I guess you could consider me a major scrooge since I don't really decorate for the holidays. Or any holiday. In the past couple of years (including this one) we've moved just before the holidays so I haven't really had much time to prep for them. Also, I hate buying Christmas decorations. We've always been really low on storage space (until now - we have nearly 1300 sq feet of storage space in our new place!), so if it doesn't fit in a tupperware box, I'm not going to buy/make it.
It's been really tough getting back into the blogging swing of things. Like, really hard. All I want to do once I put Penelope down for a nap, is nap! I practically get anxiety attacks when I go down to my studio, it's that unorganized.
Even thoughts of quitting blogging have crossed my mind. *gasp*
I know I'd shrivel up & die if I did that.
This is a great gift (especially if you know that the giftee is getting a new phone or iPod touch!) for Christmas regardless of age. I’ve included an additional pattern piece to make the phone double as a wallet. When gifting, stick an iTunes gift card in there for added awesomeness.
Print the attached pattern & cut out. Tape generously to the wrong side of the leather.
Punch while patterns are taped using the hammer and an awl. You’ll want to be sure to do this over a scrap of wood.
Should look like this on the right side of the leather.
Once holes are punched, cut out pattern pieces from the leather and match up. I flipped the leather inside out for the pocket for variation.
Thread your needle with thick thread (I used waxed linen thread). Sew between the two layers on the first hole and leave a 2-3 inch tail.
Sew in and out through each hole all the way around. Double back.
Once you get back to the start point, tie a square knot between the layers of leather. Trim ends and tuck between the leather.
With scissors or a rotary cutter & ruler, trim down edges to desired width. I like mine at about a quarter of an inch.
Give to a manly guy!
This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!
It's super easy & I'll bet you'll have one finished within the hour!
You'll be surprised that this case fits a myriad of electronics. It works for the iPhone 3G - 4s. It works on the touch & would be surprisingly compatible with a few other smart phones. It's one of those simple patterns that could be easily adjusted for you!
I wasn't feeling the sloppy burgundy paint job or the jacked up drawers. It looked pitiful in the store and none of the drawers fit right. It had already been marked down from $60. I thought to myself what a shame that the drawers are messed up. I really fell in love with the mid century shape and I could tell the dresser was solid wood construction with no veneer. I made myself at home on the floor of the thrift store and I played musical drawers until all 6 drawers fit perfectly. Then I walked ran to the register and bought it.
Now let me back up and say that I had never refinished furniture before. (There was that one time I sanded the finish off of a jenny lind bed with sandpaper and spray painted it –not recommended.) I knew what supplies were necessary because I had seen my husband do it before. This was the dresser of my dreams and I knew that there was no way I could paint over that ugliness. It would have to be stripped down to the wood and I would have to figure it out myself. So whats a girl to do? Google. A lot of googling!
I used:
From there I used fine grit sandpaper to sand the wood until it was smooth and even. I discovered two sizable gauges on the top of the dresser so I filled those areas with wood putty which I sanded after it was dry. After brushing off the dresser, I wiped it again with mineral spirits to catch any dust that was left behind. I let it sit for a day so it would dry out completely.
Then I began priming with a brush. I used two THIN coats of interior/exterior primer but a mysterious and stubborn stain kept bleeding through on the top. Thin coats are best! Sand between each coat & use Kilz for stains that bleed through. One light sanding after painting the last coat will do for helping your final paint stick.
I let it sit for about 2 days to let the primer dry thoroughly. Then I painted a thin coat of my color on. I let that dry for about 24 hours then painted another thin coat on all surfaces. I used a foam roller to give the top of the dresser a nice, even final coat. Again, I let this dry for another day or so before spraying it down with Rustoleum clear spray lacquer to protect the surface.
I am very pleased with how this project turned out. This dresser is for my 3 year old daughter Sophie and she loves the happy color. You can see more of Sophie's room here.
