If You Give a Girl a Picture...

She'll more than likely want to keep it forever.  ~*~*~

No matter what is on the actual photograph.  Case in point - I found a picture of a chinese baby making the cutest face EVER about 10 years ago on the internet and printed it off.  That photo is still hanging inside my armoire. And I still smile everytime I see it.

Which got me thinking...

I've got several old family photos that my grandparents have given me, as well as photos I've acquired digitally for various family functions.  I hate not being able to display them.  Resizing is too expensive and I wouldn't DREAM of cutting them or mounting them in a scrapbook for fear of damaging them or losing the photo, etc.

So why not just DIY screenprint it onto an 8 x 10 canvas?

Don't mind if I do!

I took my favorite picture of my dad and my three uncles with my grandpa that I had on my computer and made it into an 8 x 10 canvas in less time than it takes to find something decent to watch on TV.  (Seriously, what is this crap they televise anymore???)

Granted it was my first trial... but now that I've seen I can do it, I'm sure I'll be doing it more often!  I can take any photo, adjust it to my own specifications, and ta-da! 

For ideas on photo layouts click here

Kick My Heels Up and SHOUT!!!

I'm going to go ahead and be so bold as to say, I would guess that the majority of the working world has issues with their job.  Ethical.  Moral.  Whatever the case may be... no job is perfect and no worker is perfect.

Nevertheless, there are those in the working world who - for lack of better sense - still want to be perfect or make their job perfect, or at least try to shape themselves and/or job into some tangible ideal of perfect.  (Oxymoron much?)  That being said, today that ideal became a reality for me for about an hour.

The nerd that lives not too terribly deep beneath my exterior shell was all but crawling, kicking, and screaming it's way out today when I recieved an email from a teacher at a school where I worked last year.  I'm quite sure this teacher had no idea I was still included in the standard mass email list for the entire school.  I thought it was odd to hear from him so I opened the email and found only one attachment with a very familiar title.  I opened the attachment and much to my surprise was a tutorial I had written and distributed to the speech therapists in the parish.  My name was not on it so he had no way of knowing who came up with this attachment he'd mistakenly sent me.

I was ELATED that something I'd worked on was found beneficial to someone other than myself.  To know that my work was helping other people -- definitely brought my ideal of the perfect job into full view.

The rest of the day I cannot speak so highly of, but that is not the point.

The point is -- never underestimate the power of your insticts. 

If Pasteur had ignored his, we would not have vaccines.  If Franklin had ignored his, we would not have electricity.  If Edison had ignored his, we would not have light bulbs.

After all, it's the little things that add up to the big ones.


I suppose this isn't a DIY installment such as the previous three entries, BUT it is ABOUT a DIY.  That's got to could for something ;-)

When in doubt,... Craft it out!

I haven't been as dead to the world as this blog would make it seem.  I spent the weekend upside down in re-claimed lumber, sandpaper, nail guns (no I did not operate it!), and wood stains.  It's interesting to see just how vastly different two views points can be in how to execute a project when the two people are looking at the same picture.  No matter.  They weren't my projects!  In the end it all turned out, I've got the back pain to prove it.

Back in my real life, in my cave to which I escape to block out everything and everyone else... I've found that when I get truly upset I focus on a project.  In the past it was cleaning like a fiend.  However, there's only so much cleaning that can be done in a 1,000 sq ft apartment.  Hence my return to all things DIY last night -- and my Pinterest obsession. 

If you ever have the desire to begin sewing, I highly recommend this woman's blog:  Elle Apparel

She has the cutest skirts (loving her Mad Men look) and easiest tutorials EVER.  From her amazing site full of simple instructions I came up with this:

---DISCLAIMER--- it's not as "Amish-meets-Morticia Adams" as this photo makes it appear!

