Transferring A Print to Wood:
Using this link has helped like no other. It's simple and easy to read and has some very helpful tips.

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-transfer-prints-to-wood-an-awesome-photography-diy-project

Supplies:
  wood
  paint brush
  sponge
  image that you want to use (has to be printed with a laser jet ink)
  Gel Medium (I used Liquidex Gel Medium, comes with a red label)

1. Using your brush, apply a thin layer of Gel Medium to the wood surface.

2. Place your photo face down on the positioned wood.

3. Let it sit overnight.

4. Using sponge, peel away at the dried photo.

5. Peel, Peel, Peel!

6. DONE, YAY!!!

TIP: Image will transfer backwards on wood so if you want the photo to be a certain way, you'll have to print it reversed to begin with

1960s Past and Present

I've been on the search for some old movie theatre chairs for about a year. The ones I found were either in pretty bad condition or were out of my price range. I searched and searched and thanks to craigslist, I found some. After getting a flat tire, borrowing a friends pick up truck, driving 2 hours into Illinois, stopping at a Pizza Hut in the middle of no where, and driving back 2 hours to Indianapolis, THEY WERE MINE

This is the process of how I Re-Did them...Enjoy!

Original Photo of the 1960s Movie Theatre Seats

1. TAKE PICTURES! DOCUMENTATION IS KEY!
     i. This is one of the most important steps. If you don't take photos you may not remember how they were assembled and they won't be properly put back together. I took pictures of each bolt/nail/screw so I knew where each one went.

2. Take the chairs apart
     i. Put the bolts/nails/screws in a box or zip lock bag so you don't lose any of them.

3. Time for Staining
    i. This part and upholstering the seats themselves take the most time. I used 2 different types of sand paper for stripping the wood.
    ii. 60 coarse sandpaper is the roughest type of paper that was used. This worked great for stripping the layers and layers of stain that had been previously on the wood. Then I lightly went over the wood with 100 coarse paper. The higher the number the finer the paper and the smoother the wood will be.
   iii. The arm rests used 150 coarse paper so these were a little more smooth than the backs of the chairs.

These are what the back of the seats and the arm rests look like originally and after they were sanded down.

4. After the wood has been stripped the next step is to stain them!
    i. I dusted the wood off first, before staining, getting all of the saw dust off of the chairs. This helps when you go to stain because you won't have any clumps from the saw dust. 
   ii. I used Minwax Polyshades Bombay Mahogany Satin (380) Stain
   iii. I put on about 3 coats per each piece of wood

5. Next comes the Upholstering. This was a bit tricky. I've never upholstered anything before so I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. I went to the nearest fabric store (Crimson Tate, Indianapolis) and found some great patterns.
    i. You'll need a staple gun and staples. I basically just dove into this and figured out what I was trying to do along the way. Once I figured out how to fold the fabric so it looks nice, I was good to go.

6. Painting the Metal.
    i. The bottom of the seats are spray painted a clean and crisp white, while all the other metal is spray painted Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel.

***Make sure you get paint that is specifically used for metal, otherwise the paint will scratch right off***



7. WAIT, WAIT, AND WAIT
     i. Depending on the paint that is used, you may have to let it sit over night to ensure that it's dry when you go to put the chairs back together.

8. ASSEMBLE!!
    i. Once everything is dried, stained, upholstered and you're happy with it all, put those bad boys back together!

Below is a photo of what the seats originally were and then the final outcome of all my blood, sweat and hard work paid off to look like

I still have 2 more sets of these and can't wait to get started on them!!

lollapalooza 2011 (Aug 5-7)

3 days. 8 stages. 161 bands. 90,000 people.

YEP!

Ohh Lollapalooza. How I've been waiting since August 2010 to go back. First and foremost, here are the bands that we saw. 

