More Newspaper Art

Remember this recycled newspaper art project I finished last week?

Well, I was secretly making it for my mom for Christmas, but I wasn't sure if she'd like it. I posted it early to see if she'd comment on it... and she told me on two separate occasions she liked it so I was safe giving it to her :) I also made her this one! Here's how I did it.

What you'll need:
Canvas
Paper (I used newspaper but you could use fabric, magazines, wrapping paper, etc.)
Acrylic paint
Paint brush
Sponge brush
Mod podge

(This project was inspired by this tutorial from Crafted Love)

First, tear up some pieces of newspaper. I chose to tear instead of cut so it would have more of a collaged look.

Next, mix up your mod podge solution. I don't think it really matters the exact mixture, I would say I had 1 part mod podge, 3 parts water. It should be thicker than water but easily spreadable.

Cover one section at a time of your canvas with the glue solution. I would recommend putting newspaper or an easily cleanable medium under your canvas because I made a MESS and had to clean up and start over by putting newspaper down. Oopsies :)

After you put the goop on the canvas, lay the paper down and put more goop on top. I started making the newspaper go up or down or side to size, but I ended making it go every which way, which I liked better.

Wrap the newspaper around the side of your canvas. I wrapped mine around the back so it would stay down. Eventually I had to tape it down on the back because it wouldn't stay.

Let it dry for a few hours before you paint. I put mine outside to dry so it would dry faster (I'm impatient), but I would NOT recommend this. The cold made the newspaper peel and I had to re-glue some parts. I think this is also why I had to tape it to the back in the end.

Now that your canvas is dry, time to paint! I originally got this idea from Crafted Love (see above) and I liked her design, so I stuck with it. I was in a hurry to get it wrapped before I went home so I didn't have time to be too creative. However, there are so many possibilities-- chevron pattern, you could lay down lace and spray paint, you could paint a book, make some abstract art, geometric shapes, anything!

Mom loved both art pieces (I think). It was a fun and inexpensive gift to make.

I think this describes me pretty well.

{Source}

Wedding Venues!

It's been awhile since I posted about out wedding plans, so I thought I'd share our progress in our wedding venue search.

We have officially decided to get married in Cedar Falls, IA! We were going back and forth between Des Moines, Cedar Falls, and my hometown Monticello. We both had a connection to Cedar Falls, where we met, went to college at UNI, and want to move back to someday. It's also a middle point for our families who live in opposite ends of the state.

We looked around online and visited some venues, and we think we have decided on having the reception at the Rotary Reserve Lodge just outside of Cedar Falls. It has the rustic, vintage, natural vibe we were going for, and the lodge and surrounding area are beautiful. This way, we can also decide on the caterer we want rather than having to go with hotel catering and paying double the price for the same type of food. We are both very excited to have a venue so now we can set a date and book other things. Here are some pictures of the Rotary Reserve.

Another great feature is the outdoor deck that spans the back of the lodge (where all the windows are). I didn't get any pictures of it, but if the weather is nice we will take full advantage of it.

We also looked around at possible ceremony options, and this one is a little more tentative. We thought it would be cool to get married somewhere on campus, and we were looking around online and saw the Gallagher Bluedorn was an option. We never talked to anyone or looked too into it too much, but we did go and take some pictures. How awesome would it be to get married here?

 These stairs would allow for quite the entrance!

The opening in the wall is where we would stand and we would have to strategically place the chairs around the beams.

Anyway, nothing is set in stone and plans could change, but I wanted to share my excitement and our ideas with you!

Christmas Traditions

Kevin and I are spending Christmas apart this year so we had to get in some traditions before we head home for the holidays. One of his favorite movies is "It's a Wonderful Life" so I got it for him for Christmas this year. I made some specialty hot chocolate and we cuddled in for the evening. (If you haven't seen this movie, you need to! It makes me misty eyed every time!)

My hot chocolate experience changed my senior year of college when I moved in with two of my good friends, Erin and Andrea (hey ladies!) Until then, I had only experienced hot chocolate in water with the occasional mix of marshmallows. I was missing out. Erin introduced me to making it with milk. Andrea introduced me to other ingredients. And hot chocolate was never the same again.

Here is how I make my hot chocolate:

• Hot chocolate mix
• Milk
• Cinnamon
• Marshmallows
• Candy cane

It's so yummy. It's especially yummy on a cold winter night snuggled in with your honey.

Recycled Newspaper Art

This is another project I found on Pinterest and interpreted it into my own work of art. This has been a loooong project to complete and I worked on it over time to keep from going crazy. I had planned on doing this on two canvases and hanging them side by side but I would have lost my mind.

That being said, I am very happy with the outcome and (I think) it was worth the work. The best part is the only cost of the project was the canvas, which I got on sale for 2 for $7 at Hobby Lobby. I had been saving newspaper for awhile so it's an earth friendly art project as well.

