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.

Holiday Gift Guide for Gals that Love Makeup

If you spend and significant amount of time surfing beauty blogs, you’re guaranteed a couple of things: countless great ideas and a bevy of valuable cosmetic secrets. Lauded as one of the best in cosmetics by scores or makeup artists and girly bloggers, Sigma Beauty’s makeup brushes are well-crafted and surprisingly affordable, and many of which have landed on my holiday wish list. Here are a few of my favorites that would make for a great gift for the girly-girl(s) in your life.

Basic Essentials

The Cities – New York (Limited Edition) . . . $59

Sigma Beauty’s limited edition travel collection features seven travel-size brushes from the best-selling Essential and Premium Kits. The brushes come in a stylish and efficient travel-size container that turns into two brush holders.

Glam On The Go

MAXBag in Violet . . . $29

Designed to hold your entire makeup collection, this adorable cosmetics bag is sized at a generous is 14.5 x 11 inches.

Well Traveled

Premium Travel Kit – Sweet in Pink . . . $49 (sale price)

This kit is cute and efficient and has everything you need to complete your makeup routine on the go and in style. Includes three eye brushes and four face brushes.

A La Carte Essentials (from left to right)

P80 Precision Flat Brush . . . $14

This small and dense foundation brush is compatible with liquid and cream products, and is perfect for buffing in small areas.

Short Shader . . . $9

This short and flat eyeshadow brush is perfect for precisely applying colors on the lid and smudging along the lash line.

Tapered Blending . . . $11

This fluffy, long-bristled brush is perfect to apply and blend color to the crease area and to soften harsh edges.

Tutorial: Do-It-Yourself Decorative Magnets

I’m not going to pretend that I’m the most crafty gal on the block, but since we moved to a neighborhood that is within a two-mile radius of four arts and craft stores (I am not kidding, count ‘em: Michael’s, JoAnn’s, Blick Art & Craft, Hobby Lobby), I have ~~reluctantly~~ embraced the DIYer way of life.

These magnets look adorable on my fridge, and would also be a cute gift for a friend. Even better, they were incredibly easy to make (even for a novice crafter like me!) and require minimal supplies: decorative glass gems, craft glue, a circular paper punch, magnets and an old magazine (or any publication to punch small images from). I originally intended to use images from pieces of scrapbook paper for the magnets, but I ended up preferring the look of random text pulled from a magazine.

Here is the tutorial for DIY decorative magnets! (click to enlarge)