Friday: Young The Giant, The Naked and Famous, Reptar, Smith Westerns, Two Door Cinema Club, Bright Eyes, Skrillex, OK GO, Muse, Ratatat

Saturday: Walk The Moon, Phantogram, Friendly Fires, Fitz and The Tantrums, Death From Above 1979, Big Audio Dynamite, Local Natives, Cee Lo, Atmosphere, Eminem

Sunday: Lia Ices, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Cool Kids, Flogging Molly, Ralph's World, Boy & Bear, Artic Monkeys

Sunday wasn't quite up-to-par since it down poured for 45 minutes and hang out in drenched clothes for 5 hours doesn't really interest me all that much. We had the intentions of going back once we changed into dry clothes but saw another storm coming and held back. But let's rewind.

My favorite from friday is hands down Reptar, Ratatat, The Naked and Famous and Muse, in that order. I had never heard of Reptar until I bought my ticket and looked up bands that I didn't know. I'm glad I looked these guys up because they put on a great great show. The lead singer interacted with the crowd and overall, for me, it was the best show at Lolla this year. Ratatat, as expected, was amazing. Everyone was dancing and having a great time, just loving the music. Muse, who had just played a show in Indianapolis a couple days before lolla did a solid job as well as The Naked and Famous. After the show we went out to a bar close by the festival and met some Canadians, who we hung out with for the remainder of the night. We told stories and jokes back and forth and instantly hit it off. We crawled into bed around 2 that night.

Saturday we got up and moving and walked to Panera Bread around noon. Walk The Moon was the first band we saw, by accident. We were waiting for Phantogram to play and in the mean time listened to Walk The Moon. I give Walk The Moon a meh, rating. Phantogram was amazing to see. I wasn't sure what to expect with them but they put on a great show, regardless of the rain. Death From Above 1979 might have been my favorite this day, mainly because they were the first rock band that we saw. Up until that point we had seen all different types of music ranging from dance, indie, slow, electronic, rap but no rock yet. Tossing in good rock music was what was needed. We had signed up for an after party at the Hardrock Hotel so that's where we were off to after Eminem. My brother and his friend Tom met up with us and we walked to Hardrock. Jess's friend Nicole helped get us in without waiting in line. Free drinks? You bet. The after party was held by Filter Magazine and we didn't have to pay for one drink, we tipped of course. Phantogram played at this after show and played great again.

There was only one band that was on my 'must see' list and that was Boy & Bear. This may have been my second favorite band that we saw that weekend. They had a smaller crowd but regardless I was there singing along to the songs they played and loving it. The rain came down right as Boy & Bear were done play, perfect timing. We hid under a tree but even that didn't stop us from getting drenched. It wasn't bad to begin with but as we stood there the rain kept coming down harder and harder and wasn't going to let up anytime soon. People started leaving their tree posts and started mud sliding. This was entertaining to watch: people going from "I can't get touched by one drop of water or I'll melt" to "Let's see if I can completely cover myself in mud." We were about as drenched as we were going to be so we bucked up and walked to the next stage for more music and mud. 

Lost Photos!

Here are two more photos that I found from the Rockies game.

Denver Days

After Fort Collins I just stopped posting, things have been busy. It's been about a month since I was in Denver but I'd still like to finish the trip out, so here we go. Let's see: Nick drove me from Fort Collins to Denver which is about a 40 minute drive. He wasn't sure if he was going to have to head back to work in Wyoming or if he'd be able to hang out while I was there. Got into Denver, he packed his apartment up while I sat and did some design work. We ordered a Cripple Creek and a pepperoni pizza from Denver Pizza Company, which was delicious. The remainder of the night was left for catching up. I haven't seen Nick since Bobby and Ashley's wedding which was about 2 or 3 years ago. 

The rest of the time in Denver was filled with job searching and pretty much just hanging out. I did go to The British Bulldog to watch the USA Women's Soccer team play in the World Cup. Days before this I asked around as to where the soccer pubs where to watch the game and everyone told me The British Bulldog, so by default that's where I go. We got there a little after the game started and, of course, the place was packed. We ended up just standing. I'm even surprised we got 2 feet in the door, it was that crowded. The US won and every celebrated, what a great way to start your day.

