Back to School DIY Bling Galaxy Backpack

As I was going through my youtube feed and seeing what was New, I came across this Idea

DIY Galaxy Backpack You take a black backpack and paint Galaxies all over it.

I thought, wow, now that’s a neat idea. So I decided to comment on the video and tell my daughter,

“We’re going to make a one of a kind backpack for you going back to school”. She agreed to do it.

Of course when I do a dupe of something I have to put my own spin on it!

So I added Glitter and Bling. This isn’t a full tutorial, but rather a DIY Instructional Post. Enjoy!!!

 

Supplies: 

A Plain Black Backpack (as shown above, but painted), I got mine at Walmart for $8.88.

2 Towels and 1 Washcloth for stuffing the Backpack makes for an easy surface to paint onto..

 

You’ll also need Tulips Soft Velveteen fabric paint, In Colors White, Grape, Blue, and Azalea (Pink).

I purchased these in the t-shirt painting section at Michaels for about $1.50 each (not bad).

 

I used Plastic snack bags for the paint to sponge onto the backpack.

 

   I used a big sheet of wax paper to dab off excess paint.

I then used one yellow kitchen sponge $.92 at Walmart, that I cut into two halves.

Cut the edges off to make it easier to work with and used each corner for a different color.

I also used 2 fine detailed paint brushes, which I purchased a while ago at Michaels in a

set for about $8.00 ?? They are to nice to work with, very Ergonomic for the hands..

 

    I had some glitter on hand and have been wanting to use my daughters Aqua,

Crystazzi Flatback Crystals also purchased at Michaels, which I have used clear flatbacks before

in my tutorial Bling out your last years sandals.

  A close up of the pretty glitter Aqua, Magenta, and Purple

 

We also used bigger generic Crystal gems that were about $1.00 at Michaels.

 

Directions: So we proceeded to load up the sponges with one color at a time.

Then we would dab as much off as we could onto the piece of wax paper, when applying,

you almost want the paint to be rubbed on dry and not splotchy or clumpy

to give each galaxy softness and depth. We used a mixture of Grape and white mixed together first,

then Blue and white, then Azalea Pink and white. We made little clusters just dabbing on a little at a time,

we’d turn the sponge and onto the next color and so on!

 

  Here’s a close up shot of the Galaxy Clusters, yours will look different than mine but you get the idea.

 

Stand back every so often and take a look at how its coming along.

You may need to add more of a color as you go.

 

Also make sure that you randomly dab on the paint twisting your hand as you go,

so that you don’t get the same pattern on each galaxy.

 

We used the paintbrush ends to dab on stars in a circular pattern to simulate a galaxy of stars.

Again, very random or you could paint on a constellation like the Big Dipper,

which my daughter did at the very bottom right. Do you see it  ;)

 

      We also dry brushed on some shooting stars and simulated gaseous explosions,

as seen in space telescopes. We dabbed our finger into some glitter

and before the paint was completely dry, spread it across each galaxy for twinkle.

 

Then we added the Crystazzi flatbacks with Nail Glue (my go to glue for applying gems).

 

 Here is what the final product looks like in Daylight.

I have to admit, My daughter and I were quite impressed with the job we did and

one of the best parts was it was sooo easy. Plus we had a nice Mother/Daughter bonding time.

Just let go and have fun! And that’s just what we did!!

 

Here is a close up of one of the generic crystals from Michaels @ $1.00, you can’t beat that.

 

And another Pretty Blue one, a Planet or a Blue Sun, who knows it’s Outer Space!!

 

Now we chose to go a little heavier with paint on the arm straps, because the material is heavier in nature.

 

Then we glued the bigger Gems onto the Zipper Pulls, those babies aren’t coming off, I tell ya!!

So let me know if you try this project out and send me a link to your blog post or pics.

I can’t wait till my daughter goes to school to hear what comments she’ll get on her New Backpack!!

This project is rated EZ on the DIY scale and is suitable for ages 5 and above with supervision.

 

What back to school projects have you been working on

and if you like this project leave me some comment Love!!

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+

Check out my sidebar for all social media…

XOXO,

Christina

Quote of the Day:
Work keeps us from three great evils, boredom, vice and need.
--François Marie Arouet Voltaire

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Pinterest (Rules of Engagement) Poster

Hey everyone, thought that I’d make a little post about one of my favorite topics “Pinterest” if you can’t tell already! I am always over there pinning to my hearts content and felt compelled to get my Photoshop Elements out and make a Pinterest (Rules of Engagement) Poster. You’ll see it below. First of all, I wanted to add that I have been pinning for over a year I believe it’s’ been. In that time I’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of Pinterest. Second, unfortunately there are some pet peeves I have, but also alot of positive things I enjoy about Pinterest. Rather than tell you about it I’ll show you, then (of course) I’ll “Pin It” then you can too. Please leave a comment, follow me on twitter and I’m now on Google +, click on the sidebar and join me over there!

