DIY Dry Erase Calendar

This DIY is fairly simple and can be very unique. 

Simply put fabric/wallpaper scraps/wrapping paper/whatever you desire as the background in a photo frame. 

I thought of this when trying to find a way to stay organized with my coursework this semester. I found a nice dry-erase board calendar (yet it was just a plain white wipe off board) for over $40 at Meijer. I figured I would be able to make a much more visually appealing one at a much lower cost. 

I simply drew out the calendar as I wanted it on the back of the image that was already in the frame. I am honestly unsure of the size of this frame... I know that it is larger than 8x10. 

Simply divide the total by 7 (you'll want 5 rows). 

*Don't forget to include an area for the days of the week. 

*Also, don't forget that the glass may sit in the frame which may overlap and cover the perimeter of the glass. So if you look closely, there is a line on the left and right of my paper indicating where the glass will first be visible. (If you don't take this into account the outside squares will be smaller than the other five.)

I drew the lines directly on the glass in sharpie on the side that will be inside of the frame (where the picture would typically go) and then flipped the glass over and wrote the days on the outside because I am not talented enough to write them in reverse. 

I had a few fabric and paper background choices and played around with the options for a while. 

*Make sure that you are conscious of whether the markers will show. (Especially if you are like me and decide to color code, make sure the colors will be legible!)

 I originally was going to use dry-erase markers but they were a little difficult to read because they weren't as dark. 

While using glass cleaner to spruce it up a little bit I discovered that the black sharpie wipes off with Windex. So, lately I have been using sharpie to write out the events. 

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What I Wore: 9/25/12

Today was a cheap-o outfit day! The skirt and scarf I am wearing were both goodwill finds and the basic white tee was $4 at American Apparel. 

(Looking at this picture now I'm realizing I need to hem the sleeves so they aren't so bunchy! I'll be adding that on the list of things to do.)

It's somewhat difficult to see in these pictures but the skirt has some fun and flirty pleats. 

 I'm seriously obsessed with this scarf! I have yet to perfect how to tie it in a way that can show it's true beauty...

 Check out this magnificent pattern. I seriously cannot begin to describe how beautiful I think it is. 

 The only tricky part is displaying it's true beauty... I'm not used to square scarves and can't decide how to wear it well and display the stripes as well as the crest. 

 But here is how I wear it:

I fold it in half into a triangle...

 Next I simply roll it a little bit so it's a little more manageable... 

I didn't like the point with this high waisted skirt so I  just tucked the bottom up into the inside of the scarf.

 I wrap it around my neck and cross the tails in the back and bring them around to tuck underneath in the front. And voila! 

Magnify Success

Many of my friends are currently defining their lives by their 'success', which in turn results in greatly magnifying any lack of success. We have become 'adults' and have all gone through numerous failures and disappointments. It's hard to accept disappointment but I am slowly learning how they can be beneficial in the long run. I found this quote on Pinterest and absolutely fell in love. It's time for me to stop measuring life by my failures... my happiness is not dependent on success alone!

Pinterest

"If we magnified our successes as much as we magnify our disappointments we'd all be much happier" - Abraham Lincoln

Little joys in little finds

I have an obsession with jewelry. Whenever I finally get around to completely organizing my room at my new apartment I will post pics and the obsession will be a little more evident.

I display the majority of my jewelry and have previously used a thread holder to hold bracelets and rings. I bought a small one at JoAnn Fabrics and spray painted it white. Click here for a past post about how to make this!

I absolutely loved this storage system but found this gorgeous jewelry stand at Goodwill for $3!! It's absolutely perfect. There is a tray that I use for earrings and other jewelry that I wear daily so I don't have to hunt for them.

 Plus the tray has holes drilled into the edge to hang earrings. Perfection.

I already had this stand that I got from TJMaxx for around $10-$15. I love it too but the one I found at Goodwill is so versatile that I just couldn't pass it up. So now I have two!!

City Skyline DIY

It was recently one of my good friends' birthdays. She is a Chicago gal at heart and I know her dreams of moving out of the suburb and into the city will be realized soon.

Click here for the link to this image

As usual I found this idea via pinterest and made my own version. I searched for skyline templates to print out and trace and found a few I liked by simply searching on Google.

