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DIY: Earring Hangers

Last week when I posted the pictures of my new room someone had asked that I put up how to make these earring hangers that I made. They are super easy and quick to make. Let’s get started.

Here is all you need:

1. Picture frames (I found these at HomeGoods, they were between $7 and $12).
2. Lace eyelet ribbon (available at any craft store from between $3 and $10).
3. Hot Glue gun & glue sticks (I already had these, but you can find them at any craft store; the gun itself can go from $2 to $20 depending on how nice you want it.
4. Picture hangers (any hardware or craft store….. or even WalMart or Target, anywhere really).

Step One: Measure out the ribbon on the back of the frames. Hot Glue the end of the ribbon on each side of the frame.

For the top layer of ribbon that will rest along the top of the frame, I hot glued the whole ribbon so I could hang heavier earrings from there without fearing that they’ll pull the ribbon down.

Step two: This is the fun (or frustrating) part. After the glue dries (make sure it dries all the way so the earrings don’t pull on the ribbon) start hanging your earrings!

This is the end result:

Now the wonderful thing about these earring hangers is that they really allow for some amazing organizing. My jewelry box was the biggest disaster ever. Like I said before, I was housing half of my collection mini zip lock bags and kept all those in one big bag that I brought back and forth when I would go home for weekends or something. Now that I am all settled in one place (home!!) I can finally lay everything out and stop carrying my ish around in plastic bags. I wish I took some before pictures of my absurdly messy jewelry box so you guys could reaaaalllly get a feel for how well these earring hangers actually worked for me.Unfortunately, I did not, but you can kind of get the gist of it.

Check out how clean and organized my jewelry box is now! All three of these drawers were previously dedicated to earrings which meant all of my other jewelry was tangled together in the rest of the box. Now I have a ton of room open for my delicate necklaces to be by themselves, my watches, my bracelets. Everything has a place now and it makes accessorizing THAT much easier.

So making this jewelry hanger has literally like… 3 real steps; measuring out the ribbon, hot gluing, and hanging. Also, I feel like this is obvious but I should say it anyway just in case! I hung my earrings on this thing before I hung them on the wall. Just making sure we are all on the same page. hah

So this whole project took me like 15 minutes and it’s really easy and honestly just very beneficial for me! You should definitely make one of these and it will make your life so much easier. Do it up and let me know how it goes! Hope this tutorial was helpful for you guys!

 

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Inside my new digs.

Morning! Things have finally settled down at the new place and it happened a lot faster than I thought it would. We unpacked our whole lives in under 2 days and it looks like we’ve been living here for way longer than just a few nights. Since this is our own space and we won’t lose a security deposit if we paint the walls, I decided to get a little crafty here. Check out some pictures of my new spaces.

This is the adorableeeeee elephant soap dispenser I found at Home Goods. I had nowhere to put this, it doesn’t match my new bathroom and it doesn’t really fit or work in my kitchen. But I had to have it, so I bought it anyway and figured I’d find something to do with it later. Well, the next day I found a use for it. I made it a lotion dispenser.  I went to Bath & Body Works, found a scent I liked that wasn’t too overwhelming for my pregnant nose, and filled it up. It works perfectly and I couldn’t be happier! The scent I found, by the way, is Country Chic. It’s super yummy.

 

This little section over here is where I keep my makeup & whatnot. Please note my lotion dispenser. haha I always keep a little thing of q-tips wherever my makeup is because I’m always smudging or messing something up & these things are miracle workers when it comes to makeup. This is about a quarter of my makeup collection. I have one of those brief case looking things filled to the gills with eye shadows, extra blushes, eye liners, mascaras. What I keep on my dresser is what I use most often. It’s a little absurd. Just look at my lip gloss/lip stick collection that I think I use “often.”

See? These are my “every day” glosses and sticks. I don’t know who I think I’m kidding. I use like 6% of these and every time I go to any store I have to buy another one. I go through phases, it’s unhealthy, I can’t help it. Whatever.

 

 

 

This is my favorite thing I’ve done so far! My jewelry box was a complete disaster… like hot mess isn’t even the word. I had delicate, expensive necklaces in little mini zip lock bag type things all wrapped around each other. I literally kept all those little bags in a big freezer lock bag that I would use for “travel.” It was a nightmare. So I saw something on Pinterest that interested me (Pinterest, Interest, ha ha ha) so that was my first order of business after the move. Being 6 months pregnant and moving is a disaster in itself. Every 10 minutes Matt told me to sit down and relax, but I kept feeling like I couldn’t unless this jewelry box was organized. hah. So I made these home-mad crafty earring hangers and it freed up SO much space for the rest of my jewelry that was having a messy orgy somewhere in the depths of this jewelry box.

