junk mail never looked so good // DIY

Hey there pretty :)

I don't know about you, but I get a TON of junk mail. As soon as I turned 18, the credit card applications started rolling in, and they only continued to increase as I've gotten older. Usually I just shred them {Because I'm paranoid like that}, but lately I've been saving the reply mail envelopes to make these lovelies.

{I still obsessively shred the rest of the applications, but these envelopes are like gold now.}

They're really simple to make. Just take the envelopes apart as carefully as you can, turn them inside-out, and tape them closed. If they're huge {or if I rip them}, I'll trim them down a little so they're of a more manageable size. Just follow along the actual pattern of the envelope and create new folds, and voilà! 

Address them with a thick marker or use an address label, and you're good to go! If the envelope has a window I usually will cover it up with a label, but you could always leave them there. To close them, just tape shut or lick and tuck the flap inside.

We have to mail our rent in every month, so these are awesome to have handy. Just pop the check in, address them, stick on a stamp, and send.  No worries about security with these! 

Check out this version using washi tape to hold the envelopes together: Aren't they pretty? I need to get me some washi STAT.

photo via

You could buy these on etsy {here}, but I'm sure you get about three or four business reply envelopes every week already. Why not make them instead?

#weekendrecap

// burned half the saved branches from the Christmas tree.
// conquered our overflowing laundry "issue". We are currently a load-a-day couple until it's under control. Who would have ever thought? #andIjustdonatedhalfmyclothes #howdoesthishappen? We made it more glamourous with champagne and candles, but it's still laundry.
// went on an afternoon date that included beer tasting as well as a trip to the dollar store #heknowsmewell
// slept in a ridiculous amount. #totallyworththeneckache
// me-time that involved both crafting and The Bachelor catchup #theonlywaytowatch #imsofarbehind
// people-watched at the International Film Festival. We didn't actually go, but it was almost more entertaining to sit outside and watch the crazies.
// watched way too many episodes of Dexter #wecantcontrolourselveseither

Glamorous, it was not, but exactly what we needed? Totally.
linking up here and here

currently

time: 10:43
location: my office
mood: pretty dang chipper
eating: Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt from Trader Joes {GET IN MAH BELLEH}
drinking: motor oil coffee
watching: Sherlock, Season 2 {at home, not at work, of course!}.
reading: Dearly Devoted Dexter. I'm losing sleep over this one--can't put it down!
loving: the paper project on which I'm currently working {see photo; can you guess what it is?}
learning: that my parents really are always right, most of the time.
thinking: that shorter weeks really feel like the longest ones. Also, I need a haircut.
wishing: I had all the answers

Idea from here

ps. We've made the switch to www.brittanysjoy.com! All your bookmarks should redirect to here; let me know if you have any issues :)

review: my free glasses from Firmoo

New year, new glasses!

Recently, a company called Firmoo contacted me and asked if I would do a review of their glasses,  and I was happy to oblige. I've been relying pretty heavily on my reading glasses lately, and was in the market for a new pair. Bring it on!

I've tried buying glasses online before and it SUCKS because I'm a serial tryer-onner, but Firmoo did a pretty good job of making it easy. They have a ton of great styles to choose from, and also feature a spot where you can virtually "try-on" any of their glasses using an uploaded photo. Helpful for a picky glasses-wearer like me!

I just snapped an awkward selfie on my phone and uploaded it. Nothin' to it. It was pretty accurate, too! 

Firmoo was also unique in the fact that they offer more than just prescription glasses. You can order any of their frames with prescription lenses, but you can also get them with no magnification, reading lenses, or computer lenses. I ordered the computer ones, since I go cross-eyed sitting at my computer all day at work. I've been wearing 'em for a week and they're really helping; I can go home without a headache again! {the ones I ordered are no longer available, but they're similar to these}

I adore the glasses, and the Firmoo customer service was pretty prompt. They took awhile to get to me, though, because SURPRISE the company is in China. I've done a lot of online shopping overseas so that didn't really worry me too much, but it did frustrate me because that information wasn't available until I got my shipping notification. I was provided with a tracking number, but since I don't read Chinese, I couldn't really tell where they were until they'd basically already arrived. They took about a week to get to me, which was pretty good from my experience with overseas shipping.

