office details

I cleaned my office.

You don't realize how intense this was. It was like Mary Poppin's bag, where all magical crafting things come from...except also a disaster of piles upon piles. There was no floor to be seen in any of its' 10 sq ft.

Above would be all my fabric scraps. Organized. By color.

Heart is bursting with pride. Like that feeling when the house is clean, the laundry done, and fridge stocked. As if your life is almost put together. With a bonus of bunting hung on the ceiling.

Small life victories for the win!

PS. Super fun desktop wallpaper from Oh, Hello Friend. Find it here.

mason jar {polka dot} candle

This is a subtle and chic candle I made for Christmas gifts last December. Of course I created enough to have a leftover for myself (yay handmade gifts!). The idea started with this pin. I didn't like the idea of items IN the oil because they deteriorate, so I wanted to dress up the jar a bit. With dots.

To Make: Directions for glass etching polka dots can be found at How About Orange. Wicks can be purchased from Amazon, along with paraffin oil. I also added essential oil for scent, but I'm not sure the candle will actually give out odor. The candle may be just for looks and ambience (good enough for me!).

inspiration archive // 7

Hoping to use gilding in an upcoming project! Isn't a subtle touch of gold just amazing?!

Featured Lovely By: Mikel Irastorza on Houzz (via sfgirlbybay)

multi-purpose napkin holder

Happy Monday! How is July nearly over already?! The months fly by so quickly.

The other day I came across this simply irresistible napkin holder at Target (only $4.99!). I can't quite decide what I should use it for...

Don't you love a great functional-yet-inexpensive home addition? Any other ideas for better use???

Also pictured: Fabric by Amy Butler // Recipe cards by One Canoe Two //

lovely bundle {easter eggs}

Easter week has snuck up on me! Are you prepared??? Here is a bit of inspiration whether you are or not!

Looking forward to *hopefully* relaxing weekend, with less than normal projects planned. How about your weekend plans? Hope it's wonderful!

Image Sources: 1. The Faux Martha // 2. Mooo (via Creature Comforts) // 3. DIY by Cupcakes & Cutlery for You Are My Fave // 4. Images by A Creative Mint for Decor8 // 5. Williams-Sonoma (via Pinterest) //

ruffled gray felt pillow

Happy Monday!

Excited to share yesterday's sewing project with you, combining my favorites—gray, felt, and ruffles! Inspired by a pillow I saw in Target (which they don't have online to show you), although their ruffles go across the entire front. But after four hours, I decided three ruffle rows was plenty—haha.

So happy with the pillow that now I feel inspired to keep decorating all of my house!

How was your weekend? Productive? Relaxing? Busy? Hopefully fun!

doily collage {wall decor}

Hello, friends!

Today brings a wall installation I put together for my friend/new neighbor. I love balancing wall art with a mix of 2D and 3D art, bringing in various prints and textures. Below is the basic instructions, should you be interested in making a similar collage. Do you also like the mixing of prints & textures on walls?

Have a great week!

INSTRUCTIONS: To make the doily collage only requires a few steps. First place them in the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement, balancing different sizes/colors. Then tie together in a few places using sewing thread. Once they are all connected, you can submerge the collage in a slightly diluted mix of mod-podge and water. Wring out the glue and place the doilies on wax paper to dry. Make sure to flatten out every part of the doilies and then dry overnight. Hang using a few straight pins.

Art Sources: Wall prints by Kari Herer // Dresser print by Katie Daisy

bunting pattern & diy {super cheap}

There are only a bazillion bunting styles out there—in all ranges of money and time investment. Today I bring you one that is super great because it is super cheap. By super I mean in the ballpark of $.25 PER YARD. In other words about $.08 PER FOOT. Do I sense jaws dropping? Well, they should be.

So here's what you do. Download this pattern I created. Then do the math of how much bunting you'd like to end up with. For every 4.5" of fabric you buy, you'll get around 11' of bunting (assuming the bolt is 36" wide, you'll get 30 - 2.25" wide triangles). To keep it simple I'd recomend buying in 4.5" increments. If you choose 3 colors that is 33' of bunting!

Now you decide what fabric you want. {Psst, did you know you can buy felt by the yard?} That's what I did because it's a lot cheaper than buying felt squares. Felt also doesn't have scraggly edges.

Anywho. Once you have your strips of 36"x4.5" fabric, you gotta cut out the diagonals using the pattern above. Then it's time to connect the triangles.

I snipped sewing thread about 1" and then hot glued each end to a triangle (pictured above). This may not be the most time efficient method, but I didn't mind gluing all this bunting while watching tv.  Perhaps sewing would be faster? Someone should try it and let me know how it goes.

So there you have it! Not too shabby at $.08 per foot!

a night for the town

The start of a new week brings my latest project—a silent auction fundraiser for Mission: St. Louis. Below is a snapshot of the event including a few details I had my hands in.

This year the event was hosted at a stellar St. Louis venue called The Moto Museum, which is an incredible space.

On to my details! Top left is an item donated by my book club, and I made a cute bookmark that I thought you might enjoy. The other three images are item descriptions/titles that I designed for all 250 auction items. Designed around the theme of "work supplies"—because most funds were designated for the jobs training program—these descriptions are meant to mimic index cards, certificates, and business cards.

Moving into the food/music/entertainment space, I styled these centerpieces to go along with the work supplies theme. The pencils hold the "reserved for sponsor" sign and the typewriters have a snippet about the jobs programs.

Then I also made these "timecards" in the hopes to encourage smaller donations, using tangible prices like "$15 provides one workbook".

Big type posters describing each of the 5 major programs of the organization.

And lastly a luxurious table display, haha! Slightly last minute, but still quasi-functional in gaining exposure for the raffle ticket sales.

The team did an incredible job putting on the event for 400+ people, and I was blessed to be a part of it.

Hopefully this wasn't too informative a.k.a. boring! I'm terrible at indoor/flash photography, so I almost didn't want to post about the event. But I figured it's still fun, right? Regardless, I am stoked that my schedule is now crawling compared to the last few months of my life. ****Sigh of relief*****

autumn floral arrangement

Happy Monday!

And now I share my newest passion—floral styling. By playing a large decor role in a wedding last month, I was introduced to wholesale flower purchasing. Probably the best and worst thing that could have happened...because I LOVE it. I can't stop buying flowers now. And because it's wholesale, I can splurge on fancy flowers like billy balls (the yellow round ones) which run $$$.

Above are one of the arrangements I made just because it's fall and I wanted some floral eye candy in my home. Fun, yes?