I don't have a Before and After project to share with you this week. Instead I offer you an "In the Middle" project.
I bet you can guess what room I'm working on. Can you, can you?
Hummm what can clementine boxes full of yarn and stacks of fabric mean?
Oh how I love cork board and vintage photographs.
This week I am going to share another great DIY from the ladies over the Purlbee. I don't keep it a secret that I love Valentine's things. Pink and Red together - love, paper and felt hearts - love, glittered handmade cards - love. I will have my own red and pink, hearts and XO related project up two weeks from today, but for now you can have some fun making these sweet heart shaped barrettes.
Today's link is one of the best sources for design, craft, life inspiration. The New York Public Library Digital Gallery is amazing thousands of images from the library archives available for download, printing or just browsing. I'm going to use the above image of lily of the valley for an embroidery project. Next time you have a little time to spare, try clicking around the gallery!
Last October while on my yearly girls get away with my two dear friends from college I picked up a small orange birdcage from Crate and Barrel. I suppose it is a Christmas ornament. Anyway ever since I have had birdcages as a style element hanging out in the back of my mind. Here are just a few things that I found clicking around on Etsy, Ebay and Target! I picture the above cage hung in the corner of a room, maybe with a light inside.
Sweet little pink birdcage necklace, don't you just love that blue bird.
I know what you are thinking, what would you do with this massive birdcage? I am imagining putting shelves in and using it to say house fabric in a craft room or linens in a hall way. I am not even kinda kidding when I say if I lived a little closer to these folks for a mere $100 this would be mine.
Alas I might have to just settle for a little key hook.
Or for the really bold, you could go with this amazing wallpaper from Target. Target! I don't think I have even mentioned before, but in case you didn't know Target carries wallpaper online. And for a great price. Love!
I am just so in love with this image from the January Anthropologie catalog. I wish I had an awesome vintage station wagon like that, and a killer sofa.
It is so cold even the wild life need wool hats!
Okay confession, I love red and pink together, it is one of my favorite color mixes. I would with out a doubt have at least one red and pink room in my house, if I wasn't sure it would look like I lived in Jeannie's Bottle.
Due to my red/pink love and the fact that Valentine's day seems to be the only reason normal none wish giving gals can go a little over board with a rosey colorway look for lots of hearts to show up to Make Something Good. She & Him - Don't Look Back from Merge Records on Vimeo.
Happy Thursday my friends, I thought I'd share the new She & Him music video for our little weekly sharing time.
Enjoy!
Last night I watched one of my all time favorite movies, Empire Records. And now I have the sounds of 1995 echoing through my mine. In 1995 I was in the 7th grade and spent far to much time hanging out in my bedroom listening to The Planet 96.3 the radio station that brought cool new alternative music to all us kids in the metro Detroit area. I think the only time in my life that music was more important to my every day life was college. To my 7th grade self knowing every word to every song and every song on every album was vital. Here is a play list of my fave songs from the Empire Records sound tack, the ones sending me down memory lane. To this day if any of these songs come on the radio I will turn them up and sing along with a giddy little smile and remember what it was like to be in middle school just discovering how music would shape my life.
My camera was MIA this weekend (Okay not so much MIA as left at my mom and dad's) so I didn't get a chance to take after shots of any of the makeovers I have been working on. In light of my failure I thought I would share this awesome Before and After from Design Sponge.
One of my crafting goals for 2011 is to be better at working ahead. When I go to a baby or bridal shower or send of a birthday gift for a good friend I like to slip at least one little handmade item in. So when I saw this felted wool hot pad project from the Purl Bee (the wonderful blog from the folks behind Purl Soho), I thought they would make the perfect add on for a wedding shower or hostess gift. Now to just figure out what color felt to buy so I can get started!
It's time for some link love! I know I have shared with you before some of the great work that Ez from Creature Comforts does but I thought it deserved a proper linky love post. Not only is this site from the mind that brought us the loverly "Gifted" online mag, but she has a way of pulling together collections of items and finding the perfect color pairings that is way beyond most of what I can imagine. I am especially fond of the Inspiration Daily feature and will most definitely be using some of her posts for colors as I begin the Great Paint of 2011, like the Big Dig in Boston it is going to be epic!
For Christmas I was gifted this brilliant satchel by my brother James. I can not tell you how much I love it, I have been using it almost every day and it is perfect for the (slightly unreasonable) amount of things I need (want) to carry around each day. The satchels are made by The Cambridge Satchel Company (love the name) and are shipped to you right from Old Blighty. Mine was ordered from the online store Toast, but I see that if you get it right from the maker you can have it embossed (and I do so love when things are personalized). Now just to find the perfect little something to tuck into that ID pocket.
A few weeks before the end of the year I commented to some of my coworkers that my goal was to make 2011 the best year ever. I was half joking when I said it, but something about that statement has stuck with me. Later I came across this great calendar from spread the love and found myself once again inspired to make this year the best ever. And then this week at church our pastor said something along the lines of; what if this was the best year ever? What if you treated it starting today like it was going to be great. So here I am encouraging calendar in tow ready to make this year just the best ever!
It is funny how just the littlest of changes can make a big difference. After all the Christmassy things were put away I though it might be nice to change things up a little bit in the living room.
I'm rather happy with how things are looking. Now to pick paint colors, hire painters and buy a new couch. Baby steps, baby steps.
The new "Make Something" good feature will be starting up next week because to day we'll kick off the new monthly "Read Something" good posts. This month I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I actually started reading this book when it came out last year and kinda lost the library copy that I had and then HAD to return it right away when it finally showed up. So when I found it at TJMaxx I picked it up and put it at the top of my books to read in 2011 list. I have chosen 12 books that I am going to read this year and share with you. It is my goal to post about that months book the first Friday or each month along with a review (of sorts) of the book from the month before. If you end up reading along let me know, I'd love to hear what you think of the books.
It seems only right that I start the new "share something good" with one of my biggest blog inspirations Design*Sponge. The team over at design sponge post about 1/2 a dozen times a day. I know I have talked about their living in and before and afters before, but really everything they post is great. If you have some free time or find yourself lacking inspiration for that next project around the house check it out!
I'm on the look out for more prints and original art work for my walls. I think this image from Studio Mela would be perfect for about my desk. It is always good to be reminded that things will be just fine in the end.
On Sunday night I was watching History Detectives on PBS (I have never watched the show before, but it was so interesting), and the "detective" was researching the origin of from markings on a couples Airstream trailer. As part of his investigation he shared about the caravan club founded by Wally Byam. Mr. Byam lead many travel trailer enthusiasts on treks across America, but the trip that sent me on rabbit trails all over the Internet was his 1959 caravan across Africa. In July of '59 he had 36 trailers shipped from America to Africa and lead 106 people from the south to the north of the content. This story combines so much of what I enjoy, vintage trailers, people seeing their crazy ideas through and very very big adventures.
Here is my first big before and after to share with you for 2011. I guess this might not really count as it is just a complete change out. For Christmas this year my mom and dad got me a new fridge. I am thrilled, I'm not sure what that says about me.
Clearly I am a fan of magnets. And giant "E"s!
It always starts with lots and lots of lists. Welcome 2011! Are you ready for all the hope and anticipations that comes with the new year? I have been tossing around a few new things for 2011 most I'll be sharing with you over the next week, but I thought I'd share a few non blog related goals I have for 2011.
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