quirky crafty things

It's been a stressful past few months, what with moving and unpacking and taking showers regularly, so I thought I'd kick back and unwind last night with a little ALCOHOL!! Don't worry, I'm legal!!! :-p  Now I don't know about you, but sometimes I like to mix it up. Doing tequila shooters alone on the sofa just doesn't feel like a treat, you know? So I came up with this amazing cocktail invention that I wanted to share with you. Don't worry if you're not quite a mixologist yet--you'll get the hang of it!

Ingredients: Smirnoff Triple Distilled Vodka, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail with a Hint of Lime**, glass, your finger

1. Pour vodka into the glass

2. Pour cranberry juice into the glass

3. Mix the ingredients with your finger

4. Voila! Now THAT'S what I call a real tastebud splurge!!

**Hint of Lime is crucial to getting a subtle yet bold lime infusion in your cocktail! Trust me!

I love coming up with quirky new cooking ideas, like toasting eggplants on a tray in the oven. But I'm not a magician, so I need an oven mitt to help me out! It's frustrating to rummage through drawers looking for your mitt while your eggplants are screaming "Get me out of here, I'm burning!!", so I came up with a great DIY tip to keep my trusty mitt nearby. The big window next to my oven has curtain rod brackets, but no rod or curtains because that's a serious fire hazard, am I right ladies?! So I just took my oven mitt and hung it on the bracket, and voila! If you don't have a curtain rod bracket near your oven, just hammer a nail into the wall--double voila! You're welcome for the inspiration!!

Things have been a little slow here at Quirky Crafty Things because, drumroll please... I've been busy moving! It's always stressful to pack up your entire life and move to a new home. It's ESPECIALLY stressful when you have fragile things to move, like poster artwork! Thankfully, being crafty doesn't disappear when you're packing. Here's a great DIY way to protect your framed artwork during a big move, no expensive furniture pads needed!!

1. Gather your supplies: Poster artwork, a towel, and packing tape.

2. Lay your towel down on the floor and put your framed art on top of it.

3. Fold the towel up around the frame, being sure to pull the towel snug.

4. Tape up the edges of the towel. Wrap tape around the whole package a few times for extra security.

5. Voila! You're ready to move! And you have one less towel to pack, too!! IMPORTANT: Don't forget to wash your towel before you use it on your body.

Let's get real: Not all of us can afford fancy kitchen supplies. Sure, we all need bowls and forks for pasta meals. But can you really get luxury items like small plates, dish towels, and cutting boards without paying steep Crate&Barrel prices? YES is the answer!! Take this crafty DIY cutting board, for example. It's the epitome of luxury on a dime! Here's how to make it:

1. Take a sheet of paper towel (or two sheets for a big cutting job).

2. Fold it in half and put it on your counter.

3. Put your zucchini or other crudites on the cutting board.

4. IMPORTANT: Cut very gently, being careful not to rip your cutting board.

Voila! Zucchini slices and a happy counter!

I self-pedicured my toenails this adorable red color about a month and a half ago, and I just had to share! Thankfully, red polish never goes out of style. The polish is by Cover Girl, but I can't read the color name because the bottle is from 2007 and the label is totally worn off. Let's just pretend that it's called "Vivacious Red" because I am a vivacious twentysomething! Not to brag but I really love that name. Also, does anyone else have hairy toes? Anyway, hope this post inspires you!

This post is dedicated to Pamela and Megan, who had to look at my reflective photo for so long they got depressed. Sorry guys, hope this cheers you up!!

This photo is reflective to me because it makes me reflect on my life, and also because it is a photo of a cord tangle reflected in a mirror. Our world is infinite, but then again, are we all just looking into mirrors, you know? Does this yellow ethernet cord exist once, or twice? If I climbed into this mirror world, would I get stuck in the mirror crack and be trapped in limbo forever? Do I look prettier in the mirror world, like how I think I look better in the mirror than I do in photos because I'm used to seeing my reverse reflection?! OW, MY HEAD HURTS!!

I woke up today at my cabin in the woods and just threw on this ensemble. Not to brag but the outfit is really adorable (see below), so I wanted to share it with you! I think the heather brown t-shirt captures the casual feeling of porch-sitting in the woods, but the dark denim says that even though I'm drinking a Heineken at 2pm on a Wednesday, I'm still serious about looking my best. I hope you're inspired by my ensemble!

T-shirt by Gap (vintage 2009), denim by Old Navy, Heineken by the Dutch.

I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR! Is what I think when I lift these six-pound weights every once in a while. For my fellow workout warriorettes, here's a great idea for a weight rack to store your irons. It's easy, it's quick, and if you have a radiator at home (which you really should), it's free!

