Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

DIY: painting a wooden birdhouse

I know today's Wednesday and I *usually do an outfit post, but really, I haven't gotten fully dressed since Sunday and haven't taken pics of my outfits so we'll go with a DIY project.

I know Mother's day was a few days ago, but I wanted to share the gift I made for my mom.

She hinted a few months ago that she'd like a bird house for her front yard. We were in one of the craft aisles at walmart then and we saw the pre-made wood birdhouses. She showed me two that she liked and I told her I'd paint her one for Mother's day.

Here's the bird house painting process I did.

Supplies:
Birdhouse ~ $5 @ walmart
Various acrylic paints ~ .60-.97 cents each @ walmart
Stencils, brushes, burlap type string and modpodge I already had 
staple gun & clear spray paint supplied by James

This was my first time painting a birdhouse and the whole process from this 1st pic to modpodgey-ing it took me about 3.5 hours (including letting one layer of paint dry.)
What can I say, I like to pay attention to detail lol.

le house

 le paint
not pictured is a rose colored pink

le stencils. I only ended up using the dragonfly one

getting ready 

 scotch tape to the rescue for a clean line at the base


 drew and traced a bird. flipped it over for the other side.


 added little hearts for a whismy feel

 mod podge this baby. I used matte. let dry overnight.

next day, James sprayed it with a clear spray paint to seal it even more from the elements.

He also staple gunned some burlap type string on three of the sides and braided & knotted with adding a key ring so my mama could hang it.
 
All done! This little house will surely add some color & cheer to my mama's front yard!

BTW, she loved it! yay! :)

and this is in no way a sponsored post.
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

what I wore wednesday: striped skirt + printed shirt

If you watched my vlog last thursday, you would have heard me ask about a rusty colored striped skirt I own and what color of top you thought it'd go with?

Well, this little outfit I pulled together below involves that skirt & the theme of growth.

We're gonna be digging deep here. [no pun intended]
Wait, you mean, this isn't just a fashion post? haha, nope.

rolling out of my comfort zone forces me to grow.

In this case, expanding my horizons from the clothes that live in my closet.

I decided that I would confront the task of selecting this skirt to wear & brainstorm with what I had in my closet, what shirt to pair with it?

Hmm. Hmm.

Top pick: this fading printed park scene top that I scored from Urban Outfitters years ago.

Never in my adult life have I mixed prints.

Why is that? I asked myself.

With every question & thought that ran in my mind, every answer & reply was based on fear.

Was I not confident to pull that off?
I think the girls (namely 2) will tell me they don't like my outfit/skirt/top.
and i don't feel like dealing with their negative comments.
Why not brittany?
You're a creative person. So many people have commented in the past about how stylish you look, you can do this.

So with this sort-of self-talk, I decided, enough is enough.

I am tapping into my creative core & not caring what others think.
I am dressing the way I want, even if that means experimenting with color & prints and patterns that don't fit into "their" box or even my own box/mindset that I've been routinely sticking to these past 4 years..playing it safe.
Boldly going forth

You may not know, beloved reader, but my life is very predicatable.
my day to day is quite routine (HEY! that could be a whole separate blog post!) & you could say I am a creature of habit.

I mean, I eat the same foods for breakfast 94% of the time.

But you know what? there's some creative spark that is kicking to grow into a great bright flame.

there's something going on inside my soul that is wanting to branch out.
that is eager to push the limits that I've set upon myself.

and I am not just talking about fashion either.

For too long, I've kept quiet (not being assertive) & watched my tongue.
I am not saying that I will all-of-a-sudden become mean & rude, but rather voice my opinion when someone insults me or gives their unnecessary opinions.

My friend Cortni from junior high wrote on her facebook page at least two years ago,

"it's better to be kind than right."

I'll always remember that.

It's going to be a bit painful becoming a pro at being assertive. I avoid conflict like some incurable deathly disease.

But like that old sayng, No pain No gain.

I need to grow. I am tired of feeling like I am in the same place.
I believe it's part of God's plan for His children while they living this Earthly life.

I also want to take a more active role in my faith journey.

I cannot even tell you the exact day that I opened my Bible.

Yes, I pray nearly daily. But I want more, again. I want my heart to be opened more to God's love & to learn more of His ways so that I can be an answer to someone's prayer perhaps. I want to be strong enough to help others when they are in need.

It's time me for to go and read the Word and take some notes!

And all of this stems from challenging myself with what I will wear with this orange striped skirt.
Who knew that a fashion question could turn into something that re-starts my spirit?

Shirt: Urban Outfitters
Skirt: Target
Earrings: F21
Sunglasses: Charlotte Russe
Headband: from one of those daily deal newsletters.

 *no this is not a sponsored post by target or urban outfitters or any other retailer.

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