Resolutions Revisited

As advised by the ladies offering up the Imagine the Impossibilties challenge, now that my challenges (for the year) have been stated I want to show my January progress this far. So, here are my 10 mini-resoultions and what I've done to make them happen--or the lack thereof--so far:

1) Belly-Dancing or Yoga Class- The yoga class starts in February and I will be signing up! If all goes well and I like the way the programs are run, then I will also sign-up for belly-dancing which starts in March. So far so good... moving on.

2) I will Read- Since writing my initial post I have finished Ellen Degeneres' Seriously...I'm Kidding, which I would highly recommend for some funny and inspiring insights to any Ellen fan. I also have started Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's currently being made into a film with Tom Hanks that is already starting to get a lot of attention so I wanted to have it read before the movie hits theaters at the end of the month. I also have in my possession Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, on loan from Brittany at The Bounty of my Bookshelves that I can't wait to dive into also. Reading? Check.

3) Remembering names- I am still struggling here, but I've made progress. When I take calls at work I have made it a habit to immediately write the persons name down (usually I would wait until they were done talking, and figure I could remember it, but people talk so darn fast these days and I found myself not remembering a word of it) And I have also been working on the name/visual associations-- I met a Karen who is a tiny little woman, with pointy features who wrinkles up her nose a bit when she's listens. Like a bunny. Bunnies eat carrots. Karrot-Karen. (it's a stretch but it works). A work in progress.

4) I will try new foods- Haven't had the chance for this much lately, but I did buy fresh mango the other day...? Does that count? I've never had it before. Annd I do have plans in the very near future to try... alligator! (ahhh!)--SEE NO.5

5) Travel- A new Orleans trip for the gals and me has since been booked and is a source of extreme excitement for all of us! We're going a few weeks before Mardi Gras, but still in the Carnivale season so it should be a blast! (here's where the alligator makes a bit more sense) Traveling? One big-fat-excited- CHECK!

6) Positivity- I am still working on this one. But have been making efforts everyday to find atleast one thing that made the day worthwhile. So far there have been lots more than just one thing, s maybe it's working after all!

7) Blog Posting- Ummm Check.

8) Be the best me without being negatives about others- So far a success.

9) I will cook- Only one opportunity so far, but the other night I made up some venison tenderloin steaks for myself that were unbelieveably amazing. Here is all I did--and trust me its wayyy worth repeating and actually a pretty healthy option.

Pour a very small amount of olive oil into a pan over medium high heat. With a paper towel, rub the oil to coat the pan (this ensures that you aren't setting your meat directly into a puddle of oil and keeps everything from sticking). Next add about a teaspoon of lemon juice to the pan--I used a small frying pan and only cooked about 5 thin-tiny-round tenderloin slices. Sprinkle the tenderloins with season salt, the tiniest bit of chili powder, black pepper, and italain seasoning. Pat the seasoning in with a fork, flip the steaks, and repeat on the other side. Add them to the pan, turning the heat to medium and don't cook for longer than 2 minutes a side (my tenderloin slices were about 1/4" thick). DELICIOUS! The spicy/sour combination of the chili powder and lemon juice really knocked my socks off. Cooking? So far..check.

10) Be kind- I like to think I usually practice this one, but so far I have been making mentail efforts to do more little things for strangers. (Smiling at people who look like they need it, waiting the extra minute to hold doors for people, etc. etc.) Kindness? Check.

So there you have it. So far the year's not looking so shabby afterall.

Sara's 10 Mini Resolutions for 2012

So here's the deal...
I find New Year's resolutions overrated. They are too-huge, too-broad, and often too-unatainable. Why do we chose to set ourselves up for failure so early in the year, so that we're just left feeling worse by the end of it? If we make promises like, "I'll exercise more," "I'll be on time more," "I'll quit drinking"(hah.. that one's just plain laughable)Then we will have no means of gauging whether or not we have attained our goals. More, Less--these words are ambiguous and objective and will not a successful resoultion make.

What I propose: I am setting 10 mini attainable goals for myself this year.
They will have measureable outcomes, they will be plainly stated, and even if I only make it through half of the things on the list, I will have kept 6 promises to myself before the world ends 2013. Here are 10 things I will try my hardest to make happen this year:

1. I have often made the promise of trying to exercise more...I'm sure we all have. But really... how easy is it to say, I'll walk tomorrow, or I'm too tired today. So this year, I will make a promise that I will keep. I will take either a belly-dancing or yoga class offered to the community by the local community college; you must register and pay for these classes, so that will keep me committed and dedicated to the cause.

