DIY VINTAGE EFFECT!

 So this weekend I was lucky enough to go to a thrift store that had many, many, cameras! Not the shiny new ones in Target, the old ones with big flash attachments and that use film. I was so glad to find the two that I did. The one in a leather case was $10 and the other was $5. Whether or not they work I still love the way they look on a shelf.

So inspired by these vintage treasures of mine, I decided to share with you my trick to make pictures look old. (with pictures from a new camera). This effect will work on any picture too! First, open your picture in photoshop:

Okay, now go to Image > Adjustments > Curves.

A window will pop up and by where it says "Channels" click on the drop down menu.

Start with the red, and drag the line so that it looks like the red on below. Then go back to the drop down menu, select green, and make it look like the red did. Now select blue and do the reverse of what you did for the red and green. If you select RGB on the drop down menu, it should look like that last picture below.

The red, green, blue, and RGB sections should now look like this.

Heres the before and after:

Before

After!

I think any photo will look good like this :). Here are some other examples:

That camera with it's pretty case on :).



And a probably too highly defined picture of me..

Ignore my annoyed face here...

 I love that camera! And I have used/ will use this effect many times. Hope this helps and even though this effect is relatively simple to accomplish, it really changes a picture (for the better in my opinion).

And off the topic of this DIY, have you noticed? I have been giving a little facelift to my blog with a new header, tabs, and other things that have been circling my brain when I am trying to go to sleep :). This is also my 50th post! I'm halfway there! And thanks to all my visitors, supporters, family, friends, and stalkers, for letting me get to 80,000+ visits just this year as of today! I only started for my only personal enjoyment, but have learned so much about, well everything...

DIY ROCK NECKLACES!

Make these cute little charms  out of crushed rocks or crystals!

 
Hey guys, I am really excited about this next DIY tutorial because I got to smash things to pieces with a hammer! This was so incredibly fun for me because, well seeing rocks explode is fun! But I wasn't just destroying pretty rocks for nothing, I was putting them to good use. I had a whole bunch of pretty crystals that would be perfect to sparkle in the light around someone's neck!

You will need those little glass tube charms that they sell at any craft store. I just found the ones in my crafts store which were at the very bottom of the jewelry shelf, all dusty and old. But for about $1.50 each (two came in a pack).

The rocks I used were (from top) pyrite, also called fools gold, a home-grown crystal from a cheesy little kit, and that mystery rock that I found in my rock box! I don't know what its called but I will refer to it as rainbow rock because thats what it looks like :). I also made a blue and yellow necklace out of the same home-grown crystal stuff. I used those because I liked how it got really light and pastel-like!

Now for the DIY, it is pretty self explanatory but just in case you don't understand I gave it captions.

1) Get your hammer out.

2) Give it a good whack with your hammer...

3) Now lightly tap it (depending on your rock, mine was easy to break) and try to get it into a small chunks or a powder at least small enough to fit in your glass container.

*one important tip: don't force the rock in, or else it might end up like this:

Now that isn't pretty! :( And I had already filled it with pretty rainbow rock!

Now hang it from chain, I like the look of really thin chains so thats what I used! I've been meaning to try magnetic closure but the classic little hook thingy works well too.  So with useless old rocks or crystals, you can make a beautiful necklace that will have people coming up to looking at your interesting piece of jewelry!

FOTO PREFERITE DAL VIAGGIO

 
No, I haven't started speaking Italian or anything that means "favorite pictures from the trip" (thanks to Google Translate) because today I am sharing some of my favorite pictures from my Europe trip! I went with a school group to Italy and Greece through a travel agency called Explorica. Our tour guide was Letizia and she was very nice. We started by taking the long plane ride over and landed in Rome. We had to take a plane from here in Columbus to JFK where we sprinted from gate 25 to gate 5 too. Anyways here are the pictures:

The Trevi Fountain, it was a lot bigger than I always pictured it. There were also a lot more people than there were when Buddy from Cake Boss was there with his wife :).

Trevi Fountain.

The outside of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum! (inside)

St. Peter's Basilica which was incredible!

This is the Pantheon where there is a big hole in the roof :).

This was in Olympia where, even though the main attraction was closed, we got to see some cute stray dogs and go to the bathroom.

The Epidaurus Theatre was amazing because you could literally hear a penny drop even if you were all the way at the top!

This is the view from Acropolis of Greece.

Thats me in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background!

And just for fun I messed with the hues in this and other pictures. This reminds me of cotton candy.

amici addio!,

DIY LITTLE BIRD

 This is a little recycled bird, isn't it cute?! I made this a while back out of a champagne bottle's cork. If you would like to make your own, follow the tutorial below! All you need is a cork, felt, sewing pins, feathers, and glue!

First, get a cork I used champagne because it has a weird shape that makes it perfect for a head.

So there is usually a whole bunch of weird symbols and letters on them but I think it looks really cool that way!

Get your drill out..

Drill a hole through the cork right before the "head" this is where you will place your wings.

To attach your wing you first have to pool your hole with glue, I used Tacky Glue because it dries clear and strong so an that leaked out would not be noticed.

Tak your feathers and put them in the hole. If glue gushes out just rub it away or smooth over to dry on the cork.

Now get your sewing pins, I used three black and two orange but two black and three orange would work better. (to hide the fact it is there)

Take your two black and press them in to create eyes. I changed my placement a couple of times which makes it look a little messy.

Cut these shapes out of orange felt. They should be pretty small because they will make the feet and mouth of your bird.

This is the mouth. The dotted line is where you should fold it. Mine stayed folded but you might have to glue it shut. Stick the orange pin in the center so you can put it into the right spot.

Attach the mouth!

The rectangles you cute out should be bended like this, stick your pins through them and onto the bottom of your birdie.

COMPLETE!

I am using mine to hang in my new terrarium here are some pics:

 As you can see I created a little perch for him made out of a branch. And I can take him in and out when I need to water it. Though I just planted the seeds so not much growth has been happening :(.

I'd love to see your results!  I think making small little things like this is the best, so I just couldn't help but to give a whole post to them! Thanks,