twenty four and a new design

Well, here I am. Twenty-four. My grandfather treated me to a target gift card, so I treated myself to a new dress, sandals, and matching bracelet. I "saved" them (am I the only one that does this?) for my birthday dinner at 5th Street Steakhouse (read: best restaurant in Chico). I had Kev take some pictures of me, but lets just say he is still getting used to the new camera. 

Anyways, back to me. Friday, the ladies at work so graciously took me out to a wonderful lunch at Grana, a new Italian eatery here in town. I, of course, ordered the chicken salad sandwich. mmmm.

After work, a Mary Kay consultant named Cynthia came over to do a facial and make-up for my birthday. I won a free make-over thing from a drawing I entered at the Chico Outdoorsman Expo about a month ago. It was so much fun! I have been in kind of a make-up rut lately, so it gave me the kick I needed to play around a bit more and get dolled up. Kev even trimmed the beard!

Margaret asked me to take a picture of the makeover, so here ya go Madgie!

p.s. I am not going to pretend that I didn't edit those photos just a weeeee bit.

Anyways, the birthday was great. In other news, things look a little different around here lately.
I completely redesigned the blog last week. The entire color scheme was based on this pin

and I used a few of these keys, with some slight alterations
(I cannot for the life of me remember where this was pinned from-oops)

the new font is Traveling Typewriter font 

I created the beige&white stripes using paint.net which is a free, photoshop-like program


oh, and the leaf up top is "u" in MTF Flower Doodles font

Hope you like it!

DIY coaster tutorial

I have been wanting to make these for a while now, so here it is!

First, you will need the following:

However many tiles you would like to make (I bought eight) [.16 cents @ Lowe's]

Scrapbooking paper (or newspaper, maps, book pages. etc.) [5$ @ walmart for a zillion pages]

Sticky felt strips or dots [2$ @ walmart]

Mod Podge (matte or gloss style) [3$ on clearance @ walmart]

Acryclic paint (white, or any color you would like) [1.50 @ micheals]

Acrylic clear spray sealant [3.50$ @ walmart]

Scissors

2 paintbrushes (1 paintbrush/1 spongebrush would be better)

Sponge or smoothing tool

Pencil

Step 1. trace your squares onto the portion of the paper you would like to use, then cut

 

  Step 2. using smaller paintbrush, paint edges of tiles with acrylic paint, 2 coats

 (10 minutes between each coat) 

Step 3. trim paper to correct size according to top of tile

 [smaller is better than too big-you won't have to get the edges of the paper to roll over the edges of the tile]

Step 4. using larger brush/sponge brush, paint an even layer on Mod Podge onto top of tile

 Step 5. quickly place paper onto tile (you have a few seconds to adjust it)

 Step 6. Use sponge to even out paper, smooth out any air bubbles 

(make sure the edges are smoothed completely)

 Step 7. place another even layer of Mod Podge over top of paper and sides of tile 

(don't skimp on the amount you use, give it a good coating, also smooth out any air bubbles with finger)

 Step 8. let dry at least an hour

 Step 9. when you are sure they are dry, give tiles a very light sanding 

(you can sand off any brushstrokes, debris, or imperfections)

Step 10. spray paint the tiles with the acrylic clear sealer

(or get your fiance/significant other to do it, because he is a billion times better at spray-painting evenly)

 Step 11. let dry at least 10 minutes, and you can do more coats if you feel like it needs it
(I did 2 coats, just be sure to do a light sanding in between each coat)

Step 12. when completely dry, place your furniture protecting felt dots to the bottom

Step 13. wait an hour or two, then enjoy your handiwork!

 

 

 

Save them for yourself, or wrap them up in twine/ribbon/yarn and give as a gift!

Notes:

•  if you are feeling especially DIY, or can't find Mod Podge, or prefer to use something less expensive - try Margaret @ Pinspired's DIY Mod Podge tutorial
• I would have purchased a small sponge brush (had I remembered) so as not to have as many brushstrokes when using the Mod Podge (or just remember to sand lightly)
• You can use matte or gloss Mod Podge, it doesn't matter - but DO pay attention to what kind of clear spray paint you buy - I chose to get a "satin" finish as I am not a huge fan of glossy finishes
• I originally bought felt "strips," but they made the coasters too "tall," so instead I went back and bought the brown "dots" seen above (they aren't as thick)

Any other suggestions are welcome!

Happy crafting!