American Flag Shorts--Happy 4th!

Happy Belated 4th of July! So this is my best attempt at removing the background from my photo of my DIY 4th of July Shorts!  They were laying on a Chicago Bears blanket so it had a hard time catching the rest of the blue:)  These shorts ended up being a huge hit and were really cheap to make!

Materials

•  Acrylic paint
• Sponges and brushes (variety pack)
• Painters Tape
• Cardboard
• Shorts, of course!

So there were a few steps to the shorts but definitely worth the time.  My sisters and I completed them over three days for about an hour each session.  They are pretty self explanatory as far as where each color needs to go.  I used the painters tape for the stripes, but I did the white paint first-which was a huge mistake!  The red ended up running into the white, which created a pretty pink color...I love pink don't get me wrong, but not on our American Flag! My one sister had much more straight and perfect lines, but I sort of liked my imperfections in the end.  

As far as the stars go, paint the background the navy blue, if your shorts are dark enough, you do not even have to paint them. I cut out a stencil using the cardboard from the cereal box.  It worked just fine.  Hold the star down and start painting with the white from the tip of the star to prevent bleeding.  Once the front is complete, follow the same steps for the back!  Sorry, no pictures of the back:(  

  We all styled our shorts differently.  I went more casual with a plain white t-shirt, white chucks and red lipstick.  It was a fun, comfortable outfit that everyone seemed to like.  Enjoy!

Ikea Country Coffee Table Re-do

So I haven't posted in a LONG time but I have a few things that I want to post!  A few weeks ago I broke my cell phone so I don't as many pictures that I originally wanted but I am so excited to share my coffee table re-do!  For the past 5 years we have had a black, IKEA LACK coffee table that we got for about $40.  Over time, the coffee table started to really show wear and tear from water marks and bubbles to scratches and gashes.  I've been seeing some great posts about these country style/ rustic coffee table makeovers and have really wanted to try on on my own!  It was a really fun and exciting project and had a huge transformation on our tiny living room.  

Materials:

IKEA Lack Coffee Table 

(6) 1x6x4 pine boards (1 inch thick, 6 inches wide and 4 feet long)  6 cost me about $14 from Lowes.  You can get them cut it you need to but the 4 foot planks worked perfect for this project.  

Construction/ Wood Glue (Glue Gun to make it much easier)

Sanding Block

Stain of your choice (We chose to go with Walnut)

Sealer

Foam Brushes

Step 1: Roughly sand down your boards.  It doesn't have to be perfect but make sure it's even.  They should be bare already so it's fairly easy.

Step 2: Wipe the boards down with a clean and dry rag to get all of the dust off.  Find a clear area to stain the boards.  I used the cheap foam brushes and they worked great.  I only put a light, single coat of the stain on.  I wanted to really see the markings in the wood (I chose boards at the store that all had different and unique markings!).

Step 3: Once the boards are fully dry, lay them out on your roughly sanded coffee table.  I rearranged a few of the boards to find the perfect order I wanted them in.  Once you have your boards set, take a middle board and glue it down.  This board will act as the anchor for your other boards to measure up to.  After the first board is down, take one board at a time from each side and glue it down.  

Step 4: Weigh the boards down for at least 5 hours.  I used books and gallons of water, which worked just fine!

Step 5:  I put my sealer coat on after everything was dry but you could do this step after step 2.  It was just easier for me at the time!  

It came out even better than I imagined and was actually much easier too. There are little imperfections in it but that's what I love about it!

Hot Chocolate Run

Today I ran my first race since my Marathon last year.  Needless to say, it's scary how quickly your body goes back to it's original state in such a short amount of time--I ran a 5k....that's 23.1 miles less than I ran last October and it was almost just as hard :(  Today was The Hot Chocolate 5k/15k in gorgeous Chicago.  It could not have been a better day for a race.  The weather was perfect, the hot chocolate was delicious and it was a Sunday.  You really couldn't have asked for anything different.  

