More DIY - Chalkboard labels spruce up boring kitchen canisters

So, I've been doing a lot of Pinteresting lately, and getting ideas for home decor. We're in the process of buying a HUD home, and I'm getting super excited to decorate it! I went into Cost Plus World Market, today, to see what they had, and came across these chalkboard labels, and I instantly KNEW I had to have them for my plain, white, ceramic kitchen canisters. I've had them forever, and I love them, ~BUT~ they are kind of, well, plain. Here are the labels and my canisters:

And here is the finished product:

Super simple, but I think they made a HUGE diference, don't you?

Being Crafty

So, I've been away for a while, but lately, I've been harnessing my inner craft diva. Today, I made a necklace hanger with some drawer knobs that were 50% off this week at Hobby Lobby and an unfinished, scalloped piece of wood. I painted and distressed the plaque, then enlisted hubby's help with attaching the knobs and a hanger to hang it on the wall. The following are pictures of the progression:

painted the plaque aqua

distressed the color, decided on only using 3 of the knobs

all finished, hung, and necklaces added!

Maxi dresses and a new piercing...

I finally got a maxi dress! I've always had trouble finding one I like, and Target had some on sale this week, so I bought one! Usually, I'm too tall, and they barely hit me at the ankle, but this one was the perfect length! I might get the other color they had, and scope out a few other styles as well! Also, debuting a new piercing a got a couple weeks ago! I absolutely love it. AND I can hide it, for when I'm with people that I know don't appreciate it. ;)

 Full length...

 Closer....

 Closer still......

 Classic feet angle.

 This is a necklace I made. I just LOVE it!!!

 The last couple Brian took, and I just thought they were cute. :D

Skirts are for Springtime!

I got a new skirt, yesterday. Normally this isn't super-exciting news, but I'd been eyeballing this skirt for a while, and every time I looked for it in my size, they were out! They completely sold out online! They finally got more back in online, but I stopped by my local store yesterday, and they actually had one in my size, so I snagged it! :D

I just LOVE the pockets in front and the elasticized waist! It's super comfy and light, and perfect for spring / summer here in the heat of the AZ desert! AND it will go perfectly with any color top I have! I also thought I'd feature some of the jewelry I've been making. I am having a blast making it and love to share it with all of you! If you see something you like, you can save 15% off your total order with coupon code MMB412!

What I wore:

Shirt: Orange Henley from Old Navy

Skirt: button down denim skirt with elasticized waist from Old Navy

Necklace: Octopus cameo on antique brass bezel with antique brass chain, by Me (melisstress - not for sale)

Bracelet: Orange skulls and turquoise beads by Me (You can buy it here: melisstress)

Shoes: turquoise braided sandal at Target

Slacker

I have been slacking. Hard to the core. I have been sick and the kids have been on Spring break for 2 weeks, and I have been pretty busy making the jewelries. And I'm out of excuses, now... I hope to get back to it, here, pretty darned soonly.........

I'm making stuff!

I made this cute bobby pin! Find this and more at my etsy shop!

What I want to wear...

...to a wedding in April...

the dress (from Old Navy)

the shoes (from Target)

the necklace (source)

It's a casual wedding held outside, in a botanical garden, so I think this will be perfect. And cute. What say you?

New Music Monday

Gotye Somebody That I Used to Know

Yes, I realize I am, yet again, a day behind. But that's okay. I'm expecting a big order of cabochons in the next couple of days, and will then promptly get to work making hair things and jewelries for my Etsy shop and I'll share photos with you. Obviously, they won't be posted on "crafty Tues.", but I hope by now that you're okay with that. :) I have some pics I can post, for now, though, of some of the items I currently have listed.

Etsy

I now have an Etsy shop for all my crafty things! Check it out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Melisstress?ref=pr_shop_more

Crafty Tues. in this mixed up week....

I figured since practically every other day was something else, why not throw crafty Tues. in there somewhere too. Besides, I don't really have any particular faves to share this week, but I did make a couple of necklaces and some bobby pins. I'm going to Hobby Lobby tonight, too, to pick up some more supplies, so let's see what I come up with, next! Anyhoo, here's pics:

The necklace on the right isn't totally finished, which is why it still has some long string, I like to leave the strings until I'm 100% sure I'm done and satisfied. I am in LOVE with those pins, though! Didn't they come out great?

Thrifty.... Thursday???

Okay, okay, my days have been WAY off. But I did get my boots cheap, albeit, not from a thrift store. They are $89 boots I got for $30.
I don't know if I'm going to stick to my 'schedule' anymore, anyway. Just post when I have something interesting / cute to post. OKAY!?!?!?! So, here's a cute little ensemble I threw together, just to show off my new Blowfish boots! It's sorta spring, sorta winter. But it's almost 80 here in AZ, so I figured, why not?

 Oh, see that little green flower bobby pin? I totally made that. :D

 Oh, and one of me with lipstick and blush. I forgot them when I had started taking pictures haha

What I wore:

shirt  - Old Navy

cami - Old Navy

shorts - Old navy (from a million years ago)

tights - Target

boots - Blowfish

hair pin - ME (supplies from Hobby Lobby)

Wardrobe Wednesday....

