Earrings in Bloom

While at checkout in the bead store a few weeks ago, I spotted these little plastic flowers for just 25 cents a piece... you know I bought them in every color and got to making some earrings.  All I needed was the posts, which were sold in a 12 pack for just one buck.  Success.

With post, flower and instant krazy glue in hand, these only took a few seconds to make.  Just dab some glue on the post and hold the flower in place.  This particular glue was insanely sticky and dried in an... instant.  Go figure.  But really, I did notice a better adhesion than with just regular super glue.

And then before I knew it, flower earrings galore!  You really can glue almost anything to a post and call it an earring, think buttons, flat stone, sea glass, etc. but I've been on a flower kick ever since buying a pair of sea-foam green rosette earrings from Etsy.  And now I have four more for about $2.50... perfectly within my intern budget.  But I didn't stop at flowers...

I also grabbed these flat-backed bubbles in shiny, luscious turquoise.  I decided to glam them up a bit by ringing the edge with my metallic silver sharpie.  It really gives it a little something extra in my opinion.

For a few dollars I know have a new pair of the earrings for everyday of the week!

*Being from the east coast, I've got all my family, friends, and community in my thoughts as Sandy dishes out her wrath.  Stay safe please!*

  




   

Polka Dots and Pumpkins

Polka dots have always felt childish on my clothes, but on my walls... in gold... with pumpkins... yes, please!

Styling bookshelves can be a little tricky.  Too much stuff and it looks cluttered and crazy, but too streamlined and it looks like you haven't fully unpacked yet.  Enter the Holiday season.  It gave me a steadfast theme to adhere to, and when you collect like items, the cluttered look falls by the wayside and you get super stylized amazingness!

The polka dots where a fun touch to play up the roundness of the pumpkins, add a little color and shine, and best of all an impermanent DIY soulution that won't rob me of my rental deposit.  Here's how:

Gather all of your materials and maybe a partner if you're tackling a large space.  Measure and cut your paper to size and adhere with some double-sided tape, beginning in the center and smoothing the paper out towards your corners as you go.  I admittedly got frustrated during this process and enlisted the boyf against his will ;)

Next, dip your cork end into some paint and stamp in the center of the space you are polka dotting.  Work out from there.  I just eyed-balled it, but you could do some simple math and mark lightly with a pencil if you are so inclined.

I went with a staggered pattern to make the alignment easier freehand.  If your paper is thin like mine was, simply stab the shelving brackets straight through into their slots and replace your shelves.  Another designer tip, odds.  Always group in odds, it is far more pleasing to the eye.

I also made this little painted print of my polka dotted pumpkin filled shelves.  I'll be making it into a printable if you'd prefer to remove the heavy lifting but still get the look.

Will you be adding polka dots to your decor?  Or just to your Pinterest boards ;)

Humpday Hocus Pocus

Happy Wednesday! This week has been crazy insane for me, so in case you're in the same boat and looking for the absolute fastest and easiest Halloween decorating possible... you're welcome! As long as you've got a printer on hand you're all set! Halloween Printable This song is near and dear to my sister and me (hehe), as our step-mom would always sing it constantly this time of year to the point where we wanted to forget the candy and get on with turkey-day already... so this little printable is a nice and festive abridged version. Enjoy.

Spook Sticks

Today's project literally took me five minutes to make.  You can sprinkle these "spook sticks" into your existing decor in seconds to amp up the Halloween vibe.  Accessorizes a flower bouquet to go from pretty to festive, tape them to the back of your television to scare your guests, or place them in a tiny glass with some pumpkins nearby.

The idea came to me when I saw that my fragrance diffusion reeds were spent.  So I gathered some scrap paper (the cutouts from yesterday's buntings) scissors and left over black streamer.

Next I doodled some iconic Halloween silhouettes like the black cat, ghost, bat and jack-o-lantern in pen and cut out two of each.  Then I coated the cut outs with a glue stick, placed the reed in the middle and closed the sandwich with the second copy of the cutout.  Last, I glued a couple of strips of streamer to the base of the of the reed and voile!

Quick, simple and easy as promised.  How's Halloween making it into your home?

Trick or Treat Week

Halloween is nearly upon us!  For me that means I am just now crafting my costume, decorations and enjoying seasonal delicacies.  What that means for you is that everyday this week, I'm treating you to thrifty and simple Halloween ideas to knock out last minute with me!  That's right, make this Monday through Friday count by jamming in all the wicked tricks and treats possible.
  

Being away from New England for the second holiday season in a row is a little tough I must admit.  Although, when I consider I spent last year in Australia and this time I'm in San Fran... life doesn't seem so tough after all.  But I was craving the Halloween spirit in my scarcely decorated place in the city.

I found this bunting over at Fine & Feathered.  I loved the idea that it would be high impact, quick and easy.  So I grabbed all my paper goods, ribbon, and my Martha Stewart paper cutter I picked up from TJMaxx a few months ago that I've been dying to use, and got to work. 

