I Made Soap!

I have been dying to make a batch of soap!

Such a normal thing for a 21 year old girl to say...

I am not quite ready to work with Lye, so instead I started with this soap base:

How to Make an Old Couch New Again!

Today is rainy and chilly and I just wanted to do inside things.

So I did! 

Mostly a lot of boring kitchen cleaning, but I also did a little DIY project I have been wanting to do.

Let's jump right in !

Chair Update

Last summer I found a directors chair on the curb.

It was missing the fabric parts and my boyfriend insisted the wood was broken.

He just didn't want to pick it up and knew he would be forced into cleaning it.

After a lot of begging and reminders of how cute I am, he begrudgingly put it in the car for me.

I feel like I may have made him pick up a little too much "trash" that summer.

A few days later we (he was right, I forced him to help) cleaned it up and I made a new cloth seat and back for it out of this insane upholstery fabric I picked up at a house sale for $1:

Isn't it so perfect in the creepiest way?!

Here is the final product:

So cute! 

It just goes to show you that taking the time to fix up someones trash can truly create a treasure.

Let me know of any great curb finds you've had and what, if anything, you did to jazz them up!

--Rachel

Kitchen Decor

I just wanted to share with you guys my adorable kitchen jars.

They are just some mason/candle jars that I put cute stickers on and filled with cooking staples.

One of those "cooking staples" is black jelly beans...

They are so dorky, but I think they make the kitchen so much cuter.

Let me know if you like these and if you guys

have any great kitchen decor tips

on a tiny budget!

--Rachel

P.S. You can see these jars featured in this post about a diy lip scrub.

Quick and Cheap Wall Art

Trying to make a college apartment feel homey can be difficult.

To liven up our hospital-white walls my roommate and I wanted to hang some artwork.

Unfortunately, we have no money.

Luckily, my roommate's parents were getting rid of their old record album frames.

My roommate snatched them up and a brilliant idea was born.

We decided to put scrapbook paper in the frames!

DIY Lip Scrub

No, I don't want no scrub. A scrub is a guy who can't get no love from me.

Wait. Wrong kind of scrub.

HOW EMBARRASSING. 

Anyway, Here is a super easy and cheap lip scrub recipe!

All you need are these ingredients: 

If you can't tell by my bitchin' jar labels this is granulated sugar, coconut oil, and olive oil.

DIY Tablecloth

I live in a college apartment.

It can be a bit dreary, but I put a lot of work into brightening it up!

For example, this super easy bandanna tablecloth I made. 

DIY Nightstand

I spent the summer gathering/creating furniture for my new apartment.

I knew I wanted a nightstand in my bedroom but I couldn't come up with the perfect thing.

Then, I was creeping around my family's garage and found an old step ladder than probably couldn't hold a human.

I stole it and cleaned it off and fell in love! It was a hideous color so I hit it with some spray paint and wallah, the perfect nightstand was born!

Paper and Pearl Processional

My brother got married last May and our family gained my wonderful sister-in-law. It was a quaint, simple ceremony at a local park surrounded by friends and family. A lot of the wedding decor was homemade so I contributed by creating the bouquets myself and the other bridesmaids would carry. I worked with a friend to create them and I think they turned out beautifully! 

Fake Food Flashback

Nearly a year ago, one of my favorite little girls turned 2. As she is the only little munchkin in my life, I spend most of my crafting time working on projects for her (2 year old girls are a lot easier to crochet for than my old man).

I figured I would share some old images of a few of the crocheted gifts I made for her! I hope you can use these for inspiration in your own crafting adventures!

The doughnuts and strawberry patterns were made up by looking at pictures but the cheeseburger pattern can be found here: Nerdigurumi.