Kale chips

The other day I bought a giant feed bag's worth of kale (in an actual plastic feed bag, basically). After the horror show that was my eating habits over Thanksgiving weekend, I've been trying to eat better this week, which basically means more smoothies and less actual food. It's like a smoothie or juice cleanse, but WAY less hardcore. The giant bag of kale is great because there are some bigger pieces, but also a lot of smaller bits that I used in my smoothies. I took some of the bigger pieces and made kale chips!

This picture shows just how big the bag of kale was. I went through and ripped out the tough stems so I only had the leafy parts left. Then I put the kale in a plastic bag with a tablespoon of olive oil and shook it around. Then I laid the kale out on a baking sheet and sprinkled some salt and some cayenne pepper:

Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes and voila! Kale chips! I think I might try using an olive oil spray next time, because the oil was a bit thick. These are addictive and so healthy. Yum.

Glitter Taxidermy

Once you start crafting, you can't stop. Can't stop crafting, and can't stop thinking about new projects to work on. I saw this article on Apartment Therapy about faux taxidermy, and started googling how I could make one of my own. I decided to use this model, because it is the simplest and had easy-to-use templates. The steps say to use card stock, but I wanted mine to be a bit more substantial, so I used foam board.

I printed the templates out at work, taped them to the foam board and used an exacto knife to cut through. The edges were a little rough, and the tape made the poster look stupid, which made me want to glitter the whole thing.

 

You just put the pieces together and like magic, you turn two dimensional pieces into a three dimensional deer head! 

 

I used mod podge and sprinkled glitter once I had painted the mod podge onto the deer. It was...messy. Glitter really is the herpes of the craft world. OH WELL. One billion years later, I ended up with this:

Sparkly!!!

I taped it up on the wall to see what it looked like. 

 

The wall is kind of a grey color, so the deer head didn't really pop as much as I wanted. I decided to make a mount, as if it was actually a deer head. I did the same thing--used a template for a shield and cut it out of the same kind foam board. I bought a sheet of fancy houndstooth paper from the horribly overpriced paper store by my work to cover the shield:

This is the back, with a some picture hanging wire taped to the back. And because I'm weird, I added a piece of paper to the back so you can't see the gross edges or the tape.

I taped the deer head to the shield and hung it up. I am...so pleased with the results. 

 

 

so majestic!

While I'm not necessarily morally opposed actual taxidermy, I think it's gross. And this way, I can cover the whole thing in glitter! Plus my version is a bajillion times cheaper than anything I saw on etsy or the rest of the Internet, not to mention actual taxidermy (I assume). The only costs are foam board ($5), glitter and glue ($7) and the fancy paper ($7), versus $170 for a faux resin deer head from WhiteFauxTaxidermy on Etsy. Thrifty!

HISTORY!

I moved to Maryland in 2011 and didn't get a new license because I was lazy and didn't want to get called for jury duty. But when I realized the election was happening (and also that my license was expiring) I went to get a new MD license, and was able to conveniently register to vote at the same time!

This year, I was able to vote for gay marriage here in Maryland, and it was glorious. It just passed and I could not be prouder. I cannot wait to tell my children that I voted for Obama, and was able to vote for fairness and equality! Maryland was the first state to affirmatively vote for gay marriage, and I am proud as punch. Sidebar the three other states also upheld the right to marry--well MN rejected a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but same diff! Can you believe it was only 4 years ago that prop 8 passed in CA? The tide has turned!!

Candlestick holders

I saw some GREAT pictures of painted candlestick holders on pinterest and around the internet (example here) and so I made my way down to the thrift store a block from work to see what stuff they had that I could spray paint. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I'm obsessed. There are always tons of sad brass candlestick holders for super cheap at thrift stores, and they are just waiting for me to make them beyootiful again!

 

Layer of primer (same Rust-Oleum primer as the lamp from before)

 

Spray paint!

This was my first attempt at spray painting anything, and I really bonded with the guy who does work on his fancy cars down in the last level of the parking garage while listening to crazy dubstep music. This first time I laid the candlestick holders on their sides, but this turned out to be a mistake because I couldn't constantly monitor them (didn't really feel like hanging out down in the parking garage...) and the paint dried to the newspaper. So this happened:

 

:(

I had to let them completely dry, sand off the newspaper, re-prime it, and then re-paint it. SO much work. But totally worth it, I think. 

