Handmade Stationary

Well, I don't know if this could be called "handmade" since it was made with a computer and a printer, but I didn't buy it so that's what I'm going to call it.

I really love using Adobe Illustrator. In a previous post, I showed you the first repeating pattern I made (which you can also see in the blog background (I used a teal version on the previous wordpress blog) as well as in the logo up top). For this stationary, I used the same floral elements I used in my first pattern. If you like them you can get them by signing up for the Roost Tribe, a community for creatives started by Bonnie of goinghometoroost.com.

This is how I learned how to make this stationary, a repeating pattern, and a lot more illustrator techniques. I tried out Lynda.com, but I'm the type of person who learns by just figuring it out along the way (instructions rarely get used by me). The tutorials from the Roost Tribe just help fill in the blanks.

This pattern is pretty much the same as the previous one. I just used a couple different flowers and a different background color.

This is a screen capture of  the layout of the pattern and the finished design of the stationary.

 

And this is the finished printed product. It'd be nicer, but cheap printer and an iPhone picture don't make for editorial quality.

I just love being able to do some simple actions on the computer and a little while later have something tangible. I love making things. 

USA Chalkboard Corkboard

I hope everyone had a great long weekend!

Today I cleaned off the table on the porch and set up supplies and my laptop (playing Arrested Development on netflix) and got down to some DIY.

The project I'm sharing today is a United States shaped corkboard painted with chalkboard paint.

What you'll need:

• 12x12 inch piece of corkboard (roll works as well)
• Cut out of the US (or an outline of a state or a country, or anything really)
• Cutting mat and craft knife
• Chalkboard paint
• Acrylic paint (this is optional)
• Paintbrush
• Masking tape/painters tape
• Chalk

You don't have to tape the outline onto the piece of cork, but I think it helps so you don't have to keep aligning it. Or, afterthought, just use a pen and trace the outline on the cork and then cut.

 

So using your cutout as a guide, cut the shape out of the corkboard. I don't know any other way to cut better than with the craft knife. I tried using scissors but that did not turn out well. Either way, it takes work and patience. All the tiny little pieces that they mash together can be tricky. 

As you can see, Maine, Massachuesets, Vermont, New Hampshire, and part of New York seceded from the Union but I fixed that.

And this little broken piece could be North Carolina if the eastern half wasn't missing.

With mine, I chose to make the majority of the cork chalkboard and then paint the rest a regular paint color. If you want you can do as I did, paint the whole think chalkboard, or paint part chalkboard and leave the rest plain.

If you aren't painting the whole thing, take the masking/painters tape and put it anywhere you want the cutoff to be. I chose to make the East Coast pink. One, because I'm an East Coast girl. Two, because all the tiny areas aren't very conducive to writing on. Need those western wide open spaces to write on.

After everything is painted and dry, you need to condition the chalkboard paint. At least that's what the bottle said so that's what I did.

Basically, you rub chalk over all the dry chalkboard paint and then wipe it off with a wet paper towel or cloth.

And then, you write and pin and enjoy :)

I hope everyone had a good memorial day.

And a very big thank you to all of our troops and their families; past, present, and future. I am forever appreciative for all that you do to protect this country and our freedoms.

God Bless America

-Katie

A Sunday Off

Luckily I also have tomorrow off from work because in the grand scheme of things, I got nothing done.

I did move my blog over from Wordpress to blogger. Because all one month old blogs with 8 posts do that..... I figure its better to do so now, early on, before things get really rolling. I do not have the patience to move more than 8 posts over. Copying and pasting gets old fast. So does changing dated on the new format.

Everything is pretty much the same except for the part of the URL that comes after the dot. Everything's just a little more personalised. After making my blog on Wordpress, I noticed a lot of people use blogger. Probably because the widgets on the side are more cooperative here. Who knows. I think I made a good choice. What do you think? Comment below!

In other news, while I was transferring the blog over, I watched Arrested Development endlessly. I saw it was being revived on Netflix and it has a great cast so I figured I'd try it out. This show is insane. So freaking hilarious! I've been going back and forth between AD and Hemlock Grove (a Netflix original, which Netflix did a great job on) on my phone and my neotv set-top box. It's taken awhile because the set-top box needs to reload every 5 minutes it seems like so I'm still on season 1 of AD. But I have like two more episodes of HG left so I'm doing good. Long story short, why did they ever cancel Arrested Development? I'm not complaining though. John Krasinski is in the new season so obviously everything worked out the way it did for a reason. 

 

And of course here are some pictures if Heidi. Sleepy little thing. She has the right idea though. I'm off to bed.

-Katie 

3-minute DIY Earring makeover

Hi all!

