DIY Quote Jar

This week I was looking to make a gift for a friend who recently moved & started a new job. I thought something simple & cute would do the trick as either an accessory for her office or her home! Thus, this quote jar. 

All in all, I thought the gift turned out super cute & for only $3.99, I'm now aching to make my own! (Note: $3.99 is the cost of the jar; all other materials, I already had in my craft supplies.)

I started by picking out scrapbook paper I wanted to use to write the quotes on for the inside of the jar, and also scrapbook paper to lay on the inside of the jar. I used this TrendSetter paper I had recently gotten from Overstock (but you can also get it from scrapbook.com at a cheaper price.) 

The TrendSetter paper was for the quotes inside, and luckily the stripes sheet you see above was from another packet I had recently picked up, the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm set (bought at Overstock.) You can also visit American Crafts to checkout the rest of the Dear Lizzy collection! Love love love the designs.

I measured out a piece that would fit inside the jar and cut it out. Unfortunately, 12 inches just barely misses the mark in length to fully wrap around the inside, so I had to cut off an extra sliver and tape it to the wraparound for the back of the jar. You could probably leave it open entirely, as who really looks at the back of the jar anyway? Or, you could print a design on legal paper so there'd be no gap. 

The paper I used was just striped, as above, but I wanted to add something to fancy it up in the front. In my scrapbook set, there was this little tag and I used scalloped scissors to cut around it. You could use this space to personalize the item, maybe use a monogram, paper cut outs, or stickers - the options are endless!

Next came time to start the quote part of the craft. For this project, I went to my friend's Quote Pinboard and picked quotes from there to use. Since I was unsure of where she may put the jar, I picked quotes that seemed mostly applicable and inspirational to a wide variety of people if they were to read a quote in the jar. I think using quotes you specifically know your friend enjoys is the best way to go, but you could also pick whatever quotes you really wish. 

Too lazy to handwrite all of the quotes... I planned on typing. Since the paper I was using was only 6 x 6, I decided I would cut them into post-it shaped squares and use the template for printing on post-its (the one I used can be found on One Good Thing.) I made 6 documents of the quotes, then sheet by sheet would tape the squares of scrapbook paper to my printed template and feed them through the printer. If this sounds like a lot, it really wasn't! It was pretty painless, and I only had to use one sheet of printer paper this way and the tape was good for all 6 prints. I printed on the white side of the scrapbook paper so that, when folded, the design side would be what you'd see.

With the printing, the template print on some of the squares that I had cut too large (as I started to do it more by eye than my ruler), but I just trimmed the edges at the end - again, pretty painless!

I folded up all my quote squares into quarters. With 6 pages (36 quotes on post-it note sized paper), the fit is pretty snug, just FYI. But I simply had to tuck them within each other, and I think it is better to have more quotes than less.

Et voila! You could use this same idea for more than quotes: you could store wishes you have, tasks to finish, memories, and I'm sure many other things that I can't think of right now! Any other suggestions or have you made something similar for yourself? Let me know!

xoxo e

DIY Personalized Pic & Post Frame

As you may know, I recently moved back to Texas after graduating this May. Upon arrival, I started to gather stationery to write notes to my friends who remained in Oklahoma and those who had moved to other states as well. Two friends in particular, I wanted to make something special for, and after hunting around Hobby Lobby, I came up with the idea of little personalized desk frames. 

Thought I'd share the directions in case you're interested in making one for a loved one or yourself! 

First, I bought cork letters for the corner of the frames, using their first initial.

Next, I found things I'd like to use to personalize their thumbtack/pushpins. For my friend Rachel, she is a sweet British-loving soul, so I thought I'd make hers a kind of a old english tea party theme! I found these tiles in the scrapbooking section. For my other friend Kiera, she LOVES elephants, so I thought I'd do a brightly-colored India-inspired frame. I found the stickers (below, right) in the scrapbooking section as well.)

I also thought it would be really cute to make Kiera an elephant pushpin, so I bought this charm to make that happen. I tried to find a teacup charm, but couldn't find one I liked - though I must take a moment to talk about how absolutely lovely Bead Treasures' Fairy Tale charm line is! Some really beautiful & whimsical artistry. The foxhead charm below is from the line, and I just love it so much.

I tend to be a scrapbook paper junkie (though I don't scrapbook per se.) I chose some paper from MAMBI's specialty mixed media pack I had picked up recently, which you can view and purchase here. (I NEVER KNEW OVERSTOCK HAD SCRAPBOOK PAPER? CRAFTING. SECRETS.) MAMBI really does have some fantastic things though. The paper I used for Rachel's I am unfortunately unsure of the brand, as it is leftover I've had for awhile.

