Haaiiii!!!!! Am I a few days late in posting the beach club craft post for August? Yes, absolutely. Sometimes life gets in the way (or rather, the bad habit of watching tv shows during the commute to work instead of writing posts get in the way). But here I am and there you are, getting ready to go on the wild journey that is September. So why not extend August summer dreams a few more days with a little beach club craft post. 👏👏👏🌞🌞🌞

Like with everything I do, there is the vision of what I think it should be, and then what I actually end up doing. That, my friends, is called "thinking on your feet". Beach club and the people it consists of give me life. But with busy schedules, trying to organize a time for 8 people to meet can be tough. To ensure I see their lovely faces more often, I decided to make face magnets!! What was supposed to be 8 individual magnets quickly turned into 4; each couple being interpreted by the crafting supplies in my very messy crafting room (aka guest bedroom / storage / office). Continue reading to find your own magnet inspiration!

Supplies:

Cutting Matt
Ruler/ straight edge
X-acto blade
Cork (sheet or roll)
Magnets (sheet or roll)
Mod podge (I us d the gloss lustre)
Foam brush
Printing paper (I used basic b&w but you can get fancier)
Random crafting supplies of your choosing. Supplies used in this post include :

Black craft paint
Gold craft paint
Brushes
Elmers glitter glue
Glitter glue
Glitter
Wooden dowels
Googley eyes of various sizes
Various decorative trim
A lighter

Instructions:

1. Get Corky

Using cork as the backer/medium which we will be gluing to, cut 3" squares from sheets or rolls. Pro tip from Martha Stewart, if using cork in roll format, iron flat on low temperature prior to crafting (it totally works!). If you are lazy, use the sheet version instead. If you are even lazier, use cardboard from a shoe box. If you are EVEN lazier, why are you making a craft to begin with? But hey, thanks for reading! Check us out on Instagram 📸

2. Love your printer

Print out a few copies of your favorite photo. It could be of your own beach club gang. It could also be of a taco. Just print it out. Also, I used basic paper (so basic) because It will be covered in mod podge anyway. Feel free to get fancier with your taco magnet.

3. What a view!

I happen to own a lovely clear ruler which made selecting the desired 3" viewport very easy. You can do the same thing by cutting a 3" square hole into a piece of paper and then using the viewport to pencil in your selection.

Using an x-acto blade or scissors, cut photo as desired. I printed multiples since I knew we would overlap viewports a bit.

4. #modpodge

Using mod podge (or your favorite glue), coat cork 3" square and place cut image over. Press down to remove any bumps or bubbles, and pay extra attention to edges. Coat glued image with 1 layer of mod podge to seal in. For extra shine you may want to add multiple coats. Let dry for 20-30 minutes prior to adding flair.

5. Personalize!

Now is the time to really express yourself through the medium of crafts! Go crazy! No matter what your vision, it is most likely represented in an aisle in Michaels, your local hardware store, and/or the best dollar store in the neighborhood. See below for inspiration and my interpretation of beach club friends!

Greg & I:

For Greg and I, I kept is somewhat simple with a touch of glam-which maybe represents us? Who cares, I love gold so it works for me! Using black craft paint and a brush I added a graphic outline to our figures. To give it a Mucha/Klimt vibe, gold craft paint was used on the background and a single googley eye was glued right between us. This makes me happy 😍

Matt & Carissa

When I think of Matt and Carissa I think of good times and party vibes. I also think of the awesome waste bin Carissa covered in glitter ribbon for our secret Santa. Most awesome gift indeed! For their magnet (and in an effort to hide Greg) I not only used black craft paint to outline (and add jazz to Matt's sunglasses) but also added the shiniest of ribbon. Pro tip which I learned from Snooki (she has a great YouTube channel and loves to craft-who knew), using a lighter lightly graze the cut edge of the ribbon to prevent fraying. Be super careful during this step 🔥🔥🚒🚒

For the finishing touches, I added the most party-tastic funfetti glitter filled elmer's glue I owned. That and a giant googley eye simply because of how fun it looked. Party on Matt and Carissa, party on!

