How to Create a Make-Up Brush Jar

This is a really brief post, but I feel that people should know about it! I had an inspiration during my purge to try and use more of the things I already own in projects. Like I had this mason jar lying around, but then I thought to myself, "What if I put all of my makeup brushes into this jar?". BEST. IDEA. EVER. Well so I thought. The brushes were just a little short and they kept falling into the jar. It made it kind of hard to get the brushes out in the morning. So I had another brilliant idea.

I had some old stones laying around that I received from a bouquet I received. I didn't plan on using them anymore so I used them in the jar! It gave me the extra inch my brushes needed so I can see them all.

As you can see from my title image, it looks great now! I'm going to try and use more things from around my home, and someday maybe I will clean my whole apartment and post how it looks online. Maybe...

Have a great day!

Decluttering a Jewelry Drawer

When I got back from Europe, I had a ton of empty drawers that I had to refill. So I thought to myself, why not do some organizing? And thats what I did. I re-organized all of my drawers! Mainly, I created a jewelry drawer.

I have absolutely ALWAYS wanted to have one. I've tried other methods such as jewelry hangers, jewelry boxes, and any other method you can possibly think of. None of them really worked out though. I either kept buying the same bracelets and earrings over and over or I would forget I even owned pieces of jewelry. And because of my purge, I now have room in my dresser. I'm so excited! 

The paper was a gift from a family friend of mine when I first moved into an apartment. You could totally use wrapping paper and it would be fine. I picked up the acrylic trays for a $1 at Target (thank you dollar aisles!). I love how bright this is and how I can see everything I own. What do you guys think? 

Have a great day everyone!

How to Hang Picture Frames Using Excel

Oh Goodness May! My first real DIY blog post in a long time. Can you feel the excitement in the air? In addition, its a DIY post involving Excel! I finally can fulfill a promise I made to you. So my sister-in-law showed me this awesome thing on how she designed how to hang her frames for her stairs using Microsoft Excel. She wanted to hang them all on a diagonal and by using Excel she was able to get the exact measurements so that nothing was off (it also helped that my brother is pretty handy with a hammer and measuring tape). Anywho, she gave me this idea. I give all credit to her.

If any of my friends are out there reading this, they know that I am average with a hammer and screwdriver. I can get some IKEA instructions backwards every now and then, but really, who hasn't? Okay so how this works. You need to have everything measured beforehand. That means you need to know exactly what frames you are going to hang and where you are going to hang them. Then, you create a worksheet with the same dimensions. How do you do this you ask? Make each square an inch by an inch (or half an inch by half an inch or centimeter by centimeter or however you want to do it). Then, you also draw your frames with their exact measurements. It will look something like this:

So precise right? And you can see the exact measurements of where everything should go. Before you start hanging, please double check all of your measurements. I started hanging and had read centimeters instead of inches when I first measured. I actually had to re-measure and re-do the whole wall. So, the next step is to hang them up! This is the step that I am the worst at and why I am using this method. I'm like Tim Taylor from Home Improvement. I try really hard and somehow miss the mark entirely, as seen from my mistakes mentioned above.

Well there you have it! I somehow did it. Yes I pulled like twenty Tim Taylor's to get it there, and if you look closely, you can see all of the spackle that is lined around the frames. However, they are all up now! I am unfortunately not savvy enough to use nails, so I tried using command strips. Sometimes you have to use what you are good at, and that is command strips for me. BUT then around 2 AM two of the frames fell and one shattered. Hence there are two gaps on my wall. When I took these pictures, I was re-constructing one frame and cleaning up the mess of the other one. But basically this is how it works and now I have a gallery wall. YAY! Its a dream come true. So what do you think?

Tips for Solo Travelling

During my travels in Europe, I had to travel alone. And you know what? It was great! I learned a lot about myself and found out that it is okay to try new things. I even made a couple of friends along the way. Here are some tips I learned during my solo travels:

Go on Tours! This is a great way to learn a lot about an area and meet new people. Some tours, like Italy on a Budget, are focused on bringing groups of people together for fun social activities. I did a tour with them in Florence, and I highly recommend it!

Stay in Hostels. I know. Kind of cliche but true. You really do meet a lot of people there that you normally wouldn't meet and learn about places to eat that you normally wouldn't find.

Pub Crawls. Did you know that you can do these internationally? Well, maybe you did, but I didn't. I met a lot of people and learned a lot about other cultures through those people.

