'A Casarella

4.26.2013

Song Lyric Canvas Art

And now for another edition of, "Inspired by Pinterest." One of the many (many, many, many) Pinterest-inspired projects that I have been wanting to try is based on this pin, which is from a blog called, "SPARKLE."

She used foam stickers, paint and several canvases to make a cute collection of snowflake pictures. And ever since I saw it, that idea has been in the back of my mind as something I wanted to try. The idea made its way to the front of my mind when I spotted these cool stickers in the checkout lane at TJ Maxx:

At $1.49, I helped myself to three packs.

I wanted to make some more art for my daughter's room (since the last few items were such a big hit).

My older daughter is a huge Taylor Swift fan (HUGE) so I decided to make her a Taylor Swift song lyric canvas.

I began by searching the internet for Taylor Swift lyrics. It took me awhile to find something that I liked, but I finally found one from a song called "The Best Day," which seems to be an ode to Taylor's parents.

The last line of the song really resonated with me. Although the lyric was written from a daughter to her mother, it could just as easily work the other way around. It reads:

And I didn't know if you knew so I'm takin' this chance to say that I had the best day with you today.

Once I had my quote, I had to figure out how to put it on the canvas. First I measured the letter-stickers to get a rough idea of their height and width. Then I drew a grid on the canvas using those measurements as a guide.

After that I played with the quote. I only had space for eighteen characters per line, so I needed to divide up the words with that in mind. (I did this by typing it out in Word and then dividing it in different ways, using the character count feature to help me along.)

The end result was this:

After I had the letters where I wanted them, I erased the grid the best I could.

Finally, I spray painted the whole thing white to cover up the grid and give the entire picture a seamless look:

My daughter actually jumped up and down when I gave it to her so I think I did a good job!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you enjoy this post? Want to read more? Sign up to receive my blog via email so you don't miss a thing:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linking:
http://www.attagirlsays.com/2013/05/28/homework-wednesday-link-party-3/

Mason Jar Wedding Kit

Remember last year when I wrote about the wedding that my daughters were going to be in? Well, my little one is going to be in another wedding this fall. And that means another round of parties: engagement parties, bridal showers, the rehearsal dinner, etc. (Fortunately for us, we love a good party!)

With the (extremely fun) engagement party behind us, it's time to start thinking about the shower. More specifically it's time to start thinking about the shower gift.

I wanted to go with a handmade gift, and after reading this post by the talented Linda of It All Started With Paint, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. (Pinned here.)

Linda's project was an Anthropologie-inspired mason jar sewing kit. As soon as I saw it I realized that, with the addition of a few extras, it would make a great Wedding Day Emergency Kit.

(Because, seriously, you can't have a wedding in the year 2013 without at least one mason jar. I'm not kidding: something old, something new, something borrowed, something in a mason jar... it's the official wedding slogan of 2013. Really.)

A Wedding Day Emergency Kit is exactly what it sounds like: a collection of things one might need on one's wedding day. Here's what I included in mine:

Bobby pins (I went with black as the bride is a raven haired beauty :)
Advil
Visine
Lip balm
Kleenex
Hairspray
Band-aids
Breath strips
Disposable toothbrushes
Tums
Tide stain stick
Scissors
Thread
Seam ripper
Safety pins
Q-tips (I had to remove them from the plastic case to make them fit.)

Isn't it amazing how much you can put in a mason jar?! (Note: be sure to use a wide mouth mason jar.)

If you'd like to know how I made the pin cushion lid, hop over to Linda's blog for her instructions. Initially my lid refused to screw on to the jar so I had to remove some of the stuffing from the cushion. Now it works like a charm.

So what do you think? Would you like to receive one of these as a shower gift? Did I forget any important wedding day necessities? Let me know in the comments.

Don't want to make your own?

Great news!

I am now selling my kits.

Message me at elena@acasarella.net to place an order.

My Succulent Obsession

So it's no secret that I'm a woman who loves herself some succulents.

I mean, I've only written about a thousand succulent posts in my fifteen months of blogging.

Okay fine, maybe not a thousand.

All right, all right.

Four.

It was four posts.

But they were extremely effusive.

(Perhaps overly effusive.)

