KEYBOARD ART

My soon to be betrothed likes computer games, so of course he likes all his artwork to reflect this right?! I got this idea from Paper, Plate and Plane but arranged mine in a different way.

DIY: ANIMAL JEWELRY HOLDER

How awesome is this?! This is an inexpensive DIY alternative to the $65 version found here.

That one is still super cute but there's no way I could pay that much! All together this project cost me probably $12 in new material. Not too baaad. I had been watching at the thrift store for a bag of plastic toys but finally gave up and went to Hobby Lobby for some. This was probably the most expensive part at 8 dollars. The wood plaque was half price at 4 dollars.

MATERIALS

Plastic Animals

Wire cutters

Gold Spray Paint

Mod Podge

Gloss spray paint

Hot Glue

DIRECTIONS

1. You may paint the plaque if you want, but I chose to leave mine plain. If you do paint it, let it dry thoroughly then paint mod podge over the entire thing and let that dry. Finish off with gloss spray paint. If you choose not to paint it, simply use mod podge then the gloss spray.

2. Cut the animals. This is the hardest part. I found some very sturdy wire cutters in my house that ended up working great, but use whatever you can use to get these guys cut!

3. Use gold metallic spray paint (got mine from wal-mart) to spray the animals and let dry. You can use any color here, or omit this step entirely. Originally I had left them unpainted but thought it looked kind of kiddy.The gold paint looks soooo adult and sophisticated :)

4. Place a dab of hot glue on the back and press hard until glue cools. I wasn't sure how well this would hold up initially, but it has done just fine. Just don't hang super heavy jewelry on and you should be good!

-Jerica-

FAUX COW SKULL

Believe it or NOT (believe it) this faux cow skull is completely made from Resin! I had been wanting to get this forever from Hobby Lobby but it was $35 dollars so I couldn't bring myself to get it. This particular one I found in the Western theme section, and they had other neat antler and skull stuff as well. I love this one because it has a completely flat back unlike a real skull so it can hang perfectly on a wall. Finally I went and saw they were having a 50% off sale on Men's Resin! Uhh whatever that meansss....

I had seen a post on Free Peoples' blog a long time ago and have been wanting to put something like this together since the dawn of time. I gathered up some feathers and dried flowers I had from different occasions to put in the eye sockets, and the color on the antlers is just embroidery thread. 
When you're wrapping the thread it's best to start by wrapping it once around then making a knot in the back, leaving a large amount of the end of the thread sticking out, and not making any cuts yet. Continue to wrap the antler and when you're finished, cut it and tie it to the thread sticking out from where you made the first knot, so that each color is one continuous portion of thread. Basically you just want the knots to be in the back. I hope that makes sense!

If you want to buy this bag as a tote, click on the picture below!

 
-Jerica- 

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS

I got this recipe from a dog food cook book a few years back that is super simple and quick. It is peanut butter dog biscuits! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 Teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 Cup of Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup of hot water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.  Once everything is mixed together roll it out and use a cookie cutter ( I used a jar top) to cut out the shapes that you want. Then bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown! Make sure to let it cool on a cooling rack before giving it to your pups! 

I made these the other day for a friend and his adorable dogs. For the jar I used a old salsa jar and glued on a plastic dog to the top and spray painted it black. I cut a strip from a brown paper bag to make the label which I then glued to the jar. For the gift tag I used an old map (I chose a map of Detroit because that is their hometown!) and cut it into a gift tag shape with trimming from the same brown bag I used for the label. 

This is such a quick gift to put together. With the baking and all, it took me about an hour to finish! 

-Amy-

BUTTON BROOCHES

For this project I bought a bag of pins with a flat back to glue to the back but already lost it! During my move I have basically just dumped everything in my room on the floor and haven’t cleaned it up… and continue to just dump stuff in there. So nowwwww I have absolutely no idea where they went so I used safety pins instead. Not as good of a base but until I do find them these will just have to suffice.
Another simple project- paint wooden buttons and pins to make button broches! Simple as that! Paint on your design and glue on the button to the pin!