As a sidenote:  I have a serious committment problem, I'll admit it.  I like having options and I like little changes.  Emphasis on the LITTLE.  Even though I can't stay focused long enough, I openly admit I adjust very poorly to change.  Now down to business.  I've said all this in reference to my cell phone case (among other things).  I get really annoyed that to protect my cell phone it will cost me anywhere from $20-$50 for ONE case.  Oh no no.  That simply will not do.  So I resorted to a clear case I purchased with a coupon, a little free ingenuity, and VOILA!  New, cheap, interchangable cell phone cases to fit my mood/situation/whim/etc!

re·pur·pose = to adapt for use in a different purpose

While I'm quite certain the title of this entry is rather overtly self-explanitory, I've got my own definition of this newfound craze/trend that's raking in the big bucks (for people other than myself of course).  To me repurposing an object is simply giving it another chance, a new life, a new shine on what was once tossed into the unused/unwanted/unnecessary pile.  Ok so there's this huge group of the planet that's taking one man's trash to make it another man's treasure.  Literally.

And those who are crafty enough and business savy, well those select few can support themselves for a month one a very hefty salary with very little investment.  So here are a few things I've given a second chance at life.



Wine Glasses become Candle holders filled with lentils, split peas, and tea lights.




Empty Febreeze scent dispensers become safe, healthy, and new when filled with essential oils and water.




Old glasses dishes from Goodwill



New bathroom containers for cotton balls and q-tips with texture and paint!



I realized that in doing this, it's really not anything new for me beyond what I do everyday.  The kids I love so much are the kids that no one really loves at home.  They are kids that no one has expectations for, no one cares what they do or how they do it... but they come to my classroom and I see purpose in them.  I have expectations for them, whether or not they see it or know it.  Most are too young to understand it.  My expectations of them go far beyond making a grammatically correct sentence or saying their pre- and post-vocalic /r/ (though when they do that, I flip out with joy).  I expect them to be the absolute best.  They have high standards of behavior, manner, and performance in my classroom.   We discuss grades, we talk about their behavior issues in other classes.

To look at their faces and see nothing more than a mouth to feed is beyond me.  My kids are being re-purposed in my classroom everyday.  And those transformations are the most enlightening and gratifying to me.

A glimpse into my day:
During a review of spelling/vocabulary words with my sixth graders I was explaining the word "suffer".  I asked "How could you suffer if you don't have enough money?"
My student reponded, "Well you suffer because you can't blow it!"

Reading, Writing, & 'Rithmatic... meet Hancock's, Hobby Lobby, & Michael's

I guess I should start with a disclaimer... I don't really know what I'm doing.

But I guess that's part of all the fun/experience of learning... if we never undertake a new task, we'd never grow as a person, a community, a culture, etc.  I've never really been what I would consider creative.  In fact I couldn't tell you of many things I've ever done on my own.  But living in a small town where there really isn't much to speak of besides one very historical street facing the river has left me to my own devices for over nine months now.

Sitting around in my apartment when it was far too hot to go outside this summer got me thinking.  What can I DO?  Do with my own hands and mind to keep myself occupied.

Enter HGTV.

I started watching all those design shows, makeover shows, house hunting shows, etc.  After countless episodes and hours I realized something... what those people are doing on those shows really isn't rocket science.   Most of those people don't have to have a specialized degree for what they are doing either.  In fact what they have is an eye, a style, and a will to bring to life what they envision.

Just the same as everyone else.

Now I'm not seeking a camera crew with boom mics and awkward equipment and hilarious outtakes.  I just want to look around my small apartment and feel comfortable.  Comfortable in knowing that hey, this is my space and I made it what it is.

And so started my DIY craze.

Two weeks ago a very dear friend (who knows me very well) sent me a text in the middle of the night:
"you've got to check out pinterest.com.... it has your name written ALL OVER IT"

And so started my DIY obsession.

From then it has been a non-stop mission of go to work, play with my kids who light up my life, go home and search for inspiration to put myself to work.  My mom let me borrow her sewing machine and I've managed to haphazardly teach myself to sew.  I'll be honest, that machine has scared me all my life, but it's really not so bad!  I've purchased a staple gun, wrachet, glue gun, spray adhesive, patterns, lumber, spray paint, brushes, etc... and what I've come up with has kept me sufficiently entertained!