Some might even say it was a thousand-posts-worth of effusiveness.

If you don't believe me you can read them yourself: here and here and here and here.

See, I told you. Effusive.

And a love like that, well, it just needs to be shared, you know?

Which is why I decided to whip up a little inspirational clipboard on Hometalk.

(And if you think I'm effusive over succulents just wait until you hear my feelings about Hometalk.)

No, seriously. If you're interested in home decorating, gardening, organizing, crafting, DIY, or anything vaguely resembling these topics, you need to join Hometalk ASAP. It's an amazing place to get inspiration.

What's that you say? You go to Pinterest for inspiration? Well, that's just fine and dandy, but on Hometalk you can also ask questions. (And people will answer them!) Beyond that you can share your own projects. It doesn't matter if you're a blogger or a designer or a barista at Starbucks. If you have any interest in things pertaining to "home," Hometalk is a welcoming community full of tips and ideas that you won't want to miss.

Which brings me back to the succulents. You see, I'm not the only succulent-obsessed Hometalker. Oh no. There are dozens of us. And using Hometalk's clipboard feature I was able to take a bunch of my favorite succulent posts from Hometalk and put them in one, handy place.

So, if you're a lover of succulents (or you just want to check out Hometalk) follow this link or click the image above to view the clipboard I've affectionately named, "My Succulent Obsession."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you enjoyed this post please consider following my blog via email. Simply enter your email address in the space below and then click "submit". Thanks!

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

Use a Paper Roll Dispenser to Store Washi Tape

Yep, the title says it all.

My work here is really done. I can just post the picture and call it a day...

Oh who am I kidding? You know I'm not a more-is-less kinda gal ;)

So here's the deal: I've been trying to get my crafting lair in order. You might recall some recent posts like this one (about storing my baker's twine in a mason jar) or this one (about labeling the drawers that hold my supplies). And you might also recall that none of the drawers in that last post were labeled Washi Tape (because I only have so many drawers).

Problem is, the Washi Tape was kind of starting to take over (especially since I got my most recent order from Pick Your Plum). Unfamiliar with Washi Tape? It's Japanese paper tape that's great for crafting. Check out this link to buy some (if you dare).

My solution to the Washi-Tape-takeover came in the form of something I just couldn't let go of: a paper roll dispenser that my daughters no longer use. Every time I put that thing in the Goodwill pile, I kept pulling it out at the last minute. I just knew I would be able to use it someday.

Turns out I was right.

Which means that no matter how hard I try to organize my space it's going to be a losing battle.

(Because now I feel justified in keeping everything I "might use someday.")

Watch for me on A&E ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you enjoyed this post please consider following my blog via email. Simply enter your email address in the space below and then click "submit". Thanks!

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

DIY Ring Holder

A few months back my daughters and I caught a show on HGTV. It was called "Clean Freaks," but it really should have been called "Neat Freaks" because the focus was on storage and organization.

The show was hosted by Sabrina Soto who spent part of the time taking the viewers on a tour of her own home. One of the things she showed us was a piece she uses to store her rings. It was a simple block of wood with nails hammered into it. The whole thing was spray painted white and it just had a funky-cool vibe. (I have scoured the internet looking for a picture that I could link to but have not been able to find one.)

I decided I wanted to make something similar with items I had around the house. And while I have plenty of nails, I was plum out of wood-blocks so it was time to get creative.

First I took a small canvas and lightly drew out a grid pattern in pencil. Then I poked a thumbtack through the canvas wherever the lines intersected. After that I spray painted the entire thing.

And it looked really cool but there was one problem: I needed to find a way to keep the thumbtacks in place. I decided to go with earring backs. I purchased rubber ones with a big hole (5mm) so they would fit over the thumbtack. (You can buy your own here.) And of course, if I'd had a spare cork board lying around I could have used that instead of the canvas (which would have eliminated the need for the earring backs), but I like to use what I have when I can...

After that it was just a matter of hanging it on the wall. I used Command Picture Hanging Strips. They are a flipping miracle and you can buy your own here.

I really like the finished product which I will be moving into my closet. I have lots of fun costume-y rings which will look as cute on the holder as they do on my fingers!