Category: Crafts
DIY Painted Margarita Glasses
Hello hello.
Happy International Women’s Day! I am actually very excited for this day, because I spent it among so many amazing women. I am actually in a sorority at my university, but I normally do not tell people about it. Please understand that under no circumstances am I ashamed of my sorority in any way. I actually think that it is an amazing organization and I am so proud of my sorority!
The reason I do not tell people about my involvement in a sorority is because of how judgmental other people are. Being in a sorority, people automatically assume three things about you: You are dumb. You are slutty. And you are just in college to marry a rich guy.
And when you are actually a young, educated, motivated, well-rounded individual who is working her ass off to get a degree, it really sucks when somebody just assumes that you are none of those things. When I tell people that I am in a sorority, people are normally super surprised. Based on how I look, the activities I am in to, the music I listen to, and all of my interests, etc. etc. people have no idea that I would ever be in a sorority. However, I would love to change the stereotype and help prove that we really are a smart, diverse group of young women!
My favorite part of my sorority is that our main goal is scholarship, and we do a ton of community service.
And tonight, my sorority, along with all of the other sororities and fraternities at our university, had a banquet where we were awarded on things such as scholarship, community service, and philanthropy.
In the end, we won the most awards (including Best Overall Chapter). It was amazing to know that all of the hard work we put in to our sorority paid off, and I am so proud to have these women in my life! I think we’re pretty amazing.
So, yeah. Happy International Women’s Day to my mom, grandmas, aunts, cousins, friends, inspirations, and of course, my sorority sisters!
If these already look familiar to you, it is probably because of thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis.
The hand painted wine glasses are my most popular post on my website. The other day, I was at Ross and I saw these margarita glasses for $5. I automatically wanted to paint them! Margarita glasses are already so fun, and I thought they’d look super cool with rainbow colors dotted all over them.
I was right.
Also, I thought it would be fun to add some updated instructions/show off how cool these look.
(Really, I just wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo early).
(There’s worse things in life).
Materials You’ll Need:
Margarita glasses
Glass paint (I recommend Martha Steward glass paint)
Lollipop sticks/Q-tips/something to paint dots with
Rubbing alcohol
Instructions:
1. Find a surface to work on. I prefer right in front of my TV where I can watch Disney movies and eat French fries.
2. Wipe down the glasses with rubbing alcohol. This just ensures that there is absolutely no dirt or gunk on them.
3. Get your paint ready. I have all of the primary colors + white, and I just mix the colors that I want. Using your lollipop stick/Q-tip/painting stick, paint little dots all over the foot, stem, and the bottom of the cup. You can paint wherever you like, but leave about a 1-inch space below the rim. I paint 1 color at a time so the paint does not dry out. Do all 4 glasses.
4. Place glasses on a baking sheet.
READ THIS NOWWWWWW: Place the baking sheet in a COLD oven.
Turn on the oven to 350* F. When the oven is heated, set the timer for 30 minutes.
Wait patiently.
When 30 minutes is up, turn off the oven and leave the glasses in there until the oven is COLD again.
Otherwise they could explode and it would be messy and sad )-:
Take the glasses out, wash with warm, soapy water, and then they’re ready to enjoy!
Yay for cute glasses + limes + salt.
(Literally a cool margarita glass with OJ in it).
Go make them for Cinco de Mayo now!
Because nothing is more fun than cool margarita glasses and Mexican food and dancing in your kitchen with your friends on May 5.
(Trust me).
Song of the Day: Oxford Comma–Vampire Weekend
DIY Wire Headbands
Do you love American Apparel?
*raises hand*
Do you cry every time they ring up your total?
*sob* *raises hand*
American Apparel is one of my most favorite stores in the whole world. I bought two dresses last time I shopped there. I don’t have anywhere to wear these dresses (I wear them all the time actually. Better overdressed than underdressed or something like that). I think I had the whole “I’ll wear this on a date!” idea in my head. Until, you know, I didn’t go on any dates.
I have a whole point to this guys. I saw these wire headbands at American Apparel (when I was buying said dresses). I fell in love with them. Especially a white one with black polka dots. It spoke to me.
But the price did not. Maybe if I only wanted to buy 1. But I wanted to buy all the prints.
