Pushpin & Yarn Tree

As my apartment goes, one of my priorities is to make sure that everything is well-decorated and interesting. But because I like my space to reflect its inhabitants, this is a long process. I've been here a year and I'm nowhere near done!

But today I checked a project off my to-do list that has been there for about a year: imitate this cool piece of art.

(Click image for original post)

My bathroom has a lot of trees, birds, and cool colors - so I decided to make a small version of this tree in there.

My weapons.

My land to be conquered.

Watch my tree grow!

Done!

I love how this fills up the space - and how the reflection looks in the mirror!

Plus, now some of my vinyl birds have a place to nest. :)

The Neat Things We Do At School

One of my favorite parts about OSU is the variety of ideas, cultures, and beliefs that are offered to students. Every day there is something new to see and do, just around.

The other day, just around was this group that was urging students to participate in working on this community painting.

They were a religious group, but they weren't trying to drive membership. Instead, they were trying to bring attention to Portland's sex trafficking problem and urge students to get involved in the process of making it a priority in our state government.

Sure, they had information on-hand about that their group was about and some of their upcoming events.

But they were mostly just trying to get students to think about what it means to be a part of their community - at OSU, in Corvallis, in the state of Oregon ... in the world.

And I admire and appreciate that - because what are we all trying to accomplish but to figure out what this crazy life thing is all about?

TFiOS Nails

Along with the many other things I enjoy, I love messing around with my nails. I'm not very good at it, but once in a while I feel like I do something that isn't half bad.

Today, The Fault in Our Stars inspired me.

Here's the book's cover:

And my nails:

Yay! Now, the challenge will be to not indulge my nervous habit of picking off my polish... ;)

His & Hers Fish Paintings

I've been looking for more art to fill my office wall, and when I saw this idea on Pinterest, I thought it would be great to make my own!

I'd link you to the original DIY, but unfortunately I couldn't find a working link. Here is OP's blog.

The pin said to use Elmer's Glue or Puff Paint, but I wanted some extra dimension so I used hot glue. I also decided to use two of our favorite colors on each painting instead of one.

Here is what I made! I seem to have started a fish motif in my apartment, and I wanted to continue that with this project.

For Kenny, a narwhal in purple and blue. 

And for myself, a koi in red and orange.

I really love how these turned out! What do you think?

Let's Celebrate: National Punch Day!

September 20 is National Punch Day!

Nobody is sure if "Punch" refers to the fruit drink ... or hitting somebody.

Kenny gave me a light slug (more of a tap, really) to celebrate, but I decided to go the nonviolent route.

Mmmmm. Tastes like victory.

Are you celebrating National Punch Day today?

A Winter Home

It seems like just yesterday that I painted up my little polka-dot outdoor tables and planted my springtime garden.

Since then, I've obtained new plants, some have grown, and some seasonal ones have already expired.

And now fall is in the air, and it brings with it... brrrrr!

So I needed to find a space where I could house my plants during the chilly months. The main challenge was, where? I have two windows in my apartment, and one of them has been recently occupied by music gear. The other window has the couch in front ... but ... maybe I could squeeze eight inches out of the space for a shelf?

YES!!!

I looked everywhere but couldn't find a thin, short, inexpensive shelf. So I went with Plan B: a slab of laminate flooring and cinder blocks.

At this point I want to take a moment to recognize how awesome Habitat for Humanity ReStore is. I was able to get materials for a functional shelf at a very College Kid Budget-friendly price. Plus the volunteers were very helpful and my money is going to a good cause. Awesome all-around.

Plus, check out this cool strawberry pot thing I found there! I'm excited to fill it with a new plant next spring.

I feel that the end result is nice-looking and functional. My plants will get light and stay warm through the winter. Score!

As you can see, I've named some of my plants, but not all of them. I'd like your help in naming the rest.

From top to bottom we have: Chloe the Dieffenbachia, Helen the Chocolate Mint, an unnamed ornamental flower guy, Remy the Plant Mom Gave Me But I'm Not Sure What (help here, Mom?) an unnamed Cayenne Pepper guy, and an unnamed Oregano guy.

Help me fill in the blanks, please! :)

G.Pinks Finds: Third Sunday In June

G.Pinks and I took a walk downtown and found Third Sunday In June while we were out.

With such active Geocachers in Corvallis, we were surprised to be the first ones to find this in the last couple weeks!

Do you like treasure hunts and adventuring? Try Geocaching!

Pop Tab Bracelet

I have a very large number of pop tabs that I've been collecting in a cup for the last two years or so. I keep seeing cool pop tab projects and getting inspired, but I haven't done anything with them yet.

So when I saw this project on Pinterest I figured, that can't be too difficult, right?

Well, it definitely took some noodling out. The video that they included in their post was very helpful!

Here's what I made:

I figured that bright orange would be great for school spirit functions. ;)
(Go Beavs!)

My Eco-Easy Wall Art

This idea has been floating around on my Arts & Crafts board for quite a long time, but I've finally completed it!

