Inspiration

This past term, one of my professors had a thing for scarves, while another one had a thing for blazers. One of the outfits she put together really struck with me, and I'd like to wear something like it in the future. Here are some of the pieces I've found while using her outfit as an inspiration.

I would actually use black heels like the one in the image for the skirt, and the pink blazer really makes for a unique ensemble. Have you found any inspirational pieces? What do you think of these items?

My new favorite pizza

This time I put all my creative juices into the kitchen and came up with... EGGPLANT PIZZA! I used this inspiration, and turned it into my own. Love, love, love it!

 

Things I changed: 

-When it came time to add herbs to the roasted eggplant slices, I added some dried herbs, paprika, and red pepper flakes for a little kick.

-I then used tomato and basil pasta sauce as a shortcut because I didn't have can of diced tomatoes on hand and one of my roommates was using the stove.

-Instead of mozzarella, I used sharp cheddar cheese from the Cabot brand because it's known to have no lactose. It's what I had in my fridge and to be honest it worked quite well! I will probably try to recipe again with real mozzarella because my stomach can handle a little bit of it.

Thank you to Anne for hosting the next Pin to Present linkup. What Pinspiration have you been using recently? 

P.S. Check out my friend's food blog! She makes amazing and simple dishes, and has given me some great recipes in the process. So good!!

Pin to Present

Today, I'm showing you my very first Pin to Present project! 

Back in high school, I was a member of the theater group and I worked behind the scene for 4 years... some of the best years of my life (so far). I learned a lot about working with heavy duty tools, and I absolutely loved the feeling of having those tools in my hands and watching scrap pieces become background sets and furniture. It's been quite a few years since that time, and until a couple of weeks ago, I haven't done any type of construction work.

A few weeks ago, I decided I needed a change. I needed to feel like myself again. This is part of the reason I created this blog, so I can write down my thoughts and do the things I love. So I decided to do this project. I loved the idea of having a 3-D piece of art, something I can make with my two hands and it didn't involve paints or pencils... (because my drawing and painting skills flat out suck! haha).

So here it is:

I asked my friend for his tools, knowledge, and some material. I found this beautiful piece of scrap wood in his garage. I sanded it down and stained it. Make sure to sand and stain the sides to give it a smooth look.

 

While working, I saw this smiling face ;) The cans that held the different stains spilled and created the smirk and I thought it was pretty awesome!

 

Next I got some one and a half inch nails from Home Depot. They had a dark color, which I think fit the design I wanted a lot better than shiny silver nails. I used cardboard to draw the heart, cut out the shape and started hammering the nails in around the cutout. (I really wish I had taken more pictures to show what that looked like... sorry I don't have more!!)

So here's the final look once I hammered all the nails in. I picked out a wonderful maroon colored yarn from my local Michael's store. I am a big fan of deep colors. My bed frame and my bed linens are also dark colors (as I'm sure you have noticed from my outfit pictures... whoops, I live in a small space... what can I say??)

The next step is the most therapeutic part. I tied a knot around one of the nails and just started moving the yarn from one nail to the next.

 

The only thing I had to worry about is to not repeat string directions and to protect the design of the top part of the heart so I only filled the inside of the outline with the red yarn. 

 

And TA DA!!

It now sits in my living room above the non-functioning fireplace. I love love LOVE it!! And I'm so proud of it. Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration! Linking up with Anne in her Pin to Present post...

Roxi