                            

Here are the treats you get after finishing:                                                        Beautiful Fall Chicago Colors :)
Hot Chocolate (of course), Chocolate Fondue 
with pretzels, rice crispy treat, marshmallow 
and a few other goodies.  Complete with a 
wet-nap which we all needed.  

We were lucky enough to stay in my best friend's, friends (I know :) condo.  It was on the 32nd floor right in the Loop.  This was our view...my NON photo shopped view.  This is why I love Chicago.  Couldn't be better.

Halloween Crafts

This entire fall season has flown by for me so far! Even so, I have managed to get in a few fun fall crafts.  We still haven't even carved pumpkins and it's Halloween-Eve....yikes. Went to a few places and they had ZERO pumpkins.  You'd think they would save at least a few for the procrastinators?! Anyways... I've been seeing tons of glitter everything online and decided to give some of them a try myself. When I went to my Hobby Lobby, I was overwhelmed by all of the glitter choices.  After about 10 minutes, we ended up deciding on Copper Penny.  What says fall more than Copper? Not much I'd have to say!  Ok so here they are....

I'll start with the Silhouette Canvases.  I apologize ahead of time that I have no pictures of my during process. Had to get a new phone..that's a whole other story in itself and lost all of my "during" photos.  I saw a similar Christmas canvas from this really cute blog.  I had to remake it! This is part of what you'll need... 

• Mod Podge
• Glitter
• Sponge or Brush (I used the cheap disposable ones)
• Blank Canvas
• Background Paint
• Silhouette Printed from Computer

This ended up being a multi-step process so I think the easiest thing is to just number them!

1. Paint canvas fully with color of your choice.  
I thought the glitter would really stand out against the black background. Especially for Halloween!  I ended up doing about 3 coats for it to cover the white canvas.

2.  While that is drying, find a SIMPLE photo you would like to complete.  Cut the photo out so you are left with just the middle section of the photo.  This takes a while but be careful! It's worth the extra time :)

3.  Once the background is dry, carefully secure the paper down exactly where you want it.  Paint the entire silhouette with the Mod Podge.  Then sprinkle with GLITTER!  Pour the excess glitter back into the container and repeat!  Once it is fully covered, carefully brush Mod Podge over the entire glitter area.  Let dry for about 20-30 minutes.  

4. Once the glitter is secured in place, Mod Podge the entire canvas.  I used the Gloss Mod Podge and it worked very well.  The Mod Podge WILL go on white but I promise, it will dry clear as can be!

5.  Re-touch anything that smudged or needs some repainting then go over with one more clear coat!

This was a really fun project, especially because you can pick any photo, season and GLittEr CoLor!!

Our second GLitteRY project was the Glitter Skull.  This was a CHEAP craft and I must say SO CUTE.  I have been seeing these in stores all over lately!  It ended up being a really simple process!

1. Buy a Skull from the Dollar Store....that's right. A $1 Craft! (if you have left over glitter and Mod Podge like I did from the craft the week before :)

2. Using small sections, brush on Mod Podge, then pour glitter.  Brush a little more, and pour glitter again!  So simple.  Once the entire skull is glittered up, Mod Podge the entire skull again.  It ends up drying really well. 

So there it is, about 15 dollars worth of supplies (and I have tons of left overs) and three really cute Halloween Decorations.  I'm just trying to think of what I can do Thanksgiving related with my Copper Glitter.....It still is fall even though the Christmas Decorations will be in stores TOMORROW!!  

Until Next time :)       Jennifer

Welcome!

Welcome!  I'm very excited to begin my new blog in the peak of Fall! With  Halloween right around the corner, no pumpkins carved yet and my schedule packed to the max, it's nice to sit down and take a break.  Before the Exciting  day, I'm hoping to post some of the recent Halloween crafts I've completed. Until then, Buenas Noches!