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Week 1 of DIY Challenge

Thoughts so far.

Distinctly harder than I thought, but very proud I am sticking with it. My plan of attack was to plan quick and easy projects for the weeknights, knowing full well how tired I would be after a long day at work, and leave the slightly more involved and time-consuming projects for the weekend. Surprisingly some of the hardest days for me to get the projects done were the weekend days. As it turns out when the weather is super freezing, sometimes you want to be lazy all day.

#30daysofDIY

What this challenge comes down to (for me) are the mental roadblocks I hit when taking on a project. I am a chronic over-thinker and I have a terrible ability to talk myself out of an idea for the stupidest of reasons. This tendency gets worse if I haven’t eaten recently or haven’t gotten enough sleep. My brain needs to be firing on all cylinders to produce a decent idea. So, my solution for getting over the brain barrier is to have a list of ideas to jump-start the creative process and try to re-wire my perception of these DIYs as stress relievers, not inducers. Who wouldn’t want to craft the night away after a long day of meetings?! Also, snacks.

My second hurdle is self-inflicted… however, it is also the origin of the idea for this challenge. I am stuck working with what I have got. Which means when I see a cute idea on Pinterest, I can’t run out and spend $40 on supplies that I will use half of and shove back into a corner of the craft room. It is time to clear out and save money! This also means we can look forward to a lot of sewing DIYs because sister has a lot of fabric laying around. What can I say, I acquired that habit from my mother.

Lastly, I want to touch on my vision for the future of this challenge. I hope that this exercise will teach me that working on something I am passionate about daily will really bring it to the forefront of my mind. Also forcing myself to select a project every day, get it done, and posted to Instagram has reminded me how little time is needed to get some projects done. I mean, I hung onto two mending projects for a loooong time and ended up spending a total of 30 minutes finishing them both up. That is a lesson I hope stays with me in the future when I really don’t feel like hemming that skirt. Just do it, and it won’t be hanging over your head for 3 years every time you walk into the craft room.

Here’s to another week of DIY!

~Sarah

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New Year, New Challenges!

Happy New Year!

Hi there. I know it’s been awhile. I can give you a long list of excuses why I’ve been absent, but I’ll save you the effort of pulling out your tiny violin. The important bit is that I am here now, and fueled with the energy of the New Year and all those lofty resolutions everyone is making. Mine comes in the form of a 30-day challenge on my Instagram. Thirty days of DIY.

This is in part because I have been away from the blog for so long and I feel like a bit of a challenge will help me pull focus as well as add fuel to my creative fire. Also, I am trying to tidy and consolidate my craft room. What better way to accomplish this than a “stash busting challenge!!!” This means not only am I going to craft or DIY everyday for thirty days… I am going to try to do it without spending any money!

#2018budget

I will post the highlights here, but tune into my Instagram account for the daily posts. And if you know me personally, feel free to heckle if I fall behind. I am really excited for this challenge and I am positive it will not be easy. I’ll take suggestions for projects as well, so leave a comment if you have any!

 

Although I haven’t been posting, I have still been busy crafting up Christmas gifts. I will leave you with a few examples… Mother… Aunts whom don’t like cursing… look away.

some classy cross-stitches for some new friends

close your eyes if you don’t like cursing!!

~Sarah

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Watercolor Woes

A friend of mine saw my post about watercolors and asked me if I would be willing to make some Harry Potter wall art for a Baby shower she was attending. Her friend, like us, loves Harry Potter and wanted to include some subtle elements of the fandom into the nursery. I was thrilled to give this project a try as I am really enjoying using my watercolor supplies.

I sometimes find myself in a creative rut, and during these times I find myself procrastinating projects and generally not trusting in my creative abilities. As always, when I get in my craft room, settle down with a cup of tea, a snack and some relaxing music, I wind up enjoying the time I spend there. Today was no exception, until I finished my work, stepped back and noticed that one-third of my pieces was not centered on the page. Damn. I am hangry, tired and feeling downright lazy. I don’t want to fix it. But now I hate it.

Here is where things get dicey…

Props to my boyfriend for surviving the actual temper tantrum I threw when he suggested I re-paint the one that is off-center. He is of course correct. And after taking a few minutes to cool off writing this (and maybe have a snack), that is exactly what I will do. Herbal tea this time though as it is getting late.

My lesson learned here is something I fight with often. While sometimes you can find creative ways to “cover-up” or re-balance something that doesn’t line up, sometimes the best solution is to start again. The irony is not lost on me, that the very project that inspired this one was a project where a “cover-up” worked quite successfully. In this case, a fresh start is what this project needs. Here are the reasons why.

