diy: comic book coasters

(Disclaimer: If cutting up comic books upsets/offends you....please look away!)

Yes, we chopped up comic books (again).  No, don't give us that look!

Batman coasters are the bomb.

Now since we're all a bit geeky here at p.s.heart, you shouldn't really be surprised at this diy (remember Jordyn's comic book shoes?).  Jordyn was brainstorming ideas for diy projects that she could give to her boyfriend, his family, as well as our good friends Karson and Ashley, and this is what she came up with!

Jordyn was inspired by this diy, and his etsy shop Cheltenham Road is pretty rad as well, in case you'd rather buy than make coasters similar to these.

Jordyn asked for my help with these, and she can attest to the fact that I may have been a teensy bit bossy with my "advice".  I can't help it!  It must be an older sister thing.  However, I'm happy to say that in the end she did admit that the idea I pushed for was a good one and ended up saving us a lot of work.  Score one for bossy older sisters.

Materials:

-old/new/ugly coasters* (we found ours at a dollar store)

-paint (if you need to paint over ugly coasters)

-comic books (that you don't mind cutting up)

-mod podge

-paint brush

-cardstock (thick paper)

-scissors/paper cutter

-pencil

Notes before you start:

*We decided to just find some cheap coasters at a dollar store, and they worked out super well.  Unfortunately I forgot to grab a before photo of them, but they were just ugly tile ones with "inspirational" words on them, and a cork bottom.  Since comic book pages are thin, we decided to paint the coasters white so that nothing would show through, and it gave them a nice clean look.

*We used a paper cutter to get a really straight edge, but scissors will work if you're careful.  Jordyn and I also though it looked better to cut our template just a teeny bit smaller than our coaster to leave a small border of white showing on the coaster, but that's up to you!

*If you're really hardcore, you can also use outdoor mod podge instead of the regular stuff for a slightly tougher coaster!

Directions:

1)  If you need to, paint one or two coats of white paint on your coasters, and let dry.

2)  Place one of the coasters on a sheet of cardstock, trace around the coaster, and then cut it out.  This will give you a template for cutting out the correct size from your comic book.

3)  Flip through your chosen comic to find fun panels that would look good on your size of coaster.  Use your template to trace out the shape, and cut it out.

4)  Spread a very thin layer of mod podge over your coaster, and carefully place your chosen comic book piece over top.  Smooth out any bubbles, and let dry.

5)  Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all coasters are done.

6)  Now, spread a very thing layer of mod podge over top of each coaster, as well as over the edges. We used a plastic pastry scraper to smooth out any bubbles that popped up, but anything with a straight edge would work.

7)  Repeat step 6 at least twice for each coaster, allowing each coat to dry completely.

8)  Use and enjoy!

We were ecstatic with how these turned out, and are happy to say that everyone who received them for Christmas loved them too.

As you can tell, our friends love Batman, but you can easily customize them to suit whatever comic book you (or your friends) fancy.  Another alternative might be to try using scrapbooking paper, old sheet music, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

p.s. ♥ kelsey & jordyn

bacon jam

I know what you're thinking... this is AMAZING. Best idea ever, right?! Bacon jam? A bacon themed Christmas on ps.heart? Yes. That's right. You're welcome. Bacon is the best, and this bacon jam is going to blow your bacon-loving mind, because this stuff is seriously delicious and addicting and epic beyond words. You might even be hailed as the favourite (friend/child/brother/sister/cousin/whatever it is you are) if you decide you can part with this goodness and gift it away!

Ingredients:

2 packs of bacon (each at 500g)

2 medium onions

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup coffee

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp cinnamon

pepper and salt to taste

Instructions: 

1. Cut up your bacon into 1/2 inch strips. Dice your onions, and peel then smash up your garlic cloves.

2. Set a heavy skillet to med-high heat and begin cooking your bacon until it begins to brown. Keep your bacon fat! (cause really, if you're going for bacon jam, you might as well go all in).

3. Stir in your onions and cook until softened (8-10 minutes).

4. Add in your maple syrup, vinegar, coffee, and worcestershire sauce. Season with cinnamon, pepper, and salt. Continue to cook until the mixture has a glossy appearance and a syrup-like consistency (up to 1 hour). Don't forget to stir occasionally!

5. Let the mixture cool for 20 minutes, then stick it in the blender and puree. You don't want it to end up "pasty," so don't go to town while blending! It should still be thick and chunky at the end.

6. Enjoy the pure awesomeness that is now bacon jam! 

*Note: bacon jam can be refrigerated for approximately 1 month. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

p.s. ♥ clara 

diy bacon mandles (aka. candles for men)

A few weeks ago, Caleb and I were trying to come up with creative White Elephant gift that we could make when he suddenly had the craving for... you guessed it, bacon. Which led to the brilliant idea of, why don't we make our Christmas gifts this year bacon related?

