DIY: It's just a shelf, Charlie Brown!

A few stats for this project:

• I used my cell phone for the pictures. (Yes, terrible blogging etiquette, but sometimes you just have to use a really nice cell phone camera in crappy light instead of a nice camera that will make everything look even worse!)
• Thanks to Instagram and the app Over for the beautifying of the pictures. (To get rid of said crappy lighting.)
• I'm about halfway done with these shelves. The outsides still need to be painted. Any guesses on what color?

In which I title this post: Monday is way too far away from Friday

Good morning, campers! It's Monday (insert sad-face here) which means another week of work/school/daily life for us all.  Around these parts, the school year is winding down (insert excitement and overwhelming joy here) and my daydreaming is hitting fever pitch. I mean, really. Why would I want to be inside, torturing my brain into behaving when I could be wasting the day watching television or the clouds and

EATING THIS:

via

MAKING THESE: 

Oh, Martha.

and DREAMING ABOUT THIS: 

Yes, please. 

I mean, really. Is there even any contestation over this?!   

Alas, I still have two weeks until my cakeday (FINALLY) and another week after that for graduation. (How did that happen?!)  So until then, I have a feeling my posts will be largely of the I-want-but-can't-have variety. So feel free to daydream and spend your pretend money along with me!

DIY-fest

Today, whilst sitting through my classes and not paying much attention, I found a boatload of awesome DIY projects for you all! They're now on my to-D(o)IY list.

If you're feeling iffy, here are three reasons to make at least one of these:

1. They're easy. (They're not called Do-It-Yourself for nothing!)
2. They're cheap. (I'm not a fan of DIY projects that aren't. You might as well hire someone to do it for you if it's just as expensive!)
3. You'll feel awesome afterwards. There really is no feeling like making something yourself and being able to show it off to your pals...and maybe everyone else you come into contact with. (Not that I do that, or anything.)

So, there you go. Don't hesitate, just do it! 

Apparently, this bracelet is based on some fancy-schmancy one from a designer of some sort. To me (and to the lady to DIYed it) it looks ripe for the DIYer like us with its hardware store chicness. 

  Pros: Super easy. Like, no glue or anything required. And I think it has less than five "ingredients". What's better than that?!

  Cons: Pretty much the only one I can spot is that if you're unfortunate enough to have ulnas the size of toothpicks, this one might not be suitable (this means you, Annie!).  But I'm thinking some smaller hardware and thinner rope might remedy this problem easily enough. 

For a different bracelet look (and a different rope look, now that I see these two projects next to each other) head over here for a super simple (and totally cheap) DIY Nautical Rope Bracelet. (Bonus points for those who choose to dip-dye!)

   Pros: So easy. If you know how to braid. 

  Cons: If you don't know how to braid, you're SOL. Also, the customization to make this thing fit seems to require some trial and error. (How am I going to find a jar that's the circumference of my wrist? Anyone have any baby food jars laying around?)

From D*S is this monster of a light fixture. It's made from a Japanese/Chinese paper lantern (what is the difference between the two?) and has about a hundred scraps of paper attached to it. Neat-o, yes?  If you already own a paper lantern, this project could be FREE! Say what?! Yes, right?  Click here to hop to the instructions. 

  Pros: Potentially free. Impossible to screw up. 

  Cons: Time-consuming. Patience-trying. Keep out of reach of cats, small children and people afraid of bad hair-styles. (Remind anyone else of 80s hair?)

And the one that can go terribly wrong with one slip of the...er, X-Acto. Made from the ever-addicting and brightly colored polymer clay, this lovely necklace is probably the most time consuming and expensive of the lot. Though I'd bet that your bill would still come under 10 bucks for this one. And who can beat an adorable less-than-10-bucks necklace that looks as great as this one?!  Brought to you by the lovely ladies at Dismount Creative (an awesome blog to peruse when you have an infinite amount of time to waste--in a good-for-you kind of way).  Click here for instructions!

  Pros: So pretty! I'd wear mine every day. 

  Cons: I have no idea how they got their lines so straight, but I have a feeling it's not easy. 

Thanks to the ever-inspiring Design Crush for most of these lovely DIYs. You can find the rest of her list on this post. 

Unexpected Things

After seeing this post from Color Collective that struck me as awfully surprising given the picture, I tried to think of all the unexpected things I'd seen around the blogosphere lately (of which there are many, let me tell you!).  So, in no particular order, here they are.

1. 

 

Spotted this fox-plushie-turned-lamp on How About Orange. This link sends you to the tute over on matsutake. (That site is wonderful, anywho, so go, please, even if you're not a fan of killing a stuffed animal  and stuffing it with LEDs.)