Kent & Sasha

These two crazy kids are the coolest. Words that come to mind when I think of Kent and Sasha include vintage, rock and roll, chic, sweet, kind, and loving. This might not make much sense to you, but in my mind vintage inspired trim, dowels, metal embellishments, and glitter were the obvious choices.

Hal & Meghan

If it weren't for these two, beach club wouldn't exist. Yes, we would still have the awesome dinner club, but beach club specifically would be nonexistent. Neo hippies who love to make things, Hal and Meghan to me represent crafty modernism at its best. I added wooden dowels to represent Hal's love of woodworking and a chunky glitter (that I knew Meghan would like) to create the magnet most inspired by the beach. Was there a mishap with the glue exploding on the entire corner? Yes, however who can get mad at having to add MORE glitter?

6. Final steps

In the words of the Insane Clown Posse, "Fucking magnets, how do they work?" . Well, science can explain that for you. Go science!

I happened to buy magnets in a roll which could be cut to size. You can also try to find precut tabs to make life a little easier. Sometimes they will have a sticky film on the back, but either way I would still recommend adding a dab of tacky glue. Let the magnets/glue dry for a couple of hours prior to proudly adding to your refrigerator door (or favorite magnetized surface). Congratulations! You can now look at the lovely faces of your friends every day!

We hope you enjoy doing this craft as much as I did! And thanks to beach club for just being the best!

How is it mid-August already?!? It may be hot as ballz out there, but at least you can cool off at the beach! Ooo, perfect segue into beach club (10 points - me).

A million dazzling blessings should be bestowed upon the most delicious of souls who created the watermelon and feta pairing. At our first beach club, Meghan brought out a beautifully oversized plate filled with watermelon cubes, feta, basil, and toothpicks. We sat on our sandy towels not yet knowing that we would become straight up Calvin Klein Obsessed. Or at least I would (become obsessed), because watermelon is dope and delicious.

Keep reading for a watermelon soy sauce dressing recipe (nyum!) - which you can choose to do with or without the mint/cilantro.

After the dressing we offer up the classic watermelon and feta salad. Pro tip- if you are too lazy to make the dressing (I get it, it is super hot out there), just soak the watermelon cubes in soy sauce prior to serving (no dressing needed!).

Drool on 😛

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

2 cups chopped watermelon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 jalapeño roughly chopped
2 tbsp cilantro
2 tbsp mint
s&p to taste

For the salad:

1 cup chopped watermelon
1 bunch arugula
2 stems of mint
2 tbsp feta
reduced balsamic vinegar to taste
watermelon soy sauce dressing

Instructions:

1. Measure out 2 cups of chopped watermelon. No judgements on whether you buy pre chopped watermelon, this is a safe space. And chopping up a big watermelon can be scary 🍉💀

Set up you food processor, pour watermelon in, and give a few good pulses. Not bad pulses, just the good pulses.

Brave enough to butcher a whole watermelon?

2. Add soy sauce, jalapeño, mint, cilantro, and lime to food processor. Give it a few of those good pulses again and give it a taste test. Adjust as needed to your own unique and beautiful palate. You are amazing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Nobody puts baby in a corner!!

Looked prettier in person . . . Maybe. It definitely tastes better than it looks

3. With the food processor on, slowly pour olive oil to create an emulsion. Key is to go suuuuper slow, so take your time! When finished, bottle it up (don't forget to sterilize your bottles), and pour over salads, pasta, quinoa, or whatever is en vogue. We are gonna go the salad route because it is summer and I'm feeling bloated.

4. Making the salad couldn't be any easier. Toss together the watermelon, mint, arugula, and dressing and plate (or you know, don't. I'm not going tell your mother that you haven't done the dishes in 2 weeks and all you have left to eat out of is the giant blue mixing bowl she bought for you in bed bath and beyond before you moved into your first apartment).

Where was I? Oh yeah, once plated, crumble feta cheese over the salad and lightly drizzle your favorite balsamic vinegar. Salad completed - 20 points go to everyone! Now eat. . . Eat!

and that is all she wrote, folks! Hope you enjoy and see you next time!