So I present to you, the Bacon "Mandle"! The product of a hungry man, several pounds of bacon, and the time pressures of trying to figure out a fun diy Christmas gift. It really does smell like bacon.

What you need:  bacon. more bacon. and then some bacon grease...

and candle wax, wicks, some glass jars, and pencils.

Instructions

1. Cut up your bacon into small pieces and start cooking away!
2. Tie your piece of wick to a pencil and balance it in the middle of your glass jar.
3. Drain you bacon and keep the grease.

4. Melt your candle wax (I used this method from our mason jar candle diy)

5. Pour your wax into your jars. Mix in approximately 1/3 of the size of your jar with bacon grease and throw in pieces of bacon as well.

6. Let cool, then cut off any excess wick. 

7. Enjoy the awesomeness that is your Bacon Mandle!

To make our bacon mandles more festive, I tied some Christmas string around the lid and also whipped up a tag in Photoshop to attach to our candles, which I've posted   =)  I'm not gonna lie, they're pretty awesome and made pretty popular gifts.

The Bacon Mandle:

candles for real men and women who love bacon.

made with real bacon and real love.

you're welcome.

p.s. ♥ clara 

outfit post: a farewell to movember days

I know I kinda missed the boat on this movember outfit post.... so lets just say its my farewell to Movember and leave it at that. 

 scarf: american apparel  // blazer: dynamite  // shirt: diy  // jeans:  american eagle  // boots: thrifted

p.s. ♥ clara

movember diy: acrylic paint t-shirt makeover

So long Movember... as a salute to you, I made a shirt. It's really easy.
And it goes a little something like this.....

what you need:  acrylic paint,  a paintbrush,  a white shirt (I thrifted mine for just a couple bucks at the local goodwill!),  a cutting board,  a cute quote about movember

what you do:  take your white shirt, stick a cutting board in-between the front of the shirt and the back (so that the paint doesn't leak to the backside) and simply paint away! I free-handed everything since I was feeling too lazy to make a stencil. I started with an outline of a mustache and just started to roughly fill it in. Then I filled in my quote with different fonts and just had fun with it!

Let your paint dry, run it through the wash (and don't worry, acrylic paint is very very permanent!), and then mix + match it with your wardrobe!

So long Movember!

p.s. ♥  clara

diy: "what does the fox say?" sharpie mug

I won't lie... I am seriously in love with the music video, "What Does the Fox Say." I know, it drives some of you crazy, but really, it is hilarious, random, catchy, and totally witty. I can't stop watching it and I might be a little obsessed, which is why I made a mug out of it! 

And if you don't like the song, I'm hoping you'll at least love this mug.
Cause I think its seriously cute and love how mine turned out!

What you need:  sharpies & some plain coffee mugs. I thrifted these for 50 cents each and I seriously love the gold rims! It just adds a little something :)

How to make them:  I free-handed the silhouette of the fox onto my mug, but you could also easily print out a silhouette and cut it out to make a stencil! Just draw on whatever silhouette you want on your mug. Also, note that it is very easy to wipe off sharpie marker from your mug before it goes through your oven, so if you make any mistakes, don't worry! Just give it a little scrub and you cant start again.

After you're done drawing, simply stick them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
For a more in-depth tutorial, check out my movember sharpie mugs from last year!

Note: You do need to hand-wash these mugs as the marker will still scratch off in the dishwasher! 

So any thoughts on what the fox actually does say? ;)

p.s. ♥ clara

diy: TARDIS painted pumpkin

I really really love Doctor Who.

If you didn't know that before, I'm sure it's blatantly obvious now.
(Remember the TARDIS shoe diy?  More proof.)

This pumpkin actually has a funny story behind it.  I found it while we were harvesting pumpkins about 6 weeks ago, and I thought to myself: "What a strange looking pumpkin.  It's almost shaped like a rectangle!".  I instantly knew that it had to be mine, and that I was going to paint it like a TARDIS.  So here we are!  I painted it like a TARDIS, and am quite pleased with it.

Materials:

-blue paint

-black paint

-white paint

-paintbrushes (one large, one small)

-white paint pen

-a lot of patience

Directions:

First I washed and dried my pumpkin to ensure no dirt remained.  Then I painted 2 coats of blue paint over the whole thing, letting each coat completely dry before applying the next.  Next, I used a small paintbrush to paint fine black lines along the "corner edges" of the TARDIS, and let it dry.  I used a pencil to then outline the black rectangle at the top of each side (where "Police Public Call Box" will go), as well as the 8 panels on each side. I painted the black boxes in, as well as mixed a dark blue colour to outline each panel.  After everything was dry, I wrote out Police Public Call Box using pencil first, and then used a white paint pen to write over top of it.  I printed out the little sign for the front door, and stuck it on with double sided tape!  

{*Update: I fixed the missing windows :P  so now it looks much better}

Let it dry, and you're good to go!

Happy pumpkin painting!

p.s. ♥ kelsey