Winter 10 x 10 Challenge

A couple of years ago I was really feeling the desire to simplify and declutter a lot of different things in our home and life.  One of those big things was my wardrobe.  I paired down my closet significantly and shared all about my simplified closet here.  It has ebbed and flowed throughout the last couple of years but in general I have tried to keep it simple.  I love it when fun challenges come along when it comes to being creative with what you already have -instead of adding a bunch of new and unnecessary things.  Plus it helps keep you on the right track.  Starting today, Style Bee and Unfancy are hosting a fun Winter 10x10 challenge for those of us who enjoy being creative with less.

Simply its 10 items, 10 outfits, 10 days.  Its a way to be creative with what you own and work within a micro capsule to find new ideas and styles you might not have ever thought of.  Above are my chosen 10 items I will be working with over the next 10 days.   Some of these pieces are my absolute favorites I wear all of the time and some are things I haven't worn in a while.  

1. Black Ankle Boots (similar, similar)

2. Denim Skinny Jeans

3. Black Skinny Jeans

4. Brown Ankle Boots (similar, similar)

5. Gray Sweater (similar)

6. Maroon Turtleneck (similar)

7. Plaid Tunic Top

8. Pink Flannel (similar, similar)

9. Black Vest (similar)

10. Gray Knit Blazer (similar)

Accessories are not part of the 10, so by all means - accessorize away!

I love it when I get a chance to wear a pair of earrings from Panama.  I love a big earring.

Also I had no time to worry with my hair so I quickly tucked it back into my headband.  Its super simple and I have a little post about it here.

If you want to join in come and follow along on Instagram! I will be posting daily in my story and you can use the hashtag and check out what everyone is coming up with.  Let me know so I can follow you too!  At the end I will be following up on the blog to let you know how it all goes so stay tuned for that in a little over a week.  

Enjoy what you already have today!

Easy Dollar Store Craft (Rhino Bookends)

Are you guys hot enough?  Wow, the heat here has been insane.  This is probably one of our fullest weeks of the year and this heat is adding a great twist.  We are currently in the middle of vba week (it's like a mini camp for teenagers at our church).  Justin and I and some great leaders create all of the content for the week so its a lot of planning and preparing.  It's one of our fullest and favorite weeks we get to spend with our students and its been awesome so far.  The summer is like this crazy ride that happens in a flash so we are holding on tight and following God through it- we still have summer camp and mission trips to experience and we can't wait.  So with all of that going on, I've got to keep it simple.  So today I'm sharing a simple and easy craft that anyone can do.

A little while back I found these rhino bookends at the dollar store.  They were so cute and I knew I could update them to something I really loved.  The dollar store can be unpredictable sometimes.  They have things, then they don't, then they have them again.  So you never know what you will find.  I love to look at the little shelf where they little figurines - that is where these little guys were found.  

These guys received several coats of high gloss craft paint on top in a minty green color and a little olivish/tanish color on bottom.  I have know idea what to call that color so that's the best description I can figure- but I like it.  So yeah, that was pretty much the extent of my crafting.  But sometimes a little paint makes you feel accomplished.

I didn't realize my love for this color until snapping this picture - it seems to be invading my house.  But I'm loving the summery vibe these colors are bringing inside.  It all works with the diy silhouette I did a while back.

Hope you stay cool this week, keep it simple and enjoy the ride of summer!

The Tuck and Roll

Its time to talk hair.  I feel like I could write a novel about it.  This week's style challenge from Putting Me Together is to try a new hairstyle.  My hair in its natural state, I would say, is curly/wavy/frizzy.  I really can't explain it.  Its fine stranded yet incredibly thick, frizzy, big and different.  Every hair stylist I have ever been to has told me I have "weird hair".  So my hair lives outside of the box of norm - and it took me many years to accept that.  But, I have.  I have embraced the bigness of it and never looked back.

I have learned lots of tricks and ways to manage my weird hair - which now sitting here thinking maybe a post on how to deal with curly/wavy/frizzy hair is something I should write.  I totally understand you people with similar hair.  You have to avoid a drizzle at all cost.  I'm not an expert and I'm always trying new things but I've come a long way (just ask my sister).  I knew that when this challenge was laid out I needed to try something I have never tried before and I wanted it to be more pulled back than normal. I normally like to wear my hair down so this is a bit different for me.

I have major respect for all of those style bloggers out there who give us all of these awesome hair tutorials.  Trying to photograph your own hair is quite difficult.  So, I inlisted some help with these shots from my 4 year old.  People, I give you photos by Silas...

He did pretty great, I'm really impressed.  He's available for your own hair photo shoots, just give me a call.  

I have been wanting to try this simple tuck and roll hairstyle for a while now and honestly I'm now mad at myself for not trying it earlier.  This is probably the quickest and easiest "do" I have tried.  There are plenty of tutorials to be found but its simply a headband on top of your head (the full wrap around your head kind) and pieces of your hair pulled back and tucked inside of the head band.  In the back just roll it all up and tuck in.  This took me maybe 2 minutes to do.  I'm all about quick hair.