-Amy-

TRIANGLE ART WITH PAINT SAMPLES

Another craft with a thrift store frame and paint samples! I used the card stock that was already in the back of the frame, painted it white, and used a little mod podge to glue all the triangles on. The triangles are cut from paint samples, as well as Anthropology and Urban Outfitters catalogs. Seeing as everything is too expensive for me might as well put those catalogs to good use!

-Jerica-

DIY IPHONE CASE

I have a really bad habit of breaking my phones. I break my phone about every other month! Lucky for me my dad is a tech junkie/nerd and he can fix it himself- so I never have to pay to get it fixed or buy a new one! However knowing this has only encouraged me more to continue not using a case. Buttttttttttttttt since I got my wood burning pen I have been wanting a wooden iPhone case to customize my own case! Now my phone is nice and safe...for the time being however. 

I ordered this wooden case off of amazon for only 5 bucks + free shipping- the catch? it took about a month to get in. But its a simple project none the less- really doesn't require any step by step instructions. If you have the wood burning tool you understand it works on any wooden surface- let it heat up and draw to your heart's content. I didn't use any rulers or anything I wanted it to have the hand drawn vibe to it, so the lines are not even or straight. I am debating on putting a stain on it to make it a little more of a darker/worn wood. But that will be a different project for a different day. I'm going to use it how it is for a little and see if I like it as is. Now I need to brainstorm what I want to burn up next! I am thinking a wooden cutting board or maybe one of my cheese boards - I got a bunch from the thrift stores with domes for succulent terrariums but haven't gotten to that project yet...maybe I can kill two birds with one stone and make a terrarium with some wood burning accents. tune innnnnnnnn for that next time!

       -Amy-

DIY: PORCELAIN PEN ON MUGS

Here is a project that is all around Pinterest that we did with our friends Alix and Katherine. It is so simple, all you need are porcelain or ceramic mugs (ours were all from the thrift store) and some porcelain pens for a new mug set! This could be a fun DIY gift to make for someone, pair it up with some hot chocolate mix or this homemade chai tea mix and you're good to go! The porcelain pens I picked up were from Micheal's because Hobby Lobby didn't seem to have any, however I couldn't find the ones that you can bake in the oven to set the drawing. So make sure you handwash these babies only and be very gentle when washing the drawing because it may come off, as you would expect! Also the paint can come off if the drink is extremely hot, so I would recommend not drawing on the inside of the mug unless you use the ones that can be baked, so that you don't die! You can find the designs that Amy and I used for our trees here. 

My mugs:

I found the mug with the little brass knuckles from the thrift store, its my favorite! I chose all white mugs so it would still look like a cohesive set even though they are all different styles.

Amy's mugs:

Katherine's mugs:

See what you can come up with!

-Jerica-

CHALKBOARD PICTURE FRAMES

Another simple and easy project. I realize that when it comes to crafting I have ADD. It takes me forever to finish one project before I start the next. And Pinterest does not help that little problem at all. This little project I have been meaning to do for over a year! 

I have been collecting picture frames for quite some bit of time. I am attempting to fill up one whole wall with scattered frames. but due to extreme laziness and being cheap I have been avoiding printing pictures that aren’t the regular 5x7. Soooo they have basically been hanging up on my wall blank for a good year. Did it look cool? Not even a little bit. So today I finally decided to do something about it with my handy dandy chalk board spray paint.i think the pictures are pretty clear on how I did it…. but if it requires some directions here is a very very simple step by step.

1. Run the glass in a dishwasher on hot and steam dry to get those stubborn thrift store tags off. Or soak in hot soapy water for a half hour.
2. Follow instructions on the Chalk Board spray paint. It will require a couple of layers and time between each layer to dry.
3. Put back in frame and draw to your heart’s content.

I should also note that I did use white paint on two of the chalk board frames to make the texts more permanent and visible. Sooooo essentially I could have just used black spray paint…but I didn’t.  =)

-Amy-

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PUT THIS NIGHT TO TUNE AND MOVE IT TO YOU?

