sassafrass style

Fresh Dirt on my Counters

2011-07-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

This year I decided to give gardening a shot. Even though it looks like a disaster in my 15' x 19' garden, I still manage to get just enough produce for several meals.

I'm finally to the point where I'm starting to be able to pick something every other day. Tonight I had the house to myself and decided to make a few things with the produce of my labor of love. I did just a little of everything, which is fun to try them all, but it's not enough to live off during the winter. I made refrigerator pickles, froze green beans, and made tomato salsa. EVERYTHING that I used to make them all was home grown. Which I love because it's resourceful, organic, local, and cheaper! The herbs are all delicious since they are fresh picked, and the corn was home grown at my parents farm. Even though it isn't much yet, I'm oober excited to eat it all (soon).

There probably would have been another jar of salsa, but I found a bag of chips and was immediately hooked. The beans will be perfect for a meal during the horrible long winter months. The pickles are just down right delicious, and the salsa will be just right on a vacation we have coming up. Next year I'll have figured out what we like to eat the most, and do more so that we have enough to last through the winter months. I'm so excited! :)

Stuffie Tag Blanket Tutorial

2011-06-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

Lately I've fallen off the face of the earth because my computer died. It's finally back so I thought I'd fill you in on how I've been spoiling the heck out of the cutest little addition to our close group of friends.

Some of our really close friends recently had a baby that I made all of these fun gifts for and I just keep right on spoiling the poor kid! :) The couple has a small wiener dog that was always 'their kid.' Now that they have a real mini me I had to do something fun involving the dog. **I have to admit that this idea originates from my incredibly inspirational mom!**

I found a stuffed wiener dog and got rid of all his holiday gear.

**The following picture of 'stuffie surgery' may not be suitable for small children** :)

Find the center of the stuffed animal and sew basting lines on either side of the center. Then cut between the lines to end up with 2 half stuffies. I cut a piece of minky that was 13" square. I centered the dog on opposite sides and based.

Then I used all sorts of different ribbons and cut 4" pieces and pinned them on. I sandwiched the second 13" square on top and sewed around all four edges with a 1/4" seam allowance. Be sure the leave a hole for turning inside out. Pin the hole shut and topstitch around the entire square.

Add an adorable newborn and you're ready to go!

I've been brave enough to teach myself to sew with knits lately so also had to do up a sleep sack with Jessica's pattern.

DIY Cake Stands

2011-03-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

Today I had the day off and headed to the nearest 'large' city for shopping. My sewing machine needed a long overdue service and I had to run a few errands. While I was waiting for my machine I hit up the local St. Vincent Thrift Store. It's out in a part of town that is a little more run down and either it's a really good place or I always hit it at just the right time. Today I was lucky enough to show up and the ENTIRE store was 50% off. When prices are already dirt cheap this is basically stealing.

I've been looking for some simple cake stands to use for displays and entertaining. Lately we've been doing a lot of simple entertaining with friends and family at our home and always need to add height to the food table.

I dug through the piles of dishes at the thrift store and found 4 matching/eclectic creamy white plates and tea cups. The cups were .15 cents each (plus 50% off) and the plates were .25 cents each (plus 50% off), for a grand total of .82 cents!

Using E6000 glue or any other super durable glue, I attached them together at their bases. Voilla, 4 cake stands for a price of .82 cents. I don't think it can get much cheaper than that. Plus, I know that I will use them over and over to make them well worth it.

I was also able to score 3 Haeger USA bowls/dishes for less than $10. They are in perfect condition and now I just have to find them a home, within our already full of collectible pottery house.

Baby Shower Pretties

2011-03-28T20:15:00.000-05:00

My best friend is expecting her 1st baby in 2 months! They're the first ones to have a baby in our close circle of friends. We're all practically family and have been super close for years so this is pretty awesome for all of us. This past Saturday was her baby shower and I was excited to make some of the awesome tutorials popping up all over blogland lately. I created: bibs, diaper and wipe holder, pacifier clips, spit rags, and a toadstool rattle.

The daddy-to-be is a HUGE Case IH tractor fan. He joked that even if it was a girl that she was going to have a Case blanket. So I made him a separate gift with items for him.

My INCREDIBLE mother helped me make the awesome little tags on all the items on her embroidery machine. This way things don't get all mixed up at church nursery or daycare. And it's a perfect personal touch.

After using Jessica's tutorial and templates on Running with Scissors I am now completely addicted to freezer paper stenciling. They will be perfect the the new little dude.

TOADSTOOL RATTLE TUTORIAL

Using her template for the toadstool, I enlarged it and created a rattle to match. I cut the piece out of red felt. I also cut out some small circles from fleece and stitched them on there as well for an additional soft texture.

I used some small jingle bells and hand sewed on some jingle bells to keep the baby busy. Be sure to attach them well so they don't slide around.

I sewed the two pieces together and left a small opening to fill with poly-fil. Fill with some fiber-fill, enough to hide the hardness of the bells but not too much to muffle them. Fill the handle a little more stiff to hold easier. Sew the hole shut and rattle away! (As with all items for children, make with care and safety of the child)

Painted Wallpaper

2011-03-04T09:04:00.000-06:00

So I finally jumped on the bandwagon and painted wallpaper in our bedroom. I've been drooling over so many of them in blog land and couldn't resist any more. When we initially moved in I wanted the room to be monochromatic, masculine, and dark. Now almost a year later it was super boring and I had never gotten around to decorating.

BEFORE:

I created a basic shape to use for the pattern. I'm not much of a perfectionist with my creating so I started in the top corner of the window and just started tracing and eyeballing, and tracing and eyeballing some more. I traced the entire wall to make sure it was even. The walls are an eggshell finish so I used leftover white high gloss from painting the inside of my kitchen cabinet walls (they were wallpapered when we bought the house! ew). At night when the lights are right, or there are candles lit you can see the little bit of shine.

Now our tiny bedroom looks much bigger! Even my hubby likes it. I feel like I'm checking into a boutique hotel every night. It gives me a little more inspiration to actually make the bed now and then. I had initially looked into wallpaper, for $100 for the small wall I shot that idea down quickly and much better appreciate this treatment for free! After doing this for about 7 hours on my day off, I'd say it's well worth it!

AFTER:

Gluesticks Feature

2011-02-10T16:56:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Brandy over at Gluesticks for featuring my Magnetic No-Slip Ironing Mat today. Her blog is full of creative goodness!

Thanks for stopping by if your coming from her blog. Stay a while and have a look!

Strawberry/Cherry Chip Valentine's Bars

2011-02-03T12:57:00.000-06:00

These bars are my absolute favorite so it's odd that I never seem to make them more than Valentine's day! Last night I needed to get off the couch for a bit so I hobbled around on one leg and crutches to make these. My hubby was working on some remodeling and frequently ran in to check on me because he heard things falling. The recipe is super easy but still took me a lot of energy and a lot of time with one leg out of commission!

I didn't take pictures of the process but do have a finished look. They taste a lot better than they look! :)

You will need:
1 box of cherry or strawberry chip cake mix
2/3 cup melted margarine
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 package of caramels
chocolate chips

Mix together the cake mix and melted margarine. Press 1/2 of the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake the crust for 6 min in a 350 degree oven. Melt the caramels and evaporated milk. Pour over crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Crumble remaining cake mixture on top and bake for an additional 12 min.

