MTG Dragon Deck Box!

Hey Everyone!♥

Here's a quick post with pictures of a present I gave to my boyfriend for Christmas this year.

He loves Magic the Gathering and nice deck boxes, as well as dragons, so I COMBINED THEM!

I took a black Ultra Pro Satin box and began painting it with acrylic paint.  It might have been smart to put a coat of mod podge or something down before I started painting, but I didn't have the patience for it.

Like I said, this is just a quick post of the paintings.  It isn't a tutorial, but I could do one if you want!

All of the paintings I did are my interpretations of cards already out there.  For instance, side "B" was influenced by Skithiryx and Nicol Bolas.

This side was particularly hard for me.  The egg started off as an awkward blob, but through playing with it, it's become one of my favorite sides!

This is a dragon hatchling!

You can tell by this point that I really did not care about numbering my sides! :p It was about 2 in the morning but I knew that I had to finish all the sides!  That's how I am with my art projects....I want to finish them in one sitting, not come back to them.

Anyways, thanks for reading this short non-tutorial blog, lovelies!

♥Riley

P.S. Are you into MTG? I am but not nearly as much as my boyfriend!

How-To: Engagement Ring Holder!

Once my best friend's engagement party was over and done and all there was left to do was pack away leftovers and chat, she realized that she did not know what to do with her engagement ring.  We joked about it and found a solution.

When I went home, I started working on a little holder that she could use when she wasn't wearing her ring, whether for sleep, showering, or cleaning. 

This craft is very simple and cute, and makes a great present. 

To read about her engagement part, click here!

What you will need:

• Small frame
• Flowers, buttons, pegs, etc.
• Glue
• Paper
• Scissors
• Pen

I spent under $5 on it, and it turned out adorable.  They are really easy to customize to the person's unique tastes.

 First thing you will need to do is take the paper insert out of the frame and trace it onto some pretty paper.  I chose to use blue card stock, though it looks green in this picture.

 This is the frame I used, still with the paper insert inside.

 Switch the paper insert for the piece of new paper you have traced and cut out.

 Pick what you want to add to the frame.  I chose to use one of the darkest paper roses I acquired from Michael's.

 Take the foam sticker off and glue the rose down using some sort of glue.  I chose to use E-6000 because it is the strongest stuff I had on me. 

 I think the rhinestones, bow, and flower combination make this frame super adorable.

 I was working on my sister's bed, which is why my background looks so fabulous! This is how a ring will fit on it.  It will hang down, which is fine.  I chose to use a rose that was a bit snug, so that the ring would not fall or slip off.  There are many ways to make these ring holders.  I have seen many on pinterest, but did not like them enough.  I decided to make my own.

How it looks standing up.  

It really is adorable, and Hayah loved it! :]

Happy Crafting, 

♥Riley

P.S. Do you have any engagement crafts you'd like to share? I'd love to see! :]

How to Go to a Sporting Event/the Races & Why you Should!

This will be kind of an odd/unnecessary/short post.

For Christmas 2013, I decided to out-do myself and all my prior Christmas presents to my family.  Money is just money, and I'd rather them have really cool gifts.  

For my dad this past year, I bought him tickets to all 4 days of Winternationals.  Winternationals are the drag races held in Pomona, California every February.  It's the start of the season.  Then, in November, the finals are held in the same place.  

My dad and I frequent these events because they are really fun and a great way to spend time together.  

Dad and I at the finals 2013

Not so sure when this one is from. I think it might have started raining.

Note my crazy hair and my dad's awesome shirt!

This one was taken at a NASCAR race, in March a few years back!

Right before we got rained out! Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014

I often will have my dad pose in front of things for pictures.

I really enjoy it.

No, seriously, it's my favorite activity.

See the sun on our faces?

Friday, February 7, 2014.

I love these pictures! The way I presented this present to my dad was by filling a huge frame with construction paper and these photos. Then I gave him his tickets in a nice plastic folder for safe keeping.

 Now he has a cute wall decoration and a folder to hold his things in.

I think that going to events like NHRA drag races can be a great experience. You can find interests between yourself and others and go out and enjoy yourself.  It's really nice to get out of the house and go on an adventure sometimes, and it's easy to find inexpensive days to do such! For NHRA events, you can save $7-8 on ticket prices just by bringing in a Mello Yello can or bottle.  I bought my dad's tickets on the NHRA website for $130 total, including all four days.  You can save a lot this way!

Races are awesome ways to bond with your parents, significant others, friends, and other family! You learn more about each other and get to share in the excitement. 

Now on to the actual "How-to".

California usually has awesome weather to be outside in, but February and November tend to be really chilly.  We have made several mistakes with what we have taken before, but those days are long in our past.  

We now know what to take with us.  Bleachers hurt to sit on after a time.  It can get really really cold, and those bleachers will only make it worse.  You'll get hungry and thirsty. I highly recommend you take a backpack with you, and fill it with some key items!

