time lapses produce colors!

been a couple days. i can't say that much has happened, and yet, sooooo much has happened? hah, it's impossible to explain! i guess, to a crafting girl, it makes sense. i've been doing a lot as far as my projects have gone, in the past few days. INCLUDING! i gave ashley her grad gift, anddddd... she absolutely LOVED it. which i loved, of course. i love giving people gifts that are different, something that they're not going to get from everyone else, something personal... and that's exactly what the necklace holder was, and ash absolutely adored it. she doted on it all night, and is still showing pictures of it to people and talking about it to this day! i just love giving gifts that people can remember and appreciate. but that's yesterdays news, quite literally! in today's news... i tried one of the pinterest originals, and played around with the melted crayon art. yes, i did! i mean, i HAD to, right?! everyone has to try it at least once! and oh... it was funnnn! okay, well. aside from the fact that i blew the power out my first time around... hahhaha. i don't think everyone can say that, but it's quite reasonable to understand! i had too many things going, my lights, my tv, my computer, my fan, and my hair dryer... and the fuse blew. naturally! but, after fixing that little mishap, things fell back into place, and i managed to produce a pretty decent piece of artwork-- at least, by my standards... 

iiiiiii think it looks BEAUTIFULLLL! don't you?! haha, okay, yeah. i suppose i could say i did my own little take on the idea-- i added masking tape letters to form a quote, or rather, the title of one of my favvvvorite songs, "awake my soul" by mumford and sons, and... ugh.i just can'ttt. it turned out so perfect. even with a bit of the crayons seeping underneath the tape, and messing up some of the letters... and with a lack of drips on some other parts... i still think it looks bombbbb! and yes, i just said BOMB. i'd like to say that i've done the best take on the whole melted crayon craze, but... that'd be a little cocky. and i don't mind being cocky? so, yeah. i have done the best take on the whole melted crayon craze. :]]]]

it's like a color explosion!

i've only just recently gotten into the whole do-it-yourself world. i don't know why it took me so long, because i'm absolutely loving it! i guess i just didn't realize how easy it was to make some things yourself-- let alone how much freaking money i was spending on things that were already made. so when my good friend ashley told me that she was going to be having a graduation party at the end of the month, i quickly set to work on finding something that i would feel confident in making myself and giving to her-- something that she would actually be able to use, but something that would be absolutely pretty, too. and after scouring pinterest  for a while, i decided on something that seemed rather easy in the long run for a beginning crafter like myself, but something that i could totally customize, and voila! a jewelry holder for ashley, i did make!

isn't it adooooorable?! i'm so happy with the way it turned out. i bought the frame at hobby lobby in the clearance section for $4. i used to be a custom framer, so i know just how much of a deal that really was! it was an odd size though, like 17 5/8 x 12 3/4 or something, obviously a scrap frame from their frame shop. a few coats of "viridi" colored acrylic paint and it looked like a million bucks! i was thinking about finding wood or a peg board for the backing of the holder, but i didn't want things to get too expensive. so, using my newfound creativity, i just cut up two pieces of cardboard from an old TV box i found in the spare room, glued them with e6000, and holy heck, is it sturdy!

the fabric is from hobby lobby, as well. i'm all about the chevron/stripe pattern, and i think it really gives it a more playful feel. i'm a little bit ocd when it comes to stuff i'm going to be giving away, so i broke out my trusty old sewing machine (that i haven't used in almost a decade) and sewed the fabric a bit in the back, rather than just having a glue-y mess. because yes, i did just glue the fabric to the cardboard, another thing that worked better than i imagined! it wasn't hard to get the knobs through, either-- i was totally afraid the fabric was going to fray and get all... i don't know, ugly, when i made the holes in it, but all i did was poke the holes where i wanted them into the cardboard first, put the fabric on, and poked through the holes again with an exacto knife, and it worked like a charm!

i absolutely loveeee the knobs, especially the little owl! again, they're all from hobby lobby, and i got them for a steal at 50% off-- i think the owl cost me the most, at $2. the hardest part of this whole project, though, was picking out which knobs i was going to use-- and to stop myself from buying 20+ ones for future projects, haha.

i'm so happy with the finished project. i might even throw a couple of my old necklaces i never wear anymore onto it when i give it to ash, because it looks so pretty with them hanging from it. that is, if i can hold myself back from keeping the dang thing for myself! xD

oh so tiffany's!

so, a few weeks ago, my older sister, garrin, texted me asking what my ring size was. despite having no idea,  i was curious as to just why she was asking, but wouldn't you know it, the little rascal wouldn't tell me! gotta live big sisters and their sinister secrets. alright, so i figured she was getting me a ring. obviously. but i didn't know that she was getting me a TIFFANY'S  ring! gotta love big sisters, indeed! so, yes. i got my beauty in the mail the other day, and i adore it. i guessed when i told her my ring size, (six? sure!) and it turns out, it fits PERFECTLY on my left ring finger. but it doesn't fit my right one, hah. i don't care that i'm single, though, i'm  wearing it up! and it looks lovelyyy with my silver claddagh. as it turns out, she bought one of these for both me, our younger sister, chelsea, our mama, and herself. so all four of us have matching rings-- how amazingly perfect is that?

tiki men and tornadoes? time to blog.

i've wanted to start a blog for quite a long time now. just to have a place where, you know, i can do whatever-- write about my day, post pictures of things i've made, fangirl over current obsessions... unfortunately, i've never thought my life was interesting enough. and i still don't think it is, but after surviving my first tornado, i guess i've finally decided; why the heck not? you only live once!

okay, okay. so it wasn't like i was actually in any real danger. (aside from the fact that i got caught in a torrential downpour and heinous thunder storm on my way to work-- did i mention i've never even driven in a light shower before? thank the lord for tail lights, and for the wonderful drivers ahead of me that i was following as though my life depended on it. and maybe, in a way, it did!) the tornado, however, didn't touch down in my area. we just got slammed with the storms, which knocked out power absolutely everywhere. but i like to think that, while i was sitting behind work in good old matilda may, (my, uhm, car,) terrified to leave her protection, watching lightening strike all around me, i did something that is worth remembering; i survived a natural disaster. sure, it wasn't exactly katrina, but for a girl who's never been in such a terrible storm, i'm going to take my glories where i can get them.

that being said, i didn't have to work today. did i mention the power was out everywhere? work included. which meant that i got to go home and snuggle with the bean (one of my two adorable pooches, who is terrified of thunder) and do... nothing. or something! i had some paint sitting around, and a boring old tiki-like man that could use some character... and so, behold! the fruits of my crazy, tornado-surviving afternoon.

isn't he just the cutest? i love him. oh, and if you were wondering just what the heck tiki man is for...

yuuuuup.