2. I will read. I love reading books and have never had trouble keeping this promise to myself. However, I have often had trouble in making my reading a continuous venture. I am not putting any crazy restrictions on myself, other than I must be in the course of reading a book or looking for a book at all times. (Feel free to leave recommendations!) and check out my friend Brittany's book blog, The Bounty of my Bookshelves for some awesome recommendations!

3. I will do everything I can to remember peoples names. From my everyday life to my workday life, I am always meeting new people, and ALWAYS forgetting their names. A few tactics I've picked up and been working on are word associations (i.e. If I meet a Mike, think Mike-Bike, picture this Mike riding a bike and retain that info... the next time you see him, you'll be more inclined to think of that image and remembering will be easier) and also I have been saying in my head "what's your name-what's your name-what's your name" in my head as I shake someones hand to meet them. Then when they do introduce themselves, my attention is 100% focused on hearing their name. (seriously... this is so weird. But try it and tell me it doesn't work! Just keep it in your head, or it becomes even weirder).

4. I will try new foods. I have always been a picky eater. And I do NOT like seafood one bit. Try and try as I might, it grosses me out. So, being reasonable here, while I probably won't try everything offered to me, I am going to try to be more open-minded.

5. I will travel. This has always been easily attainable for me because A. I love planning things, B. I love my friends and we are always looking for new fun and exciting places to go together and C. Living in a small town gives me serious cabin fever, so I do it for my own mental health. The gals and I actually have a trip to New Orleans in the works in February, this summer we're heading to th finger lakes for their wine festival, and the end of the summer should bring another trip for me yet to be determined. Travelling? Check.

6. I have always considered myself an optimist. However, lately some things in my life have really had me down. I am going to try and make a conscious effort everyday to find something to be happy about--ideally I'll write them down, but I'm trying to be realistic here.

7. I will continue to regularly post to this blog :)

8. I am going to try to stop saying and/or thinking negative thoughts about people. I have never been the girl who has gotten pleasure from putting another person down. But I also know that there are times I am quick to judge, or think negative things about certain people around me. Even if the thoughts are justified, all they do is mess with your mojo and leave you feeling worse in my opinion. So I will try my hardest to be the best me I can be, and not let the way others act affect my intentions.

9. I will cook. Cooking isn't my thing. Like at all. Even though the things I make often turn out well and quite tasty at times--I make a mess, am unorganized, cannot multitask in the kitchen or am just plain clueless about certain techniques. Tasks that should take minutes, take me 15 minutes. I make scraping batter from a bowl look incredibly awkward. Being the daughter of a baking houdini (Mama D can whip up brownies in her sleep!) I definitely did not get the -bake-with-ease-gene. So I am going to try and practice a bit more so that maybe it will start to come easier to me.

10. I will be kind. I will help people I can help, and send happy thoughts to the ones I can't reach. I will stay involved in many of my volunteering ventures, and try to pick up some more along the way. Every person has in them the ability to make a change and a difference in the life of another, I truly believe this and will make it my mantra in 2012.

I have been thinking up this list since around Christmas time, and I feel pretty good about it. My bases are covered and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment just by writing them out and announcing them to the 10 people who regularly read our blog world.

We were proposed a challenge by fellow blogger Karah, at The Space Between. The challenge is to "Imagine the Possibilities... and while I'm not exactly following their exact challenge, I am challenging myself to accomplish some mini-impossibilities throughout the year. Check out Karah's page, and link up to to the challenge yourself here:

Sara's Shoes

There once was a pair of black peep toe heels.
They were cheap ($8), they were comfy, they were patent,
and they were the perfect height for the almost-tall girl who wanted them.

So they were bought, they were loved, they were used,
and they were schmushed into suitcases and traveled across oceans and continents.
They ran, they walked, they danced, they fell; They were worn and worn and worn some more. And when the feet that bought them got sore, they were carried.

All of this wearing and all of this carrying
wore the traction right from the soles, scuffed the shiny surface,
and literally took chunks right out of the solid heel. The patent was not so patent and the black was not so black anymore. The once pretty black heels
had seen better days.

Just when the poor shoes thought they were doomed for garbage day...
The up-cycle fairies arrived and gave the shoes a new purpose!!

