Vintage Spoon Garden Marker

This spring I'm going to have rows of vegetables and fruits. I'd love to have squash, tomatoes, zuchini, strawberry, watermelon, sweet potatoes, and others that I just can't think of at the moment. I'm also going to have an herb garden in the kitchen window. Wouldn't these garden markers by jessicaNdesigns be just lovely to go in the window box. I had considered them for the actual garden, but it's going to be a pretty big plot and they may just get lost. But they would definitely stand out in the kitchen. Plus, a set of three is just $18 which is pretty good price for supporting a fellow artist and crafter.

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I also think these would make for lovely gifts. Great for Mother's Day, bridesmaid's gifts, and your garden loving friend.

Ok, so a girl I went to college with posted this on Facebook, from YouTube, and it totally cracks me up. I don't know if it's cause I went to Zumba last night for the first time and this turtle has better moves than me, or if its just because watching something shake its backside is naturally funny to me. Enjoy!

Brown Paper Packages

Isn't this a lovely way to wrap a gift? The yellow and white accent is vintage shelving liner. The white band is canvas fabric. Add some jute twine and a diy flower and you've got the best wrapped gift around. This project is from a blog I discovered today. The Thrifty Crafter.

Our Monster of a House

I don't say that because of it's size but more of the giant, unruly, misfit of an undertaking it truly has been. Here is a video from when we first kind of started the house. It was still in the demolition phase.

Fruit Bowl

I think my counter needs this amazing bowl. I've been thinking about what bowl I want to use as my fruit bowl. It's been a year and a half and I still hadn't found one I liked. But then I was looking at some unfinished wood sitting on my granite counter and it hit me. I need a wood bowl. Real, raw, unfinished wood. This bowl from Target is perfect.

Creative and Rustic

I'm really loving this adorable creative bedroom. The bed is so sweet. I think Matty will be building all of our beds. ah, the beauty of having a carpenter husband.

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This New Years day I'm working on the house (shocker). I've been feeling really greatful for Matt having a day job. I've been able to spend more time with him this past week than probably in the last 4 months. Night shift was absolutely horrible, but it is over now! He's still sleeping, but when he's up we're going to work on getting the kitchen put together. Pictures to come

Kitchen Accessory

The kitchen remodel is coming along pretty well. I've been working on getting the cabinet doors put on and tidying up the rest of the kitchen. When washing dishes I noticed that there was no real convenient place to put the sponge, so I did me some etsy shopping. Here are the two I like the most. This first one is by Extrudergirl. I really like the color of the glaze. It looks like it would match our ceramic serving pieces. Also the price is rather great at $12.

This second one is equally great. The pear is such a beautiful color and would add real character to the kitchen. Only set back is the price is a bit more than the first option. This lovely handmade pear is $38. Made by sarasgallery.

Anjuli and Sam

This video is dreamy. Really enjoyed watching it.

Anjuli and Sam from max and molly on Vimeo.

. . . Found via The Traveling Cabinet.

Bath Design with a Natural Twist

I really like the simple details of this shower curtain from Anthropologie. Unfortunately I could never justify spending $118 on it. Instead, I will attempt to make one of my own.

Since designing our house renovation, I've realized I really like to have natural materials as often as possible. We have grey slate in the master bath, linen style fabric for the shower curtain and small window curtain, and I have big plans to have natural reed wallpaper in the hallway. Keeping with that theme, I think these buttons from etsy would be so perfect for my shower curtain. I think my husband would like to attempt to make some for us, but if that doesn't go well I will most likely be ordering some of these.

Perfect PostCard Calendar

I am totally enamored with this DIY journal project from Design*Sponge. You keep the calendar going for several years. Each day writing a little tidbit about what happened that day. And as the years go by, you'll be able to think back on what was going on that day 1,2,3,4 and so on years ago.

You can find the tutorial here.

