The Daily Dose

I've decided to start something called "The Daily Dose" which is essentially a 'video of the day' type thing. Once in awhile there will be a video that I've made myself, but mostly, they'll be made by others. It will typically be a music video, something funny, or something that had some sort of impact on me.


Here's your daily dose!

(This YouTuber & Glowstringer is my inspiration for learning Glowstringing! I hope I can become that good!)

GLITTER SHOES.

I have been slacking on this project for months, but FINALLY, I have made my own pair of glitter shoes, and I'm going to show you how to make them too!

What you'll need: 

mod podge, $8 at Michaels, glitter $2 at Walmart, shoes $15 at Target

-lots of glitter, in whichever color(s) you prefer. 

-mod podge (or whatever else you like to use for decoupage projects)

-paint brush or foam brush

-shoes (i bought a pair of black flats from Target for $14.99)

-clear gloss spray (not pictured)

Once you have all of your materials together, make sure you have a workspace that is glitter friendly (although this project doesn't get as messy as you may think) just in case there is a spill. 


Start by mixing your mod podge and glitter together. As you can see, I used about half of my glitter shaker. 
This is what the mixture should look like: 

Yes, looks kinda gross, but don't worry, it dries clear later.

Once you have your glitter mixture, stuff newspaper or paper towels into the shoes (to prevent drippage on the inside) and start spreading the mixture onto the outside of the shoe. 

Here's what mine looked like after the first coat.

I did 3 coats of this mixture on each shoe, and i let them dry for about 45 minutes between coats.
While waiting for the shoes to dry, I made some of these cute little felt rosettes. No idea what I'll be using them for, but i had extra felt scraps, and it helped to pass the time!)

Rosette tutorial

After the first two coats... almost done!

And finally, after adding a third coat, letting them dry and adding the gloss spray this afternoon.... Voila!

BAM. glitter shoes.

I couldn't wait to put them on!!

(please excuse the unshaven legs. yikes.)

Now that my glitter shoes are done, I am moving onto my next project... transforming a wooden cubby thing I got from Michaels on clearance for $14.99. 

But more on that in my next blog post.... 

Happy crafting!

Guilty Pleasures...

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about guilty pleasures, of which I have plenty. A guilty pleasure is basically something you enjoy, but would be embarrassed about if anyone else found out. Here are my top five:

Cheesy/Bad Reality Shows.

 Alright, so if you know me really well, this one isn't a HUGE secret, but I don't think anyone realizes how many awful reality shows I actually watch. I crave them. When Shane goes to work at night, all I want to do is crack open a bag of gummy worms and a bottle of wine and get my fix. Whether it's Dancing With The Stars, Jersey Shore (i know. i'm sorry.), The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Celebrity Apprentice, Rock of Love (actually, I went as Bret Michaels for Halloween a few years ago...no, I will not post pictures.), or Hell's Kitchen, I am, unfortunately, sucked right in. I watch in moderation (most of the time) but I can feel my brain rotting just the same. 

Reddit.

(what my actual browser looks like after re-upping on reddit links)

 I know I blogged about this before, but it isn't the site itself that makes me feel "guilty", it's how much time I spend looking at it. There are many nights when Shane and I will sit next to each other for hours each with our own reddit pages open on our separate laptops, laughing and showing each other pictures the other person has already seen because they clicked on it .5 seconds before. Sometimes I get too lazy to reddit myself, and I just watch over his shoulder. Moments like that are when I think, "Damn, I need a few more hobbies..." 

Glitter. Lots of glitter. 

If I could, I would make everything I owned sparkle. Anytime I see something glittery, no matter what, I want it. One of my favorite guilty-pleasure-glitter buys is my silver glitter piggy bank. I bought it for $5 at Old Navy. Did I need it? Absolutely not. But it is so sparkly and I have zero buyer's remorse. Tomorrow, I am FINALLY making some glitter shoes that I have been wanting to make for far too long, and I cannot wait. (I will also be posting pictures along with descriptions on how I did them, so you can make a pair too!

Used books/movies on Amazon. 

Okay, this isn't necessarily a "guilty" pleasure, but if I had a lot of money to blow on it, you better believe it would be. If you didn't already know this, used books and movies are typically SUPER cheap on Amazon.com. I buy from sellers with good reputations (usually bookstores will have accounts where they sell used inventory very cheap) and I try to get the highest quality for the least amount of money. I have had a lot of luck with this, and have only been disappointed one time, when the shippers took FOR-FREAKING-EVER to get a movie to me. I would recommend it if anyone is looking to beef up their collections and not spend a ton

Bein' all "mushy". 