....is kind of a bust. Sorry, nobody who reads my blog, I dropped the ball... again. However, I got some new Blowfish today, so I think I'll do an outfit post tomorrow, instead. :) Here's a sneak peek, though...

New (to me) Music Monday!

Here is the youtube.com clip to a fabulous song I heard on local, independent radio, kwss.org the other day! Love this band!

Birthday Suit

Today was my birthday! I wore one of my new dresses! Here's some pics... :) I know it's not Wardrobe Wednesday, but I thought, what the heck! Also, I got the new shoes that are in the pictures. Enjoy!

What I wore:

Dress - Old Navy

Cardi - Old Navy

Tights - Target

Shoes - Target

Thrifty Thurs. becomes Wardrobe Wed.....

due to my not getting to thrift store this week, and failing to post on Wardrobe Wednesday. I also failed to wear the valentine's day outfit I said I was going to wear. I had one planned involving a white dress and magenta tights but I ended up going to the doctor and then volunteering at the kids' parties at the school, so I went with jeans instead. SO.... I got this dress at Target with some birthday money I recently acquired, and paired it with a cardi I already owned and another pair of oxfords I bought at Old Navy cheap. and here it is!

hello!

 

 

 

 

 

Crafty Tuesday

Well, as promised, I'll show you all a photo of the jewelry I'd been making. :) I've had a lot of fun and frustrations doing them, but all in all, I think they turned out okay. I need to get back to the craft store for more supplies! When I went the last time, Hobby Lobby had all their acrylic beads 50% off! This week it's glass, and I'm not so sure how I feel about working with glass. For one, it's heavy, and 2, I'm a klutz. :p

New Glasses!

I got new glasses, today! :D
And I didn't cut my hair, it's in pigtails! hehehe

New (to me) Music Monday!

The 'new' music of the week is Young the Giant's "Apartment". If you've heard YTG's "My Body" before, you probably already fell in love with this band, as I did. I'm not going to sit and pretend to know jack crap about the technical aspects of music and why this is such an amazing band and why the music is just so dang good. I just know what I like and what I think is good and if you disagree, well, then, fine. I think it's important and healthy for people to disagree about music. That's how we get new music and how we get artists to push the envelope and try even harder. So, anyhoo... here's YTG's "Apartment": (and look up YTG's "My Body" in case you've been living under a rock for the past year. :))

Sneak preview...

 ...of the week to come:

• Crafty Tues.- I made some necklaces and a bracelet!!!
• Wardrobe Wed. - Valentine's Day Duds!
• My new blonde 'do!

I got a new camera this weekend, so the pictures should be a LOT better!! Eeeep! Can't wait to start a-bloggin'! :)

Fab Finds Friday

These fabulous socks were $.75 at Target! SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS!!! And I found laces for my new shoes! They only had dark brown, but I don't think they look too bad, do you? Or should I look for tan ones?

I haven't really done much research on the interwebz this week. As I said, before, it's been a very long and busy week. I did, however, finally bleach and tone the rest of my hair. If I think of it, I'll post pics of it later, or I'm sure you'll see it pop up in the future. :) So, I gotta give it up for Wella Toners, specifically T18, or what used to be called White Lady. It was the ONE thing that got the yellow out and got me to an *almost* white shade of hair. :)

Oh! And I found this awesomest nail color by Wet n' Wild today on clearance for $1.37! It's like a pretty orangey color.

I still need to try out that other color I bought not too long ago, too..... hehehehehehehehe

Thrifty Thursday

Okay, so I know I said I would share my thrift store scores on Thursdays, but when I went to a local thrift store this week, I got nothing. And I didn't have time to check out any other stores, as I was busy with work and sick kids. :( BUT.... I happened to go into Old Navy this afternoon, and I DID find some super cute oxfords cheap. $14.99 cheap! And I even had a 10% off coupon, making them $13.50, so I thought that was pretty thrifty! However, the style is laceless, not that they are missing laces, they just aren't supposed to have them. But they can easily take laces, if I can find some that match.... weird... And, since I had to get them 1/2 size too big, laces would definitely help. Oh, and I also got some uber cute henleys that were on sale for $6, and with my coupon, they came to $5.40 each. That's pretty thrifty, too, right???

Wardrobe Wednesday

Yay! my favorite day of the week! LOL The outfit I'm featuring, I wore yesterday, to go pick up the key to the yoga studio where I'm now teaching!! I'm also featuring a 'what I should have worn with the outfit' jewelry combo hahahahaha and a new nail polish! It's SUCH a pretty vintage-y teal color AND it was on clearance! Gotta love that! :D Okay, without further ado, here are the pics!

Wow. I really need a new camera!!! Ugh... hate crappy phone camera pics.... :p And, yes, I wore brown Chucks with my skirt... I want a couple of new pairs of shoes I saw at Target... this tan canvas pair of supercute flats and this LUSH pair of tan suede wedges. But I can't be greedy!! hahahaha Maybe some day......

What I wore:
Shirt - Old Navy burnt orange ruched side tee
Skirt - Old Navy chevron striped shirt
Shoes - brown Converse Chuck Taylors
Jewelry - necklace made for me by a client, bracelet was a mother's day gift last year :)
Nail Polish - Nicole for OPI in 'Green Up Your Act'