In this class, you'll learn:
I owe so many people thank you notes (especially with all of the awesome help with moving!), so this design is largely for me to kick my own butt in gear & spread the gratitude. This hand-lettered thank you is also available for you to enjoy & use to express your thanks to the ones around you (a lined version also included). Just click the download button below & print. The design is black text on a white background, so feel free to print it on colored paper or HECK, some adorable vintage wall paper or scrapbooking paper. I fully plan on doing just that as soon as the ink refills for our printer arrive.
What are your plans for this Thanksgiving? It might be cool to write a thank you to each person you attend Thanksgiving dinner with & write all of the things you're thankful for about them. Just a thought. Other Thank You freebies:
Thank You Postcard 2010 • Fill-in-the-Blank Thanks 2009
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Hi everyone! My name is Holly and I'm from elevencupcakes. I am so excited to be on ISLY today (one of my favorite blogs!). We have been thinking up some fun ideas for a kids Thanksgiving table for the past few weeks and I am super excited to be sharing how to make this 'Thankful Box' with you today. Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Kids' Table: Thankful Box
Thanksgiving is a great time to remember all that we are thankful for. We made these simple 'thankful boxes' for each child and had them at their table. While they wait for dinner to start, kids can write, draw, and remember all that they are thankful for this year.
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Spray paint the altoid tin white. You may need to do a few coats to cover it completely. Take the 3"x10" piece of paper and fold it over 2" back and forth, so that you make an accordion. Decorate the white paper with scrap paper and stickers. Once the altoid tin is dry, tape one end of the accordion paper to the bottom of the tin. Decorate the outside of the tin with scraps of paper. We printed the word 'thankful' to attach to the front as well. Put out markers and pens to kids can write and draw all the things they are thankful for.
We also made a 'Thankful centerpiece' for the main table.
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Hey friends! I'm MissE from Made on Main, and I love finding opportunities to create and recreate. Melissa is a super refashionista, so I thought I'd take a shot at altering some of my jeans to take them from "bum" to "fun". (I tend to use dorky phrases like that a lot.) I have a story for you. My legs are short, my torso is normal, and jeans are always problematic. My favorite pair of jeans are skinnies from Hollister in 1 short, yet somehow they're still too long for me by about 2 inches. I'm sure you all have so much pity for me. Anyway, I had some very faded out jeans I was super into, but their 2000-esque flair and crudely cut-off bottoms made me feel a little like a bum every time I wore them. I decided to take action and skinny them, and I couldn't be more happy with the results! The steps were really quite simple. 1 | I turned the jeans to be altered inside-out, and laid them out, legs spread. I laid my existing skinny jeans on top, lining up the outside seams of the two jeans. Then, in a highly scientific fashion, I copied the outline of the inseam onto the jeans to be altered.
My studio isn't set up, but I couldn't help but share Penelope's outfit today. It's kind of a hodge podge of what I could find in her messy closet. So cute, though!
We had a great time getting out of the house & going for a walk today. Penelope is so full of energy, it's bananas. How can I harness her energy? Anyone figured that out yet?
Now she's tired. It's her excuse every time I try to take pictures of her. "Mommy, I'm tired. I'm gonna take a nap."
The second sale is American Craft's annual Scrapbooking sale. I like hitting this up every year for gifts for my mom & for packaging for Christmas. I went yesterday & found some fantastic deals on ribbons, trims & paper bows for giftwrapping! If you're thinking about buying the CUTUP, they have a few available at half the price. You'll want to get in on that if you've been thinking about it. Directions and details in the image below.
Well, as you can tell, progress on moving in is much slower than I had anticipated. Last night Chris set up the big computer, so I'll actually be able to get some design work done. This place is fantastic, but the studio is going to be a giant project as it is in the unfinished basement. I'll be posting videos of my progress periodically.
a) Something frivolous and decorative
b) Something sweet (or at least something to munch on!)
c) Gifts, of course!
So, I broke out some trusty tools and went to work.