"Everything is Gunna be Alright" Printable

2011-02-02T14:44:00.000-06:00

Last week I had surgery on my leg to remove some hardware from a 4-wheeling accident on Father's Day in 2009. As of this afternoon I've been on our couch without leaving our main level of our home for a week! Let's just say it's getting REALLY old and starting to kill me sitting here and getting nothing accomplished since I can't even walk well yet. I was killing some time blogging and listening to Bob Marley "It's Gunna be Alright" and decided that I needed a new print for a frame on our mantel. I figured since I can't do much right now I'd make it available for you too! I can't put it in the frame or take pictures right now but will when I'm up and running again!

I'd love to see a picture if you decided to use it in your own home! It is formatted to fit in a frame for an 8 x 10. Click the photo to enlarge or let me know if you have problems with it and I'll e-mail it to you directly.

Pay it Forward 2011

2011-01-26T16:43:00.001-06:00

I saw this idea on the blog of a fellow creative guru (the-crazy-gecko.blogspot.com) and am paying it forward to you as well. Here's the deal:

I promise to send something hand-made to the first five peope who leave a comment here.

You must in turn post this on your blog and send somthing YOU make to the first five people who comment on your post.

The rules are: the item has to be HANDMADE and must be sent to the five people sometime in 2011. Time to share some love.

Please be sure to leave your email address in the comments so I can contact you!
I have a fun idea in mind and can't wait to send you a package of handmade goodies!

Valentines 'Wreath' Tutorial

2011-01-11T15:33:00.000-06:00

With the remodel going on, my projects have become quick and simple. I finally broke down and put away our Christmas decorations today. The house looks SO empty and sad. It needed a little cheer of color to ease my way out of the overly decorated rooms. This quick wreath was perfect.

The yarn heart is warm and cozy since we just got a lot of snow again today. Plus, everyone has left over yarn from all of their yarn wreaths this Christmas ;)

You will need:

An old frame (I spray painted mine silver)

Foam core, or cardboard

Red or pink yarn

Scraps for a bow

Using your foam board or cardboard, cut out the shape of a heart. I'm non-typical so I did mine a little asymmetrical.

Using either red or pink ribbon start wrapping around the heart shape. I cut my yarn into about 8' lengths so I could wrap it in and out easier. Optional: Ribbon would be an even quicker option since you would cover more area at a time.

After the entire thing in wound in yarn decide how you want it to hang within your frame. I simply ripped a 3" strip of white fabric to make my bow.

You will need to tie a knot before wrapping the bow around the top of the frame so the frame doesn't fall to the heart. (It'll make more sense when you try hang it)

Buying a Fixer House=Too much work!

2011-01-09T18:35:00.000-06:00

I feel like I have fallen off the face of by blog! Recently we started remodeling our entry so the creativity has taken a small dive. I also started a new Interior Design job this week that makes my life a little busier than normal.

When we bought our home we knew it would need a lot of work....but we were up to the challenge and wanted to personalize it. Turns out this is a WHOLE lot more work than expected. We have gotten most of our main level to a good living standard and now are moving into the entry. It used to have 2 unnecessary doors from the entry to the stairs and made for a HUGE hassle to grill, bring in groceries, and function. We decided they had to go.

Remodeling in our house works great. My husband loves to destroy...and I love to make it look better. Except that we both hate the mess and work!

So the walls came down and the drywall went up! (with the enlisted help of some friends and family) We added a coat closet, more outlets, new doors...and that's where we're at. I'm on the hunt for more inspiration to organize this new entry--link up in a comment if you have a great idea.

I'll try to return with more creativity now that the major parts of our remodel are out of the way!

Instant Oatmeal Recipe

2011-01-02T17:33:00.000-06:00

When I used to live with my parents I was the typical kid that slept as late as humanly possible just so I had enough time to brush my teeth and throw my hair in a pony tail before school. Now that I have a busy life as a newly-wed with a full time job and remodeling a house I have to eat breakfast to keep myself going. I used to buy the instant oatmeal packets... until I decided I could make my own for much cheaper. I researched a few recipes and made up my own!

Instant Oatmeal
3 cups cooking oats
pinch of salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp sugar/brown sugar

In a food processor blend 1 cup of the oats until they are powder. Combine the other ingredients all in a large airtight container. To make the oatmeal, use 1/2 cup of the mix to 3/4 cup water and cook like other instant oatmeal. I put an extra measuring cup right into the container to make it easier and quicker in the morning.
Extra Tip: If you have kids that take breakfast to school or get ready by themselves in the morning, put the 1/2 cup into a microwavable container, draw a permanent line on the container with a Sharpie that the water must be filled to. Then the student can make themselves a healthy and warm breakfast.

I put the oatmeal mixture into a clear container that sits on the counter next to the other vital part of my morning commute. This is the perfect way to stay warm and full and start your day off. Plus, who wouldn't want to start their morning with a money-saving idea!?

New Year Blog Hop

2011-01-02T11:34:00.000-06:00

The beginning of 2011 means it's a great time to explore and find more creative people that may be 'hiding out there.' It amazes me how I can always stumble across another extremely creative and inspiration blog. Head over to this blog hop to 'meet a few more friends.' Hope everyone is already having a fantastic new year!

Fuzzy Fleece Headband Tutorial

2010-12-19T11:39:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my mom and I spent the week at a local lake resort. We did nothing but sew and shop. It was the perfect little getaway from every day life. I knew we'd be doing downtown boutique shopping the last day so I wanted fun cold weather accessories to wear. I got so many compliments on it that I knew I had to go home and make another one to share a tutorial with you!

You will need to download the pattern HERE. Make sure the 1" scale box is the right size. Cut out 2 pieces on the fold of a fleece of your choosing. Optional: it would also be super cozy to put flannel or minky on the side that towards your skin.

Pin your pieces together and sew around the edge using a 1/4" seam allowance. Remember to leave a hold to turn the headband right side out.

To create a cleaner product, trim a 45 degree angle from your corners and trim your seam allowances with a pinking shears. This helps the piece make the curves and comes out cleaner.

Stitch around the outside with a topstitch at a distance of your choosing. Using the specifics to your machine place a button hole at one end of the band. The reasoning for the end closure is to not ruin your hair or make it staticky like so many other head coverings do! Option: if you don't have an auto buttonholer for your machine, you can use a hook and eye or use a snap and still sew on a button for the same look.

Carefully cut the hole for the button. Line the two pieces up and sew on a button. I used shank buttons to make it open and close easier, if you don't use a shank button, be sure to create a shank before knotting.

If you are more simple you could leave the band this way and it would still be super functional and cute. The next step is optional and with all of the cute flower pin ideas out there you can make it your own by adding something different.

To make this flower fold a strip up 2 1/2" to 3" and cut the strip to about 19" long.

Using a sharp scissors cut slits at the fold all along your strip of fleece, these will create the petals of your flower. Also cut a square about 2 1/2" that will be the base of the flower.

