oh happy day!

remember just a couple days ago when i said all i really wanted in life was to be able to make granny squares? well looky what i just completed! i introduce you to my very first ever granny square...

happy day indeed!

crochet school

over the years i've discovered one very important trait about myself. i need to learn a new skill at least every year. my body actually craves it, like a drug, or perhaps like a chocolate chip cookie when i'm pregnant. i find myself drooling over crafty blogs, until i settle on the one thing that just MUST be learned. (you may recall, last year it was embroidery)

well i was in one of these moods recently, and i set my target on crocheting. i've lusted after enough snazzy etsy ladies items (namely 1, 2, 3, and 4), to know that i just finally needed to get myself a hook, some yarn, and dive in! 

so yesterday i sat myself down in front of this here computer, and started with lesson one of the craftyminx crochet school. if you've ever thought about learning, i definitely recommend this series. it's a video turtorial for each day of the month of october. they're super easy to follow, and they start from the very begininning. for someone who has never even held a crochet hook, this was a must!

here are my very first stitches. one little length of chain stitch, and i was happy as a pig in poo!

and here is my first swatch. i was practicing the single crochet here. my edges are a bit rough, but apparently that is something that just gets better with practice.

i really just want to make granny squares all day long, but i guess i have to crawl before i can walk. any crochet folks out there with some tips and tricks, feel free to leave them here for this newbie. i'm just a beginner, but i'm already in love :)

rustic decor

love this idea! an old rustic ladder used as a shelf... brilliant!

*source*

friendship bracelets like it's 1989!

a few weeks ago steph brought me back a friendship bracelet from her trip to mexico and since then i've wanted to make a bazillion of them! so when i saw this tutorial HERE it sealed my fate. back in my elementary school days my friends and i used to spend all summer making these. we'd wear them until they got gross & dirty, then they would fall off and we'd start again. i already know how to make your basic friendship bracelet designs, but some of these look intense and i'm ready for that challenge. bring it on!

happy weekend friends!

13 views from the weekend...

my goodness am i one tuckered lady! evan and i have been bit by the spring cleaning bug big time and we spent this weekend getting things DONE! we fully intended on spending this past two days cleaning up around the house, but it ended up taking on a life of its own and we got so many little projects finished. it feels super good to be productive!

on saturday evan pulled out all the dead bushes in front of our house and we planted these sweet little babies right here... so much better then the ugly shrubbery that was there before!

i made a spur of the moment decision that our living room table absolutely needed a makeover. it was blue/grey before and now...

is a violet/grey!

i scored these sweet little vintage doilies on my antiquing trip on friday. they are now our coasters!

i also gave this tiny end table that we found a few months back a face lift. it had been sitting around waiting to be painted, and today was its lucky day...

so much prettier! oh and that skull you see there also got a face lift today. he was originally white! in my opinion there are few things that don't look good painted gold :)

we also rearranged our bedroom and hung up some new little bits of decor. hehe... i just noticed barkley left his kitty toy on the bed. love that pup!

a pretty little birdie...

a vintage tin lid that i also found on friday...

the full view of the ship in its new home...

these lights were in our living room before, but my original intent was always to have them in our bedroom. they finally made it there and barkley approves!

and while i'd love to say that it was all work and no play, we definitely had a few relaxing moments in the hammock. the weather was finally nice here in charlotte after raining for about a week straight so no way were we going to miss out on this!

the view from the hammock. ahhhh, so good!

hope a lovely weekend was enjoyed by all! i think i'm going to head back out to that hammock and enjoy the last few minutes of sunshine before getting back to work...

DIY faux porcelain milk bottles and pom pom flowers

i have been head over heals for the porcelain milk bottles (like these) that i've been spotting on numerous design blogs and such. as much as i would absolutely love to own a gazillion of them, i simply can't find room in my ever so limited budget to splurge on a tiny bit of decor. here's the good news though... i've come up with a "fake it till you make it" solution!

all you need is...

*milk bottles (or any glass bottle really)

*spray primer (i love kilz and nothing else!)

and for the pom pom flowers shown below...

*pom poms

*glue (almost any will do here)

*twigs (free in your backyard... or perhaps your neighbors)

and VOILA!!!

here's a "how to" along with a cute little song...

you just want to make sure to do light coats of the primer to get that textured ceramic look and no drippies! hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed doing it!

nibbles & bits from the long weekend

oh oh oh what a weekend! there were salvage yards, thrift stores, bowling, dancing (even if only for a video game), food and friends. all the ingredients needed to bake up some good times! the main goal of this weekend though was to get a bit of decorating and organizing done around our humble little home. i had a little mental list of things that i would love to find while thrifting and salvaging with my partner in crime, steph, and i must say i was pretty darn successful! these bargains weren't too shabby either!

comfy cozy blanket... 8 bucks!

cast iron eagle wall decor... 5 bucks

letterpress drawer... 6 bucks (i've been hunting for one of these for quite some time!)

