Focus Board

For the new year, we created a focus board to keep track of all of our resolutions. We wanted this board to be something that we'd see every day to remind us of what we want to accomplish. I also wanted to be able to update it frequently so we could add goals to it throughout the year. We divided it up into four sections: one for short term goals; one for long term goals; another for places we want to visit; and one for general happenings. 

It was pretty simple to make. I found the board at Target and used ribbon to make the sections. I found this app called PicLab HD to make the beautiful pictures with text overlay to display our resolutions. I also cut some things out of magazines that I either wanted to try it display. It's a little girly, but Jeff is excited to have something to keep us focused and inspired. 

Blinged Out Bottle

One of my best friend’s birthdays was at the beginning of this month. And it wasn’t just any birthday. It was his 21^st! Of course, alcohol is the proper gift for any 21-year-old. But this gift was not about being proper! I had seen ideas of nips baskets on Pinterest before. And I was so close to doing one. However, I had a judgment call and instead decided to bling out a bottle of alcohol. Tequila is my friend’s drink of choice, so I went with a nice bottle of 1800 Tequila.

It was really quite a simple project. I did it over two nights while watching TV after dinner. If I were to do it again, however, I’d try to figure out a way to maybe spray the bottle so all of the rhinestones stay on better. The humidity combined with a cold fridge didn’t bode well for the rubber cement I had used. Either way, it came out great and who doesn’t like jewel-covered tequila?

What you’ll need:

• Clear and colored rhinestones (can be found at Walmart)
• Rubber Cement (also at Walmart)
• Any bottle of alcohol
•  Patience for sticky fingers

I had an idea of how I wanted the bottle to look, but like most projects I take on, I just start doing them and hope for the best. I figured it would look better if it wasn’t stiffly planned, and it came out great. The “21” on the back of the bottle was a little tricky, but I got it figured out. I would just brush on rubber cement onto a small working area—it dries pretty quickly. Then I would lay down some rhinestones and move on to the next area. I would suggest having a heavy hand with the rubber cement, as the areas that I did a smaller layer seemed to have lost their sticky pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, my friend already had a bottle of Patron the night of this birthday, so we didn’t crack this bad boy open. Wait a second—who am I kidding? FORTUNATELY, my friend had a bottle of Patron that we very much enjoyed and he will be saving this bottle for a future date. This was so much fun to decorate and I’m sure it will be even more fun to consume. Definitely a great idea for anyone that is looking for a creative birthday present.