Transforming Dollar Store Earrings

April 24, 2013 ~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

After writing about the 5 essential earrings every gal should own, I realized my {somewhat massive} earring collection was lacking in the neutrals category. Mind you, I have plenty of browns and blacks, silver and gold, but I have a major gap when it comes to white/cream.

Since I already have such an abundance of earrings, I try not to add to my collection unless I’m traveling {earrings are some of my favorite souvenirs}. I wanted to re-imagine a pair I already had to fill in this hole in my neutral repertoire.

As I scanned my earrings I kept coming back to a pair that I bought at a dollar store and hadn’t worn in a while. I’ve noticed that as my personal style has gotten more casual {jeans and a t-shirt with accessories}, I wear more understated earrings. I still love dangly, chandelier earrings but I wear them far less frequently than simple hoops or shorter drop earrings. So, I thought this inexpensive, longer pair of earrings would be a good candidate for transformation. They were neutral enough but I wasn’t a huge fan of the cool silver paired with the warmer toned brown beads.

My first task was removing the beads. Luckily, I didn’t have to whip out wire cutters. The wire was flimsy enough for me to bend and stretch the loop holding the beads enough to slip right off. Just detaching the beads was a big improvement!

I really liked the design of the silver piece, but, as I said, I was missing white in my earring wardrobe. Spray paint seemed like an easy fix. It was! I happened to have some glossy white Krylon spray paint already. After taping over the part that would be in my ear, I gave the earrings two coats of paint. You could absolutely do this with acrylic paint and a brush, I just liked the convenience of spray paint. Less clean up…

The spray paint doesn’t give perfect coverage, which I happen to love. A few more coats and I could have gotten an opaque look, but I like the patina that my transformed earrings now have.

Since it’s so easy to transform earrings with spray paint, I may start hunting dollar stores and thrift stores for earrings that just need a little color change.

Have you transformed a pair of earrings? I’d love to hear what you did!

My New Obsession

April 8, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 3 Comments

My mom introduced me to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint last week and I’m completely hooked. I want to paint everything! I see Annie Sloan potential everywhere I look. I’ve already identified five pieces of furniture in my living room that I want to Annie Sloan (yes, I use her name as a verb…).

I almost don’t want to tell you about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint because I know how easy it is to become consumed by the painting bug. But, it’s just too awesome not to share. Visit her website to learn all the details about this glorious paint. Then, YouTube Annie Sloan, Pinterest Annie Sloan, and prepare to be inspired.

Here’s one reason why I’m obsessed with this paint:

My mom and I transformed this old step stool in a few hours. We had to sand down some puffy paint, but you don’t generally have to prep the piece before painting. Two coats of Duck Egg, a little distressing (that’s optional), and some wax turned a battered step into a pretty piece of furniture. The process is really fun and each piece turns out unique. I love that we were able to do this all in a day.

Reasons why I love Annie Sloan Chalk Paint:

The gorgeous array of colors.
You can paint inside because it doesn’t smell!
Infinite possibilities for customization of colors, distressing, and wax.
Indoor and outdoor uses.
Without wax, you can use chalk (like a chalkboard) on the paint.
Before you wax the paint you could wash it all off with water.
No wood prep needed. Just start painting.

My mom graciously shared her paint with me, so I now have Duck Egg, Old White, and Coco to start painting everything within reach. My next task is to get TIm obsessed, too :)

Primitive Pleasures {March}

March 31, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 9 Comments

He is risen! {happy Easter to you all…}

I’m enjoying the glorious warm weather of Southern California and the company of my SoCal family and friends, so Primitive Roads will be dormant for the coming week. However, I did want to leave you with a few things to spark your creativity, challenge your soul, and feed your stomach.

Enjoy this March edition of Primitive Pleasures {if you’re new, hop over to February’s for an explanation}. I’ll be back next week celebrating the release of Shauna Niequist’s new book, Bread and Wine.

Homemade

My mom and I have developed a serious addiction to Sally’s Baking Addiction – a food blog that features a soon-to-be-married gal’s mouthwatering photos, reliable recipes, and kitchen inspiration. My mom sent Tim and I a batch of Soft Baked Monster Cookies which were incredible and then she teased me with photos of the Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookie’s she whipped together. She then went on a Sally’s Baking Addiction rampage and made Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars, Caramel Snickers 7 Layer Bars, and Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins {all of which I was able to sample yesterday – oh my…}. One thing I love about SBA is that all the recipes turn out looking exactly like her photos.

