Instructables

Came across the site Instructables today,

and if you're willing to sift through to find the gems,

there is a lot of inspiration to be found.

I could hardly pull myself away, and these were some of my favorites.

recycled t-shirt necklace

bottle cap magnets

dominoes table

rubber hose chair

heart NYC

Look at what Katie did!

Put a little paper-heart-cutout on her camera lens,


and turned the lights of NYC into hearts! So cute. I have a feeling that if I did that, it wouldn't turn out quite as amazing, but I want to try it anyway...and maybe I will...because guess what??? I'm heading to NYC in the morning! yay hooray! I'm so excited. I'll be there for one week, I've never been and I just love new adventures. :)

pay it forward.

the game: The first three people to comment on this post get a handmade gift from me! So whoever you are, wherever you are, if you're willing to chance whatever this handmade item might be (?!) then go ahead and comment.

the catch: You now get to pay it forward!

the rules: Technically, the rule is that you do this same thing on your blog. (I was one of the lucky three on my cousin Kate's blog!) But let's switch it up. Let's say you can do it on your blog, or you can promise to pay it forward some other way—to someone you know who needs a pick me up, to your grandma for being so great, or to the next person you run into while walking into the grocery store. Get creative. Spread the love.

Huzzah for free gifts, especially on a Monday, but even more huzzah to paying it forward.

So, what about that pigeon on a skateboard pic? Does that have anything to do with the giveaway? No. I just like it. And I found it here.

some thoughts

Samoas are the best kind of girl scout cookies.

Lucky for Cousin James, his birthday falls smack dab in the middle of girl scout cookie season. I hope he also thinks that samoas are the best kind.

The giant-letter card turned out pretty well. I'll be using that idea again for sure.

the best thing about

the best thing about today was the shining sun (shown above)

the best thing about my room is my vogue poster

the best thing about my family is my cousins...and everyone else too

the best thing about my itunes right now is joshua radin

the best thing about life is people

the best thing about tomorrow morning will be leftover razzleberry pie

skate skiing

Last weekend was my first attempt at cross country skiing....skate style. And it was amazing! I've cross country skied for years but have never gotten around to trying skate skiing, so I figured it was high time to do so. I'm hooked. It's a rigorous workout, (I was sore for days) and it was great to get out into the fresh air. I have no pics to share of me actually skiing, but a few of the beautiful surroundings. If you haven't tried skiing in your life yet, then do it. Any way you can—downhill, cross country, skate skiing—heck, even snowboarding. It will cure you of any ill will toward winter storms.

want more photos? right this way

The first week back from Christmas break has been so wonderful. School hasn't picked up enough to be stressful, it was great to see my roommates and friends again, and I've had time to do wonderful things such as exercise and make tasty treats. These are what I like to call Nutter Butter chocolate drizzles (they're so delicious!), and the recipe is right here from Bakerella.

Bakerella pours the chocolate over hers, but I wasn't able to do that very well so I just dipped mine with chopsticks.

a must-have in your workspace

This DIY project was one of my favorite finds this week and I couldn't wait to share it. Aren't these clipboards great? What a way to liven up a workspace, or any wall that could use a bulletin board for that matter.

So here's what you need:

1. Clipboards
2. Decorative paper (or leftover wallpaper samples)
3. Glue (Mod Podge is a good thing to use, and is usually available at any arts and crafts store such as Robert's or Michael's.)


And here's how it's done:

1. Trace: Make a template by tracing the shape of the clipboard onto card stock, making a notch for the clamp. (You can use a zip tie to hold clamp open while working.)
2. Cut: Place template on the back of paper and cut out with an x-acto knife.
3. Glue: Brush a thin, even layer of glue onto clipboard with a craft brush. Place paper on clipboard and smooth out any air bubbles.
4. Hang: Place the clipboards on a wall in any room instead of a bulletin board!


Thanks Martha!!

pumpkin painting!

I've long been a fan of painting Halloween pumpkins as opposed to carving them. I like how carved ones looks, but I find them so tedious, and mine rarely turn out how I want them to. So I very much admire people who can successfully carve them. These pumpkins were done by my nieces and nephews. Aren't they adorable? The little monster and ghost that my niece did are so creative and cute. And look at the pumpkin on the left—my nephew is the next Jackson Pollock!