My first idea was for a little safety pin banner. I printed and cut out the letters and used double-sided tape to stick them on my punched hearts.
Then I punched two holes in each heart and used the safety pins to connect the hearts.
Last, I tied some ribbon on either side so it'll be easy to hang when she starts the party;)
As for the gifts, I wanted to get her some practical stuff...
and some things that were too cute to resist.
You didn't think I was going to send something without proper NYC love, did you?
I managed to find an old map and punch some hearts out of that too:) Since my friend was kind enough to volunteer to carry the gift on the plane I kept the wrapping simple.
Have you ever sent a party in a box? Since I'm not from New York there are lots of people I love who are far away. I only wish I had started the tradition sooner! A party in a box seems like the perfect way to send cheer to family and friends if you can't be with them during the holidays!
I love this idea, Katie! Thanks for sharing! Be sure to check out Katie's blog Hello True Love & shop Hello True Love Paper Goods.
If you're not familiar with Houzz.com, it's a comprehensive home decor site. There you can find home tours, the latest in home designs, trends & ideabooks featuring places where you can buy fantastic home items. I contribute to the latter. I scour the web for inspiring items for the home & I've had so much fun doing so. Here's a little description of the ideabooks I've compiled thus far:
20 Art Prints for Under $100 - having art in the home is SO important! Pat yourself on the back if you have invested in originals. If you're on a tight budget & want to get started collecting some fantastic art, you'll definitely want to see this ideabook. I've aggregated 20 prints worth purchasing, all under $100. Most are under $50. I have quite a few of these in my own home.
19 Decorative Toys - Toys don't have to be an eye sore or ridiculously expensive. Here's a list of 19 design-friendly, kid-friendly toys that I wouldn't mind displaying in my home.
20 Great Big-Box Finds - With my budget, I typically look to Ikea or vintage shops to find unique, but in this ideabook you'll find 20 fabulous design finds for the home available online or at your local big-box store.
All of my ideabooks include items that I would consider buying myself, so you'll find that most of the items published there are affordable. I hope you take a look around (especially at the art one - many of those items are made by independent artists)!
top: H&M, leggings: Thief + Bandit kids, socks: Children's place, shoes: H&M
Also, last night I spent about 4 hours at H&M's pre-opening party. It was fantastic! I spent a load of money & outfitted (mostly) our family for winter. I'll say, the best about that shopping experience was that the place was SO organized & there was a sales associate at every turn. Sadly, though, I missed out on the skirt that I planned on getting: Hot Pink Pleated Skirt. I found what I thought was my size, but it turned out it was too small! Oh curses, reverse muffin top!! Anyone near an H&M with that skirt in stock?
The second table was fine, but I wasn't a fan of the boston finish or the random "drain" notches on the table top. It wasn't very kid-friendly, either. It was then that we moved back to Salt Lake. We settled in our place & I absolutely didn't like how the table was always competing with the counter tops in the kitchen/dining area. I got rid of it. I think I sold it for something like $150.
To replace the black pub table, I found a cool little vintage table for $25. Chris didn't like it from the very beginning. It was a laminate top, so it was easier to clean up & I didn't care so much if Penelope smacked abused the table. I bought orange chairs from Annie for $20. I've always liked the chairs & I think Chris likes them just fine. Finally, just before Felix was born, we got rid of the table. Sold it for $25.
We used a Lifetime folding table while we decided what we wanted to do. I found a simple & fairly cheap DIY project over at Stylizmo for making a farmhouse-style modern table. We went for it. Fail. We bought cedar planks; but turns out they hadn't dried out so by the time we assembled, sanded & painted, the slats shrunk leaving uneven breaks between the planks & some really gross cracks in the paint. The wood was too lightweight, so the table always wobbled & it was the absolute wrong size for our dining space. Much too wide & too long. I ended up making Chris take it apart. I started sanding the top to fix it all, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. I repurposed the purchased Ikea legs for my studio desk & the wood is just sitting in our garage. I'm sure I'll find a great purpose for it somewhere.