And the best part: Firmoo is currently running a promotion that allows all new customers to get their first pair free. All you have to do is pay shipping! Which pair would you pick?

I was provided with this pair of glasses free of charge by Firmoo to review, but all opinions are my own.

dish crawl

God bless my husband. He knows just how to make a rough day end on a good note. I came home from work yesterday with the notice that we would be going on a special surprise mid-week dinner date night, and that I should get ready to do a lot of walking. We were going on a "dishcrawl"!

I'd never heard of it before, but Dishcrawl** is a company that puts together events that are like pub crawls with food, or  progressive dinners at restaurants rather than homes. Rather than going out to eat at one place, you go on a walking tour of sorts and have dishes at four or five.

Starting out in Restaurant #1 // The food tasted a whole lot better than my cruddy photo would suggest

It's a preset tour and they don't happen all the time, but there was one last night in our town and Tim surprised me with tickets! Good work, hubby. It was such a cool experience; we got to try out a bunch of restaurants we'd never visited before, and met a few really fun people that night.

Blurry husband // happy wife

The thing is, though? We were starving after we were done! It was silly, really; each of the four restaurants gave us a sampling of three of their dishes, maybe two bites worth of each. And since we were at each restaurant for twenty to thirty minutes, any sustenance we may have gotten from the teeny bites wasn't cuttin' it. Plus the fact that the tickets said "drinks included", but "drinks" only included water. Not like I needed to booze at all four restaurants, but even a coke? C'mon. Plus, I've been to one of those restaurants before, and wine is NOT $10 per glass normally. Pssh.

It was pretty fun, definitely, but I think maybe a "DIY dishcrawl" would be an more fun date night. Plot out your own path of restaurants, grab an appetizer at each one (or split an entree), then finish off with dessert somewhere? It would be an easy way to get a survey of a few different restaurants, and fun for a group! 

**I was NOT compensated for this post (obviously). 

on taking a break

High School me would rarely admit this, but my parents really are pretty dang cool. 

Spending the weekend with them after a particularly stressful week was just what the Doctor ordered. Plus having the brother moved home from college, and his girlfriend visiting? Icing on the cake, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphors.

I also conveniently left my phone at home all weekend long, and as frustrating as it was to not check up on instagram a bazillion times a day, it was like an inadvertent "unplug" weekend. So while I didn't take any photos to commemorate the events of this week, we did make a whole lotta memories.

And that's really just as good, isn't it?

cap-toe shoes // diy

Today's DIY is a simple one. It's probably so easy that it doesn't even warrant a tutorial, but I snapped some pictures while I was doing this and figured HEY why not.

Materials:

A pair of shoes that fit well but are showing wear along the toes. I picked my FAVORITE two-year-old glitter flats because the toes are suspiciously glitter-free from all the tripping and toe-stubbing I do throughout the day, and if I ruined them it was time for a new pair anyway.

{not pictured: foam brush, acrylic paint, and plain-'ol scotch tape} 

Step 1: 

Start by taping off the section of the toe you'd like to paint. Curve the tape a little, although straight-across would look good too. Press firmly on the tape to get it to adhere to the crazy glitter of the shoe you chose. Start rethinking your decision, but don't stop now!

Step 2: 

Squirt a little paint onto the toe part and fret a bit because it wasn't exactly the shade you were expecting. Go with it anyway. {Tip: A little goes a long way. A dab this size was able to cover both toes well}

Step 3. 

Start painting! Try to start on top of the tape and brush down, to minimize paint seepage underneath. 

Step 4: 
Peel off tape carefully, while paint is still wet. Do a little happy dance, but make sure to subdue it since the paint is still wet and your husband is getting tired of finding paint on the carpet.

Tadaaaaaaa! These are still my favorite shoes, and now they've got a pop of color!  The paint has a sort of satin finish rather than gloss, so it has good contrast to the shiny-ness of the shoe. But when the sun hits it, the glitter still shows through!

I'm probably going to line the cap-toe with some gold paint, to give it more of a crisp edge. There was some bleeding {as you can see above}, but it's not noticeable unless you get really close, and I've got some gold paint that would match the shoe perfectly!

