DIY Sessions: Succulent Wall Planters
Oh hello. It’s been a long time and I’m sure this is out of the blue. I’ve been doing a lot of DIY projects lately and although I have my “DIY Sessions” photo album on Facebook, I haven’t taken the time to post them on here.
The latest one I did is a succulent wall planter.
Have you seen that tutorial on Pinterest on how to make a mason jar wall organizer? Well I made one of those and decided that I wanted to make mini ones for succulents.
BTW – This was my end product for the regular sized mason jars.
Any who, I decided to make the mini ones for my succulents. I had a hard time finding mini mason jars that I liked, but I came across some in the $1 section at Target.
I ended up finding pebbles at Ikea for $0.99 each and bought the soil from Home Depot.
The wood was a little tricky. My friend was purchasing wood at Home Depot and while the worker was cutting it I thought I could use her left over pieces. The only problem was that they weren’t a complete square (they guy tried, but it didn’t come out). I decided to go Michael’s to check out their pre-cut wood and ended up getting 2 square and 2 round pieces. Honestly, I would have preferred using the wood from Home Depot because it felt heavier and more sturdy, however I’m no woodsman and don’t have the material to cut a small piece of wood to make it a square. It worked out in the end because I liked the way the round piece looked.
I added a wood stain and sealed it with Modge Podge after (I’m sure an actual wood sealer would be better). Then I added the hanging piece on the back.
I’ll most likely write a post on how I screwed the hose clamps to the wood but the only pictures I have doing this is from when I made the mason jar organizer. However…that’s all you’re really doing…screwing the hose clamp onto the wood.
Anyways…then it was time to plant the succulents. I started with the pebbles, added the soil, and then the succulent (with some more soil after).
The last step is to screw the hose clamp tight and voila!
Sorry if these aren’t the best instructions, but I never said I was good at writing them up step by step! Hopefully I’ll get around to sharing my other projects as well.
Jimmy Loves Juice
I forgot to post about my brother’s latest achievement! As some of you may know, my brother is a very talented artist who has worked on films such as Star Trek, Avatar, and even the more recent Star Wars movies. He has also taught at his alma mater, San Jose State. He recently graduated with his MFA and finished his thesis project, an animated short called Jimmy Loves Juice. With the help of his students he brought this animated short to life and even got into a few film festivals. The fam and I got to watch it here in San Francisco at the Frozen film festival and last week he got word that they won the Best Animated Short at the Costa Rica International Film Festival! Congrats again to my brother and his students!
Check out his trailer and check the Jimmy Loves Juice blog for more showings and film festivals!
Mid Year Review
More like mid year plus two months…
I really wanted to post more this year since I’ve been slowing down the past couple of years. But this year has been super busy. At the end of last year I left my job of 7 (or was it 8?) years and took a job at a bank in the financial district. Something new, something different, at a bank I never thought I would work at. But so far it’s been good and it’s definitely a learning experience. There’s still a big part of me that wishes I was in something more creative. But what exactly? I’m still working on that, but I’m still into the same things. Photography, fashion, anything where I get to be creative where my end product is something physical to show. I decided to take a fashion illustration class last semester. That was pretty fun and satisfied my creative cravings, but since then I’ve still been having trouble finding a way to let it out.
Hopefully I figure it out soon. Seems like that’s a constant struggle for me.
I’ve been reading more. I have time on Muni so I started reading some books. I FINALLY read the rest of the Hunger Games books. I picked up a couple of motivational books to help release my creative side. And then of course there were the motivational business books like #GirlBoss and Lean In. I have to say I enjoyed them. For the longest time I thought about starting my own business. But since I have the issue of what I have a passion for, it’s kind of hard to pick what kind of business I want to own.
I think it’s slowly but surely coming along…or will come along eventually.
Welp, I’ll update the blog with some of the year’s events later…hopefully.
Mid year review to be continued…
Happy 2014
Happy New Year!
It’s been awhile since I posted a blog and since it’s a new year I decided that I should start posting more often. Social media apps have pretty much taken over and I’m hardly on my computer to create a post. Sure I can use my phone or iPad to post something but it doesn’t beat typing on a desktop. Any who, 2013 was a blast. There were so many events that happened to make 2013 a great year. Friends had babies, got married, and/or turned the big 3-0, which I am not looking forward to (no offense, it just reminds me that I’m not where I want to be in life. Haha). There was Hawaii, New Orleans, and a big one…graduation (only took me 10 years). On top of that I left my retail job of 8 years and started my first office job. And while my life after graduation has been relaxing, I’m ready to start doing the things I want to do. For so long my goal was to just finish college and graduate. Now that it’s over there are projects I’m ready to work on and things that I want to do for myself.