Afternoon tea is a lost art. Even in it’s simplest form, serving tea with small sweets and savories is hospitable, warm, and gracious. I grew up going out to tea and throwing tea parties so seeing this post about Cucumber Sandwiches {a popular tea sandwich I originally disliked but have grown to love} brought back good memories. Marie does a wonderful job of explaining and illustrating this delicious tea classic.

I adore granola. Something about the nutty, crunchy, sweet combination just does it for me. Making your own granola is so easy and so customizable. Design Crush collated a Grouping of Granolas that is totally mouthwatering. Plus, she included my recipe for Gingerbread Granola!

Soul Stirrings

Jamie Harper‘s heart for God and for women is evident in all that she writes over at Brown Paper and Strings. Read this and be assured that you are seen!

For those who have been burdened by the notion that their marriage just isn’t Christian enough, Heather King of Extraordinary Ordinary has some truth you need to hear!

Do you know what I expect? When you tell God that you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck and you are only able to say that much, I think He sits down with you, on the ground and He waits. Isn’t that what you would do if it were one of our kids? And then they’d find their energy again and wouldn’t you respond like lightening, putting your hand under their arm, lifting them up?

{read the rest here}

Some very true observations about us twenty and thirty-somethings by Elizabeth Hyndman.

The Creative

I’ve never met Katie of The Cardigan Way in person, but I like her a lot! She recently launched the Cardigan Way shop which has some of her Lovely Lines {book quotes} printed for decor purposes. I’m hoping she comes out with notecard versions soon… {hint hint}.

One of my next craft projects is making one of these food passports for Coeur d’Alene!

Have a wonderful week!

I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer of HopefulLeigh.

Blogiversary

March 5, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 4 Comments

I like to commemorate the little things. Tim and I have acknowledged, if not celebrated, every monthiversary since we got married. {We’re up to ten this month!} I’ll probably be the parent who says her child is 26 months old just so she can blow up balloons and have cupcakes every four weeks.

Though it’s not the one year mark, Primitive Roads is celebrating a blogiversary today – SIX months of navigating life’s unpaved paths. This is rather hard for me to believe for two reasons: 1. I’ve been blogging in my head for years, so it seems like I’ve had this home on the interwebs way longer and 2. This blogiversary coincides with our movaversary (I’m clearly okay with made-up words) which means we’ve lived in Idaho for six months. That is unreal.

Primitive Roads was born out of need – a need for an occupation and an outlet. I wanted a place to share how God was walking alongside me every step of this rather rustic and uncharted season in my life. I process though writing and strongly believe that being honest and open about what we’re processing is a huge part of developing authentic community.

I appreciate the community that has developed here and am thankful for the connections being built. Thank you for the reading, commenting, sharing, linking, emailing, and prayers that make me feel supported and encouraged.

In honor of this little milestone in the life of Primitive Roads, I wanted to do a mini retrospective of the past six months. Thank you for joining me on the journey thus far.

September: My first post, aptly titled “The Next Chapter“, written in the wee hours of the morning before Tim and I started our drive to Idaho.

I jumped into the Christian blogosphere by writing a Letter To My Teenage Self to help launch Emily P. Freeman’s book, Graceful: Letting Go of Your Try Hard Life. I began to share my love of food/cooking with recipes. Christmas-Eve Salad was the first one I got featured on Tastespotting and Food Gawker.

October: Another jump into the blogosphere was my last minute (read – night before) decision to participate in The Nester’s 31 Day Challenge. I chose my theme of writing letters for the next 31 days based on a letter I wanted to write to my husband’s ex-girlfriend (Dear Jackie). You can find links to all the letters here, but some of my favorite were: Dear Eustace, Dear Southwest (which they featured on their blog), Dear Jen Hatmaker, and Dear H.S. Gals.

November: I read a couple great books in November. I reviewed 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker and had a major epiphany the day I started One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I wrote my first guest post about The Six Things I’ve Learned In Six Months of Marriage for Kayse Pratt’s delightful blog.

I’m obsessed with granola and developed a Gingerbread Granola recipe that I found way too addicting.

December: I decided to transfer my blog from WordPress {dot} com to WordPress {dot} org in order to have more control over design and to utilize some affiliate programs, like Amazon, to raise funds to support Primitive Roads. The process was technically challenging and beyond frustrating at times. Finally, I just laid hands on my computer and prayed for my blog. I should have done that from the beginning.

I did a series near and dear to my heart about how to have a Mary Christmas. My favorite projects from a week of crafts I featured were the Paper Bag Christmas Card and the beautiful wedding memories ornaments that my mom made. My mom also wrote a poignant guest post about God being sovereign in all seasons.

