Coast to coast coasters...

Yesterday I was bored. Beyond bored. So I decided to clean my room. Which turned into me discovering tons of new crafts ideas. Which then turned into me making all the crafts.

I found an atlas from a couple years ago. And if you know me, I love maps. I LOVE maps.

So an idea popped into my head. I saw this idea in a magazine or blog or something and I can't remember exactly where. Anyway its coasters with maps on them. Ahhh. Genius. If I could put maps on everything I would.

So, after finding the atlas, I made a trip up to one of my favorite stores ever. Michael's.
I needed cork for the base of the coasters, modpodge and paint brushes [for the modpodge and some other projects :)]. I also busted out my scissors and a can to trace around.

I discovered quickly that the can was too small for a coaster. And that scissors do not cut cork well AT ALL.
So I found a better item to trace [the glass] and a straight edge blade. I cut out all the cork, then traced the maps onto them, modpodged [is that a word?] them on, and voila! Coast to coast coasters. :)

I made them out of some of my favorite places in the US. And I love them so much.

North Carolina. One Tree Hill fans out there? Wilmington? I've never been to North Carolina. I will soon, but 1/3 of my very best friends live there. Or are going to be living there. <3

Sweet Home Alabama. So many memories in this little circular coaster. Montgomery, Wetumpka, Auburn... this coaster makes my heart happy.

Washington. Does this need an explanation? Has anyone ever noticed how green Washington is on a map? Also, why is Eatonville on here, but Orting isn't? Rivalries don't just run deep in the south...

Another 1/3 of my best friends lives here. So much water. So pretty on a map. "Let's pack up and move to California. She's got lots of friends out there..." :)

This little section of Oregon probably holds some of my best memories. Cape Disappointment, Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach. I love love love it.

Nashville. No, I've never been there. But its #1 right now on my list of places I want to visit.

So much of my heart is in this circle. Who knew so many roads went in and out of Atlanta? ;) Ha, anyone who has ever driven anywhere near there knows how terrible driving is.

Lastly, my precious overcrowded bedroom. Like my space heater? My house gets cold. :)

Faithful Readers and First time Wanderers...

It's been a week. Almost. And I have so many almost-posts its not even funny.

But today... today my friends I went crafting crazy. No joke. My room is a disaster. I'm blogging from my bed because there is no where else to blog from! I am not kidding.

Every square inch of my floor has some sort of project taking up its space. Whether it's my little frame area, with an old sheet on the floor to catch paint drips... or the corner with a ginormous garbage bag filled with old papers I no longer need, there is no open space.

I really, really, REALLY wanted to post a real post tonight. With pictures and finished projects and what not. But sadly it just cannot be done.

I will, however, have a bright shiny new post with pictures and projects and paint and glue and scissors and baby chicks up tomorrow!! Sometime tomorrow... I will work really hard on it.

Sorry Katy. :)

NEW: Inspiration Monday!

I decided to start doing 'Inspiration Mondays.' You know, things that inspire me? This week its subway tile in kitchens. I might have went a little overboard on the pictures, but I love it so much!!

This first picture might be my favorite. I LOVE the green/blue color of the tile.

I'm not a huge fan of this shade of blue, but I like the way the brighter color looks against an all white kitchen. So clean and crisp!

This one is cool because it looks so vintage! I mean, look at the water spout for the sink! So cool.

I'm always a fan of all white.

Again, I swear you can't go wrong with all white. Soooo pretty.

Lastly another green one. I'm not a fan of the kitchen itself, but I love that color. Its definitely my favorite.

Birthday Cupcakes!

This may be the most photos I have ever put in one post. But its well worth it.

Today I made cupcakes for my dad's birthday dinner. His actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but due to scheduling, dinner is tonight at gram's!

It took me a bit to think of what kind of cupcakes I would make, but my decision is perrrrfect for the occasion! I decided on red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and black sprinkles! Why, you ask? Because my dad loves Dale Earnhardt, and his colors were black and red.

I even bought foil cupcake liners because they go better with a NASCAR theme than pastel-y ones. :)

First, I sorted out the black confetti from the green and orange. Ah, what a fun chore. ;) It really wasn't too bad. Except there was a little critter at my feet begging for sprinkles...

I might have given him a couple. :)

He was going back and forth between begging for sprinkles and dancing to our background music. A compilation of Mumford & Sons, Jon Foreman, Gungor and the Fourquare UG Band. All goooood stuff, and Cameron can dance to ANYTHING.

:)

Oh fresh, warm cupcakes. How I love you. Did anyone ever notice that red velvet tastes very similar to chocolate poptarts? I love chocolate poptarts so it works out, but they seriously taste SO MUCH alike.

I opted for the whipped frosting in stead of regular. Mostly because it was in a bigger container and on sale, but also because its delicious.

So this is how I frost cupcakes so I don't smear it on the liner and such. I'm sure tons of people have been doing this since the invention of cupcakes, but I just discovered it. First, a dollop of frosting.

I put mine in a plastic ziploc bag and cut a hole in the end so it comes out nicely.

Then carefully spread it out as far as you want. I wanted a bit more of the red than usual to show so that they did just look like morbid black sprinkled cupcakes. :)

Then you bust out whatever decorations you want. I used some Halloween sprinkles. Also where I got the black confetti sprinkles. Black sugar crystals on cupcakes? I wasn't sure how cute they would be.

And surprise! They're adorable.

A little variety with the confetti. I love them so much, I will be sad to see them go!

Yum!!!

Frameworthy.

While scanning through Anthropologie's website, I found this gem.

And she really is a gem. $698 dollars worth. Yeah right, I won't spend $698 on anything. Especially not something I can make for under $10.

So I went to Goodwill and Value Village in search of frames. [Sidenote: the one at Anthropologie is HUGE. Like 4 feet tall and 4 or 5 feet wide. I'm guessing so don't quote me on that. :)]I found these four right away. One dollar each. Okay!! The pictures were a little tricky to get out. I swear between the three, there were at least 70 staples. I am now a professional staple remover. :)

Anyway, I also have one of those thick square wooden mirrors from Ikea that will be added to the collage. And my favorite part, I am making some frames with wood from old pallets. Ahh. So excited. Obviously this is just the before picture. They are now in my garage, each with a beautiful layer of paint. I'm so excited for the after pictures. The colors will just have to be a surprise. :)

Lastly I found this really weird frame that I love. It kind of looks like bone, or hair. Or both. But its getting painted as well, and it looks so nice now! Once they are all done, they will be posted. Don't worry!