Using the stitch, turn, and rotate technique carefully sew the flower petal strip to the base that will attach to your headband. Do a few stitches, turn more of the petals, and slowly repeat.

It won't look perfect from the back or front (unless you're really good!). Trim away excess of the square base so you don't see it from underneath the flower.

Find a button, brooch, or something else creative big enough to cover your stitching and either sew or hot glue it on.

Attach the pin to the headband where you would like by sewing by hand or hot glue. Option: you can attach a pin or clip to the bottom of the flower to make it interchangeable.

To download the pattern click HERE! After making one you'll see how easy and personalized they can be and you'll want to make one for everyone (or one to match each one of your winter jackets!)

I'd love to see your project and how you make it to match your personal style.

Tutorial Sneak Peek

2010-12-18T16:30:00.000-06:00

I'm only going to tease you with a tutorial coming up tomorrow! Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon to see how to create one of these adorable things!

Peanut Butter Fudge Hostess Gift

2010-12-18T13:19:00.001-06:00

I live in the middle of small town USA in Northwest Iowa. Around here the simple pleasures are everyday life but the simple concept of hostess gifts is often looked past. This year I decided even a small "Thanks" was necessary. We now have Christmas parties in twos as a married couple--two families, two work parties, etc. I found a recipe that makes incredible Peanut Butter Fudge that makes 2 small jars.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1/3-1/2 cup peanut butter (depending on your preference, I did the 1/2)

Melt the chocolate chips and butter until smooth.

Add the sugar and can of evaporated milk. Boil on low for 8 minutes. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth and creamy.

Pour into 2 small canning jars. This recipe fits perfectly. I was hoping for a little extra to keep for myself but I'll have to make more!

Using scrapbook paper (or even fabric) trace around the lid and cut out the circle. Screw lid on jar, the caning rim will hold the paper down so you don't even need to glue it.

Wrap with with some ribbon, bakers twine, or crochet thread, add a little personal tag and you have the perfect hostess gift within a few minutes!

The fudge would be perfect for the hostess(s) to enjoy after everything is cleaned and they can relax. It's the smallest little things during the holiday season that mean the most. My first one goes out tonight and I'm excited!

Bakers Twine Substitute

2010-12-12T11:32:00.001-06:00

Since this is our first Christmas I'm having a blast wrapping all my gifts (that are all homemade but ONE). There are OODLES of fun ideas out there for wrapping gifts with bakers twine. These are just a few fun ones that I quickly found, but just start looking and the www is crawling with ideas!

via Oh So Beautiful Paper

via Whisker Graphics

With my Christmas decorating and wrapping budget of about $0 I had to find a way to have this look on my huge budget! About a moth ago at Goodwill I paid $5 for an entire garbage bag of crochet thread. I don't crochet but figured I'd have to have a use for it eventually. Well I found some red and white in the bag, cut my lengths, taped the edge to the counter, and started twisting. Holding the ends to keep the twist I wrapped up my package. The gift was initially wrapped in a brown paper bag rather than kraft paper. The amazing gift tags are a free printable from Eat, Drink, Chic.

Who said that pretty presents had to cost you anything? With everything I had in my studio these pretty little things didn't cost me a dime, which fits quite nicely within my budget!

Magnetic Non-Slip Ironing Mat Tutorial

2010-12-11T12:50:00.000-06:00

Before Christmas began this year I decided that I was going to make 100% of our Christmas gifts. Well I managed to do all but one guy (who's almost impossible to buy for). My mother in law made it a challenge for me. I knew she'd been wanting one of these or these things. I've never seen them before but it's pretty much ingenious! After doing a little research on them I found that they weren't that expensive, but wouldn't a handmade personalized one be SO much better. The price is about the same (depending on how stocked your sewing room is) but this one will match her laundry room to leave out all the time. I took to the challenge and created one that turned out quite well. She'll be my guinea pig and I'll tell her to let me know if there would be anything to change (she hasn't gotten it yet, so SHH).

You will need:
1 yard of top fabric
1 yard of bottom fabric
6" of non-slip footie pajama fabric
Magnets
1 yard of Insul-batting

**These size are for a standard dryer. Double check the measurements of your dryer.

From your top and bottom fabric cut one piece of each 19 3/4" by 31 3/4". Also cut a piece the same size out of the Insul-Batting.

From the non slip fabric cut 2 strips 2 1/2" wide. TIP: Someone mentioned that a cheaper alternative to this special fabric would be puff paint dotted either directly on the back or on these strips and then sewn on. Position the far edge of the strip 5-6" from the edge. Zig zag around the edges. I placed a piece of sew-in interfacing (3" x 16" strips) on the back to give it some strength. Make sure you go nice and slow or use a teflon foot.

Cut 4 rectangles that will house your magnets (the size depends on your preference and size of the magnet). My pieces were about 2 1/2" x 5". Sandwich the magnet in between, place in the corner, and sew around the edges to hold the magnet it.

Be sure to sew the magnet pocket to the wrong side of the back fabric.

Take your 3 layers and sandwich and pin them together with right sides of the fabrics together. The shiny side of the Insul-Batting must face your ironing surface to reflect the heat back to the top, so put the shiny side of the batting away from the wrong side of the fabric.

With your sandwich of fabrics all pinned together, sew around the edge with a 3/8" seam allowance. Remember to leave an opening to turn right side out and backstitch at each end! I suggest putting a walking foot on with these odd layers of fabrics.

Be sure to clip a 45 degree triangle from the corners. This reduces the bulk and makes for a cleaner corner.

Iron the opening and hand whip stitch it together for a clean finish. Optional: You can topstitch around the entire mat rather than hand-stitching the opening.

Place on your dryer and iron away! The magnets hold it in place and the non-slip fabric makes sure it's not sliding around. You could even get creative with a quilted top or something fun depending on your style and creativity, the possibilities are endless! Now your hubby has no reason not to iron those good clothes or pants because there's no need to haul out the bulky ironing board. :)

I couldn't get a very good picture of it because our laundry room is under construction and the lights are all goofy. I'd love to see yours or hear ideas for improvement!

Our Very First Tree!

2010-12-07T17:55:00.001-06:00

When I was younger my family always went to cut down our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner. We're one of those odd families that don't get into football and found something better to do with full bellies. With out family growing up and having parties with 'their other halves' this hasn't happened for a few years. This year is our First Christmas together as a married couple and I was determined to have a real tree for the smell and fun of cutting one down. On Thanksgiving it was BITTER cold here but I was convinced this had to happen. So we bundled up in our Carhart, longjohns, and oodles of layers of clothes and headed to the tree farm. We came home with the perfect tree and it's finally decorated with Christmas cheer and of course birds! Birds are so natural and whimsical to me and I have this weird thing for them, so of course I went with a cardinal and winter bird theme this year. I used my sticks back from this post and gave them a place to perch.

I added some berries, silver balls, vintage ornaments, and a little mercury glass for the vintage feel.

These awesome birds were my inspiration. I LOVE the huge ribbon tail feathers. They were my splurge for decorating this year. :)

The sparkly balls and sticks are incredible at night.

I have no idea what this crazy chenille ribbon stuff is but I found it in the craft aisle and it fits my look perfectly!