  1. I actually considered breaking out the gold nail polish again… this time in the form of some whimsical, magical swirl that was going to magically rebalance the misalignment. And completely ruin the watercolor aesthetic.
  2. I also considered adding a spattering technique, which might have looked cool, but ultimately wouldn’t solve my positioning problem. I did turn my toothbrush and my finger blue in the process.
  3. This artwork is commissioned. I.E. my lovely friend is paying me for good work. The same good work she saw in my previous post. Something my boyfriend reminded me of mid tantrum.
  4. I’ve justified the time spent on the re-do by telling myself that I will hang the “off-cast” in the guest room, and I think it will look stunning (trimmed down to hide the misalignment of course).

So, friends, I leave you with the picture of the “almost perfect” version. I want you to picture the Dealthy Hallows symbol (the geometric symbol on the right for any non-HP nerds) centered on the page. Because I need a fresh mind for this fresh start. IE, I’m probably not going to finish it tonight, but I want to be sure to get this post up. 😉

~Always…. Sarah

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A Spooky Soirée

What a fine Halloween weekend this is shaping up to be! Spooky Soirée 2017 was a success! A lot of hard work, planning, and effort went into this party and boy did it pay off. I’ll walk you through some of the highlights and some lessons learned as well.

Trick or Treats!

A few years ago, some friends of mine hosted a fantastic Halloween party that was black light themed. It was such a fun atmosphere, I wanted to designate a small area of the party for the black light vibe. I ordered a $20 LED black light from Amazon and mounted it on the wall with a command hook and directed the light at my dining room table which I knew would be covered with treats and goodies that guests brought (like these ADORABLE spider cupcakes courtesy of my friend Rebecca). Also, please note the empty casserole dish in the middle of the table… that had my famous buffalo chicken dip in it. I swear I put it out on the table and returned 15 minutes later to have some and it was gone!

Say Cheese and Die

Some of my favorite parties I have attended have had photo booths. It is a great way to ensure that you get some priceless memories of the evening. I had a blast putting this photo booth together. I started by justifying the purchase of curtain fairy lights. Always wanted some, they look like magic. I liked the look of just the lights, but I felt it could be spookier, so I grabbed some black tulle that I had laying around and draped that over the lights. It looked a bit unfinished with the tulle laying kind of wildly on top, so I crafted up a long strip of orange satin (also had laying around) and draped it over the command hooks I used to hang the lights. I used a couple of straight pins to secure the corners, added a banner form the dollar section of target, added some hand-me-down photo booth props in a vase and voila! Only lessons learned here are to make sure you wait the suggested 1 hour before putting weight on the command hooks and try to find a corner of your house with less foot traffic to put your photo booth. We had a bit of an issue with photo ops blocking traffic.

Décor to Die for

I gave a few of my recent pins a try! Check out my last post here. For the henna-inspired pumpkin, I used a sharpie paint pen and doodled to my heart’s content on a craft foam pumpkin. The chalkboard design I ended up copying almost verbatim. But hey, sometimes you don’t mess with a good thing.

I added a few spooky touches to the rest of the house like these cobwebs and window cling bloody hand prints. My favorite decorations (and from the compliments I received, most party guest’s favorite too), were the Hogwarts inspired floating candle hallway. These were surprisingly fun to make. I saw this on Pinterest and knew I needed to give it a try. I love Harry Potter, and I think the illusion adds a fun magical quality to Halloween party decorations. The assembly is straightforward. Collect toilet paper rolls, drip hot glue on them and paint them white. Add a ledge of hot glue inside the roll so that (once dry) the battery tea light can rest inside. String them up with some fishing line or clear thread. I used tiny, clear command hooks to adhere them to the ceiling. A lesson learned here was the height to hang them… I am no shorty; however, many party guests had heels or hats that required they duck as they walked down the hall.

The Scary Awards 2017

The costume contest was a hit! Give people a chance to win a trophy and they will bring their A game. The categories were Cutest Costume, Scariest Costume, Best Couple Costume, Most Creative Costume, and Funniest Costume. I always liked making outfits for my dolls to wear, so I couldn’t resist dressing up my “Scaries” in outfits fitting their category.

And the award goes too…

Cutest Costume: Taco the dog, dressed up as a taco

Scariest Costume: Walking Dead/Woodie and Jessie mashup

Best Couple Costume: Starlord and Gamora (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Most Creative Costume: Bob Ross and his painting

Funniest Costume: My boyfriend dressed as a mermaid

Happy Haunting my friends!

