It could have been the sunshine or the smell of the country air as I drove with the windows down, but I think it was the colorful grandma afghan's put to good use that made me smile from ear to ear today. Amazing! Do you think they'll mind if I stop in and play?
Our friends found this little step stool/mini seat for one dollar at a thrift store. One dollar!
They brought it home and with some sandpaper, stencils, masking tape, paint, a good idea and some love, they transformed it into personalized seating for the little miss.
How amazing is it to have such crafty and kind friends?!
Keep your eyes peeled while thrifting or hitting those yard sales.
This is a fun project and makes for a great gift.
Lying in bed this morning I was brainstorming ideas of things to make. I happened to check my phone and saw these unbelievable photos that my friend had posted on facebook of his friend Lukka Sigurdardottir who made this seriously unbelievable cake. All of my ideas seem so small in comparison! Not only has Lukka mastered the checkered cake, but she has taken it to a whole new level. I am in awe and inspired. I had to share these with you.
My magazines are piling up. I like to go through them and tear out recipes, ideas, and pictures that may inspire future culinary, craft, gardening or decorating projects as well as pictures of houses or architectural details. What do I do with all of these pictures and pages that I tear out? Well, I put them in an idea book, of course.
I bought large three ring binders with the clear pocket on the front and back.
I used some vintage wallpaper from this great sample book I have to make the front and back covers of my binders.
Tear out those pages.
Lots of ideas and recipes to try...
Place it in a clear page protector and put in in the appropriate notebook.
I have a book for:
Flowers, which includes arrangements and pictures of individual flower varieties.
Crafts and Living, which includes ideas for projects arranged by season as well as a section for home and garden.
Recipes. Book one. Breakfast and Desserts.
Recipes. Book two. Cocktails, soups, appetizers, vegetables and main dishes.
I also take pictures of things I have made or recipes that I have printed online or received from friends and file them away.
It's a great resource to have all of these ideas and recipes in one place.
When I need to be inspired I just flip through the pages!
My plan for a main wall in the baby's room was to use chalkboard paint. Not the traditional green or black, something different. I wanted orange. Of course I had a particular shade of orange in mind so the quarts of rustoleum in pre mixed quarts of colors was not going to work. I searched the internet looking for advice on blogs, reading magazine articles, even contemplated making my own using Martha Stewart's recipe, which would be quite a project. It was a big wall. I needed at least a half gallon and before you can use your home made chalkboard wall you have to cover the whole thing with chalk and then wipe it off. No thanks. That's not what I'm looking for.
Then I found Magnamagic. I ordered a gallon of their tintable chalkboard paint which they claimed could be be tinted any color you wanted. It was a neutral base paint. I later learned this meant that pastel colors were harder to achieve exactly but if you were looking for a stronger hue this would be perfect. And it is. $49.99 a gallon plus three day delivery and my creative dream was on its way to becoming a reality.
I read on the Magnamagic web sight that a few select Sherman Williams stores on the east coast were now carrying their products. So that's where I decided to go to hoping that the bases of the paint would be similar and I could get a more exact color match. The staff at Sherman Williams was overly helpful. Although I left there a little uneasy about the dabble of paint on my gallon top thinking it was a bit brighter than I wanted I realized those people really know their stuff because the paint dried a bit darker on the wall and it was an exact match.
Top reasons to try this paint:
After the paint dried I could begin the chalk drawing that I had envisioned for the nursery...
What a happy room to be in.
Straight from the CIA a piece of cake in the form of a terrarium. Those culinary students! I have never seen anything like this! Everything is edible, including the micro greens used on top. This was more of a personalized size but imagine a full aquarium size for a party?
I found this in a magazine at some point. I thought it was such a great idea for growing gourds. You know how those vines get so long and can take over a garden that is cramped for space so why not let them grow up and over an arbor of some sort. Imagine walking through at the end of the summer with birdhouse gourds and mini pumpkins popping through the vines. If only I had a bit more yard to work with than a box for my tomatoes to grow in. One day!