It punches a nice little pattern into the edge of paper, and even has an alignment system so you can repeat endlessly without any hint of the start and end of each section.   

The ribbon I used was also super handy, in that it had adhesive backing.  It's called Best Occasions Self Adhesive Ribbon and I found it at Walmart.  So after cutting my bunting pieces out of orange and black construction paper, I simply lined the top edge with the ribbon in a contrasting color.

Then it was up on the wall.  It takes up a good amount of space and can't be missed as you walk into the living room.  I often find myself starring at it rather than whatever is on the tv to the right... pretty lame I know, but it really gets me in the festive spirit!

Then I decided that this sad little chair needed some spooky decor too.  Once I taped on a skirt of black streamers and topped it with a creepy skull and stack of mini pumpkins, it looked right a home beneath the bunting.

Plus, the skull keeps me in good company always starring up at the bunting too.

So there you have it, an easy way to add some spook to your space!  And I highly recommend giving your taste buds a bite of the action too...

Is your place all gussied up for the season or are the fall cravings just kicking in?

Weekend Round-Up

This long weekend made me realize how amazing my new city really is. There were about a million things happening in the bay area and I got my slice. First up was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. A free concert series featuring about 60 artists over the course of three days.

 Golden Gate park was full of people, food trucks, dogs and sweet jams.  The weather was picture perfect and the people watching was phenomenal. :)

I heard The Lumineers and an amazing mandolin playing protege named Sierra Hull who was as sweet as pie with a beautiful voice to match her instrumental chops.

Down by the bay were the Blue Angels, zipping through the air a mere six inches apart from one another in perfect sync!  It was loud, thrilling and terrifying all at once.

I didn't have to stay down by the bay to see them in action though.  This video was taken out my living room window.  They were hard to miss with the sound of their thunderous engines echoing through the concrete streets and alleyways.  It made me jump out of my skin every time they flew overhead, so low it seemed they may have skimmed my rooftop!

While the Angle's ruled the air, America's Cup owned the water below.  I didn't stick around to watch them duel it out since sailing isn't a particular interest of mine, but there were plenty of spectators and tourists crowding the area, leaving me to head to the park on Monday for a great jog.

I started down at Ocean Beach by lounging in the sun with the boyf before making the 6 mile trek home.  The run goes primarily though Golden Gate Park, which is larger than NYC's Central Park... ;)  and lands me at home exhausted and sweaty. 

But nothing beats ditching the city streets, noise and traffic lights for some time in the woods!  Northern California smells like fresh pine and crisp air while still providing views of palm trees lazing high in the sky.

No complaints here. :)  All that plus some crafts!!!  Yes, it was my perfect weekend.

The table is nearly complete, just a few finishing touches and some sealer.  A big fancy dinner to break her in will be a must; I'm thinking pork tenderloin with apple chutney to officially ring in the fall season.  Yum!

Weekend Wrap Bracelets

Layered up wrist baubles are everywhere, and I wanted in.  Naturally, I wanted to make them myself and for cheap.  I jealously eyed my co-workers wrist wrap for a few days before buying the materials for myself at a local bead shop.

All I needed was some suede cording and dainty chain in the color of my choosing, and her $40 bracelet became my custom, handmade, ten dollar claim to fame.

Just knot together two strands of suede and one of chain.  The length depends on how many times you want your bracelet to wrap around your wrist.  I used pieces that were four feet each and it ended up wrapping four times around.

A classic braid, another knot and your done.

But why make just one when you can have two?

Have an inspired week <3

Never Never Land

Peter Pan collars have been trending on the runways and blogs alike.  I was recently inspired by this photo I saw on... Pinterest.  Big shocker I know.

I love all the heavy beading that gave the girlish, whimsical peter pan collar more of a rocker chic feel.  I was also smitten with the idea of having a virtual collar to pop onto any old tee-shirt for an instant pulled together look.  So I then scoured the internet and found these great tutorials on various sites for said necklace/collar.

                                        Pearl Punched collar by Honestly...WTF here

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                                   Sequin Covered Collar by Stripes and Sequins here

And so with a basic idea of how to construct it and knowing what I did and didn't like about each collar I set about making my own.  I used felt for the back drop, some tiny beads for the glam factor, intricate trim for detail and black velvet ribbon for the tie.

After cutting the iconic shape, I tacked on this black decorative trim I found at a fabric outlet.  It gives it a really complete edge and was really simple to add with a couple of stitches here and there with needle and thread.

I then embellished it with the small copper beads in a sun burst fashion and added detail to the dainty black trim with small accent beads on the tips of each point.
I like the direction it's going and plan to finish it up this weekend with some gunmetal pearl beads along the tops edge... and who knows where else!  This has been a plan-as-I-go project with occasional referrals back to my inspiration pieces.  Do you have any trends you plan on DIYing to get just right?