January: I introduced my one word (intentional) and started a series on community. My husband wrote an awesome post about Jane Austen and community. Speaking of Jane Austen, I discovered how much I resembled her characters from Sanditon. I finally got a warm coat which prompted me to write 7 Ways To Get Through Winter. I figured out how to replicate the Rosemary Currant Bread from my favorite breakfast place (Julienne in San Marino, CA). I confessed that it’s hard for me to graciously share baking territory with other people who are gifted in that area.

February: Four other bloggers and I did a collaborative series called How To Maintain Your High Maintenance Marriage. We wrote about communication, service, laughter, and sex. {Sex seemed to be a popular topic with y’all.} I gave some style advice in 5 Essential Earrings Ever Woman Should Own (and may have shocked people with the amount of earrings I posses). Valentines month was a good excuse for me to bake Rosemary Lemon Sugar Cookies and Cream Filled Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. Enough said.

I wrote a Valentine from God for Kindred Grace, a blog I contribute to, and made my first craft tutorial. I’m a competitive person and had to stop playing games with Tim before I discovered these six ways to curb my competitiveness. Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Cardigan Way, I did a what I’m into post called Primitive Pleasures that I will continue to do at the end of every month.

Six months have been full of primitive roads. I’m excited about tackling the unpaved paths ahead.

I would love to hear from you! Email me at emgardner8@gmail.com with any questions, comments, ideas or feedback…

{balloon photo credit: stephanie ★ via photopin cc}

5 Essential Earrings Every Girl Should Own

February 1, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 5 Comments

I didn’t get the nickname “Twiga” (twee-ga) for nothing. Twiga means giraffe in Swahili. I’m six-feet tall and I DO have a long neck. But, that long neck has afforded me plenty of space to display my favorite jewelry – earrings.

Aside from my wedding ring, I don’t wear much jewelry, except earrings. They are my accessory of choice and, as you can see from the display above, I have plenty to choose from.

My earring collection wasn’t built in a day. I bought, I thrifted, and people gifted until I exceeded the amazing wooden display my step-dad made. After years of collecting, wearing, and even giving away some of those earrings, I noticed a few of these ear adornments were getting extra wear.

These were the earrings I could accidentally fall asleep wearing and have them match my outfit the next day. These were the earrings I would consistently pack for vacation. These were the earrings I would search the sidewalk like a crazy person for if I lost one.

Even if you’re not an earring fanatic, like moi, these are the 5 essential earrings every girl should own (assuming that you like and wear earrings, of course…) and a few fun extras.

5 Essential Earrings Every Girl Should Own

1. Studs: Classic. Simple. Chic. They can be anything from diamonds, a birthstone, or pearls. My current favorites are opals (above), plain silver spheres, and tiny pyramids of aurora borealis.

2. Hoops: No matter the size or color, hoops are a polished way to accessorize any outfit. I love how there are enough shapes to fit anyone’s personality. Big hoops are bold and statement-making. Small hoops are delicate and demure. I wore out a pair of average sized (1 1/2″) silver hoops and opted for chrome colored tear-drop hoops (above).

3. Neutrals: You really only need one neutral pair, but I like having one in a warm tone and one in a cool tone. Warm tones like wood, gold, pearl, or brown and cooler tones like silver or black go with everything. When the colors are neutral you can concentrate on getting silhouette that reflect your personal style.

4. Color: Take a gander at your closet. What color do you see the most? (For me, that’s blue or black). Get a pair of earrings that are predominantly that color. Choose whatever style you like best. Bonus points: Look at a color wheel and find a pair in a complimentary color (opposite side of the wheel). I enjoy the bright pop of coral or soft orange when I’m wearing blue…

5. Fancy: Even if you don’t dress up a ton, every girl should have a pair of fancy earrings. I tend to go for the dangly variety, but simple is beautiful too. Choose diamonds or pearls, something that speaks of opulence (even if it’s fake!).

If you’re getting enthusiastic about earrings and want to expand your collection, start with long earrings and seasonal earrings.

Unless you’re a Twiga, too, your long will be different than my long, but I can’t get enough of the thin, dangly variety.

Seasonal can be cheesy, but it is possible to find lovely reminders of Christmas or Valentines for your ears. Try a holiday word (like Joy above) or a simple heart/snowflake/four leaf clover.

I travel quite a bit and instead of buying souvenirs of the tchotchke variety, I’ve taken to picking up some earrings when I visit someplace new. I remember climbing all the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower, working alongside the Samburu in Kenya, and learning how to mix concrete in Serbia just by wearing a certain pair of earrings.

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