Forever Young Pintrosity

My roommate pinned this image ages ago and I immediately fell in love with it. Seriously. Thought about it day and night. I even debated getting it as a tattoo. 

Pinterest

 A couple weeks ago I ran across this tutorial on Pinterest and immediately knew what I wanted to do. So I attempted to replicate the forever young image with glue on an old Hanes tee.

Life of Charmings

As usual, my eager self could not possibly wait to gather all of the appropriate supplies so I used what was on hand. The glue that I used is Elmers clear glue, not gel... but it still worked. But when I dyed the fabric it was too faint to see the image. I didn't even take pictures because it didn't work well.

But I love this idea and want to try it again with the gel glue. Have you tried this fun DIY? What worked for you?

DIY Glittered Heels

I have more than a few pairs of heels that have taken a beating at the Bloomington bars... I had finally come to terms with the fact that they are beyond the point of passing of presentable and was ready to toss them out. 

Then I decided to glitter them and wear them on New Years Eve instead of buying new heels for the occasion! They turned out perfectly. Here is a little about the process...

I added some snapshots of the damage for anyone needing comedic relief. It's hilarious how awful they look... And these are just some of the spots!

 They were obviously in need of lots of TLC. 

But this project took barely any effort at all! I snipped away the pieces of the patent that were obviously sticking out from being scraped so that the surface would be even. 

I got my supplies together. All you need is Mod Podge (not pictured - but I just used the regular bottle), glitter, a bowl, and a brush (I used a sponge brush). 

I also lined the inside of the bowl with aluminum fowl to make clean up a breeze - I knew I wouldn't be saving the remains so I just tossed the foil and everything left over when I was finished. 

I simply poured some Mod Podge into the aluminum covered bowl and added glitter. (Sorry I don't have a ratio for you guys - I just kind of guesstimated... I probably had roughly equal amounts of each). 

IMPORTANT NOTE! The Mod Podge will be white when applied but will dry clear. Don't fret!

I used glitter that is larger so that it would have a flashier effect for NYE. I think that the smaller pieces would look gorgeous as well! 

Lace mason jar DIY

This is so simple and marvelously attractive. 

I bought this lace to just add to my crafting collection and have used it so many times lately! Here is just one of the many crafts. 

My mason jar and lace obsession has been combined to make a somewhat chic coin catchall.

(Now that I have to pay to use laundry at my apartment I needed a way to store massive amounts of quarters.)

This lace was found at Hobby Lobby and was great for this project since it does not lay flat (as you can see from the way it forms a semi-circle).

I just added some hot glue and viola! So simple! 

I have made a few more since then and have loved playing around with a variety of ribbons and lace. Good luck with your experimentations!

My Halloween Costume! - Salon Barbie

Anyone else remember this Barbie? I'm not even sure what to call her... Hairstyle/Salon Barbie? Either way, I decided to make an outfit to look like her! Such fond memories from my childhood.

(Image taken from Amazon)

I made the 'table' out of cardboard and covered it with a dollar store tablecloth. Then I glued LOTS of makeup, jewelry, hair clips, etc. 

*Tip: I knew that having actual makeup would be a PAIN because it would most likely break and get all over the place... So I actually used old eyeshadow palettes and filled them with nail polish. (Just a little trick I learned from playing makeup with youngsters - I never wanted to give them real makeup!)

 Below is an image someone caught of me without the costume on... The outrageous blonde wig was FULL of silly young girl clips by the end of the night. 

 Who knew fake eyelashes that are about three inches long are seriously IMPOSSIBLE to put on? 

 Here is the final product!

Halloween weekend extravaganza

Halloween Weekend with the Halloween party master! My friend's mom, Kim, has some extravagantly amazing Halloween parties (which I learned she has done since 1996!) She has had a different theme every year... This year the theme was "Web-sters Tavern". The house was decked out with spider webs, nests, and lots of creepy crawlers! I took loads of pictures to show you guys! 

