{valentine craft}

some friends and i got together to make heather bailey's paper globes last night. i love the end result and they were fun to make, but i'll admit we were cursing heather bailey for making it look so easy and quick. ...no, these babies are a little time consuming as you have to cut a bunch of circles out, fold them, then glue them together. but, all in all it was worth it and now i do have a cute little valentines decoration. my first ever.. [and, i don't think it's my last..]

i was finally able to put the finishing touches on my paper globe while my little z-man was napping today. i opted to make a different heart, as heather bailey's was made out of felt which was really cute too!

a fun project, but if you want to try it out, be sure to have a little time...

{conversation heart soaps}

i thought these little handmade soaps on martha stewarts site were so cute. apparently you can use your cookie cutters as molds. how darling.

unfortunately, i'll probably never get to making some with my list of intended valentine projects that just keeps growing and i've finished.. well, not one thing yet. wish me luck. hopefully i'll have some fun projects i've been working on or thinking about working on, soon.

{sushi to go!}

i saw a box of these the other day while grocery shopping so i thought i'd give it a try.  i wish i had discovered these when i was going into an office everyday bringing my lunch.  these annie chun sushi wraps are awesome!  they come with about ten strips of seaweed and rice in a bowl that is already cooked, you just heat it up in the microwave and your good to go..  then you add your own little fix-ins. the only annoying thing is that it doesn't come with wasabi, just soy sauce.  good thing i already had wasabi!

{hair clips}

i made these cute hair clips for my little neice for her 5th birthday! they were fun to make! i made them out of hair clips, fabric, felt, + buttons.

kinda want to make some for myself... maybe i will..

{loving this song}

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{i *heart* you necklace}

just in time for st. valentines day, that is just around the corner. the i * heart * you necklace.
i hand carved this cute heart myself out of sterling silver and i'm "lovin'" it.
girls... you may need to give your guy a hint on this one!


just added to my shop! check it out here!

{new tags in my shop!}

just added some cute vintage gift tags to my etsy shop! these are adorable and can be used to spruce up any gift, or used in scrapbook pages or art books. i love the vintage look! they are hand dyed and stamped by me! i'm in love with the little birdy theme!

:: check them out here! ::

oh ya, i almost forgot.. these tags also come with a free gift of 2 yards of brown and white bakers twine to replace the string or use on different projects!! i also wanted to thank everyone who ordered my bakers twine the last little bit. i've been winding up twine to my hearts content. enjoy!

also, be sure to check back as new goodies will be popping into the shop! tell your friends!

{organization no. 04}

:: organization no. 04- out with the old ::

:: so i've been working on my clothing closet.. and this just might be the most difficult of them all. these are just two of the trash bags i filled up with things i need to get rid of. it's difficult parting ways with some things, mainly because i think about all the hard earned money i spent on it and it just kills me to give it away to goodwill or whatever. i've taken some to sell at platos closet and pibs exchange, but sometimes they can be quite picky. i may sell some on ebay. it's been successful in the past, but honestly a bit time consuming and i really am not in the mood. we'll see. maybe i should do a cyber garage sale like cute ali suggested. ::

{new amy butler!}

:: i'm absolutetly loving amy butlers new spring line of fabrics.. she describes it as "midwest modern." can't wait until april when these babies are avaiable to purchase! ::

{pretty bench}

:: how great is this re-finished bench? love the blue with the fabric. [via design sponge] ::

:: my husband and i recently refinished his parents old dining room set and had to paint 6 chairs and recover each seat with fabric... it's quite a job, but it's worth it! i just love making old things into new treasures!! ::

{custom stamps}

:: i came across this cute etsy shop today called, craft pudding. they make custom rubber stamps with anything you want. i'm thinking of getting one made for my shop. so adorable!

{the minimalist}

:: photo via cookie mag ::

:: i've noticed a big trend towards white walls... and, i think i'm a fan. i'm loving how clean it is and you can still add color with furniture and fabric ::

{my little newsboy}

:: thanks for all the help with the newsboy cap search for my little z man. as you can see i was finally able to find one online at amazon.com. unfortunately, his 90th percentile head could barely squeeze into it so i guess the search still continues.. ::

{organization no. 03}

:: organization no. 03. hall closet overhaul. ::
:: our hall closet was looking a little sad the past while, it was a catch-all of things i needed to get out of the way quick. so here was my solution. ::

:: organization no. 03- hall closet help ::
[01] group like items into categories
[02] buy shoebox plastic bins
[03] label bins
[04] place items in bins

yeah! i can finally find a double a battery when i need one!