And then I realized how incredibly easy they would be to make! Please keep in mind: I am no advanced sew-er.
(I was going to write “sewer” until I realized that made it seem like I was a dark underground tunnel full of waste and then I got sad. When I say “sew-er”, I mean somebody that sews.)
(In case you couldn’t figure that out.)
To hand sew mine, it took an hour. It would probably take half that time with a sewing machine. Which I have. Which is in the back of my closet. Which may or may not work depending on the day (and how the user handles the situation).
So I opted to hand sew. It’s up to you.
Materials:
1/4 yard of fabric–I recommend cotton or something easy to sew!
Matching thread
Needle or sewing machine
Tape measure
Pencil or white colored pencil
22 gauge (floral) wire
Scissors
Jewelry pliers (optional)
Got it?! Good! You’re ready to go.
First, begin by measuring and cutting fabric. Measure it at least 32 inches long and about 4 inches wide for a 2 inch wide headband. It may be a little under 2 inches for seam allowance. If you’re dead set on the final headband being 2 inches wide, make it about 4.5 inches wide at first.
NOW BE SMART UNLIKE ME. Keep it one piece and fold it over so you only have to sew up one side. I was dumb. I cut it in half. I had to sew up two sides. DON’T DO THAT GUYS.
Just fold the fabric in half so that the good sides of the fabric are touching (you know it’s the good side if it’s the pretty side. If it looks faded, it’s the bad side. Hard to tell with black!). Make sure to fold it hotdog style.
Now measure your wire about two inches longer than your fabric. Twist each side into a loop. You can use pliers or your fingers. I used my fingers which is a little pokey, but you could probably live through it. Make sure there are no sharp points on the wire that could pierce through your skeleton and into your brain.
Wow, sorry.
Cut each side into this shape, at an angle. You don’t really have to do it, but it looks better. I traced one side with a white colored pencil, cut it out, and then used the scraps to trace the other end and cut it out. Make sense?
Sew it up! But not all the way guys. Just chill.
Sew it until there are about two inches left in the middle. Make sure it’s the middle so that when you finish sewing it up, the stitches are less noticeable.
Then flip it the right side out. Just push the fabric through the middle hole and use a chop stick or your fingers to get it all the way through. It’ll work. I promise. It might just take a few minutes.
Put the wire through the hole in the center. Bend it around so that the loops are at the end points.
Stitch up the hole in the center.
At this point, you’re going to want to find the loops through the fabric. Then make a little stitch inside the loop so that the wire doesn’t move around to the middle of the headband. This is optional, but very helpful. If you use a matching thread, you won’t even notice the little stitch!
Then just twist is around your head!
You can twist the little end points into a knot…
*queue sultry look apparently*
…Or put the endpoints under your hair so that it’s flat on top…
…or wear it Matilda style! Which is my fave.
Reasons why these headbands rock:
1. They can be manipulated into many different styles.
2. They’re easy and you can pick your own fabrics.
3. They actually stay in place all day.
4. The best reason. No headache! They don’t squeeze your noggin. It’s a frickin miracle!
Let me know what you think of these you guys. If you have questions, please ask. Sometimes it can be difficult to explain these things over a blog!
XO Sara
Yarn Wrapped Letters
Once again it’s a work night and I am up wayyyy too late.
Aghaghaghaghaghuhhhhh.
I haven’t posted in a long time and I don’t have any excuses other than my internet hasn’t been working for the past week or so. No matter how much it bothers me to admit this, wifi is a really good thing.
Also, for some reason my speakers on my laptop haven’t been working for about a week as well. What are you doing to me technology?!
*takes deep breath because she doesn’t want her readers to think she’s a psycho*
At this point in my life, I’m starting to know people getting married and having babies. Since I’m only in college, I was hoping this would wait a few years at least, but that seems to not be the case. The transition between childhood and adulthood is crazy fast isn’t it? Time flies when you’re having fun.
Anyways, I went to my first baby shower a couple of weeks ago. There was no registry for gifts so I figured I would get the baby pajamas or a cute outfit when I realized that’s what everyone and their mother (literally) would be getting the baby.