2.

via Design Fetish

These are definitely not your usual headphones. Made to look like a stethoscope, I think it's a wildly interesting design that also strikes a chord with me for the simple fact that I think you can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to.  And perhaps listening to someone's favorite tunes can give you some insight on their heart, as well?!

3.

This is wallpaper. I am so enraptured by this stuff I can't even begin to formulate words for its greatness.  It's pretty and ethereal, has great colors and a great moodiness I love. For other beauties, go here. 

4. 

Ad agency plans girl's birthday party. Hilarious. Oddly moving. And just on the right side of outrageous to make it sort of plausible.  Via good 'ole Swiss Miss. 

Longing for Spring

Thanks to this color palette:

I want to be slathered in suntan lotion, wearing shorts, a cute top and a sweater and laying on a towel on some warm grass somewhere.  There can even be a breeze if Nature's really feeling like it.  

Thanks for that, Color Collective.  I love you and your beautiful colors and awesome pictures. But you make me want too much. 

This post from Apartment Therapy intrigues me.  It sums up the best links to the compaines with the best mail-order plants. Yes, you read that correctly. Mail. Order. Plants. 

Say what?! I think it's crazy. What happened to shopping at a nursery or, you know, Home Depot and Lowes if you're about big box stores. (Annie and I got the best plant from Home Depot for a whopping 50 cents. It's called "Purple Passion". It's our love-fern equivalent.)  

But really, that post just makes me want to garden. And have a garden. Particularly a kitchen garden.  But when I get too lusty after my own plot of land, I remember this quote I picked up recently:  

If you ever get sad that you don't have a garden of your own, remember that you have hundreds of beautiful gardens all over the city and all over the world. 

Try to erase the language of "want" from your head. You have everything that you need.

--from Prudent Advice for My Baby Daughter

So instead I'll just take a good look at our Purple Passion, give it a sip of water and enjoy the garden that's already planted and thriving all around me. 

This book looks wonderful. Warm weather always makes me want to break out my screenprinting supplies and take on a project. 

Thanks to AT for this. 

What I like about this book, though, is that it uses really simple methods with, by all appearances, foolproof directions. There are a ton of projects from screenprinted messenger bags to making a wax seal stamp and how to affix your wax seal to a letter or bottle. Anyone wanting to buy me a cakeday present can keep this bad boy in mind.  

And finally, from Design Fetish comes this springy/nature-inspired project: 

Yep. That would be a bookshelf. In the shape of a tree branch.  Cool, right? I think it'd be pretty easy to turn into a DIY project, too. 

On ManMade Things

So, I am not at all ashamed to say that the past hour or so of my day was just spent on this website. If you didn't just click on that link (DO IT!) it's the wonderfully addictive ManMade DIY. Slogan: Creativity and the Handmade Life for the Postmodern Male. Catchy, right?  Needless to say, the site is the motherlode of simple, easy, and CHEAP DIY projects, design inspiration and just interestingly curated site of links.

I found this one that makes me a bit queasy:

That's an omelette INSIDE the egg, y'all.

Then there was this amazingly beautiful 25-cent project (you better believe it's on my to-make list!): 

A ring made from a QUARTER and a spoon. Ridiculous. 

And this under-ten-bucks neat-o pendant light: 

Made from dowel sticks, spray paint and an IKEA light fixture. (I think it'd be pretty cute with each dowel painted a different color!)

These amazing updated vintage globes: 

It's amazing how far a bit o' decoupage can get you!

This hilarious (but slightly endearing) invention: 

It's the dipr peeps. 

And, to top it all off, make sure you listen to this angsty, Smiths-filled, retro playlist that Flavorwire composed.  It's supposed to be what Holden Caulfield would have listened to. Interesting idea. Lovely music. Slightly hilarious article. 

So, go look at ManMade's site. Get sucked in. Don't regret it, fight against it, or complain, okay? And make sure you have your bookmark button at the ready. Because I'm pretty sure I marked about ten things onto my list. 

From the Weekend

This past weekend was full of thrifting (again, I know!).  Annie and I had scoped out the NC State Surplus warehouse last weekend and came back for our spoils.  This weekend, I ended up with a 6ft by 4ft green old-school chalkboard. It's awesome and currently leaning against my wall and busy keeping my life organized.

The picture on the left there is of the garland I made. It's pink, yellow, black (with a yellow and pink floral pattern), and blue circles glued together and attached to some string. I love it. It's so simple and yet so cute and colorful.

Annie picked out some awesome vintage (read: old but awesome) file organizer thingies (seen in the photo on the right below).

**Please note that that little file thingy holds only about 1/3 of our "Craft Library". Yes, we are crazy like that.**

Also of note are our twenty ReadyMade magazines we found at another thrift store. Here's how we acquired them:

Me:   I'm going to go look at the magazines.