Now we're using a table that we found on the side of the road back in our California days. I was originally using it as a desk in my studio, but now it's our dining table. It's got tons of scratches & nicks. You can see a chunk taken out of the bottom left corner. I'm tempted to rehab it, but it's a bit small for having family over.
So there you go. Table fail. We've now decided that we're going to invest in a grown up table. Sometimes the saying "You get what you paid for" is so true. So what are our plans? I'm still not entirely sure, but I know this much - I'm planning on powdercoating the chair legs. I painted them white a while back & they're looking really ratty. I'm thinking orange or yellow would look fantastic. I just have to figure out how to remove the legs (they're attached by rivets). It's looking like that will cost somewhere around the ballpark of $200. It's more than I'm wanting to spend, but I know that getting them powder coated will make the color last longer & look infinitely better.
As for our future table, I'm on the fence on whether I should DIY it or not. I've been madly pinning potential tables to Pinterest. Angela suggested I look into For Me, For You's DIY table with hairpin legs. It's pretty brilliant. If we were to go that route, I'd invest money into a nice, thick piece of solid walnut or something similar. Maybe find some reclaimed wood. Chris & I have talked a lot about what we want in a table & basically we'd like the same table my in-laws have. I'll have to take pictures sometime. It's absolutely a stunning teak modern table surrounded by 8 white tulip chairs. Gorgeous.
While talking to her about the patterns & Megan's vision for her brand, it seemed that the simpler the better. I went for a very simple, almost retro feel. I was heavily inspired by Collette & Oliver + S pattern branding. They both don't use actual photos in their product illustrations. I loved the 50's & graphic feel of Collette patterns & the paper doll idea from Oliver + S. I thought it'd be great to keep things simple & stick with a black, white & pink color scheme.
I designed the elements & gave Megan a style guide & she did the rest. I love her packaging choices with her patterns! The patterns are neatly & beautifully packaged in an off-white envelope with a sticker/velcro closure for safe keeping. Instead of having a confusing map for her pattern instructions, she has a beautifully stitched booklet equipped with step-by-step instructions, a shopping list & plenty of space for notes & a little sewing log. Brilliantly done, Megan.
I'm just thrilled to have all of these patterns in my hands right now! I can't wait to get to sewing some of her patterns! Visit Megannielsen.com to view her patterns & fashion(the Dunes top kills me it's so gorgeous).
I hand lettered this in Illustrator & cut out using my Silhouette. It was more than a little tricky to figure out how much space I needed to add in the tabs to keep everything one fluid piece. It's pretty delicate, so it's great that it'll remain behind glass.
I love how this turned out with the floral/butterfly paper peeking out from behind the letters. I need to do this with the word Esplin for myself.
My friend just had a baby girl a few weeks ago & I've had a few goodies lying around the house waiting to go to her. Since we were going to be visiting her yesterday, I thought it was high time I wrapped up her gift.
Isn't that cardigan just so sweet?!? I found the sweater, it was hand crocheted (?) I'm assuming and I made the little onesie. I think they're just adorable together. I needed a little box for it all so I whipped up the above box lickety split. I thought I'd share with you how I did it! This technique is perfect for little treats & gifts! Hope you enjoy the tutorial!
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First, you want to figure out the size of your desired box. I usually just wing it when it comes to these measurements. If you want your side wall to be two inches, you'll want to measure two inches in from each edge. Makes sense? See diagram below for measurements.
Score along each line. Crease each fold, then match up each corner score. You'll need to box out the bottom & then crease out to the corner. It's sort of hard to explain, but in the process of matching the two perpendicular score lines, you create a 45º from the score corner to the corner of the page.
Keep those two score lines together & sew down that score line using your widest stitch. Make sure you test out your thread tension beforehand to make sure it's tight enough, otherwise you'll have some loosey goosey stitches in the back of each seam. It's not pretty. Also, I used a zipper foot in order to sew this seam. I just need a straight stitch & I needed the foot to be as small as possible to get a straighter line.