Yay!

don't be anonymous

It's time for some housekeeping.

Spam is gross, especially spam comments, and I've been getting a lot of those lately.

I have vowed to never bring back the "prove you're not a spammer" capcha, so that leaves only one alternative: I will be automatically rejecting all anonymous comments.

image via

How ever will you be able to leave a little love note, then, if you don't have a blog?

Easy, silly.

Choose the Name/URL option. You can use your facebook profile address as the URL OR merely leave it blank. But definitely put your name in there.

If you do have a blog, though, could you do me a solid? Check on your blogger profile to see if your email is showing. If it isn't, then your sweet comments will always go unanswered! Here's how to check:

Thanks :)

the weekend

// we had brunch with the father-in-law and step-mother-in-law at a swanky french joint. I had french toast--appropriate--but it tasted like candy. Toothbrush, please?
// Our house was spotless for a whole day. Then I started another project.
//  #crushcakesforthewin #seeabovephoto
// We bought a nifty reed diffuser at an interior design boutique and now our house smells like "a rich person's" as my husband so eloquently put it. I do quite love it, dahling.
// We have been watching so.many.episodes of Sherlock (Modern-day BBC adaptation of the book) this weekend that I want to be a consulting detective and speak in British English.
// I stepped on my kindle and shattered the screen, boohooooo. Tim-the-toolman-husband took it apart and fixed it, using the screen of our other one which had a frozen hardrive. And it works!!! #seebelowproofofhisawesomeness

linking up here!

welcome to brittany's joy.

Yesterday was our little blog's very first birthday. I asked my husband how we should celebrate, and he said that it would very much like to be taken out to a swanky dinner. I agreed, so we took this little sucker out on the town (so to speak) and enjoyed an evening of spatula drumming and shrimp-flipping and flaming onion volcanoes. Happy birthday little bloggy.

image via

So, you may have noticed some major changes around this little corner of the internet, starting with the name of this blog: "The Crafted Cure" is now Brittany's Joy.

The reason for the change is simple: this little 'ol blog has evolved to encompass so much more than just simply crafty-ness. It holds my hopes, my dreams, my fears. It chronicles the things that make me laugh, that bring me joy. Some of those things may be projects, sure, but there's a whole lot more, too!

Brittany's Joy better encapsulates what I hope this blog will capture. These are the things that bring me joy as I live, create, and celebrate the precious life that God has given me. Also, conveniently, it is my name.

Join us on our journey?

Welcome to Brittany's Joy.

a photo a day

One of the goals I have for this year is to learn how to take better pictures (regardless of the equipment I'm using). I got some fun new camera accessories this christmas from the mister and I'm loving how much fun it is to know how to use them!

One way I'm stretching my newfound love of photography is FatMumSlim's Photo a Day challenge on Instagram. I think of it this way: If I can't take decent "everyday" photos using my iphone, how can I take awesome photos with the Rebel? Riddle me THAT. Maximize the tools you've got, that's what I say. So, here's week 1 of my January Photo a Day:

today {Lake Nacimiento morning} // new {day, new semester}

heart // The view from here [ or there; Starr Winery]

movement {or lack thereof} // mine {broken baby ornament waiting for glue}

Street {leading to Painted Cave} // Something beginning with "T" {Tim and teppanaki}

Do you play photoaday? What's your Instagram?

pinterest-friendly changes // diy

Raise your hand if you love Pinterest? 

*me me me me me me!*

Some bloggers have issues with Pinterest, but it's helped drive up traffic on all of the tutorials I post, and that's always a plus in my book! If you love Pinterest too, then I've got some great news! I've made my blog 1000x more pinterest-friendly {Whoo hoo, right?}.

You may have noticed the Pinterest button that pops up when you hover over any image on this blog. Isn't that neat? This means that you can pin an image directly from my blog to pinterest {even from the main blog feed--it will pin the actual post!}. The pin description will be the title of the post, but that's easy to change to whatever you please. :)

If this is something that you would like to do to YOUR blogger-hosted blog, Blogger Sentral has a great and simple html tutorial here.

Happy Pinning!

walk it out

If everyone got out and started exploring creation whenever they got frustrated {rather than fighting}, I'd bet the world would be a much happier place.