DIY Snowflake

Since my blog for TP roll awesomeness, I have been saving rolls like a crazy person.  I mean, for real.. I found myself at a friends house and actually happy because she had a few laying around waiting for the trash. I snagged them of course - What?  I asked permission, lol.  So Pinterest has found its way into my ridiculously busy life and instead of spending any spare minute I have blogging, I have strayed.  Thats right, Pinterest is every bloggers best friend and worst nightmare, why blog when you can pin?    I have folders upon folders of saved clever ideas... and now a place to put them - publicly!  But now I have a stash of pics and DIY's that I have done over the last few months (big thanks for Pinterest and all my fellow bloggers) that I must share to keep this circulation alive!  Ah.. anywho, I am getting off subject.  So I saw IT…yes, on Pinterest.  I have blogged before about painting them different colors but now turned into snow flake?!  LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. *Doing it! Granted I should have actually read the blog it was on vs. "liking" and moving on, but that kinda takes away from the fun of figuring out how.  So perfect to use as an addition for my Christmas Favors :D (as well as a few decoration ideas!). Anyways, I popped a pic up on FB and a few ppl asked me to show how I did these so here ya go! 

Collect TP and Paper Towel rolls - FOR-EV-ER.   With the TP the rolls, they actually evenly cut out every half in.  I did the same cut with the paper towels.  

Used a glue gun to secure them together.  Did about 5-10 as they built up.  For the masses; place them on a string for safe keeping.  Most of mine were 5-7 pieces, and I did about 5 that were bigger.. two that are about 15 pieces.  Once dried, I spray painted them all white - 1 bottle did about 45 snow flakes.  That was kinda tough, I broke a hanger put about 10 on it and sprayed.  Took a second hanger and flipped them upside down and sprayed the rest of the insides (prolly will make that spray paint stretch a bit more the next time around, have a few ideas to rig it).

  The easiest part was the glitter (after a few trial and errors).  My sister suggested I dip each side in glue and then follow up with glitter.  After my elmers  glue, probably a hundred years old, revealed its water consistency we had to change tactics.  Had a few bottles of polycrylic finish in the garage so tried that.  Worked!  Next we had a paper plate and started sprinkling on the glitter - hello time CONSUMING!  And I KNOW the pic I saw was covered and that is what I wanted.    *Flashback to 90's shake and bake commercial* I ran inside and grabbed a zip lock baggy put glitter in it.  I sprayed the flake with polycrylic before putting it in the bag, shook it up and sprayed it again to secure it.  Also used workable fixatif when I ran out of the other.  They are drying now, but I couldn't wait to decorate and post so here are a few of the firsts done up already...

here is a sneak peak at my house and decor.  

I hope it keeps the glitter on, seems like it is.  I also feel like I read somewhere about hair spray helping keep it on there.   Below and at the beginning is two of the FINAL products.  :D  I thought the big ugly apartment mirror would be nice to hang a bunch on- I'm just getting started!

Craft Cardboard Stars from a Toilet Paper originally found here. 

appetizer season has sprung.

its on.  football, that is.

i have not always been into the actual game, getting there, but more so the events and promise of fall.  bring on fantasy football, fun with friends and FOOD!

hostesses; start your engines!
here is one of my favorite, finger friendly, finds (gah.. whats up with all the 'f' words lol).  keep in mind.. this is my recipe.  i had this once, years ago, and made it to taste.  experiment and make it your own!
oh yea, its not a football shaped cupcake or themed colored cookies, but all will love this being a change of the norm.

my specialty bruschetta 

grab it
french bread - i grab mine from the nearest grocery bakery
tomato  1 large tomato chopped (2 or 3 small)
FRESH basil  as much as you want! i use about 5 leaves (+/-).  however, add at will
olive oil  2 tbsp
balsamic vinegar  1 tbsp
minced garlic  1 LARGE spoonful (more if you like, i most always add more)
parmesan cheese  (or mozzarella)
salt and pepper to taste

bake
cut the french bread at about every half inch.  lay on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil.  cook at 350' for 5-7 min.   keep an eye on them. you want them to be crouton like

combine
tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and s/p.  stir and taste.  YUM!

eat
take a piece of bread add a spoonful of your mix and top with parm.

 i literally make this for most all my events.
not only do others ask for it, but i now seriously crave it.
WIN WIN.

its always pumpkin time.

its been a while since i posted something healthy (well kinda) to snack on.  i love all kinds of bread, pasta, and ...bread.  well when loosing weight and trying to stay healthy i wasnt about to kick EVERYTHING so i altered some of my favorite things.  

the most moist and flavorful (not to mention cheap!) quick pumpkin bread in a box is actually krogers.  always found on the top shelf, where all good things are hidden.

the box calls for 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 2 eggs
in my healthier version i sub in 3 tbsp of natural apple sauce and  3 egg whites

taking out the oil AND the yolks will make the bread a bit more spongy but, hey, i still get to eat it! ENJOY!

