Courtney tries to get organized

As a girl there are few things in my closet that I don't have too many of. Too many shirts, too many shoes, too many scarves and yes, too many bags so I decided that bit by bit I would get my closet completely organized. My bags were the last thing on my list so this weekend I decided to take care of it. Pinterest inspired the idea of using shower curtain hooks to hang my bags from but I was worried that they would fall off or hang weird. Thankfully, I found these awesome metal hangers that clasp shut and they did just the trick!

Courtney tries to make baked broccoli mac & cheese

I found this recipe on SkinnyTaste.com and thought it sounded wonderful. I halved the recipe posted on the original site because well I'm one person and will never eat 8 servings worth. I feel as thought 4 servings is even pushing it but nonetheless here's the how to for this delicious dinner!

 

All my ingredients :)

The directions start in the top left corner and move around clockwise. I apologize if it's difficult to read. You can always refer to the original site by clicking on the link posted above.

**Note: after you add salt & pepper and sauce has started to thicken remove it from the heat before you add the cheddar cheese.

Out of the oven and into my tummy it goes!

Courtney tries to make a magnetic make up board

When I saw this on Pinterest I knew I would have to make it. It is absolutely brilliant! Now, mine is not as snazzy but I wanted to keep it simple and I did try to frame it but my glue stuff messed up and didn't mix and therefore it didn't adhere and being the impatient person I am I decided to go sans frame.

I adhered it to my cabinet using 3M Command Strips. I've always had great luck with them holding steady and coming off clean so I figured it was the way to go since I rent :)

So I didn't do a very good job of documenting how I made this but the good news is, it was a relatively brainless process. 

1. Purchase a piece of sheet metal. I got mine at Home Depot. It was the most expensive thing I've had to buy for a project yet at $10 but it was worth every penny. Mine is a 12x24. I originally wanted to hang it horizontally but there was no where to put it like that in my bathroom.

2. Circle magnets (Wal-Mart $5 for 50) and your hot glue gun.

3. Gather up all your make up and start adhering magnets to back.

4. This was the point when I realize hmmph what will I do with my tubed make up and smaller pieces and went rummaging around my apt. As you can see I gathered old pill bottles and medicine boxes and covered them with scrapbook paper. 

5. Add magnets to the boxes. I suggest using at least 2 per pill bottle (as they tend to want to rotate dumping all your goods), 2 for the smaller boxes and 4 for the bigger boxes. 

6. Use Command strips to hang our piece of metal and then arrange your make up however you like. Clearly my OCD (or CDO for those of who like things in ABC order!) shows as I have it arranged by where on the face it's applied. :)

Now enjoy actually being able to find that shade of eye shadow/lipstick/eyeliner in the morning!

Touche.

Courtney tries a new do

You know when you wake up in the morning and the last thing you want to do is wash your hair again? The longer my hair gets, the more truth there is to that statement. So today I decided to try out this hairstyle. 

Unfortunately after my first three twists/buns, I ran out of room on the back of my head. My hair may be thin but there is TONS of it so I had to improvise. I took the fourth section and braided it down and then swept it over top of the buns and wrapping it around and securing it underneath. In some ways this was great because it added extra security to the style. 

Here is my final take on it. What do you think?

Sorry the picture quality isn't that wonderful. It's pretty hard to take a photo of the back of your own head!

Courtney tries to make wall art part 2.

I was inspired by this design which they were inspired by a World Market image. The pinterest that I originally found said they used paint chips but actually for this she hand painted the circles. However, since I didn't visit the site and read all the info before I started I had already picked out paint chips to use and decided I didn't trust my unsteady hand to make images that were remotely circularly quite the way my scrapbook circle cutter would :) 

 1. Assemble your supplies: Paint chips (free at your local hardware stores!), circle cutters, cutting mat, canvas, mod podge, paint, paintbrushes

2. I used Creative Memories circle cutting set. The smallest two inner circles and alternated what sizes I cut from each of my paint chips. 

3. Ta Da! Circles galore!

4. I used black acrylic paint and a thin slanted brush (it came in a Crayola 5 brush set) to make my branches

5. Place your circles where you want them & adhere with mod podge. Paint a thin layer of podge over top of the whole canvas (emphasis on THIN!).  Place a piece of parchment paper over top and the put thick books on top. Let it dry for 15-20 minutes. This will help keep the paint chips from peeling up. 

My smaller, two-piece version. 

Courtney tries to make wall art.

Everyone who knows me knows that while I may be creative or pretty decent at mimicking art work, I am NOT an artist. Probably the furthest thing from one but I took a Right brain/Left brain test the other day and well now I understand why :) Nonetheless, I've realized how sparsely decorated my apt is with the exception of my living room and can't bring myself to buy anything because it's so dang expensive. I've seen a couple projects on pinterest (of course!) and decided that I would try to make my own. Here's what I created for my bedroom:

Step 1: Find an image you like. The pinterest that I saw used this pattern so I went to the website and I got it. It can be found here.
Step 2: Place parchment paper over top of the image. Trace the image with glue.
Step 3: Let the image dry and you will be left with clear outlines of the original image.
Step 4 (this isn't really shown in the image above): Peel off the image from the parchment paper. I recommend doing this one piece at a time and placing it on your canvas by looking at the original image. Once they are arranged how you want them use mod podge to adhere them to the canvas.
Step 5: Paint the entire canvas one color.
Step 6: Ta Da!

I have plans to make a second one but even though it was a simple project it was quite tedious.

Courtney tries to get candle wax out of carpet