Stickers & Stencils

I want to share two of my little collections today.  I love stickers and stencils.  I'll save a sheet of stickers for years and years, and stencils are great because they can be used over and over again forever.  

I keep my stencils in this plastic suitcase.  I got it when I was a kid.  Rose Art made it for a mass collection of stickers and stationary.  I put the stickers on the front when I bought it.  For some reason I haven't added any new stickers since then.  Maybe I should do that after this post!

These are a few of my favorite stencils.  I love to use strange found items as stencils like that octopus, he is meant to be a book marker.  There are more awesome stencils that go with the set of four that match in the upper right pic.  They came from a Tupperware party my mom hosted when I was a kid.  I have a hard time resisting buying architectural stencils.  Did you have a Spirograph?  I kept mine, and the book too.  :)  

I keep my stickers in a three ring binder from Office Depot.  I separate them in clear plastic sleeves.  I hoard stickers, and love to find new places to buy them.  I barely ever use my stickers.  I don't want to use them and then wear them out or never see them again.  Yet I still want to buy more, even though they mostly just sit in this binder.  

This is a good representation of the mixture I have.  On the top left are stickers from Shop Kawaii.  Fantastic shop for cute things.  I also bought folders from there, but they were stolen!  They sell all sorts of things, little bags, mugs, stationary, notebooks, and other awesome cute office/home things.  The top right stickers are from my first cross country trip with my mom.  We stopped at the Biltmore Estate, and I bought these as my momentum.  The bottom left is my Christmas Paperchase stickers.  I absolutely love Paperchase products.  I wish that they were more widely available in the states.  The bottom right stickers are my favorite animal/insect stickers I own.  The animal stickers on the top are puffy.  I was given them as a present, and I'm not sure I will ever use them.  I love them too much to use them (maybe I could frame them)!  Those insect stickers are just plain awesome!  They came from a big pack of scrapbook stickers I got on sale from Michael's a few years back.  

I've saved both of these stickers for a LOOOONG time.  I don't think I need to explain the Care Bears or My Little Ponies stickers.  The gold toilets are my absolute all time favorite.  They are from a Rugrat's book, about Tommy learning how to use the potty.  

Hope you enjoyed my little collections.  I got the idea to share this collection from one of my favorite blogs The Dainty Squid.  Happy DIYing, chris.

Friday Finds

I'm super tired from this long work week, so I think I'm going to take a page from some of my favorite bloggers, and share some of the things I've been wishing for.  

First I have some sunglasses from Urban Outfitters.  Love this color combo.  I'm so happy my fave colors are in style right now. :)

Love this bow ring from ModCloth.  I don't wear much jewelry, but this would be a fun piece to own.    

Another cute ModCloth item.  These shoes are too cute.  Love the heart buckle, and the different shape cut outs.  Do I even need to mention I love the mint?

I use a tea spoon every morning, and this would definitely bright my day (from Anthropologie).

Great rocking chair from Anthropologie.  

Love the pattern on this dress from Asos.

  

Hope you enjoyed my finds!  Happy Friday, and have a great weekend, chris!!

Perfectionist Need Not Apply

I had a super long work day today.  I left the house at 6:45AM and I didn't get home from work until 6:45PM!  I knew today was going to be a long day, and I had planned a DIY to have ready for today.  However, the best laid plans don't always come to fruition.  The first project I had planned, I never bought the materials for, but that's a whole other story.  My back up project I thought I had enough materials for, but it turns out I need twice as much as I thought I would.  I don't want to spend too much on this project, so I'm waiting to collect enough material to complete this one. Either way it's a pretty cool DIY, so I'm going to share what I've gotten done thus far.  A little warning though these photos are TERRIBLE, don't judge, I live in a dungeon.  Just kidding, my parent's house is lovely it's just rather dark in our family room.  

I saw this great rag banner on pinterest, and though I don't have a wedding to use this for, I knew this project would look great in a whole bunch of places.  Like over our fire place during the warm months.  Our fireplace isn't the most attractive feature in this home, so I wanted something bright and fun to hide it with.  This will only work for the warm months when we aren't using the fireplace, but hopefully we will be in our own home before we want to have a fire again!  I started by figuring out where I wanted my hooks for the rope, and putting them in place.  Then I played with the way the rope hung, until I found the most visually appealing spacing.  