TIP if you don't like the texture change just sub in the egg whites OR the apple sauce.  

dead space turned book nook.

when apartment hunting the best thing you can come across is a built in book shelf or a cute NOOK.  <3 nooks!  ok, i actually have a built-in already but it wasn't BIG enough. so i put all my spill over books in that area above the kitchen shelves. c-l-u-t-t-e-r.

i caught the inspiration bug
at my aunts house last saturday, i noticed that she had taken the cabinet doors off the end part of her kitchen shelving and piled some books in.  all i could think was i want to do that.  i NEED to do that!  after about 2 SECONDS it was logged as a TODO.  apartment, shpartment....  they wont notice.  DOWN WITH THE DOORS!

have: UN-useful ugly cabinets

get:
screwdriver - *apartmenters; tape screws to cabinet doors bc they will have to go back on when you move out
paint brush

paint  

after almost no deliberation, i wanted the shelves to look like they were intended to LOOK like book shelves. bring on the paint.  already had some white base paint on hand (thanks big.box.store oops paint section). 

almost done.

the first coat ended up being BRIGHT white.  grabbed some old brown paint and mixed a dab in with the white.  made a nice off white to match the originally white trim haha

looks gray in the pic (i thought so too), but dried to match perfectly! 

  BEFORE. kinda

AFTER.  

added my candle holder (hanging) birthday present too - dont think its meant to hang but  the area above the shelves is so big the candle holder almost looked small.

yup. this'll do :)

the option:  i ALMOST took my warm green paint and went to town but apartment people might notice that.  grr.  you know your apartment. be brave at will.
homeowners - TAKE ADVANTAGE and make it your own. 

and now, i seriously just want to sit in front of this area and just be HAPPY.  it used to be where things went to die, now its so accessible! 

from 24 to 25!!

last time i posted i was 24 yeas old. as a now wiser 25 year old, for the first time i'm REALLY thinking, "whoa, 25 sounds old".  all the stigmas that you told us came true... gained the freshman 15, time seems to be passing by faster, hang-overs last a MINIMUM of 48 hours and friends are getting harder and harder to stay in touch with (even with facebook).  getting on with it, i do what i can to keep in touch and those of you who know me know i like to throw a good party.. those that do not, i throw THE BEST parties.  haha

when i am not throwing the parties i am clicking away at my camera.  yup, with old age comes, more like GOES, your memory.  therefore, making stories from my photo albums to remind myself, and tell others, of the fun that was had becomes a necessity.  well, HELLO old age.. my party was a day before my birthday, july 1st, and i forgot, that's right, FORGOT to take pictures.  all that planning and cute, vintage, colorful, cleverness going on and not one picture... well, of usefulness to the contents of this blog ;)

however, for those who could not make it, here is a little gathering of the decorations i used.

THINK: buffet table colors. pale yellow table cloth, pale blue, mixed with a splash of orange and a drop of red. 

menu:
.bite sized pigs in a blanket (wrapped weenies)
.3 glass milk carafes filled with kettle popcorn, stick pretzels, and banana chips.
.balled watermelon *with the half watermelon scooped out and then refilled with the balls - looked awesome!*
.a wood tray pained red lined with brown paper bag and filled with crumbly brownies.
.fresh carrots, celery & chips with veggie dip.
.a friend make the MOST yummy deviled eggs and another brought fresh fruit salad, strawberries, cantaloupe & bananas.

it opens?!  cute, right.   and this sucker to our right was filled to the top with our late night surprise; WATER BALLOONS. 

                     

  

oh, did i mention that it was a "beer olympics" party?  all along the perimeter we put up 36 mason jars with tea lights a tiki torch at each game table.  the back yard was decked out with tables for beer pong, flip cup, my thumb war and arm wrestling station, robo pound, and corn hole!
of course you have to have a championship for beer pong.

made the frame with a bit of white paint, red spray paint,
ply wood cut to shape and black board spray paint.  clever! 

