Why I Created Almost There

This morning was not a good morning for me. I woke up to an upsetting email, got stuck in heavy traffic, wrestled with my internet and cable provider, and then had my car die while in said provider's parking lot. Did I mention it was raining? Because it definitely was.

There was a lot of silent contemplation (and weeping) while I sat and waited for the AAA man and then the tow truck.

I thought about my job, the future career I wanted, all the DIY projects I wanted to do for the new place, financial things (at which point I started weeping again), and what Almost There really means to me.

See, I created Almost There because I wasn't where I wanted to be in life. I lived in a tiny apartment that didn't even allow me to unpack all of my things. It drove me nuts! For an entire year I was stuck in that place when all I wanted was my dream house! After sulking for a few months I decided one very important thing--it's okay. Just because I wasn't living in the place of my dreams or making the amount of money I wanted, I could still be happy with what I had. Even though I had a small apartment I could still do some of the things I wanted. I could find DIY projects that I fit the space or alter the ones I wanted for a house. The blog also became a place I could store things that inspired me...things that were beautiful and creative!

After a few posts and the motto of "You're almost there!" I knew I wanted to share Almost There with other people who aren't exactly there yet. Those people who wanted to be inspired, who loved creativity, who liked being positive and happy!

How does all of this apply to my morning's incidents? After I started thinking about how much the blog means to me and what it is I want it to stand for, I realized that my current situation was indeed crappy but in the end everything was okay. Sure the situation sucked but there are definitely people that have it worse off. I had/have blessings to count and that was enough for me to suck it up and get by with a more positive mindset.

I also realized that Almost There, to me, is not only a blog--it's a lifeline constantly reminding me that even if life isn't going as planned I can still be happy.

So, I just want to thank all of you who read and comment on my posts. It makes my heart happy that MAYBE I'm helping inspire others out there to be happy too!

Now, time for me to drink my coffee and appreciate the rest of this rainy day!

Christmas Craze: Candle Holders

To say I'm not really pumped about Day 9 of Christmas Craze is a bold face lie. I've been wanting to make these candle holders for a long time and finally got down to it! They make my inner child do the happy dance and the adult that I try to be smile. So it is my pleasure to show you this very easy DIY for candle holders that can bring a unique look to your home for the holidays and make your young visitors smile!

Enjoy!

What you need:

• Plastic toy animals that are hollow! I got mine from Target for $3 each in the $1 bin section.
• Scissors!
• Free standing candles! I went for the long and skinny ones!
• Felt!

So the big move happened yesterday and I was just plain optimistic with thinking we would get everything moved in one day. The town house looks like a tornado went through it--the only room with semi order being the kitchen. However, I made sure to bring one of my craft boxes with me so I could do this Christmas Craze. The picture above is a good stretch of Chevron fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby a while back. I plan to make a table runner out of it for Christmas in the next few days. The candle holders I made, I knew I'd want them in the center of the table so I made sure I liked how they all went together.

I loved these two toys from Target and new immediately they would be fun as funky candle holders. I also liked the way they looked on top of the chevron pattern! Also since they aren't really "Christmas" animals they can be used year round!

To make these into candles holders you need to first MAKE SURE they are hollow inside. It's the easiest way to make this DIY work. 

Then you take your scissors and make a wide enough X where you want the candle to go. Now, fun fact: I am a pack rat. I try not to be but over the years I've collected odd things. The two candles I have (pictured up top) were given to me at a college assembly years ago. Since I didn't use them up then I put them in the side of my bag. For YEARS people have asked why I hadn't thrown them away to which I always said "I might need them one day!" Well, that day arrived! I got those candles out of my bag and decided they were perfect!

I made sure the cut was big enough that I could just push the candle inside of the toy. Now, if you really want, you can cut a circular hole and then glue the bottom of the candle there. I didn't want to do that if only for the fact that I want to change out candles eventually.

(Note: Milo sleeping in the background. Once I started working he refused to move!)

With both candles snug I wanted to make them look just a bit more festive but with nothing permanent. That's when I got out my nifty felt! (If you want to know how much I like felt go here.)

