I was recently asked to try out Plaid’s new Martha Stewart glass paint – these products are hitting the shelves of Michaels stores as we speak! I have done a few ceramic painting projects before and love the medium. It is so fun to create something that you can use or display in your kitchen every day! When I received my products from Plaid, I was almost overwhelmed with all of the possibilities – the glass paint can be used on glass as well as ceramic surfaces so there are tons of ways to work with it.

I decided to create some decorative plates using the lace doily silkscreens. This was my first time using stencils or silkscreens for painting ceramics, so it was a new experience for me, but I was really surprised at how easy the products were to use!

To stencil your own ceramics, you will need:

• Martha Stewart Crafts glass paint in several colors
• Martha Stewart Crafts adhesive silkscreens (those shown come together in one package)
• Martha Stewart Crafts foam pouncers (I used the medium and small sizes)
• ceramic or glass dish

Prepare your surface by cleaning your plate with soap and water and removing any price sticker residue with rubbing alcohol. Be sure that your plate has dried completely. The cleaner your plate is, the cleaner the transfer through the silkscreen will be.

Remove the silkscreen from the backing paper and position it on your plate, then press around the edges to adhere it to your surface.

Dip your pouncer into the paint (don’t you just love the word pouncer?), blot off the excess, and apply it to the silkscreen by dabbing the pouncer up and down. It’s important not to depress the sponge tip too much, because that may cause bubbles to form in your paint and will affect your transfer. Just gently tap-tap-tap it all around your silkscreen.

I created a gradient effect but using several complimentary colors of paint together. To do this, I painted one section of the stencil with one color, then painted the next section with a different color, overlapping some to blend the two. I really like this faded effect, and it was a great way to try out a few colors. Note that there are several finishes of the Martha Stewart glass paint – I used a combination of the “Gloss” and “Frost” finishes (Gloss is shiny, Frost has a little shimmer).

Working quickly, fill in your silkscreen, then immediately peel up your stencil. This paint dries fast, and it is important to remove the silkscreen while the paint is still wet. Rinse any remaining paint off your silkscreen immediately with water because allowing the paint to dry in the mesh can damage the silkscreen. If you make any mistakes or smudge the paint while you are working, simply wipe it away with a damp paper towel and start over.

To create this layered effect, print with several stencils all over the surface of the plate, being careful not to touch any wet paint. Let dry completely (24 hours), or cure in the oven (directions in the next paragraph) before attempting to layer another silkscreen on top of your design. Be very careful when applying the adhesive silkscreens a second time, because they can sometimes peel up the paint that has already dried. This did happen to my plate in a few places but I think the imperfections blend in just fine.

Once your design is finished, you need to cure your piece to preserve your design – directions for curing are included with all of the paint products. Allow your paint to dry for one hour, then place your dish on a cookie sheet in a cool oven. Heat the oven to 350˚, bake for 30 minutes, allow to cool in the oven, then remove. For best results, you should hand wash these pieces. Please note that this paint is not food safe, so these plates should be used for display purpose only or as chargers in a dining set.

Have you ever used glass or ceramic paint? What would you make for your kitchen?

For more info on Plaid’s new Martha Stewart glass paint, you can check out Plaid on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Please note that I received product and payment via The Blueprint Social for this post, however, opinions are 100% my own. For more information, read my disclosure statement.

You guys! It has been too long! I always say that blogger apologies are annoying, but I just have to say I am sorry for being away from you. As you probably know, I’m going through some really huge (but awesome!) changes in my life and it’s just taking me a bit to sort out where blogging fits in.

Marcus and I had a great trip without any major hiccups and finally made it to Boston last Saturday. I started my classes and I’ve been a busy bee getting settled into my new apartment, working on school work, and making new friends. I promise not to leave you hanging again, but posting might be a bit less than regular as I sort out my new schedule and figure out how to make everything work. I still have a few great guest posts saved up for you! But for now, your monthly desktop calendar!

• Download September desktop calendar wallpaper •

This month’s wallpaper is little bits of sky from all over the country – photos I took on our cross-country trip! I hope you enjoy it!

Resources:
• Discover Beauty font from Da Font

Hey guys! As you read this, Marc and I are traveling through middle America on our way to Boston – keep up with our travels (and relieve me of some inevitable road trip boredom) by following along on Twitter and Instagram. I have a few friends lined up to share some great posts with you this week! Today Amanda from LoveCreative Blog is here to share her picks for West Coast and East Coast-inspired fashion. I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to head over to Amanda’s beautiful and inspiring blog!

Well hello there Her New Leafers! I’m Amanda from LoveCreative Blog where I post about design, music, and fashion among other things. Today I have a little style post inspired by Kira’s cross country road trip from the Best Coast West Coast to the East Coast! I love road trips so much—funky truck stops, sunsets and sunrises in the rear view mirror, amazing off-the-grid food finds, and singing yourself hoarse to your favorite CD. But one thing’s for sure, you gotta be comfortable when you’re facing for 10 hours or more in a car. These 2 outfits are easy, comfy and practical.