The only thing missing (other than a tree skirt) are the embroidered birds that my mom just did on her new embroidery machine. They are in pieces in my studio and waiting to be hung!

Did you Hear?

2010-12-06T21:41:00.001-06:00

Did you hear? Shutterfly is spreading Christmas joy a little further this year. They are offering 50 free Christmas cards. I love how their prints turn out. Now they even let you send them to Target (which is even better). They have an incredible selection of cards from Contemporary/Modern (my faves), to the traditional cards. I love how they look like you spent a lot more than you actually did since they are heavy cardstock rather than photo paper.

Since we just sent out our wedding Thank You’s I feel silly sending out another picture to the same people, but with all these great formats and fun wedding pictures I can’t really complain. They even have some formats with slots for several pictures so I might have to go to one of them because I can’t decide on a picture.

The folded cards are awesome because they have a picture but you can also add a Christmas letter and a more personal note.

The flat stationary cards have fun backgrounds, monograms, and Christmasy graphics.

The flat photo cards are your traditional cards but Shutterfly adds their own twist.

Us in blogland seem to be the best at spreading the word, so check out this link to see how you can receive 50 free quality Christmas cards. Be sure to order them soon to hand out before the holidays fly by. Good luck choosing a format and Merry Christmas!

Nothing cures the shivers like a red sweater....

2010-12-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

When I was out Christmas decoration shopping the other day I saw a store that was trying to sell a stocking made from a red sweater for $26.00! Unheard of in my book! The next day I went to the closest Goodwill and found some red sweaters with big buttons, cowl necks, and unique knitting stitches for $3.50 each. I turned them into the most adorable stockings and right now they are the only decoration up yet. I've never had a stocking before and am stoked to hang them. My family didn't do the whole 'Santa thing' when I was little. My hubby keeps teasing me that there really isn't going to come a fat man down our chimney to fill the cute little things up.

This is the story of what I did with the rest of my sweater.....
I was cleaning out my design studio and found an old "Shivers embroidery" that I did when I was still in high school. I decided he would look perfectly cozy wrapped up in a sweater. (Any embroidery that's cut down to 4" x 6" would work)

I cut 2 pieces about 2 1/2" x 6" and using a 3/8" seam I carefully sewed the piece to the top and bottom of the embroidered piece.

I pressed the seams towards the embroidery piece and topstitched on the fabric. I made the stitch length longer to blend better with the hand stitched embroidery.

Using the bottom ribbing of the sweater, I cut 2 pieces about 7" x 8". I sewed them on the left and right sides of the pillow top.

Press the seams toward the sweater ribbing. Using the same seam allowance, I topstitched on the sweater this time. The puffiness of the sweater created a look similar to having piping on either ege.

I didn't have enough sweater to use for the back and wanted something stiffer to pull straight any stretch that happened during the sewing so I used some brown felt left from this project. I pulled it evenly straight all around. It will curl a little when pinning but comes out fine in the end.

Pin the pieces right sides together. Stitch around the edge using a consistent seam allowance. I use 3/8 but some may be more comfortable with 5/8, as long as it is consistent.

Before turning right side out, clip the 45 degree seam allowance from all corners. The fabrics are quite bulky and this will result in a cleaner finish.

After it is all turned right side out (make sure you poke the points out really well), start stuffing it with poly or fiber fill. Make sure it's not lumpy and evenly fluffed all over.

After it is all smooth and filled to perfection, fold up the open raw edges you left on the bottom, pin them together, and whipstitch. If you are short on time you can use the machine, but it's a cleaner finish when done by hand.

After making one, they are pretty much addictive! They turn out so soft, homey, and comforting. Especially here, where we got our first taste of winter last night, with an entire 6" of snow. Now I can just cuddle up all cozy with a huge mug of cocoa.

A Piece of my Home

2010-11-30T22:48:00.000-06:00

In every house there are the little spots, vignettes, areas that are more near and dear or favorite than others. My hubby and I have things all over our home that are important to us as a couple and things we both cherish. But, after decorating for Christmas there is one spot that makes me smile every time (and it's right by our bedroom door so it makes me smile quite a bit).

This little spot just has a few things that mean a lot to me. The silver tree came with me all through college and now found a permanent place in a real home. It's had all sorts of color schemes and seen a lot. The ornaments are vintage ones that I've collected for as long as I can remember.

I love the picture of my dad walking me down the aisle at our wedding. It's candid and we both look so natural and legitimately happy. It's one I'll cherish forever and keeps a special place on our bedroom dresser.

The 'catch-all' bowl/plate I took back to the states from Australia a few years ago. It's real mother of pearl and I snagged it for a steal along the ocean since this precious stone there is like dirt here in the Midwest.

The holidays are the perfect times to reflect on memories made and to be made. In my first 'real home' as a married woman it's amazing to have a space of my own to decorate for my hubby and I that we will cherish forever. I hope and pray that you and your family are making memories every day.

My First Refashion (ever)

2010-11-23T09:16:00.001-06:00

Blogland is full of of creative people turning one thing into another. They always seem to be the weirdest/ugliest things that turn out incredible. Well I was a little jealous of this talent that you all have so I had to try my hand at it.

I've been following Kathleen over at Grosgrain. She is doing a "Knit Embellishment Month." Every day she refashions a sweater with a fantastic tutorial, and I have to say that they are all stunning! I wish I had enough sweaters to cut up. (My second hand stores must not be as good as the secret ones she has ;) ) The other day I had just packed up a box of clothes to donate when I read this post. I was totally inspired since I knew I had just packed up a sweater to donate that I knew would work!

This is the ugly sweater that it started with, it was about 3 sizes too big and hit me in all the wrong places. (Don't mind the pile of unfinished projects in the corner, I really need a 40' countertop to pile them on!)

This is my spin on her refashion. I was pretty impressed myself and now it's my favorite 'fall back' sweater when I want something comfy to throw on that I know will look cute. Thanks for the inspiration Grosgrain, I might have to try more!

Sparkly Stick Knockoff

2010-11-17T21:22:00.000-06:00

The other day I went Christmas decorating shopping with my mom. I'm pretty excited that this is my first house that I get to decorate (ever!). Eeek! and I'm busting with excitement because my hubby is letting me get a real Christmas tree and the house will smell incredible. He was excited about not having to store the honking huge thing, haha. Anyways, we went shopping and it blew me away how much decorations are. I'm going vintage with mercury balls and cardinals look. I about passed out when I saw that they were charging $18 for glittered sticks! So, knowing me, I thought, "No biggy. I can make that WAY cheaper." So I did....and this is the adventure that got me there. Just wait until you see them on my tree. And tonight I picked up more supplies for sticks to match these so be sure to check back and see what I do with more sticks and twigs.

It all started with this unsuspecting bush. I'm not really sure if it is ours or our neighbors' but it had the perfect sticks! I was looking for perfect sticks that look almost fake.

I gave the bush a small trim and gathered all my sticks in the garage. I trimmed them of all little sprouts and made them nice and smooth.

The ones I saw were red, and this is the scheme I was going for anyway. I prepped the floor and gave them the first step by coating them in red spray paint. (Side Note: this has to be a quick process so I'd do this without distractions such as kids, husbands, or pets)

While the paint is still wet, rub the tacky stick in a pan or container or glitter. Roll it around and make sure the the entire stick is covered before it dries.

After the stick is completely covered, you can call it quits or do an extra preventative step. Storing sparkly decorations always ends up in a tub with a bottom full of glitter. To prevent this, I gave my sticks a coat of clear coat. You can choose either gloss, clear, or flat. I did clear to let all my glitter shine through.

The final product was exactly what I was looking for without the high dollar price tag. They are carefully tucked into our basement until I can put up my tree (after the whole gang is here for Thanksgiving feast). I'll be sure to show you how they look on the tree. Be sure to stop back tomorrow to see more "sticks on a budget."

(They have a whole lot more shine in real life, dang those pictures that I don't know how to take)

Garlic Quick Fix

2010-11-16T21:16:00.000-06:00

When I was younger, my mom always had this weird container of goofy gunk in the fridge. Every time that you went to open the butter container, about 1/3 of the times it would be the 'wrong butter container.' Ya see, she made garlic butter with a butter container when it got down to about 1/2 cup left in the container. I thought she was crazy but now even by husband is addicted.

When I lived on my own before I got married I lived on 'gourmet grilled cheese.' All my roomates were addicted. I used my garlic butter concoction and it was super delicious! Now I've upgraded to a glass pyrex container so I know which container to grab but we still always use it.

This mix is perfect for a 'gourmet grilled cheese' with tomato soup, a quick remedy for garlic bread (spread some on bread, sprinkle with shredded cheese and pop in the oven for about 7 min), and any type of panini.

Garlic Butter Concoction:

Start with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup butter

Add the following spices:

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash original

1/2 tsp thyme

(I'll sometimes add more depending how it smells)

Mix it all up and pop back in the fridge for the next time you quick need garlic bread. Sometimes it will separate in the fridge but just stir it up again and it's just like new.

Operation Christmas Child

2010-11-13T22:00:00.000-06:00

This is crazy to say but I'm afraid I've turned into my mother. O no! ;) (She'd be glad though) I have a thing with putting Bible verses everywhere. It's a little weird I know but it's "my thing" I guess.

Every year our church is a part of Operation Christmas Child. They fill shoeboxes with toys and send them all over the world. My mom used to do them when we were little and we got to fill the boxes with things that we would want. This year it came up again and I wanted to do it. The other night my hubby and I went out and got shoe boxes and stuffed them full to ship across the world. We each found these perfectly little notebooks. The fronts were pretty plain jane and I don't really do plain jane.

I spruced them up with a little scrapbook paper, some glue, and of course a Bible verse. I'm happy with how they turned out and they looked so cute in their boxes all ready to be shipped out.

Pillow Tutorial

2010-11-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

I'm on the lookout for simple and quick pillow ideas to decorate and make 'homey' before the crew is over for Turkey Day. I came across this tutorial at Cluck, Cluck, Sew and had to do it immediately. It's incredibly easy and looks high end. I had to share it with you.

Wonder Woman

2010-11-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

My hubby never has a problem with me up in my design/sewing/creating studio at night. I love being up there and making and creating anything and everything but there is ONE thing that I won't do in there.....mend. I think I hate it because it offers me no instant gratification of something pretty. He knows this and usually takes it to his mom, which makes me feel back since she isn't much of a sewer. The other day when he left for work, he said he was down to one pair of pants because the rest were ripped or in repair at his mom's place. So after playing for myself in my studio I went to his parents' to get his other pants and fixed them all. Every pair had already been fixed somewhere at lease twice. When he got home I had all 3 pairs mended and folded on the table. He was surprised to say the least that I had done all of this. I was still grudging doing them until he put them on the next morning all SUPER excited because he had forgotten that those were his favorite pants.

Moral of this long drawn out story.....It's the little things you do for your spouse that make the biggest difference. Who would have known that fixing his pants (with unmatching thread) would have made his day?!

Privacy Please

2010-11-07T13:24:00.002-06:00

I've always been a country girl and now live in town...if you have ever done this you understand my struggle. This means I have to keep curtains closed at night, actually put decent clothes on if I have to run to my car in the driveway, and be close to neighbors. To top it off we live directly across from the city park. I love how it's always active and we will randomly have children stop in if they need something or have a problem (it's a really small town so this is legit!)

I am adjusting but our front door (the old school entry that goes into the living room that we never use) faces the park and the windows being empty were starting to weird me out that you can see directly into the main area of our home. They are annoying side light windows that add sunshine but are hard to cover.

(Sorry about the dark pictures, it's a little hard to take decent ones that face the sun)
I wanted to still see out but cut down on the full vision in. I've seen so many of you with the machines that cut vinyl and do all the work for you. That handy tool isn't in my budget right now so I went old school and made something different using Contact paper. (I'm really hoping these peel off decently when I get sick of them. I might be going through an entire bottle of Goo Gone!)

I first measured how tall my windows are and cut a piece of contact paper that long so I knew my working space. I knew I wanted to do a design that mimics the design of my curtains in the rest of the space.

I gave myself lines to work from as the base of my linear design that I did. Then I made a cardboard template for the oval that I would repeat on the lines. This kept my circles/ovals consistent and made it A LOT easier!

After they were all traced, and I held it up the window to double check that it was going to fit, I cut them out with my handy little Ex-Acto knife.

Using a level and some painters tape, I made a straight line for reference of laying out the first middle strip of the 3. After the first one was straight and even, I winged the 2 on the sides (I wing a lot of my creativity :) )

I purposely made the strips a little too long so that I could later use my blade to make them fit perfectly inside the window.

The doors are still a horrid mint green and I haven't painted them yet, even though they stand out, now it's even more obvious that they are green and maybe it will encourage me to also get this little project done before everyone is here for Thanksgiving.

(--UPDATE 11/8/10 I did it tonight already because this picture bugged me so badly....It's now a nice slate gray.)

I'm excited about the final turnout (even though there's no good way to take a great picture of a window to prove how good it looks in person). During the day it even makes fun shadows on the floor. I didn't consider it before, but you can also see it perfectly from the outside as well and adds interesting lines to the front of our home. It's just enough that you can't see in 100% but still allows me to see outside and let the sun in. Best part....it only cost me $4.00!

Free Printables

2010-11-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

I recently accidentally volunteered to have Thanksgiving at our place this year. Since we were only married this past spring our home is still getting unpacked and situated. I decided this was a good way to kick it in the butt and get decorated before everyone comes "to see the house" for dinner.

Jen over at Tatertots & Jello linked up to some great Thanksgiving printables and wanted to share them with you. To see all of her links click HERE. I was paging through them and found a great blog with several to choose from, Craftily Every After. I immediately downloaded and printed my 2 favorite. I've had these frames sitting empty and now they look perfect! Thanks for the freebie! Click HERE to get your free downloads.

I totally love how they match perfectly. I actually think they were made just for me! ;)

I Hate Coming Up with Blog Titles

2010-11-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

I love how some of you can come up with the most creative titles and then it leads to an amazing post with perfect pictures....I totally fail in that area. But on the plus side I do love to share a little insight with you on the crazy things that I come up with.