My hair is pretty long and thick and I had no problem getting it all tucked in easily - and it held all day.  If I needed to, I would just roll it up a bit to tighten back up.

If you need a quick pulled back hairstyle, this could be the one for you.  I know I will definitely be wearing my hair like this again.  Have you guys tried any new ways to wear your hair lately?  Or maybe wanted to try something different but haven't yet?  Give it a shot!

Linking Up Here:

Pegboard Organization

I love a pegboard.  They are so versatile and great for organizing.  I wanted a way to pretty up the fridge clutter - you know the stuff that accumulates all over the outside of your fridge?  As well as a way to keep it organized and neat - so a pegboard was the answer.

This was super easy and quick.  I actually had a leftover pegboard already but this stuff is not expensive if you want to go buy some.  I gave it a quick two coats of paint.  This is a paint sample that I grabbed for a dollar a while back when Lowes was trying to get rid of all of their pre-made samples.  From time to time I browse the oops paint section and pick up super cheap paint for little projects like this.   I love this soft color, its called Glass Tile by Valspar.  

Next I just needed to tie in a few pieces of yarn and add a few clothespins.  I love that this is quickly customizable.  I can add more yarn or change the placement easily.

I used these magnet hooks and some twine to secure it to fridge.  I have almost thrown these away a few times - so glad I held onto them.  

Now we have a pretty way to corral all of the fridge clutter.  

Thanks so much for joining me today!  Anyone else love a good pegboard?  Have a great pegboard organizing tip to share?  Have a great day!

Reindeer Silhouettes

I'm continuing the Christmas theme and sharing another fun craft with you today in the way of Reindeer Silhouette Art.  This was one of those things that started out as something in my head and then just morphed as I went.  It didn't quite turn out the way my brain was picturing it but I had fun with it nonetheless.  It's an easy and cheap craft (yay for cheapos) and you could go a million different ways with it. Most of my supplies came from the dollar store or cost just a buck or two somewhere else. Oh, so this year I have gotten on this color theme kick for christmas and I'm loving adding a bunch of black accents - so I'm doing a lot of stuff with that this year.  I don't know why but I'm all into it.  Maybe its because I can chalkboard paint something (which I am doing so stay tuned).  Because for some reason I just can't get enough of that.  Anyway, here is my little tutorial...

I found a couple of glittery reindeer at the dollar store (two for one), picked up a couple of frames from the dollar store as well, spray painted them black, a couple of photo mats and then used an old red t-shirt for my backing.

So I got a little lazy and duct taped the fabric right on the back of the frame.  For me, this project was just all about having fun and nothing really serious so I just went with it.  After all, these are dollar store frames and no one will ever see this back - except now everyone has.

At first I left them like this and then decided they looked a little boring and I wanted to add something fun.  So I decided to paint a couple of photo mats to add a little whimsy.

One I painted with stripes, I just penciled off my stripes and painted in - I would suggest taping off and not free handing if you want a cleaner crisp edge.

I also made a little pattern out of a piece of card stock and traced it on my other mat and then painted this one as well.

And then I had these fun little guys and I know exactly where they will be going.  

I have more christmas things in the mix and will be showing you what I plan on doing with these soon. I may or may not already have some christmas decorations up in our house, we are six weeks from Christmas so I am using that excuse.  

Hope you guys have a wonderful wednesday!

Linking Up Here!

Mini Makeover - Kitchen Backsplash

We have inherited a lot of old-school design ideas here at this house, one of the not so desirable ones is the faux marble plastic backsplash in our kitchen.  It's quite tacky to be honest.  Before moving in I started brainstorming different ideas on what to do with it in the meantime.  Eventually we plan on replacing most of the kitchen so I didn't want to put a lot of money or effort into a temporary fix.  Some different ideas I had was tin, bead board and even vinyl tile flooring.  But, before I went out and bought anything I went ahead and tried painting it, just to see if it would work and how it would look.  To my surprise, paint was just the ticket.  I already had it, so it was a free upgrade and that is always awesome and let's face it I'm cheap.  It really helps the space look clean and fresh and will be a perfect temporary fix until we save enough cash for a classic and fabulous tile backsplash, hopefully similar to something like this subway tile (love it).  Take a look at the before and afters..not too bad.

The paint on the top is from me

It really was super simple, I applied two coats of a good oil based primer and then two coats of paint.  I used a water based no voc paint and it worked out perfectly, the key was a good base of primer.  I didn't even take the time to sand or do any type of prep to the plastic backsplash.  If you have an ugly plastic weird backsplash in your house then painting it is definitely worth a try, in my opinion I thought it wouldn't be any worse than it already was.  It probably isn't the best permanent fix but something to hold you over until you can replace it with something you love.  Happy backsplash painting!

Linking up here: Full of Great Ideas $0 Budget Party