Gothic Desk Organizer, I dyed my hands, and sleep

My desk is nearly always busy. I spend a lot of time at it and since it is also in the living room, sometimes it kind of becomes a catch all for random things. I got tired of constantly having to dig through my desk drawer to find flash drives and little notebooks and such, so I bought this little desk organizer thing pictured above from Amazon. I really liked the overall structure but didn't like that it was white. So, I painted it black with the intention of decorating it somehow.

I used some Halloween paper and Mod Podge to cover the bottom of the little drawer. 

I set a self adhesive plastic gem into the "gem setting" spot of this lovely pendant that I bought at Michael's awhile ago. Then I glued this sucker onto the front. I'd originally bought the pendant for Amanda but she said I could have it. I'm going to replace it as soon as we go to Michael's again.

This is the finished product. Oh, I painted it with black acrylic plain and did a matte Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer. I added a couple more gems because I felt it needed a little something more.

Here it is on my desk with my various notebooks, some hand creme and chap stick. I love it!

Today, while I was waiting for the acrylic sealer to dry, we dyed Easter Eggs. It's tradition Amanda and I both grew up with in our respective christian families and it's just fun. Her parents also came over for lunch. It was a nice afternoon. I played with the easter egg dye, dying coffee filters, my hands, eggs, paper towels- Amanda's Dad told her to take the dye away from me three times. Normally it's her Dad telling me to take stuff away from her.

Last night I slept the first full night laying down where I didn't wake up with pain around or near my incisions. That's improvement. I did however wake up with my lower back hurting. But I cleaned a bit yesterday and we went to a couple of stores, so I walked a bit as well. It was bad enough that I bit the bullet and took a pain pill left over from my surgery. I've also sat with some heat on my back to help loosen the muscles. 

I was hoping to be finished with my fanfic this weekend but it looks like it's going to be a couple more days, perhaps a week.  I still have to edit it, but I know how it is going to end and ehm, my notes so far leave it open for a squeal.  

Salad is my excuse to eat croutons and a thrift store find turned into diy goth goddess

Amanda and I found this really interesting wall plaque at the Goodwill store near our home. For us, it had a pagan feel and just seemed like it needed to come home with us. There was a very faint, barely there sort of paint job on the flowers and leaves, and it had some dirt in the nooks and crevasses. I didn't like weird dirty pink tone of it, so I decided to paint it. At frist we thought it would be a pretty Greenwoman. I've been drawn to the idea and image of the Greenwoman for many years. Actually, I was at a Renfaire and saw a Greenwoman mirror stand with a round mirror that set into the top of it and knew instantly that it was mine. Sometimes you just know. (Elen of the Ways is the closest I've come to finding a "Greenwoman" figure- not that I looked really hard until a few months ago when I saw some statues. Just kind of seemed like a rare thing.)

Anyway, I was going to do some "as I work" pictures but never seemed to remember to take them while I was painting. I'm sorry, I really got into it. So here is the final result. 

Believe it or not, trying to get paint into some of those tight and small spots was kind of difficult, especially when I was trying not to get it in places I didn't want it to go. I had to keep going back to do some touch ups. But no more, it is finished, sealed with a clear spray paint and ready to go up on a wall. I just haven't decided which wall and in which room as of yet. 

Yes, as the title suggests, the small salad I had for lunch which was basically mushrooms and spinach, was my vehicle and excuse to eat the seasoned herb croutons I bought from the store last weekend. I don't normally buy croutons and pretty much have them once in a great while as a kind of treat, but I was craving them for some reason. 

Since we happen to have mushrooms, another thing I don't buy often because Amanda doesn't like them and will only eat them if they are in cream of mushroom soup, I put them in my breakfast scramble this morning. That consisted of an 8th of a pound of sausage, onions, spinach, red and green bell papers, and mozzarella cheese. Because I woke up after Amanda went to work, I just made a small batch, just enough for myself. It was lovely. You know what else was lovely, pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer. Yep, we found some at Fred Meyer this last weekend. I love having it in my coffee. 

Upcycling? DIY ahh hell, I was industrious yesterday.