Annie:    Oh, look! A ReadyMade. I love these.

Me:   Reaching for the five that are in view. They look awesome. Let's get them! I start grabbing all that are on the shelf and begin furiously searching for more whilst piling them all into mine and Annie's arms. 

Annnnnnnd five minutes later and we have twenty lovely ReadyMade mags ranging from 2004 to 2010 in our arms. Needless to say, they were an excellent investment at a whopping 99 cents a pop. I highly encourage you to visit their website. It's basically a DIY-ers dream as they tell you how to create nearly everything in the magazine and give you plenty of ideas for other projects. (Think Domino but cheaper and way more DIY than buy.) Here's a few lined up all beautifully thanks to Annie:

All I can say is that we spent another weekend successfully spending a wee bit of money on wonderful second-hand things. There's nothing as grand as a good deal of someone's vintage goodness!

DIY: a precious kitty cushion

Oh, the pesky cat and it's fur and other unmentionables. Needless to say, mine will sit on just about anything you don't want her to sit on...your favorite blanket, a scarf, she'll even hop into plastic bags when you get home from the grocery store. So the solution? Lay a towel or blanket you don't care much for on the ground. It works, but it's not pretty. The pretty solution? A designer kitty cushion that will hold whatever you want it to: old towels, blankets, or t-shirts.

Make your own! Buy 1/2 yard of adorable print fabric and fashion your cushion after the sham pillowcases with the overlapping back flap down the middle. (Thanks for the idea, Lo!) After I made the cuts for the pattern, I put a dash of embroidery on the top and then sewed the pieces together.

Fabric found at JoAnn's. BTW: Did you know JoAnn's has a VIP program where you can get 10% every purchase*? You can sign up at joann.com/vip. *Resellers, sewing and crafting guilds, associations, professional organizations and interior design professionals all qualify for Jo-Ann VIP membership status.

Fab Friday

Superbowl is apparently around the bend (thanks to the constant reminders on tv and the interwebs) but more than anything else, this recipe from Cooking with My Kid (which is an adorable site with the most deeelish recipes that are super easy) makes me want to don a jersey and celebrate some men throwing around the good 'ole pigskin!
They're oven-baked hot dogs!

Doesn't that look divine?  I love that you basically just throw everything together in a pan and bake it for 40 minutes.  You can find the full, so easy, recipe here.


Seen on Pattern Observer today was this finale of D&G's menswear 2011 show (That's Dolce&Gabbana for you lame-os!).

There are two things that strike me about these pictures.
1) Have you ever noticed how all male models sort of look...well, the same?  Tiny, thin faces with slicked back slightly 50's hair and they're about as tall and wide as a stringbean. It's alarming. I mean, LOOK at all those guys WHO LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME! Weird. It's like they grow them, or something.
2) I'm not sure whether I'm impressed or aghast by the fact that apparently high-$$$ fashion this fall will be based around vintage graphic t-shirts advertising Coke, Mickey Mouse, and "love me tonight".  The colors are great, and boy do I love those sneakers, but Coke t-shirts? Really?!


This post from Apartment Therapy makes me want to live in Durham (which, in case you're not from the NC Triangle area, is probably something to be ashamed of).  

Still, look at that goodness of creamy walls, mustardy chair and mid-century everything. Yes, please. (Even the little dino sitting on that top shelf!)


Talk about DIY love: 

Another AT find. Instructions and more info here. 

 And, in case you (along with me) want to lust after more lovely home interiors, check out this doozy of a site: http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/.  It apparently gets 12,000+ readers per day to peruse Victoria Smith's lovely ‘bohemian modern style’.     And, in case you need any more reason to go, here's a snap of the front page as of today:

And, finishing it off, a video on creativity and persistence by the wonderfully wonderful Ira Glass.

Seen on Making It Lovely. 

DIY: nail house numbers

Check. It. Out. Awesome what $5 worth of nails can do. I love the concept and the nails just go perfectly with the wooden background. Boy do I wish I had my own little place so I can do something equally creative. 

by Lotta Agaton via papernstitch

The Terrible Thursdays: It's like Friday, but not.

I always love me some this isn't happiness for inspiration and great design or art finds from around the interwebs.  Today, this picture caught my eye. I love the grain, the messy border and the ghost-like people. It looks like such a normal scene and yet it also looks completely ridiculous.

DIY: Picture Frame

Check out this DIY on how to make a faux bois picture frame. I really like the simplicity of the frame design by itself without the special finishing technique. Love the scalloped corners and the line around the photo. However, the faux bois would look make a sweet valentine gift with a black and white photo in it.

by RadMegan via CRAFT:

Garlands galore, part one

I am loving these Valentine's hearts from How About Orange: