party favors!

Back in May I found this pattern for a self-closing tote-bag and I immediatly liked, liked, liked. I studied the pattern for a while and figured, even with my limited skills, I could make it.
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/10/diy-project-renskes-minimalist-tote-bag.html

I attempted it once and the liner ended up facing the wrong direction. Apparently I didn't cut the tabs at the top to match up. Even with my somewhat failed attempt, I figured I more or less had the hang of it. I made eight in a smaller size to give away as party favors at our girls' weekend before Brooke's wedding. (Not the easiest choice for party favors... lesson learned).

The pattern wasn't too hard to follow but when you're far from an expert, mistakes are inevitable. I learned how to put in grommets and rivets for this project and where to purchase leather straps in bulk. In the pictures you can see the purse liner fabric and a couple of shots with the purses in action!

paint chip dekor

Inspired by recent magazine articles and blog posts about using paint chips creatively, I decided to thread some paint chips onto embroidery thread and twine to make a few summer decorations.

Check out the two links below at howaboutorange for other paint chip ideas.

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-make-easy-paint-chip-wall-art.html

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-make-boxes-from-paint-swatches.html

in lieu of a curtain

fun-shaped paint chips!

estate sale success!

This past Friday I did my routine search for estate sales in the neighborhood and found two that were very close together. Usually my stops at estate sales are entertaining-- exploring a house in the neighborhood, hunting for craft supplies, seeing how people lived-- however, they usually end in a no purchase.

Not the case for this past Friday! I found many treasures that could not be passed up. I post for your viewing pleasure (and envy), the things I found:

Estate Sale Finds!!!!

The two wooden objects, the pear and the dog, are for my new crafting work space at home. The blue and white polka dotted scarf is of course, for me to wear when I want to look sassy. The 6 knobs were a steal!!! The whole bag for $2! At Anthropologie.com they sell for $8 a piece and at World Market, for about $2 a piece.

The southwestern looking bag, $3, which was a good price, as I was unsure (and still am a little) how I feel about the southwestern-y design. It's perfect for my library books though :)

And for my last two finds...

One: this handpainted mobile by Irmi. You can check out the story of these mobiles at http://thebabygardner.com/blog/2010/01/ and you can also see some better pictures of the mobile.
and I made the purchase for five whole dollars!!! There is no baby Brooke to enjoy this mobile yet, but when and if there ever is, it's gonna be a vintage party in the crib :)

Two! This Dansk Flora teapot... I love the design and I loved the price - twenty bucks! Not too shabby. And it's already doing a top job decorating our apartment.





Wishing all Fridays were as successful as this one...

Lotta Jansdotter's "Handmade Living"

Last week, after hearing that you can check out books from public libraries on your iphone, including audiobooks and some video, I decided it was about time I had a Fort Worth public library card. As the library lady verified my home address and typed in my information I noticed this book setting beside her:

After confirming that she was not in fact looking at it, I snatched it up and made it one of my first five books to check out. I had come across Lotta Jansdotter's web site before, http://www.jansdotter.com/ and knew that I really liked her design style. "When I think about Scandinavian Style, I think of simplicity, functionality, and unpretentious classic forms...Midcentury Scandinavian designers made use of natural materials and relied on traditional craft principles to create high-quality pieces with a handmade feel that would last for generations."

So many of the things she shares in the book inspired me and I found myself wishing the book was a magazine I could cut out of and glue in my inspiration notebook, or at the least, own the book myself so I could make notes and such. I don't think that the library would appreciate that, or if I removed the handy recipe cards from the back...I wouldn't... I would... I wouldn't.

One of the things I really liked were the simple patterns she uses on the fabrics she creates. I decided to whip up a stencil and play last night. I ended up only cutting out a thin line for the stencil (I made three), then stenciled dots onto each stem. The small piece of fabric is hanging on our blue bookshelf to dry, and even though it's just practice, it may find itself a more permanent place in our apartment :)

blog inspiration, meet Erin

I was flipping through the fresh home magazine recently and came across this page. For some reason, I found it pleasant to look at and wondered if Erin could make something similar for my blog. i LOVE how it turned out!!

cheap, cheap, cheap magazine organizers

I found these white magazine holders at IKEA 5 for $1.99, and I couldn't resist attacking them with decoupage. I cut out circles from magazines (I think I used a coffee cup for the pattern) and decoupaged them on. For each one I cut the circles from the same magazine page to make it look more together. Super easy, and again, very cheap!

p.s. that is NOT dust on the green box. must be an effect of the camera... :)

party dekor

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures of the decorations Erin came up with for a party we threw for our friend Brooke. Other than helping fill the jars with jelly bellies, my only contribution was the orange and white polka-dotted fabric for the table runner. Turned out cute!

new shelves!

Yesterday Ryan and I went to IKEA where we found these shelves, which I of course had seen repeatedly in the magazines that float around the house, and I knew that they would be just perfect for holding crafty and colorful things. They look a little crooked but I can assure you that's only due to my poor photography skills.

(Snuck into our neighbor's apartment to borrow his circular saw to cut the shelves). Thanks graham :)