~Sarah

Photo Credit: C. Bentler

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October Pinterest Haul

I am a Pinterest addict. I spend entirely too much time perusing home decor and DIY boards, but it is a great source for inspiration. I compiled a few of my favorite pins from October to share with you!

Cozy pillow fort

    I love forts. I loved them as a kid and I still love them as an adult. Pictures like this put me in the spirit of fall. The fabric creates a warm and encapsulated feeling and the fairy light create an air of magic and fantasy. This particular picture feeds my creativity. The setting looks casual and potentially “thrown together” with what the owner had laying around. I don’t get the idea this was staged for a photo, but more as the result of an impromptu movie night. Plus, I love me some tassels, and they look like a DIY waiting to happen!

Black and White

This pin makes me want to head straight to the fabric store to raid their black and white flannels. These pillows are the stuff of dreams. I love how effortless the classic black and white Halloween décor looks here. Also, does anyone know where that mug is from? It is delightful. I think what I like the most about this photo is that I feel like it could be my house. I have a similar couch, ottoman, and rug… in slightly different colors. DIY paper bats and a well-placed pop of orange velvet has me sold on this look.

Eat, Drink, and be Scary

I love a witty quote, and this one has a home on my kitchen chalkboard. Pinterest is my go-to for lettering ideas as well. Sometimes I can produce a creative and cohesive lettering project, but often I need a little help to pull the look together. Pinterest inspiration comes in a few flavors… sometimes you like the idea and take it and make it your own… but sometimes its ok if you want to replicate something someone else made. They put it on Pinterest to share and inspire. Just make sure to give credit where it is due.

Henna Pumpkins

Halloween season isn’t all about the spooks and scares. This henna inspired pumpkin decoration is right up my alley. Pumpkin carving is therapeutic and can help release creativity as well as pent-up aggression, but something tells me that taking the time to paint these beautiful designs on a pumpkin would be peaceful and much more therapeutic. Bonus, it will take much longer for these pumpkins to turn to mush, or this design could be done on a foam craft pumpkin as well!

 

Happy Pinning!

~Sarah

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What type of halloween costume are you?

Tier 1: The Lazy Man’s Costume

I love Halloween. I love any excuse to get dressed up, eat candy and have a good time with friends. However, I must acknowledge that not everyone loves dressing up in costumes as much as I do. If you relate to this, then this category might be for you. The general formula for this costume is Jeans + graphic tee = costume. I have seen the “Jack and Coke” costume where one person wears the Coca-Cola t-shirt and the other a Jack Daniels tee, and boom! Couples costume complete. In this category, you may also find the bed sheet ghost and the “Error 404: Costume not found” shirts.

Tier 2: The “Found it in my closet” costume

This is where we start to get a little bit more creative. Dig around in your closet and see if you can drum up the basics for a costume. Perhaps a flannel shirt, jeans and boots become a cowboy/girl. Dress in all black and go as a witch or a shadow. Throw it back to middle school and put on your PJs and bunny slippers and go as a baby. These costumes are often enhanced by one or two store bought accessories. Pick up a hat for that cowboy costume or a binky for the baby.

 

Tier 3: The store-bought costume

This is a tricky tier for me to talk about. I love the creative process of thinking of a costume and working out the plan for making or buying each element to make a unique version of my favorite TV character. That being said, I KNOW most people don’t have the patience for that. For those of you, I suggest a trip to the Halloween store and find yourself a nice pre-made, all parts included costume. Forewarning, these will usually run you somewhere near $50. Often even more than that. 

Target has these incredibly creepy options for $30 each.

Tier 4: All about the makeup

This costume tier is not just for the ladies. I know several guys who have rocked the makeup based costumes over the years. Whether it be FX makeup or glitter and false lashes, these costumes revolve around the makeup. YouTube is littered with amazing tutorials for costume makeup of all varieties and if you are brave enough to try it, it can be a lot of fun. Just be careful not to smudge your masterpiece!

Tier 5: The DIY

This is where I usually operate for my Halloween costumes. Pick a character, item, pun, or animal. Now spend some time breaking down the elements that make up this character’s outfit or what makes the item identifiable, write these down. I usually start in my closet and see if I own any anything that can work as a costume base like a black dress, specific colored shirt or accessories. Then I usually visit the thrift store once or twice and see if I can find any key elements for cheap. This is a great place to find items like suitcases, jackets, hats or obscure clothing items. The last phase is usually the DIY. Sometimes I start here is I know I have the time and tools needed. Here are an example.