Next time I think I'll lay them on plastic bags or something and try to do lighter coats so the paint doesn't drip onto the paper. I went back to the thrift store and bought literally one billion other candlestick holders, so I guess either I will have a ton (my power goes out constantly so it might not be a bad idea), or people should start getting ready to get painted candlestick holders for Christmas! 

Expedit part II

A couple weeks ago I went to Ikea and went a bit nuts, aka I spent about $160, but I also got a TON of stuff. I don't get people who don't like Ikea. I bought two expedit shelves, one of which I turned into a bar (see below), and the other one I decided to use as a place for my dvds.

 

Before they were just in a sad little pile.

I bought the dark brown/black shelf, and it was a bit too dark, combined with my black TV stand and the black tv. I mean, black is my favorite color, but it turns out you CAN have too much of a good thing. So I went to Home Depot, bought some primer and teal paint, and went to town. 

 

I was really bummed because the primer looked all splotchy and it got all over my hands and was REALLY difficult to wash off. I kept at it though, and after it dried, I added the teal paint.

 

I moved the operation from the floor to my dining table because bending over to paint was hurting my old body. Also the lighting in my dining area is much better.

 

After I was done putting what felt like fifty bajillion coats of teal paint to make sure the coats were even, I removed the painter's tape, but realized that some paint had still managed to drip onto the outside surface. Plus, it just wasn't even and didn't look neat. SO I took some silver Washi tape (I want to cover EVERYTHING with washi tape) and covered up the edges. 

 

Ta-Da!

I guess if I had one gripe about these Expedit shelves, it would be that they are a little too deep. But honestly, it doesn't really matter. Now that I painted the insides a lighter color, it's a bit easier to see everything. I also really like the teal color because it pulls in the art I bought from a girl I went to high school with (her Etsy store is here!) I also have a black dresser from Ikea that I want to paint with a mint green pattern or accents. I'll just save the pretty much full can of teal paint for...something else.

Ikea hack! - I made a bar

When I was trying to decide what to put in this space next to my side table, I decided I wanted a bar.

How sad and pathetic.

I mostly wanted to clear out some space in my kitchen cabinets that were being taken up by the couple wine glasses I have, and to not have to put my wine bottles on the counter.  But most bars were either too big or too expensive. Sorry, Crate and Barrel, I'm just not fancy enough for a $300+ bar with a bunch of compartments and doodads.

So instead, I decided to make my own using much cheaper Ikea furniture! I guess it's a thing to repurpose Ikea furniture for something other than what it was intended for. There's an entire website dedicated to it (www.ikeahackers.net) and it's pretty great. I bought an Expedit bookshelf/organizer thing ($40), an wooden win rack, and a wineglass holder, all from Ikea. It's like they WANT you to make things with their incredibly affordable products.

 

This particular wine rack is a tiny bit too big for the expedit, so I had to cut about half an inch from each leg. I bought a hacksaw at the hardware store and spent waaaay too long cutting those tiny pieces off. If I had real tools (and like...an actual workspace), it would have been much easier. Anyway, the final product looks like this:

 Complete with fancy painted candlestick holders!

Et voila! Insta-bar for around $60. It felt weird having that space in between my side table and the wall, and the expedit fits that place perfectly. I barely drink that much wine, but it's a nice place to put the few bottles I have in one place. Plus, now that Christmas is close, I needed a place to put all the wine I'll get from people at work! :)

I'm crafty

I have no idea how I got started on the idea of crafting/home decorating, but I started reading blogs on home decor one day (at work, okay, I admit it!) and I am officially obsessed. I guess I'm getting the nesting urge? That explanation is better than my sister's which is that I'm a sad spinster lady who does crafts (which is also true...).

ANYWAY. When I first moved to my place I bought a brass lamp at a garage sale, and it was just eh. It wasn't gross, but it wasn't exactly cute either. So I went and bought a TON of spray paint, found a spot in the parking garage of my building, and went to work.

I took out the lightbulb and covered the top and the cord with painter's tape:

Then I covered the lamp with a few thin layer of primer (I used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch White Primer): 

After that was dry, I painted it this almond color, which turned out awesome. I like how you notice the lines of the lamp more when it's painted a matte color:

The lamp shade is from IKEA (my happy place), and I think it looks MUCH better now--more elegant and less garage sale-y. WHOOOO crafts! I may or may not be in the process of becoming a hoarder though. I just want to go buy cheap thrift store lamps and paint them! I'm going to be a crazy lamp lady, and I'm sort of okay with that.