*image credit goes to Cupcakes and Couture

I've been meaning to write this post for months now! I first made these glasses as a present for Mother's Day but I never got around to posting it. I've since made a dipped wine glass for myself so I remembered to take photos this time! I freaking love making stuff like this. It is such an easy, cheap craft to make and it looks so unique and polished! Not to mention that you can actually use it regularly. My favorite part is that you can reeeeallly customize these glasses any way you want -- different glitters, different colors you can use, different gluing techniques, patterns, and a bunch of different messages and patterns you can write/draw on the actual glass portion. It makes for a super cute, cheap, personalized gift for weddings, parties, Christmas, birthdays, ANYTHING. I've even seen it being used as bacholerette party favors on Pinterest! Looking back, I'm actually regretting not making some more for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table this year! But anyways, enough rambling.

So the materials. First off, you'll obviously need a clean, plain wine glass. You can find these anywhere. I bought mine at Walmart for $1. You can use a more expensive wine glass, although I've read that cheaper glasses actually hold up the glitter and writing better. You'll also need some loose glitter. This is the fun part! There are soooo many different shades and sizes of glitter and you can get super creative by mixing different colors, textures, etc. For mine I chose a champagne white gold, which is my favorite metallic. I bought mine from JoAnn Fabrics in a shakeable container (is that what they're called?!)...you know, the one with holes on top so you can shake out the glitter easily and don't have to dip your hands into it. Makes for an easy, mess-free application! You'll also need some Mod Podge, which is gonna act as the glue for the glitter to stick to. There are SO many different varieties of Mod Podge. I chose the plain Mod Podge with a gloss finish and it worked really well. It's also nice to have some sort of clear acrylic sealant spray to lock your glitter in place. Although it's technically optional, it's going to add a nice finishing touch to your wine glass and make it so that the glitter isn't going to scrape away from your glass with continued use. And if you're giving it as a gift, I think it's nice to add that professional touch. I used the Mod Podge brand, although they had other types as well. Whichever one you choose, make sure it's clear and has a gloss finish! You'll also need a foam brush, which you can buy at any craft store, to paint on the Mod Podge. Lastly, you can buy some metallic Sharpie pens to jazz up your wine glass if you want to add any writing or doodles to your wine glass. They don't have to be metallic although I think metallics go really well with glitter!

So I didn't take step by step pictures, but it's incredibly easy to figure out.

1. Plan out your wine glass. Like I said, the possibilities are endless. You can choose to coat the entire stem in glitter, do just the bottom, cover the entire glass, etc. You also want to decide if you want to doodle on your glass with Sharpies. For my Mother's Day present, I chose to write "Mom" in cursive with a bronze Sharpie. Check out Pinterest or Google Images for ideas. 
2. Setup to glitter! Lay down tons of newspaper on your work area so it's easy to get rid of the glitter when you're done. You also want to cover all parts of the wine glass that will not be getting smothered by glitter, especially the insides of the wine glass.You can do this by taping newspaper around the outside of the glass and putting some on the inside of the glass as well.
3. Mod Podge time. Using your foam brush, coat your wine glass with a thin layer of Mod Podge. You want to cover every single inch of the glass that will be getting glitter-ized, but you want to make sure it's not gooped up or dripping with Mod Podge. 
4. Sprinkle on the glitter. Immediately after you cover your glass with Mod Podge, shake glitter to cover the entire area. This is where a glitter container with holes comes in handy! You can go crazy and coat excessively, making sure there are no "bald spots". Remember, you can shake off any excess glitter, but it's a pain to go back and spot-treat any missed areas (been there done that)! Once you've covered the entire glass, leave it alone for about 30-60 minutes. The longer, the better.
5. Decorate your glass. If you want to add any messages, writing, or design on your glass, remove the newspaper covering your glass and draw directly on the glass using your Sharpies. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
6. Seal the glitter. Once you're happy with your glass, time to lock it down! Hold the sealant spray about 6 inches away from the glass and spray while twirling your glass until each area has an even coat. Do this for the entire glass -- including the parts written in Sharpie and any blank areas. Don't spray excessively at any one point otherwise it might get chunky in one area or the glitter may spray off.You want to give a fine, thin coat to each part of the glass. 

That's it! That's how easy this project is. If you love glitter as much as I do, you can try with different types of glasses, different colors of glitter, different designs, etc. Like I said, the possibilities are literally endless and I love how practical this craft is! Hope you guys enjoyed..here's to many more crafting posts this coming year!

Crafting Fridays: Glittery Memory Cork Board

I haven't done a crafting project in forever! School has just been nuts over the past few months, so it's been nice to have some spare time this month to be more creative. I've been wanting to make a memory board for years now. I had a bunch of photos sitting on my shelves that I wanted to post up on my wall that I could look at on days where I was feeling a little down or stressed out. It's a really nice reminder of all the great moments I've had with my friends and family over the years, and a constant reminder that I'm never alone. It's so easy to get bogged down by all the negative things going on around you that it's good to have a physical reminder of the fact that you have a great support system in your friends and family.

This memory board was super simple to make. I didn't go crazy decorating it because I wanted to save the majority of the board for photos. I started off with a plain, large cork board I got from Jo Ann Fabrics for a very reasonable price, I believe only $5 or so. I also got a spool of medium-thickness pink glittery ribbon to give my board a pretty border. I laid out the ribbon along each side and pinned it down on the edges. You can tape or hot glue it onto the board if you don't want a pin sticking out at each edge. However, I've found that pinning is the most effective and least messy method. And honestly, since I used clear thumbtacks they don't show too much.

Next, is the most fun step - organizing your photos! I used clear thumbtacks to attach the photos onto the board. Definitely use the clear tacks, because the colored opaque pins give the board a really messy, cluttered look based my previous experience. I had a bunch of photos I had developed a few months ago for my scrapbook and photo album. I selected some of my favorite, most memorable photos out of the bunch to pin up on my board. I wanted to put some postcards and maybe some inspiration quotes but I didn't have enough space for them. I selected a variety of photos -- some of my family, my friends, my 21st birthday, my vacation to Europe, apple picking trips, etc. I overlapped them so there was no board showing through the pictures. I do want to add some more recent photos to my board in the future. I really like the selection of photos I have up right now though, and found myself smiling as I was pinning them onto the board. I wish I had more space, but for now this is a great start.

So there it is, a simple but fun craft for a Friday night. It only took me about 20 minutes, but it's something I can see myself cherishing for years. I love making memorable, keepsake crafts like that :) And you can even make a memory board and gift it to a family member or a friend! I may even make one for my mom this coming Mother's Day. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of crafting more often! I have a bunch of art projects I want to work on next, so I'm hoping to use some of my free time this month and working on those.