Kitchen Renovation

Here are a few photos of our house renovation. These are all the same wall of the kitchen. Top picture is the original state we bought it. The cabinets were pretty poorly done. If you look carefully, you'll see that instead of having handles, they put knobs in the two holes the handle would have gone in. Looked pretty rediculous, but we saved all the knobs since the finish was brushed nickel and that's what we are using in our house. The room even felt so much smaller, though we have so much more in it now. The middle picture is before the start of the backsplash and pre-painting.

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We plan on having some cabinet drawers built on Thursday, which I guess means I need to go pick the paint color. It's going to be the same blue as our Casafina dishes. They will all of beaded board facing and a simple trim.

Treehouse for Me House!

I want my backyard to have cool details like this one. We have plenty of trees, will just take a bit of planning to figure out what I want it to look like someday.

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photo found via A Cup of Jo on Design*Sponge by Mike and Emma of M + E

Kid's Play Kitchen

I have to admit, I've thought before about what toys I want my kids to have. Mainly, no video games, but plenty of games that inspire creativity. Well, talk about creative! Look at what a grandmother and grandfather made for their little grandchild, Milla. An amazing little kitchen from an old entertainment center. Pretty incredible, right? I just had to share it.

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pictures from Amy at Giggleberry Creations found via Design*Sponge

Pillow, low, low, low

I've started looking at accesories for the living room. All these pillows would go with the color scheme. I really think I want to buy this striped one with the different shades of green.

Also digging these zigzag green and white pillows. The color is brighter than the curtains, but I could tie it all together. This one is unique, too. It's blockprinted and lovely. There is also the plus that it appears to be the exact color of the curtains I bought yesterday.

Raffia, Jute, and Wood

I've been designing the living room lately. We have a large chocolate brown leather sectional, a large flat screen tv, and a bare room.

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The coloring will be fun and have lots of different textures. The walls will be a shade of tan, the floor will be white and navy blue on concrete. I'm going to paint the whole floor white, then tape off a geometric pattern, and roll a rich navy blue ontop.

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I think I want to have a braided jute rug. It wouldn't battle with the floor for being the strongest pattern. But the texture and natural fiber will make for a great addition. This one is from Overstock.com.

Also, these lamps I've added are made by the blogger "Meet Virginia". I had seen ones like this on an HGTV show, which ironically is where Morgan saw them. I want to make two and have them hanging near the library side of the living room. I think they'd make for interesting lighting and would carry the natural fibers from one end of the room to the other. .

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I went this evening to Tuesday Mornings to see if they had a pair of curtains I had been eyeing. They did, so I got them, $40, in a beautiful shade of apple green. This picture taken from my phone doesn't even resemble the color it is. The final pictures of the rooms will better represent what is there. I'm going to find ways to tie all the colors together from the room. Like by having throw pillows, and artwork that reflect the mood, style, and colors.

Rickshaw Bagworks

I never know if I'm the last person to hear about something, but this is the first I've seen of these bags. Rickshaw Bagworks is a very unique company in that they don't have fabric waste. The bags are designed so that every piece is used in the making of the bag. Watch this video to learn more about it. .

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I am particularly fond of this yellow small messenger bag, made of Cordura nylon. It measures a lovely 10"Hx 14"Wx 6"D with two pockets under the velcro flap. I'm pretty set on getting one, but I just have to convince the hubby of it first. I usually buy purses and then use them until they basically fall apart.

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Bags discovered through Daily Grommet

Capturing Nature

I love this photograph. It reminds me of another one Isaved a while back that I just searched several folders for on my computer and couldn't find. I love things from nature collected and captured in glass containers. I've started a collection of butterflies I had found laying permanenty asleep around our house. They look lovely in these little jars I got from a craft store. I also have a birds nest that someone found while working on our house. I want to put it in a glass container of some sort, and possibly even purchase fake robins eggs to go in it. I could have groupings of my collections on our bookshelf that will be built soon. Also on a shelf above the built-n bookshelf, will be my globe collection. Vintage camera collection will be dispersed among the old books. I am very much looking forward to having my living room complete.

