diy – www.imperfectlypatricia.com

Acrylic Paint Organization

I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a plan to reorganize certain parts of my apartment. I have been living there for a few years and kinda dropped the ball on some projects that I didn’t finish when I first moved in. I started off with my art room/office.

I tackled the closet first to see what art supplies I had, and organized everything by adding in a metal shelf. I also spray painted everything gold to match the decor with the rest of the house.

When cleaning, I realized that I had QUITE the extensive collection of small acrylic paints from over the years. When it came to my acrylic paint collection, I needed to come up with a solution to find colors quickly. I ordered these plastic baskets from Amazon and spray painted them gold. I used Rustoleum’s Metallic Gold which I ordered from Target.

While the baskets were drying, I lined the inside of the closet doors with <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>While the baskets were drying, I lined the inside of the closet doors with marble Con-Tact paper<a href="https://www.target.com/p/con-tact-18–34–x-20–39–creative-covering-multipurpose-marble-shelf-liner-white/-/A-54345585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.target.com/p/con-tact-18–34–x-20–39–creative-covering-multipurpose-marble-shelf-liner-white/-/A-54345585</a></p> marble Con-Tact paper and marked off every 6 inches to hang the baskets so that the paints were able to fit comfortably.

Once the baskets were ready to hang, I used regular screws (keeping in mind their length so that they did not poke through the door) on either side of basket where their first hole was. I used a level to make sure each basket was hung straight.

Once the first basket was hung, it was easier to match up the sides and screws. Once they were all up I was ready to start adding my paints!

I still need to paint the screws gold so they blend in

I can’t wait to finish the rest of the office! Check my instagram this week for pics of the results!

Natural Easter Egg Dye

I have wanted to try dying Easter eggs with natural, homemade dyes. Some sources say to boil the eggs in the dye to cook, and then leaving the eggs in the dye for additional time to give them a more intense color. Others suggest to boil the dye and eggs separately, allow the dye to cool, strain the natural ingredients out and then allow the eggs to soak in the color. Either technique, you need to allow the eggs to soak in the color for a minimum of 30 minutes. The longer you allow the eggs to remain in the color, the more vibrant the color will be. In addition, I recommend using white eggs (and adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to your eggs when boiling them).

Remember, these are natural dyes so they are much more subtle than store-bought, boxed kits. It’s also a great way to reuse items that normally would be discarded at home, and great family activity!

Red- Red Onion skins

Red-Orange: Paprika

Raw Sienna: Yellow Onion Peels

Yellow: Cumin

Golden Yellow: Tumeric

Light Green: Matcha Tea

Green: Spinach or Fresh Parsley

Blue-Green: Red Cabbage

Blue: Purple Cabbage

Blue-grey: Blueberries

Purple: Grape Juice

Lavender: Hibiscus Tea (bag)

Purple: Red Wine

Bright Pink: Chopped Beets

Brown: Strong Coffee

You can also try adding decoration before dying with resist techniques such as drawing on the eggs using a white (or even colored) crayons, or even dripping candle wax on them.

Experiment and try combos too! Have you tried dying Easter eggs with natural dyes?

I’d love to hear from you! ImperfectlyPatricia@gmail.com

Scrap Gardens

Did you know that you can regrow many vegetables, just using the scraps you would normally throw away?

I had decided that one of my new year’s goals was to create a garden this year. With all the uncertainty lately (not expecting to go to Home Depot or the local gardening centers soon), and the fact that the weather has been warming up and I would like to start gardening, I was reading up on regrowing vegetables from scraps.

The process for regrowing vegetables seems pretty easy- just saving the ends of veggies I was already eating, and place them in a bit of water.

I am starting with Romaine lettuce, but am planning on regrowing other veggies too (as I eat them).

Here’s a list of other vegetables (some fruits and herbs too) that can be regrown. Can’t wait to try them out! Do you have any recommendations?

Basil
Beets
Bok Choy
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Cilantro
Garlic
Ginger
Green Onions
Leeks
Lemongrass
Mint
Onions
Oregano
Parsnips
Pineapple
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Radishes
Romaine Lettuce
Rosemary
Turnips

Keep checking my Instagram page for updates and pics of my regrown garden!

In just a few days, the lettuce is starting to regrow!

Glittered Accessories

I love customizing my accessories and am obsessed with all things *GLITTER*. I have added glitter to my phone charger base, classroom hall pass, and started adding glitter to my desk supplies.

Since my three-hole punch is black, I chose black glitter. Here is how I did it!

Supplies:

Masking Tape
Paintbrush
Item to glitter
Glitter (I used black)
Mod Podge (Since I wanted my hole punch to be extra sparkly, I used the Mod Podge Extreme Glitter)
Paintbrush

Tape off areas that will not be glittered

Cover section with Mod Podge and then pour glitter on top- Don’t forget the edges!

Let it dry for a few hours and then add a second layer of Mod Podge

I added 2 more layers of Mod Podge on top of the glitter since I wanted a smooth surface. Make sure you let each layer dry a bit before you add the next layer. I peeled the tape off before it dried completely in case there were any leaks.

Tape peeled off and ready to dry overnight!

Let it dry for at least 8 hours so that it won’t smudge

Can’t wait to add glitter to my other office supplies! Stay tuned and check out my Instagram for pics!

Galentine’s Night-DIY Painted Wine Glasses

Galentine’s Day is a day for “ladies celebrating ladies”.
(Leslie Knope)

If you are not familiar with Parks and Recs, Galetine’s Day was celebrated on the show on February 13 where you celebrate your love for your girl squad.

I started the tradition a few years ago and have been celebrating Galentine’s Day with a craft night the Friday before Valentine’s Day. I gather all my closest gal pals for a night of appetizers, drinks, and crafts.

Last year, we celebrated with a DIY wine glasses night. I set up materials on a long table in my tv room and we each painted a set of wine glasses. This year, we are creating Valentine’s themed wreaths. (Stay tuned for a future post about it!)

I purchased the items from a variety of stores, (I will link where you can purchase them off Amazon) and prepped some appetizers ahead of time during the week. You can find a lot of these appetizers and some additional ideas on my Pinterest pages: drinks & drunks, galentines, paint party, sweets & treats, the savory and wine & cheese night.

Since I had a small group of ladies, each received a pair of glasses to decorate, but if you have a larger crowd, you can have each gal decorate just one glass. I purchased the glasses from The Christmas Tree Shop, but have some similar ones linked that you can purchase off of Amazon.

We used FolkArt Multi-Surface Acrylic paint, and the paintbrushes were ones I had left from college. I have similar ones linked here.

During the week, I painted individualized mini-canvases with everyone’s names that served as place markers. I covered the tables with a plastic tablecloth and butcher paper above it and scattered containers of small paintbrushes, cups of water, and paper towels around the table. Each person also had a palette for their paints. (I borrowed these for my classroom, and plastic disposable plates work just as well).

Once everyone arrived, grabbed some appetizers, and poured themselves a drink, we started brainstorming our ideas using Google and Pinterest. Once we had our ideas chosen, we used a square of paper towel with rubbing alcohol to prepare the glass to be painted. It’s super important to clean the glasses with rubbing alcohol to remove any impurities (fingerprints, dust, lint, etc) that will prevent the paint from covering the surface.

Once our painted glasses dried, we placed them onto a baking tray and put it into a cool oven. Once they were in the oven, we turned it on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to put them into the oven before preheating it.

Once the oven reached 350 degrees, let them bake for 30 minutes, and then fully cool in the oven before removing them. You can wash (and use) your glass 2-3 days after baking them.