Let's Get Real

You might recall when I was lucky enough to be included as part of Papernstitch's Workspace Wednesday at the beginning of this month. I love when my workspace is clean and neat, but let's get real... nobody's workspace always looks like that. I'm currently very busy (and a little overwhelmed) prepping for two upcoming craft fairs and I thought I would share with you a typical busy night in my workspace...

So messy but so great... this is how I know the creativity is flowing.

DIY: Bandana Flower

A friend of mine asked that I make a flower out of this bandana for her. I usually always make my flowers with felt. I've never attempted fabric before but I thought it was worth a shot. I got the idea from this Martha Stewart Silk Flower DIY.

I cut the bandana into long ovals (more like strips with rounded edges). I found it easiest to fold my template in half, then fold a strip of fabric in half and place it inside the template (as if you are filling a taco).... then I could hold the folded template tight with the fabric inside as I cut. One bandana makes 18 6"x3" ovals.

The bandana had been previously folded, so some of my fabric ovals has creases and wrinkles. I could have ironed them, but instead I just used my large hair straightener. One swipe through the straightener and they were flat!

Next, I gathered the center of each oval and tied them together with thin wire. I tied three ovals together (making six petals), then gathered and tied three more ovals to those (making sure the flower had no large gaps). Six ovals makes a flower with 12 petals.

Since my friend needed just one large flower I tied these three together. I hot glued a circular piece of felt and a clip on to the bottom. Now this flower can clip anywhere!

To Read...

I always tell myself that I need to start reading more, but when I'm home, I look around and see a million projects I should be working on... and suddenly the urge to read goes right out the window. Of course, this doesn't stop me from buying books that I really want. Here are a few I'm planning on purchasing soon (and maybe actually reading)...

Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. Los Angeles, Portrait of a City.

Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm. No Place Like Home: A Memoir of 39 Apartments. 

ModCloth

This weekend a friend of mine introduced me to ModCloth. How have I never visited this website before?! Here are just a few of my MANY favorite items that this website has to offer...

jungle animal rack. matryoshka doll stationery set. subway map umbrella.

wildlife craft kit. cardboard mounted deer. stampede light set.

The clothes are adorable too! Here are a few of my favorite dresses...

colorful birds. red polka dots.

scoop neck blue top. yellow butterflies.

They have an entire vintage section too! Unfortunately, it seems that many of their items sell out quickly, but it's worth it to check back often!

A Please Note Giveaway! - CLOSED

As a thank you to my readers, I've decided to have a Please Note giveaway! One reader will win the item of their choice from the Please Note shop... a set of notecards, invitations, personalized recipe cards... you choose!

To enter the giveaway, simply visit the Please Note shop, choose your favorite item and leave a comment telling me what it is. At the end of the week, I'll choose one comment at random and that reader will receive their favorite Please Note item! One comment per reader please. Good luck!

The giveaway is now closed! Thank you to everyone who entered!

Snag That Style: Dazed and Confused

It's that time again... time to snag that style! This time around we're taking a look at another one of my all time favorite movies... Dazed and Confused.

What better way to honor this film than with some nifty 1970s-esque items?

1. grey knit sweater 2. high waist jean shorts  3. leather shoulder bag 

4. retro egg chair 5. leather belt  6. striped knee socks 7. blue nikes 8. foosball table

Fabricworm

A friend of mine recently told me about an excellent website by the name of Fabricworm. I couldn't believe I'd never heard of it before. Fabricworm offers a large amount of awesome, very moderately priced fabric. Here are a few of my favorites...

retro floral. vintage ladies. matryoshka dolls. 

yellow oak tree. mushrooms and squirrels. birds in the garden. 

Daily Routine

I realized recently that I've spent years testing different products in order to perfect my list of daily essentials... so why not share it? Here is a look at some of my absolute favorite makeup, skin, and hair products.

1. Sonia Kashuk Brow Kit 2. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack 

3. MAC Eye Shadow in Pink Venus 4. Maybelline Expert Wear Singles in Vanilla Shimmer

5. Covergirl VolumeExact Mascara in Very Black 

6. Sonia Kashuk Enhance Eye Shadow in Whisper Matte 7. MAC Studio Fix Powder 

8. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion 

9. Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture - Sensitive Skin 10. St. Ives Apricot Scrub

11. Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser 12. Agadir Argan Oil Spray Treatment 

13. Pureology Supersmooth Shampoo and Conditioner (for color treated hair)

Out of all of these products, the item I love the most is the Agadir hair oil. If you're anything like me, and you put your hair through the ringer (coloring, blow-drying, straightening, etc.) I highly recommend this product. It's not cheap, but SO worth it.