Here is the original:

And here's what I came up with!

I chose light mint for my all-over color and added in bursts of yellow and purple.

It took a LONG time to collect all of the toilet paper rolls - and my awesome mom contributed MANY - but I think it looks great!

Plus, it has filled a big visual void on my wall. Yay!

Prepared For Anything

Today I got a surprise from my mom in the mail.

Ta-da! Toolbox!

I feel that having a box full of tools is one of many steps to being a Responsible Young Adult. But up until this point, I had been keeping all my tools in a shoe box.

But now I have all kinds of space for Command hooks and nails...

...and extension cords and hammers!

I'm all kinds of jazzed about what I can put in there next. Maybe a set of wrenches? Some screwdrivers? A level?

Whatever it is, now it has a home! YAY!

Thank you so much for the wonderful surprise, Mom!

J & L Adventure 6: Plastic tote bag!

Lindsey showed me this fun recycling project on Etsy, and we knew we had to try making it.

We each used around 16 plastic bags. This is what I came up with!

Here's the rundown:

• I used a bigger hook - they used a K and I used a Q - so the stitches were much bigger (and the project certainly much faster). I also did single crochet rather than half double crochet.
• Different color plarn leads to a different color bag. I like the look of mine!
• Their handles come up off the bag, whereas mine are kind of built into the bag. I was worried that any kind of heavy object might cause the thin handles to stretch and warp, so I wanted it to be a little sturdier. To achieve this, about three rows from the top I skipped a few stitches and did a few chains in their place, then continued stitching. It effectively made a hole that is a good, sturdy handle.
• My bag is a little smaller than theirs. I think they probably used 20-25 bags while I used around 16.

I don't know how I'll end up using this bag, but it sure is cute! I'm open to suggestions ;)

Let's Celebrate: Neither Rain nor Snow Day!

Today is September 7th, which happens to be Neither Rain now Snow Day!

This holiday celebrates the anniversary of New York Post Office's opening.

The inscription on the building reads, 

"Neither snow nor rain not heat nor gloom of night, stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

To celebrate, I sent a card through the mail!

But to whom is it addressed....?? hmm...

Bedroom/Den Facelift

Kenny and I are rock fans. We both love to play music; in high school we and some of our friends were in a band together; and our collection of concert tees is pretty admirable.

But, den-less as we are in our 1 bedroom apartment, we don't exactly have a solid place to jam. But we do have a quite spacious bedroom! So that's where we've stuffed all of our music gear.

Stuffed being the operative word - all of our guitars, a keyboard, drum sticks, mic stands, posters, flags, and so on have landed there without much care or thought. So the walls are pretty empty and the gear looks cluttered. Sigh.

The College Kid Budget usually doesn't have much room for more rock posters. But ... I do have a ton of concert tees hidden in my closet that I don't wear anymore...

Hmm, I wonder what I could do with that? Hang them on the walls in shadowboxes? That looks cool!

Yikes, shadowboxes are at least $10 apiece and I have a dozen shirts! But wait, this looks even cooler...

Command hooks for $18, wooden dowels for $4.40. That comes to... less than a couple of posters at a show, at least. 

I'll take it!

BAM.

This is so awesome. A whole wall's worth of decoration - with shirts that I own and love but no longer wear.
And the process of hanging them was really easy - I imagine that hanging them in shadow boxes would have been much more frustrating.

The music corner was easy to set up, too - once I figured out how to make it functional.
With the amps by the outlets and the microphones in place, it will be much easier to jam on a whim.

I love how this space is shaping up, but I feel like it still isn't complete.

Hmm... what will make this feel even better? Maybe a few rugs, new curtains, some fun lighting?

Tell me what you think in the comments!

A Weekend With RAS

I was so incredibly lucky to be able to spend this weekend with my close childhood friend and bandmate Ricky!

He came over from Moscow to visit me in Corvallis, and with him he brought his super fancy camera that he uses to take pictures for UI's newspaper The Argonaut.

He snapped photos as I showed him around the area.

He had never seen Oregon State before, and we were happily able to visit on a quiet day without many people around.

He recognized the iconic Memorial Union building right away...

...but wasn't as familiar with the equally beautiful Weatherford Hall. He said over and over, "I can't believe this is a dorm!"

One of my favorite parts of being at OSU is DJing on the school's radio station, KBVR.

I took Ricky in the booth and we chatted on air and played a bunch of random, unfamiliar, yet all very fun music.

This one was taken with his iPhone, yet still witness its awesomeness!

After our OSU tour we headed downtown for a burrito at Laughing Planet Cafe.

Stuffed with burrito deliciousness, we decided to head to the waterfront to watch the river flow.

But we weren't satisfied with the river - we had to see the whole ocean! So we headed over to beautiful Newport just an hour away to enjoy the sand, sun, and kites.

Ricky so very kindly took some pictures of me while we were there!

I had the best time catching up and hanging out with him!

It means so much to have such wonderful friendships, and I'm honored to have such a friendship with this great guy.