DIY Recycled Gift Boxes

A few weeks ago Louis Vuitton mailed me a magazine/book. The pages were made of heavy print material and the images were just beautiful. Of course there is no point in being a hoarder and keeping it around the house after reading it, but at the same time I thought it was too nice to throw away.

I was taught a little DIY trick in elementary school with old Christmas and birthday cards. You turn them into mini gift boxes!

What you will need:
Ruler
Pencil
Eraser
Scissors
Stapler
2 pieces of hard paper/ soft cardboard which are the same size

Step One: Trimming
Trim about half a centimeter off the bottom and side of one piece of the paper (this will be the bottom part of the box). If the lid and base are the same size, the lid would not fit. Therefore, the bottom piece of the box/paper needs to be a tad smaller than the top piece.

Step Two: X it
Using a ruler draw a line from top left corner to bottom right corner and a line from the top right corner to the bottom left. Creating an X across the paper.

Step Three: Folding Time
Fold the four sides of paper to the center point of the X. Now your piece of paper should have these creases in it. Then using the eraser, erase all the pencil markings.

Step Four: Cutting Time
I think the photo is self explanatory lol

Step Five: Folding  and stapling time!
Fold over the edge and staple it! and Repeat on both ends.

Now repeat steps one through five for the other part of the box!

Lacey Nails!

I am pretty sure many of you have seen lacey nail art but have no idea how in the world those people did it! I did it in a few simple steps and I even neglected to clean up my nails for your viewing to show its okay to make a mess ... but really I was just too lazy. Many people use pale pinks and whites to mimic actual lace and to give it a French manicure feel. But for me that is waaaaaay too girly and proper so I chose a sea foam green and black! 

What you will need:

2 dotting tools - one medium sized and the other at least 2 sizes smaller

2 different colors of nail polish (lighter color as the base) 

Step One and Two:

Paint your nails with the light base color. Then using the larger dotting tool dot a line of circles diagonally across the nail.  

 

Step Three:
Using the smaller dotting tool and the lighter base color dot within the larger circle. 

Step Four:
Using the darker color paint diagonally across the upper half of the nail ensuring to cover half of the dotted circles.

Mini Booklet

When I travel I like to keep hard copies of important information on me in case of emergencies, like telephones numbers and addresses.

Instead of carrying a bjillion pieces of paper or one giant one that is folded and crumpled, I make little 6 paged paper booklets that can fit into my wallet! They can also be color coordinated for example, a blue papered one for telephone numbers and a red one for addresses.

What you will need:
Printer paper and scissors 

 Using scissors cut down the line in the center fold.

Now using both hands grab onto the flaps you just cut and fold the sides down and you have a mini booklet!

Put a Ring on it!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! Been uber busy trip planning and tying up lose ends on the home front before I head out! For the next several weeks I will be traveling Asia! Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul here I come! While I am gone I will have a friend guest blog for me ... hopefully she won't cause too much of a ruckus : )

In preparation along with researching local eateries, tourist attractions, how to commute the bjillion lined subway system in Seoul and where to spend my money I have also been working out more. Yes I am working out. Not a gym rat or hardcore fit person that preaches about it, just a girl trying to do her thing. The last time I was in Hong Kong  I gained 10 pounds in 2ish weeks. I admit I am a foodie especially on vacation. I am not hesitant to try anything and everything and I mean EVERYTHING. Says the girl who ate cow brain tacos off a street cart vendor at 2AM in Guadalajara, Mexico. Yes, it tasted all right! I also get really swollen from plane rides to the point I cannot stick my feet back into UGGs and retain alot of water if the weather is hot and humid to the point where my fingers and toes are sausages. Hence I gotta shape up tone up before I go!

Man that was a lengthy intro to my blog about putting a ring on it! lol

While I work out I do not wear any jewelry. For many ladies that work out at a gym I am pretty sure you feel insecure about leaving your valuables in the lockers especially your BLINGED out I'M MARRIED ring! This post is dedicated to my friend Shelley who is getting hitched next year! I came up with an ingenious idea while I was doing pull ups on the chin up bar. I forgot to take my ring off and I was too lazy to put it down, even though I was at home. Shelley said she strings her ring on her necklace while she works out, but to me a necklace while working out is quite cumbersome.

So I looped it into my hair elastic which I tied my hair with! Out of sight but still on me! 

Cowabunga dude! Its pizza time!

