Merry before and afters

1. Burlap table runners = cute, rustic xmas stockings.

2. Old sweaters= fuzzy, festive wreaths!

Details on Design Sponge.

scenes from the weekend

A hand-tied bouquet for myself, dessert at Takashi, tasty turkey cookies at Catering/Chocolate, and the results of a Sunday crafternoon.

back to school

My good friend Rachel spent a rainy crafternoon getting a jump start on Halloween decorations.

Bubbles!

Loving this diy project on 100 Layer Cake. It involves $2 and $4 glass bubble balls from CB2 and fishing line. Ok, maybe its a little more involved than that, but it seems pretty straight forward directions-wise and I want to make one to hang over my kitchen table! Instructions here.

Spring notecards

Made some new notecard sets over the weekend with pool blue cards and khaki Japanese floral paper.

i love this

Am so excited I can barely type. The crafting nerd in me is drooling. An end of winter knitting party complete with fingerless gloves in winter whites, adorable invites, and spring tulips in jars, wearing knitted collars!! Amazing. See the rest of the details on Design Sponge.

A loft and lot of receipt paper

Amazing space and hanging paper backdrop. Simple white tables help the venue really show itself off. Original and the details are so well thought out. Via 100 Layer Cake. Check out the rest of the photos!

Before & after chair

Amazing what a little DIY can do for a piece of furniture! I love the use of two different fabrics for the chair pad and back. Cute! Design*Sponge.

Next project- whitewashed brick

We have an exposed brick fireplace that is screaming for whitewash like the walls in this photo. Such a nice muted look, really toning down the color of the bricks. Am going to try the instructions on frugal farmhouse via apartment therapy.

Happy bday bunting

I made a garland last week for today's birthday girl. Hope you are having a good one Mandy!

Aged terracotta herb boxes

We've been looking for a fun window container for our new indoor herb garden and the best thing we found were rectangular terra cotta pots at Old Town Gardens. We were hoping for a more antiqued look so we aged it ourselves. We mixed white paint with water and sponged it on for an uneven, watery look. After the paint dried, we used a fine sandpaper to rub off the paint on the parts of the pot (edges) and design that protruded the most and would get the most wear naturally. I think our herbs are happy in their new home!

Funny bunnies

I started on Easter crafts this weekend using some scalloped cards, round stickers and leftover scraps of decorative paper.

Creamy and dreamy

These packages are basically the ultimate of my gift wrapping obsession. Can we talk about the gorgeousness?! From Style Me Pretty. Instructions for the first one on the second row here.

DIY gold leaf garland

I want to do this! I wonder how long it will take for mine to be a nice long garland to hang over the mirror above our fireplace. I also like the idea of the leaves as place cards. I did a version of my own a few years ago and painted actual fallen leaves gold for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents. They were a little bit hard to write on. This conveniently does not involve having to search the backyard for 14 perfect dry leaves with no holes or wilting. Instructions here.

Pom pom tom

So Pom Pom Tom is one of my favorite crafts ever. He does take a little bit of time and lots of yarn though, so be ready. I have some notes on Martha's instructions:

1. just buy cheap yarn, because you will use a ton.

2. you don't really need a pom pom maker, just wrap the yarn around an appropriate size piece of cardboard.

2. i have no idea how she got her PPT to stand up because the yarn and felt ended up being really heavy and my PPT were too unbalanced for their little pipe cleaner legs. maybe i should have made the feet bigger! or... i will just glue them to the tablecloth.

*top image from martha

TY's

I made two new sets of thank you notes last week.

I bought this stamp set with the "thank you" and "to" stamps at Greer. Really useful and vintagy-cute!

Felt Breakfast

Why not start the week off right with a felt breakfast?! Toaster, bagel, cream cheese, pastry, waffle, syrup and butter come in a kit that you put together yourself. Its hilariously cute.

via twig & thistle

A Well Wrapped Package

I love presents and the whole ceremony of wrapping what's inside to build the excitement of giving and receiving. A well wrapped outside can be a present in itself. Utterly Engaged, my new fave wedding resource, did a DIY tutorial of putting together a perfect package. Love!

Please Do Not Disturb

I made these cute do not disturb door hangers for the out of town guest bags at my wedding.

These could work for any kind of late night party. Alternatively, they would be adorable for a baby's door if you substitute out the "I partied all night" and skulls with "its nap-time" and rubber duckies or sheep.

To create these, I used khaki cover weight paper from Paper Source, a skull stamp, clear embossing powder, and watermark stamp pad all also from Paper Source, an exacto knife and cutting mat, 1/8" hole punch and 1/4" brown grosgrain ribbon.

Tutorial to follow soon.

Pretty Placecards

via Martha

via 100 Layer Cake

via Snippet & Ink

How pretty are these fruit and pinwheel seating cards? The fruit is so natural looking and earth friendly and the pinwheels so whimsical, fun and emphasize an outdoor setting. I need to have a party soon so I can make some!