So much more room in areas that would normally be designated for my earrings!

 

And now let’s talk about my closet. Which I have a mild, borderline unhealthy obsession with. Now, the closet is not in its final stages yet. It still needs a little organizing but it is gigantic and it makes me wonder how I ever lived without a closet that big. hah

Hats, cross body bags (yes, I have a spot entirely dedicated to those), scarves, and my 2 winter coats which hang on hooks for easy access.

The nifty way I hang my fedoras because these bastards just never stay put on hooks.

SO much crap. Last year when Matt & I moved from one apartment to another I got rid of about half my wardrobe. He literally said to me, “not to sound like an asshole, but I don’t know how you still have so much crap.” haha I don’t either! Look at my closet in our last place, it’s laughable.

It was absurd. I had a walk in closet, but I shared half of it with Matt so we had to get real creative with our space. Now I have this big beautiful closet all to myself and it’s pretty much my own personal clothing store. The only downside? Being that I’m pregnant I can only enjoy about 10% of my clothes, haha.

So this is inside my bedroom, so far! We still have a little work to do but I’m really loving how it’s coming out. I have a couple other crafty tricks in mind but I need to do one thing at a time or my husband is going to put me on bed rest. Thanks for taking a little tour of my humble abode. Hope ya liked it! ;]

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DIY: Vintage Record Clock

Well hello there, I took a little blogcation last weekend and now I am back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s day, whether you celebrated it with someone special or just your friends, and I hope everyone has a wonderful….. President’s Day? Hey, you might be celebrating it today, who knows?

A couple weeks ago I took a walk down the Asbury Boardwalk with my parents and puppy, Buddy. We popped in the Convention Center in the midst of a Cheerleading competition, and sweet lord was that scary, ha! But any who, for anyone who is familiar with Asbury Park (in New Jersey) and the Convention Center, they have done some really great things with it. Asbury in general is coming back to life in a big way and I couldn’t be more excited about it. They have all these cute little shops bordering the inside of the Center and little cafes, it’s pretty neat. My mom and I saw this little store that was selling these awesome clocks made out of vintage records. They were so cool and we thought it you could find the perfect record they would make amazing presents for someone… until we saw the price tags. They were literally over $50. Instantly we thought… “I’m not paying for that, we can make these ourselves!” ……and we did. So we stopped at Good Will on the way home and spent a half hour digging through boxes of old records and came out with some fantastic finds, and the best part? They were literally under a dollar each. How can you beat that? So we grabbed a few then stopped at AC Moore and picked up the guts to make the clocks and we set off home to assemble.

Here’s what you’ll need: 


A sweet vintage record – when you’re picking out the records think of who you’re making it for. I found a Springsteen album, Darnkess on the Edge of Town and I instantly grabbed it for my mom because she’s a big Bruce lover (who isn’t??). Basically… don’t pick out a Hall & Oates album for someone who loves Alice Cooper.

I picked out this Elton John record because I was making the clock for my hubs and he likes Elton, plus the record itself had a picture on it which is pretty hard to find.

Clock “guts” – You can find these at any craft store, we picked ours up at AC Moore. You can get them with or without the numbers, they generally run from about $5-$8. I picked up one with numbers that was $7.

One Double A battery.

And that’s really all you need! So if you’re doing the math here at home, we’re at about $8, max. $50 for something I can make for $8? Yeahhhh. Let’s continue.

Making the clock is super simple. All you do is follow the instructions on the package of the clock parts.

Step 1: Pop the backing of the clock through the hole in the record so just the tip is sticking out.

Step 2: Carefully place the clock hands on the tip, hour hand, then minute, and finallythe second hand. On the clock kit I used, the second hand was also the cap, so it kept the other hands on.

 

 

 

 

Step 3: Place the numbers on the record if you choose to. I used only the 4 key numbers because I didn’t want to take away from the record itself. The numbers are stick on so if you apply them in the wrong spots or realize you don’t like the way it looks, you can take them off easily and it won’t damage the record or ruin your clock.

Step 4: Pop a battery in the back and you’re done!

The hands may take some tweaking and flexing to keep them straight and make sure they don’t bump into each other.

And viola! There you have it. I made this for Matt as a little something extra for Valentine’s day. It’s super simple, easy to make, and cost almost nada, but the fact that you make it yourself just adds that little touch of sincerity that is what gift giving is really about. So next time you need a birthday present for a music lover in your life, why not make them a nifty little clock?

