a piggy bank but every time you look at it and it’s growing pile of money you know that you truly earned every one of those dollars, you earned them with sweat and hard work… I may just have to make one of these jars for myself as well.

Chrissy

Pump Up the Volume: got 2b POWDER’ful review

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In case you didn’t know, I have a serious problem/addiction to hair care products. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that I have 5 different kinds of shampoo in my shower. And a million styling product many of which I have not even gotten to a half-way point on and already I have something else I want to try. It is an addiction; I am just always finding something new and exciting I want to try. So you can imagine my excitement when I received the opportunity to try out got 2b’s new product POWDER’ful Volumizing Styling Powder. Let just say I may or may not have gotten all giddy and there may or may not have been a little dance done at the mail box when the package arrived.

This is not the first styling powder I have tried, there are several on the market right now ranging from high-end salon brands to drug store, and I have tried several of them. Some are better than others, and because I kind of knew what to expect from the product I felt like I could give it a fair review. The got 2b POWDER’ful claims to offer instant volume, root lift, texture and control in 10 seconds.

Here is what my hair looks like prior to styling with the got 2b POWDER’ful. Wash, dried and styled as normal. I typically use a Kenra heat protectant spray, which also helps hold your style and hairspray. If I am feeling extra adventurous or fancy I sometimes add a little texturizing balm too. But today I went with just the usually heat protectant and hairspray.

Then I just followed the directions on the back of the box, adding the powder to the roots and working in for added volume. My initial reaction to the product is that it is sandier/grittier then other powders I have tried. Most of the others were closer to a baby powder consistency making it really easy to apply the powder to your hair, and it would stay put till you worked it in. Because this powder is heavier and less fluffy it is a little messier than others I have tried. It  was not a huge problem for me, but if you are someone who have never tried a volumizing powder before you may not necessarily know the best application methods for your hair and I can foresee this product being a little too messy for some people.

Here is the after photo. You can see that it does add volume to the roots and I say that it definitely adds texture. I have very fine hair and it is pretty flat most of the time so anything that will add some volume is a win for me.

Over all I would give this product like a 7 out of 10. It is very comparable in performance to the salon brand styling powders that I have tried, maybe a little less lasting. The only thing I didn’t love about it was the texture of the actual powder and I can probably over look for the smaller price tag in comparison to higher end brands. I think that anyone who routinely backcombs their hair would love this product and the added texture and staying power it provides. Seriously with this stuff and a small toothed comb anyone can get the Snooki bump!

This is a sponsored post by got 2b and BzzAgent.com. I received these products at no charge in exchange for my thoughts and opinions on their performance. Being a BzzAgent means you are a member of a group of enthusiastic individuals who help generate Bzz about products and services. All of the thoughts and opinions on this product are my own.

Chrissy

Make Something Monday: Paper Flowers

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On Sunday I shared a picture of a paper flower that I had made for day 28 of our 30 Day “Photog Wanna Be” Challenge. Because day 28 was supposed to be a picture of flowers, and there are no flowers showing their pretty little faces outside here in Minnesota yet. I made a little paper flower to photograph for the challenge. Today I am going to share with you how I created this little paper flower.

These flowers are probably one of the more simple items I have crafted recently, and it is all thanks to a ek tools dimension flower punch. I found mine at TJ Maxx for $3.99, but I am sure you can find one, and probably many others at the crafts store. I also was able to locate the exact one I used on Amazon for $12.05, so if you would like to make these flowers and can’t find the punch at your craft store you can get it here.

I used some printed and plain craft paper for my flowers, along with some turbo tacky glue (it dries way faster than the original) and the flower punch from ek tools.

I started by punching a strip of petals along one entire side of a 12 x 12 piece of craft paper.

Leaving me with something that looks like this. So I trimmed off the end of the strip so it was no longer attached to the large sheet of paper along with cutting off the one ½ punched petal at the end of the strip.

I punched a total of three petal strips per flower. For the red and white one, which is my favorite, I actually punched four total strips two red and two printed. The printed craft paper is really thin and flimsy like regular printer paper so it worked to use four total strips whereas the other thicker craft paper would be difficult to manage with more than three strips.