Last week I picked up a Better Homes & Garden Special Interest Magazine. I'm so not ready for it to be Christmas yet but decided that I want to do all homemade gifts this year. If you haven't seen this magazine yet, go buy it right now! It's a spendy little guy but SOO worth it with all the amazing ideas and yummy recipes that I'm going to try. Well the whole magazine got me thinking and now I want to make gifts for everyone for every reason!

I have a small addiction to vintage or old tins. I've had this one that I only paid 25 cents for just laying around. The inside was a little icky and I couldn't use it to give any sweets. So...I came up with a brilliant idea to hide the inside and make it even more adorable!

I wanted to create a "slipcover" for the inside and found a little scrap of fabric that matched and made my pattern. First trace around the base of the tin to get the pattern size for the inside bottom. Be sure to add the seam allowance.

To create the sides of the "slipcover" measure around the diameter of the tin and the height. Using a ruler transfer these measurements to paper. Be sure to add seam allowances for sewing the sides together.

With your large rectangle that will create the sides of the "slipcover" sew the short ends together to create a tube (using the seam allowance that you left).

Press the seam open and pin the tube to the bottom circle that you cut out using your traced pattern of the base. Sew around the bottom using the seam allowance that you left.

Using a pinking shears, trim the seam allowance to create a smoother inside. If you don't have a shears, just cut some little triangles so the fabric can turn inside out smoothly.

Put the "slipcover inside the tin. Using a low temp glue gun, glue it to the tin. Try to make sure there are no strings hanging all over to keep it neat and tidy.

If there are any gathers or extra fabric, disperse them evenly throughout or take in the side seam accordingly at the top. I wasn't quite satisfied with the top finish so I also added some ribbon to the top to finish it off.

Then fill it with a favorite cookie or other sweet and seal it up cute. I just ripped a piece of gingham and added some scrapbook paper to a clothes pin to dress it up. Add a chipboard heart and the recipe for the cookies inside and it's the perfect little "Thank You" "I'm Sorry" "I Love You" "Merry Christmas" or "Just Because" gift!

P.s. This cookie recipe really is delicious! It's one of my hubby's favorites that his grandma always made and she gave me the recipe at one of my bridal showers this spring. It's a classic! :)

Artsy Fartsy Finished

2010-11-02T22:38:00.000-05:00

Monday I was able to take the day off and get A LOT finished around the house and get some things done during regular business hours. I finally finished my 'wall art quilt thing.' My tutorial for the quilt top is HERE. I feel like I should start on my Winter one tomorrow if it's going to take me this long again :)

(Sorry about the fact that I took this at a really bad time of day and the wall is between a large window and an entry door) This whole little wall is turning into a small eclectic art area that I'm going to try make all the art. Be sure to take notice of the amazing quilting! Thanks, Mom!

My hubby pointed out that the piece of art that I did next to it looks like a blank frame with a small red heart during some points during the day because of the color thread I chose. When you can see it, it looks really neat. I also freehanded the embroidery as well.

Now that my walls aren't so empty, our house is finally starting to feel like a home. Good thing because it's started to get oober cold around here!

The empty space in the art area is going to be one a blown up canvas. There is a code floating around for a free 8x10 I hear and I'm anxious to use it with one of our wedding pictures.

Have a 'lil Faith

2010-10-21T21:05:00.019-05:00

I tend to be a 'blog lurker' at night when everything settles down. I love being able to see a little into other people's lives and see what they have created (since I typically don't have time to lately). I love it just a little more when other 'neighbor bloggers' out there have little tutorials or freebies that truly relate to my life.

When we first bought our home, my goal was to have the bedroom be the first room to be completely done, decorated, and serene before the wedding....4 months later, it's still plain jane! It has a little too much grey and white so I would like to add some blue and mustard yellow. I've been searching for some art that was faith related to hang next to our bed and tonight it popped up! Keep Calm and Pray On is perfect, to get this free download, head HERE. I'll be sending mine off to get printed and framed ASAP.

My hubby and I think our David Ramsey envelopes are super boring. Diane over at from blank pages came up with the perfect solution to the ugly envelopes. Click HERE to get the tutorial. It's saved in my "to make" folder. :)

Sometimes when my creativity is dead when I get home from work (since I already work as an Interior Designer) I love reading some of your blogs and being inspired from you ideas. Keep up the good work!

Lights...Camera...& High-end Fashion!

2010-10-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

As an Interior Designer, I typically stick to my colors, lines, function, and floor plans. This past weekend I added a little more! I work for someone who is both an interior designer and a fashion designer. She was asked to show at Portland Fashion Week's sustainable show this year. And lucky ME was in charge of accessories and random details. I've never been to something so crazy!

It was in the shipyards and super industrial so the inside was awesome and kinda harshly pretty.

Saturday night we went to the "Project Runway" show and saw Seth Aaron, Gordana, Jay, and Jonathan's shows. It was AMAZING! I've never been to a real runway show and it was super intense.

Sunday night was our show, and I was backstage for the intensity of a runway show. I have nothing other to say than "wow!" There are people running around in nothing and everything. I was actually super surprised that the models were so friendly. Each night we got to party with them at an after party and got to know a couple of them really well.

For SURE a once in a lifetime adventure! (But I wouldn't mind doing it again) We even have more pictures of what I helped with and the accessories but I don't have them yet. It was pretty awesome to see something that I did walking down a runway.

Artsy Fartsy

2010-10-12T21:58:00.001-05:00

So I've had a huge blank wall in our living room that seems to be screaming at me that it's ugly. SO....I designed and made my first quilt. Tonight, it was picked up to be quilted by this amazing quilter (http://www.lizardcreekquilting.com/LizardCreekQuilting/AboutUs.htm) a.k.a my mom. She said she has some fun ideas and is excited to try a more contemporary quilt than she's used to. I thought I'd try take some pictures through this process in case any of you are interested in creating a similar one for your blank wall that is screaming at you. :) I've never made a tutorial or even documented a process (cuz I usually make it up) so bear with me!

First I found my "base color" and 6 coordinates. I plan to change this quilt out seasonally so this one is all fall colors.

I cut all my fabrics into 2" strips. My final quilt is going to be in a vintage 24" x 30" frame so I cut 16 strips of my base color to start. I'm using 1/2" seam allowances.

I also cut 2 2" strips of each of my coordinates. I sewed them all together with 1/2" seam allowances and pressed them open.

When all of my base pieces were sewn to a color, I laid them out "inside the frame" and moved them around to what I liked. I found that it was a little too narrow to figure inside the frame. I trimmed the long edges that were too long and used them to make more rows. I used a 1/2" seam allowance and sewed them together. It was super simple and only took an afternoon. Now I'm super anxious to see the quilting and it all hung when it's done! I'd LOVE to see if you try this out.

Click HERE to see it finished and on the wall!

For the love of 2nd hand

2010-10-01T19:17:00.000-05:00

So after a crazy day I came home to unwind with a glass of red wine and check blogs, to find that Sew a Straight Line (Thanks, Sabra!) had featured one of my previous donations! I totally agree with her that the world of blogging is a small community with the best neighbors you could ask for. In my small town, most people think I'm a crazy creative 22 year old, until I enter the world of blogging, and then I become normal again :)

After a long crazy day today, I thought I'd unwind by hitting a few thrift stores and garage sales on my way home. When I got home I found that a few of my favorite pieces in our home are thrifted antiques and garage sale finds. I found this globe for only $2 and just placed it on our desk until it finds it's real home. The picture frame still has the pictures it came with. Feel free to comment with and creative ideas rather than the standard picture.

