A beautiful view

Though the first part of my weekend was dedicated to taking two additional PLACE certification tests, after I completed that chore I drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park to spend some quality time camping out with friends and fiancé.  We had some amazing neighbors: about four elk who regularly wandered through our camp like they owned it (which I guess they do, after all).  I have rarely been so close to wild creatures, and rarely do I get to enjoy a beautiful morning view like this one.

 

 

All personal photos taken with my Android using the RetroCam application.

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Chalk it up to caffeine!

Continuing on my adventure with chalkboard paint, I thought one morning as I made Nick his coffee and me my tea that our respective morning beverages would be a fun place for some chalky application.  Not IN the cups, but ON them!

I started with these plain coffee and teacups, purchased for a pittance at the local ARC.

I taped off my areas for painting.  This shows just the placement of the tape; I added more wax paper to cover the rest of the cups later.

And the final results!

What are your plans for chalkboard paint?

Technorati Tags: crafting,creativity,decorating,food,frugality

Fun With Chalkboard Paint!

I happen to have a theme for this week, and it’s dun dun dun… chalkboard paint!  I started out using it for speech bubbles for our engagement photos.  After that, I made some boards into regular old chalk boards, also for use at the wedding!  Those are all fine and dandy, but I wanted to see what else I could do with this versatile paint!  So I grabbed a few jars that I’ve been collecting and a few other cans of paint and went to work!

Wax paper and painter’s tape helped me seal off the areas I didn’t want getting paint on them.  I did each jar a little bit differently!  One jar got a complete coat on the outside (after a base coat of regular spray paint), another got an interior coat of white and a fabric cap.  These two others are my favorites!

A little squat salsa jar got a coat of light brown paint inside, but the cap got a few coats of the chalkboard paint!  Since I couldn’t get all the adhesive off from the original sticker, I covered it with some cute cute lunch-themed fabric and there you are: lunch money jar!

The other I added a little chalkboard ‘label’ to!  First I blocked out a base for the label and painted with the same beige as the lunch money jar.  Then I blocked out a slightly smaller space for the chalkboard paint using painter’s tape.  A few coats later, and there we are!

The adventures will continue Friday with more chalkboard paint stories…  Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: crafting,crafts,creativity,decor,decorating,DiY,frugality,organization

I’m back!

You missed me SO MUCH, didn’t you?  And I know you’re just DYING to know, what did I do these last two weeks?  Well, here, I’ll show you:

First, there was a lot of this (including stats.  I’ve never had to do stats before.  It is painful in the extreme).  I’ve written several papers, read about 800 pages (that is not an exaggeration), and collaborated with many wonderful classmates!  I have a test to take this week, and then things will be settled out for a while.

We got the carpet cleaned.  I’ve promised myself since this that I will vacuum at least once a week, more if I have the time and energy.  The accumulation of long brunette hairs in the carpet is just no longer acceptable.

I sanded and painted this charming antique schooldesk.  I’m hoping to make it  fixture in my future classroom, but after living on the porch for two years, it needed some serious TLC.  It’s cleaned up and painted a base coat, but I kind of like the whitewashed look and may leave it!  What do you think?

I also finally finished cutting all the flags for my wedding bunting, and created this test string to use at our engagement party next month.  I’d planned to serge each flag, but after testing one of the flags, I thought they might be better without.  We’ll see how this one stands up when used outside in the park pavilion for the party, and then I’ll decide.

I did have a LITTLE fun!  Last week I went to Live@5, Alice 105.9’s summer patio concert series.  My friend Mara and I have done this for many summers past, and it’s always been fun, but this one got crazy really fast!  My name was drawn for a trip to Vegas, so Mara and I will be going together at the end of the summer!  It was SO crazy!  I am also no longer allowed to say “I never win anything!”  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Denver?  Check out the ball park in the background of the photo!

I have a lot of fun little projects planned for this week, and I’m excited to share them!  Stay tuned!

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Vacation time!

I’m going to be taking the next two weeks off from regular posting; I’m in the middle of two graduate courses and teaching interviews, and I think having my focus there would be a good decision.  I will be doing a few crafting things here and there and will hopefully have a lot of photos and projects to share when I’m back!

Thanks, and can’t wait to see you in two weeks! <3

They’re here!

The wedding shoes have arrived!  These are the Seychelles Women's Aquamarine Pump (a decidedly unimaginative name for such a charming pair of shoes!), and I have to say, they are fantastic.  Super comfy, just the right height, and just really impressively crafted.  I’m going to be hard pressed to not wear them before the wedding!

In love with some shoes?  Share it!

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Shiny!

Apartment Therapy reminded me this morning how much I looooove the shine and luster of lacquered furniture.  They featured a post about lacquered walls, but I thought to add a few pieces of furniture.  But seriously, isn’t this gorgeous?

I like my lacquer to have a nice modern finish, like this bedroom set from Scandinavian Designs.  With very clean lines, solid colors, and that bright shine, it becomes the focal point of a room without taking away from anything else.

Shiny lacquered kitchens make me just shiver with delight.

Lacquer accessories have always been popular staples in the bathroom, because of their brightness and ease of cleaning, but they can go anywhere!  Check out these from Nina Campbell!

On a budget?  Try some resin options from Walmart!

Technorati Tags: creativity,decor,decorating,accessories