I’m a SoCal native, so I know a thing or two about dressing for the West Coast: bright nails, arm party, shorty shorts, tank top with light weight shirt for night time, sunnies, and add in a straw cowboy hat and a fringed bag for some flair. Usually I would opt for sandals, but serious driving calls for something more sturdy like these cute boat shoes.

I always think East Coasters are a little more sophisticated than us California beach bums. I would try to make more of an effort with a flirty skirt, sheer blouse and metallic flats. Brights are still in, but maybe try to match a little like this cardigan, satchel and nail combo in hot orangey yellows. Shades and hat go without saying, and don’t you just love that tortoise shell watch?!

Have a fun and safe drive Kira! We can’t wait to see what Boston has in store for you!

Apologies for the sporadic posting for the next several weeks as I prepare for my move across the country! It is big and scary and exciting, and I hope to share lots of it with you all! I’m not sure exactly how much internet access I will have as we travel but expect tons of Twitter and Instagram updates.

Our tentative route has us passing through Cedar City, Denver, Omaha, Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, before finally arriving in Boston, so I welcome any suggestions for sights to see, hotels to crash in, and road trip tips!

In keeping with this week’s Summer Hair theme, I wanted to share a quick and easy tutorial for cute headband to accessorize your own summer hair.

You will need:

• Cotton fabric (thrift store sheets or pillowcases work great)
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Elastic hair tie

Start by cutting a strip of fabric about 3-4 inches wide and 18-20 inches long. To get those cool, frayed edges, snip the edge of your fabric and tear it apart with your hands. Woven cotton fabrics will tear straight along the grain. Separate your strip into three strands and stop tearing about 3 inches from the top so that the strips remain connected. Remove any threads that were created by tearing the fabric.

Braid the length of the fabric – I prefer a slightly looser braid so that you can still see the pattern on the fabric.

When you reach the end, sew a few stitches to secure your fabric strips together. No expert seamstress skills needed, just tack together the fabric strips so they don’t unravel.

Next, we’re going to attach the hair elastic to give the headband stretchiness. Make sure to use a springy, new hair tie, not an old one that’s been lying around and has lost all of its oomph. Loop one end of your braid through the elastic and sew a line of stitches to create a tube for the elastic to slide through. Try not to pierce the elastic with the needle, just sew around it.

Repeat on the other side to close your circle. Trim the ends of your fabric, but don’t trim too short because the repeated stretching of the headband could pull the stitches out through the unfinished ends.

These hippie headbands make cute and quick gifts and can be made a million different ways! Swap out the fabric for braided leather or ribbons, or use a piece of vintage lace. Have fun accessorizing your beautiful summer hair!

Handmade/Homemade, my series in which I collect wonderful handmade shops, and Esther shows you how to get the look with unique DIY tutorials, has been so fun to put together each week! I have such a great time browsing through so many beautiful shops online, and it makes me so happy to hear from readers when they are inspired to make purchases from these talented artisans!

To better showcase each week’s theme, I have decided to post the two collections (the “Handmade” and the “Homemade”) together each week, and where possible, carry that theme through additional posts throughout the week. This week’s theme is “Summer Hair,” inspired by free and romantic summer hairstyles. Check back tomorrow when I’ll share my own tutorial for an adorable summer hair accessory. Have fun clicking through these fantastic products and tutorials! - Kira

1. Hair bow bobby pins // Fr33na
2. Wool leaf motif headband // Oggle Aesthetics
3. Girlie postcard print set // Coramantic
4. Seashell and coral hair pins // Bella Beach Jewels
5. “Modern Sea Art” print // tastes orangey
6. Retro geometric head scarf // Mynoush
7. Watercolor illustration print // 10antemeridiem
8. Elastic hair tie set // Mane Message
9. Polymer clay bobby pin set // JP with Love

This week’s Handmade/Homemade is centered around hair. I have pretty short hair, so there’s not a ton I can do with it. For all you girls out there with long flowing locks, I envy you. There are a TON of fun DIY hair ideas online that I can’t do. I’ve even got a pinboard called ‘Things I can’t do to my hair.’

I’ve collected an assortment of tutorials that will be useful to both those with short and long hair. Enjoy! - Esther

1. Summertime hair wraps // More Design Please
2. Flower crown // Camille Styles
3. DIY feather extentions // Elisa Mclaughlin Designs
4. DIY hair bands // love u madly
5. DIY hair treatments // Whole Living
6. Hair bow organizer // Baby Making Machine
7. Faux leather hair accessories // Make It and Love It
8. Hair bow tutorial // BebeXO

How do you wear your summer hair?

As you may already know, I started Primp My Blog as I was DIYing my way through my own blog design and development. Even though I’ve developed my following by blogging about blogging, I am the first to admit that I certainly don’t know everything! So when I began doing research into creating a newsletter for my blog, I was delighted to happen upon the lovely work of Moe from Five Sixteenths. I asked her to share her knowledge with you all, and today I’m sitting back as a student as Moe teaches us all how to craft the perfect blog newsletter. Enjoy!