Both of these pieces are thrifted for a steal of a deal. Now if only I can un-lonely them in our office corner and find a few friends for them!

Sooo, I've sort of been collecting and antiquing since I was about an 8th grader...ya i was even weird as a young student. I found this for practically free and it's amazing how I recently found it in my stash and it perfectly matches our home. I have to show you the before because next week I plan to show you the after of my idea for it!

This is my favorite vignette to decorate (even though it seems to look WAY better in person than in pictures) The vintage bowl was another find in my stash that I recently came across and I've probably had this since high school as well :) The authentic lamp is one my favorites, which is why this is the first thing you see when you walk into our living room. Am I crazy, or do you also have thrifted finds that end up being your favorites in your home? I'd love to see a few of yours!

Donations #2-4...Mailed!

2010-09-27T21:36:00.000-05:00

Tonight I was VERY excited to complete three more adorable children's pieces to send to another Breast Cancer Fundraiser in Tennessee! They were a blast to design and create with a specific event/fundraiser in mind.

As I was laying them out for pictures a little bit ago, my hubby thought he'd point out, with a tidge of concern in his voice, that all of the pieces are going to fit different kids. (I simply used whatever I had fabric left for.) Since we don't have any mini munchkins running around our home to try these on yet, I'd LOVE to see yours modeling the pieces if you buy them.

I've never made any real fussy children's clothing before and this "Josie Jacket" from Sew a Straight Line inspired me to create something. Her instructions and pictures are great! And even though I've never done a little garment, I created one that I thought turned out pretty stinking cute. The ruffle skirt is the same pattern I used for my Litttle Helpers in my wedding that I posted about below. I love how it's easily toddler adjustable with a toggle. The apron was also a pattern from Quilts and More. I made up the apron pattern to match the little girls'. It's made to fit an 18" American Girl doll, or any other 18" doll.

Donation #1...Dropped Off!

2010-09-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

We have a lady in our church that was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is about the same age as my mom and also has a daughter getting married this summer. She's been through a lot. I found out on Saturday that she's having a benefit this coming Saturday afternoon and they are accepting donations for a silent auction. I thought, how perfect! I have half done projects and fabric for this sitting in my studio! Last night and tonight after work I whipped up a full front apron with some matching pot holders. I forgot to take a picture of the project before I packaged it up all cute for dropoff. The apron has a pleated front and ruffle bottom with some white vintage ric-rac detailing. I'm pretty impressed with my first apron and accessories. And even better, it's going to a great cause!

Happily Ever After

2010-09-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

I figured since it's been a few months since the wedding I'd add a few pictures. Eventually I'll add some tutorials about how I made all of the decorations. It was the perfect day in June for a vintage inspired wedding. From the personal details to the fun filled reception. The night was completed with a game of kickball with the whole family and Grandma even caught a pop fly to get "The Boys" team out. I found an old vintage bright blue necklace and had it turned into a gorgeous bracelet as my "old and blue." It was the perfect pop of color.

I custom designed the wedding programs. They were filled with our engagement pictures, both of our parents' wedding pictures and a thank you to them, and a small story explaining the canopy that we were married under. My mom is a quilter and she collected heirlooms and pieces from parents, grandparents, and great grandparents of ours that are Christian role models in our relationship. She turned them into a quilt and it was hung over a canopy that we stood under for the ceremony. A few of the items were my husband's mom's wedding hanky, copies of love letters of my grandparents during the Korean war, and fabrics with pictures of things that we both love.
The quilt is actually at a National contest right now that my mom entered it in. I'll post pictures when I actually get it back! :) I was also brave and designed and made all of my bridesmaid and flower girl dresses. Looking back now I was crazy but LOVED them! I also did this while finishing my senior thesis to graduate with my BA in Interior Design!

The ceremony was just right (even though I have no idea what the pastor said, I was just waiting for the "I now pronounce you...") The dresses of the girls looked the best from the back. I thought this was the most important because that's what the guests see.

We ended the night in a huge game of family kick ball and bean bag tournaments. It was completed with an ice cream sundae bar with soft serve ice cream. I could include a thousand pictures but I thought I'd spare you. In a small town, it was crazy to quickly hear that everyone thought it was a great wedding with fun creative ideas. I thought so too, but I was a little biased! :)

Breast Cancer Fundraiser Donation

2010-09-17T09:30:00.001-05:00

This week I was on Alchemy at Etsy and sumbled upon a request for homemade donations. The lady is doing her part in helping the Susan G. Kolmen Knoxville, TN Race for the Cure. The Race is on October 30, 2010 at the World's Fair Park. I'm going to be making a few fun items, and will for sure let you see a peek before I send them off. If you too, are interested in helping, let me know and you can include it with my package or I'll give you the address to ship them to her. I found some pink flannel with ribbons that I'm going to do something with and a pink and brown cotton that I'm going to make a little girl ruffly skirt and matching headband, as well as a mother/daughter set of aprons. Super excited to use the fun fabrics and see them go to a cause!

Wedding Helpers

2010-09-13T22:07:00.001-05:00

I have to show off that I had the cutest "Wedding Helpers" ever at our wedding this past June. I had so many little cousins and not enough places for them. So they were designated as "Chalk Hander-outers." Our reception tables had chalkboards on them to keep the guests busy as well as they could leave us notes for our married life. They had a blast all matching and looked adorable as well!

New Adventures

2010-03-29T22:36:00.002-05:00

So it's been forever since I've made a post but life has been busy to say the least. I'm ENGAGED and getting married in 67 days and starting to freak out! I graduation from college with my degree in Interior Design in 4 weeks. I've got a great job at a design firm. Other than being busy, I couldn't ask for much more right now. We have a house that we're remodeling and I finally get my own design/craft/work studio!! So now my new goal is to actually start posting things from my new studio and about the upcoming extreme DIY wedding that I'm trying to do! :)

Stranded In!!!!!

2008-12-15T21:26:00.002-06:00

So this weekend I got a new toy as a Christmas and birthday present and have been waiting to play with it. This weekend I also got stranded in with 9 inches of blowing snow and topped with ice. So this morning it was blinding white and decided to try it out in bad lighting! So I clicked a few of my car that might not get out for a few days! Right now I'm hitching rides to and from work and other errands. My whole apartment is stuck in because our landlord is stuck in Minnesota. Hopefully we get out eventually....I need to be home by Saturday! But until then I'll be playing with my new camera before I leave for Australia next week!

Budget....cabinets.....hardware.....sustainable issues...

2008-10-07T17:30:00.005-05:00

So I've been working on spec'ing and pricing my kitchen for the past 3 hours and decided I needed a study break! I never know how much work went into a kitchen. Plus the fact that I now see how much a new kitchen costs....it's outrageous! I have a smaller galley kitchen and my cabinets alone at priced at $15,310 right now! I also have to say that this drafting table is one of my favorite things in my apartment! It's the only thing that I can handle leaving messy because I look at it randomly and will get an epiphany on my project! I'm excited to get this done and all rendered out finally. (I ordered the Candace Olson Divine Design book on Amazon today because I love her renderings and want to improve my skills before this condo is due!)

