February Showers Bring March Flowers

Old Navy Dress // Ivanka Trump Bag // Rhinestone watch courtesy of BornPrettyStore.com // Flats from Burlington Coat Factory

My post title may not be all that accurate but it makes sense in my head based on the situation currently happening here in Southern California. It was pouring ultra hard rain the past couple of days, which made me think about all the beautiful flowers that will bloom this month as a result of the downpour. My wardrobe is always ready for spring and all the bright colors its got to offer. I found this paisley printed dress at Old Navy for an awesome steal of $10 and wore it last weekend when it was a lot sunnier. I was so ecstatic about this find! I love a good deal.
I'll be spending the next week or so attempting to sew an apron for a DIY apron post, because I absolutely adore the ones at Anthropologie and am totally inspired to make my own. This project may or may not end up a sewing disaster. We shall see!

Rhinestone Watch from Born Pretty Store

Watch from BornPrettyStore.com // ZARA Coat // Lace Dress from Thailand //  Shoes from Burlington Coat Factory // Ivanka Trump Bag

I was given the opportunity to review this beautiful wrist watch from BornPrettyStore.com. They've actually got a huge selection of women's watches for under $10 plus free shipping! That's already a huge plus in my book. The one I'm wearing is the rose gold rhinestone watch with a shiny black patent strap. The strap was a little too big for my wrist so I had to poke an extra hole in it to make it fit. The actual design of the watch is pleasantly unique. The beads are fun to look at and the rose gold color adds an extra feminine touch to the watch. For being under $10, I think this watch is a great deal with a quality comparable to the watches at Target. Just note that the black strap is a glossy patent material and not a matte color. It fits comfortably and isn't too heavy or bulky feeling. I've been in search of a bracelet style watch so I'm definitely going to check out their bracelet watches as well!

The folks over at Born Pretty Store are generously offering 
10% off your purchase with code: SHERRYC10
(that means you can get this watch for $8.92! oh snaaaps)

DIY Paper Organizer

MATERIALS:

Plain Paper Divider

Spray Paint

Scrapbook Paper

Stickers

Mod Podge

Sponge Brush

Scissors

STEP 1: Spray paint the paper divider and let it dry 

STEP 2 & 3: Cut out a rectangular shape from the scrapbook paper that fits on the front of your divider

STEP 4: Use Mod Podge to glue the paper onto the divider and let it dry

STEP 5 & 6: Stick the stickers on and you're done!

This very plain and slightly dirty looking paper divider has been haunting my work office for years. I almost threw it away but decided to give it a makeover instead. I cleaned it up and used my trusty spray paint on it and loved the result. Spray paint seems to be the answer to all my DIY makeovers  lately. The sticker embellishment is optional, but I have so many stickers that it just felt right using it. If you find anything lying around your room or office that looks old and useless, try spray painting it to see if it can be salvaged before throwing it away! 

DIY Gold & Glitter Dipped Glass

MATERIALS:

Glass Cup or Jar

Gold Glitter (mine is Recollections glitter from Michael's)

Mod Podge

Foam Brush

Gold Spray Paint (mine is from Home Depot)

All Purpose Varnish

Step 1: In a well ventilated area, spray gold paint onto glass

Step 2: Wait 2 hours for paint to completely dry

Step 3: Brush mod podge onto the lower third of glass (I did this in sections so it doesn't dry out before step 4)

Step 4: Sprinkle glitter onto mod podge

Step 5: Spray all purpose varnish to set the glitter in place

Step 6: Done! Enjoy your new glitter dipped cup/jar

Glitter and gold seemed like the best way to begin the new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful few weeks enjoying the holidays. I've been seeing a lot of glittery goodness all over pinterest and wanted to try out this glitter dipped glass look. It was pretty easy to do, but required waiting time for the paint and mod podge to dry. The glass cup was on sale at Target for .30 cents so I thought this would be the perfect item to practice spraying and glittering on.

You can use a piece of paper or washi tape (something not too sticky) to help guide the mod podge and glittering steps to create a straighter line. I just eyeballed it and did it freehand to save time. I'm very happy with the outcome and plan to do this with some of my empty pasta jars.

Sunny San Diego

 MY OUTFIT: Vintage pencil skirt// Friend's Forest Green Blouse// Scarf from Thailand // UGG Wedge Booties 
PHOTOS BY: My sister, Jennifer.

