Thirty by Thirty Thursday the Introduction

If you are my friend on Facebook or Instagram you have probably already seen my list of things I want to do before I hit thirty! Now that I'm closer to 30 than 20, it just seemed right to set some goals and accomplish some big things before my next decade of life starts. 

Here's the list: 

For some reason I decided to go after the one that I thought would be the hardest first... giving up Diet Coke. I could easily down a 2 liter a day if you let me. (Crazy, I know!)

 But it surprisingly has not been bad at all! 

I've made it 17 days so far... so I've almost made it a "habit," which is considered 21 days. I had some headaches the first few days without caffeine but now I feel better and can tell a difference in my breathing. And I know I'm saving a lot of money too!

As you can tell, some of the things on my list can become pretty costly. But I made a conscience effort to make sure that half the things on my list were actually free. 

Next week I will tell you more about #1 on my list, which I can't express enough how important it is to me. So please, come back next week to hear what I will be up to in remembrance of my little brother!

Do you see anything on my list that you would want to do too? 

If so, let me know and we can accomplish them together!

What would you put on your list? Or even your bucket list? 

Let me know!

Creatively Yours, 

Audra

WILW: ReStore HFH, Broccoli Salad, and Young House Love

1) Crafting Supplies 

Restore by Habitat for Humanity

What a great store! It is full of spare parts you could use to make repairs or build things in your house. It's like Goodwill for homeowners! The parts are all dropped off donations and all proceeds go to a good cause. 

As a crafter, I fell in love with this store this past weekend. So many creative ideas for projects flew through my mind while I walked through the place, a couple times. 

If you joined me yesterday for the DIY 4th of July Decor you actually saw some of my great finds! The shutter was $5, the cabinet door used for a sign was $4, and the wood for the fireworks was a mere $1.25. No too shabby for durable wood pieces.

To find the closest location to you, just google Restore Habitat for Humanity. The great thing about it is every store will have completely different supplies available! I can't wait to go back. 

2) Everyday Living

Broccoli Salad

(It's the best! Trust me, I'm a picky eater.)

3 heads of sliced broccoli

1 cup of dried cranberries

1 cup of sunflower seeds

1 package of bacon, cooked and cut in small pieces

Mixed together and added last:

- 1 cup of mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 4 tbsp. red wine vinegar 

3) Reading or Blogging

Young House Love

I LOVE this book!!

It is full of super easy crafts and projects to spruce up your house (for cheap) to make it truly yours. It also makes a great house warming gift!

There were some ideas in here that I have seen before, but it only reminded me of projects that I need to get finished... like using fabric to upgrade the backboard of a bookshelf. Check out their blog if you want even more ideas or backstory. 

See you tomorrow!

Creatively Yours, 

Audra

DIY 4th of July Decor

Today I have some quick how-to projects that are all for the 4th of July!

There aren't step by step pictures, but they are simple enough that I think you will be able to catch on. 

For most projects we used paint sample containers from Home Depot in the red, white, and blue, as well as twine and scotch tape. 

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Wooden Fireworks

We simply cut a scrap of wood into 3 different heights. 

(12 inches, 9 inches, and 6 inches)

Then we painted each one to match the red, white, and blue theme. 

For the striped firework, I painted it all the cream color first. Once it dried I went back and scotch taped off every other inch so that the red paint would appear in stripes. 

I plan on going back and adding creme stars to the blue firework. 

When everything was dry we simply drilled small holes into the top of the fireworks and used strong super glue to hold the twine wicks in place. 

Wrap some twine around the whole set a few times, make a little bow, and you're done!

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Snap, Crackle, and Pop Mason Jars

Your first stop is the fireworks stand. 

You will need: snappers, sparklers, and champagne poppers. 

Distribute them into 3 different mason jars. 

On the outside of the jar you can get creative with the labels. We found our little chalkboards on clothespins from Michael's. 

Snap = snappers

Crackle = sparklers

Pop = champagne poppers

This was the easiest, but most costly project for us. 

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Striped Shutter

This is a project if you have a lot of patience and time. 

Using an old shutter, start by taping off every other slat so you don't have to go over dripped spots. 

Paint the first set of slats red. 

Do the same thing with the cream and complete the outside of the shutter as well. 

Be prepared to go back and do touch ups, like on the inside boarder of the slats. 

Then you attach the metal blue star. We were lucky enough to find the exact one at Michael's. But if you can't find one that is already blue, go ahead and spray paint the one you were able to find. 

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Patriotic Sign

This is actually a project using a cabinet door! 

We just taped of the sections and painted them with the same paint that we used for all of the other projects. 

Then I taped off the section I wanted writing in to act as a guide for making the letters the same size. 

Using a Sharpie Oil-Based marker, add you lettering. 

For whatever reason my best work is done free-handed, but that does leave room for error. For example, I only planned on having Stars and Stripes Forever but when I was done it wasn't centered so I added the little text on the end. But you couldn't tell that before I told you, right? ;) 

If you aren't comfortable with free-handing it go ahead with stencils or projecting letters. 

Hopefully I was able to break down several projects at once in a decent manner. As always, if you have questions please feel free to ask! I would love to give you more advice you take on any of these projects yourself. 

Creatively Yours, 

Audra