I am getting at that age when all of my dear friends (myself included) are graduating and getting to that point where we are starting to figure what we are doing with our lives and where we are going. Quite the turning point in our lives- I am still trying to figure out if I want to stay here in Colorado or go somewhere far and new. I just need to take that leap! Just like my dear friend Alix! She is off to California in the next few weeks to begin her sweet adventures.

Since she is leaving soon last night we had a little get together with drinks at 303 Distillery in Boulder. One of my favorite place for a chill night. We had a late night out the night before so we wanted to take it easy and shared a few drinks, a Vootbeer and a Dreamsickle. Deliciousssss- both made with gluten free potato vodka.  As a goodbye present I made Alix this map highlighting her two homes!

This was inspired by a pin on Pinterest- well many pins. I am not sure which is the original but props to them for their clever creativity!  This is my version of it. Since Alix was moving I wanted to make her something related to Colorado and I loved this state/nail/tread art project. However Colorado is possibly the most boring shaped state on the map. Seriously it would have just looked like a box on a board. So I had to brainstorm! I decided to go with the whole country and highlight her two homes California and Colorado.

The process is pretty simple- sorry I didn't document it with photos on my camera so I have a lower resolution version from my ipad that I will include.

It is a lot easier than it looks for the most part.

Materials:

Wooden Plaque

Nails ( 3/4 inch)- try to pick something with a larger head

Hammer

Tread

Print out 

Wood Stain

Super glue- with brush

1. Print out shape of the state or shape of whatever it is you want to do for this project.

2.Varnish your wooden plaque with whatever stain you want and let it dry a bit. I was impatient and immediately started working on the nail parts before it dried and pretty much stained my hands and my clothes with the varnish. I also hammered the plaque all over the place to create a beat up old version.

3.Cut out as close as you can to create a template.

4. Lay it down on your plaque. You can also tape it down so it doesn't shift when you're hammering to keep it from sliding around.

5. Hammer the edges down to create an outline. I just eyeballed the spacing. I did them pretty close to create a more defined outline.

6. Once the outline is nailed down you can just rip it out and begin threading!

7. Threading was the most frustrating part- mainly because the nails I chose had pretty much no head to them. This caused the thread to slide right off every time I tried to wrap them around. But if you get a better type of nail then this wont be a problem for you at all. I had to hold each piece down as I wrapped and create a lot of tension to keep it in place. I didn't have superglue till the end of the project but if I did I would brush each nail tip after I was done with the thread to keep them from moving. Instead I did it at the end to sealllll the dealllllllllll!

For the treading pattern all the ones on Pinterest had strings either did it  in random directions and colors or one color all coming to one point to make a uniformed looked. I tried both- but with doing the entire United States it just did not look as good to me. So I played around for a bit and eventually made each point to make a triangle. I redid this shape in different sizes and directions until it covered most of the open space. I then did the same with the highlighted states but with a brighter color tread.  I also kept all the thread ends hanging to create a vintage vibe to it.

-Amy-

DIY LEATHER WALLET

This is a fairly easy project. Something I came up with on a whim. While I was shopping for other craft supplies I saw that HobbyLobby sold some small pieces of leather. Which I have been thinking about getting for various other projects I saw on Pinterest. But I got a pretty small strip and not enough to do anything to big or crazy with. It was pretty pricey so I wanted to try working with leather first before I bought a bunch and started something big and destroyed it. Since I am terrible with my cards (I lose them on a monthly basis) I decided to make a wallet with the strip of leather I got.

MATERIALS:Leather
Leather cutter
Thread
Thick and pointy! sewing needle
Scissors
Paint

The strip was pretty much already cut to the width of my cards so I did a rough measurement by sticking a card inside and folding it over hamburger style twice so it made a bottom and a flap- cutting off the excess with this rolling fabric cutter that I found in the basement ( still in its wrapper from like the 90s!) I suckkkkkkk at sewing so the craftsmanship on this is pretty shitty but I’m just going to call it my practice round! I painted the top with some regular paint and just use some of the scrap for an accent piece on it.

