Picture Canvas Tutorial

Folks, I am f.r.e.a.k.i.n.g out! I fly back out to school in less than 5 days. 5 days people!

But, being my usual over-achieving self, I decided that there were a few more crafts that I wanted to make for my apartment.

For a friends birthday this past may, I made a picture clock of our most fun memories.

Shyler loved it and I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. It is colorful, fun, practical, and full of memories :)

I decided that I wanted to make a picture canvas of my own, minus the clock. So, I went to my local Hobby Lobby yesterday and got all of the necessary supplies.

Do you wanna know how I made it?

You will need

 A canvas (whatever size you prefer)

Pictures

Mod Podge

A paintbrush

Paint (optional)

Fun Scrapbooking Stickers (optional)

How-to

1. I decided to paint my canvas so I would have color on the outside edges. This is completely optional though, so do whatever your little heart desires.

Sorry, I didn't think about doing a tutorial until I had already started......but imagine that the canvas is blank :)

2. Paint, or don't paint, your canvas :p

Notice that it does not have to be perfect, it will just be covered by pictures anyway.

3. Here comes the fun and time-consuming part. You have to go through all of your gorgeous (because let's face it, you're all supa dupa pretty), fun pictures and find the ones that you like the best :)

4. Once you have picked out some legit pictures, you are ready to design your canvas. I like to mix and max some pictures before I make a decision.

The big white circle is due to the flash on my camera....I need to learn how to take better pictures!

5. Ok, now that you have done all of that, you are ready to Mod Podge it all on.

I was probably the kid in Elementary School that huffed glue because I LOVE the smell of Mod Podge.....just sayin'.

6. After all of your pictures are glued down, take your Mod Podge and go to town on the front of your canvas. You want to make sure that everything is nice and sealed.

*Before I did this, I decided to add a few scrap-booking stickers to my canvas.

7. Do not be alarmed when you see this:

I promise it will dry nice and clear :)

8. After it dries, you will have a nice way to display some of your favorite photos!

In other news, today was my last day of work and I will miss little miss Isa tons!

I mean, how could you not love a face like that, and legs like these (Isa's, not mine).

Somebody get me a spoon because I could seriously eat her up!......in a totally non Hannible Lecter sort of way of course ;p

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Stay tuned for another tutorial. I will be attempting to make my first pillow :)

The Heebe-jeebees

Have you guys seen the trailer for "Final Destination 5"? It is sooo freaky. Those of you that have seen the commercial will understand that when I saw this in front of me on my way to work:

....I was less than pleased. I just kept picturing those pipes shooting off of the truck straight into my windshield, and into my little body.

 (Yes, I know. I'm bad for taking a picture while driving, but traffic was very slow and I was very careful! Promise!)

As you can tell, I don't do horror movies very well.

But, my exit was coming up, so I just white-knuckled it until it was time to get off. I realize that it might sound crazy how on edge I was, but freak accidents do happen people...and seeing that commercial everyday has turned me into a crazy person!

[Paranoid Freaks Anonymous meeting] :

My name is Ashley and I am a paranoid freak. I am 20 and I still check under my bed before I go to sleep. I open the shower curtain and check to make sure the shower isn't home to a serial killer before I use the bathroom. I have to shut my closet doors before I can even think about sleeping...and when I hear a funny noise, you better believe I hold my breath and get ready to fight for my life.

I'm not the only one right?.....................

On a lighter note, I am so gonna miss this baby girl when I return to school in less than two weeks :(

I wish I could pack her in my suitcase....is that frowned upon? Hmmmm... yeah, that was a little creepy...but she is so darn cute! Next week will be a sad week indeed :(

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Yep...I'm definitely the 1%. 

Guess what?! Tomorrows "friday, friday...gotta get down on friday".......

Please don't hate me. I had to.

A day in the life of a nanny

Today, I got up at the crack of dawn….seriously people, I’m talking 5:45 am!

Now, let me just let you in on a little Ashley 101. I am a morning person…however, I do not like waking up early. Did that make sense? No? Let me explain. 

I am the type of person that can sleep in until 2 in the afternoon and not bat an eye….but once I’m up, I’m up! I go about my business and it does not take me long to get out of my sleep coma. Ok...back to the story...

I had to be at work by 7:30, but I had to make sure I left the house by 6:30 to allow for traffic. Needless to say…I looked like a mess today and the critics were harsh.

Exhibit A

 

Little miss Isa (short for Isabella) scoffed at my appearance and lack of make-up.

*Pardon the sunburst that is coming out of my stomach…I’m guessing that holding the baby that way caused my shirt to do some wacky things. I assure you that I do not have some weird tumor growing out of my tummy :p

I pulled out my best tricks to get her to like me again and to help her remember that I am the same Ashley she loved before…not a hobo.

We renewed our friendship, all was well in the world.

UNTIL

She devised a plan to provide herself with a little entertainment. At first, I was a little surprised and concerned.

Then I was a little horrified

And the showstopper…..disgust! As you can see from the part of her face that is NOT covered in puke, she was very proud of herself.

Little did Miss Isa know, I was about to get my revenge in the form of an outfit change. You see, this little girl does not like having her head covered, even for a second. I pulled the yucky onesie off,  put the clean one one, and braced myself for an angry baby.

She thought about it for a second….and then decided it wasn’t worth a fight.

She called a truce and pulled at my heart with her gummy smile.

And informed me that it was time for bed.

 

We hugged.

And off to bed she went….preparing herself for another puke-filled day tomorrow :)

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What did you do today? I hope that whatever it was…..it was less messy, but hopefully just as cute :)

My favorite store EVER is.....................

Drum-roll please...................Babies"R"Us. Ok, it may not be my absolute fave store, but I promise you, it is top 10 fo' sho' :) Today my mom, grandma, and I went out to run errands. While we were waiting on an order to be filled, we decided to go into the Babies"R"Us store that was next door. I almost died upon seeing the teeny tiny clothes and the teeny tiny babies that filled the store. For those of you that know me, you know that this is perfectly normal behavior for me. I love kids and drool over anything baby related. As we were walking around admiring all of the cute little gems, my grandmother turned to me and informed me that I need to hurry up and have children so she can spoil them. While her sentiment was sweet, there is one minor problem......I'm not married! My mom with a worried look on her face quickly reminded her mother of that little requirement. Normally, this type of conversation is reserved for married children that are slacking in the baby department. How is it fair that I already have this pressure?! Apparently my job this coming school year is to get married AND have a baby! I am going to be on a veryyyy tight schedule :p I actually did have to restrain myself from buying anything. I used to think it was crazy when people talked about buying things for their future children when they weren't even married yet (ahem...Amy :P ) but now, it totally makes sense! How do I know that when I have kids that cute little ducky onesie is still going to be there? How do I know that stores will still be selling little baby converses? I thought about how in my Psychology class, I learned that men are the hunters and women are the gatherers. Wouldn't I just be fulfilling my role as nature intended by stocking up on baby essentials? It would be a shame to pass up on a good deal :) As soon as my reasoning reached this point, I decided that it was time to leave the store. I realized that I was acting like a crazy person. I guess BYU culture is really starting to get to me. Once I was thinking clearly again, I applauded  my resistance. I realized that I do not want to take the fun out of that future moment when I am actually pregnant and get to experience actually being able to shop at baby stores. Until then, I will continue to love children and enjoy being a part-time mother to the babies of friends, relatives, and employers.

Look at those gorgeous eyes!

I love her curls! I hope my children inherit my curly hair :)

Am I the only person that is baby crazy?!