Lounger makeover

Being self-employed is hard work, but it also has some perks...like being able to work from home. I was able to squeeze in this little lounge chair DIY in between my copywriting projects. Some words to page, a coat of spray paint. Repeat. How's that for efficient multitasking?!

I loved the sleek, modern look of the bask lounger from CB2 and with the help of Rustoleum universal paint I was able to easily duplicate the look with a single paint product. Time will tell if it holds up, but I'm thinking of purchasing a lounge cover as well for added protection against the elements. I used "White Gloss" for the frame and "Satin Nickel" for the mesh part, which adds a nice sheen when the light hits it. Not bad for a $14 mini makeover.

Style Parade 6.19.12

The picnic was super fun! It was carnival themed. What better way to kick-off the official beginning of summer than with warm nights filled with cotton candy, spinning rides & great friends. It was held at the Santa Anita Park this year. A bit of a drive for us, but a beautiful space that backs up against the mountains.

Originally I planned on wearing a dress but then I heard there would be zip lining & climbing activities so I opted for shorts instead. I didn't end up participating in said activities but I think the shorts & stripe combo made for a better retro feel.

 um...giant letters? totally awesome!

High-waisted shorts: Old Navy

Stripe top: Target

Heart shaped sunnies: Urban Outfitters

In-N-Out inspired manicure

The mister & I are attending the annual company picnic today, so I'm showing my team spirit with this In-N-Out Burger inspired manicure. I used water slide decal paper for the lettering and the palm tree, then drew the arrow by hand with a nail art pen. That was super tricky!

Modern rock garden

The mister & I finally got to finishing up the backyard. Yay! It's so nice be able to look out and see everything just how I want it...well, mostly. We're still in need of a fire pit table. But we're closer on that because my brother in law seems to think we can have this custom made for much cheaper than buying one.

First we stripped out all the remaining vegetation in the plant borders, sprayed weed killer and waited for everything to die. Next we leveled the soil and covered with plastic mesh. The rocks are beach pebbles from Mexico that we found at a local landscaping dealer.

To add visual interest I chose 3 different sized stepping stones, all from Lowe's. The solar lights and white planters are from Target.

I even made a little hanging succulent garden under the patio cover. 

This is the full progress that we've made since we moved in:

-Removed all the palm trees & other vegetation

-Removed the spa, wading pool & equipment

-Upgraded patio furniture

-Landscaped with rocks & container gardens

Other posts about this project:

We're getting there...

Backyard update II

Backyard update

Plans for the backyard

Demo time

Orange Crush

If you follow me on Pinterest, perhaps you noticed that I've developed a bit of a color crush as of late. I always find myself going back to certain colors, orange, being one of them. I remember sporting this awesome orange mod mini dress in high school. You better believe I had matching platform shoes. I loved that dress.

Anyway...don't you love how pops of orange were incorporated in the last pic? I'm seriously contemplating an orange spray paint makeover of the crazy blue chair.

click on the pics for sources.

Style Parade 6.09.12

Last weekend was so crazy busy. On Saturday the mister & I went to his department company picnic, then right after we were off to my brother's college graduation ceremony. I always enjoy the company events because I get to catch up with awesome friends.

I totally fell for this dress after seeing the Old Navy commercial with Jordan Knight. haha...can't turn away from an NKOTB cameo. Summer plaid has such a retro feel, don't you think? I even gave myself a watermelon manicure, which was inspired by this awesome strawberry one.

Dress: Old Navy; sale $17
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Earrings: I'm Your Present
Sandals: Candies
Basket bag: Target
Ring: Diament Designs
Cat eyes: Forever 21

Scenes from the weekend

picnic watermelon manicure.

 commencement.

 celebratory dinner + drinks at the yard house.

woke up early to makes these double chocolate collegiate cupcakes.

 what I wore to my parent's garden party in honor of my brother's graduation.

Grad party invite

My baby bro is graduating college this weekend. I'm so very proud of him and all that he's accomplished. I remember him tinkering with things around the house as a toddler (like taking apart rotary phones) and it's kind of amazing that he'll be an actual mechanical engineer for hire in just a month.

Anyway, my mom wanted me to design an invite for his graduation party and this is what I came up with. I incorporated the school colors - hunter green + gold with a preppy stripe. The whole thing has a Rushmore/Wes Anderson vibe, yes? I love making invitations. 

DIY Ombre Napkins

I feel like it's been ages since I've done a craft project. I found myself with time on my hands and an entertaining opportunity (Father's Day) to prepare for so I decided to get going on a project that I've been dyeing (pun intended) to try for a while- Ombre, or dip-dyeing some napkins.

First, I needed some napkins. Since I working with a nautical theme I didn't want anything to look too "finished", that is I wanted a sort of raw quality to exist. Then I remembered finding a big stack of unused flour sack towels in my mother's sewing stool. Score. I pre-washed then cut them in half. Now, if you're OCD this method won't work for you because it yielded some rectangle shaped napkins and not your typical 20x20" square variety. It didn't bother me one bit because it saved me a trip to the fabric store. Since I only needed to finish one side of the napkin hem, I went the lazy route and used iron-on hem tape. I've had great luck with this brand.

Next it was time to start dyeing! I used Rit powder dye in teal. I basically followed the tutorial on their website for ombre dying, using the stove top method. My dye bath was a higher concentration since I didn't use as much water to dilute dye color, so I didn't leave my fabric in as long as they suggested.

To achieve this effect I got the napkins wet with warm water, then dip-dyed two at a time. I submerged the bottom half of the napkins for 2 seconds, then pulled it up about 4 inches, letting the dye soak in for about 1 minute. I repeated this once more for 2 minutes.

For each batch of napkins I immediately transferred to a wash bucket and rinsed them in the sink until the water ran clear. After the dyeing was complete the directions said to wash using a mild detergent. I wasn't too keen on putting these in the washing machine so I just washed by hand and tossed them in the dryer.

The result was exactly what I envisioned...like an ocean wave coming into shore. I can't wait to set the table with these! I never thought the day would come where I get this excited about table linens. Haha.

Of course now I'm looking around for other things I can dip-dye...curtains, chair covers, dresses... I haven't felt like this I realized the transforming power of spray paint.