Here's a quick and easy table top craft to dress up your dinner table! It takes only a small scrap of leather or felt to add some zip to an otherwise ho-hum napkin. These things are small, easy to store, and can be used as name tag holders for your next Fall feast.

Each cuff takes just a minute or two from start to finish, depending on how careful you are with the corners. Just cut out the templates, trace them onto your leather and get to work with your Xacto knife or scissors. I've included three different templates for your crafting pleasure, and I invite you to follow the Melissa Esplin Two-Step Program. Step 1 is to recognize that you have a problem. Take a hard look at your table settings. Would you describe them as fresh and fun, or sad and wimpy.  If you answered "sad and wimpy" with a disappointed frown on your face, you should be congratulated for your self-awareness. Step 2 involves firing up your printer and getting your craft on. If you find yourself making excuses such as "I just don't have the time," or "nobody really notices these things anyway," or—heaven forbid—"drab table settings are a victimless crime," stop right there. You've entered a No Excuses Zone. Your guests will notice your rad napkin rings. Your guests will think more highly of you. And you will turn over a new chapter in your life,  a chapter marked by renewed self-confidence and crafting zeal. Thank you for your time. That will be all.

(P.S. That last part was Chris's doing. All his doing. Isn't he clever?)

Working in the same building as DownEast's warehouse store can be a problem at times. A problem because there are so many inexpensive basics. DownEast's basic tops fit fabulously, so I thought I'd use a couple of tops for a refashion. Ruffles are in vogue these days. Very. and they've swept me off my feet. I saw this top at anthro, and instantly started brainstorming how I could make something similar (but different, of course). Predictably, a month after I got the idea and supplies I finally started working on my little project.

The shirt that I bought had a neckline that was uncomfortably high, so I chopped it off and sewed my own collar from the coordinating t-shirt. I believe this was what helped the ruffles and the tee come together the way it did. After I finished the collar (which surprisingly took about 10-15 minutes), I cut out the fabric for the ruffles and started gathering my fabric. I laid the ruffles in the desired order, making sure the ruffles covered up any wonky sewing. I was very worried this would come out looking stupid; like a pirate shirt or an elementary craft project gone awry. Fortunately, I don't think it did. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Side note: I wore this to work on Friday. I felt super fancy walking around in my high-waisted skirt, 80's suede boots and ruffle shirt. My confidence in my outfit was boosted even more when a guy in the warehouse mistook me for one of the DownEast models.

I don't forget, either. So, Bobbi, if you're reading this right now, please know that I have NOT forgotten about you and your package is in the mail (or my personal secretary, aka Chris, is in big trouble). ;) I think it was back in June that I signed up for Kelly's favorite things swap. I had so much excitement and energy that somehow disappeared by the time I got my name. Maybe it had something to do with moving into a new place. Maybe. Over 3 months later and I'm very excited to send the package off. So, here's my very short, but sweet list of things that make me happy: These are my favorite. Learn how to bind books with me this November, and make it your favorite, too. Just like on the book pictured above, I have tons of beautiful velvet-y brocade paper that's just stunning. I can't help but share a juicy pile of it with a fellow scrapbook lover. I love having people over, something I got from my mother. So, I made some green napkin rings. I think they'd go nicely on a black table, maybe even with black linens. Stay tuned for a tutorial! I made these stickers 2 1/2 years ago to advertise for my BFA final show, and I still love this sticker. So, I hope that Bobbi will be happy about her package. I sure was floored to see what she sent me (I have yet to take pictures). Now I'm thinking, anyone up for a Christmas swap?

Wednesday, I was on the phone with my mom as they pulled into their new diggs in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's been a little strange (and emotional) to see them leave the home they've lived in for the last 18 years. It's been a little emotional for all of us family, neighbors and friends. Before my parents took off, they parted with many of their old treasures. My dad even emailed out a spreadsheet listing the items they wanted to get rid of. I guess if I can't live near my parents, I can just live with a few of their really cool things. Right? My mom pulled me aside to ask me if I wanted this sign painting book. I truly couldn't be more honored to receive such a gift. This mammoth book tutored my great-great grandfather while he was learning calligraphy. He even left notes on a few pages. All of the sample signs are intricate and hand made. I can't imagine the time and precision this must have required. If it weren't for my scanner and the Adobe creative suite, I would be in trouble. GO! LAZY FAT VIXEN BE SHREWD: JUMP QUICK! Does this not induce giggles? SO cool. Of course, this is my personal favorite of the 96 fonts featured in the book. What's interesting, is when my mom gave me the book she said that my great-great grandfather had written family names and dates in the book. That day we couldn't seem to find them anywhere and thought they were lost. Well, opposite this page is my great-great grandfather's handwriting with the names of his kids, their ages and the number of grand children (my grandpa being one of the grandchildren). It just sent chills down my spine when I realized that he wrote this just days after my grandpa was born (September of 1924). That was 85 years ago, this month.

I bound this book - it's a compilation of all of my mom's tried and true recipes. I have no idea what happened to the original one my mom gave to me, so she gave me the original files and I made one. I also made one for my mother-in-law.

While we were in California, it was so nice to have a little bit of home with me whenever I got a little home sick.