I also thought I'd include one of the better pictures out of the hundreds from this weekend! It was great having a few of my really good friends up for the weekend. Although Saturday night I do think by building codes we definitely exceeded the amount of people legal in one apartment!

My Life Lately....

2008-10-02T12:01:00.006-05:00

So now that school has started I spend late nights at my drafting table or sprawling in the living room watching Grey's Anatomy (my new season of addiction!). Right now I am designing a lofted condo in downtown Minneapolis, MN overlooking the Mississippi River, for a famous sculptor. It has to be sustainable and the emphasis is on the kitchen. If I'm not up late working on research for a project, building a model with balsa wood for building systems, or studying electrical components for lighting class I'm trying to do something creative for myself. This rarely works though! I tried uploading a picture of my plan and the kitchen rendered but it said the file was too large and wrong format! :(

The bird mobile is my garage sale steal. I'm not going to lie, sometimes the shadows are a tidge creepy if I wake up in the middle of the night. But they make cool shadows and keep me distracted when I'm up at 3 a.m. doing something due at 8 a.m.! (my picture won't rotate!)

On my end table is my other garage sale steal. One night I fell asleep in bed with it on while writing a paper and apparently the lampshade couldn't handle the heat and it melted! I was watching Myles of Styles on HGTV the other day and she wrapped a lamp shade in ribbon with loops. It looked really cool and if I ever get time that's how I'm going to fix mine too!

I'm still alive....

2008-08-22T18:03:00.003-05:00

I went to my parents' place to visit family and friends for a few days this week. It was great to go home for a while and just relax with nothing to do. My roomate is moving in on Monday so I have a few days to myself to finally decorate my room and get it all situated. This week my mom gave me this Art Neuvo handkerchief that she picked up at a local antique shop. She knew it was the colors of my room and lone behold it matches perfect. I wanted something different above my bed so I decided to go to a thrift store a few blocks down to find an old frame. I took out the old picture and put in the handkerchief and added a verse that I love and is great in the room, which also doubles as my design studio room. Later today I hit up a few garage sales and snagged some old 3x3 vintage photos for $.10/each, a 45" square tablecloth from the 1940's with pineapples, a lamp with milkdot base for $1, and a crazy unique wooden bird mobile for $.75. My room is slowly coming together now and can't wait for the finished product!

Little bitta whimsy....

2008-06-23T16:08:00.005-05:00

Today I had the day off and decided that my desk needed another playful touch. My room is done in the popular trendy colors with bedding in various Amy Butler fabrics and eclectic and vintage pieces. I love the fun birds and leaves that seem to be popping up everywhere but have never had the chance to experiment with them yet. Today I created a box with various fabrics, added a grosgrain ribbon around it, attached a vintage brooch to the front, and perched a bird on top to keep me company. My desk is nice and busy but this was the perfect touch and way to spend part of an afternoon. It's great keeping me company working on a new project....or just killing time on the internet! :)

My parents and my brother came u

p to visit for the day. My mom always manages to find the neatest things when she goes shopping. She found me eco friendly binders that are awesome and I can't even take the credit for them! They are by greenroom eco (http://greenroomeco.com/). The binders are made of 50% post consumer fibers and there are matching tab dividers that are made of 70% recycled material. They are even printed with nontoxic soy based inks. As a designer this green buzz hit me long before it got crazy in our society...I have to say I'm enjoying what it's bringing out!

Reacquainted!

2008-06-19T19:48:00.002-05:00

So today I got reacquainted with my sewing machine again! I think it thinks I abandoned it lately! My life has been busy and today the stress pushed me to make a new purse to clear my mind and open up my creative juices! I got called into work and didn't get to finish but will post the finished project soon! I realized again today how the feel of fabrics and the hum of my machine is like a comfort food from home and will immediately help diminish stress and the busy thoughts of the day. It's amazing how a small machine can be such a friend! :)

A simple ironing job...

2008-05-29T15:47:00.002-05:00

When school started last year I decided to pick up another part time job. I searched the internet and found a strange job of an older lady looking for a student to iron her husband's work shirts and help her around the house. I had no idea how to iron a shirt but I sure knew how to iron seams or give a purse a body with creases. I called her up and soon learned how to iron a shirt like a pro! The first day the iron turned off on me and I didn't know this and kept ironing wondering why they were looking so ridiculous! After her having a chat with me I soon learned it turns off after a certain time period! I am now a pro at ironing work shirts but also have a great friend of the age of 70!

Whenever I show up she offers me a cup of tea or some cookies and we chat before I actually get to work...and I still get paid my cash for sitting and talking with her! My little old lady recently had serious back surgery and is in the process of recoup. I visited her in the hospital a couple days after I moved into my new place and decided to take her some cookies for her tea that she always has....which is the sight above of my first cooking experience in my new place! While chatting with her she asked if I was free Wednesday to take her to the doctor about an hour away to have a checkup and get her sutures out since she can't drive. She offered to take her car and pay for my time so I figured why not...I had the day off anyway! Little did I know that I was about to be completely spoiled by my little old lady! After the doctor appointment she took me to a fancy restaurant downtown, we went to get pedicures, shopped at TJ Max for a while (where she bought me the Better Homes and Garden breast cancer special edition cookbook). I ended up having a great pampering and relaxing day and she also insisted on paying me at the end of the day! Who knew that answering that simple ironing job post could lead to a great mentor, friend, and older companion!

Officially Addicted!

2008-05-24T15:33:00.005-05:00

So I recently purchased Photoshop CS3 for my MacBook Pro. I used to have the older version on my parents computer and decided it was time to start to learn this new version. I am a lover of scrapbooking and just recently got hooked on the digital way of doing it. It's awesome because I can do it on the couch without making my usual huge mess! I found an awesome website called Bittbox that has amazing tutorials and freebies! I nabbed a bunch of them and within a few hours I was hooked on creating my own brushes and making various backgrounds! I found a few pictures of me with my brother and my boyfriend and I and had a lot of fun making different layouts with them! I just thought I would share a little of my fun for the day!

New Beginnings

2008-05-23T16:46:00.005-05:00

A new start always brings about new possibilities and adventures. I am starting a new one in a couple of different ways! I am a junior interior design major and just moved into a first apartment. I am living by myself in an apartment near my school for the summer. I've never done this before, but I can't say I hate it here after only a week! I'm also trying to manage two jobs and still find time for a social life! It's been so much fun decorating my first apartment and beginning this new adventure. I'm a color and design junkie and hope a few of you share the same joys and passions as I do!

The picture above is of my living room. I covered hand-me-down couches, found the end table on junk days, scored a deal on the vintage lamps, and recovered pillows with fabric from a upholstery outlet store. I love to play with color and have my space be fun and bright. The only problem is that I'm usually working on a very tight budget! I grew up learning to conserve money and now love to decorate my college spaces with minimal spending but adding monumental drama. I've been working and haven't had time to do much yet....but I can't wait for the finished product!