-Amy-

DIY WALL PLAQUES

On a random shopping spree at Walmart I came across this awesomeness! A two in one burning tool for wood or stenciling. Check it out here: you will LOVE it. It has become my new favorite crafting tool! I had some extra wood plaques that was left over from my picture transferring onto wood project, I decided to put them to use and see what happens.

During a moment lapses of creativity (and as a practice piece) I decided to use the blog title and play with a font I found on Jerica’s Pinterest and one of my logo ideas. I did some accents with some acrylic paint and voila! On another plaque I decided to burn lyrics from one of my favorite songs, Pachuca Sunrise by Minus the Bear. The lyrics are “This is a city for not sleeping and the clocks are set by feel, at this moment from where I sit none of it seems real”. ooooo so deep and meaningful haha. But really it is one of my favorite songs.

The only thing with using this tool is that its hard to get the fonts exactly how you want them especially when they have curves in them. It could possibly be because of the head I used but the other additional heads that came with the kit did not heat up as hot. I am definitely one that likes instant gratification so I didn't want to wait around redoing each letter to get the dark scorch marks on each of the letters. The tip I used was the angled tip.

Since the plaques were a light color and looked unfinished I tried a stain that has been all over Pinterest! Are you seeing a theme here? Pinterest Pinterest Pinterest. I soaked some old nails and steel wool in apple cider and absamic vinegar to get a gray wood stain. I had to let the mixture sit for almost 24 hours before the color actually started to become apparent. So hard for me to wait that long but I did it! Add a coat or 2 for a darker shade.

-Amy-

DIY: BATH SALTS, BATH FIZZ AND BATH OIL

I have the most adorable boss ever. But unfortunately in the world of retail things get really stressful for her. She always does nice little things for all of us, I decided this time I wanted to do something for her. I decided to make her some bath goodies to help her mellow out and wind down after a day of hell that comes from retail. My house smells like a bomb of lavender and lemons has exploded! Everyone in the house will be intoxicated to relaxation to say the least.

For her relaxation kit I made a lemon sugar scrub, Lemongrass and Lavender bath oil, Lavender bath salts (hallucination free mind you), and some Bath Fizz (directions found here).

Bath Salts:

3/4 Cup Epsom Salt

1/2 Cup Sea Salt

1/4 Cup Baking Soda

8 Drops of Pure Lavender Essential Oil

Blue and Purple Food Coloring

1. Mix all dry ingredients together

2. Add in drops of oil and coloring and mix

Bath Fizz:

1/2 C citric acid

1 C baking soda

2/4 c organic cane sugar

food coloring

10-15 drops essential oil

spray bottle, silicone ice cube tray

1. Mix all dry ingredients together

2. Mix food coloring/oil/water in spray bottle and spritz as you mix everything together till it all sticks

3. Set in mold

I used these cheeeeeeesy flower molds because that is all Walmart had. I also used some mini cupcake holders too.

Bath Oil:

1. carrier oil- I used Almond oil and olive oil

2. lemongrass and lavender essential oil- I used 7 drops of lemon grass and 13 of Lavender.

-Amy-

HOMEMADE VANILLA CHAI MIX

This is the most amazing vanilla chai mix, so creamy and full of flavor. Some of the ingredients are harder to find, like the cardamom. I got lucky because my boyfriend’s mom heard I was on the prowl for some and gave me hers. To store it, I grabbed an old green chili jar, spray-painted the lid gold, then mod-podged a label on. It makes a great gift, especially with fall coming up!

Vanilla Chai Mix

• 1 Cup Non Fat Dry Milk Powder
• 1 Cup Powdered Non Dairy Creamer
• 1 Cup French Vanilla Powdered Non Dairy Creamer
• 1/2-2 Cups Sugar
• 1/2-1 Cups Unsweetened Instant Tea 
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black!)

To make the mix, grind up all the larger stuff (the powdered milk, creamer, sugar, and instant tea) in the blender first, then add all of the spices after and mixed those in. The consistency should look like cocoa powder mix. Add to hot water or milk to taste.

-Jerica-