trading spaces…completely
So I’m at work today and decide to take a break and walk down to the antique store. While I’m there I remember that I need to check out lace (hopefully large pieces like curtains or tablecloths) for decor for a wedding I’m helping with this summer. Nada. Nothing but teeny scraps or doilies. So that makes me think of possibly buying it from a fabric store and hemming it if needed. So I decide to check out fabric.com. What do I see right on the homepage? Besides a sale on Packers and Steelers print – GO PACKERS!!! But a line of fabric by former Trading Spaces carpenter Ty Pennington! And they’re actually pretty interesting patterns.
I thought they said home decor weight so my first thought was upholstery…but as I look closer it says “use for quilting and craft projects,” so I guess it’s too light. Boo. But they would make a kick-ass quilt! Or pillowcase, even if it isn’t heavy.
Ask and you shall receive! The patterns are available in quilting AND home decor weight – yippee! Yes, I’m too lazy to go back and delete my last comment. Just enjoy the pretty pictures, ok??
For a heftier price per yard…of course.
You’re welcome. 
Go check it out by clicking here.
A freebie from {my pal :) } Kim!
Aren’t these just absolutely adorable?!? I love the color, the font, the patterns…and the margarita looks pretty tasty, too. And you can make your own Cinco de Mayo Party Circles from a FREE download from Kim at The TomKat Studio! Enjoy!
She also has some cute links and Cinco de Mayo party inspiration at the blog post – check it out!
Cinco de Mayo Party Circles – Tomkat Studio
{image via The TomKat Studio}
Read MoreIf you write it…they will come.
Hello. So…whatcha been up to? Oh, I’ve been enjoying the holidays…a little too much! My December stats for the ol’ blog are stinkin’ big time, but can you blame me when this is who I’ve been hanging out with??
And Glenn has also been off for vacation. And while I’m sure most wives would be able to get MORE done on vacation with him off also…I seem to get less done.
I also seem to try to get this room clean, organized and decorated somehow every other day…but it simply collects EVERYTHING and is constantly messy!
We did manage to take the swirly-90′s headboard and footboard off of our bed! I seriously thought it was part of the frame and couldn’t be done…it technically is, so I need to be careful on the corners, but it gives us a fresh new start! And it has also made me realize how much I need some art in there. And we did replace the bright-as-the-sun light bulbs from our side lamps (look for lower lumen output!), which allowed us to take the black handkerchiefs off. Notice the painted chair rail! No ceiling done yet…
Another reason I’ve been neglecting the blog – WORK! Bills gotta be paid…so I get to play with fun things like this; tile, carpet, paint, furniture, lighting. This is a client’s family room project that is in the works – woo hoo! (They chose the tile and carpet, I’m working around it with the rest).
I also have a few weddings in the works – including one this Saturday (January 2nd) that my sister-in-law and I are styling, and I’m getting the ideas together for presenting to another bride soon. My current obsession series for inspiration; We Like It Wild on Design*Sponge.
And these are only $3.99 a piece over at Save-on-Crafts:
What else am I loving right now? The portfolio of the husband and wife team of Robert and Courtney behind SixxDesign. Wow…I wish Santa would have brought me their new book!
I also cannot get over this story of Jenny’s (the design blogger behind Little Green Notebook) Christmas Eve at-home (but not planned to be at home!) super quick birth of her baby girl Evelyn – their little Christmas Evie. Congrats! I only hope my next one is that quick…as opposed to my 36 hours of hurry-up-and-wait!
So that’s what I’ve been up to for now…while we’re on this break I’m hoping to do a little painting, but Glenn is over in the next room waxing his snowboard and Harper is constantly bringing me her new toys to play with so I don’t see it happening!
I did get a couple of PERFECT Christmas gifts from Glenn and the in-laws that I’d like to share…lucky me!
Glenn got me this tag combo necklace and I bawled my eyes out when he gave it to me! It’s stamped with Harper’s name, birth date (08.07.08), and it has her birth stone (Peridot) on it. You can get one here from Mama Beth Bling on Etsy.
If you don’t know what a Cricut is, you need to go check it out. It’s an electronic cutter that you buy different cartridges for – you can cut different shapes, letters in different fonts, etc. and you can cut them out of paper, cardstock, vinyl, magnet material, fabric and more. Great for cards, banners, scrapbooking, signs, etc. In searching what I can do with it online, there is a wealth of resources out there to give great ideas!
Anyway – my 2010 resolution – blog more! Thank you for hanging in there with me! xo, L.
Tiny Hot Cocoa Packets
I’m probably going to be regurgitating a lot of crafty finds that I come across online for you all over the next few days and/or weeks…I’m very busy with a couple of new clients (woo hoo!) and with getting ready for the Christmas fairs around here, so I’m looking for inspiration like crazy! Plus with “the economy how it is” (aren’t you sick of that saying??) I’m sure people are looking for ways to save pennies and a good way to do that is to hand make your gifts! So my newest crafty find that I’m loving are these adorable ‘Tiny Hot Cocoa Packets’ by LollyChops, that I found through a link from the fabulous Kim of The TomKat Studio on her Facebook page! Thanks, Kim!