Then I glues 2 of the stripe together one on top of the other so that the petals are staggered like this. I tried to be sure that I got glue on only the straight part and not on the actual petals.

Then I glued my third strip of petals to the end of my overlapped piece.

After I had let the glue dry for a bit I wrapped the strip of petals (now one long strip since they are all glued together) around a small paint brush, a pencil would work too but the smaller the item the better. Starting with the end of the strip that is just a single strip of petals. I used double sided craft paper so one side has this weird orange pattern on it while the other is gray with white dots. Be sure that when wrapping the side you want your flower to be is in the inside.

Once the entire strip is wrapped up I glued down the tail end to secure the flower into this round shape.

Then I simply pulled down each of the petals individually. With the thicker paper is easy to pull and fold down the petals, but with the thinner papers it is important to be gentle because I ripped one of two of the petals and had to glue them back into place.

Once all the petals are folded down you are left with this clue little paper flower. I think that is would make a super cute homemade bow that you could add to gifts. Or even a really cute hair flower if attached to a headband or clip, though I don’t know how long that would actually last, it is paper after all. But because it is pretty simple to make I could easily just make new ones when the old ones got yucky.

I only have this one flower making punch, but while I was looking around for a link for you I found that ek tools actually has several flower making punches available! So I may have to invest in a few more! Have you been crafting any flowers lately, of the paper variety or otherwise?

Chrissy

Friday Favorites: Spring Projects

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Summer is right around the corner and when springtime hits, if you are live in Minnesota with me you know that spring has been on strike and is unseasonable late this year. So in other words… in my neck of the woods springtime arrived yesterday, literally! It is finally warming up outside and I am itching to get out there and enjoy the nice weather. Along with finally enjoying some fresh air spring has always been the time of year when I crave fun new things and flowers. So I thought I would share with you some of the great things I have been loving with some projects perfect for springtime.

A DIY Spring Wreath Tutorial

From: Ashley’s Dandelion Wishes

This adorable paper covered wreath is perfect for spring! It looks like cute little flowers and is bright spring colors it would make a perfect addition to my wreath collection. I have a few and several more wreath ideas in the works. I definitely bookmarked this cute one for future reference!

Flower Matchbox Tutorial

From: A Southern Lady’s Ramblings

I just love the paper flower and fun colors she used for this cute little box. She used a Silhouette to cut out the flower; I don’t have one of those, not yet anyway. But I think that this paper flower is a perfect representation of spring and I am sure if I tried hard enough I could find a way to make one without the Silhouette, but if you are lucky enough to already be the proud owner of one of these cutting machines you should take on this project. I can think of all sorts of uses for this happy flower.

Mini Lemon Cheesecakes with fresh berries

From Chocolate Chocolate and More

There is just something about spring that has me craving fresh barriers and who wouldn’t love them paired with cheesecake? I am not really someone who loves to bake, in fact I rarely do it, but these little delicious looking morsels have me thinking I may just take up a new hobby. Yum!

Tapered Crate

From: My Love 2 Create

Spring cleaning is a big part of spring and for me that means really cleaning out all of the closets, drawers, random storage spaces. Little boxes like this are a great way to stash stuff without it looking like you literally just piles a bunch of random stuff on a shelf for storage. I think every spring my storage box, bin and tray collection increases as I “spring clean”… more like find a neater way to hide all my stuff!

Fixing Up the Dining Room Chairs- A Sort of Tutorial

From: 24 Cottonwood Lane

I have been on the hunt for a couple of old dining room chairs to make over all winter with no luck. But now that the weather is getting nice here in Minnesota that means that flee market season is right around the corner and my luck will turn around, I hope. This tutorial is filled with great information on refinishing old chairs, including some “what not to do” tips.

Spring Spruce Up: Painted Tray

From Craftivity Designs

This painted tray is right up my alley, you know how I feel about chevrons! I love the bright colors. Bringing in fun colors in something like a tray is the perfect way to add a little fun your home just in time for spring.

There you have it some of my favorite projects for spring. From painting to baking these projects have my creativity swirling and ready to tackle the next big project. Are there any particular projects, colors or items that remind you of spring? Or have you made an attempt at any of these projects? Share your links in the comments we would love to see what you have been up to this season!

Chrissy