Mermaid: Top was thrifted and embellished using fabric and a sewing machine. Leggings were DIY’d by making a pattern of a pair of leggings I owned and some fabric I ordered online. Shoes were a labor of love and I lost them in a recent move. I was devastated. As you can imagine after gluing a million sequins to a pair of clearance white Keds.

 

Tier 6: Cosplay level unlocked!

These costumes are always impressive to me. I have achieved this status once. The hours put into this project were justified because I wore this to NYC Comic Con AND Halloween that year. I will tell you now, this costume tier is not for the faint of heart. This is Full Costume Commitment. You will see more of this costume than your significant other during the process. There are schematics and budgets and likely some metal work. Cosplay aims to be as close of an exact replica as possible, maybe with a twist like a gender swap or steampunk version of a classic character. Always impressive and always the recipient of “Best Costume” at any party they attend.

Comment below with which costume tier you are.

~A huge costume nerd

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Autumn Vibes – Fall style on a budget

Fall is my favorite season. Halloween is my favorite holiday. And saving money is my favorite pastime. I love the change of season when I can pull out new decorations and mix things up in my house.  Once October hits, I think Halloween decorations are fair game. I do however, like to include some subtle fall décor in my day to day home styling, and save some of the spookier stuff for closer to Halloween. All of this decor switching can get pretty costly if you shop new every year. Here are a few tips to keep your wallet from screaming in fright!

Try Making It

I used a pack of fall themed scrap-booking paper to trace and cut out a variety of paper leaves. This was super easy and very cost effective. If you have paper laying around, you can use that, or head to the craft store, armed with a 50% off coupon and snag yourself some shiny harvest paper like I did. Punch holes in the leaves and string them up! If you are feeling fancy, you can string battery pack fairy lights through there as well for added magic.

The fabric pumpkins in this pic were a gift from my mom. She made my sisters and I all a set, but if I recall they are very straightforward to make and can be done with a needle and thread, old flannel shirt and some old pillow stuffing.

Last year’s goodies

I love shopping end of season sales. You find so many adorable things, and for such a steal! I found two faux fabric pumpkins for dirt cheap at a CVS after Halloween last year (they are actually hard plastic that look like fabric). I love the lace detail on them, I think it makes them a bit spooky.

The gold frames are one of my favorite inexpensive décor ideas for Halloween/fall. I usually keep pictures in these frames, but by simply swapping out the pics for paper treat bags from last year’s Halloween candy haul, I created décor for free. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Versatility

I won’t try to convince you that I didn’t spend any money on Halloween decorations this year. That would be a lie, but I did try to spend wisely and choose things that I could reuse. This gorgeous white sparkly wreath was on sale at Michaels Arts and Crafts because it was in the “way too early to have Christmas decorations out” sale. I love the aesthetic of the black and white Halloween stuff, so I immediately envisioned creepy black spiders crawling all over the crisp, white wreath.  Toss in some black silk flowers for good measure and we have a spook-tacular fall wreath for the front door. Best of all, when November hits, I can take it down, and swap the spiders out for some holly and I am ready for the “still way too early for Christmas, but everyone else is doing it so its ok” season.

Thrifted finds

I saved my favorite for last. Just look at this guy. I’ve named him Bob, and I was going to paint him gold so he could live on my bookshelf, but I wanted to give him a spooky makeover first. He looks simultaneously disgruntled and completely happy with his situation. I love to find second hand items and breathe new life into them. Whether that be clothing or household items, I love to take something old and discarded and find a way to make them enjoyable again. This is something I often apply to home décor items that are handed down or picked up at the local thrift shop, so why not apply the idea to your seasonal décor. All it took to have Bob looking dapper and slightly possessed was a coat of black gloss spray paint and two red rhinestones. Magic!

Go forth and be spooky my friends!

-Sarah

Photo Credit: C. Bentler

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Sushi Party

I didn’t like sushi until maybe a year ago. It was gross in concept and similarly gross in texture. Then one day I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try a few different kinds. I was hooked. Not in an every week kind of way, but every once in awhile I think it is fun. A close friend of mine recently spent some time in Japan and took sushi making classes while she was there. So when she asked if I wanted to learn, of course I said “Yes!”

Gemma and I took it upon ourselves to put together a fun night for our friends and host a “Sushi Party”!