The kids loved painting the pumpkins and my mom got these paint markers for them to use. Makes decorating pumpkins so easy! Not to mention much less messy than carving, or using paints with paintbrushes.

handmade hairpins

During a trip to Anthropologie (one of those times when you go in and just WISH that you were there to buy), I came across some beautiful pearl hair pins. I thought they were over priced and I thought to myself "I could make those." Oh, how I often I tell that lie to myself. What I really mean is, "Oh, I'm too cheap to pay for the real thing, and I could probably make a pretty pathetic imitation of this, even though it'll take me hours and hours and in the end won't be even close to worth my time." But I gave it a shot with these pins anyway. They're simple but I've absolutely loved them. It's a great way to add just a touch of elegance to your hair—especially on a jeans and t-shirt day.

I just bought pearl beads from Robert's and superglued them onto bobby pins. For the pins with three pearls, I glued the beads together first and then onto the bobby pin. Wish I had pics of the process to show you, and actually I did, but lost them somewhere in the abyss of files and pictures that is my computer. At first I was reluctant to use beads because I wanted pearls that didn't have holes, but it turned out great. You don't even notice. Oh, and they definitely didn't take hours, so it was worth it after all.

10 things I'm thankful for....just because

If it's too hard to read—click to enlarge.

my own yellow and gray

A few months ago I came across these extra thick canvases in the bookstore, and have been eying them ever since. So, as soon as they went on clearance during the summer sidewalk sale I happily grabbed some for myself. And, of course, had to go along with my little gray and yellow theme lately. I told you they go wonderfully together. :) Here's the outcome.

The greatest thing about these really thick canvases is the visual interest you can add by letting the picture spill over the edges. Plus, as soon as you're tired of a design, you can just repaint them! This is already my second coat on these ones.

It was a fun project that added a nice touch to my workspace!

going green...if you're into that sort of thing

Now, I know that going green is all the rage right now and so cliche to talk about on your blog. However, even though I haven't totally jumped on that band wagon, there are some things that I don't mind doing with a more eco-friendly attitude. A couple of these being: not using so many plastic bags for my groceries, (although I still like to have enough to use as little trash bags, and since that's recycling I don't feel bad about it) and reusing water bottles.

If you don't have a good bag to put your groceries in, this is a cute and very inexpensive idea from Martha Stewart on how to make your own out of a t-shirt! I totally love it. Here is the tutorial, or if you're a more visual person you can watch the video on how to make it on her website.

buttontop brads

If you're like me, it's painful to throw away any leftovers of pretty fabric or paper. So, I'm always happy to find ways to put little pieces of them to good use, and here is such an adorable solution! I loved it so much I couldn't wait to share it with you.


Are these great or what? Brads covered in bits of fabric, and you can use them for all sorts of things! I found them on Laura Gunn's blog, paint in my hair. What a good idea!

You can spice up presents with them, make cute hair pins, or any other thing you can think of! I love it. You can go here to get the tutorial on how to do it. (This is the best way I could figure out to get PDF files to you all, it'll take you to another page, and then just click buttontop brads...and it also seems to work best in Firefox) Enjoy!

If you have a hard time getting this PDF, let me know and I'd be happy to get it to you some other way. Thanks again to paint in my hair for sharing!

matching pictures with stripes. love it.

Today's pretty thing was inspired by my friend Erin. She did this entire arrangement (pillow not included...I wish) for only 14 dollars! Way to go. She got cool frames from DI and Savers, spray painted them black and then went to the library and made copies out of old photography books. So, instead of going out to Applebee's tonight...use the money to awesomely decorate a wall instead! Thanks Erin!

magazine holders

I loved these cereal-box magazine holders that I found at Apartment Therapy San Francisco. Organizing is one of my favorite things to do, but buying pretty little boxes, bins, and drawers can get real expensive real quick! (I have to restrain myself every time I go into Robert's.) But slap some pretty paper on these cereal boxes and you could have some great magazine holders!