{color!}

:: i'm dying over the color palette right now over at anthropologie i saw via a little sussy. love it, just love it! ::

{plate rack turned bookshelf}

:: love this idea to use a ready made plate rack and use it to store your little ones books ::

:: check out instructions here, via martha stewart ::

{organization no. 02}

:: no. 02 labeling cords. i got this idea from sweet marta, but i used these ring labels that you can pick up from office depot. [cute for gift tags too!] ::

{the year of organization no. 01}

:: so as you may know, one of my big resolutions for 2008 is to be more organized. living in clutter isn't fun, and it's stressful and i don't need that in my life. so, i'm resolving to do a better job. when i say year of organization.. i really mean year, as it may take me all year to do it, but at least there is a goal, right? ::

:: so my first bit of organization to share or as i am calling it organization no. 01, was to organize my holiday decorations. here are a few things that helped me do this.

*holiday* organization no. 01
[01] buy many tupperware bins
[02] fill with christmas decorations [an obvious step]
[03] pick out a color for 'christmas' [i chose red]
[04] use a red ribbon to label all christmas boxes
[05] create a label for holiday and label contents of box [i found it very handy to list box 1 of 5, so i knew there were actually 5 christmas boxes in our basement]
[06] tie label to box with holiday color [red ribbon]

ahhh! i feel better about unpacking christmas next year already..

{paint can cubbies}

:: i thought these paint can cubbies were so cute and a very good idea. via martha stewart ::

:: for a how-to click here ::

{the three column blog}

:: i get asked a lot about how i got my blog to have three columns. well, to be honest i don't remember that answer. it was a late night of googling things and playing around with the html code. anyhow, i saw that jess at how about orange was smart enough to keep the links that helped her make hers a three column template and she has them listed on her blog, and a few other fun ways to spruce up your blog. ::

:: check it out here. ::

{lunch}

:: i had moules [mussels] today for lunch. nothin' better than these cooked with butter, garlic, + parsley. my mom used to make these slimy little things for us when we were in france + i guess i just like them not only because i think they are good, but also for the memories they stir up. i love how food can do that to you! ::

{currently loving.. lace cut furniture}

:: loving this lace cut furniture from brocade home. ::

{birds of a feather}

:: i'm such a fan of birds + feathers. [see here, here, + here] ::

:: i made these cute little peacock feather earrings for the beehive bazaar, and i just love them. i just made them available in my shop. click here. ::

{christmas card display}

:: this is how i displayed my christmas cards this year. strung up on some pom poms held by itty bitty clothes pins. i love getting christmas cards in the mail. i look forward to that every year. i don't want to take them down yet, but i think it's about that time. ::

{organization, please!}

:: i sure wish my little z mans closet looked like this picture from parent magazine. funny how a new year makes you want to become a better person... and for me a better organizer. since the house has been making me and my hubby crazy with clutter, i've been trying to get a little organizing done. i hope to share a few pictures soon of what i've done so far.

unfortunately i have so much more to do. i've been of the shut the closet and pretend it's not there type the past year. but, my goal this year is to have everything organized in every corner. one thing at a time though... i'm already getting overwhelmed just thinking about it. i think my biggest thing is to just part ways with things i haven't used in over a year. this is going to be really difficult for me especially when it comes to my closet. i mean things i wore in high school just might come back in style, right? ::

{newsboy cap-- help me!}

:: i've been searching high + low for a cute baby newsboy hat like this one from kidco kids for my little z man. if anyone can help me find one i'd just love you to death! and, p.s. check out the kidco kids website, they have the cutest kid clothes! ::

{color}

:: i love these bold red chairs in this white kitchen via house beautiful. with the new year.. i've been thinking a lot about my home decor and i'd love to do a mega over-haul. new paint, new color palette.. but then i think about having to get out the ladders and actually having to paint and then i think, "maybe this yellow color that drives me nuts is ok?" ::

{oh lovely}

:: i'm likin' these cute little ballet flats from target. price is also nice at $19.99 ::