Pom Pom Garland

As you may recall, last week I posted about some very colorful inspirations. I was most intrigued by this Pom Pom DIY. A few days ago, a friend and I decided to give it a try. Although time consuming, these pom poms are well worth the work.

If you're thinking about trying this yourself, I recommend buying the Clover Pom Pom Maker. We used the large ones, but the small ones would look great too. Also... I recommend watching this video. It will clear up any questions you have before you get started.

Baked Meatballs

Here's a look at one of my favorite meatball recipes. 

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 2 slices fresh white bread
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 4 tbsp. parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper to taste

Finely mince the parsley, tear the bread slices into small pieces, grate the parmesan cheese, and chop the onion and garlic.

Slightly beat the eggs. Combine all of the ingredients (except the ground beef). Add the beef and mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.

Arrange the meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until you cut into one and they are cooked through. Serve these with your favorite pasta or make meatball sandwiches with toasted french rolls and melted mozzarella cheese. Enjoy!

Weekly Swap Meet Finds: Before and After

A while ago I found an ornate gold mirror at the swap meet. I'd always planned on painting it a bright pink/red color because I'm not much of a gold person. Last weekend I finally got around to it and I love how it came out.

My favorite part about this mirror is the shelf! It's a perfect way to display my favorite knick knacks.

Here's one more before shot. Pete is such a ham, she wouldn't stay out of the picture. I don't know what she liked better, gazing at herself in the mirror, or having her picture taken.

Rainy Weekend

I'm happy to say that I FINALLY managed to have a productive weekend. I put in a good amount of time on some shop orders and the rest of my weekend was an all out craft fest. I finally got around to making myself a seat cushion. My workspace is much more comfortable now. I love the little matryoshka dolls in this fabric... courtesy of Fabricworm.

Saturday afternoon/night was spent with a friend working on some pom pom garlands (pictures of the finished product coming soon). Our "crafternoon" as we started calling it was accompanied by pizza and beer of course.

I spent a little time planning my upcoming craft fair display and trying to decide what fabric to use for a tablecloth. I have A LOT of work to do on this... A LOT. I'm not freaking out quite yet, but I'm sure that's coming.

My poor little gnome didn't get much attention. He's getting there... slowly but surely.

Although I didn't get to see the moon on Saturday night, I am thankful for the rain. It helped me stay inside and actually get some work done. Hopefully the work week will be just as productive. 

Super Moon!

I really, really hope it's not cloudy tonight because I'm dying to see the moon! It's supposed to be the closest it's been in 18 years!

Apparently, the best time to look is at sunset. This article (complete with video) does a great job of explaining it. Just in case it's too overcast to see the moon tonight, I took some pictures last night. It seemed much brighter than usual.

Come on clouds, take the night off!

Snag That Style: To Kill A Mockingbird

It's the second edition of Snag That Style! This time around, we're taking a look at one of my all time favorite books/movies... To Kill A Mockingbird.

Feel right at home with Atticus, Jem and Scout with some of these charming finds...

1. framed butterflies 2. wardrobe style suitcase 3. newsboy cap 

4. tortoise shell glasses 5. pocket watch 6. high tops 7. hardwood rocking chair

Photos courtesy of Dr. Macro's Movie Scans.

St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Here are a few vintage St. Patrick's day postcards that I absolutely love. I'm not too sure what the story is with the little pig, but he's pretty cute.

Source: one. two. three.

Update: My dear Aunt Lynnea read this post and informed me of why the cute little pig is symbolic. This article gives a brief history. Interesting to say the least. You're not so cute anymore, little pig.

Outdoor Envy

The weather is getting warmer and it's making me anxious for summer! I've been taking a look at some gorgeous outdoor decorating ideas. Here are a few of my favorites.

source: one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten.

Please Note Labels

I started a lot of projects this weekend... hence the word 'started'. I spent the most time creating labels for my card boxes and they're finally finished! I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

Now, I just can't decide where to put them. I'm leaning towards wrapping them around the bottom corner of the boxes. 

Color Love

This Pom Pom DIY over at Honestly WTF inspired me to look around for some more colorful goodies. I honestly can't get enough of this picture. I don't know what it is. I want to make these garlands and hang them all over my yard!

After checking out this DIY, I started to do some Etsy searching. Here are two of my favorite colorful finds...

[1] atomium rings

[2] multicolored felt beads

source: one. two.

Lastly, all of this got me thinking about a Sony advertisement that I had completely forgotten about it, and it's so great! Watch it here.

Chalkware

Recently I've been doing some research on Miller Studio Chalkware. This Ebay Guide gives a brief history of the hand painted wall plaques. Naturally, my research led to some Etsy shopping.  Here are a few of my favorite Etsy Chalkware finds...

[1] bluebird plaque

[2] owl memo plaque

[3] orange mushroom plaque

source: one. two. three.