So this DIY is another super quick and easy transformation.

I never liked silver hoops. Until I saw Jersey Shore. J-Woww made them work. And at the time, on the show, she was going through a breakup and I was relating to her situation. Long story short, I decided to be adventurous and try out some silver hoops. Now, they didn't reach my shoulders, but they were big. This people is what is adventurous to me. Switching from fake diamond and fake pearl studs to huge silver hoops. But I liked them. Ever since, it's been more then simple studs for me.

In addition to not being adventurous, I also do not like to pay a lot. Heck yes I'll shell out $135 for a pair of dark green Hunter boots. Heck yes I'll buy $80 Sperry Topsiders and $70 Rainbow flipflops. $200 North Face jacket? Sign me up. But, those are staples. All of those things last. I have my first pair of all of those as well as my newer ones. But I'm not big on spending a lot on trend pieces. Especially ones that don't fit in with my same thing every day look. I don't even want to pay more than $5 for a pair of silver hoops.

So how does one try new styles when they are cheap and wear the same pair of studs for a month straight? DIY. Michael's has Bead Landing hoop earrings for $2.99 for a pack of two. And they're nickel free, so thumbs up for that. I can totally wear them plain but I'm dressing them up with something I have plenty of...nail polish.

On this pair I used "Jane" by Julep which is a rose gold glitter polish. Pretty much all you do is paint it on like you paint your nails. Which, I did after I painted the earrings. Excuse my messy nails but I only did one coat because I hate taking glitter polish off and I figure it'll clean itself up when I wash my hands. I paint my nails like a 6 year old. I don't care if it's messy. I wash my hands enough that what's not on my nails will wash off soon enough.

My next mission is to figure out how to not get crappy flash pictures from my iphone :/  

DIY Washi Tape Phone Case

I have many obsessions.

Two of them are washi tape and phone cases.

Unfortunately I only have one phone and tons of phone cases. Sometimes I can't decide which one to use. To make matters worse, I made my own phone case so that I have one more case to choose from.

It is super simple to do and totally unique.

All you need is a plain phone case (I got this one from amazon. When I bought it, it was like 17 cents but has now gone up. But it's amazon so there's like a billion more of the same to choose from for various prices), washi tape (or duct tape or masking tape or any cute decorative tape. you could even use stickers), mod podge, and a craft knife.

All you have to do is layer the tape on the case, using the craft knife to cut any ends. I also used a bone folder to smooth the pieces down but you can do that with your fingers or the end of the knife or whatever. Then after you have it the way you like, use a paintbrush to spread a thin layer of modge podge over the tape and case so it won't peel off in a couple of days. After its dried, use your knife to cut off any other stray ends. And you have your own personalized phone case for a fraction of the cost of a designer case.



Note: As you can see, the case I got has the hole so you can see the apple logo. Next time I'm going to get a case without that hole. It's just something to have to work around and it just makes for more tape ends that can come lose.

Garden Update

Sunday, while in the midst of watching the entire series of The Office before Thursday's finale, my dad told me to put some shoes on and go outside with him. This was around 8:30 pm.

At first I was confused but then I realized we were finally going to plant the raspberry plants I had got from Aldi's. Instead of planting them in the ditch towards the front of the yard, we planted them next to the house in a good spot that has lots of room for further garden additions.

The entertaining part of it all was the fact that you have two people from Jersey of partial Italian descent outside at night digging some holes.

Here are some pictures of it. And I added in one of just Heidi looking adventurous for good measure. 


I can't wait for the plants to bear fruit so I can make some raspberry cheesecake :)

First Illustrator Pattern!

First off, I know its really bad of me to go almost two weeks without a post after just starting a blog. But I just had to finish up the semester and it is finally over!
So, just like I couldn't wait to start the blog until after exams, I couldn't wait to write a new post until after I had finished one of my planned projects.
Tonight, I was bored, as always. I hadn't used Illustrator in a few days because I told myself I wasn't allowed to until all my school work was over. So I opened it up. But what should and could I do at midnight?
Learn.
One of my favorite blogs right now is goinghometoroost. The lovely lady behind GHTR, Bonnie, started a membership called the Roost Tribe and I'm so happy I joined. It's only $5 a month but it's worth much more. She sends members tons and tons of content every friday including vector/clip art files, patterns, backgrounds, printables, and my favorite, illustrator tutorials. Plus there's a facebook group for everyone to connect on.
Anyways, tonight I decided to try a pattern. And using May's clip art file from Friday's email and a tutorial from a previous month, I made this:

My first repeating pattern :)
And it was so easy.
And now that I've learned something new and have written a new post, I can go to bed.