Wednesday, September 25, 2013

More Crayon Art: Halloween/Fall edition

I wanted to create another crayon canvas creation, but more for fall and Halloween to decorate my house with. So I tried out a couple ideas. One failed miserably, but one turned out pretty good!

Pumpkin Crayon Art
I used the Crayola crayons again, this time I used one box of Keen Green and three boxes of Hello Sunshine.


I took the Hello Sunshine crayons, peeled them, and chopped them up roughly into thirds. I took the Keen Green ones, and just snapped the very tips off them to create the look of a stem and leaves. 



I then used a hot glue gun to affix them to my canvas in the shape of a pumpkin. Don't worry too much about being messy with the hot glue. The crayons will melt into one shape and the hot glue is mostly just to keep them in place while you are heating them. 


The next part was tricky. I wanted to heat the crayons to the point of melting them. However, I did not necissarily want a lot of spreading/splashing effect the blowdryer gives. I used a giant stick lighter on most parts so there was heat, but no blowing. This took a very long time and was slightly painful to hold down the trigger on the lighter, so I went back and forth between the lighter and a blowdryer. 

I'm so happy with my result. I am thinking about framing the sides with a green or black ribbon. I love this project because it's unique and I also versatile. I can use it to decorate for Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving!

Love, 
Lauren 





Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Crayon Art

Crayon melting is really popular right now, and I like the different ones I've seen. I saw a couple different ones I liked using a scheme of one color and incorporating it into a scene of some-sort. So I tried out my first crayon project, and it turned out pretty good!

I went to Walmart, and they had small boxes (8 crayons) of simple color schemes. I picked up two boxes of the green.
I simply glued them to the edge of a canvas in a random order with the flat tip towards the edge and the point towards the inside of the canvas (after peeling off the paper logos, which is optional). I used a hot glue gun to secure them in place. I then turned the canvas upside down with the crayons at the top. I had some help with someone holding the canvas for me, at a bit of an angle. I took a blow dryer and ran it back and forth until the crayons started to melt down the canvas. After that, I let it dry. Then I took fabric flowers and glued some in place with the hot glue gun in order to create a garden appearance. I like the way it turned out and I plan to play around with some other ideas.


Love, 
Lauren 

Friday, August 23, 2013

Natural Dying

I wanted to try natural dying with some hemp to make jewelry. It actually turned out pretty good. Here's how I did it!


  1. I boiled 2 cups of wine. (I chose a light pink wine to get a pink color, but I want to try red next.)
  2. I brewed one pot of strong coffee. 
  3. I took three strands of hemp, and poured the wine over it in a bowl with a lid, covered it, and let it sit for 3 days. 
  4. I did the same for the coffee, however, I put the coffee grounds in with it and even added more after I made a pot of coffee the next day. Again, I let it sit for 3 days. 
The wine dye turned out a very light pink and the coffee just turned the beige hemp a shade of light brown. I was very happy with the results, and I look forward to trying more! What natural dying techniques have you used?
Love, 
Lauren 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Vintage Suitcase Re-Vamp


I've been wanting to do this project for a long time! I finally found the perfect suitcase at an antique store for $10! All I did was get half a yard of lace, mod podge, and the suitcase. I measured the lace to cover the front and back of the suitcase. My lace was scalloped, so I decided to leave a little bit of the suitcase showing. I covered it with mod podge, and let it dry! I love it so much!

Love,
Lauren

Friday, May 3, 2013

Friday Pick Me Up

Hello all! I wanted a refreshing (maybe not so healthy) coffee drink to help me get through my final papers this afternoon. It's finally starting to look and feel like Spring here in Colorado, so I decided I wanted something chilly. Here's what I concocted.

You will need:
a blender
ice cream (I used chocolate malt twist from Schwan's, but any flavor will do fine)
2/3 cup of 2% milk (use 1/4 cup for a thicker consistency)
one packet of Starbucks VIA instant coffee (I used Mocha flavor)
4-6 ice cubes
1. Mix the instant coffee with hot water as directed.
2. Put ice cream (about 2 scoops), milk, ice, and mixed coffee into blender.
3. Mix in blender until all ingredients are dissolved and mixed together.
4. There you have it, your very own fancy coffee drink! Can be garnished with whipped cream and chocolate syrup as well! Makes 2 servings.
 
(I love these Aztec glasses!)

Happy Friday all! I hope it's lovely!
Love,
Lauren Marie

P.S. Soundtrack for today: ZZ Ward's self titled album! Check it out, it's great!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

My Hair Story

I have recently cut all my hair off into a pixie cut! It was a pretty big change for me. I have barely even had my hair short. This is a style I have always admired and wanted to try. I always told myself I didn't have the right body type for it, though, and that I would miss my long hair too much. Finally, one day i was thinking about it. I talked myself out of it with the "I'll miss my hair" argument. Almost immediately, I laughed at how ridiculous that is. "Hair grows back, dumb-dumb," I thought, and I realized that I would probably miss my hair, but I will ALWAYS wonder and want to try short hair. So, I ran it by my friends. They all agreed I could pull it off and that I should just go for it. Most were surprised I hadn't already. I decided on a Audrey Hepburn style, or close to it, because I am always told I resemble her slightly. So, I asked my sister's best friend to cut it since she is a cosmetologist. She agreed, with apprehension. She told me she would cut it in sessions: cut a little, make me look at it, approve, then cut more. I'm positive she was convinced I wouldn't get past a bob cut. However, I got tired of the back and forth, and told her to just do it. She laughed and told me, "Lauren, you've never even had short hair, and you go straight for the pixie cut. That's just so like you." So she did it.

It was cold for the first few days, haha, and I'm still worried sometimes I look like a boy. I am reminded by my friends that I am very feminine and the cut does not detract from that. I do love it. It was such a change, and I think I needed it. I do miss my long hair sometimes, just like I thought I would. However, I'm really happy with my short hair right now. I'm glad I went for it!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Mix Tape Mondays: Hello Again!

Well, it's been quite a while. Sorry for the extended absence. However, I give to you a few songs to listen to. Coming up, I'm hoping to start re-vamping the vintage jewelry I inherited from my grandma. Have a beautiful Monday and an even better rest of the week.

1. White Winter Hymnal by The Fleet Foxes
2. Nighttiming by Coconut Records
3. When I'm Small by Phantogram
4. I Came Around by Murder by Death
5. Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding

Love,
Lauren