Meet ups. There is this service called MeetUp where you can meet a group of people with similar interests as you. It occurs internationally as well!

Reflect. Traveling alone is a great time to think about your life, your dreams, and heck, anything else you want to think about. You can write in journals, speak out loud (please don't do it in crowded places or people will think you are crazy), and there are even apps for it.

Don't forget to set alarms! You can only count on yourself and there won't be anyone else to wake you up or tell you when to leave for your next attraction.

Use websites with ratings to book places to stay. I used Booking.com and HostelWorld. Both are great websites with pretty accurate reviews!

Be friendly. You never know what a smile can you give ya.

External Chargers are a great investment. You never have to worry about your phone dying if you have one. You can find some cute ones or a here is a really durable one.

Accept what life gives ya! You never know what will happen if you are open and willing for new experiences. Because I was traveling alone, I got the wonderful opportunity to fly in the cockpit of my flight to Croatia. They needed someone to ride in the jump seat and asked me! It was a wonderful experience!

Readers, have you had any amazing experiences while traveling alone?

How to Paint and Seal a Cooler

*Please Note: This post has been imported from my previous blog, Organized Magnolia*

Back in college, all of the sorority girls would paint their formal dates a cooler. Its a really great idea, if you A) really know the guy or B) like to paint and craft. A lot of girls actually hated painting the coolers because it took so much time and effort for something that was probably going to chip off in a day. I, however, have figured out the way to make paint stick to coolers. It takes some commitment and a couple of days. BUT it sticks! 

I have painted three coolers with this method and every single one has the paint still on it with little to no chips. Here are a couple of images from the coolers I did before:

So after seeing all of this, my mom decided I get to make my grandfather's birthday present this year. Mind you, his birthday was in the middle of February, but since this will be intended for football season, I don't think he will mind waiting. 

My list of supplies:

Modpodge

Polyurethren (MinWax)

Acrylic Paint

White Spray Paint

Brushes

Painter's Tape

Sharpies

Paint Pens

The first step is to take off any labels that are on the cooler. Then, use the painter's tape and tape off any spots you don't want to be covered with spray paint. Here is my grandfather's cooler with the handles and wheels covered. I didn't want to hassle with try to paint those areas. 

Next, I spray it with the spray paint. Make sure it is completely white. I don't want to be able to see any color (in my case navy) peeking out. This is kind of like priming your wall when there is a darker color underneath it. It makes a HUGE difference.

After you let that dry, its time to paint! Depending on how detailed you want it to be and what you are doing to it, this can take a couple of days. First start with sketching what you want with a pencil. Don't use a mechanical pencil because they don't work well with shading or light traces. And they can pick off the white paint. If you can't draw very well, you can always try a tracing method. KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms has a wonderful tutorial on how she traced a monogram onto fabric. You can use the same method for tracing onto a cooler. (Find it here) Here are some work in progress images:

*My grandfather is an alumna of the University of Mississippi*

A really nice tip that I have picked up is using sharpies for outlining and paint pens for writing. Sharpie has actually just come out with a paint pen! I really like it. It doesn't clot like normal paint pens do. I was able to outline the below fairly quickly and easily.

After you are done with the painting, put a layer of Modpodge on it. I buy the shiny modpodge because I like the way it looks. Lots of people prefer the matte version though. I normally put a couple of layers on because it makes me feel better, but you should be okay with just one or two.

Then, I put a layer of Min Wax on it. Make sure to coat it really well with this layer, but not too much because it has a yellow tint to it (aka white becomes cream if its too thick). This is the waterproof seal that makes sure it doesn't flake or peel off EVER. I have made three coolers with this method over two years ago and the boys still say it hasn't chipped. Let this dry for a really long time (about a day). Note: when using Min Wax, the brush can't be cleaned with normal soap and water like acrylic paints. You need to use mineral salts to clean it. Or if you are really lazy like me, buy the cheapest brush at The Home Depot, and throw it away once you are done. Go buy another when you need it. They are like $1. You can freeze the brush in the freezer in between coats!

So after you do that, feel the cooler. Does it feel sticky? If it does, add another layer of Modpodge! If not, its ready! I've been interested in trying this with ModPodge Outdoor. I just discovered it, but didn't have time to try it out. Maybe on my next cooler?

Happy Crafting!

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