I’m happy to announce that the winner of the GSW April Giveaway is Angie B.! I’m looking forward to packaging up the goodies and sending them to their new home. Thanks so much to all who entered! It was really fun! Have a lovely weekend. xo
GSW Girlboss April Giveaway!
I’m kicking off April with a GSW giveaway! Woot! I’ve been planning this for a long time and I’m excited to send someone an adorable box of goodies. This is the first giveaway I’ve done and my plan is to do one every month. It will be a mix of things, but I can guarantee you they will be light-hearted, positive, probably paper-related, and always pretty and colorful! 
This month’s theme is all about girl power, girl bosses, and confident women. I’m working my buns off to create a business that I’m passionate about, while working full-time and writing and creating for this blog. I need a large dose of motivation on a daily basis and it’s little things like reading about successful women and using pretty notepads, stickers, and other things with positive messages that keeps me motivated and makes me happy to use every day. I want to pass this small piece of motivation on to someone to enjoy and help brighten her day! The winner of the GSW Girlboss April Giveaway will receive:
- #Girlboss, by Sophia Amoruso (hardcover). This book is a light, fast read, but it’s so good. Sophia doesn’t take sh*t from everyone and she is real, tough, and super inspiring
- 1 adorable gold-and-white-striped clipboard (with scalloped edges, whaaaa?!?), Target
- 24 gold foil “Dream Big” stickers, Paper Source
- 1 40-page “get it girl” notepad, GSW
- 1 Le Pen, Paper Source (one of my fave brands of writing pens!)
There are two ways to enter. You are welcome to do both and you will be entered twice! How to enter:
Option #1
- Enter your email address in the Rafflecopter below and submit a comment to let me know you’ve entered
Option #2
- Follow me on Instagram @kristiecain
- Like the GSW Giveaway post (the graphic is identical to the one above)
- Tag at least 1 friend in the comments who would also like a chance to win these goodies! Spread the love!
The contest is open now and the deadline to enter is Friday, April 10, 8:00 p.m. PST. The winner will be announced Saturday morning, April 11. U.S. entries only for this one, please. I’m excited for this giveaway! Good luck!
DIY Painted Clutch: Black and White
How was your Easter holiday? Did you stuff your face with Peeps and Robin’s Eggs and Cadbury Eggs? No? Oh. Well, that’s what I did. And I’m still feeling the effects two days later. I hope your holiday was lovely though, however you spent it.
I don’t know about you, but I am egg’d out. And that’s why I’m super happy to share a non-egg DIY with you today. Woot! This one is an iteration of another DIY clutch project you can find here. I love that one and I think it will be great for summer, but I’ve been loving black and white and I knew I wanted to create a pattern of some kind. I posted a few weeks ago with some inspiration, and decided I wanted spots of some kind. I used this one as my inspiration.
Whether you want to call them cheetah or leopard or even Dalmatian (yikes, but yes), they’re of the spot persuasion.
Materials
- Clutch, from Goodwill or one you already own (I found mine (leather!) at GW for $4.00)
- Acrylic paint, Michaels (I prefer the Martha Stewart line)
- Confession. The only black I had on hand was glossy, which isn’t what I had in mind. What I did have on hand was black chalkboard paint. I tried it and it worked great. Boom. It’s matte and I guess I could use chalk on it if I wanted.
- Paintbrush, Michaels
Basic Idea
- This project is super simple. Whereas my other clutch project involved painter’s tape, multiple colors, and drying time, this just takes some strategic freehand and a few coats of paint and that’s it.
Clutch Before, Folded and Unfolded
- Experiment with paintbrush sizes on some cardstock to determine the size of the spots you want. I chose the larger paintbrush for larger spots.
- From there, simply paint spots on the clutch. There’s no specific pattern, just eyeball it. Though, if you’d like to be more exact, I would suggest marking small dots with pencil in the places you want to add paint. Let dry.
- If you want, go back and add another layer of paint on the spots to make them dark.
- Repeat on the other side of the clutch if desired. I chose to paint only one side for versatility.
Enjoy your new clutch! I would love to see yours! Post a link in the comments or a pic to IG and tag me @kristiecain!
Linking to: Ladybug Blessings / Mandy’s Recipe Box / VMG 206 / Grace and Good Eats / Lamberts Lately
DIY Gold Painted Easter Eggs
Paint pens round two! I just completed a really fun Easter egg project here with grey Rit dye and turquoise and plum paint pens. This is exactly the same process, but the different colors create a completely different look and feel! This one is definitely girly and feminine. I highly recommend playing around with paint pens–the metallics are my fave. And you can use them for tons of other projects!
For other DIY Easter egg ideas, check out my Easter Egg Roundup and Gold Leaf Egg tutorial!
Materials
- Hard-boiled eggs or craft eggs (I used hard-boiled for this project because I wasn’t sure how the dye would work with craft eggs. But—I did use the craft eggs for gold leaf eggs and they worked great! I would love to know if you try them and how they worked for you!)
- RIT dye in powder or liquid (I used Fuchsia powder), Michaels
- Water
- Vinegar
- Paint pens in tip of your preference (my favorite brand isDecocolor paint markers)
- Colors: Gold (extra fine tip)
- Egg tray
- DIY it! My egg tray is amazing–it’s just a piece of floral foam and floral t-pins stuck randomly. It worked great in letting the excess dye drip without pooling on the egg like an egg carton. Cheap, easy, and reusable (see pic below)
Basic Idea
- Hard boil your eggs (great instructions here).
- Mix dye if using it–but you could also use the blank canvas of a white or natural-colored egg to save on this extra step. Use 1 cup boiling water and 1-2 teaspoons Rit dye per cup. Add 2 teaspoons vinegar.
- Dye eggs and let dry on egg tray. The Rit dye works like any other. The longer you leave the egg in, the darker it will be. Experiment with this one–the eggs hung out in the dye bath for several minutes to get this vibrant shade of pink.
4. Paint to your heart’s content!
I would love to see your projects! Comment below with a link or shoutout on IG: @kristiecain.
For other DIY projects, look here!
Style Files: Leopard and Leather
This is a relatively simple outfit with small, distinct details that pack a punch: leopard flats, olive belt and fun statement necklace, and a killer (but simple) clutch. The Gap sweater is a simple crew and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t scoop one up in every color! Lucky for us, I’ve found a similar short-sleeved style (link below) in black and a neutral cream. You’re welcome.
Outfit: Sweater, Gap, similar
Jeans, Gap, Always Skinny
Leather belt, Target, similar (it’s Fossil and it’s on sale!)
Flats, Jessica Simpson, DSW, similar
Necklace: Anthropologie, similar
Leather clutch: thrifted, similar
GSW Style Tip: KISS–Keep It Simple, Sister! Begin with a simple foundation and layer with baubles, textures (leather!), and patterns (leopard!).