What you need:
Canvas
Any paper (You could use magazines, wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, etc.)
Hot glue gun

Step 1: Cut paper into strips. I cut them in different widths to get a variety of height in my art. I also was sure to always keep a seam/fold and loose ends. This makes it easier to roll and you won't have to glue as much.

(Fold/Seam)

(Lose ends-- to be rolled in the middle)

Step 2: Roll the newspaper. Start rolling with the loose ends so they are in the middle and the fold in the paper is on the outside. This way, you don't have to glue every single end down.

Step 3: Place a dot of hot glue at the end of the strips to secure the paper and to keep it from unraveling.

In my process, I made about 10 rolls and then glued them on the canvas. It seemed to go faster this way.

 Step 4: Glue rolls to the canvas

For some rolls, I left bigger spaces in the middle. Some I wrapped many strips in one single roll to get a fatter roll. Some, I used only a few strips of paper. I have also seen this done with magazines, and it makes it a bit more colorful.

I like it best when you look at it straight on. When you look at it from the side it does look a little silly. It might have looked better if they were all the same height. I have seen a lot of newspaper art out there and I always like the look at it. My college roommate had a bowl made out of recycled newspaper, and I've also seen clocks, picture frames, etc.

What do you think? Kevin says he doesn't "get" it. I kinda like it.

Vacation

My blog has received over 100 page views since I last updated my blog, so I thought I'd throw my loyal readers a bone and let you know what I've been up to! Thank you so much for checking back frequently. I promise I will be back with some quality posts soon.

This weekend Kevin and I went back home for Christmas at our home with my dad's side of the family. All my aunts and uncles were able to come back, and I haven't seen everyone in a long time. It was a lot of fun, complete with an acoustic concert from my very talented cousin, Kenzie. More about Christmas with some pictures and videos to come.

Kevin and I decided to go on a little vacation for a couple days to Galena, IL. It's about 40 minutes from my hometown and a fun place to visit. We walked around main street and did a little Christmas shopping. We were looking for some more antique/thrift stores to increase our Mason jar collection, but Galena didn't have much to offer. It was a relaxing little vacation.

Today we are headed to Cedar Falls! I am excited for a number of reasons. 1) I haven't been back to visit CF since July! 2) We are going to look at wedding venues! 3) We are going to visit friends! 

We will head back home Wednesday so I can finish making and wrapping Christmas presents, relaxing, and watching Christmas movies.

I will be back with an update later this week, including some DIYs I made for Christmas. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season! 

End of One Chapter

Today is my VERY last day of student teaching. Which also means it's my very last day of required college attendance. Which means I'm basically a college graduate. WOOOOO!! I'm an alum!

In honor of finishing up my requirements, I made some goodies for my class. I will miss those little boogers and the teaching staff sooo much! It was a great experience.

Crayon Wreath

What you need:
Cardboard -- Anything sturdy and circular, I've also seen embroidery hoops used
Crayons -- I used 48, but you can use 64 for a bigger wreath
Hot glue
Fabric or ribbon -- Anything you want to use for an embellishment
Scissors

Cut circles out of your cardboard. I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures of this part. Once you have the outer circle drawn. You're going to need to make it look like an "o" by cutting out the middle. You want a semi-thin circle.

 Cut out fabric to cover up the ugly cardboard

 Secure the ends with hot glue and wrap around, over-laping as you go.

Lay out your crayons so you have a general idea how to space them. Start glueing your crayons down with hot glue. The crayons in the top right corner have been glued down. I wanted to be sure all the labels faced up and all the crayons were glued similarly.

I made a few fabric rosettes to glue on, but that is certainly optional. I cut out a strip of fabric to use to hang the wreath.

I kinda want one for myself now.

I also thought it would be fun to include what I made my my kiddos.

Fiancés and Friends

What more could you ask for than a hot bowl of chili, crackers, and a cold glass of milk in front of the fire on a cold evening? Well I'll tell you. A fiance who makes you your very own batch of chili without beans and without any spicy-ness. That's love.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Friday night we hosted card club. I can't remember if I have blogged about our card club. There are 12 of us, and we get together once a month and play 500. Most people think that card club is reserved for retired folk but I love it! It's an excuse to get together with friends, relax (drink), and have fun! Most of the girls are teachers coincidently which is fun for me. 

Saturday I talked Kevin into taking me to Breaking Dawn! Can you believe it?! Me neither. Turns out, it was no good. I LOVED the books but just haven't been impressed with any of the movies. They need to play up the love story more. I just can't connect with the characters in the movie, and people who haven't read the books (like Kevin) have absolutely no idea what's going on because the plot is not adequately explained. We had a nice little date and watched Lost after that.