Christopher Peterson was our 2011 BEER PONG CHAMPION!  

all and all it was probably the best birthday i have had.  thanks to a special few for helping with all the preparations, and everyone who came out start preparing for next year.

so. did you get any good ideas?  good - now go throw a party.

stuff it. dress it, ship it

ever wanted to ship someone a birthday cake?!  make cupcakes, put it in the jar and top it with some icing.  i think ill be making these for my packed lunches from now on thanks.

whatever you put in the jar dress it up with your favorite scrapbook paper or patterned fabric.  they will stay on once the lid is so don't glue it down and switch up the pattern and brighten a mood.   

pop in some flowers and call it a vase








but dont forget the JAMMING, or the PICKLING, or the STORING and the DRINKING.  oh. and the planting :)

adding fabulous to same old

take a shelf.  any shelf and put a hole in it.  put the mason jar in the hole and YOUR DONE. haha.. im jk, there a little more then that.  but in a nut shell.

mason jar shelf insert container tools needed:

the goods: shelf, mason jar, a hole cutter

the oops: o-ring, and super glue

im NOT a carpenter.  i got my at a thrift store for $3 bucks

 THE HARD PART.  my dad had a hole saw attachment for a drill gun

 **do not.  I REPEAT DO NOT cut it like this.   we want to keep those fingers.

and vWAH-LA, a hole. 

step added in because hole was too big - always leave room for error.  most always you WILL have some sort of hiccup. dont flip out. IT HAPPENS ;)

i added a o-ring that was laying around, secured with some super glue.  MAKE SURE you hold in place for 30 sec and it will stay.  

place lid on top, screw in jar.  the band will rest on the self and hold it up.

i added PRETTY, but you can use it by the door for change or keys. use those creative juices. 

now sit back and ENJOY.  that was fun!

the option
**keep an eye out**
i will be adding hooks for jackets/hats/etc.  ALSO i was making the hole with my dad and thought "wouldn't it be CLEVER to add three jars and make more of a flower/stuff holder?!!".  loved the idea so much i measured this one out so that the jar was evenly on the left and will be making holes for TWO MORE mason jars.    ***PICS TO COME***

mason jar quickies.

to continue with our mason jar week long celebration ill share with you the three most simple and marvelous things to do with these cute little containers.    

mason jar quicky #1     hold the change
two people acquire ALOT of change. boyfriend being more of the change acquirer and im the cash it in SPENDER. obsessively thinking of ways to contain the change that seems to find its way ALL OVER the house, it hit me. a few months back i was in the wedding of a fantastic friend. at one of the festivities in her home i noticed that her fiancé kept all his change in jars.  WHAT A GREAT IDEA!  i went with it and dressed it up a bit to work with my decor.  because that IS what really matters. 

thanks mr. & mrs. glass!!

mason jar quicky #2     lightning bug game
kids love catching lightning bugs, child me being one of them.  evil little bug killers, i know, but HEY it was fun. my dad would always give each my sisters and i a mason jar to catch as many as we could.  the one who caught the most would win (forgotten about after hours of fun). when a few were caught the jars became something straight out of a midsummer's night dream. this weekend is a weekend of outside celebrations, use this activity to revisit that kid from within.

picture found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brodyjt/

mason jar quicky #3  jar it
this-is-kindof-amazing-so-remember-it-diy-quicky. every year my boyfriend and i get loads of free pecans from his family. after eating what we can the rest are candied and jarred for favors.  if you dont get an amazing price on peanuts then this can be COSTLY.  
the option: make your favorite candy and wrap it with a mason jar!

 

pictures found at
http://www.elanaspantry.com/a-holiday-gift/
http://www.homemadegiftguru.com/old-fashioned-oatmeal-cookie-recipe.html

this idea i have to contribute to my cousin, rachel. having seen it done before i recognized the cleverness when she used it last christmas for favors. it IMMEDIATELY found a place in my clever little notebook.  take your favorite recipe and put all dry ingredients in the jar.  add a cute recipe card to it or a wooden stirrer, as pictured by this clever person.  your creativeness will blow everyone away! 

everybody loves.. mason jars!

only ONE MORE WEEK till the 4th?!  it got here so fast this year. as everyone is gathering together and hostesses assemble their parties, mason jars are coming out of the woodwork.  if they arent, they SHOULD be.  no matter the material, there so many different diy things to make.  why mason jars are so amazing - any way you use them they are so freaking cute!  stay tuned. every day this week i will have a different way to use and reuse these awesome jars with some amazingly clever ideas.

using my two favorite things, mason jars and candles, here is a clever idea followed by the how tos.  read on.

mason jars with floating candles

needs:

raffia ribbon or twine

mason jars
small candles (tea light candles float just as good and are CHEAP.  just take them out of their metal holders and fold over the wick so it wont fall through)

food coloring - the option

wrap your choice of string several times around the top and then in a bow 

add water and candle.

change the candle color OR add a drop of food coloring to give it a personalized look.

i love everything pumpkin, cue orange candle.  

celebrate independence day with a red and blue with white candle.

i loooove a blue and brown color scheme!

to get this look add about a half of a drop of blue dye.  

