Posts Tagged: "class"

High School Reunions Create New-Old Friendships

- - Gifts for Me

Recently, I attended my 45th high school reunion and I’m still relishing in my new-old friendships.

high-school-reunion-thoughtful-gift-ideaI have several cherished high school friends who we’ve kept in touch all these years but with each 5-10-15-20 years and more, I’ve also created new friendships with old classmates.

I was a band nerd.

My whole high school experience was in the marching band, concert band and jazz band. We played victorious music at every football and home basketball games!

So my world mostly revolved around my band mates. Continue Reading

Hands-On Furniture Painting Class for the DIYer

Some things are harder than they look. Case in point – those BEFORE & AFTER photos on Pinterest where people take hideous, dull brown furniture they find at a garage sale and with a few coats of paint transform them into colorful, vintage chic furniture.

painted-furnitureIt’s amazing how distressed furniture can look so beautiful and modern! See the photo on the right for a perfect example.

You can spend hours reading or watching the tutorials online to learn how to do it yourself. But that approach can sometimes leave your more confused because you realize just how many options you have when it comes to paint, materials, and techniques. Arrgh!

What type of paint should I use? What’s chalk paint? What’s milk paint? Which is better for my project?
Do I need to sand my furniture first? How much sanding is even necessary?
What should I use for my topcoat? How do I apply antiquing wax?
What’s the best method for re-creating the gorgeous, distressed looks I see in online photos?

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A furniture painting class allows you to learn by doing with help from an expert.

After reading about milk paint, I really wanted to try it because it’s completely free of any harmful chemicals. In fact, it’s made with only five all-natural ingredients. Milk paint also has the reputation of being easy peasy to use to get a chippy, antiqued or distressed look.

BUT… because milk paint comes in powder form, I was intimidated to try it myself. Plus, what a strange name!

So I decided to take a local Milk Paint 101 workshop. In the furniture painting class, we painted our own step stool using milk paint. I learned how to mix it and the different methods for applying it to get various distressed “looks.”

Continue Reading

Matching Graduation Day T-Shirts

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhgrc9Xn4MQ&feature=youtu.be

My co-worker, Nikki, shared this wonderful idea that her family is doing for her son’s high school graduation this year. The family will wear matching Graduation Day T-Shirts. Just like a 5K race where a team wears matching t-shirts, friends and family attending graduation wear the same t-shirt in support of the graduate.

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Click on the photo to enlarge it

The front of the t-shirt can have the graduate’s initials and their very own unique signature. Printed on the back of the t-shirt can be the class motto, a favorite quote or a personalized message to the graduate. Continue Reading