Pinterest Party

Hello World!

Long time, no post!  It seems like I have had little-to-no free time lately. I have just been so busy working two jobs and concentrating on school. Also, my late-2007 Macbook Pro has started to show its old age- so I have been avoiding 'stressing it out' by running intense programs like Photoshop on it. lol

In the midst of all this chaos and stress, I did host a small Pinterest Party to celebrate my 23rd birthday! I bought enough supplies for myself and four other people to complete a few crafts. Everyone invited was asked to bring a food/drink inspired by a Pinterest recipe.

The crafts I had were:
~ Fabric covered canvases + contact paper + paint to create DIY home decor
~ Light switches, to be covered with Mod Podge and glitter (sadly I have no pictures of these.)
~ Wooden signs. (This actually was an impromptu craft. I had a pile of scrap wood sitting in my craft room, and everyone loved the old, barn wood, so they made even more signs with these.)

 

I made creamsicle drinks. (Whipped Vodka, orange soda and whipped cream.)

The straws looked so cute, but they did not hold up in liquid.

I also really wanted a Barbie cake for my bday, so I spent four hours making this beauty. She was so heavy! I used 2.5 containers of frosting, 1 box of chocolate cake and 1 box of brownie mix (to make her dress taller.)

Excuse the terrible photo- my camera was hating me all night. I made Bacon Cheddar (aka Crack) dip. It was GOBBLED down so fast! Find the recipe here: Link.

One of my friends made Nutella Cupcakes. 

One of my other friends loves recipes that involve Pillsbury crescent rolls, so she made apple-pie turnovers.

She also made "Brie Kisses" with the crescent rolls and raspberry dipping sauce.

Another friend made homemade flatbread with fresh veggies, herbs and balsamic vinegar on top. 

To balance out her healthy dish, she made melting snowman cookies with cake balls as heads.

Here is my little crafting setup. I HIGHLY encourage buying a cheap tablecloth. (Mine was less than a dollar at Walmart.) It protected my table from hot glue, glitter + mod podge, and paint.

While making our signs. 

All the signs made at the party. I only ended up making one because I am such a perfectionist. lol

Here is one of my friend's signs. She is involved in horse polo and cut the silhouette out of contact paper with an exacto knife. 

Here is my sign. My dad always tells me to 'stay golden' and enjoy being young. I used sticker letters and there was some blow-out of paint under the stickers, so I glued pearl beads on those spots to cover them. :)

Happy Crafting!

Makeup brush holder (from a candle jar)

Hello World!

You may have realized due to my previous tutorials, that I love Bath and Body Works candles. I always buy them on sale and also use a coupon to get a better deal. I have reused the candle jars to plant succulents, organize craft supplies, hold lip glosses, ect. Here is my most recent candle jar repurpose.

(See tutorial to make vase below: Link.)

I used a candle jar to hold my makeup brushes. (Not all my brushes are in the picture, I had five drying because I just cleaned them.) It was really simple to make.

1.  Burn down as much of the candle as you can.

2.  Remove the cooled leftover wax/wick bases with a metal spoon. (It should just pop out.)

3.  Reuse that leftover wax on a candle warmer and/or throw it away.

4.  Clean your jar with some steel wool and Dawn (I found it works better than Dollar Store soap).

5.  Remove labels if you wish. I left mine of because I just love this label.

6.  Fill half-way with uncooked rice, beads, beans, sand, ect.

7.  Stick brushes into your rice. 

Tada! You have a super easy makeup-brush holder. You also could do this to hold pens, paint brushes, chopsticks, ect.

I just bought these Ecotools brushes on sale at Rite Aid. I love these brushes! They are great for blending. All the brushes are very soft and easy to clean.

Paper Hearts Garland

I recently purchased a paper punch from Ross (of all places to find crafting supplies) for only $5!!!! And this punch is huge compared to the ones sold at Michael's. Check out below to see how to make your own paper hearts garland:

1.  Find a decent amount of paper you want to punch. I found an old music book at my local recycling center. Turn on a movie and go at it. Try to salvage as much paper as possible when positioning your punches. I was able to punch a few sheets of paper at the same time without hurting my punch. (My paper was thin.)

2.  Gather all your paper hearts, thread up your machine (and coordinating bobbin), and set your machine to a straight stitch.

3.  One at a time sew through paper hearts. I fed paper heart after paper heart through my feed dogs without lifting my presser foot.

4.  Continue sewing paper hearts onto your strand until you have reached your desired length. Tie your tail end threads each in knots to secure your ends.

Now you have some super cute home decor!  I hung mine up in my living room, along with string lights, and some red pom-pom yarn my mom bought me for Christmas. (Pretty sure you can find the yarn at Michael's or Joann's.

I might have punched a little too many paper hearts, but I think I will sprinkle them across my dining table when I get around to decorating the rest of my apartment. (Yes, I know it is only the beginning of January, but I have always loved Valentine decorations!)

Happy Crafting!

Crafty Superstar!

Back this summer, I was approached by Cat, of Cut Out + Keep, asking if I would like to be featured as one of their Crafty Superstars. I immediately said YES. I have been using Cut Out + Keep since I was in Junior/Senior high for crafting inspiration.

I am so excited to be featured on the main page and at the lead of the Superstars tab for an entire week! Every day, for a week, a new crafting tutorial will be revealed for those who visit Cut Out + Keep.

Past Crafty Superstars include Erica Domesek (PS I made this) and Mark Montano (TLC). Check out the Can Can Dancer tutorials and an interview here: Link.

(Look its MEEEEEE! on the footer of every page this week. :) )

Happy almost New Year! And happy crafting!

~Crafty Superstar #109 (aka Can Can Dancer)