1. Find a radiator in your home. Hopefully this is not too hard for you.

2. Bring your weights to the radiator. (Hello, incidental workout!)

3. Rest your weights on your radiator.

Doesn't that look great? You're welcome! Now go lift those weights!!

HOLY MOLY IT'S HOT OUTSIDE!!! What is it, summer?! Just kidding, I know it's summer because of all the iced coffees I've been drinking. Anyway, my poor shins were getting too sweaty in pants, but I can't afford new shorts right now. (Iced coffees aren't cheap, right guys?!) So I decided to spend some creativity instead and make my own cutoffs. Here's how!

Supplies: Jeans, scissors, this post

1. Put on your pants and pinch the fabric where you want your shorts to end.

2. Take off your pants while keeping the fabric pinched.

3. Lay your pants flat.

4. Take out your scissors and cut the legs off at your pinchmark.

5. For added flair, fold up the bottoms (see below).

Phew! Feel the breeze on your shins and say "thank you, quirky crafty things"!

I wanted to share this tip I have for how to artfully hang pictures on your walls. With all the DIY advice out there, it certainly can be difficult to attain that "slapdash yet intentional" look. But I really think I nailed it (see below). I had one poster and one framed photo on my wall, and I wanted to hang up a newspaper. So I used the techniques of overlap--newspaper on top of poster--and linear equality--newspaper lines up with frame--to create this eye-catching arrangement. Try these techniques and then ask yourself, does my wall look unplanned yet fun (like an oops baby)? If so, my job here is done!

I was resting my aviators on my laptop keyboard when I suddenly felt super contemplative, so I took this quick yet artful photo. I really love how the sunglasses feel so nostalgic and olden, but the keyboard says "I am QWERTY, hear me roar!" The mix of modern with antique in the picture really makes me slow down and contemplate our fast-paced computer information landscape. I hope I didn't just make you feel too sad!

Here's a DIY project for you homeowners and homerenters out there! The light in my room has a circular dimmer dial, but I lost it. (I still can't figure out how!!) So I came up with this quick yet eye-catching and permanent fix that I wanted to share.

1. Get a roll of duct tape. (Not duck tape, that's not a thing, you silly goose!)

2. Wrap a few pieces of duct tape around the light dimmer nub.

3. Once you have a good base, start layering the duct tape until you have a nice thick tube.

4. Pinch the tube into an oval.

5. Voila! You're done! Now turn on that light to admire your handiwork!! (And give yourself a pat on the back for working in the dark!)

I totally love this photo that I took. My friend Emily brought me this teapot home from a trip to Morocco, and I love to imagine the foreign and exotic spices and smells and camel rides that the teapot took before coming to me. It's like it came from a galaxy far, far away, you know? Anyway, I just love how this snap shows off the intricate detailing and the delicate bell-shaped top. I bet whoever made it worked by hand, solo. Hope you like the pic!

My friend Katharine sent me this DIY drying rack photo, and I just had to share her clever DIY tip. (The water drips right into the tub--genius!!) We all need places to dry our cowboy shirts and skinny jeans because, I don't know about you, but I literally can't zip up my pants if they go in the dryer. Literally.

But enough about me! My interpretational directions from the photo would say:

1. Take your wet clothes into the bathroom.

2. Push your shower curtain to one side of the shower.

3. Hang your clothes up with a hanger or with gravity. (See below for ideas.)

4. Go watch Felicity until your clothes are dry! Warning, it might be a while!! 

If you like Katharine's tip, check out her other work here! You're welcome!

I was just looking down at the stamp on my wrist from last night, when I went out to a bar and had an alcoholic beer with some friends, and I thought it looked kind of wistful yet upbeat. So I thought I'd take a fun artsy snap (that's short for snapshot) of it! Not to brag but I had a Blue Moon beer. I hope you like the photo!

I am super well-read, not to brag, so I always have more books than space available on my bookshelf. But just this morning, I successfully DIYed a whole second bookshelf. I know, I know. "A whole bookshelf? That sounds so TRICKY!" is what I'm imagining you are saying. But hear me out! You, yes YOU, can make an entire bookshelf in about five minutes with my amazingly clever yet simple DIY tip.

1. Find a currently existing bookshelf.

2. Push all the books back as far as possible.

3. Shelve your orphaned books in the newly freed-up shelf space. (See below for inspiration.)

4. That's it--you're done! Just like that, you have basically made a SECOND BOOKSHELF! I know, I couldn't believe it either!!!

I was just finishing up a little breakfast of yogurt in a plastic container, served with a spoon, and I loved how the early 10am sunlight brought out the pretty colors and the textured plastic yogurt container sides. Just wanted to take a quick picture of the everyday art that I manage to find all around me!