Shiny, silvery, glittery, New Years shoes--

and what was old became new.

THE END

So, I had the idea to paint my old heels... but wasn't sure it was feasible.
A few look-sees on pinterest told me that not only was it possible--it had been done before--like hundreds of times...not original at all. Bummer.

But, I did it anyways because I needed silver shoes for
New Years!

First, because the heels were shiny, I scuffed them up a bit with some sand paper.
Then I stuffed the shoes with newspaper so that all of the inside of the shoe was covered like this:

Look! there's an up-cycling fairy helper now! :)

A few good coats of spray paint later....

Up-cycling fairy helpers love helping to take pictures too...

Annnnddd Voila! An almost-new pair of shoes is born!

In retrospect: Listen to the other people who have done this--Use Modpodge after
painting to seal the color in!

I didn't even end up wearing these shoes...hah

But being squeezed into my duffle bag cracked some of the paint because the shoes are pretty bendy at this point in their life. If I were less lazy had more time, I definitely would have done that step. Now I will just have to respray them before I plan on wearing them. For now, I have a nice "new" pair of silver shoes in my closet waiting for a night out on the town.

And the project was not done in vain; I got to craft with my little fairy-helper.

Happy New Year!
May your shoes be silver and your projects plenty!



Sara's Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge Reveal!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's time for the unveiling! Special thanks to MegaCrafty for posing the challenge and
inspiring us to be thrifty-chic! Here she is!!

 Here's a Breakdown of what I Spent:

Sparkly pink metallic-wired ribbon- $3.18

Roll Aluminum Foil- $1.06
Ribbon- $1.06

3 Packs Floral Wire- $3.18

Splatter Screen- $1.06

Embroidery Floss- $2.53

Glitter Nail Polish- $1.06

2 Packs Iridescent Cellophane- $2.12

= $15.25

I am so happy with how my tree turned out! 

Budget=Beauty!

My tree topper!!



Metallic Macgyver-- Sara's Crafty Tree

Mega-Crafty has made December 15th the great reveal for the
Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge,
so before I post my final tree I am going to show the other ornaments I've come up with! As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to go with a blue/purple/pink metallic theme.

It's appropriate then that the following ornaments are all made out of --metal (duh)

Glitter Screen Ornaments

Here are the supplies I started with:

Yes... that is a typical, run-of-the-mill splatter screen. Except it's also a very cheap splatter screen that I got at the Dollar Tree for $1. Also at DT, I got a bottle of chunky silver glitter nail polish for, $1. I Picked up the embroidery floss from Michaels at what I thought should have been 35cents a piece. But what to my wandering eyes should appear? Two of them rang up at $1.09... drats. A much larger hunk out of my budget than I had hoped. (No worries, when all is said and done I am way under budget!). Altogether, the embroidery floss cost me $2.53.

First, I began by weaving a piece of the floss in and out of the screens grid, in a straight line. This part is a pain in the butt very tedious as you'll want to make sure you are staying in the same row of screen openings. Going in and out of every other hole is just plain crazy talk, so skip over 4 here, 5 there--the number between each stitch is not important. I wanted mine to look random, so I just sewed in and out not even worrying about how many screen cells I was passing over; ain't no thing.

After I had made a complete line from one side of the screen to the other, I began with another color and repeated the same process. Again, I wanted my lines to be random, so I didn't make a set pattern and just picked and chose which color to use where. Just let the loose ends of the floss hang over the screen edges.

Next: Bedazzling!

I was worried that if I tried to cut shapes out of the screen, the floss would fray and unravel from the screen. That is where the glitter nail polish comes in! Over wax paper (so it doesn't make a mess or stick to the surface you are working on), shellack both sides of the screen with the glitter nail polish. I mean really let it have it...

I don't know how well you can see it here, but I promise that where there is thread- there is glitter, and lots of it. The polish helps to bind the floss to the screen and should help hold the screen together also once you start cutting.

Initially, I had wanted to repeat the striped segments multiple times, to be able to make more ornaments and extend my budget, but life happened and I ran out of patience, time, and the ability to see those tiny holes anymore. So when it came time to cut, I just poked the scissors through the screen and cut out the striped segment in one big piece.

BE CAREFUL!! As you cut the screen the edges become very sharp!

Next, I just took the rectangle and cut out circle shapes to create the ornaments!! The best part? The screen edges of the circles are jagged, and will almost velcro themselves onto the tree branch, so no hook or thread to hang them by is necessary!