(a note that Shane left for me the other day. :)    )

I love my boyfriend. A lot. If it weren't for our respect for our friends'/families' gag reflexes, you would probably see more of that love than you ever wanted to. We ARE that sickening couple that is always holding hands and wearing matching clothes and looking adoringly into each others eyes. You wouldn't really know it if you hung out with us, because we understand that not everyone wants to hear "I love you bubzy-wubzy" every two minutes. But you know what? I hope that this "guilty" pleasure never ever changes. 

Welp, those are mine. What are yours?

Just to Give You an Idea...

So, since this is supposed to be a blog with craft ideas and I have been too lazy to make a crafty post, I thought I would at least give you a look at some random things I've done to whet your appetite. It's not all going to be blow-your-socks-off awesome or anything, but you should be able to see my progress and that's what's important, right?


Here goes!

picture frame. (they come plain and are $1 at Michaels! fun cheap craft to keep you busy!)

painting for my boyfriend.

t-shirt, made for my friend's Shark Week party last year. (fabric paint on navy blue t-shirt)

most recent doodle. funky flowers!

old painting. yes i realize the flowers are crooked. whoops!

bracelet.

simple yellow glass bead bracelet

bracelet with dragonfly charm

necklace: gold chain and turquoise beads

Gordy! I hate the lettering on this picture, but otherwise I think he is adorable.

boredom means doodling.

haven't decided if this is finished yet. it needs something more.

forever unfinished danny devito painting (scummy ex kept it.  :(    )

I will post more later, these are just a random assortment of older things i've done. Hope you enjoyed it! 

the people person's paper people.

As of yesterday, Shane and I are glorified paper pushers for our local school district. The work is mind-numbingly boring. Essentially, I spend the first third of my day making small talk with middle-aged women and wondering if I drank enough coffee to keep up the chit-chat until lunchtime...the second third consists of making pouty faces at Shane and gouging myself in the hand with any number of office supplies... the last third of the work day calls for lots of yawning and making jokes that no one else thinks are funny. So... yeah. That's pretty much what I'm getting paid for right now. 

Also, this place is huge, and it's a fucking maze. What makes it worse (and you know this if you've ever been a passenger in my car) is that I have little to no sense of direction. The building we're working in used to be a school, and there are long empty hallways with no helpful signs and little weird stairways EVERYWHERE YOU TURN, and before you know it, you passed the bathroom 14 miles back and you're well on your way to the 3rd floor janitor's closet and now you're in a pickle. I'm too scared to venture out on my own and see if they have a more acceptable, less rape-y bathroom, or even a working coffee pot, for that matter. 

Anyway, the bright side of this is that we're making a lot of extra money for the time being, which we definitely have been needing, and I get to spend the day finding ways to subtly flirt with Shane without anyone catching on. He makes everything infinitely more enjoyable. On that note, I should take a second to give Shane some recognition. He is taking on an extra 40 hours a week on top of his evening job working at Outback. I really am very lucky to have such a hard-working, dedicated man. 

So that's it for the work news for now. 

On another note, I've come to terms with the fact that my love affair with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is over. I bought the 1st and 2nd season on dvd back in the day when that was all they had out so far and watched the shit out of every episode. It was like visual crack. I stayed loyal through the 3rd...4th...5th....6th season...I even enjoyed the fucking Christmas special. I patiently waited each week for the next episode, and looked forward to each new season...but Sunny, you have finally let me down. There is only so much I can take of Dee's constant screeching/bug-eyes every time there is a minor plot development. Charlie's still stupid, Dennis is still a chauvinist, but whoa, hold the phones, Mac's fat now! Awesome. I get it. It was great for awhile, but now when I watch, it feels like I'm sitting in a room with one of the writers and he just keeps telling me the same joke over and over and over again. Also, I am getting tired of seeing how disgusting Danny DeVito can make himself look. Yes, I understand that's his thing, and I appreciate that, but it's getting old. DeVito is a very talented actor, but it's especially frustrating to think he will possibly end his career making frat boys laugh with filth humor. Anyhow, I've decided that a 7th season of the same old gimmicks is really just a waste of my time. /rant.