On another day we took a drive to Boulder (about 20-30 minutes away), climbed a mountain and felt like a bad ass. Being active and outside is one of my favorite things to do. There's close to nothing better than being outside on a beautiful day and sweating. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to hike up the whole thing but the view from the top was worth it. I could have stayed up there all day but after hiking for that long my stomach was getting hungry. Hiking back down, which was the easy part, took a little over half an hour. We got back into Denver and got food. 

We checked out a new Brewery that had just opened up called Renagade Brewing (www.renegadebrewing.com). Nick rode his long board to the brewery and I was going through bike withdraws so I rented a bike for the day. In Denver you can rent cruiser bikes for the day, it's pretty neat. You just say how long you want to rent a bike for, swipe your card, and you're off! Renegade wasn't bad but it also wasn't the best. I had the 5 O'clock, a blonde ale.

Denver has some really great restaurants. I enjoyed eating at every place we went to. A popular breakfast place is called Snooze which is literally right behind Nick's apartment complex, making walking there really easy. Fish was a sushi restaurant we checked out, sharing the same building as Nick's apartment. If I remember correctly we had the Rockies Roll (lobster, tempura, butter lettuce, avocado), The Spider Roll, The Double Down and one with eel in it. I wish I could remember the name of the one with eel because that one was my favorite. Not just my favorite from that day, but the best sushi I have ever had. It melted in your mouth and was delicious. 

One of the last nights in town, we went to a Rockies baseball game. Nick lives in the LoDo area of Denver, basically in the best spot you can live. It's in walking distance of just about everything you need. Walking distance from all the places we ate at, shopping center, grocery store, liquor store, and the Rockies Stadium (Coors Field). The game was a lot of fun to go to. I haven't been to Major League baseball game in more than 7 years so I was overdue. Once the game was over we met up with Nick's friends at Tracks Nightclub. Drank, danced and had a good night. 

The morning after (a slow start to the day) we got up, had breakfast and I was off to my Aunt and Uncle's place in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Only a 5 hour drive. The drive was well worth it, it was amazing. You literally drive through mountain after mountain and are in awe the whole time by how beautiful they are. Being in a dreamlike state makes driving 5 hours just fly by.

Got into Pagosa Springs around 5-ish. My Aunt makes some of the best homemade pizza so we ate that for dinner along with a couple glasses of red wine. We got to catch up on what's going on with each other and tell stories all night long. It was my favorite night there. We stayed up late just talking and drinking wine, what's not to like about that. Got up the next morning and headed for the lake. My Aunt and Uncle have a boat on a couple different lakes, this one was at Lake Navajo. It's about half and hour drive to get there and little did we know it was going to be packed when we got there. I got to go tubing and be out in the sun for a bit before the clouds rolled in and the sky got dark. 

After getting back to their places we changed and went straight for the 4-wheelers. We had some time to spare before dinners o why not take the toys out to play for a bit. Once you get on the other side of the fence, the land is all an open pasture for wild animal to run and do as they please. In the morning you can usually spot some deer and elk. We took the ATV's up and down the mountain, through bushes, and pretty much ran them tired. Time for dinner was approaching so we put the toys away and off to change and eat dinner we went. I got the eggplant and pasta which my taste buds loved. Ate and drank until we couldn't eat or drink anymore and headed for the concert. There was a country show playing pretty much across the street so we went to check it out. We danced and had a great night. Got home, had a glass of wine and off to bed we all went. 

The next morning was when I had to leave behind Colorado and head back to Indianapolis. We woke up early enough to watch about 20 minutes of the USA vs. Japan World Cup game. It's hard leaving a bar where everyone is into the game and you know you'll just be sitting on airplane wondering what's going on. I was flying out of Durango and of course, that particular airport doesn't have any TV's for me to watch the game. I was constantly texting and calling to hear about updates and the score. Unfortunately, the US lost to Japan in double overtime. It was a hard fought match where Japan came out with a 'W.'