But in the end I decided it would be easier for me to just draw it freehand i first drew it on a blank piece of printer paper until I got the version I liked best. Below is an image of my drawing before I cut it out.

Then I taped the paint samples together. (I decided to overlap them in a way so that the name of the shade of paint was not visible).

*Make sure you get enough samples to fill the frame! You can also adjust the height of the 'skyline' to wherever you want by chopping off one (or more) of the shades. From the image above you can tell that my paint samples filled the frame so I chopped off the top few shades. 

I then traced out my own little template that I had drawn freehand and then cut it out.

Then simply decide what color you want the background to be and frame it! 

(In my finalized project I actually made the background gray but of course I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to my friend! Oooops! Maybe I'll harass her for a picture of it and update this post later). 

Note: I personally dealt with a little dilemma when beginning this project and deciding whether it was right to just take so many samples.

In reality I ended up using less than I have typically taken when trying to determine colors for an actual paint project so I felt like it was somewhat more justified. If I were to do more than one of these projects I would have attempted to find a way to purchase them in bulk.



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What I Wore: 9/18/12

Apparently summer weather completely disappeared this weekend and the fall chill quickly set in.

Of course I happened to not have any of my warmer clothes so I broke out this short sleeve sweater and paired it with a pair of my Levi skinny jeans.

I added a light cardigan (boyfriend style) and a pair of comfy black flats. 

I love the lace detail in the back. I typically pair it with a black tank underneath to contrast.

And I got a new cell phone case! I definitely miss my mint one but I have dropped it one or thirty times so its a bit of a mess.

My very own mint jeans

I have completely fallen in love with the fun colored jeans that everyone seems to be wearing but have struggled to find some that I truly like. I'm cutting my budget exponentially now that I'm trying to get through grad school so the pairs I have found were a little out of my price range. Therefore I decided to make my own! 

I have dyed a few things before when I was feeling picky about precise colors so figured I could do it again. I promptly found a pair of white jeans (capris) that were well within my budget. 

Here is the before. 

They happened to be on sale at Old Navy. They are 'Rockstar' fit. 

I decided to use Dylon dye because this color fit my exact desire... It is called Bahama Blue. You could also use Rit Dye (and they have an area on their website that gives you a color guide to make the perfect shade!)

I decided to use a bucket but there are various techniques... you could use the microwave/stove/washing machine but I have never tried those). Read the instructions.

Just make sure that everything is submerged! Also don't forget to wear gloves or you will be dyeing your fingers as well!

Here they are immediately after pulling them outta the bucket. 

*They look darker than they will look after you rinse them! Don't fret. They will not be that shade in the end.

The shade was absolutely perfect!

BUT... I apparently had not not submerged the pants very well and therefore the pockets had a stained look. The remedy was very simple - just put them back in the bucket for a while longer and rinsed again. 

Here is the final effect! 

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What I Wore: 9/14/12

Night out on the town. I love lace and paired this top with a light pink top. Levi skinny jeans and shoes from Target. 

What I Wore: 9/13/12

I'm typically not one to wear leggings as pants but really wanted to wear black pants with this outfit and was too lazy to do the laundry so I resorted to leggings. I think I pulled them off, if I do say so myself ;)

The top is from Wet Seal. Charlotte Russe leggings. The shoes are a new purchase... currently on sale at Wet Seal - they were less than $10!!

I'm so in love with these flats!

I'm also in love with the arms of this shirt. So fun! 

DIY Jewelry holder

I am obsessed with jewelry and have sooooo much that I have to constantly come up with new storage systems. I will slowly be posting the different techniques I have for storing (and displaying!) my jewelry. This post will be about my bracelets and rings.

I bought a thread holder at JoAnn Fabrics and repurposed it for jewelry. (Sorry I don't have a before picture... I did it a while ago...) But it was originally just the standard blonde wood color so I spray painted it white to match my color scheme. Then simply throw the jewelry on!

Here is a side view... The two parts in the back are like a kick stand and I set it up on a table with my other jewelry and knick knacks. 

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What I Wore: 9/4/12

White after labor day! Ohhh no! (I obviously think that rule is just plain silly but honestly hadn't thought about it at all when I put this outfit on...)

Both the top and the capris were from Old Navy!