Sharpie Art on a Clipboard

Hey guys!  This is what I worked on today:

I use a clipboard at work, and I didn't want a boring plain clipboard, but I didn't want to pay for a 'designer' clipboard.  I used fine point Sharpies in fun colors.  I also used a stencil for the triangles in the center.  Everything else was free hand.  I put about four to five hours into.  Of course with bathroom and stretching breaks.  Those little pink dots took a long time.  I'll definitely be putting a few more hours into this tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll at least finish the back.  

Happy DIYing.

Kitty Window Perch

For today's DIY I wanted to do something for my cat.  She loves to look out the window, but there aren't any great kitty perches in the rooms she likes to occupy.  i wanted to put up a shelf for her, but I wanted to add some padding so it would be soft and warm to sit on.  This project cost me a total of three dollars!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- Small Ikea shelf

- 2 Ikea shelf brackets

- 1 Urban Outfitters' reusable shopping bag

- Batting

- Needle & thread

- Scissors

- Staple Gun

- Proper screws and screw driver

Directions:

Start by folding your batting to fit over your shelf.  Double it over once or twice to make a soft cushion.  Then center inside the Urban Outfitters' reusable shopping bag.  Stitch along the seam to hold the batting in place.  Now fold the handles in, and sew the top closed.  

Place the bag pillow on the ground, and center the shelf over it placing it down on top of it.  Pull the sides of the bag around the side facing you, and staple down both edges.  If you  have trouble with the staples going through, use a hammer to finish the job. 

Now attach one of the ikea brackets an inch from the end. 

Next attach the other bracket.

Finally, attach the shelf under the window with the proper screws and screw gun.  Use the window to keep it level.

Now you kitty can enjoy!

Look outside and look oh so cute.

Or easier head level kitty lovin'!  

Hope you enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

Large Candle Upgrade

Today was my first full day of work this year.  I photographed 267 different people today!  It's kinda hard to get back into the groove of things.  Tomorrow I have to wake up at 4AM for my job!  Thus, I needed today's DIY to be simple, and not too time consuming.  My husband works at Pier1, and he was able to get these two gigantic candles superbly discounted.  They are on the boring side of things though, so I decided to add some character to one for now.  

Here is what the candle looked like to start off:

Then I made a pattern on the bottom with some silver tacks.  I've had these tacks lying around since college.  I graduated in 2006, and they've just been sitting in their container since then!  I even moved them from Vermont, to Delaware, to California, and back to Delaware again!  It's good they've finally found some use! 

 The real crafty part was carving the flower in the wax!  I used this tool I have that I don't know what it is, but it's super useful.  There is a construction tool called an awl, and it's similar to that but pointier.  This makes a lot of wax shavings.  Making this on the messy side of crafty-fun-time-projects.  

Hope you enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

January In Numbers!

Today, I focused on organizing my blog.  I didn't put much thought into organizing when I started this thing, and so it took a long time to sort through it all.  I added a few tabs to the top.  Hopefully this will help people navigate around my site.  Maybe I'll get a little more action now!  Ha!  On the blog silly!  

I'm not computer illiterate, but I wouldn't describe myself as blog savvy.  I have big ideas of how I would like this place to look, but I do what I can.  I'm sure there was probably a better way to organize my tabs, but it was the first way I came up with.  I added a page for each category I wanted to sort all my DIY posts into.   Then, on each page I added a photo of the finished project and a link to the DIY post.  Not all of my projects made it into a tab.  I haven't decided what I want to do about that.  I may just let it go.  Eventually I will have a ton of things in each of these categories, and the couple I missed at the beginning wont be noticed.  

I also spent the day working on some photo collages.  I've noticed on some blogs and on pinterest, that the widely distributed photos tend to be well put together photo montages explaining their how-to process.  I also discovered Julie Kirk's My Month In Numbers board, and that got my brain going.  Which lead me to making some collages to demonstrate my numbers.  So here is my first try at "My Month in Numbers"

JANUARY IN NUMBERS:

- 31 blog posts, one everyday, which resulted in ...

- 18 completed projects!

1. Handmade Calendar; 2. Blue Cheese, Tomato Mac & Cheese; 3. Braided T-shirt Bracelet; 4. Green Multi-manicure; 5. Painted Planter; 6. Homemade Modge Podge; 7. Standard Envelope; 8. Braided Chain Bracelet; 9. Organizing Seed Collection; 10. Crayon Hearts; 11. Liquid Laundry Detergent; 12. Wax Paper Hearts; 13. Matchstick Holder; 14. Basket Update; 15. Personalized notebook & gift wrapping; 16. Valentine's Crayon Hearts; 17. Slutty Brownies; 18. Paper Pulp Seed Cups

- 5 is the number of months my cat has survived her cancer diagnosis.  We are so happy to still have her with us!  When she was diagnosed, she was only given 2-3 months, and six months as a best case super unlikely scenario.  She still has an appetite, and doesn't spend the whole day sleeping, so we are really hoping she can at least make it to her six month mark.  She has lived a pretty great full life, so when it is her time we are prepared to let her go.  Though it will be beyond hard either way.  We adopted her from a shelter in november of 2007.  The shelter guessed her to be around 7-9 years old.  She is an amazing cat that loves to cuddle, comes when she's called, likes to do tricks, and told how beautiful she is.  We cherish every day we get with her.  