Both from MAMBI's pack.

I bought plain silver thumbtacks and hot glued the tiles & gems to these. If you have or can find flat topped pins, I would suggest that route as these were more inclined to pop off (or perhaps use super glue instead of hot glue, and truthfully, I am not the best hot gluer anyways!) I then painted each of the letters and allowed those to dry.

I spray painted my frames an ivory color. Note: Be attentive when buying frames! I saw these wooden ones at Hobby Lobby and didn't realize the beveled corners (I thought they were a part of the packaging.) I had to chip them off and then sand them down to make the frame one thickness, which was slightly frustrating. 

Now this elephant thumbtack. Trickery. I must admit, I solicited help from my family on this one. Cut and sanded the charm circle loop on the elephant's back, cut a skinny nail, and used a dremel to put a hole in the elephant. Then spray painted! Thank goodness for family, the elephant turned out exactly as I had hoped.

The last step was finding quotes that fit their personalities and printing and inserting that into the frame. Et voila! For future adaptions, I'd like to make a version that maybe is just used as a dry erase desk frame and playing with other charm-pins and frame styles, also may include collaged pictures behind the glass. Looking forward to hopefully finding a new job soon so I can make one for my new desk area!

Any tips you would offer or tweaks you'd make? Would love to know!

NEW BEGINNINGS, OLD PICTURES

Well if you haven't noticed - "Collegiate and Crafty" got a facelift! And a name change.
I am just in love with the bright, poppy colors. It feels so much more me. Bold, yet feminine (or at least, I'd like to believe.)

And the name change. Well. I never felt super tied to Collegiate and Crafty... it just seemed like something kitschy that matched what I was doing. I mean, I'm still doing the same things, but it just seemed like a name that wouldn't grow with me. Also, I've been contemplating an Etsy shop, so I wanted to find a name I could use on multiple platforms (I changed my Twitter name as well.)

If you're unfamiliar with the phrase "honor bright," it is from D. H. Lawrence's short story Rocking Horse Winner and basically means "honestly" or "I promise." I've always had a certain attachment to it.

Now on with the post!


I don't believe I ever posted pictures of my new place, so I took some quick snapshots to do so! The place certainly isn't done yet by any means (but you would think it would be, after living here for a year...) but these are just some of my favorite things.

Flowers in mason jar, made by mamacrafter.
Southern things tray I blogged about last June.

Wreath, also made my mamacrafter!
The jar is filled with goodies for Alecks, and the
faux-old booklet is from TJ Maxx.

Frames by the entrance. 

A year later, and the top frame is still plaguing me. HALP.
Also, this cute, yarned 'E' use to be in the top blank space,
but it tragically fell & shattered one night. Sigh.

Bought this globe & stand for $1 at a garage sale - color
me elated! Just painted the base cream to match the room.

This is my little owly, bought on sale at Hobby Lobby
around Thanksgiving. Love him.

But really, if you have suggestions for my other frame I really want to hear them. I'm tired of looking at a blank frame. Speaking of blank frames, someone please tell me I'm not the only one who buys beautiful frames only to never find the right picture for them?! Last year our fence blew down and so we had a ton of wooden planks to get rid of - enter Talia Christine's beautiful DIY wooden picture frame. So I made the frame last summer. Here's what it looks like today:

Yep. Still empty. One of these days I'll hang pictures...

Crossed fingers a lot more crafting to come this week.

Hope your Monday is lovely!

xoxo e

DIY: First furniture makeover!

You. Guys.

My DIY heart *finally* knows the feeling of a dramatic makeover!

My parents and I went to Goodwill one day two weeks ago (completely not looking for chairs) only to find this beautiful Louis XVI chair (leaving with said chair.) AND it was marked down - to $5! FIVE DOLLARS. The frugal part of me was simply over the moon. I didn't even know the chair was marked down until I got to the register (it had a $10 price tag - still a deal.) A lover of Goodwill, I will be frequenting there more often because there was also this **fabulous** sofa that I didn't want to pay $75 for, but totally would have paid $37 for. It was gorgeous. Just like this, but an awful green color. A product of my future dream house for sure after a little makeover. 

Anyhow, onto the makeover.

I should probably first say that this is my first time making over a chair. There are probably things I could have done differently... but now that I've done one, I know there will be a next time to make those changes!

First we ripped the cording off around the seat & back. We thought about taking the seats off, but decided not to before we got in too over our heads.