And then I thought of this idea. Okay, I didn’t really think of it, but I remembered seeing something about it on Pinterest a few months ago and it happened to pop into my head at that moment. And I figured it couldn’t be too hard.
I was right!
This is a super easy DIY craft! So easy, that my brain decided taking pictures would be unnecessary. Yeah, I know. I say that a lot. But I promise, I can explain with words!
Directions:
1. Gather your materials: yarn of choice (you don’t need anything too expensive–trust me), a cardboard letter (found at JoAnn’s), hot glue, any decorations you may want (I made my owl by hand out of some felt).
2. Cut out little strips (about 2 in. long) of yarn and glue them across on all of the flat parts:
This will make your life way easier!
3. Then wrap the rest of it gluing it periodically so that it stays in place. Make one side your gluing side because it might show and you want a nice side! Glue it at the end really well!
4. Attach your decoration with glue. I just traced the owl, cut it out and glued/sewed on details (the eyes, wings, beak, etc.). I don’t really have instructions for that because it was so homemade! If you’re interested, I could try to explain better 🙂
Super easy, frugal, and cute! I used the colors/theme for their nursery, so it’s easily customizable. If you do not know the first name of the baby, you could always use their last name initial. Or the whole name if you’re up for it! This would also be perfect for a wedding shower gift, birthday gift, etc. This letter took me about 2 hours but probably would take less since I know what I’m doing now 🙂
Let me know what you think of this cute craft!
XO Sara
Eos-ter Eggs!
I don’t know if anything in this world could ever be as cute as Eos turned into Easter eggs and then put in a little homemade baskets.
I have endearingly began calling these guys “Eos-ter” eggs because I’m ridiculous and that’s just the kind of thing that I do.
But I just love them and they made a perfect Easter gift for my mom, grandma, cousins, and aunts. Everyone loved them! If you don’t know why it’s because, clearly, you haven’t used Eos chapstick before. If you haven’t, you should probably rush yourself to Target or Wal Mart this instance and get going on that.
But that’s just my opinion.
Here’s how to make them! (I’m the worst, and I didn’t get pictures. Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward).
Things You’ll Need:
As many Eos as you need-I got a package of 5 Eos at Costco and then got 1 more at Wal Mart for a total of 6 that I needed.
Small plastic cups
Cute cupcake liners (optional, but recommended)–$1 store find!
Glitter glue! (optional, but recommended)
Easter grass-$1 store find!
Cute ribbon (try to find stiff ribbon so it maintains its shape)
Glue gun
Candy! (optional)-I got mine in bulk at Winco
1. Using your glitter glue, make designs all over the Eos. I chose to do this to make them cuter and more Easter egg looking. You could probably use different colors of paint and really go for it, but I liked simple little dots! Let these dry for about 2 hours up to overnight if you wish.
2. Place a cupcake liner in the bottom of each little plastic cup. They fit perfectly in those fat, short plastic cups you get on airplanes. This is optional, but makes it look sooo much cuter than if you just use grass.
3. Place a healthy amount of Easter grass in the cup. You want it to poke up way over the cupcake liner or it just doesn’t look very cute.
4. Measure out ribbon for a handle and glue gun each side to the cup. Let them dry for about 20 minutes so they really stick.
5. Place candy in the Easter grass (as you will see later, this is optional, but it’s a nice little treat).
6. Place your Eos-ter egg on top!
You can choose to leave candy out of it, which really makes the Eos look more like an egg, but the candy looks really cute too.
My family truly loved these. I got rave reviews.
These would be perfect for teachers or co-workers, and I promise they will like them much more than some Easter eggs filled with candy!
Did I mention that I would definitely recommend adding candy to these? They look cuter without candy for pictures, but they look so cute with candy in real life!
Plus, they aren’t very expensive to make. The most expensive part is the Eos which was $10.99 for a 5 package at Costco and $2.00 for an additional one at Wal Mart. Not bad for a gift that people will actually use and like! The orange one does not come in the five pack, but it smells amazing.
If you do not have time to make the baskets, you could buy little candy holders at the dollar store from the Easter section. They come in a package and look like small, Easter themed Chinese takeout containers. Just add some Easter grass, candy, and an Eos-ter egg and you’re all set.
Or you can just opt to make the cute little baskets, which only take about 20 minutes, maybe even less.
