IT FEELS LIKE SUMMER!

I've finally managed to get some sun sitting outside soaking up the rays! Don't get to carried away though, I'm still as pale as ever. With the nicer weather comes the opportunity to get started on some spray painting projects. First on the list was four picture frames and a "wish" sign, unfortunately I got basically done and then ran out of paint. Yes here I finally get started on a project and then I don't even get completely finished. Oh well, now I have to wait till I get a chance to go to the states and pick up some more paint. 

In the mean time I guess I'll have to find a new project to work on... project meaning computer organizing maybe get a few CDs copied, that kind of stuff. And of course trying to get a tan, cause we all know I need that.

On another train of thought It was around this time last year (since it's may and closely approaching the 20th also known as Short Person Appreciation Day) that some of my closest friends completely bombed on a chalk board that now hangs in my room. By bomb I mean completely through out whatever words they could possibly think of and record them in chalk. It is rather humorous at this time to review such as "spam fan". Wow my friends are ridiculous.

<3

Year One Is Complete.And Here Begins My Summer.

I have made it. One year of Interior Decorating is now under my belt and can be added to my resume under education. Unfortunately a Co-op is not in the plan for the summer. I applied to a bunch of places in both London and Sarnia but they all told be generally the same thing: they weren't looking for summer students, they would not hire someone who would not work Sundays  or they would nit hire me because by the time I was trained I'd be leaving for school again. As I result I have been thrown once again to find a summer job which seems to be so hard in this area. Either there are so many applicants that someone is more qualified then I am or it's not enough work and to far off a distance to actually profit me. I worked six shifts last week at Sam's Restaurant (where I was a waitress last year), but it was only because several of the waitress' wanted time off and the owner and his wife became incredibly proud and happy grandparents! (I had to smile as Maria carried around a camera with pictures of her new granddaughter, who is so adorable!). As a result I'm still trying to figure out.

In the mean time I've been trying to catch up on all those little tasks I've been neglecting as well as get some projects done. Recent garage sales turned out to be quite a score for me, at least in the way of pictures frames. I have enough now to frame the painting and photo's from New York and well as some others that will hopefully come in helpful sometime in the future  I also found a drafting board which will hopefully come in extremely handy this upcoming year in school. No more being bent over a low bulky desk in my room late at night!

In other news, May is a month of a very many important days, one of which being one of my besets friends birthday's! We have yet to celebrate yet since I was working all last week (including her Birthday which was on Wednesday) But if a birthday bash ensues I will definitely attempt to post some pictures! Int he mean time I need to catch some sun as I am to pale for words (pasty will no longer cover it) and maybe even catch up on some reading.

Hopefully I will be posting some pictures soon of some of my projects so those of you who have never seen them before cane get a glimpse of what I've been doing for the past year. And so the adventures begin!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

As most of you know I have finally made it to my last week of my first year in the Interior Decorating program. Although I've absolutely loved my first year I can say I am thankful it is coming to a close as the projects have accumulated greatly and I can't wait to complete them and hand them in. Unfortunately this seems to be one of the few things that is for sure at the moment. I have been in contact with several different employers but most cannot seem to find the work in order that they might hire me and as a result my co-op opportunities are looking quite dim. I have begun searching outside of this area and cannot wait to secure summer work and once again start saving in order that I might get through another school year debt free!I have also really begun to get excited for the group of weddings I will be attending this summer. It is a true joy and privilege to be celebrating with these couples a new beginning all rooted in the Lord. I will also be given the opportunity to witness one of my friend graduate from Bible College in the coming weeks. As a result of all this craziness I will most likely not be posting too much for the next couple of weeks.

Hope you all are having great final weeks of school (and for those of you who are not in school, I hope you just have a superbly productive week)!

Chalk Pastel hair

So back around when Hannah (one of my bestest friends) was leaving for Scotland I tried out another one of those little Pinterest tutorials. For sometime now I've been quite intrigues by colored tips, whether it be ombre or aqua tips. Of course, I wouldn't dare to do colored tips with permanent die and even semi-permanent and temporary hair die scared me. I had recently heard that people had been trying to do temporary color with chalk pastels and researched a little bit about the technique before trying it myself. The first time I tried it I id purple tips, my roommates (as well as Hannah) seemed to love it, however the color was incredibly bright and since I did it for an evening not many people saw it. Unfortunately I didn't even get any pictures. I did however figure out that it makes an absolute mess of your hands and anything you touch in my case it was my door, the bathroom door, the vanity, my comb, my brush, my blow dryer, my straighter and my curling iron. I should also mention that it took quite the extended period of time, especially when you include clean up.
However the second time I tried this it went much better! For Valentine's day i decided it would be a nice change to have a pink/red streak in my bangs.

 

It's hard to see in this lighting, but this is in the morning before class.

This is it halfway through the day, started to fade a bit already.