Then we sanded down the paint a bit. We ended up spray painting it (using Rust-oleum Ultra Coverage in Satin Ivory Silk.) I'm not sure how smart spray painting is... but they appear fine (and even weathered a trip from Texas to Oklahoma.) The sanding helped to make sure the paint would stick.

As I said, we didn't take off the cushions - we simply stapled the fabric I bought over it. After working with the chairs a bit, I actually think they had been made over once before and done in a similar way that we ended up doing them. We hot glued the braided cord around the edges. Originally we had bought a more rope-like cord, but being the first-timers we are, we improperly measured and didn't get enough. And then could not find it again at any craft states on the other side of the border! Ugh! But I ended up liking the braided more than I thought.

Voila! Can I just tell you how much I am in LOVE with the pattern? I saw it at Joanns and could not stop smiling. I just love all the colors so much! I unfortunately didn't get the name of it, but I know it is a Waverly Fabric. The braided lining we got at Hancock Fabrics. Oh and best thing about my chair is that I didn't get one, but TWO! They actually had 4 at the store, but I settled on two to accommodate the living space I have. Also, I have no idea why the carpet looks so mustardy in the second picture...

My first made over chair, and I couldn't be happier. A fun little addition to my dorm room for sure!

I paid $10 total for both chairs, about $19 for all the fabric (twas on sale!) and about $25 for the braided liner (oof.) But overall I consider $54 a good deal for these super cute chairs.

Have any tips for the next time I go on a re-do adventure? Let me know!

Sunday Snapshot: Wreaths

I have a long list of things to blog about, but I thought a Snapshot Sunday would get me started on that list without being too overwhelming!

I moved to Oklahoma in July and am currently living in the residence halls. My mom helped me turn it into home really quickly :)

The lovely (and simple) wreath she made for my door for July-September.

It's *OFFICIALLY* October, so I just put this baby up on my door!

My favorite part is the little LED lights she snuck in. 

Aaaand I'm counting down the days until November to put this one up. 

Technically I know this should be about my crafts, but I got my crafting gene from somewhere, right? She got everything for them at Hobby Lobby. 

Stay tuned for Christmas wreaths & decorations :)!

xoxo erikah

tray makeover

I'm currently gathering up things for my big move a month from now! For my new room I decided to go with a southern shabby chic style and my color palette is mainly browns, creams, and peaches.

This is my first time kind-of, sort-of attempting to do a tutorial so please forgive me for any errors! I'm new to this whole craft-blogging thing ;)

I had really wanted to do a tray makeover for my coffee table. I luckily found this cute wooden one, and I loved the brass* handles. AND best of all, it was originally $14, but was 50% off at Joann! Deals are my favorite.

*the handles actually aren't brass at all! They're PLASTIC! I didn't find this out until I took them off to paint it... they look like the real deal!

So the first thing I did was take the handles off. When I started the project, I knew I wanted to put words on the lines rather than quotes... because when it comes to crafting I have a very short patience and want to get things done as quickly as possible - a sin when you're a crafter, I know. I chose roots, place, family & tradition from a quote that I love, "The South - where roots, place, family, and tradition are the essence of identity," by Carl N. Degler. 

Hoping I would find peach spray paint (but of course not finding it) I mixed some acrylic paints I had on hand. It's probably much smarter to use paint from the hardware store, but what can I say, my impatience strikes again. My impatience also lead to the dark dark peach color you see on the sides because it was almost night time when I first tried to do this and I totally thought I had made the right color. The second time, I mixed a bit of orange and pink and a lot of metallic white (metallic was actually the only white I had on hand, but I loved using it in the end because it had a really pretty sheen to it.) I didn't have much paint, so I tried to just paint enough that I'd have space for the letters. Note: Paint the whole bottom if you can. After I spray painted over it, there was an unevenness between the part I had painted and not painted (though it wasn't a big deal to me because I plan on putting something on the one side so you won't really notice it.) 

Back on track - after my paint had dried, I used some stickers I had on hand for the lettering. I'm sure if you have a silhouette machine, there is a much simpler/better process for this step, but this was the best I could do! The last step was to spray paint over the whole thing & pull my stickers up!

And voila! 

Excuse the messy picture, I currently live with my parents and don't have the most adequate place to photograph my finished items. When I move I'll make sure to dedicate a post to showing you the things in their new natural setting! In my actual room I plan on having a mason jar with flowers on that side of the tray, but I haven't got to make that yet, hence it's substitution :)

So there it is - my first kind-of, sort-of tutorial!

xoxo erikah