terrarium making

this christmas, i decided to make terrariums for all of my close friends. it was such an adventure & so much fun. i got a pack of 100 tiny train model people for $12 on amazon, tiny succulents from home depot, & lots & lots of glass containers from thrift stores for $1 each, & put it all together. i thought they turned out pretty great :)

i am so into terrariums now haha. i was even tempted to take some furry moss & lichen home with me when i visited the redwoods recently at a state park. i didn't, but i really wanted to...!

i'm pretty sure the next zine i make will be on terrariums. stay tuned!

in other news...

• i've been sick for a week with this cold that i just can't shake. going to work with it isn't fun. at all.
• i made vegan chocolate chip cookies today. they were just ok.
• i have to work this weekend at my second job, which means i will be working for 12 days straight. sigh.
• i've been listening to audiobooks that i get from the library while i drive to & from work. pretty neat set up if i do say so myself.

new

happy new year. it was a nice night in last night. alisa & i made mocktails & watched new year programs on tv in our pjs. we bought 6 small poppers for a dollar & welcomed the new year.

it is time for new calendars! i recently learned about midori traveler's notebooks & decided that i wanted one for my calender this year. they are about 8.5" x 4.5" with leather covers & elastic which make it easy to insert many different types of notebooks, folders, & pockets. instead of spending about $50 on one, i decided to make one out of some leather we had lying around the house from when we made moccasins with my american girls class :). i used ray blake's diy video & the inserts that he provides for free on his site. i used paper i saved from an old 2013 anthropologie calendar for the grid & calender inserts & gold elastic to secure them inside. i was really impressed with how it turned out. as usually, theo wanted to be in the middle of everything. (also, sorry the photos aren't the greatest...)

i was pretty proud of myself for just going for it & making my own notebook. it had been a long time since i had worked with leather & i am excited to experiment with other ways i can use my leftover leather.

today was a lovely lazy day where i spent over half the day in my pjs. i started personalizing my midori, watched the grand budapest hotel on my ipad mini, had a tasty brunch with alisa, & then headed to the movies with my parents to see the last hobbit movie. i liked it. tomorrow i have to get caught up with letter writing. i think i have about 4 letters to write! that will be fun : )

link love:

• these hair clips are just so cute. beary cute ;)
• i usually don't like cake, but this cake is just so perfect. & as a part swedish gal, i love it even more.
• gold & white polkadot bowls that you can make?? yes please.
• i know it's not definitely (& thankfully) not summer, but i would love to use these creative fruit kabobs as place cards at a luncheon. 
• even though this west elm doormat isn't available anymore, i still would love one just like it for when i have my own place. 
• speaking of having my own place, wouldn't this just be so beautiful?

my little craft booth

 i had a little booth at my city's art walk in the beginning of this month! i was so excited & was prepping for the past month. i had a lot more photos of it, but they accidentally got deleted :( i used a couple of my vintage suitcases for the set up along with my succulents to hold the price signs & my vintage picnic quilt as a tablecloth. i sold lavender sachets, upcycled tote bags, my crafting zine, collage kits, & catnip toys. it was a pretty good turnout & i'll be doing it again in july. i also have the best booth partner!

crafting zine

things have been quite around here lately because i've been working on this baby! my first crafting zine! i'm so excited to share it with you & am pretty proud of how it turned out. i commissioned my good friend, melissa, to do the illustrations for it & i think it turned out great : )

you can pick up a copy from my etsy shop here.

crafting in april

i've been crafting a lot lately. i'll be selling my totes & lavender sachets (that i use to sell in my shop) at a local art walk on friday & have been adding to my inventory with melissa (who will be selling her bows!) during our sewing days.we will be sharing a booth/table. i'm excited just to see how it goes!

i've also been working on the crafting zine a bit, gathering inspiration from other crafting zines & confirming a contributor as well! i spent this morning at panera bread while miguel was at work, adding things to my zine & creating qr codes, etc. i can't wait until i finish with it & start assembling it.

just one more week until i leave to thailand! i won't be coming back until the last day of this month. it's going to be a great experience & i'm excited to see my sister.

crafting in february

 i feel like i've been crafting a lot lately & it really makes me happy. i've missed just sitting & crafting for a couple of hours. valentine's day gave me the excuse to make a few handmade cards : )

i was lucky to have some pompom wire on hand to add to my valentines. i also used the app called over to create the cards!