People always say that the new year is THEIR year. Their year to work harder, accomplish goals, etc. While I think it’s great people have that motivation for the new year, it’s hard for me to say 2014 will be MY year. Instead, I feel like it’s the start of many great years to come. The start of an ongoing process. I plan on striving for different long term goals that I never worried about before, doing the things that make me happy, and to continue keeping the great relationships I have with the people I love. A lot of people my age are usually where they want to be in life, or close to it.
For me, it’s the start of the next few years.
Hawaii: Augs & Zye’s Wedding
Last month I headed to Hawaii for Augs & Zye’s wedding. Since it was finally legal for them to get married in California, they had a civil ceremony at City Hall the week before their big wedding in Oahu. I had an awesome time and it felt so good to be with all of my friends in one place. We don’t go out as much and everyone has been busy doing their own thing. I haven’t posted anything about the trip because I’m working on something that pretty much sums up their amazing wedding(s). Until then, here’s a glimpse of my trip.
I was happy that the boyfriend was there. It was my first time having a date to a wedding! I don’t always have time off with him so spending a day together let a lone a trip is precious to me. So first thing first…the beach! Actually I lie…first thing was Zippy’s.
The brides and part of the bridal party met up for some quality beach time.
Our awesome bridal party gifts! Personalized flask full of Jameson.
Wedding day.
This next picture was taken by Karl. Definitely a beautiful photo. It’s not everyday you get to see a wedding with two beautiful brides in gorgeous wedding gowns.
The next three photos were taken by yours truly. They were taken on my iPhone so they aren’t the greatest, but I still think they captured an incredible moment.
And my favorite…
Check out the rest of this post!
(more…)
Canine Chronicles
Awhile back a family friend and her sisters decided they wanted to publish a book about dogs. They opened an account on Kickstarter and soon after got the funds to create their book. I got the final product in the mail the other day and I’m happy to see the amazing work they did! Keep in mind, this was a side project for them. They continued with their full time jobs, took care of their children and worked on this book. It’s a fictional book with stories of the canine companions of famous people throughout history. The dogs are featured in clothes in relation to their owners.
Congratulations to the Au sisters!
Don Jon aka JGL
So I went to a special screening of Don Jon, a movie written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Now for those of you that don’t know me, I am a JGL fan. I had always thought he was cute in 3rd Rock from the Sun and 10 Things I Hate About You, but it was his style in 500 Days of Summer that made me swoon (I feel like I use that word whenever I talk about him). Anyways, my sister had told me about the screening and so I immediately hopped on a couple passes and asked the boyfriend to come with. I had found out JGL was at the Twitter offices today and was hoping he would show up at the screening. And because he’s awesome, he did! Unfortunately I was kind of far while my sister, brother in law, and a couple of friends were in the front row! But it’s okay…I can now say I was in the same room as him.
New Orleans
A week ago I got back from a bachelorette party that was held in New Orleans (I learned that it’s pronounced Or-LINS, not Or-LEANS). It was my first time there and to be quite honest I wasn’t sure what to expect. Besides the humidity, and bachelorette debauchery, it was definitely an inspiring trip. We stayed in The French Quarter and were literally a block and a half away from Bourbon street. The buildings and architecture were beautiful and the streets were full of art and music. There were some downsides, like pick pocketers, but our trip was still amazing and the food was delicious too. One thing I miss…the frozen coffee from Cafe Du Monde. Yuuuum.
Sorry, most of my pictures are rated G, so you won’t be seeing any rated R or PG-13 photos here! Haha
A random man handed me balloons. So of course I had to take photos with it. As you can see I took advantage of the beautiful doors, doorways, and gates. After we took the photos I gave the balloons to a family that had a few young kids.
Finally.
Holy. I haven’t posted in a loooooooong time. Why? Because I’ve been busy. I’ve had more free time to do other things/activities and sometimes I’ll forget to post my adventures. After many years of going to school on and off (and part time), I finally finished college last fall and received my degree this past January. I have to say it’s kind of weird not having class and sometimes I feel like my brain is shrinking. Right now I’m in the process of trying to find a hobby or something that will keep me busy. I have some trips and weddings coming up so hopefully I can get back to taking some photos. Until then this is all I have. But maybe I’ll post some pictures from my Coachella trip.
Photo Friday: Adapt
Usually my first post of the year is about my reflection on the previous year. I’ll eventually get to it…probably later today. But for now, here are some photos I took for an Adapt shoot that I have been trying to get done. Unfortunately this was the only shoot I did because the holidays were so busy. Hopefully there will be more to come. I decided to use my older Minolta SRT101 instead of my newer Pentax. For some reason I feel like my photos come out better on my Minolta.
Abi was able to take some time to help me shoot this while she was home visiting and she got her friend John to help out as well. Thanks guys!
yeeBay 
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