Position them in front of a light and it's pure magic people :) Just look at them sparkle!

Wire Spiral Ornaments

Here's another kind of metal ornament I made out of blue, pink and purple floral wire from the Dollar Tree; at a dollar a pack, these ornaments only cost me $3.

Lastly, I used 2 packs of cellophane tissue paper (in blue and pink--also DT finds) to create a large pom-pom tree topper and the simple kite tail garland on my tree (I used some of my extra pink floss here also)! $2

Can't wait to reveal how it all turned out tomorrow!!

Sara's First Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge Ornament!

Sooo...I have about all of my supplies for my tree, and a few things started, but tonight I finished my first batch of ornaments and wanted to share! As explained in an earlier post, all of this thrifty tree creation-inspiration is due to a challenge presented to bloggers by Mega-Crafty--to decorate a tree for under $20. 

Remember in grade school, drawing on cardboard with glue and then covering it with aluminum foil? Yea, I went there... and while the concept is EXTREMELY simple and old school, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out:

Here are the supplies you need for these ornaments, along with totaling up the teeny dent these gems put in my budget.

Cardboard (Hello upcycle!): free

Aluminum foil: $1 Roll at Dollar tree

Markers: On-hand (pretty sure they don't count out of my budget) Everyone has markers right??

Hot Glue: Also on-hand

Ribbon: Again, I already had tons of extra ribbon around, but to play it safe we'll take another dollar away from the budget! $1

That leaves me with a grand total of...... $18.00 left towards my tree! And I made 15 ornaments with the $2 spent.

Here's how I made them: I started with drawing some simple ornament shapes onto the cardboard. I chose to use 3 different shapes--cut the first shape out and use it as a stencil so that they are all uniform in size.

Next, use the hot glue to draw designs and patterns on the cardboard shapes. Hot glue is the best option for this because it dries fast and goes on thicker for more defined lines, but Elmer's would work just as well if little ones wanted to try their tiny fingers at crafting!

After the glue has dried, place the cardboard shapes face down onto the dull side of a piece of aluminum foil. It took me a few ornaments in to realize that before you start wrapping the foil back around the edges of the shape, be sure to press and smooth the foil over the glue design on the front first. You want to have the lines as defined as possible and if the foil is pulled too tight, it will tear when you add the color later.

Use the markers to fill in the openings created by the glue lines--ala stained glass--or color directly on the lines to make the 3D patterns pop. I'm going with a metallic purple/pink/blue scheme for my tree.

Lastly, cut the ribbon into 6-8" pieces, fold in half, and glue the two ends to the back and top of the ornament.

TA-DA! Elementary School Chic!

MegaCrafty Tree Challenge... Kayla's Tree!

So the challenge was to decorate your Christmas tree under $20.  If you know me at all, you know that I take a challenge very seriously, I love the dollar store, and I'm only mini crafty.  Here's how it all went down.

I picked up the 'ol tree from my parents house (it was rotting away on Craigslist for two years) so I gave it some love and hauled it off to my apartment.
The tree and I had a rough start - the color coding of the branches have faded away and it looked a little like a green yield sign the first time I put it together.

Once it was standing tall, like a good tree should, I headed over to my local Dollar Tree (holla dollah!).  I picked up four special things. Aka I spent $4.  If you are reading this expecting a Martha Stewart tree, I'mma gonna stop you right here.

My Special Things

My Most Special Thing

Once I returned home with my dollar bag full of treats, I got to twisting.  I spiralled the ribbon - wrapping it a few times around a pencil & then stretching it out.  And wrapped and wrapped and wrapped the crepe paper until it amazingly resembled a rose.

Say whaaat?

I placed my crepe roses and spiralled ribbon throughout the tree & then doused the tree in iridescent streamers (pretty much regretting that - they are already ALL over my apartment/I found some in my bed last night), but I was going for a white, sparkly tree... hah

Ohhh Awww!

With my Most Special Thing placed on top, I took a step back and realized that it ain't my best work, but it definitely works.  It feels a little more Christmasy in here & with a move on the horizon in Jan, I will have no guilt collecting up my sparkly, spirally ornaments and tossing them in the trash ;) (and trying, maybe a little harder at being MEGAcrafty next year).

I hope everyone has a very merry, very budget happy Christmas <3