DIY Crafts - Necklace Board

I finished another of this past weekend's crafts! I woke up and was watching the HGTV channel. That channel is dangerous because there are so many good shows! During one of the commercials I saw this idea. [Also check out the DIY Network.]

It was on the show where the lady redesigns closets and she hung knobs on the wall. I am currently moving every year so I can't really put that much work into permanent things. I previously hung adhesive hooks on the wall to hold my necklaces but I wanted something a little more cute.

So I decided to use the knob ideas in a sense that would be easy to move when I move!

I had an old cork board that I was ready to do something crafty with and it worked out great.

Painted board

Things you'll need:
• Cork board
• Paint
• Mod Podge
• Felt or fabric
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Decorative drawer knobs
• Flat tacks
• Optional: extra decorations

Paints I mixed

Step 1: I painted the old cork board by mixing paints to create a color I liked.

Knobs

Knobs after screw removed

 





 Step 2: While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I decided to work on the knobs. [I bought them on sale from Hobby Lobby.] I needed to take the screw part off. It was harder than it looked but my friend made me look weak and just basically unscrewed the knob from the stem screw with pliers.

Tack added to knob

Step 3: I hot glued the flat tacks to the end of the knob. [I chose hot glue because it was what I had but I would guess it could be done with super glue too.]

I wanted to tack the knobs onto the board so I could rearrange them and it felt like a stronger hold. I hot glued one but it doesn't hold up the same weight and it could be because of the fabric or type of glue. Tacking or gluing the knobs is up to you.

Step 4: Now I went back and added Mod Podge over the paint. [It can be found where ever craft supplies are sold.]

Broken board

Step 5: I used felt sheets I bought from Michael's. You could use fabric as well. I wanted to cover the board because it was old and there were cracks in the cork. I cut the felt to how it would fit on the board.

Felted board

Arranging felt on board

Step 6: I hot glued the felt onto the board. [You could staple it but I didn't want the staples to be visible.]

Arranging knobs

 Step 7: I then stuck the new tack knobs on the board how I liked them. (After trying to hot glue one of them.)

Step 8: And I decorated the border of the board with jewels and flowers that I had on hand.

You could add a border on the cork part or the wood part. Decorating it is strictly up to you.



Step 9: Add your necklaces and enjoy. Hang the new board up in your closet or where ever you prefer.

Finished board :)

[Buy extra knobs because when we were taking the screw stem off one broke. And you may need more than you think. I need to go back and buy more since I have a lot of necklaces.]

You can hang a lot of necklaces on one knob or just a few. It depends on how many you have and how visible you want them. The bigger the board the more space you have! This was really simple and would make for a great gift!

Share this with your friends and post yours if you try it! Enjoy!

DIY Crafts - Earring Holder

Over the weekend I wanted to get a jump start on my summer craft to do list. I stupidly decided to start three different crafts and finished one. [I always have next weekend.]

I had an old earring hanger that my mom made me years ago. It hung on a hanger and the fabric was ugly no longer my style. Thanks to Pinterest I saw something like this and wanted to try it.

This is what you will need:
• Open wood frame (or frame of preference)
• burlap (color of your choice)
• Starch spray (I used Faultless brand 'Heavy')
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Paint (I used a light color and then a crackle overlay)
• Paint brushes

Original white frame

Step 1: I cut the burlap based upon sizing it to the back of the frame. [I bought the burlap and frame from Hobby Lobby.]

Step 2: I sprayed the burlap with the starch spray. I sprayed the burlap over newspapers. [I bought the starch spray from a dollar general store, but it can be found anywhere you buy laundry detergents.]

Painted frame

Step 3: I painted the frame with the light buttermilk paint. The frame was originally a bright white color and I wanted it to be a little more rustic. [I bought the paint from Michael's.] I painted a few coats so that the color was more pronounced.

Paints

Crackle

Step 4: I then used the crackle paint and painted it on over the color coat. [I don't think I did it right because it isn't the most crackled but I like it that way. You can buy spray paint cans that have a stone or crackle effects.]

Step 5: Once the paint was dry, I hot glued the starched burlap to the back of the frame. [You could do this with staples but I didn't have a staple gun.] Pull tight on the burlap when gluing it down so that it is stronger. [The starch should have made it stiffer as well.] The stronger it is the better it will hold the earrings' weight.

Step 6: I then hung my earrings up and realized I have a lot! I need a bigger frame. :)

Finished project!

You can lean it up against a wall or hang it with ribbon or like a normal picture frame.