<3 it!

rainy day diy.

we are all still getting to know each other here in cleverkristy land but something you might have seen coming is that i am a coffee LOVER. like looooove.  like cant eat cant sleep reach for the stars over the fence world series kind of love.  got it?  good.  so whenever i see something that has anything to do with coffee, im all over it.  and there is NEVER  better time to make a hot cup o' joe, then when its all grey and rainy outside. 


how this clever idea came about
i was amazon surfing my favorite key words and happened upon coffee stencils.  for those of you who dont know what they are, SHAME ON YOU.  haha, jk this is what they are:

dont you love them!!!  and for just 4 easy payments of $5.00, plus s&h, they can be yours!  well... i immediately thought i can do that.  I searched through my house for inspiration to come.  it didnt. i got back online and searched the stencils and found a lot of plastic ones that other people had made. JACKPOT. hello plastic wonton soup cup from last week.






diy caffeine happiness tools
exacto knife 
plastic - old togo container, top to your margarine, a deli lid... top of a pringles can. you get the point.
cappuccino - frothy goodness 
coco powder 

draw a design on the lid.  use the exacto knife to cut it out.  hellooooo cute! 

  

plain cleverness.

today marks my 1 week, 7 whole days blog ANNIVERSARY!  and can i say goal:  500 views!!  congratulations readers on getting some great ideas and making my blog something to be sought out.  lets keep pay'in it forward because i am committed to you!  =D

as bloggers, we are always trying to be innovated and come up with new and ingenious ideas.  when those creative juices are flowing things just come to us, ie. my pvc pipe turned curtain rod.  as you know my posts are a consolidation of amazing things that some of my amazing fellow bloggers have discovered.  i am making it my mission to keep my followers knowledgeable on ways to decorate on a dime and eat delicious, healthy alternatives.  todays blog is nothing short of a little creativity and inspiration.  

red online is a neat website with loads to offer.  while doing my daily craft surfing i saw this neat idea and remembered i had a heap of postcards from when i went traveling through europe!  

step 1.

acquire postcards.    

step 2. 

tape post cards in whatever order around door frame   

step 3. 

take a step back and admire how amazing you are for choosing to remember and ACTUALLY DO this idea.  bc its pretty groovy ;)

         

this next idea i have seen done on many sites and to my boyfriends dismay i stared making and just FINDING places for them haha.

step 1.

use a whole roll of tp or paper towels.  

step 2.
smash and cut the left over cardboard roll in 1/2" slices 

step 3.
hot glue them in the center

options: I added paint on SOME of mine to add a little color in my life ;) ENJOY!

the wicker mans flight

today, june 21st marks the longest day (& shortest night); the summer solstice.  most people know when the summer solstice is here because google is awesome and tells us all we know.  here is it in a nutshell.  if i get something wrong, i am sure someone will tell me 

brief as possible

way back when, folks thought that it was a spiritual day.  herbs picked on this day were extra potent, fires were burnt in celebrations and it was good luck to bring some of that ash home after.  celebrations were had to welcome the coming year and let go of all that was being held onto, for whatever reasons.  ONE way that it was celebrated was to burn the wicker man.  write down anything that you want to get rid of, wrap it around a few flowers pinned to the wicker man (a symbol of the sun god, who died on this day) and toss it in the fire that you have already burning - and watch your troubles burn away.  

sounds like fun, right?  well, lets get rid of our troubles!

here is a pic so you can get the idea. mine looks
 a bit different, i just thought it seemed easier.

quick tutorial.  subject: wicker man

1.  grab a bundle of anything.  grass, straw, leaves.  tie around the middle with anything you have laying around ...that you dont mind burning.   i have string - or lets get fancy - TWINE  

2.  take the bottom part, split it and tie a bit of twine where each "foot" would be.  3.  take the top part, split it in 3.  the two on the side 

tie a bit of twine where the "hands" would be.  more so in the middle since you want the hands and head to look a little different - but thats just me.   4. take the middle top and tie at the very top to create a head.  

and there you go!your very own voodoo doll, I MEAN wicker man. 

 write away your troubles, tuck it in the wicker man,
toss it in the fire and enjoy!