- 90 is the dollar amount I was able to lower my monthly car payments by refinancing my car loan.  

-It took 4 banks to find a person to person interaction to refinance my car, instead of that terrible over-the-phone service it seems every other bank has to offer.  

-270 miles I've been paid to drive for work. 

-10 the number of days I've worked this month.  I told you this is my slow season! 

-4 is how many schools I've gone to for work.  I'm a school photographer.  Some months I'll go to over 15 schools.  

-2 parties- my mom's birthday brunch, and my brother's graduation party.  

-84 is how old my grandfather turned this month.  

I think that is a good start!  Hope you all enjoyed.  Oh and I added some stamps to February's calendar.  

Happy DIYing!

Seed Starters out of Paper Pulp

Spring is in the air, and with that in mind I have gardening on the brain!  So, I made some seed starter pots out of junk mail.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- Shredded Paper

- Water

- Blender

- Muffin tin

Directions:

Begin by filling a blender with handfuls of shredded paper.  If you don't have a paper shredder you can just rip your paper up into small squares.  Ripping the paper up works best, because it exposes the paper's fibers.  

Now pour a little bit of warm water into the blender.  Don't pour much in, you can always add more water if needed.  

Blend the paper and water on high.  You'll need to stop after 30 seconds, and push the pieces on the sides down.

This is what it should look like when it's done mixing.  The color of your paper pulp will be different, depending on the color of the paper you begin with.  I had a bit of black paper in there, so my pulp is on the darker side.  

Then drain off as much water as possible.  I used a thin rag to strain the water through.  Now lop clumps of paper pulp into your muffin tin.  A heaping tablespoon full should do the trick.  One blender full should be enough to fill one muffin tray of 12.  

Starting in the center press the pulp down, and work your way out to the sides.  Then start pushing the pulp up the sides, and press the paper making it an even thickness all around.  

When you have finished shaping the seed starter cups, carefully use a paper towel to soak up the moisture on the bottom.  Then let the cups sit for at least 24 hours, or until they feel dry to the touch.  It's best to keep them in a dry, warm, and bright place.  

I'll post some photos when I have some seeds growing in them!  Happy DIYing!

EDIT: After waiting for 24 hours the cups were not fully dry, so I decided to try sticking them in the oven.  220 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour seemed to do the trick.  They slid right out when I took them out of the oven.  The outside is extra smooth.  I have to say I am mighty impressed with myself on this one.  

Check out how they cups are doing with some seeds growing in them! Thanks for visiting, chris!

Slutty Brownies

Today I baked Slutty Brownies.  They are to die for amazing!  You combine chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and brownies together to get the easiest, filthiest, brownie you will ever try.  Perfect with a cold glass of milk ... mmmm.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 box of brownie mix (this is what my brownie mix called for)

- 2 eggs

- 1/3 C oil

- 1/3 C water

1 box of chocolate chip cookie mix (this is what my brownie mix called for)

- 1 egg

- 1 Cup of butter (one stick)

1 box of Oreos (I used double stuffed)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Begin by buttering a 9x9 pan, and then coating with sugar, this will keep the dessert from sticking.  Mix your chocolate chip cookies according to the box instructions.  Feel free to make your cookies from scratch.  I had never noticed that you could buy a chocolate chip cookie mix before, so I wanted to see how it would turn out.  Once you've mixed up the cookie dough evenly spread in the bottom of your 9x9 pan. 

Evenly place your Oreos on top of the cookie dough.  I wanted to try out peanut butter Oreos, but my husband insisted on the double stuffed creme kind.  

Now mix up your brownies according to the box directions.  Of course you can always make your own brownie mix instead!  When it's thoroughly combined, pour over the Oreo's and evenly spread to the edges using a spatula.  

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or according to the directions for your brownie mix.   Let cool before serving.

They will be ultra gooey.  

Be aware not to over cook the chocolate chip cookie on the bottom.   The cookie has a shorter cooking time than the brownies on top.  If you leave the dessert in longer to cook the top, the bottom will dry out.  

Every last bite is simply amazing!  You'll be licking your plate!

Hope you enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

Heart Crayon Valentines

Today I created the tags for my heart crayon valentines.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- 2 3/4" Marking Tags

- Letter stamps

- Pink ink pad w/matching pen

- Scissors 

- Twine

Directions:

Decide what you want your tags to say.  I chose to go with "Have a colorful Valentine's Day" and "You color my world".  Play with a couple tags first to get the placement correct.  Once you are ready lay out five tags at a time, and stamp your first letter on each tag. 

Spell out the rest of your phrase.

On the back of my tags I used a stamp that says "created with <3", and then I signed my name.  I think the pink ink came out better.  

When you need a break from stamping, wrap twine around a heart crayon and tie on a finished tag.   

Now you have some lovely valentines to give out!

Happy DIYing!