Mar5

March

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March

Hey guys. Can you believe that it is already March?! I feel like it was just yesterday that 2012 started. So have you kept up on your New Year’s Resolutions? Honestly, for me, I haven’t even really looked at mine since I made them. I’ll have to change that. Being completely honest, I’m extremely tired right now and all the stuff that happened to me in the past week is too personal to share. So, I’ll talk to you all later!

Feb25

Coffee Stirrer Wall Art Tutorial

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Coffee Stirrer Wall Art Tutorial

I got this tutorial from “Make & Do Girl”. This is the URL if you want to go and check it out: http://makeanddogirl.com/2011/10/tutorial-coffee-stirrer-diy-wall-art/
So, here it is.

I’m big on projects that anyone can do. And this is one of those projects. If you can smear paint on wood and use scissors, you can make this easy art. And how do we ensure we get that awesome organic woody texture? Coffee stirrers. Yup, you heard me, coffee stirrers.

Here’s all you need to get started:

1. Wooden frame(s). We got these at Michael’s in the wood section for $1.49 each. (Talk about a cheap frame!) I used three for my project. You could also use a normal picture frame and remove the glass to let all your great woody texture show.

2. Acrylic paint.

3. A paint brush.

4. Coffee stirrers. (“Borrow” them from Starbucks!) I also got some extra wooden sticks from Walmart for $3 that were a slightly different width to add extra texture and dimension. I’ve seen LOTS of wooden sticks of varying sizes at Hobby Lobby too.

Additional Supplies:

5. Scissors.

6. Glue. Tacky glue. Elmer’s Glue. Whatever

7. A picture hanger (optional).

Okay, first things first. Choose a color palette. If you need color palette ideas, I suggest checking out Colour Lovers. It’s a great resource for color combo inspiration and an easy way to create your own palette. I selected colors that are fairly similar in tone because I wanted the overall look to be a little subtle.

So, once you’ve got your palette, it’s time to paint your frames and your coffee stirrers! I just sort of guessed how many sticks I needed in total and I ended up needing to paint more which was kind of annoying. I’d suggest painting more than you think you’ll need. Coffee stirrers are basically free anyhow.

I was going for the reclaimed driftwood sort of look. To achieve this look, I developed a simple, very unscientific technique. I’d paint the a brighter color (say, pea green) and then let it dry. Then I’d paint a second coat of a 50/50 mix of black paint and water. I’d let it sit for about a minute and then I’d go to think sink and rinse off some of the black paint, exposing the “weathered” green wood underneath.

Once your coffee stirrers are painted, it’s time to trim them to fit into the frame(s) you’ve chosen.

I found the quickest way to do this is to measure one stick to be the length you need it and then use it as the guide for trimming all the others.

This next part is fun because you’ll start to see your piece come together fairly quickly. Starting on one side of the frame, put down plenty of glue and begin laying your sticks down.

I used some sticks at their full length and then I also combined multiple pieces to create more of a patchwork effect. The only key here is to combine pieces of the same width so that you aren’t left with awkward gaps in between the vertical rows.

Since the “frames” I used were really just very thin wooden boxes, I needed to add hanging device to the back.

What’s left? Plop those puppies on the wall. Voila! DIY art that cost less than $7 total.

Feb22

Adoption

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Adoption

I’ve been talking with a friend of mine and we got talking about my adoption. I was adopted at birth and it actually is a really crazy story. From now on, I’m going to be calling the person that gave birth to me my “birthmother” and my mom that I live with and the one that I’ve know all my life my “mom”. So, my mom had a boy in 1992 and after that, she wasn’t able to give birth. She had about 7 miscarriages. God finally told her that she needed to adopt. My mom said that if she was to adopt, that God needed to practically put the baby in her arms. Well, one of my mom’s friends called and told her about a woman, my birthmother, that is pregnant with a baby that she can’t keep and is wanting to put the baby up for adoption. God told my mom at that instant that that was the baby that God had chosen. Well, my mom and my birthmother met and talked. In February of 1998, I was born. But because I was born to a different woman, I had to be “adopted” to be able to join my rightful family. That’s the main jist of the story. But my friend and I were talking about whether or not I would like to meet my birthparents, and if so, when. Personally, I would like to meet them, but not for another year or so. But I keep on thinking, what will they be like, what will their kids be like, what will happen, what should I call them and so many other questions. I feel like I’m in a movie where the main character find out that she’s adopted and she’s about to meet her birth parents. I’ve seen movies like this and have read books with this in it. It’s so weird.

Feb17

Guest Authoring

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Guest Authoring

Ok, so many of you have asked if I will be offering up positions for guest authoring. Looking into the fact that there are so many asking, I will be letting people guest author. If you want to guest author, email me or comment. I am open to a wide range of topics so just tell me the one you’re thinking about doing and we will go from there.