You see, Gemma and I have big plans to one day be party planners for the stars! Or at least tea party planners for people we know. We are the perfect team. Gemma has amazing culinary experience (aka: mad skills) and I will literally throw parties just so I can decorate for them. So this plan didn’t take much for us to cook up. Gemma got started on the menu, while I started making 100 paper cranes. I had a few paper lanterns hanging around from a bridal shower I had planned a few years back, and toss in a few strands of fairy lights, and the stage is set.

Here you can spot the rare species planiferous partycus in their natural habitat.

sushi master in training

We invited a few friends over to roll up their sleeves, and roll some sushi! Plus we needed help drinking all the sake. Gemma supplied the tools we needed (some acquired from her trip to Japan) as well as a variety of ingredients for us to try rolling into our sushi. She showed us the proper techniques and then let us loose to create! My favorite roll by far was carrot, cucumber, crab and mango. Gosh, that mango was dreamy. Yum!

Does anyone know what I should do with 100 colorful paper cranes?

-Sarah

Gemma’s travel blog link: https://travelinggemblog.wordpress.com/

photos taken by Scott Mamone and C. Bentler

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Before and After: Dining Room Decor

Coming at you today with another Before and After decor post. This time the transformation is subtle, but effective. A fresh coat of paint and a gallery wall set the stage for an updated vintage dining set and flat pack shoe rack turned wine rack?

Let’s face it, I ran out of funds before being able to buy the buffet/bar of my dreams. So just picture one of these in its place.

DIY ALERT

I would like to bravely point out and showcase, my very first upholstery project. We aren’t going to talk about the orange velvet number that I convinced my mom to store for me until I got around to reupholstering. Let’s just say that ended up back on the curb where I found it.

These sad puppies had been reupholstered in the 70s and were sat on for 40 odd years which left the padding borderline non-existent, and the fabric? It had seen better days. I (with help from my father) made new plywood bases, cut new foam and stapled on some beautiful home decor fabric. Which I had laying around for some odd reason that has nothing to do with an orange velvet chair.

Gallery Wall

That being said, I would like to move onto the focal point of the room and a project that took me ages to complete. Anyone who has attempted the gallery wall will know my struggle. I am sure that I had every piece of art I have ever owned laid out on my living room floor at some point. Every day I would come in and move one item, switch out another. Until finally a deadline of house guests prompted me to make a final selection.

I would like to shout out some of the artists who have contributed to my gallery wall. My sister Amy made the awesome wood burned periodic table letters, and my friend Rebecca painted the abstract trio at the top. The flower photos are done by my friend BPKPhotography, you should check out her work here (https://www.facebook.com/BPKphoto/). The purple and green piece on the left was a middle school art project of mine. While the mason jar string art on the shelf was a craft project from my little sister’s bridal shower.

~Sarah

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Before and After: Living Room Decor

Here you see my living room on moving day paired with the current decor. Notice the luxurious furnishings and spectacularly beige ceilings in the before pictures. I wish I had a close up shot of the electrical outlets for you, but trust me… they nasty. 

Entry way display

For this section of the living room, I wanted to make a “landing pad” for when I come home from work. The bookshelf belonged to my grandmother and the geometric shelves came from Target. A place to toss my keys and sunglasses comes in the form of a handmade basket from Liberia, a gift from a wonderful man in my life. The basket on the bottom shelf hides a bunch of crap that isn’t cute enough for blog photos.

The seating area

Okay, this might be one of my favorite “vignettes” from my living room. It could be due to the fact that these couches were my very first “big girl purchase”. The vintage looking, wire mesh sided end tables were trash picked from my neighbor before I moved, and the carpet and ottoman are wayfair.com purchases. This room was massive and overwhelming when I first moved in. It is really long and kind of awkwardly shaped. In order to put the TV on a wall and be able to see it from the couches, you need a relatively large TV. This led me to my other design challenge… the massive blank wall with no window, door or half-wall.

Vast wall of doom: aka entertainment center

No dinky TV stand here folks, I needed some serious furniture to make this wall work. But I was on a budget. I went to Pinterest and found tons of pictures of these all white, gorgeous entertainment centers built in around magnificent fireplaces. It was decided, I had to make this happen. After lots of research, online shopping and mood board making (check out my post on mood boards ), I had a solid plan including Ikea bookshelves, an electric fireplace from Hayneedle.com, and my extensive knik-knack collection. And yes, if you have a keen eye, you will notice my TV is being held up by books… I’m working on that… sort of.

Overall I am pretty pleased with how this room turned out. I spend a lot of time in here, sipping tea on the couch curled up under a blanket or watching way too much youtube. If I had a few spare dollars, I would probably install hardwood floors, but that will have to wait.

~Sarah