My dear blog friend, Jenn, started a new flickr group called Sunday Best. It's fabulous dress inspiration! Jenn has great style and I love looking at all of the additions. Here's my Sunday Best this week: It all started at DI. I saw this muumuu and had to have it for a skirt refashion. I've seen so many gathered skirts at stores like H&M and Forever 21 that are so adorable, but too short for my style. 30 minutes and $6 later, I have a skirt that goes just below the knee.

Here's what I did:

• I roughly measured the length that I wanted
• Cut the skirt part off
• finished the cut edge with a zig zag stitch
• measured elastic to my waist & zig zag stitched it together
• gathered the skirt to the size of the waist band
• zig zag stitched the skirt to the elastic
• removed the gathered stitch
• ironed
• accessorized

Now that I'm finished, I'm thinking that I could shorten the dress even more, like right at the knee or just above. I think it'd make the proportions look a little better. I love this skirt, it would be perfect for the middle of the summer when it's blazing hot, but I'll settle for wearing it in the middle of September.

I LOVE Monday holidays. They're such a great way to start out the week. Since I've been working partly full-time it was so great for a little R&R. I'm soin love with wedding blogs and party planning blogs I've been DYING to have a few festivities of my own. Monday provided the perfect opportunity to par-tay. Our decorations were simple and cheap. Cheap as in practically zero dollars. Here's how I decorated:

• I refinished the green table (more on that later)
• drilled some holes in the fence
• draped some old curtains over the fence
• hung some old cabinets
• put up the bunting (in reverse) from Penelope's birthday
• draped a yellow table cloth over my craft desk

All these things I had just lying around. I think what made it all unique was that I brought the inside, out. I think it worked really well. Dinner was really simple, too. We don't have a grill (yet), so we did buffet-style burritos. I took care of the black beans (recipe courtesy of Cafe Johnsonia--Thank you!!), meat, drinks and dessert while everyone else chipped in with the rest. I cooked the black beans overnight and the chicken cooked all day in the crockpot. Basically, my work was all done for me. I also made Fraiche frozen yogurt with fresh peaches and Blackberry Lemon water (recipe to come). All of the fresh food was delicious and very easy to make. In addition to dying to throw a party, I'd been wanting to use my new stainless steel vintage lunch trays. They were perfect for eating outside and on the ground. Did I mention each tray weighs as much as a toddler? They're only for serious eaters. We had a lot of fun. It was so great to socialize with my new friends Alma & Allison and their families. Blog stalking is the new way to make friends these days. Serious.

Last Friday as I was wrapping things up at work, Chris and I decided that our Friday night plans would be best spent camping. The only problem was we have NO gear. Chris picked me up with a long checklist of must-have items and we set off for the cheapest outdoor gear store we could find. Luckily, the first place we went to was the perfect place. Seriously. Besides backpacks (which we already had) we got completely outfitted for our hike-in camping adventure for under $190. We lucked out with an awesome sales associate who found us a $40 tent. Yup. Awesome. We left a little late, which meant our hiking and set-up was all done in the dark, but it worked out really well. Chris managed to pack all of our gear and I managed to pack Penelope (nearly 30lbs) and my camera gear. I had a little argument in my head whether or not it would be worth it to take my camera and tripod and luckily the smarter part of my brain won out. Just before we went off to bed I took out my gear and looked for just the right shot. It was a beautiful night. As I was setting up the moon had just come out and the skinny tree branches of the trees created sweet silhouettes against the glowing sky. Seriously it was beautiful.

I'm so happy that this photo (above) worked out so well. It made packing the camera SO worth it. That night Penelope and I snuggled inside a mummy bag just big enough for the two of us. High-quality Z's weren't the name of the game, but I sure had fun snuggling with the Nels.

Exploring the countryside was so fun, this area was incredible. We'll be doing this again. Definitely. Read more about our adventure on Whrrl.

Click here for the story.

If there were a gameshow (now I'm not talking project runway, because I'm NOT up to that par) that took average crafty women and told them to refashion a dress in less than 15 minutes. I'd be game.

For some reason I've not really wanted to rock the classic collar, or the 3/4 sleeve, so I chopped the sleeves off the dress and took out the big collar. I really like this dress. Perfect timing to shorten the sleeves right as Autumn is upon us, right? Oh well, I don't care.

The project was simple; a few snips, some unpicking and voila a slightly new look, but a completely different feel. Chris is so nice to take all of these photos. Especially when he was just in the middle of a nap. He must like me or something.

Now, this blog is more of an art, craft and design blog than anything, but Penelope is just WAY too stinking cute not to write a Penelope update. She loves dancing. LOVES dancing. She's not like your typical 16 month old that may on occasion bob up and down when prompted to by first-time parents. She dances. She has songs that she likes, and she only dances for the songs she likes. She has fabulous taste in music. Her current favorite (and mine, too) is Discovery's So Insane. She dances to it using her repertoire of: twirling, booty shaking, shoulder shrugging and foot stomping. Wonder where she's seen those moves? Maybe from a silly mom that likes to dance, maybe. You might notice her chubby legs and fabulously large belly. I found an old ballet tutu from my first performance, Allison in Wonderland, and enthusiastically changed her into the outfit hoping that it would fit. It does. The same tutu I wore when I was 5. FIVE! I couldn't be more proud to see my little girl strutting her stuff in something that I thought was the cat's pajamas when I was five. And maybe even still at 24. Here I am at five, during a little photo shoot with my dad. I loved that costume. I think it had something to do with the feather in the hair and the ruffles on the top. The bright blue can't be beat, either.