Aren’t they adorable? The crafty mind behind LollyChops gives you step-by-step instructions for making the mix, how to add it to and make little baggies to put it in, and how to package it up nice and pretty! And lucky for us, the PDF template is available to download so you can make your own teeny tiny packaging! And they really are teeny tiny: about 2″ wide x 4″ tall and the baggie holds 10 tablespoons of mix, which is enough for about 3 mugs of cocoa. I made one this morning from the PDF. So cute! Click –> here <– to download the file. I’ll post the link again at the end if you want to read the rest of the post first.
Here are the directions on how to make the actual cocoa mix. Yum. And nice and simple. And chocolatey.
It takes some nonfat dry milk powder, sugar, unsweetened cocoa, mini chocolate chips (or you can substitute crushed candy cane, mini marshmallows or dark chocolate flakes), powdered nondairy creamer and a little salt, all in one big bag or container. You put a little bit of it into a baggie, and then put the baggie into the teeny tiny template that you print out, cut, fold and tie with a ribbon. Easy peasy. This is what page 2 of the PDF looks like and the photo above is what you get with page 1. Handy, right?
She also gives you some instructions on making a little sandwich baggie to fill with cocoa mix that will fit inside of the packaging. I attempted a baggie and it will work, I just don’t have all of the ingredients to make the cocoa mix! Yet…
First you cut the top off of a sandwich baggie.
Then you fold the baggie in half (side to side, not bottom to top…), but not quite folded all of the way over…then tape. See photo:
Now fold the opening down around itself, and scoop the cocoa mix into the opening by the tablespoon. You’re only putting mix into one side of the bag. You should be able to fit about 10 tablespoons into the baggie. The instructions say that each cup of cocoa should take 3-4 tablespoons of mix…which will make 3 mugs of cocoa. After you scoop your mix in, fold the top of the baggie back over itself to close…or tie with a twist-tie.
Now you can attach the baggie inside of your paper or cardstock packaging that you printed and folded. Here is my attempt that I tried this morning. I printed it onto white cardstock. Sorry for the low-res photo…I took it with my webcam on my computer. And don’t mind my messy office!
I would just tape the baggie inside of the little cardstock triangle by the top and bottom of the bag (LollyChops recommends taping the baggie mix to the bottom to avoid it sliding around). Or tie your twist-tie in with the ribbon where you punched a hole in the cardstock. Any other suggestions?
It’s also perfect size to add a trimmed-down business card to the bottom…except you can’t sell these exact templates (they’re for non-commercial use only), but if you just made your own packaging templates on the computer you could! The full template size is 2 1/4″ x 10″, and each side of the template is 4″ tall…just add a blank (or add your info.) 2″ x 2″ square in the middle, which is the flat bottom, and add the name of the mix and instructions to either side. You’ll see what I mean on the template…
Click –> here <– to download the file.
Do you know of any other cute handmade gift ideas floating around out there on the web? I’d love to know your favorite resources!
I’m off to browse the rest of the LollyChops site…see ya’!
{all images, except my 2 webcam shots, via LollyChops}
Read MoreThe Tackiest Thing Ever
Okay, I just couldn’t help myself with the title. Only tacky because I’m talking about tape…get it? I’ve been thinking about Christmas a lot lately; buying gifts, packaging them, mailing them, making cards, and also making cute packaging and craft fair items for Lillie + James. How can I make my gifts or packaging stand out? I’m really bad at wrapping gifts and tying cute bows, so when a short-cut comes along that can help me in any way, I try to keep it in mind for future reference! Enter…decorative tapes. I know these have been all around the blogs before, but I think that it’s an appropriate time to bring them up, don’t you think? Especially with new holiday collections coming out!
After seeing a few photos and videos of these decorative tapes in action, I knew I just had to have some. I think the first company that I ran across is called TapeSwell, a unique line of decorative packing tapes. You can easily dress up a plain old brown paper bag gift-wrap job with these (it’s an easy way to recycle – yippee!), or make a conversation starter for when you’re standing in line at the post office to mail the gift! But they’re not just for wrapping packages…you can put the tape on anything you want to dress up; glass, candles, picture frames, lampshades, gift bags, and they even suggest making headbands and necklaces out of the stuff! Check out their “Tacky Ideas” section on their website here! There are tons of great products and patterns, so I’ll shut up and let the pictures do the talking (I especially love their new holiday tapes, though!!).
Okay, I’m piping in again…how great are the containers that they come in? You can buy the tape as a single roll, or in a combo pack as shown below. I love those little tins! Click on the pictures and you’ll be taken to that particular tape on their site.
These are their holiday patterns…
They even carry these adorable Holiday mailing labels on a roll.
