I feel like all I've talked about for the last 3 months is
Alt Summit. It really is the best blogging conference for design-minded social media-ites, and so worth every minute of preparation and stress. I don't feel like I can move forward with what I learned from the conference without touching on it here. I've collected a few of my thoughts that I feel work generally in life as well as in blogging. After-all this isn't a blog about blogging, it's a blog about creativity.
The keynotes this year were wonderful. Stefan Sagmeister said something that of course struck a note. How sound-bite worthy is the above quote? Something that I can live by. He's author of
The Happy Film. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm looking forward to taking some time to watch it.
Erin Loechner spoke about managing her online time, and I thought this quote she shared with us was so perfect. She talked about planning out time, your golden hours, and saving that time for the big stuff. This really hit home as I have no idea what fills those dedicated work hours sometimes. I'm going to work on being a) more focused during the work hours and b) more present in the family hours.
Striking a healthy work and home balance has been really hard for me these last few years. I feel like I've made great improvements, but I still have a long way to go.
My co-panelists. See link list below. Photo by Justin Hackworth.
I spoke on effective DIYs and Pinterest with
Chris,
Chelsea,
Jenny and
Jill. I feel like each of us could have touched on meaty information had we taken the whole day to do it. We had 40 slides of juicy information (
available here) to pack into 50 minutes. We sorta did it, I kind of ran over.
One of the key points that I touched on was the above: "We are creatives, we
can think outside the box." Nothing is original anymore, but we can think outside our own personal scopes and come up with unique ideas. And we should.
This, of course, was not coming from a place of perfection. They're my thoughts about my own personal work. All too often I get in creative ruts.
Lastly, One of the many themes of the conference was transparency. Showing readers your best and ugliest self, being upfront about expectations from brands and how to approach contributors or collaborators. Communicating clearly to one another, readers and sponsors is incredibly important!
On a personal note, I don't think I
really learned how to communicate until I got married. Chris taught me a lot about bucking up and saying the things I might not feel comfortable saying. I try to be as transparent (I'm really the same person online and off) as possible, but I could benefit from thinking on this more often.
I feel like I went to this conference with a better vision of what I wanted and who I am. I feel like I planned my presence well (making sure I had handmade, vintage and thrifted items on my person, creating pretty business cards and showing up prepared with a printed media kit in case an opportunity cropped up), but I may not have scheduled my time as flawlessly as I had imagined.
I did miss out on half the classes that I had planned on taking, and mostly that was because of lack of focus. I really should have geared up for the conference with more sleep than I had. That week I was working on something like 15-20 hours of sleep in 7 days. NOT SMART.
I did take advantage of all of the photo booths. I didn't take a single photobooth pic last year, I had to fix that. It's really a fun way to break the ice with others. I've got some awesome goof-ball shots from it, too.
I also took time out to do a creative project: chalkboard lettering for one of the mini parties. It was a great little creative escape in the middle of the conference and fun to get to know a few of the awesome people behind
Hayneedle.com. They were a real pleasure to work with.
This year was the second in a row that I stayed at a hotel and
not at home. I knew I would get distracted by my adorable kiddos and sweet husband, that I decided to just act as if the conference were out of state. It was basically like an extended sleepover, minus the high school drama and double the fun. It was nothing short of a miracle that we were able to find accommodations so close to the conference since everything was completely booked solid. I thank my lucky stars for that. Next year I'll book my hotel
before I buy my ticket.
I had an absolutely wonderful time (not sure how this conference gets better every year, but it does!) and I'm looking forward to going through my giant stacks of pretty business cards this next week.
Good morning! I still wear my footed pajamas to bed, but this sure is nice to put on if I'm feeling a bit of a chill. It's light-weight enough that I'm sure I'll be donning this all the time during the warmer months, too. I used some fabric I scored from a destash via the Sewing Summit forums. This fabric was great to work with, it wanted to stick to itself, so I didn't have to spend a whole lot of time pinning.
I used the pattern I made for my cardigan, but lengthened it so it would go past my knees. It turns out I had just enough fabric for it, too. Maybe a lightweight voile or crepe would be nice at a floor length?
I ran out of fabric for the sash, so I used some quilting cotton for the sash. It worked out nicely.