Here is just a TINY portion of the food selection - but some of the most creative. Deviled eggs that looked like eyeballs, witches stockings made from Halloween Oreos, and then of course the adorable spider cheeseball (the legs are crescent rolls).

Here is a close up of the witch stockings. I think they were my favorite!

Here is another favorite of mine! Kim put an old clawfoot bathtub outside and used it as a cooler... We put the skeleton under some ice and loaded up the beverages. I must say, it is extremely hard to put a Turbie Twist on a fake skeleton but it was well worth it!

Little miss creative made a Medusa head!

 Everything was decked out! Even the artwork was switched to fit the theme!

 "Ghosts were people too"

I just love ALL the tiny details! I took TONS of pictures... it's so hard to narrow down which ones to post!

This guy was hanging by a wire in their backyard. Even in the daytime it was spooky!

And then here are just some of the spider details that went with their theme...

Spider nests (there were loads of these all over the house!)

 Spiders everywhere! 

 The glasses I made for our lovely hosts. They say "I'm here for the boos!"

Our friend Amanda donated these adorable napkins.

THANK YOU KIMMERS (and Logan and Shawn!) for having all of us crazy IU girls for the night! We absolutely love Halloween at your house! 

Halloween roundup

I just couldn't resist posting another Halloween roundup! As I have previously mentioned, I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I will be posting pictures Sunday with images of the fabulous-ness that will be the Halloween party that I will be at this weekend.

Check out my previous posts:
Click here for Halloween party food ideas
Click here for some Halloween decor
Click here for my past Halloween costumes



How cute is this candy corn cheesecake?! Click the link below the image for the recipe.

Grin and Bake It

 This website has the recipe for the 'brain cocktail' and has lots of other spooky themed cocktails on the website. 

HGTV

These ghost strawberries are just too adorable! 

The Sisters Cafe

They also have a recipe for these unique mummy chocolate covered strawberries. Click the link below!

The Sisters Cafe

What a simple way to add some spook to a mantle!

Martha Stewart

This is a really simple craft but for some reason I thought it was too unique to pass up. 

A Diamond in the Stuff

As a girl who loves just about anything that sparkles, I think that this is just a wonderful way to decorate a pumpkin!

Better Homes and Gardens

Another unique pumpkin idea - super cute!

Martha Stewart

And finally, this is one that could be altered for a lot of fun different themes... you could use mice, snakes, any creepy creature!

Martha Stewart

Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

Halloween Costumes from years past

Happy Halloween (month) everyone! As I have previously mentioned, I have always loved Halloween. I am currently attempting to decide what to wear for Halloween. It's especially difficult because at IU Halloween consists of at least four days of costumes, so if I ever had numerous options, I basically never had to narrow it down. So for all of you that are attempting to come up with Halloween costumes, I figured I would share some from my past few years. 

So, it's obvious from the first few pictures that I didn't break out my most creative costume ideas immediately at IU but I think they do develop over time!

Freshman Year: 

My friend Ilyssa and I dressed for an 80's celebration (I obviously was a fan of the neon and bright colors)

Below is a french maid outfit. Again, a little too typical for my taste but it was simple

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good shot of this one but I was dressed as a 'streaker'. I simply googled censored bumper stickers and ordered three and stuck them onto my spandex shorts and a black bandeau. So simple and actually comfy. I would probably add a trenchcoat now.

Sophomore Year:

The classic Audrey Hepburn. I just grabbed my LBD and put on every strand of pearls (and costume jewelry) I own and paired it with white gloves from my high school prom. It's not pictured well but I also had the famously pictured with Hepburn cigarette holder. 

I believe this was a last minute Halloween outfit throw together for all of us. I just had to share the image because it is so hilarious. Including a kitten, cop, hippy, devil and then of course the french fries. 

Another hodge podge of costumes from a ninja to a basketball hoop. The basketball hoop was honestly one of the best costume ideas - my friend Patrice was absolutely the hit of the night with this simple game attached to her head. 

