Apartment Inspiration.

Two months ago I started a board on pinterest that was for my apartment inspiration. I am in the process of moving into my new grown-up apartment, and am so excited! It's coming together really well so far, and although I have no pictures yet, I wanted to blog about it. I will be posting a couple pictures of my room when it's all done, but until then... my inspiration:

The weekend.

I got to spend the weekend with my family, including my three beautiful nieces (one is still in my sister's tummy!)!!!! 

We went on the boat, talked about pinterest, watched movies, and played games all weekend. So lovely.

Can't wait for another weekend with the fam all together! Next time we'll have another little baby around! So exciting. :)

Today's adventure.

This:

And this: 

(and a couple more things...)

Turned into THIS:

:)

I move into my new apartment tomorrow... 

Which means more pictures are coming, and also that I am very excited!!!!!

Happy Monday!

Sneak Peek Tutorial.

For my new apartment, I really wanted to decorate canvases to put in my room and our living room. This was my first idea! I picked a quote that i love by C.S. Lewis, and printed it out in a downloaded font called Abbeyline (awesome name, don't ya think? ;)). Then I took my x-acto knife and cut out all the letters.

 Next, I used spray adhesive to stick the letters onto the canvas. I suggest drawing lines so that your words will be level and even. Then, I took my awesome gold spray paint and sprayed the whole canvas. After that, all you have to do is wait a couple minutes and then peel the letters off. You should have an effect like so:

This is only one of my two canvases, and I can't wait to see what they'll look like hung up above my bed! I may take some white paint and touch up some of the parts where a little bit of gold got through to my letters. Anyways, this idea is genius and soooo simple it's crazy. I already have plans to make some for my friends!

:) 

Tuesdaze.

Tomorrow is my final for summer school. Very excited to be done, even though it went by pretty fast. 

Then I have a week and a half until the fall semester starts. Ah!

So, here's what I'm going to be doing tomorrow: 

It's going to be for my new apartment, and I'm really excited to see what it will look like. Gold spray paint is awwwesome. 

Here are a few snaps from today!

John likes talking on my phone because it has a supah cool case. ;)

Midnight Music

I love Steve Martin. And the banjo. Maybe it's my southern roots.

Say hello to Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers.

Hilarious and catchy.

Weekend Roundup Again

I hope you all have had a marvelous weekend!

This is what I've been up to:

Thursday I had mouth surgery, so I was down for the count that day, but still managed to look cool (see first picture...). Friday I went on a mini roadtrip with a friend to visit another friend up at her school. Then we brought her back home with us on Saturday. We had a nice Friday, though. We saw the Smurfs movie which was smurftastic! Seriously, though. Smurfity awesome. We had planned on going out to some bars (my second time ever! I'm such a baby.) Then we determined I couldn't have anything to drink anything while on medication. Haha. So we watched Robin Hood Men in Tights at home. It got pretty wild. Saturday I came home and shopped for my new apartment (last picture). :) I'm very excited to decorate my new room!

So, that was my weekend. Tonight I will be doing my last homework assignment for summer school and working on some stencils for a mini project tomorrow! Hopefully will share soon. Glad you all liked my tutorials! More to come!

Also, my boyfriend is finally home from his second summer vacation. Such a lucky boy.

And now, I'm a lucky girl!

Also, are any of you on instagram?? I just got it and barely know anyone on it haha! 

Banner Making Tutorial

This tutorial is pretty simple. So simple, you probably don't even need a tutorial.

But, I did document the process and I don't want that to go to waste. ;)

Supplies:

-Fabric 

(we bought 1/4 yds of five different fabrics... and had a bit too much. Use good judgment)

-Some kind of ribbon, twine, or trim (we used the sequin trim)

-Stapler, Spray adhesive, Rubber Cement 

-Construction Paper 

-Scissors, and a pencil

Tilt-Shift Tutorial.

So, I finally learned a new trick in Photoshop.

Do you know how to tilt-shift?

It's pretty easy. So, I'm going to show you. ;)

It has a pretty cool, toy modelesque, kind of effect.

So hereeeee we go!

First you'll want to find a picture that will work for this kind of effect. Most of the ones that I've seen are of cityscapes or landscapes. You can do it with anything, but it might look kind of funky....Anyways,

I picked this one: 

Another old Colorado picture.

Happy birthday, Dad.

Hope you enjoy the Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake that I made for you complete with girly banner. ;)

Recipe from here.

PS: don't you love the fish on the wall? I'm pretty sure it sings too.
....yeah, it's not ours. ;)

Dream vs. Reality.

I live in Texas.

Our pool is 92 degrees today.

If I lived in normal weather (and actually had places to be and people to see..), I would be looking like this:

But, this is reality, yo. 

So I actually look like this. 

Even the lighting is sad.

All day, everyday. ;)

Afternoon Music.

I found this on Hello Giggles which is one of my new favorite websites.

Everyone knows Zooey D.. but do you know Ben Schwartz?..I'm sure you do. He's on my FAV show (Parks and Recreation wasssuppp)! He plays Jean-Ralphio and is hiiiiilarious. So when I saw this on Hello Giggles, I was kind of expecting something that Jean-Ralphio would do... but this is so much better.

In love.

Saying Goodbye.

Lizzie,

Thirteen years ago when we went to the pound to look for a puppy, I never imagined taking a dog like you home. I was on the lookout for a golden retriever puppy because that was really all I could imagine at the time, and Mom was looking for an old lapdog that she could pamper. Dad was really just along for the ride. Then he found you. You were chasing your tail in this tiny cage stacked on top of other bigger, dirty cages. Dad laughed out loud, and ushered us over to look at you. Mom and I laughed, but we couldn't even tell what you looked like. Dad opened your cage to give us a better look, and you jumped out- straight into his arms, with your little paws wrapped around his neck. We knew that you were coming home with us. All because you picked us.

It's been a long time since that day, but everyday you've shown us love and compassion. You slept under my bed for a decade, and heard every conversation with boyfriends, saw every time I danced around my room, and sat with me every time I cried. You were my best friend for thirteen years. You're in almost every memory, and every home video. Remembering middle school, high school, and most of college will remind me of you.

This morning, I knew it would be our last one. Your eyes always showed so much, and this morning I knew you wanted to comfort everyone, even though you were the one in pain. You're a little giver, and I will miss you. I'm trying to not feel guilty, but it's hard when I think back to all the times where I could have taken you on another walk, or just sat with you a little bit longer. You had a good, long, happy life with us and I am thankful for that. I won't forget how intense you used to get when you really wanted our Chick-fil-A, or how you would run full speed to the door to bark at the mail lady, or how you used to go crazy after a tennis ball in a sock. Thanks for being the best dog a girl could have.

Love,
abbey.