Flying back to Indy was bitter sweet, especially since I was getting in at midnight and had to work the next morning. I honestly didn't want to go back but was excited that I was going to get to see my friends and tell them all about the trip. Trying to fall asleep the night of getting back was impossible, it just wasn't  going to happen. Waking up the next morning was harder. This pretty much ended my trip and puts me to where I am now: trying to figure out when I want to move out to Denver and if its worth leaving everything I have in Indianapolis. 

Next stop Fort Collins

Two of the best people Fort Collins has: JOSH AND SARAH.

Woke up nice and early to catch a 9:30ish flight to Fort Collins. The flight was really short, only an hour.  Waiting for my bag at baggage claim I look to my left and who do I see strolling up but the one and only Sarah VanVa. Pure excitement fill the air along with giant bear hugs for her and Josh. You know it's going to be a great day when you can't stop smiling and talking. 

Sarah just recently got a job working for New Belgium Brewery and I couldn't be more excited for her. Working for New Belgium fits her so perfect in every way, shape and form. I also can't wait to come visit her at work and to take a tour of the place. 

The drive from the airport to Josh and Sarah's place was really nice. It feels good to see friends who you haven't seen in a while and catch up on things going on in life. The Chatty Cathy's that we are, talking the entire way to their apartment. We dropped my stuff off and got the bikes out, it was time to ride. I rode my first fixed gear bike and you know what, it isn't that bad at all. I have heard horror stories of fixed bikes, and me, being the accident prone girl that I am, doesn't need another burn out. The more and more I rode it, the more comfortable I got with it. 

We rode bikes to Rasta Pasta (http://www.rastapasta.net/) and ordered. This chill, Carribean style restaurant was delicious! I ordered the Tortellini Jamaica 'Mon (Truly unique fruit-bearing pasta dish, ricotta cheese tortellini, secret spices, pineapple, bananas, and grapes simmered in a white wine and butter sauce that must be experienced) and couldn't have been happier. The extent of me eating simmered/coked fruit is ordering a ham and pineapple pizza from Hot Box but this doesn't compare to the extra flavors the grapes and bananas bring in the tortellini. The wonderful waiter gave me a free New Belgium beer glass since I told him I was visiting and and talked to him for a bit. 

After not being able to consume anymore food there were two more things left to accomplish: drink more and look at bikes. We walked over to a new brewery that just opened up, Pateros Creek Brewing (http://www.pateroscreekbrewing.com). Instead of trying to decide on one beer we ordered the sample tray and got to taste all of the beers. 

:: Make Sandwiches :: The Adventure Begins ::

Today is the day! What everyone flew in for and has been anticipating. Josh and Kristin's wedding. Since sleeping in had sounded like a good idea, I had missed hotel breakfast which meant I was on my own. Luckily I had seen a coffee shop nearby on my morning run the previous day. Raw Bean Coffee was where breakfast came from and it wasn't too shabby. Since sleeping in (and drinking the night before) had given me a slow start, I had to move it if I wanted to make it to the mountain resort in time to help set up. 

Setting up only took about half and hour to accomplish, which was great. We were making better time than anyone had thought. Once the reception hall was set up we hung out for a bit until it was time to get all dolled up and pretty for show time. One by one the photographer, then the videographer showed up and before you knew it everyone was there that needed to be. 

We took the chair lift up the mountain, waited for everyone to get to seated and the music started. I waited for my cue and was off. Standing there, waiting for Kristin, I had no idea what I was in for. I have never been one to cry but watching Kristin's dad walk Kristin down the aisle, I was holding tears back. She looked perfect and beautiful. Everything about her was glowing and everyone could see it. The Ceremony was short and sweet just how everyone had pictured it. We all danced the night away to music of the 90s. The food was great as well as the company of everyone at the reception and the bar was stocked with local beer.