Junior Year: 

My friend Lauren and I attempted our take on 'Desperate Housewives'. Our outfits consisted of aprons with silly sayings ironed on them with those letters you can buy at craft stores (and of course a strand of pearls). 

 We also made some cookies to go with our costume and happened to run into the cookie monster! How ironic. 

As anyone who has followed my blog will know, I'm a fan of being as cheap as humanly possible. Therefore this halloween outfit was perfect - it cost nothing! I threw on a dress (or any snazzy 'going out' outfit) and heels. Then grabbed a friends' button up to complete my 'shacker/walk of shame' outfit. Complete with a phone number on my hand and a toothbrush. If I were more dedicated to the outfit I would've purposely messed up my make-up and hair but I like to believe that I look this composed when I wake up in the morning!

Here is a more complete pic. Shaker hanging out with Risky business and two Blackhawks super fans. 

Another free costume using items I already owned - one of my practice leotards, my soft shoes and some leg warmers (which were SUPER warm! perfect for October weather). 

I just had to use this picture because I love Erin's (also cheap) costume - Frat Rat! 

This obviously isn't me but I had to share these images of my friend dressed as Bieber. Too perfect. 

The image below is actually from a Christmas party but if you are wishing October and November away you could prep for December by dressing as a Christmas tree! I believe almost everything we used to make these outfits was from the dollar store!

We dyed Hanes tee-shirts green and then chopped off the sleeves (of course you could use any green shirt and skip the dye). We bought garland, huge light strands, and also some battery operated light strands all from the dollar store. Unfortunately I couldn't find a picture with the lights turned on but they are wrapped around the garland. We hid the battery packs from the lights in the gift backs we attached to the bottom of the 'tree'. (Which was also a perfect purse without having to hold anything!) We were in a rush and secured everything with safety pins, which actually worked perfectly. 

This was probably one of my favorites. I used to love the show Married with Children and thought of this couples costume. All it took on BIG red wig and some interesting clothing. The guy just has to part his hair, wear a REALLY short tie and keep his hand in his pants all night!

Senior Year:

It's obvious that by senior year we stopped really caring about being 'sexy' as most girls at IU strive for during Halloween... unless overalls are sexy!

A group of the girls decided to be Minions (from Despicable Me). We couldn't find very many overalls at Goodwill, and weren't willing to pay $50 for new ones we would NEVER wear again. So the solution for those that did not have overalls we just bought cheap black suspenders. You can't tell from the image below but we got out a black 'G' image like the Minions have on their overalls. And the goggles happen to be from a child's toolkit set (and I was lucky enough to borrow them all from work). Then just throw on a pair of cheap black gloves!

Don't we just look exactly like them! ha!

I have previously posted about the amazing time I had last year at my friend Logan's house with her mother. The IU girls did a group theme as cats - again, simple. Below is an image with our gracious ghosts. 

For anyone that has been to Bloomington, the theme of last year's Halloween party was Scholar's Inn and they were our (creepy) innkeepers!

With this costume we won a costume contest at a local bar. We made these dresses and ironed on letters for the types of sauces. We then wrote the sayings (which are all actual on Taco Bell's sauce packets) on white felt. 

- Kiss me I'm Irish for the Verde sauce

- Thanks for rescuing me, Hot was getting on my nerves! for the Mild sauce

- I see how you look at other sauces! for the Hot sauce

- I'm in good hands now for the Fire sauce

My friend Erin had this SPECTACULAR outfit - She was the house from UP! Complete with balloons and lots of difficult movement through the bar. Love it!

Another costume that I loved - My friend Ashleigh dressed as Little Miss Grand Supreme (think Toddler's in Tiaras) I'm not sure if you can see it but she has a pacifier and I believe there was also a bottle involved. 

Peacock! Consisting of feathers from Hobby Lobby attached to a piece of fabric.