Hello there! I’m Moe, the blogger behind Five Sixteenths. 516 is a daily log of my post grad life, recent move to Michigan, all things DIY and blogging related, with a dash of style & decor thrown in. This past summer, blogging became especially important to me as a way to connect with other like-minded creatives out there, to promote my various business adventures, and to learn more about myself. Around February of this year, I decided to offer up a monthly newsletter subscription as a part of my blog, and haven’t looked back since!

I’ve found that newsletters are a great way to build up your readership and share a personal connection with readers. As my blog grew, I felt like I wasn’t connecting one on one with readers anymore. Your blog is out there for everyone to see and you post content open to the public out there for anyone to stumble upon. A newsletter, however, is like a private communication with only a select number of people out there on the internet. These people could be readers or even just people who’ve signed up for your newsletter. Either way, they have given precious inbox space to you and you should use it wisely. First, though, I want to share with you what a blog newsletter isn’t.

A blog newsletter isn’t…

1. a flat out, outright promotion of your goods, services, shops, etc.
2. a rehash of everything you posted on your blog this month.
3. an email you’re sending to your best friend filled with lol’s, poor grammar, smiley faces, and poor design (though you should treat your subscribers as friends, after all… you do care about them!)

Now that we have that out of the way, I want to share with you five starter tips on creating an effective newsletter for your blog:

Choose a Platform

Choosing a platform for your newsletter is like choosing a platform for your blog. There are quite a few out there to pick from, so research your needs and evaluate the competition. I chose MailChimp because I love the templates, ease of design, and the overall interface. MailChimp offers a free subscription service that allows you to customize your templates, have multiple lists, send a giant number of emails a month (12,000 emails!), and have up to 2,000 subscribers. So MailChimp is pretty excellent when it comes to starting off. There are templates to choose from, colors to pick, it is nearly entirely customizable without any HTML knowledge. A total plus!

Be Design Conscious

Just like your blog design, the design of your newsletter is important. MailChimp makes it super easy to customize a premade template and you can choose varying widths and columns. The design of your newsletter should be based solely on your needs, there is no right or wrong. However, the most successful newsletters will reflect the branding and style of your blog. The great part about a newsletter is nothing goes live until you send it! So play with it, preview it, and change it until you’re satisfied with your look. The best way to gain inspiration is to sign up for other blog newsletters. You’ll gain content inspiration, design inspiration, and gain an understanding of how the newsletter fits in with the blog or shop.

After the first few months curating Five Sixteenths Newsletter with the same standard template, I gave it a facelift. Assessing your needs and playing around is a great way to develop the overall look of your newsletter. In fact, my research and change paid off when Kira happened to subscribe and called me up for this guest post!

Share Quality Content

As I mentioned before, a newsletter shouldn’t be a rehash of your blog, an outright promotion, or be taken lightly. When done well, newsletters can be a great resource and outreach for your blog! The Five Sixteenths Newsletter is a mix of exclusive, newsletter-only content, info on my feature sponsor, a personal message, and tidbits from the blog, in case the subscriber missed something. Use this opportunity to personally connect with your newsletter subscribers. A personal note or letter gives your readers a way to connect with you on a level different from popping by your blog everyday.

Share old, but good posts from your archives, turn an old blog post idea into a tidbit for the newsletter, share a super secret project, or ask for an opinion. Connect with subscribers on a different level than you do on your blog.

Create Interest

One of the biggest newsletter struggles is gaining interest and subscribers. Five Sixteenths newsletter had 9 subscribers on the first mailing in March, but I kept writing to those 9 subscribers for a few months until I gained more by building interest. Use your social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and post it on your blog. Advertise it like you would advertise a recent blog post. Offering an incentive for readership – a coupon code, free resource, etc. – is a great way to test the growth of your numbers. The more you send it, the more you advertise it, the more you mention it, the more subscribers you will get.

I use the newsletter to host exclusive tidbits such as a Boost your Blog tip, a preview of the monthly thrift tip, and coupon codes for my shop.

Keep Up Enthusiasm

Starting a newsletter is a great way to drive more readership and create a stronger bond with your readers, but in order to do this, you must remain enthusiastic! Newsletters aren’t a one and done type of deal… you have to keep at it to see results. So keep sending to those 9 recipients and keep learning. Keep your newsletter active by sending out something at least every two months. One newsletter I subscribe to sends frequently but usually it’s just a little update, a picture, and something to inspire my indie biz goals. Nothing lofty or heavy, just a little check in.

I’d love for you to sign up for the Five Sixteenths Newsletter (go ahead and sign up for Kira’s newsletter too)! Why? I am working on a Blogging 101 eBook (more info here!), to be launched September 1, filled with blogging info and tips regarding Organization, Design, & Networking. Newsletter subscribers get special access to a super secret Chapter 0 that has an open letter to bloggers, sneak peeks, and tips on blogging honestly, to be released at the same time the eBook launches. Not to mention, each month the newsletter holds sneak peeks on current projects, special discounts, and tips and tricks exclusively for you!

I’ve always wanted to write a little book and now I am so glad I get to share it with you. Blogging is such an important part of my life and building a community is the best thing about it! Sign up for the newsletter to get notified as soon as it’s released!

Find Moe: Five Sixteenths • shop • Twitter

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