Just listen to The Motorhomes-Songs for Me (And My Baby) like I did and they’ll go super fast.
Or you can listen to whatever floats your boat.
But I recommend The Motorhomes.
XOXO Sara
*I am not being paid by Eos to promote their products. I simply had the idea and I am in love with their chapsticks!*
DIY Dollar Store Halloween Wreath
Happy Halloween….almost!
Reno is so super chilly right now. Like, so chilly that it snowed all night so that when I woke up there was snow all over the ground! I’ve never woken up to snow before so that was awesome. Perks of living super close to the mountains. The middle of the city doesn’t get any snow!
Yay us.
But like I said, it’s so cold. Like, I am having a really hard time typing right now because my fingers are so cold.
The things I do for you people.
With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to make a festive wreath to celebrate. I decorated the rest of my house with Halloween too, but this is probably my favorite decoration I have.
And yeah, I know…Halloween is Thursday so I’m kind of getting to this kind of late. But now you can get all your ribbon on sale on Friday and make it for next year!
Luckily for those of you who want to make one before your trick or treaters arrive, this was less than $2 to make. Frugal score.
Actually, does anyone else hate the word frugal too, or is that just me? So inexpensive score? Cheap score? Whatever, it looks cute.
Things You’ll Need
1 stick wreath from the dollar store (they’re a little smaller than normal stick wreaths, but still cute!)
Black paint (or whatever color you like)
1-3 kinds of ribbon (I found that two looked best)
Hot glue (with glue gun, obvi)
Fake spider webs
Spider ring (optional)
Total cost: $1 for wreath, $2 for ribbon (only used probably $.25 of it though), $1 for fake spider web (probably used about $.05 of it), had hot glue/gun, had black paint (cheap at store though!)= Like I said, under $2 but I don’t know the for sure price.
Directions:
Paint wreath using a sponge brush. You could also spray paint it, but I liked the brown showing through the black paint a little bit. Let the wreath dry for 2 hours or overnight depending on how much paint you use.
When dry, flip the wreath over and glue strips of ribbon opposite sides from each other. Put as much as you want, and cross a few to make it look cute!
Glue a few strings of fake web across from each other as well. Spread them to make them look more “webby”.
Add a spider ring if you want! I did later on which is why only one of my pictures has a spider on it. But isn’t it so much cuter?!
I think so.
I think it would also be so cute to use orange, purple, or green ribbon for the wreath but since my door is a blueish gray, I decided black and white would look best.
Without drying time, this wreath took me about 30 minutes. That’s my type of project!
Just add a little ribbon on top and hang on your door. I got a wreath hanger at WalMart for $3. Worth it.
Hope you all have a great Halloween!
What are you guys going to be? B and I were going to be Shaggy and Daphne (and Lacy was going to be Scooby) but he has to work so now I’m going to be a scarecrow. Another DIY? Perhaps.
Have a great week!
XOXO Sara
Painting with Leftover Easter Egg Dye!
Hi everybody!
Sorry for the little leave of absense. Spring Break has been crazy! Looking for houses, doing college stuff, weddings, and just family/friend time has made it really hard to do blog-y stuff.
Anyways, I’m back and ready to blog! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I most definitely did. My family had a relaxing day at the house, ate a big dinner, and dyed Easter eggs.
Plus, I got Les Mis from the Easter bunny, so that definitely gave me something to do on the last day of Spring Break!
Since we’ve been so busy lately, I didn’t get to dying Easter eggs until today. Which was fine because I got to do it on actual Easter which was a ton of fun!
The idea to paint with leftover Easter egg dye didn’t really occur to me until I was in the process of dying eggs.
And yes, I am way too old to be painting with Easter egg dye, but I thought it was such a great idea that I had to test it out so that parents might be able to try it with their kids!
This was the perfect project to do while waiting for the eggs to turn bright colors.
To do this project, I used the “vibrant” colors, meaning I used 1 tablet, 3 Tbs. of white vinegar, and 1/2 c. water. The other methods would probably be too light to show up on paper.
Then, I just started painting and it worked out great!
Trees are always fun to paint.