I recently had some fun reuniting with close friends in their backyard, which really should be a national park. It was huge and gorgeous. The last time we all took nice photos together was back in 2011. Since then we've all been scattered across California from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco. It's crazy how fast time flies by when you're busy working all the time. We always need to remember to take a break and have some fun in between all the work.

My sister helped style us so our color palettes complimented each other's look. I fell totally in love with pencil skirts after wearing this one! My grand-aunt gave this to my sisters and I when we were younger and we left it sitting in the closet untouched since we were disposable-trend wearing teenagers who felt totally uncool wearing a granny looking skirt. I am so glad I found it and in perfect condition! 

DIY Painted Gold Coasters

MATERIALS:

4x4" ceramic tiles (mine are from Home Depot)

Vinyl bumpers

Gold acrylic paint

Mod Podge or All Purpose Varnish (I used both, but forgot to add the Mod Podge to the photo)

Masking tape (I used washi tape)

Foam brush (I used both paint and foam brushes and found the foam brush works way better)

Step 1 & 2: Create a design of your choice using tape. Remember the untaped part is where the gold will be painted.

Step 3 & 4: Use the foam brush to paint a thick layer of gold paint onto the tile

Step 5 & 6: Let the gold paint dry before ripping off the tape. (I made the mistake of ripping it off while it was still wet and some of the gold paint smeared onto the white areas)

Step 7: Use Mod Podge, or any all purpose craft varnish, to protect and seal the gold paint. I brushed on two layers of mod podge before finishing it off with a layer of all purpose craft varnish. Let each layer dry before applying the next.

Step 8: Stick the vinyl bumpers onto the bottom corners of the tile to protect your table from getting scratched up by the tile. You can also glue felt squares to the bottom instead of using the bumpers.

Here's a fun DIY you'll enjoy if you like to paint and create pretty little squares. Painted coasters can be easily personalized and make great gifts for any occasion! They're useful and totally fun to look at. This was my first attempt at making painted coasters. I saw a few coaster DIY tutorials online and wanted to try it out with paint. I applied two layers of Mod Podge and sprayed on one layer of all purpose varnish to seal and protect the paint. Originally I wasn't going to use the Mod Podge, but after experimenting with one tile, I found that the paint looked even more awesome and protected with the Mod Podge layer. 

I hope this is as fun for you to do as it was for me. I'd be happy to see your creations! :) Enjoy!

DIY 3D Ornament Card

Materials:

Paper (3 sheets of varying patterns for the ornament, 1 for the bow)

Ribbon

Blank Card

Gluestick

Scissors

(Optional) Embellishment Stickers 

Ornament Steps:

Step 1: Cut 3 different patterned circles out. It may be easier to fold a piece of paper in half and cut half a circle out (so when you open it, it becomes a full circle) to ensure the circle is even. Mine are about 2.5 inches in diameter.

Step 2: Crease the circles by folding in half and glue half of one circle to another half so they look like step 3.

Step 3: You should have two halves glued together like so

Step 4: Glue the remaining circle together to complete the 3D ornament

Step 5: Cut a piece of ribbon to your desired length

Step 6: Glue the ribbon to the card

Step 7: Glue the back of the 3D ornament to the card

Step 8: You're done! Now on to the bow...

Bow Steps:

I learned how to make the paper bow from this great tutorial on How About Orange blog. They provide a printable template of the pieces you'll need. I cut my 3 pieces out freehand, but if you aren't confident in your cutting skills, check out How About Orange for the template.

Step 1: Cut out these three shapes (or use template found here)

Step 2: Tape the middle piece together like pictured

Step 3: Press down to see the shape of a bow forming

Step 4: Place the 3rd piece behind the bow shape

Step 5: Wrap the first piece around the middle once or twice and secure with glue or tape

Step 6: Cut off the excess tail

Step 7: Glue the back of the bow to the card

Step 8: Repeat the steps to create the second smaller ornament/bow

Step 9 (optional): Stick the extra embellishments (I used snowflakes) onto the card. You're done!

I stumbled upon a bunch of cute 3D ornament cards online while I was googling for ideas and decided to give it a try myself. You can create this 3D effect with other shapes as well. The bow was probably the most time consuming at first, but after making a couple, i got the hang of it. I hope you find this as fun to make as I did! Send me a pic of your creation when you're done. I'd love to see it!