Again, I wanted to make sure everything matched to my liking. I had a sheet of glittery green felt that did just the job for me! (Hobby Lobby has a lot of glittery felt!)

Happy with the color, I folded the felt in half and cut out two shapes that I would use as "saddles" for the animals. I then made a hole in the middle just big enough for the candle to fit through!

Then I was done!

Easy, affordable, funky, and unique holiday candles that can be used year round!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8

Christmas Craze: Candy Craze

Day 8 of Christmas Craze is (was) here! So very sorry I didn't post this last night but yesterday was moving day and I passed out so very early in the evening! Good thing We, Vagabonds are awesome people and aren't mad! Check out Day 8 here if you want some very yummy (and easy to make) Christmas candy!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

Christmas Craze: Coaster Craze

Christmas Craze? More like Coaster Craze! See, I've been kind of addicted to making drink coasters lately. It's not that I drink an abnormal amount and need extra coasters around the house, I just WANT tons of them all different!

So I figured if I want them so badly, then maybe other people will too! So here's Christmas Craze Day 7! (Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6)



This Christmas Craze DIY is all about designing & making coasters as a personal, awesome, inexpensive gift for Christmas!

If you know me then you probably have picked up on the fact that I'm semi-obsessed with Design Love Fest. I check it everyday and often am absolutely inspired by the creativity of it. So when I read Make It / 25 I instantly fell in love and knew I HAD to do it. All credit for this idea definitely goes to them!

Now, to the Batcave everyone!

What you'll need:

• A design for your coasters! Mine can be found below. You can simple click it and save it to your desktop then print.
• Access to a printer! Make sure you have enough ink!
• Cork coasters! I got mine from Hobby Lobby. $2.77 for 6.
• Mod Podge Matte
• Spongey brush
• Photo paper! I got soft gloss photo paper from Target. Letter size to make it easier.
• Scissors
• Tacky Glue
• Felt

What I did first was come up with a fun color scheme and font. Since I have recently found M3 Design and this lovely post with a lovely font, I used the Ostrich Sans font family! Then the colors from this pin! (I used Adobe Illustrator to make my design. If you have that and aren't sure how to use it, leave a comment and I'll make another post about how to do it! I would do it now but I need to pack up the apartment something fierce!)

Once you have your design, print it out onto your photo paper! Then with scissors (or X-acto knife if you can cut circles like a pro...I really can't!) cut out your designs. Now, I created and printed my design out then put my printer into a box BEFORE I actually bought my coasters. I downloaded Design Love Fest's pretty designs (again, go here to see) and was using those sizes as a template. However, the coasters I got from Hobby Lobby are a tad bigger BUT it's an easy fix!

Take your mod page and, using your spongey brush, cover the coaster thoroughly. Then take your design and place it onto the coaster. Make sure to get the bubbles out by running your finger over the design. Then put it under a book while it dries. Do the same to the rest of your coasters and designs!

After they are dry, put a coat of mod podge over the design. I did three coats each.

Now, if you are using the coasters from Hobby Lobby that are a tad too big, just take your scissors and cut off the excess cork. It cuts really easy unlike its brother, the cork squares!

If you don't want the bottom to be cork (I LOVE CORK) take your felt and use tacky glue to glue it to the bottom of each coaster!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY! Once I'm unpacked in my NEW place (hopefully tomorrow!) I'm going to set up my studio and be able to make another round!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

I'm moving tomorrow and have ZERO boxes packed. 

Image found here.

Color Love

A few years back I had a set color palatte (all blues) that I only wanted to decorate with and that was it. You couldn't sway me to branch out. After getting my design degree though, I've gone from color-closed-minded to I LOVE EVERYTHING!

After finding Redesign Revolution's Pinterest, I got weak in the knees over four different rooms with four different color schemes!

Enjoy!

Christmas Craze: Garland

Day 6 of Christmas Craze is here! We, Vagabonds has a garland DIY for those budget-conscience people out there! Check it out here!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5