For those of you who don't know, we have been watching all 6 seasons of Lost. We started in August and finished TONIGHT! We watched a couple episodes a week when we had time. I was hooked for about 4 months and I actually liked the ending despite all the naysayers out there who didn't like it so much.

I also worked on applying for some subbing positions today. Teacher applications are time consuming! This is my last week of student teaching and then it's off to the races!

Hope you all had wonderful weekends! What did you do?

DIY Stemware Stand

I found this idea on Pinterest and decided to head to Goodwill to make my own.

What you need:
Vase or Candlestick (I've also seen this done with wine glasses or anything with a tall stem)
Plate or basket (Use your imagination)
Heavy duty glue (That's right folks, the hot glue gun just wasn't good enough for this one!)
Spray paint
Tin foil

I went into Goodwill looking for something with a tall stem and something flat, not really having any specific vision. Don't feel confined to what I've used! I got the spray paint at Hobby Lobby for about $4-$5 I think. The glue you can find at any hardware or craft store. Make sure it says it works on glass.

Even though it was about 15 degrees I did this outside so I wouldn't ruin our apartment. I would recommend using more tin foil that I because I did end up with some purple cement. Oopsie! Spray a thin coat and then let dry. I sprayed a thick coat and had some running spray paint marks. I'm also impatient. Learn from my mistakes.

I also sprayed the basket, but kept the plate orange.

Put glue on the stemware and stick to the center of the plate or basket. Let dry for however long you can be patient for. I let mine dry for about a minute and a half. I think the tube says 24 hours :)

There you have it! I used the purple and gold one for a "catch all" basket on the counter (next to my DIY shopping list).

The purple and orange one was a little sturdier so I used it to pretty up our sink area.

I'm not sold on the purple and orange one yet. Turns out the plate was not made symmetrically and I can tell and it bugs me. OCD.

I'm trying to find my inspiration from Pinterest but the search function won't cooperate. I'll update later to give credit where credit is due. I also had NO idea what to call this DIY (a functioning Pinterest would have helped) so I hope the title makes sense?

Ignorance

I recently saw this commercial and it made me incredibly angry. I have been teaching at risk students this semester from very diverse backgrounds, including cultural, social, and religious differences. Every time I see something like this, I think of them. In our country, we have a separation between CHURCH and STATE. Anyone from any background can express themselves freely and worship (or not worship) any god they want. Our country was build on Christianity, but that is not what sustains it now. It is ignorance like this that makes me ache for my students who are outcasted by expressing themselves or following the cultural norms they know. In response to Rick Perry, it's not a matter of a "war on religion" it's a right of expression. "Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again." Really? It seems to me many of our worldly problems are caused by faith and religion. I do not support you.

Rant over. It's some food for thought. If you agree or disagree, leave a comment! I'd love to hear your viewpoints.

Disclaimer: I am not angry at religion, I am angry at people who assume religion is the remedy for our worldly problems.

Update: Here's a republican commercial I can appreciate :)

DIY Fabric Button Earrings

I have a bajillion of these earrings and I love them oh so much. Now you can make them and love them, too. They take about 5 minutes each to make and are very simple. Here's what you need:

Fabric of your choice, I got mine at JoAnn for $2 for a quarter yard

Hot glue gun (As I was making this, Kevin says, "You sure get a lot of use out of that glue gun don't ya?") Yes I do. And so should you.

Button Fasteners (It's what's in the brown package-- can be found at any craft store in the fabric section somewhere near the buttons) $2ish **NOTE! These come in many sizes. I used 3/4" buttons, but I also think 1/2" are cute

Button making kit (the blue and white circles) $2ish

Needle nose pliers (free from my boy!)

Earring backs (can be found in any craft store in the jewelry making section) $2 for 36 earrings

Using the pliers, take the fasteners off the buttons. This is the most time consuming part depending on if they want to cooperate.

Cut circles out of fabric, about 1" in diameter

Find the white part of the button making kit, one fabric circle, and the cap of the button.

Center the fabric in the white part press down with your finger. Be sure fabric is right side out so the bright part is on the outside of your earrings.

 Place the cap of the button inside, trying to keep the fabric centered.

Place the back of the button into the kit after gathering all the fabric into the center.

Use blue part of cap and press back of button into cap. You will hear a "click" when it's in place.

 Remove button from kit and place a dot of hot glue on the back.

Attach button backs. When I made my first pair, I centered the backs. Since my ears are double pierced, they kind of looked funny when I had earrings in my 2nd holes. You want to place the backs nearer to the top. Press down.

Ta Da!

Make more and more and more!

If you like the look but are intimidated by the process, you can also just buy plastic buttons, put some hot glue on the back, and press in the backs. 

Good luck! Send me a picture if you decide to make them :)