Once I was happy with the rope I cut it to length, and tied slipknots at each end.

Then I cut up three t-shirts, a tank top, two pillow cases, and a yard or so of fabric.  I cut them into varying lengths and widths, because this is definitely a project that looks better if I don't let my OCD tendencies get the better of me. :)  Perfectionist need not apply to this project!  My pieces ranged from 1.5 inches to 3.5 inches wide, and 8 to 22 inches long.  After  I cut everything up mixed all the pieces together.  That way as I tied the strips of fabric onto the rope, I could just reach into the pile and grab a random piece.  

This is how it looks after I tied most of the pieces on. I ended up with more orange and the green patterned fabric than anything else, so I still have those left over.  To tie the pieces on you just simply tie them on at the middle, and then slide them into place.  You can play with the spacing to get the look you'd like, and if you'd like to trim any of your pieces when your done you can do that too.  

Sorry about these awful pictures.  This is a super weird angle.  I was standing on a chair leaning against that lamp you can see in the first photo.  l like the way this is looking so far.  To add in the new fabric I'm going to slide the pieces on there around, and add in the new colors evenly dispersed through out.  I went to Goodwill and bought a couple shirts to add in, but I only got two and I still spent five dollars.  i don't want to spend more than 20 - 30 dollars on this project, so I'm going to wait until I naturally gather cheap fabric.  So this is on the back burner for the foreseeable future.  I hope you enjoyed what I've gotten done so far, even with the less than perfect photos. :)

Happy DIYing, chris

Here are some better photos of the rag banner.  I added the two new shirts I bought at Goodwill, and spaced the rages a little further apart.  It still looks awesome, and now I can use it for this spring!  xoxo, chris!

A New Attempt at a Nail-Do

A while back I said I wouldn't post another nail-do post.  I tend to have a lot more frustrations with painting my nails, than I have successes.  However, today I was actually successful in pulling off a really cute paint job on my nails!  

I'm totally loving this look!  I didn't even realize when I got dressed in the dark at five this morning I picked out an outfit that matched my nails perfectly.  My sweater matched the bottom coat which is Sally Hansen's Mint Xtreme wear nail polish.  

You can't see in these photos, but I have a tank top on that matches the triangles (Sally's The Real Teal).  I made the triangles with masking tape.  I finally learned that it is completely essential that your bottom coat of paint be dry before applying the tape.  It may even be wise to just paint your nails a solid color and go for that look for a day, and then add the triangles later.  You could even use the triangles to give new life to old chipping nail-dos.  

I made the pink dots with Sally's Bubblegum Pink, which was perfect with my work polo.  I dabbed the nail paint brush on a piece of junk mail, then I dipped a paper clip into the wet paint splotch, and used that to apply the pink to my nails.  Super simple, even I could pull this off!  I love these colors together, I'm so glad I bought these.  Maybe one day I buy grown up nail polish from Ulta, like some China glaze ... 

or maybe this Butter stuff. :)  

Well hope ya'll enjoyed.  I have a super long day tomorrow.  Not sure how much I will feel like posting when I get home.  Until then, happy DIYing, chris!  

P.S.  If you want better instructions on how to paint triangles on your nails, check out this post Dainty Squid did a while back.  I found it while I was trying to get some nail photo inspiration.  

Berry Sweet Tea

I'm ready for long hot days in the sun, and cold sweet fruity drinks!  I love tea, and in the winter I like it hot and unadulterated with sugar or milk.  However, in the summer I revert to my days as a kid craving sweaty glasses of sweet tea.  Since my taste in tea has matured, so has my taste for sweet tea.  Lipton's powder mix will no longer suffice.  This past weekend I mixed up this little number, and I'm in sweet tea heaven!  

The leftover strawberries from yesterday's Strawberry and Cream Muffins was the main motivation behind this recipe idea.  I wanted to add a little more fruit to my tea, so I also bought some lemons and blackberries.  I started off by making 8 cups of hot tea with Lipton's Organic Black Tea bags (one bag for each cup of water).  While it was hot I added a cup of sugar, and let it dissolve.  

While the tea was steeping and the sugar melting, I cut the strawberries and blackberries into small bits.  Next, I cut a lemon in half, and then I cut two slices into small triangles.  I squeezed the lemon halves into the hot tea, and let the wedges float on top.  