Hope you like it! My friend also did it with window screen instead of burlap. Share your ideas and if you try it! Enjoy!

DIY - Easy, Messy, Fun Summer Hair

I'm taking a May-mester this summer and as you can guess it is really hot in the best state in America. I have naturally long curly hair with layers, needless to say that sometimes it is hard to do anything with it. I can either do frizzy curls or frizzy attempted straight.

I like to wear my hair in fun ways that will stay the whole day so I don't have to keep messing with it. As a kid I loved pigtails, but now as a young adult I don't want to look too young with normal pigtails and just normal braids can get boring. [I don't know how to french braid on myself.]

I found this hair style in Seventeen Magazine that was so cute and wanted to try it and share it with others. Mine did come out different than the magazine but still cute! [Just goes to show that the magazine suggested styles are done by professionals.] Mine is an easy DIY style.

I personally prefer to have my hair straightened [not perfectly] but not curly. It makes it less tangled and easier to deal with because of the layers.

1. Split your hair in two as if you were going to secure the hair in regular pigtails. [Don't worry about the part having to be perfect. This should be a fun style and it isn't the 90s so no one cares about the perfect part.]

2. Secure one tail so you can work on the other tail.

3. Split one tail into two equal parts.








 4. Tie the two strands in a knot. [Like you would tie a shoelace knot.] Make sure you pull tight.

 








5. Repeat Step 4 until your preferable length is all tied into knots.

6. Secure the pigtail at the end of the knots with an elastic band. [I like to use the clear ones that can be found at Target.]
{How much hair you leave left over at the end is up to you.}

7. Repeat Steps 3-6 for the other tail. [You can see that the unknotted tail is much longer than the tail with knots. This is how mine is different than the magazine's.]





Now that both tails are knotted up and cute, you are ready for the day. I received so many compliments on them today at school and now am ready to go chill at the pool not having to worry about redoing and redoing my hair.

You can dress this hair style up with any cute hat. I like to get my hats from Forever 21. {Really fun part is that since it makes my hair look shorter more people notice and freak out wondering if I cut it. I love that I can have super long hair but do styles that make it look short.}

Enjoy! Share your pictures if you try it!

My World Of PR - Blog 15

    So after talking with a fellow classmate about how our perceptions of public relations have changed and about what his plans are for after college it made me think I like his idea about sharing them with the world in a sense of advice. Take it or leave it. Advice and opinions should always be taken with a grain of salt.

    Three years ago when I first entered college and chose my major I was so excited about public relations because the academic advisors made it sound like so much fun. I’m a people person. They said this would be great since I love organizing, planning and dealing with people. Well who would have thought three years later I would be changing my focus all together. Is it public relations’ fault or mine? There is no fault in this situation. People change over time and teachers change perceptions. Throughout my experience teachers in my degree never could understand why I was in journalism since I am letter dyslexic and spelling is not my strong point. I’m what journalist would say is an oxymoron. I can’t spell but I’m crazy good at math. And how did I end up in journalism?

    At 18-years-old I thought I loved it. Funny how the advice I was given about boys can be held true about picking a major. At 18 you don’t know what you love. Well I loved writing and people. But just because I loved it didn’t mean I was very good at it in the world of PR. If everyone was meant to do PR then what would be the purpose of getting a degree in it? There would be no purpose. Sadly for me I found out three years late and one semester short of graduation. No matter how hard I tried PR and I grew a part.

    I still love to write. I hope one day I can write and speak to young adults and share my story so that it may help them. My personal life story and academic story is one for the books for sure. But I can’t say that having chosen something else three years ago would have been best for me. How else would I have learned what I am meant to do? I wouldn’t have. I now know what I should be doing.

    I want to go into higher education and student affairs administration. I realized that through all the hard times in school, I could always lean on my campus involvement to lift my spirits. At UNT we have amazing faculty in student affairs administration that were always there to be a friend or a parent when I needed one. I learned that I wanted to do that for other students like myself in the future. So what does this have to do with PR? Everything.

    Yes, PR is about press releases, media lists, communication plans and so much more. But it is about human activity and word-of-mouth. I see PR as a form of interacting with people. That was what I was looking for since the very beginning. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place for my people connection. The way I see it is that PR has prepared me for knowing how to communicate with people and spread a positive image to the future students that I will interact with. I am very thankful for my time, the good and the bad. Without any of it I wouldn’t know where to go from here.

    I hope anyone reading this will feel lifted in the thought that everything happens for a reason. And my big piece of PR advice: PR is nothing like it is portrayed on Sex and the City.

    Happy summer.