In your backpack:

1. Sunscreen, if necessary. Some events are hot and bright.
2. Jackets. Trust me, you'll need them.  We've gone to events that start in the day and seem hot, only to find it freezing after dark.
3. Sunglasses. It gets really bright! 
4. Small Blanket. GREAT to keep you warm and keep the wind off of you. You can also sit on it if you need to!
5. Seat Cushions. You REALLY need these, or something to substitute them with, like a small blanket or sweatshirt.
6. Snacks. We like Cheez-its!
7. Soda/Water.  It can get expensive buying snacks and drinks at events.  We've found that they don't care what you bring in, as long as it's not alcohol.
8. Hand Sanitizer. Port-a-potty's, need I say more?
9. Ear Plugs. If you're going to the races, you'll probably need these.  It can get VERY loud.  & even though I can handle it without them, I like to use them to protect my ears. 

On your person:

1. Layers, layers, layers! You will seriously high five yourself!

I'll definitely add to these lists if I think of more things you'd need to bring!

That being said, have fun at the Drags! :] ♥

My dad was SO excited he wrote it down in his calendar the day he got it.

This is what the tickets look like if you buy them online.

Pomona Fairplex.

Please let me know if you have any tip/tricks  to going to events, and what your family likes to do together!
 ♥ Riley

Valentine's Day!: Cookie Valentine Pockets ♥

Here is another quick and easy craft, just in time for Valentine's Day!♥

For this craft, you'll need: 

• Two or more colors of felt, 25-33 cents each
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks, or another kind of glue
• Puff Paint or other paint in a couple colors choices

All together this craft should cost you less than $1!!

 Cut out a good sized heart out of paper for your pattern.  Place the paper on biscuit colored felt and trace two hearts. This is how much of the felt sheet my biscuit pieces took up.

 A closer picture of the hearts traced on the felt.

 Then I cut out a smaller paper heart with rigged edges to look like frosting.

 You can see here, I drew a heart and then drew wavy lines around it to make it look more symmetrical.

 Here is what you should have by this point. Two biscuit heart pieces and one icing heart piece.

 Hot glue gun the pink to one of the biscuit pieces so that there are no holes.  Another way to do this would be to only glue the bottom of the heart so that it could be a pocket.

 Then glue the bottom edges of the biscuit hearts together, so that it forms a pocket.

 Here you can see that it is a pocket.

 This is what the edge looked like.  I hot glued the edges together, to save time but still make it cute.  You could also sew this all together.  Another way to do this would be to glue or sew all around the biscuit hearts and stuff them, then leave the frosting as a cute little pocket. 

 Then add some decorations! I put little blue sprinkles on using deep turquoise puffy paint.

Then I added little pink dots to add some more dimension to the heart!

Thank you for reading! I would love to see if you made a biscuit heart pocket like this! 

♥Riley

P.S. I think this would be a really cute way to give candy or a note to your Valentine! Send me a picture if you make this craft and show me what you put in your pocket! :]

Felt Christmas Present Envelopes! $1 Gift!

Recently I was thinking of ways to give people presents. 

Envelopes are a great way to give someone a special gift, and what better envelope than one you hand-made that will last forever?

For this project I used:

• One half sheet of red felt - Michael's - 33¢
• One strip of green felt - Michael's - 33¢
• Fabric glue or Tacky glue
• Scissors
• *Optional*: Craft Iron or Regular Iron

 The first thing I did was decide how big of a box/envelope I wanted.  I practiced folding over my felt until I decided on a size and cut it out.

 Then I cut out a straight green strip of felt.  This needs to be as straight as possible, but can be any thickness you see fit.  Take your fabric/tacky glue and run it down the entire strip.  I wanted mine in the middle so I set the strip down in as close to the middle as I could get.  

 I flattened it out with my hands for some time, just because I wasn't sure this glue would work and I wanted it to have good contact.

 Then I folded the bottom up to see how long I wanted the top and sides to be.

 I ran glue along one half of what was going to fold up.  This way I knew how far to fold it as well.

 I pressed it down to make sure the glue was contacting well.

 I decided to use my miniature craft iron my Grandma got me to make the lines crisp.  I folded the top over too and ironed all of the creases.

 I don't know how to describe this shape but it makes an excellent bow.

 Fold in one side to the middle.

 Fold in the other side.

 Better view.

 Place a dab of glue on all of the pieces. But don't use as much as I did or it will show through. Oops!

 Then take a strip of felt and glue it in the back of the bow where you cannot see it.

 I tried the bow a couple places before I decided on a location.

 I liked it right above the opening, and glued it down there. 

 This is what it looks like open.

I cut a piece of paper to fit in it, as that was what described the Christmas present to the recipient! 

Please let me know if you try this craft and if you made any changes to it! :] I'd love to see yours!  

♥ Riley

P.S. What did you put in yours/what would you want to receive in one of these cute and festive envelopes? :)