DIY Home Decor – Shadowbox Scrabble Tiles

Confession time. My name is Christina and I have an ~~borderline~~ unhealthy addiction to Scrabble.

So when I came across this quirky shadowbox with Scrabble tiles on Pinterest, I decided it only makes sense that I have a similar piece in my home. It was destiny.

Fortunately, you don’t need to order the pricey shadowbox from Europe. It’s surprisingly simple and inexpensive to create your own Scrabble tile shadowbox.

Use a ruler and pencil to lightly outline the dimensions of your shadowbox frame on a piece of cardstock or scrapbooking paper.
Cut the cardstock to fit within the shadowbox.
Choose your phrase and find the corresponding Scrabble tiles. (If you’re stuck for ideas you could try your name and your significant others name, or a cute phrase like Home Sweet Home.)
Affix the restickable tabs to the back of the letters and arrange on the cardstock.
Place cardstock in frame.

That’s it! Enjoy your nerdy work of art in your own home, or give it as a unique gift.

How-To: Braided Headband [HAIR]

If you have shoulder-length hair or longer it is easy to grow bored of wearing the same wavy and straight styles day after day. This is a quick and easy hair tutorial to add some fun to your everyday look with a simple braided headband. You can sport this look with wavy or straight hair. My hair was straight the day I decided to try the braided headband, but I’m looking forward to trying it with wavy hair to create a soft romantic look.

How To Create Braided Headband Hairstyle

Products Used:

Kenra Platinum Sheer Holding Spray

Goody Boar Ceramic Cushion Brush

Scunci No-slip Grip Beautiful Blends Blonde Bobby Pins

What styles have you come up with to dress up everyday hair?

Updo How-To: Messy Bun w/ Pompadour

This is an easy updo that works great with second-day hair, or dressed up with a cute headband or hair accessory for a fun evening out look. You only need a few items to do this simple hair tutorial, many of which you probably already have at home.

(click here to jump to the step-by-step instructions)

Gather a small section of hair at the center of your forehead, about two inches wide and two inches back towards the crown of your head. Clip this section off to keep out of the way for now.
Gather remaining hair into a ponytail at your crown.
Smooth the sides and top of the hair gathered into a pony tail with a boar bristle brush. (I just purchased this boar bristle brush last week and I love it.)
Free the first section of hair at the center of your forehead, and begin gently teasing the hair at the roots, starting with small sections furthest away from your face. (attention volume-loving ladies: Redken Powder Grip 03 works great for teasing)
Continue to tease in small sections, but leave a final thin section (right at your hairline) smooth. Use a boar bristle brush to smooth the teased pompadour back towards the crown of your head, and secure with bobby pins at the base of the section. Use the boar bristle brush to blend ends with the top of the ponytail. Don’t worry about making it blend perfectly – the big messy bun will bring it all together.
Once you have secured your pompadour in place with bobby pins, place the hair donut around your ponytail. If your hair is super clean and/or fine, you may choose to secure the hair donut in place with a few hair pins as needed.
Since we want to create a big and messy bun, tease the ponytail in small sections. Don’t overdo it; we just want to create a little more volume to give this updo a playful look.
Once you have teased the ponytail, begin wrapping the ponytail around the hair donut and securing with hair pins. The goal is to create an evenly placed bun that also hides the hair donut.
Continue wrapping the ponytail around the hair donut, securing with hair pins as you go. I used 5-6 hair pins total; the mesh texture of the hair donut really helps to secure your hair without needing to use a ton of hair pins.
Once you have secured your messy bun with hair pins, check it out in the mirror to make sure you have covered the hair donut well and that it isn’t lopsided. Spray away with a versatile working spray (I love Kenra’s Platinum Working Spray).
Gently pull some sections around your face free so it doesn’t look too perfect.
Optional: add a playful headband or cute hair accessory to dress this simple look up for a night on the town.