Once everything was ready, I put four ice cubes in a glass and poured the tea over them.  I dropped a handful of the berries into the cup and squeezed some honey over them.  I can never get enough honey!  Mmm, this tea is tasty.  I will be drinking this all summer long!  If you don't like your tea to be super sweet, you can skip the sugar, and just add some honey to each glass when serving.  

Happy Tuesday and happy DIYing, chris 

Strawberry Cream Muffins

Last week we celebrated my brother getting engaged!  We had dinner at our house, and I made Strawberry and Cream Muffins.  Not sure how I found this on the internet, probably pinterest.  They didn't turn out as pretty as Jane's Sweets.  Her food photos are definitely drool worthy.  Even though they weren't all that pretty, they tasted fantastic.  I'll try this again, and maybe next time they'll come out prettier!  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

*for the muffin mix (will make about 12 - 14 regular sized muffins)

-  1 cup of whole milk (we didn't have any so I used 2/3 cup of 2% milk and 1/3 cup of half-and-half)

- 1/2 cup unsalted soft butter

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

- 2 large eggs

- 2 cups all purpose flour

- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar

- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup strawberries (the redder the better!) diced into tiny pieces

*for the cream cheese layer

- 4 ounces of cream cheese softened

- 1 1/2 tablespoon of an egg that has been lightly beaten

- 1/3 cup granulated sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Begin by heating your oven up to 400º F.  Line your muffin pan with paper liners.  Clean and cut up your fresh strawberries;  set them aside.  

Now mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese layer in a small bowl.  Don't worry if it's a little lumpy, set aside but do not refrigerate.  

Next mix together the muffin batter.  Start with a saucepan on low heat and melt the butter down.  Then add the vanilla and almond extracts, and the milk.  Stir until throughly mixed together.  Remove from heat and let cool, then stir in the eggs.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Then make a well in the center of the dry mixture, and pour the ingredients from the saucepan in.  Mix together, but be sure not to over mix.  Again it's okay to have some lumps.  

This is the tricky part.  I always have a hard time with portion, and I think that's why my muffin's aren't as photogenic.  Fill the muffin cups ONLY half way with the muffin batter.  It's better to be a little under halfway then over!  Then drop in a few strawberries.  Now add a tablespoon and a half of the cream cheese mixture.  Top off with the remaining muffin batter and a few more strawberries, but be sure not to overfill!  

Generously sprinkle sugar over the tops just before you stick them in the oven. 

Cook for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned on the tops, a toothpick through the middle should come out (mostly) clean.  I think I could have left my muffins in for slightly longer, but they were still very tasty.  We ate them straight out of the oven, and the muffins stuck to the paper a bit.  I think some people ate their's with a fork.  

There were a couple left over, and I ate one the next day.  I think it may tasted even better the next day!  Plus, the muffin was no longer sticking to the paper.  

These would be a great thing to make on the weekends, and to take to work for a quick morning breakfast.  Plus your left with a bunch of fresh strawberries, because this recipe barely uses half a pint of strawberries.  I'll have a great suggestion for your left over strawberries in tomorrow's post!

Cricket's Seven Month Anniversary

Yesterday was Cricket's seven month mark since her cancer diagnosis.  She's been putting up a good fight, but this past month her cancer has been the hardest on her yet.  It's hard to deny that our time is limited.  Everyday is a little harder than the last.  Aaron and I realize that we will be making a very difficult decision soon.  We are struggling with knowing when the time is right.  We don't want our lovely cat to suffer more than necessary, but we also don't want to end things for her too early.

Let's think of the good days though. She's has been the best cat I could have ever hoped for.  She does all sorts of tricks, and she's just so darn cute.  She's super patient.  Meaning she'll put up with just about anything just for some lovin'.  Cricket cuddles when you need it the most, and just fills my days with joy and love.  Plus she does some random weird stuff, like sitting on the toilet, that just makes you say "what??? why???".

This is her pre-feeding trick.  She eats breakfast and dinner everyday, and she does this trick every time. 

Sometimes we call Cricket Chicken.  Either way she'll come when called.  She'll sit when told, and she even knows what kisses are!  

This is Chicken last month.  She is extra cute in the first couple seconds of this super short video.  

I'm going to go spend more time with my little darling.  I hope ya'll enjoyed how cute Cricket is.  I have some great posts planned for this week!  Happy DIYing, chris!