The first step in to get this little bit of color is to go out and find a set of chalk pastels. I bought mine at Michaels for around six dollars and it had a great variety of colors. Depending on what portion or section of your hair you would like to have colored as well as its size, there are different methods in which to do the next step. The first time I did this I do believe I simply took my wet ends after I was out of the shower and applied it that way. That however lead to lots of knots, which lead to lots of combing, which took much of the pigment out of my hair. The second time I took a large glass of water and simply dipper the section of hair I wanted colored in. This wasn't so bad but still made a bit of a watery mess (I would suggest having a dark colored towel on hand). One way that I have not tried but would suggest, is taking a spray bottle (I do believe you can find one at the dollar store) and simply spraying the sections of hair you would like to color. After you have wet your hair you will start applying color. Most of he website I looked at suggested wearing gloves but I blatantly ignored this both times. Yes, I should have listened. The color makes a very large mess and gloves definitely would have been helpful since the color tends to stain the hands for a couple of hours. Twirl a small section of wet hair and run the chalk pastel down each and every side of the section. Continue doing this on all portions of hair you would like colored, applying generously as much of the pigment will come out in the following stages. After all the desired hair has been colored, take your blow dry and gently dry the hair, taking a come to gently take out any knots. Be careful doing this as the more you comb or brush, the more pigment will come out of your hair. One your hair has been dried and is generally knot free, "seal" in the color using a flat iron or curling iron. This will keep the pigment more vibrant for longer.

 And then your done. Easy peezy, I know. Just be careful you not wearing a super nice shirt as it will have some color on it. You may also want to take a wash cloth to your face and neck as I found I had some of the pigment there. Try it, it's great!

Which One Will it be?

I know this is a bit late, but I guess that's better than never. This week is a super busy one (I have four tests in two days and two projects due - one is three rendered chairs, the other is two analogous color scheme, one of which is rendered- one on the spot presentation, sign up for my paint kit, as well as an interview to top it all off) and as a result I need to stay fairly focused and in general just on top of things. However, as a little break in this hectic week, I figured I'd tell you about my Easter weekend.
We didn't have any Easter dinners but I was fortunate enough to spend the majority of my time off spending time with my boyfriend (this excludes of course going to to the hairdressers, and yes I know I'm trying to grow it out again, but I'm also trying to get rid of the layers and keep the ends healthy). I was able to spend some time going on a bike ride as well as cleaning up branches from a freshly cut done tree. But what is even more exciting is that I got a head start on one of my summer projects!! Mike and I sanded down the chest of drawers that he gave me, and I'm incredibly happy to say that we've finally made it to the color choice stage! As a result I'm going to need some opinions on what color would look best (leave your 'vote' in the comments section down below). I'm going for something that will turn out to be the pop of color in my room next year, so I choose two really bright strips.

Unfortunately, the sad lack of light in my room at the moment changed the tone of the paint chips I choose, but you get the general idea.

This is the chest of drawers, finally all sanded down.

Oh... and Happy Easter everyone!

Cream Cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped, Hotdogs

Yes, as my friends would say, this sounds like a heart attack. Which is humorous cause I made this right near the end of when I was getting over the flu. I had been browsing on Pinterest (I know big surprise!) and I saw a picture with these little 'delicacies' and since I know my boyfriend has had a history in which he ate many hot dogs I figured I would try this little food remodel. The process is incredibly simple:

• Take thawed hot dogs and create a thin slice in the middle leaving a couple centimeters at the ends uncut.
• Then take your cream cheese and work it into the cut you've made.
• Take thawed bacon and wrap around hot dog

This is the where my little experiment took a turn. The original picture that I saw showed the hot dogs being cooked on the BBQ which could not be done due to snow and generally freezing cold weather. Instead I lined a baking sheet with tin foil and place my hot dogs on top. I cooked them at 360 for 15 minutes and then rotated the hot dogs. I then turned the oven up to 400 and cooked them for another 15 minutes. This seemed to work okay, but I'm thinking BBQ is definitely a better idea.

Trying to get that cream cheese in the slice down the center.

Hot dogs wrapped up and stuffed, ready for the oven

After cooking, and they were quite delicious compared to just a plain hot dog.

Spring Fever!

Lately I've been a little down, having trouble focusing on school work. It's been hard to get motivated and quite honestly I think I'm going to blame it on the weather. Th snow is staying and accumulating more and more, and since I do not believe I will be getting anymore skiing in this year (lack of willing courageous to go with me, not to mention quite expensive) I'd rather see some beautiful flowers and be able to walk without a heavy coat and mittens. To get me a little bit out of my mood, I decided it was time to take down my mustache snowflake from outside my door and replace it. As a result I was inspired to break out my scrapbook paper and circle template and draw out some simple circles.

This was the result. Such a simple little idea to spruce up my college room and make it more unique (especially right next to my roommates sign the say Caution Sharon/Rachel's room). 

Another little element I used to brighten my room was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Sure I didn't by them myself (they were an amazing gift from an amazing man) but they sure helped brighten my spring fever mood!