The more water you paint on, the more color. You’ll have to add a lot of water to get color so you’ll probably want to hang them up somewhere to dry. You will also get little dots all over your paper, but when the picture dries the dots will disappear.
Obviously, I’m not an artist. But it was still a ton of fun to paint while waiting for my eggs to dye! Plus, it gives kids something to do before you throw out all that dye.
Another fun thing to do is paint on paper towels (preferably the non-patterned kind), because it looks like tie-dye. Super cool!
Here’s a picture of some of our eggs! I love my dark green one.
And even though I got to this late, painting with Easter egg dye should be a great idea for Easter next year!
Let me know what you guys think. I hope you have a wonderful night celebrating Easter with your families!
XOXO Sara
Magnetic Photo Board DIY
I will just apologize now for these pictures.
They were taken in my garage/home when it was dark.
It just gets dark way too early right now.
I know, no excuses.
Anyways, I’m going out of town so I wanted to leave you guys with a tutorial before I go.
Here’s what it looks like:
It hasn’t been hung up yet, but when it is, I will take a better picture!
If you want to know how to do this, here’s the directions!
Magnetic Photo Board
1 picture frame–I recommend a big one so it holds more than a few pictures. Mine was 16×20.
Sheet metal that matches the size of your frame.
Enough scrapbook paper to cover the metal–I used 3 sheets.
Modge Podge
Paint Brush
Ruler
Magnets, Pictures, Notes, etc.
Lay down newspaper in a spacious area.
Cut the paper to match the sheet metal.
Modge Podge the paper to the sheet metal. *Use a ruler or something flat to get the bubbles out*
Paint the whole top in Modge Podge and let it dry.
All done! Mine still had bubbles because I did a bad job at the ruler part. Which is why that’s important…
Remove the glass from the frame, put the sheet metal in it’s place, and cover the back. You’re all done! You can cover it with pictures, magnets, notes, etc.
Let me know what you guys think, and I would love to see pictures of yours!
Stay Serendipitous!
XOXO Sara
Red Napkin Poppies
Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been a little off the charts. Starting a blog at the beginning of your senior year=not a good idea. However, I have been taking pictures just for my blog! So don’t be surprised if you see a few posts within the next few days.
Anyhow, this summer I competed at a cupcake competition and ended up winning 3rd out of 5th place only behind two professional pastry chefs! It was so fun and I can’t wait to do it again in February!
I went with a black, white, and red Victorian theme with poppy flowers! I went with it because these colors just go well together, and they’re pretty. Here was the outcome:
Of course, what we really care about here is the tissue poppy flowers! They are surprisingly easy to make, and would be really cute around a buffet table for Easter (in lighter colors of course) or maybe even hanging from strings at a party. There’s many possibilities I have come up with.
Unfortunately, I cannot find the link from where I got this idea. Anywhere. So if you have made something like this, or know someone who has, please, please, please let me know.
I ended up changing a lot of the methods because 1. they were easier and 2. I liked the way they came out better than the original way. Anyway, here’s how to make them!
Supplies you’ll need:
Two different colors of napkins from the $1 store. You will need the color for your flower, and the color for your center. Make sure the color of the center is a smaller size than the flower color.
Tape: floral, duct, etc. As long as it’s tough!
Wire
Wire cutters
Scissors
Steps:
One: Unfold a black napkin. Cut two of the squares. Keep one whole, and cut one in half.
Two: Cut little fringes on the halved square, making sure not to cut all the way through.
Three: Unfold the napkin once. Cut a wavy shape making sure that you are using the sealed side.
It will look like this. You will cut it down the vertical line, so there’stwo long pieces.
Four: Take some extra tissue and form it into a ball. Put it in the center of your square of tissue paper. Wrap it around and tape it. It will look like a lollipop!
Five: Wrap the fringe around the stem with a piece of wire to support it. Tape it so it is secure.
Six: Put the wire through the centers of the two red pieces. They will rip. It’ll be okay. Just tape the heck out of the bottoms.
Now you’re done! Here’s the end result.
I don’t know why they ended up on the piano, they just did. They looked good.
As you can see, you can manipulate the sizes of the papers to make them smaller or bigger. Either way they look good!
I hope you guys liked this tutorial! Let me know what you think.
Stay serendipitous!
XOXO Sara