letterpress spelling out our last name... FREE! (i frequent this salvage yard so much that the owner just threw 'em in. what a guy!)

this isn't so much a find as it is a creation. evan made me this little iphone dock out of an old cigar box i had lying around. i love that man! oh and i've been informed that the object next to it looks somewhat questionable. it's a rusty cast iron vintage claw foot... i swear!

and the best part of all, crates crates crates! you may recall my post last week about the wonders of crate decorating. well here's my take on it! i got all of these for 20 bucks and evan ever so lovingly hung them up for me. i'm so so so stoked on this! i just want to sit in my studio all day and look at them. good stuff!

also for your viewing pleasure is this little video i made of our weekend activities. i recently purchased the 8mm app for my iphone and i now make videos of EVERYTHING! it's so much fun to play with. i highly recommend it! be sure to check out the scene showing where i found the above mentioned crates. it's unbelievable what i found. a decorators dream! enjoy...

organizing with crates

i'm declaring 2011 the year of organization! i've got an empty wall in my studio that is just calling for shelving of some sort, and i do believe i may have to hop on the crate decor band wagon!

they just look so darn gooooood...

i'm pretty sure a few of those are dresser drawers but you get the idea. now i've got to start collecting crates as i see them. luckily on my numerous cast iron hunting adventures i tend to stumble upon these often. we'll see how this latest project turns out...

happy weekend to all!

holiday decor

it's official... i'm obsessed with holiday crafts! i absolutely can't stop myself. every night i'm working on something new and last night while making this pom-pom garland evan just couldn't help but laugh at me. i have to blame it on all of the crafty blogs i read. if this keeps up my house is going to be one big clutter of tinsel, garland and nonsense! here are my latest creations and the inspirations for them.

because of THIS, i made this...

because of THIS, i made these...

and because of THIS, i made this...

and it's definitely not stopping here folks. even as we speak i'd rather be back in my studio making some sort of christmas decoration. i think i officially have a problem. i guess as far as addictions go though, this one ain't really so bad.

have a great weekend all!!!

banquet!

oh how i've fallen for banquet! this vancouver based studio/workshop is offering up so many fun little DIY projects that the whole family can take part in. this description alone, of the things they're currently obsessing over, makes me want to pack my bags for a week in canada!

"we are currently obsessing over handmade quilts, making blood orange marmalade, eastern european folk costumes, maira kalman, the boreal forest, homing salamanders, and growing succulents. but that's just this week..."

if only i had seen this site a few weeks ago. what amazing little christmas gifts these would make...

sew a snake

shadow puppet kits

and this forest animal mobile kit... which i really think would look absolutely amazing painted in muted blues, greens and a touch of mustard yellow, and hanging in the corner of our bedroom. i'm just sayin'...

originally spotted here.

DIY crafty goodness!

i'm so excited for tonight! my sister-in-law and i are having a little crafty get together to make some fun holiday goodies. it's funny how i never get tired of making things. i was definitely afraid that when i started being a full time crafter i would get burnt out on the whole thing and not want to do it in my spare time at all. that seems to be the exact opposite of how it's turned out though. the more i do, the more i want to do more! my brain is flooded at all times with fun little crafts to work on and i just wish i had time to do them all!

here are two of the projects that i've already purchased the supplies for. first is this adorable star garland, spotted on creature comforts. i'm in love with this one big time and might just keep it up in my house all year long! check out the full tutorial here. i think i'll even just poke holes in some of them and use them on gifts or on our tree!

the second fun little goodie is also from creature comforts. i swear, that blog is dangerous for me. i want to do every single project on there! these gingerbread gift tags (or ornaments) seem super fun and easy. anytime i can put "icing" on a creation, that's a winner in my book!

if these two are a success i may just move onto some of my other favorites. i'm over the moon for this pom-pom garland, seen hanging on the ceiling here, that i originally spotted on bloesem. it's so very bright, and absolutely adorable! i think it would even be amazing in all white for a wintery feel. stringing pom-poms... that's totally doable! (here is the original post)

this post on design sponge has got my brain going overtime with all these amazing ideas! this paper garland would be a fabulous little touch to any gift under the tree. it's making me realize that there are few things that a bit of string and paper can't spruce up. this is one post to definitely check out!

on all of my crafty hunts i also came across a few great resources that i MUST add to my collection. lotta jansdotter, the ever amazing scandinavian designer, has a wonderful paper crafts book that is calling to me! i now want paper pinwheels everywhere! the beehives and bunting are ridiculously cute as well!

and here's a FREEBIE to download. the happy holidays guide to diy from papernstitch! it looks incredible. sadly, i haven't been able to download it yet because of too much traffic, but that just means it must be gooooood! i'm patiently waiting to snag this one up!

anyone else have a crafty weekend planned. please feel free to share some links of other DIY treats as i can never get enough. here's to happy crafting!!!