Real, Random & Relevant

New Music Musts

Or so I’ve heard.

The new albums of:

• The Givers
• The Decemberists
• Dum Dum Girls
• Vetiver
• Hey Rosetta
• Hypnotic Bass Ensemble
• Foster the People
• Smith-Westerns
• YUCK

Don’t take my word for it. Take his.

Quick Survey: Draw an “E”

If you feel so inclined, take 30 seconds to do this quick experiment. I promise to reward with with the “why” and the results in a future post.

Click here to take survey

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

Weekend Pinterest Project: Yarn Covered Initial

In honor of being real (as promised on this site), I should disclose that I almost titled this post “Super Simple String S”. But then I thought better of it. Ha!

Basically, this easy project was inspired when I saw someone pin some string covered letters from Etsy. I thought “smart!” and then “I could do that”. So I did.

In a weekend full of projects, I knew that I could put this to use immediately in a frame collage for my kitchen. Here are the simple steps and how you too can make your own yarn covered initial. ‘Cause who doesn’t want to spend their weekend on a project like this. Ha!

Step-by-Step How To:

1. I purchased a thin MDF letter “S” in the wood-craft section of my local craft store. I also purchased yarn that coordinated with the colors of the items I planned to hang the completed letter with.
2. Note: This next step was definitely trial and error so do what you find to be successful. I realized that a) with the shape of letter and b) with the fact I would need to cover the front AND sides of the 3-dimensional letter, I wound the yarn around the letter first horizontally starting with the endcaps and then vertically around the entire letter. (Biggest tip: hot glue is your friend. Every time I started and stopped the yarn, I glued it in place on the back. This also came in handy to keep the yarn in place that was going vertically on the edges.)
3. I was definitely pleased with the result but went a step further and hot-glued a few old buttons on the S for additional detail.

Total Cost: $1.99 for the initial “S” and $3.39 for the yarn (not all was used)

Weekend Pinterest Project: Antique Fan

Recently, my grandmother gave me an antique fan she found while cleaning out the attic. I love this sort of thing. I already knew it needed to be cleaned. Badly. But I wasn’t sure how I wanted to restore it. (I use the word “restore” loosely, since I don’t really know how to restore anything.)

Enter Pinterest. And a burst of energy. And my mind works like this:

I have this…             Love the Color…            I could paint the fan!…   Voila!

Step-by-Step How To:

1. Wearing protective gloves (for all steps), spray WD-40 on the metal piece and scrub with a coarse brush. I used a Stanley brush.
2. Next, I took a Scotch sponge and scrubbed the whole fan again.
3. I then took paper towels and cleaned the entire fan from any WD-40 residue. The fan was definitely in better condition, but still needed to be painted. (below: pic 2)
4. Then, I used Krylon “Gray” Indoor/Outdoor Primer to cover the fan. (I read that Gray was recommended to cover metal.) (below: pic 3)
5. Finally, having been inspired by the Peacock Blue chest above, I sprayed the entire fan with Krylon “Regal Blue” Indoor/Outdoor Gloss. (below: pic 4)

Total Cost: $4.99 x 2 for the spray paint and primer

What weekend project(s) have you taken on this summer? Have you been inspired by Pinterest too? Need an invite to Pinterest? Let me know!

Commencement Encouragement

I know it’s July and the graduation season has ended. But many of us could use a boost of commencement encouragement every day. True?

I came across this article on the 10 Most Memorable Commencement Speakers recently and thought perhaps they went to print before this speech was made. It definitely tops my list of commencement addresses. And for that, it’s worth watching through to the end.

What words would you use to inspire others today that will encourage them for tomorrow?