It began with me wanting to make curtains for that window in the background. I loathe our vertical blinds. They are cheap, they are obnoxious, and we keep losing slats because they are cheap pieces of shit. Seriously, they really are. We can't even open the ones in our bedroom because Narcisa played int the window and some how messed the up. But I digress. The point is, I wanted curtains to go with a pretty kitchen theme. 

I went to Joann's Fabric's and Crafts but nothing screamed "kitchen" to me, at least not anything that I wanted. So I decided to make my own. I bought some minty-ish colored fabric and found some die cut wood pieces at Michael's. A little acrylic paint and ta da! Stamps! Amanda was supposed to put up the curtain rod for me last night when the paint dried, but she was tired and dinner was more important for the both of us. 

Here are the wood pieces, which I will hang on the wall. Ignore my counter top, it is horrible. 

 I found a couple of things at the Dollar Tree that went along with my kitchen. No, not all the patterns or colors match up completely, but I don't mind. 

I love these pot holders

Awhile ago, I was looking at wall decals but decided against them because our walls have a really crappy texture thing going on (probably designed to hide when they have to repair or fill in nail holes and such). However, I found this sort of sticker/decal back splash and it couldn't leap into my cart fast enough. We are, of course, having a little trouble with it. The wall is very textured and it was cheap, so we have to keep smoothing it down, but hey, it's keeping water and stuff off the wall, which is great, because when I wash dishes, I tend to splash! 

On to the upcycle  thing, if you can call it that. I had an older pair of black curtains from our last home. I'd had to take them down because they were too narrow to fit our bedroom window. They made it into the fabric tub and Amanda found them the other day. Since I hated how naked our mantle looked, I decided to make a mantle cloth. So, I took apart the black curtains, put in new hems as needed, and used one panel for the mantle and the other for my entertainment center below. 

Yes, there is something on my TV, it is covering up my fuzzy reflection. I took the photo while I was in my night gown, lol. I never managed to get dressed yesterday. I got too wrapped up in what I was doing and by the time I realized that I hadn't, it was after 4 pm and I just figured there was no use getting dressed just to cook dinner and then go to bed in a few hours. 

The plan for today is...

to take those strawberries and rhubarb and make Pink Lady Pie. Technically the pie doesn't call for strawberries, rather strawberry jello, but I am putting them in anyway. I am also making a bit of comfort food for dinner: steak, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. It's sort of healthy. Not like last night's dinner of ground turkey burger, zucchini patties, and corn on cob, but it is so good! 

Back to the plan for today, I am going to watch a few episodes of Penny Dreadful, read a little and maybe finish a book, write up some story notes, and print them out for index cards for my story board. I also want to start brainstorming my new manifestation board. I think it is time for new one. 

Lastly, I am going to research some possible things for a summer/ fall bucket list. This is an idea Rachael heard about on the radio the other day and pitched it to us. We're basically making bucket lists of stuff to do this summer and fall to get us out and moving and all that. Amanda and I were kind of talking about it last night and I wrote some notes down. One of the things on my personal list is to go to the Observatory I saw listed on the Washington Parks page. I'm not one of those people who move to a place and then never go anywhere, I like to go to museums, parks, landmarks, and just generally explore. And some of the most fun can be had on road trips with music and friends. 

DIY Necklace and Bracelet board

As promised I am re-blogging my necklace/bracelet board which used to be posted on my craft blog. Being that I've gone back to school, I had to consolidate my blogs and anything crafty will now be posted here. 

So, this one was actually very easy. I went to a thrift store and found this piece of wood which already had a picture on it (it was sailboats). You could easily get a piece of scrap wood or go get a piece cut for the size and shape you want but I suggest looking at thrift stores first because you never know what you will find and its cheaper. 

I pained it black when I got it home and because I happen to love maps, especially old ones, I found one of Bohemia on the internet and printed it out. Next I glued it on with mod podge it on, and then sealed the entire thing with a fixative. Later, Amanda and I went to the store and bought small metal hooks and she put them on for me. Now it hangs on the wall holding our necklaces and bracelets.  

This is simple, easy, and cheap. You can put whatever you want on it and you can dress it up as much as you want. We chose simplicity because we knew it was going to have a lot on it.