 lizzie, my mom, & i celebrated galentine's day together with brunch on february 13th. the one rule was that we had to come with handmade galentine cards ;)

 my mom blew both lizzie & i away with her handmade cards! (the ones she is holding in the photo aren't hers but ours)

i also made a card for miguel using a photo that he had sent me found somewhere on instagram. it was perfect because he loves squirrels & i think kitties are awesome. i added some corny wordage & that was that ;)

 he seemed to like it ;) hehe. he brought me home some valentine flowers & we cooked dinner together. we had never deep fried anything before, but everything turned out pretty well!

my shop had it's first etsy order! so i made some quick thank you notes with over & wrapped up the order all pretty : )

i've also been writing letters & getting packages together. i would really like to get some sort of zine made. i'm not quite sure about what kind of zine yet, but i would like to have something that i can trade for other zines. if any of you are zine makers, please let me know! i would like to network with you : )

one last thing - i booked my ticket to thailand! soon i'll be seeing my sister for a whole two weeks! yay!

link love:

• i visited my pastor's home last night to drop of some of my famous peanut butter cookies for his birthday & him & his wife have two energetic boys with toys around like they were having some serious fun. when i have kids, i think this collection of tips will be quite useful.
• i am in love with this kitchen. (i probably wouldn't want it for myself, but i am in love with it just the same.)
• these towels just seem so cool & stylish. i want one. or many ;)
• i have a package of gnocchi in the cupboard & i think i'll be making this recipe with it soon.
• i'm on kind of an air plant kick & am looking for a project for my arts & crafts group. this project might be a possibility for next month.
• loved these scarf styles from a cup of jo!
• i'll be making a trip to this new gallery/vintage shop/coffee shop/workshop in the near future!

rain

it's been raining lately! this makes mostly really happy as i love the rain & the way it makes me feel (cozy). what i am discovering i don't love about the rain is driving in it. i had to drive the hour back home from miguel's in rain & fog so bad that i could barely see the car in front of me. not fun.

but what i do love is my grapefruit spoon ;)

also, i love euphorbia lactea cristata. when i went to a canning workshop (& made some cans & jellies!), a lady had this one with her. i loved how it looked. she called it a mutant plant because it was grafted. i wanted one. so, when i was at home depot this past week with my parents, my mom found one! so below with the yellow background is my new mutant plant : )

 i was at home depot picking up supplies for my arts & crafts project meeting that lizzie & i teach. we made sea creature magnets using this diy project from design sponge. unfortunately the silver paint didn't dry right, but the gold turned out great! plus it was so simple.

i have another app to share with you! paperless post has an app that i think is pretty awesome. it has a ton of paperless greetings that you can send out: invites, birthday cards, valentines day cards, etc. they even have a pretty fulfilling free section : ) i made this card for miguel, just for fun. (we celebrated two years together on thursday! but more on that in another post.)

i also want to share this brilliant amelie inspired video that rachel rector made to kickstart her campaign. i've been following rachel's blog since 2010 & it has been neat to watch her love of making lingerie grow.

that's all for tonight. stay warm & cozy in this rain!

diy bean bag tutorial

 last month i was invited to two little boys' (brothers) birthday party. on the invitation was the following request: simple, recycled, or used gifts are welcome but not expected. we value your presence more than presents. cute & awesome right? anyways, being short on cash lately, i thought, "yes! this is perfect. i'll make them something!" & thus i began my pinterest search for handmade toys. i found a couple of ideas, but didn't trust my painting or sewing skills to that extent. then my mom had an idea of sewing simple bean bags & i thought, "easy enough!"

 all i did was find some scratch fabric i had (including some old jeans) & use pinking shears to cut out 4 inch square pieces. i used cute transportation flannel for one side of both sets & the jean & red gingham for the backs (so the boys can easily tell whose is whose).

 i then zig-zag sewed around three sides to form a "pocket", added 1/3 cup of beans from the cupboard, & sewed the pocket shut.

 i thought they turned out really cute. i had some jean left over & decided to sew little bags to store the bean bags in. such a simple gift & i had such fun making it. it felt good to be crafting again!