Trim the excess with pinking shears. Another method which I find a bit cleaner, is to sew the flaps to the sidewall with only a few stitches on each side. The measuring for this is a bit trickier. You have to make sure those two flaps are long enough to overlap in order to sew. So you make sure in your measurements that the sidewall is longer than 1/2 of the length (plus 1/4 inch) of one of the bottom measurements. Example: If I want the box to be 4 inches by 5 inches, I need to make sure the wall is at least 2 1/4 inches tall so the flaps can be sewn together. Make sense?
Check out the video ABOVE to see how I did this.
A big thanks to American Crafts for sending me their CUTUP trimmer. It's fantastic! Check out the video above to see all of its bells & whistles.
Wore this to the zoo with the kiddos. Should've worn a coat. BRRR! It was cold. Thank goodness I brought the scarf along.
It took me until 3pm to get showered & dressed today. It feels like I've been hit by a ton of bricks. Seriously, could I be more lazy? Oh yeah, I could've not fed & clothed the kids.
Fun fact: this was shot at 3200 ISO, f3.3, 1/125. I really love having a camera that can handle these truly dark & grey days.
The focal point of the room is our bed, we have a nice bay window opposite of the door, so we decided to put the bed up to the window. I'm sure the bedroom wasn't designed for the bed to be oriented this way, but I love waking up to all of the light flooding in right above my head. We have east-facing windows, which also makes it easier to wake up in the mornings. I'm not a morning person.
The side tables were originally all black, but the tops were looking incredibly ratty. Chris sanded them & painted the tops yellow. I love the bold statement they make.
Chris has been playing the guitar for just about a year now. So now we have a dedicated music spot in the room. Every once in a blue moon we have family jam sessions with Chris on the guitar, Penelope on the drum & me on the synth.
The painting on the bottom right is one that I did while Chris & I were dating - Chris was the first guy to actually take me up on the offer to come study with me at my studio space. I had fantastic studio space just underneath an amazing bell tower during college. It was well-lit & smelled of the hard work of the BFA painting students. I did this painting while Chris was studying. I love the mixtures of greys & golds.
I have vivid memories of my mom using a large spice of life container for storing her delicious bran muffin mix for hot breakfasts during the school year. She gave me the container when they moved & Penelope promptly broke it. I was so heart broken over it, I scoured the internet for the same jar & found a set of 3 for $15! Score.
I love this picture of the two of us. We had to get passport photos in order to apply for visas when we were planning our Brazil trip back in 2007. We got an extra set of pictures that we didn't know what to do with. Chris found this frame in a box somewhere & framed the photos as they were mailed to us. Love that.
The plaster death masks are something that we made together while we were dating. We originally tried to do this on our first date (and failed miserably), so I love how it serves as a reminder of our first date & how perfect we are for each other.
A home isn't complete without wedding pictures, right? I think my hair is longer now than in the pictures. I store my earrings on a metal lunch tray on top of my dresser. It's great to have them organized by color all out for me to look at. The dresser is high enough that Penelope doesn't mess with them at all. To the right of the masks is a mini hand-bound book that I did several years ago. It's got a few miniature art pieces in there & it's bound in leather with a very faint black-on-black brocade pattern that I designed. It's fun to flip through every once in a while.
Here's the thrifty dresser I picked up several months ago. It's all naked & sanded down, ready for a coat of awesome. I just can't decide what color(s) I want to paint it. STILL! So for now, it's nude. Penelope found my spray starch & attacked the front of it some time ago. You can see the faint watermarks from that. Crazy girl.
So there you have it. This is as good as our bedroom is gonna get, for now at least. I've already taken down all of the wall hangings & Chris has packed up all of the books. I'm definitely looking forward to decorating a new space. Perhaps a space with real white or grey walls? I always find it interesting & fun to see how the same furniture translates to a new space.
I need a cheery outfit for today's grey skies & 