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WIN a Trip to the Caribbean!

Want to win a 4 night stay on the island of Curacao? Well, DUH! Who wouldn’t? Want to know you can win this fantastic vacation? Of course you do. Listen closely, it’s very, very easy.

I work for a shoe company that originated making “Switchflops.” Flip flops that you can change the strap on to personalize your look without breaking the bank on a new pair of shoes every time you wanted a new look. My company, Lindsay Phillips,is having a contest for everyone to design their own strap! Unfortunately, this strap won’t be put into production, but I don’t think that will matter as you’re sitting on the beach sipping your Mai Tai, will it? Didn’t think so. So here’s all you have to do:

1. Download the strap template here

2. Design away! You can use any materials your pretty little heart desires. Sequins, puffy paint, pom-poms, ribbon, shells, dog hair… like really, whatever you want to use, use it!

3. Send it to this address:
Lindsay Phillips LLC
Strap Contest
2 Ridgedale Ave/Suite 340
Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927

4. There’s one catch… it must be post marked by tomorrow, October 27th. Sorry for the late notice folks, I suck, I know. But we’re not technically ending the contest tomorrow, you have til the end of the first week of November to get them to us, JUST have to be postmarked by the 27th.

5. Send us an explanation why you designed the strap you designed. Did you use sea shells because you love the beach? Tell us!

So that’s it! Easy peasy right? Visit the site for full terms and conditions, but that is the gist of it. Also, just one entry per person.

So please do send us a submission! Between you and me, we haven’t gotten that many yet, so your chances of winning are pretty, pretty good! Need some inspiration? You can visit our Facebook to see what some of our other customers have submitted so far! This is the strap I made when we did a little contest of our own in the office.

Showing off my Jersey pride, as per usual. :]

Ok kids. Something to work on tonight with a big glass of wine and all your left over crafts from big/little night (cough, cough, sorority sisters!) We’ll be choosing one winner and a friend to go on a 4 night stay in the Caribbean and we’ll also be fronting some of the money towards plane tickets. So really, what have you got to lose? Send us a damn strap! K thanks love you bye.

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DIY: Name Banner

I spent almost my entire college life in a Sorority, where we learn really useless skills for crafting. Since I’m all grown up now, graduated, and my littles are getting littles, I have fewer excuses to craft these days. One of my favorite crafts from DPhiE were the name banners that bigs usually (I say usually because my big never made me one) make for their little sisters. They’re super easy and would even be great for bridal showers or baby showers. Watch and learn.

What you will need:

Paint Brushes
Glitter (optional)
Wood Paint
Hot glue gun
Ribbon
Wood letters

All found at craft stores like AC Moore & Michaels.

Steps:

1. First decide what you’re going to create a banner for. In this case, I made one for Matt’s little sister using her name. If you’re making one for a bridal shower, it can say “Here comes the bride” and for a baby shower it can say “It’s A Boy!” or even the baby’s name. You get the point. There are really a ton of possibilities when it comes to these. So plan out what it’s going to  say ahead of time so you know what letters to get at the craft store.

2. Next, choose a paint and paint each letter. The wood paint dries relatively fast so you won’t have to wait forever to do two coats. If you decide to coat your letters with a layer of glitter, like I did, apply the glitter before the second coat dries.

3. Let the paint and glitter dry. This should only take about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Next, take your ribbon out and create a bow on one end of the ribbon. If you have trouble creating a bow right from the ribbon, cut a piece off, make a bow, and just hot glue it on to each end later.

5. Don’t cut the ribbon off until you know exactly how much you’ll need to be able to fit all the letter. Lay the letters out on the ribbon first. Make sure there is about the same amount of ribbon on each side so it looks even.

6. Once you have your ribbon laid out, start hot gluing the letters on. Just be aware, the hot glue will go through the ribbon so don’t do any hot gluing on a carpet, or anything of major importance like your great great great grandmother’s antique table. It comes off with a little scratching and elbow grease, but still.

7. Once you know you have enough room, cut about an extra foot of ribbon if you make the bow right out of the ribbon. If not, just cut it where it will match the other side in length then hot glue the bow on the end.

And there ya go! It’s all finished. See, that wasn’t so hard was it? Typically these are hung over beds, but they can pretty much go anywhere. Just a tip for my closest friends, I will want one of these whenever I have a baby shower, ok? Thanks! :] haha…. seriously though. I want one. Doesn’t this bring back memories sisters? I bet everyone gets the crafting bug now.