As hoped, it didn't take as long to sew as the previous cardigan, but it still took about two hours to make. Not bad, considering I've had a terrible time finding a robe like this for ages!! Do you ever wear robes? Where have you found yours? I'm in love with the print on this one.
For other color-blocking tutorials: 
Speaking of elsewhere, I'm also over at 
I got the recipe from 
There's no way you can eat fewer than 6 in a sitting. Promise.
I hope you enjoy the recipe!
It's sort of hard to capture this well on photograph, since it is in one of the darkest parts of our house, but you definitely get the idea.
I'm pretty thrilled with how this turned out, and I think I may be doing more wall decals in my future. I'm putting it on the calendar for next week.
What are your DIYing plans for the weekend?
With that in mind, I've been on the look out for fun light-weight sweater knits. I found this funky grandma-esque sweater knit (
I used an old sweater of mine as the "base", and sort of winged the details. Miracle of miracles, the sleeves were perfect as was my 
The odd thing about this fabric was that the most stretch occured opposite of what you would assume. I liked the horizontal chevron more than a vertical zig zag, so I just ignored where the stretch went. It's a slight issue at the sleeves, as I wanted a tighter fit, on the arms, but not that noticeable.
Originally I had front hemline at a point with the high-low, but it looked funny, so I rounded off the bottoms. I think it drapes better this way. I also wish the colors in here were less subdued, but they're still lovely. I love the coral in there. And browns look pretty good on me. I think. Now that I have a pattern I know that works, I really want to make more of these. Making this cardigan (drafting the pattern, included) was just over 3 hours. I'm sure I could whip one up much faster now.
Outfit details:
Since it came down to trying to keep things simple, I landed on this key chain idea. I used 
I had some issues with the actual card, the first stamp I ordered was 
I used Strathmore art board for my stock, it's super thick. The black is really lovely and much easier to cut than the white. I actually just took the art boards to Alphagraphics and they cut the paper for me. It saved me a ton of time and the 
I had a few extra pieces from assembly, I made earrings out of them. I dig. Wouldn't these be fun in wood or metal?
What would you make out of these little acrylic shapes? Leave a comment below. I'll pick a winner next monday and ship them out to you! 
I found 
I told Penelope to show her dad her new leggings and she said, "Mommy, no - these are not pants, they're leggings. I need to go put my pants on."
Well, now I see where she stands on the whole are leggings pants thing. She's still wearing them, though.
Not really wanting to participate for the photo shoot, I bribed her with her phone. I'm such a good mom, letting her watch her phone all day.
I used a pair of old leggings for the fit of these, but I had to alter the pants a lot afterwards. I'm going to start from scratch for her next pair. For how to make baby leggings (9-12 mo pattern included) 
This particular wall has had me stumped. This frame fits the wall perfectly, but I don't want to collage artwork inside it like I've done in the past. I'm thinking of doing vinyl lettering (calligraphy, of course!) with a neat phrase. Neat phrases are my weak point. I can letter things beautifully, but figuring out what to letter is really the hard part. That's why my work is usually so simple (
Have you noticed? I like the idea of going with one of these, but one-upping. Chris and I do this thing, where we one-up each other on how much we love each other. I'll usually win by saying, "I love you the most times infinity^infinity. So there!"
So what do you think? Should I letter, "I love you to Mars and back. So there."? I want to do a play on a popular phrase, one upp-ing it perhaps, but I'm not sure if what I have above is good or not. What do you think? I'll send the completed wall decal to one lucky person who helps me out. Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
And big news, we cut Penelope's hair. You can see in the front she had already started cutting her hair, my 
Since I did everything at the last minute, I didn't have enough supplies to do the same thing 12 times, so I had to get creative. I had originally planned on painting 12 paintings, but that obviously didn't happen, so I opted for earrings. Then I realized I didn't have enough earring posts to make 12 pairs of earrings. Thankfully I had enough rings and pins to make up for my lack of planning.
Here's what I did, I busted out my 
I had a lot of this grey stretchy elastic, so I made 12 elastic hair ties. These things are cute and effortless to make (tutorials: 
I made a set of "jewel" earrings.
And I made a couple of rings.
They were really easy. I just cut out jagged shapes , then connected the corners with black sharpie marker. Ghetto, maybe. Adorable, definitely. I made sure I had extras so I could keep them for myself. Felix will look dapper with his bow tie on Sunday.
