Keepsake Journal

Are you thinking, Oh, no!  Stamping again?
I did warn you about my obsession with stamping, didn't I?  :)  Today I want to share a small memory journal that I'm working on.  Oksana got me a pretty blue journal, but it was plain and she suggested I decorate it.  I couldn't pass up the cute bird cage stamp I found at Michael's along with hearts and birds.  I hand wrote lyrics from a song and this handy notebook will be a place to treasure all our keepsakes.  I will take it with me on all our trips!

I wanted to keep it pretty simple.  For the page above I simply stamped xoxo and glued a picture of us from a very special date.  (I think it will be a good idea to write the dates!)

I've kept pictures and receipts from different dates, road trips and vacations.  I will preserve them in my keepsake journal. 

La Maison du Chocolat = LOVE from the first sip of the chocolate drink!  Délicieux!

I saved almost all of the receipts from our trip to NYC last August.  I am so glad I did.  We did so much sight seeing and exploring it's hard to remember everything.  Looking back at the receipts I can revive those fun adventures.  (And of course we took a ton of pictures!)

If you decide to decorate a journal all you need is some paint, paint brush and stamps!  Oh and song lyrics! Very important.  Or you can make up your own song.  Whatever floats your boat.  I cheated and used a sharpie for the writing... I couldn't get any of my paint brushes to form thin and small lines!  (I practiced with a brush and paint and my wording was huge... that's not what I wanted on this small journal - maybe on a bigger project I will use a brush like normal people would.)  I got the effect I was shooting for with a sharpie.  Good enough for me! You might want to seal the journal after the paint dries.  I haven't sealed mine yet.  

Happy journaling and happy Friday!  xo. m  

P.S. In a mood for stamping?  Check out anchors stamped pants, polka dot stamped summer dress and another stamped book that O shared with us!

Stamp Your Own Dress

Confession, I am a little head over heels in love with stamping. I don't know how long this love will last, but I've noticed myself wanting to stamp anything and everything in my sight! Recently I've stamped a pair of skinnies.  (You can read about them over here!) O shares some stamping fun here! Today I will share with you, my dear friends, a little red thrifted dress and stamped polka dots!

Allow me to start out with the fact that red is my most favorite color.  Polka dots are my true love as well.  My heart has ALWAYS loved polka dots.  Imagine how happy I was when I found this little dress for only $5 at our good ol' thrift store.

Last week, my husband and I decided to hit up a local Goodwill. He was hoping to find some furniture to refurbish, while I was secretly hoping to find a cute pair of shoes or a purse.  Without a lot of hope I whizzed through some clothes and stumbled upon this dress.  Yes, it's WAY too short for my liking, but as you can see, a pair of leggings solves this problem.  Thank you, problem-solving-leggings, I appreciate you, guys!
If you want to join in the fun and stamp something, here is what I used to stamp this dress.
1. Fabric paint (I used black)  2. Paint brush.  3. Cardboard and scissors/Exacto knife. 4. A template of a circle aka polka dot.  5. Some tape  6. Anything you want to stamp! ;)

I taped a piece of cardboard to the back of my polka dot and applied paint.  Then I started stamping all over the dress.  I highly recommend placing a big piece of cardboard on the inside of the dress so the paint doesn't leak through and for easier stamping!

Usually I love the imperfect stamp effect, but for this dress I wanted my polka dots to be more vivid. 

So I filled them in with more paint using a paint brush.  I'll admit, this took a LOT longer than I thought it would.  Plus I had to wait about 4 hours for the paint to dry.  Then I stamped and painted polka dots on the back side of the dress.  (Read the instructions on your bottle for drying time.) 

I styled my dress with a tank, leggings, a gold necklace (a gift from my mom, she wore it when she was my age and she gifted it to me a few years ago, it's so special!) and my DIY glittery sandals!  A simple yet fun outfit, don't you think?  Hubs and I grabbed some ice cream at Chick-Fil-A that evening!  What a beautiful day, filled with so many of my favorite things!  What's your favorite place to get ice cream?  Do you love polka dots like this girl over here does?! CRAZY. Hope you all had a blessed day!  Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Wednesday, M.

Sailing Away - Stamped Pants DIY

 In between of packing suitcases and trying to clean my house I wanted to stamp my pants with anchors! I see anchors everywhere I go lately.  I stumbled upon a pair of black skinnies with little anchors all over and I tried them on at Old Navy, but wasn't willing to put down $30 for them. I am a cheapo, maybe that's why O and I are friends. Ha ha. We have a lot in common, not only the fact that we don't like to spend a lot of money.  I remembered that somewhere in my closet I have black skinnies. I haven't worn them in a few years, crossing my fingers I dug through a pile of clothes, hoping a) I find them and b) they will fit!  Guess what?  I was giddy!!! And couldn't wait to start my lil project!
 

For this project, I found a template of an anchor online.  I made it to the size that I was happy with, printed it out and using scissors and an Exacto knife cut it out.  Then I taped it to a cardboard and cut it out again.  I also taped a tiny piece of cardboard behind my stamp for easy stamping! I took a brush and applied white fabric paint and started to stamp away!  At first I tried fixing my anchors with a paintbrush and going over them, but then I quickly realized I love the stamped effect and the imperfectness of the results. 

This project didn't take long at all... The longest part was to cut out the anchor!  I stamped the front side of my pants and let them dry overnight. If you decide to sail away with stamping, just read the drying instructions on your bottle! ;)  I stamped about 10-12 anchors on each leg front and back.  You can do as many or as little as you like.  Have fun with the sizing of the anchor as well! :)

What do you think of my pants? Are they appropriate for our vacation?  I think yes! ;)
I can't wait to get my hands on on more stamping!  I think maybe a shirt next?  I want polka dots!  Ahh, the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! You can make your own stamps of any size, shape, object you like!  I do have another project in mind, so don't be surprised to see more of stamping around here.  O and I are kind of in love with it! ;)  Also, head over here to check out O's Book Stamping Fun.  :)
Thank you so much for reading, happy Monday and happy stamping if you decide to do it!
xox, m.