And speaking of mailing labels, tape isn’t the only thing that they do. Check out these Envelope Wraparounds (perfect for sending Christmas cards!).
But don’t let the tape limit you, check out these Tacky Ideas (I like the cards, especially!):
Now check out this video I found, via Daily Grommet.
Cute, right? There is really no limit to how easy it would be to dress up your packages, gifts, envelopes or anything else that you could think of! Prices range from about $7 – $20 depending on the combo that you buy, and I know a lot of people that spend more than that on wrapping paper every year!
I also want to point you over to Happy Tape – a website that distributes Japanese masking tape (Japanese because it’s made out of Japanese washi paper, which is a little different than traditional masking tape that we know and love).
Look how cute the tape looks, dressing up a plain cardboard pastry box. And they also have ‘new’ holiday patterns in pretty metallics!
This is simply a package wrapped in tape, with a label attached at the seam. Adorable! I have to get some of this before the craft fairs come up…
And this is a garland, made with…what else? Tape! Look at the little fruits on the table with toothpicks and tape flags…perfect for a baby or wedding shower as a placecard!
Single rolls start at $5.50, or you can buy 10-packs for $34.00. I’d even scour eBay or Etsy to see if I could find some I haven’t heard of, and do a web search for more crafty ideas…you could make some crazy wall art with these for sure! No painting, only taping, and at $5.50 or less for a roll it would be an easy and cheap project. Just like I like it!
Happy wrapping, everyone! xo, L.
{all images via TapeSwell or Happy Tape.}
Read MoreEmbroidery Hoop-La
Are you a stitcher? Embroidery is becoming very popular and I’ve been noticing it more and more in home decor (and not just on throw pillows!). Have you noticed this trend as much as I have? Hanging an embroidery hoop is an easy way to fill an awkward space, and it is a great way to add some personalization to your decor. I think the idea is just absolutely adorable, inexpensive to buy, and even more inexpensive and easy to DIY. After seeing a lot of embroidery work, or embroidery hoop art around the web, a lot of the paths lead me here: Sublime Stitching. I love their motto: “This ain’t your gramma’s embroidery!” They have the cutest (and edgiest) embroidery patterns, lots of how-to’s if you’re not sure how to get started with embroidery, and a shop for all of the tools you’d need to take up this easy-to-learn hobby. I was clicking all around the site a few months ago, and I even bought one of their ‘Ultimate Embroidery Kits‘ with the intention of making some personalized art for my house, and a few Christmas gifts…well Christmas is only a month and a half away so we’ll have to see if I actually follow through.
Not into stitching? Try hanging an embroidery hoop stuffed (is that the right word?) with your favorite designer fabrics and you have an artful arrangement that makes you happy every time you see it. I’m kicking myself for not buying a lot that I found on Etsy of various sizes of embroidery hoops…haven’t found another lot at such a value since!
I love this studio space, via Apartment Therapy. The owner’s blog can be found here (called The Locker – she makes lovely fabric-and-paper cards in her Etsy shop).
Do you love the embroidery stitching look, but don’t want to stitch your own? Well, fortunately there are a few sellers on Etsy that make them for you and they are amazing! Here are a few that I’ve found that I’m sure you’ll love as much as I do.
This image above is via Green Wedding Shoes, and links to a post about giving these as a wedding gift, but the actual images are from an Etsy shop called Miniature Rhino where the owner will create a customized design for you! How. Stinkin’. Sweet.
This is another piece from Miniature Rhino (I found the image at Lara Lewis’ blog here) but I don’t see it in the Miniature Rhino shop while I’m looking today. Wouldn’t this be a great gift? I’d keep checking her shop if you like it! Stitching a constellation is a such a cute idea.
I really can’t get over this look – it’s like a parlor wall, where most people would arrange a huge wall of photos, but these hoops just make me smile! I think a wall with both photos in frames and embroidery hoops would look amazing! Image via Nea on Etsy. Below is a close-up of the little grey and green hoop on the bottom.
I love the grey and green branch. This is Nea’s ‘Branch Wall Wear“. I’ve had this one in my Etsy favorites for a while.
You can even put a chalkboard oilcloth in an embroidery hoop. Love it! Via Bliss in a Teacup on Etsy.
How about using fabric scraps in an embroidery hoop as a bulletin board? Via Apartment Therapy.
Another example of mixing some cute patterns in an arrangement of hoops! Via Things I Like to Look At.
This is an image from the Etsy shop andwabisabi where you can buy this set of cross stitch patterns for $3.00, and you’ll get it practically immediately because it’s sent to your e-mail address as a PDF. All you need is an embroidery hoop, some embroidery floss, a needle, a piece of fabric and a pattern, all of which can be attained very inexpensively and at any craft store or online shop like Sublime Stitching. I’m inspiring myself to pick my project back up and create some art for my wall!
How about you? What do you think of embroidery or embroidery hoop wall art? I, for one, am loving it and the handmade look that I’m digging right now.
Read More
About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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