In other news, a couple of days ago, my sister texted me asking what my Valentine's plans were. Then she offered to come to my house and watch my kids so Chris and I could go out and have a special night. Of course I promptly texted Chris: "Emily is watching the kids for Valentine's day. You better plan a hot date, expectations will be high." So they're really not that high, but I sure hope he gets me a flower or two and makes me a Valentine. I love his Valentines: 
I feel like at least one of us has been sick at any given time since the end of January. No reprieve for us. Penelope has been hit the hardest, poor girl. Seriously, look at that face. It stinks, but it could always be 
And then there's Felix. He seemed to be least affected by all the bugs flying around our house. Look at this guy! He's so happy and cuddly, it doesn't matter what's going on (unless Penelope takes away one of his toys).
On a more positive note, we got rid of a bunch of old furniture that has been cluttering up our hallway. It's only taken us 3 months to do it. No big deal! Our hallway feels so empty without the headboard and six foot desk propped up against the walls. It's time to put artwork up there instead.
I'm planning on taking it relatively easy this week and focusing on hanging art in the hallway and living room. We've got an expansive blank wall above our couch, something needs to be done about it. Stat.
We were very pleased to get our new 
This post has been brought to you by 
I actually used to wear this jacket out in high school and college on a semi-regular basis and always on St. Patty's day. Little known fact - I really wish I had had a fashion blog through my college days, particularly my freshman year. My goal was to never go a day wearing just a tee-shirt and jeans. And I never did. I often work skirts and suits to school and work, and rarely did I ever not wear heels. I was always dressed to the nines with layers and accessories. Often times I wish I could remember all those crazy outfits. So despite me wearing this on a regular basis, I have no photos of me wearing this before my alteration. And I have no idea what happened to the before pictures that I took, either. It's a real shame.
Taking in this jacket was about as complicated as taking in 
You can see my small frame much better with this jacket now than before. Oh did I mention I took out the 3 inch thick shoulder pads? Those pads were beastly! Thank you, 80s.
It's a little more kelly green than the pantone of the year, but I'd say it still counts as being on trend for 2013. I'm very happy with my "new" jacket. I'll be getting even more use out of it now.
Have you ever altered anything with a lining? What kinds of tips can you offer if you have?
Outfit details:
I wore it a few times plain before I set it aside in my studio for a little overhaul. As I was prepping for Alt Summit, the idea of this shirt came to mind, and it just seemed to fit perfectly. I had 
I just wanted to show potential partners and sponsors that I have a sense of humor and that I really do try to make pretty things.
I vectorized this quote and cut it out using my Silhouette and some iron-on heat transfer.
I wear this top all the time. Like every day, if it's not dirty. I also made the leggings out of some thrifted knit I scored for $3. Now I have two pairs of floral pants! My dreams have come true!
Outfit details:
I think this goes without saying, but I love my new skirt. The fabric drapes and flows so nicely as I walk, and it's so silky and soft. Probably the nicest fabric I've worked with ever.
So have you worked with silk before? Am I the only one who trembles behind the knees at the thought of working with something so nice?
Outfit details:
The 2 hour workshop includes:
There are all sorts of ways you can make mini white boards, but I used all things I had on-hand, plus sheets of washi tape (yes sheets!).
Glue up your board and carefully place your white sheet of paper on top.
Use a bone folder or popsicle stick to smooth out any bubbles.
Around the outside only, glue down the transparency sheet. Make sure it is firmly in place.
Cut your washi sheet about 1 1/2 inch larger than the width and height of your board. Remove the backing or evenly coat your paper with glue. Place your paper-covered board in the center of your washi sheet or paper.
In your hand, turn the board and sheet over and smooth out any bubbles with your bonefolder.
Clip off the corners, but about 1/8th of an inch away from the corner. This will make your corners look neater. Promise.
Bend the board, making the tape stick to the sides. Press tape neatly over top the transparency. It might want to buckle in spots.
Pinch down the excess over those corners. Repeat on bottom and sides until the tape is completely wrapped around the front side of your board.
Punch holes and thread string through the holes. Secure the string.
See how cute the back is? It's such a simple project, but I could see this being a fun little game within a family or tight group of friends.
Write a little love message or compliment and leave it in their car, bathroom, etc for them to read. They can then erase and pass the love onto someone else. A perfect family activity for the month of February, if you ask me.
Washi tape pages provided by