I know I know another blog post about nail art really?! really! It is happening! Remember TMNT? No? Well it stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

There are 4 of them:

Leonardo - Blue - Katana Sword
Raphael - Red - Twin Sai
Donatello - Purple - Bo Staff
Michelangelo - Orange - Nunchaku

Other main characters include April, the news reporter babe in a one piece yellow jump suit and the wise old master rat Splinter.

Things you will need:

Dotting tools and nail polish!!!
optional - black nail art pen for April's belt buckle if you want to do April

Black - China Glaze: Liquid Leather
White - OPI: Alpine Snow
Yellow - Sally Hansen: Mellow Yellow
Green - OPI: Jade is the New Black
Blue - China Glaze: Electric Beat
Purple - Sephora by OPI: Domestic Goddess
Red - OPI: From A to Zurich
Orange - OPI: Hot & Spicy

Step One: Base
Seeing that it is the month of April I chose to do an accent nail dedicated to April the news reporter :D

Paint 4 nails green and one yellow. Wait till all the nails are dry then using the white nail polish paint a strip across all 5 nails. It is okay if it is mangled like mine! It will be perfected later, trust me! The reason for painting the white strip is to enhance the mask color later. Any color on top of green does not turn out right.

PS: my yellow doesn't have a white strip because it was still drying.

Step Two: Bandana

Paint blue, purple, orange and red on top of the white strips. Again do not panic if it is not perfect, it will be fixed!

Step Three: Eyes

Now using the dotting tool blot 2 white spots for eyes wait until they dry and using a smaller dotting tool blot 2 black dots for pupils! OMG ALMOST DONE!

Step Four: Cleanup

Remember the uneven white strips and colors going over board? Use the green to cover it up! Its just that easy because the green is darker than all the other color used especially the white!

Step Five: April

Using a black nail art pen draw a letter D and a - in it for the belt buckle and using a very fine dotting tool do little black dots for the belt loop holes.

COWABUNGA DUDE NOW YOU'RE DONE LIKE PIZZA DINNER!!!!

Blossoms!

It is finally Spring and blossoms are almost in full bloom, but they won't be here forever so why not capture the moment on your finger tips.

What you will need:
Dotting tools

Colors:
Sky - light greenish/blue - used Essie - Mint Candy Apple
Twig color - brown - used OPI - Wooden Shoe Like to Know
Blossom color - light pink - used SpaRitual - Reveal Yourself
Blossom center - dark pink - used OPI - That's Hot! Pink

Step One:
Paint the base color. Then angling the nail polish brush of the brown or using a fine paint brush randomly do lines on the nail to make them look like twigs.

 

Step Two:

Using a somewhat small dotting tool dip into the light pink and make a ring of 5 dots to create a blossom ensuring to leave a hole in the middle like a donut. To make semi bloomed blossoms dot 3 dots together to create a triangle shape. Then sporadically dot single dots to resemble blossom buds.

Step Three:
Using the same sized dotting tool dip into the dark pink and fill in the 5 dotted donut holes and a dot in the center of the 3 dotted triangle.

Viola!!!! Easy spring blossom nails for the win!

Pearl Necklace

A good quality strand of pearl is fluid, flexible and flows. As opposed to just beading a strand of pearl, pearls are supposed to be strung and individually knotted. This technique prevents pearls from rubbing against each other and losing its lustre. Another benefit of this technique is if something were to happen to the strand of pearl you would only lose one pearl as opposed to a dramatic scene where the strand falls apart and pearls bouncing everywhere and people slipping on them.  

This blog post will demonstrate how to string a strand of pearls (aka cheap beads to make it look baller).

What you will need: 
- pearls or pearl like beads
- unflavored dental floss (yes as opposed to expensive beading thread)
- sewing needle
- clasp for finished project

Step One: 
Cut TWO pieces of dental floss TWICE as long as your desired length of project. You will be using TWO pieces of string as opposed to ONE to increase durability and to create a knot large enough so it won't slip into each pearl hole. Tie the TWO strings together.

Step Two: 
Attach a clasp and string the first pearl - ensure to thread both strings.

Step Three: 
KNOTTING TIME! Grab the two strings together and do a loose knot. Insert the needle into the loose loop of the knot. Slightly tighten the knot with the needle in it. Using the needle drag the knot up against the bead.

 

Step Four: 
Remove the needle and tighten the knot. You have officially strung and knotted your first pearl!!! Repeat Steps Two to Four until desired length of the necklace or bracelet you wish to make and finish off with the other side of the clasp!