Magazine Rack with tutorial

I got tired of watching my growing magazine/catalog stack in the corner. So, I've been on the hunt for the perfect magazine rack and just couldn't find "the one".

I was sitting my room watching television the other day and my eyes landed upon some boxes sitting in front the stand that I was planning to use in future projects. I had also just purchased a few items from a vintage shop that were packaged in a really neat paper bag. It was just the inspiration I needed.

This is a fun and DIY using most items that you would probably have in your home already. Its also a great way to be eco-friendly! I try to use items that I already have to save myself money.

Step 1:

Start with a cardboard box. Any box will do, mine just happen to have a lid with it. A good medium to large shoe box will do too.

Step 2:

Cut off the lid. If your box happens to be a regular shipping box, you can cut off the flaps.

Step 3:

After cutting off the lid, I placed the lid back into the box to make a backing/stand for it. (I hope this made sense, it is hard to describe this step and I'm sorry that I didn't take better pictures of this process)

Step 4:

Use some decorative paper, scrap booking paper, wrapping paper and or newspaper! (I would recommend to use several layers since its so thin). This is the really neat paper bag I got from the vintage boutique I mentioned earlier.

Step 5:

First, take the backing/stand and wrap the front side of it (the side that will be facing you) using your decorative paper with glue and or tape.

Second, also wrap the back side of the backing/stand. You can use the same paper print or a different one. I chose to use some old wrapping paper (inspiration from my Storage Box post).

If you are using the standard shipping box, all you need to do is wrap the inside first and then proceed to wrap the outside (You will be done after this step).

Step 6:

Continue to wrap the bottom part of the box (wrapping the inside first and the outside last). Place the backing/stand into the bottom box. Now I found that the backing/stand can hold well without glue but I chose to use a hot glue gun to reinforce it, just in case.

Step 7:

Place your completed handmade and eco friendly magazine rack at a desired location and enjoy!

I hope this tutorial made sense. I know the process images aren't that great. Sometimes when I'm doing these projects, I tend to forget to take pictures because I'm in deep concentration. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask questions and or contact me.

Swift Cheetah Manicure Tutorial

I have a simple nail design tutorial for you today! My apologies, I have been busy for the past few weeks. The weekends are the days I really get to rest and believe me, I do rest and get lazy!

I did this manicure a while ago, but never got the chance to post it up. I love having animal prints on my nails.The pros are that it is completely vegan and there is no hurting of animals involved! Yeah, I know I'm a nerd. :) I also did a fierce tiger nail design sometime last year if you want some more ideas for animal print manicures.

Step 1:

First start with a base color. I used Elf's Pearl, which is a shimmery white that almost looks silver. In my opinion, it is not a great color to use by itself, but great for nail designs.

Step 2:

Add some random dots which will serve as the Cheetah's spots. I used Rimmel's 521 Dazzle ( I think that is the name). It is a gold glitter, which I also use primarily for nail designing as I find the color too overwhelming.

Step 3:

Then add another set of random dots (about 3 as shown in the picture) around the gold dots. I used a black striping paint. You can also use black polish, but use it sparingly as you don't want too much polish on the brush when you're dotting. Just remember that these dots do not have to be perfect circles as we want to achieve an organic look.

Step 4:

This is the completed look after all the dots have been applied.

Feel free to play around with a color scheme. I just chose to use gold and black to achieve a realistic Cheetah look. Was the tutorial easy to follow? Please tell me what you think. :)

*Special shout out to Kat. I love the color combo of polishes you put together! Let me know when you're back in town and I'll "Hello Kitty" those nails for you! :) *