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photo from Wabi-sabi found via Aesthetic Outburst

My House To-do List

THINGS I CAN DO ON THE HOUSE TO MAKE IT LOOK MORE COMPLETE:

1. LINEN CLOSET: PAINT INSIDE GREY, PUT SHELVES BACK IN, DO TOUCH UPS WHERE PAINT WILL GET SCRATCHED OFF, PUT LINENS IN AND STACK ON SHELVES
2. PAINT BEDROOM DOOR TRIM
3. PAINT BATHROOM CEILING
4. LAUNDRY ROOM: MUD, SEAL GROUT, SAND LAUNDRY ROOM, PRIME LAUNDRY ROOM, PAINT, FIND A RACK TO HANG CLOTHES, GET THE IRONING BOARD CLEANED UP, PUT BACK IN, MAKE A COVER FOR IT
5. SEW SHOWER CURTAIN AND BATH CURTAIN
6. WORK ON PANTRY-CLEAN OUT FIRST, CAULK, PRIME, PAINT INTERIOR, PAINT EXTERIOR
7. CAULK AND PAINT DESK AND CABINET ABOVE DESK
8. RILEY’S TO PICK PAINT COLOR FOR KITCHEN, CABINET AND WALLS
9. FIX FOAM BACKDROP OF CABINET
10. MAKE SLIP COVER FOR AUTOMAN
11. CLEAN OFF LIVING ROOM FLOOR
12. TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR ABOVE OUR BED
13. TEAR OUT BOARDS FROM THE BARN AND WORK ON BUILDING US A NEW HEADBOARD AND FOOTBOARD.
14. PAINT THE LIVING ROOM WALLS.
15. PAINT THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR WITH A PATTERN.
16. HANG CURTAINS IN BEDROOM
17. CLEAN OUT TUB
18. DESIGN OTHER BATHROOM

Skelies

This is the begining of my skeleton key collection. None of these keys open doors anymore, except one of them. It will someday open the door to my art studio when my hubby can build it for me.

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There will be at least two more keys. I bought a couple new gold colored ones from a hardware store, but I don't like them looking too new. Matt suggested I bury them in the yard to age them faster. I got impatient and just threw them out the front door somewhere to weather, and will remember to hunt them down again someday later.

Whittling Whales

Having been without the internet for the past few months, I've desperately missed looking at art blogs. Now every free minute I have, I spend on the internet getting caught up with the blog world. I also find it so very inspiring to look at all the neat things other people are up to everyday. This fun whale is done by the talented man at Ready for the House. First he whittled it in wood, then had it cast in brass.

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Can't you imagine it in a little boys room, on a dresser as the drawer pulls? It would be so charming.

A Rustic Mississippi Christmas

I saw these lovely little fabric birds with button eyes on one of my favorite blogs... Lobster and Swan. I want to make a big grouping for Christmas this year. There could be so many variations with different beautiful fabrics and sweet little buttons

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I think this year I would like to have a Christmas tree with a rustic twist. I could sew lots of little birds like these, have a string of cranberries, and some ornaments that look like they're carved out of wood. I could take small pine cones, dip them in a paint, or shimmer, or polyurethane. They could add color, shine, or just an extra outdoorsy feel.

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I would also like to make some ornaments like this star one above. I made an attempt at it last year but never actually put them on the tree. This year will go better. Maybe Matt would even want to make some with me. They're made using a flour salt mixture.

Wedding Tapestry Photos

I love these pictures from Lena Corwin's wedding. She's a super creative soul. You should check out the rest of the wedding photos on flickr.

Anna-wili

I just came across these beautiful paper sculptures by Anna-wili Highfield on Blue Moss Girls blog. I think it would be cool to make a few birds to hang in a child's room. Owls may be a little scary for a kid at night, but some pretty bluebirds or something would be really fun for any kid.