DIY Canvas Poem

Christmas came and went already!

I feel like I spend more time preparing for Christmas, then actually celebrating Christmas... Oh well, I'm sure I am not the only one who feels this way!

I was stumped on what to do for my little nephews this year! Kevvin (not a mistake, that is how they spell his name), the oldest, is 2 and a half and Xander is 1 year. As I was roaming through store after store looking at all the different toys to get them, I just didn't feel like any of that was special enough. They were going to get LOADS of toys from the rest of the family. All the other toys I had bought them just got lumped into a pile with every other toy they own, and I never actually see them play with it. So I decided I would do something completly different!

Although, I did end up buying them a few small things. Only because right before Christmas I had a mini panic attack. They are young boys, and I didn't think they would be as excited as I would have liked them to be about their gift.

So here is what I did. I sat down with a pen and a paper and wrote them a poem. One for each of them. It described the first time we met, our relationship and how much I love them.

I then used the following materials:

Canvas
Scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Wooden Letters
Legal plain white paper
Office Printer
Hot glue
Picture (printed at Wal-Mart)

And this is what the finished project looked like:

For the 2 and a half year old

For the 1 year old

 I am quite happy with how they turned out. I think they are very cute. Although I realize there will one day be a point in their life when they no longer want the pictures, but then I plan on taking them back and keeping them for me. :)

DIY Nail Polish Rack

I have been searching for a way to store my nail polishes. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of table space in my dressing room, so those acrylic step displays I had my eye on were just not going to work. I has a small bit of wall space and living in Canada, I was having a hard time finding an acrylic wall rack with the exact measurements I needed. During my search I found this video:

http://youtu.be/v-QmkFhLfHg

I followed the steps and created my own. 

I also store my essential oils on it, as I don't have quite enough to fill it, which I have been slowly working at. I store my color wheels (which I bought at Sally Beauty Supply) on the rack so I can see what the colors look like on a painted surface.

I am quite pleased on how it turned out! :)

21st Birthday gift!

Recently, my good friend turned 21. She loves a good drink and going out to the club. What to get a girl of such sorts?

 I ran into this picture on Pinterest

And decided I would do my own take on it for her!

End product:

I chose two of her favorite drinks. Baby Duck and Jag.
Then I went to the dollar store and picked up some cheap diamonds. I think they were $1.25 for a pack of 150.
While at the dollar store, I also picked up some tall plastic shot glasses (which you see the flowers stuck in), felt/wire flowers and a wine glass.
Then I was off to Michael's to get the rest. That is where I picked up the basket and fill and the glass glue along with the pink "L".

Then it was glue and stick, glue and stick and so on and so on.
This was a very time consuming project. But SO worth it.
Not only can she enjoy a nice drink, but she can continue to display the bottles for as long as she likes.

She loved it, and said it was the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given her! :)
Adding a bit of sparkle made this otherwise dull gift amazing!
And all it took was a bit of money (Maybe 20 bucks for all the supplies less the actual gifts) and a good chunk of time!

Now for some closeups:

"L" For Larisa

Wine glass

Shot glasses with felt/wire flower

Baby Duck Champagne. I added "La La" on it as that is her nickname. I also added a baby giraffe on top of the baby duck, as she is fond of giraffes.

Jag, nothing too fancy here. Just glue and stick

This was actually quite a fun project too!

Dressing room

Let's begin with a little story...

A few years ago, my brother and his wife decided to buy a 4500sq foot log home on the out skirts of a small town about 20 minutes away from the city we live in. It was just the two of them, and boy did they have A LOT of space. She decided that she would create a "walk in closet" of sorts in the master bedroom. They used the bedroom across the hall as their actual sleeping quarters, and she used this room to put all of her girly things in... Long story short the credit must go to her. 

2 years ago or so, I purchased a house with my soon to be husband boyfriend and we decided, since we are not planning on having children in the next 5 or so years, we would have our bedroom, he would have a bedroom and I would have a bedroom. 

His bedroom turned into a gaming/gun room. His two passions in life.

 And mine, is my favorite place in the world. I could spend HOURS in there, just looking around and doing my hair and makeup.

I created a dressing room.

I must say, I took my sister in-laws idea and RAN with it.   I'm still doing a bit of work on it. However it is the one place in the world I am most comfortable.

Enough with the words, lets see some pictures!

The view from the door

The vanity drawer

Made by me: Belt and scarf storage

Made by me: Full length mirror

Dresses and shoes

Purse tree (made for me by my step dad) and hair care storage

The vanity (made by me: Mirror)

Closet (which I currently use as a linen closet, my house does not have one!)

Wall closet view

Granted, these pictures were taken when I just finished the room. There have been quite a few updates since then. I will make a newer post once I get my new makeup organizer all sorted out, I am waiting for it to arrive!

As I mentioned, I did make a few things in here my self. The mirrors and the belt/scarf storage. I also made the closet curtain as well as the window treatments. I also covered the chair in the same fabric as the closet curtain. If you would like me to post how I did these, please comment and let me know.

I hope you enjoyed this post! :)