Thanks for visiting,

~Christina

Quote of the Day:

Everybody is creative, and everybody is talented. I just don’t think everybody is disciplined.

— Al Hirschfeld

Charming Charlie (My Favorite Accessories Store) Purse Haul

So I was vacationing in Greenville, South Carolina and to my wonderful surprise they have a Charming Charlie store. I absolutely love this store. It can be overwhelming though, if you’ve never been. I have been to the one in Fort Wayne, Indiana, another one in Collegeville, PA and now Greenville, SC. Collegeville is one of the biggest so far. They have every accessory under the sun, from Shoes to Belts, to Purses, to Jewelry, Hair accessories and even Blouses. THE BEST PART about Charming Charlie is…..It’s all color coordinated. Clapping like a Seal right now, just walking in is inspiring let alone buying something. If I worked there they’d have to take my check right back, because it would be spent on the spot. Love!! So when I went into the CC’s at Greenville, they were having a BOGO on top of their red tag items. I guess to make room for the new product coming in. Well I got 2 purses and a pair of sunglasses for $27, yes $27 I was so glad I waited to get a purse, cause I was able to afford 2 and shades to boot. Here’s my Black purse: This was “Free” only $9.99 marked down and it was part of the BOGO deal. Gotta love the Gold chain.

Then here’s the purse I bought marked down to $18 Little bit of bling, soft and nice wide straps. So which one will I choose to use for now, stay tuned…

 

Here’s another post I wrote a while ago during my month long posting Challenges, fyi, Day 18 Challenge about CC’s.

So I encourage you to save yourself some money and check out Charming Charlie, if you don’t have one near you, no problem you can buy everything online. Yeah! Go take a look at all the pretties. Have fun shopping, ~Christina

Day 30 CHALLENGE My final day for my month long posting Challenge is over! I DID IT!!! Here's what I learned...

To begin with I wanted to just thank all of you for following along as I went through my daily post challenges. The challenge was to just post everyday for 1 month and see what happens. I didn't plan this, I just posted it one day and that was it, I had to do it. I kept myself accountable everyday. I did take off for vacation though, and because of that I started right back up as if I never stopped. I only missed one day due to the chaos of my household.

 Here are the things that I learned along the way.   I honestly didn't know where this would take me, but since I started this is what happened.

1. Sometimes the road veers off a little bit, but you get it straightened out eventually.
2. When you set a goal, you keep at it till you get there.
3. When you put your mind to it, you can accomplish the things you want and Great things come from that.
4. I went from only 5 followers (thanks so much for hanging in there, by the way) to 43 followers. That is what really impressed me.
5. Being diligent pays off, because I have my readers that come and visit me everyday, you know who you are. ; )
6. I can't back down from a CHALLENGE no matter what.
7. I surprised myself with what I could accomplish and when I look back over the month, I have a ton of posts that I can lookover for inspiration later on.
8. I learned to find my Blog Voice, am still tweeking it, but I am loosening up a bit with my writing, letting the personality out more and more.
9. I have a Facebook Fan Page and I am on Twitter. This is just for my blog too. You can click to the right and there is a like box. My Twitter name is @creativetizzy
10. People who visit me seem to love my recipes and my tips.
11. I took my blog design to a whole new level with pics I had from posting, to make my banner. I love it.
12. I am learning how to manage my time, when it comes to preparing and scheduling my posts.
13. The ideas, I just let them come. Somedays I was prepared far in advance. Some came to me just hours before. I let the creative process happen organically, if you will. Although I put pressure on myself to post I laid off the pressure to be creative and let it just flow out. And it did, each and every time.
14. What I love the most is that so many people from all over the world have visited me and I am blown away by how far they are.
15. I have learned all kinds of skills to get my blog out there. Blog marketing, posting on anothers blog, my signature, by following others blogs & blogfrog.com my favorite, and tweeting and facebooking.
16. I have become a better cook.
17. I have become a better photographer.
18. I have become a better version of myself, because of this self expression.
19. I treated this almost like a part time job, but something I got to do, not something I had to do. Attitude is everything.

In conclusion, I am loving this. It keeps me sane and my mind alert and in constant thought about what I am going to do next. Since I am always coming up with ideas anyways this is the best outlet for that. I hope that if you followed along and you also did the posting challenges that you 1. Had fun, and 2. Accomplished some of your own goals 3. And learned somethings about me and you along the way. Till the next post, I bid you happy blogging. ~Christina