Thursday, May 31, 2012

Love. Love. Love.

Time for the weekly list of posts I love...
Summer Snacks Edition






Can't wait to make these treats!
Anything I should add to my list?

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My 2012 Memorial Day

Monday was Memorial Day!
I spent the day relaxing as much as possible.

I watched a few episodes of Greek
{I'm embarrassingly hooked...}

Organized our Tupperware collection
{that which was once a Target bag of mess is now a tidy display}

And then I made this tablecloth
{for a 5-occasion family party in a few weeks}


Tried my hand at homemade stamp carving
{not too shabby for my first try}

And finished up this stuffed Abe Lincoln
{for my friend's baby--due this Summer!}

We ended the night with an outdoor BBQ
with really good cookies
and a little bit of scooter-ing

How did you celebrate Memorial Day?

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Your Brain Is A Muscle: When You Exercise It, It Gets Stronger

After pouring over the ReadyMade blog this week, I found a post on
and just in time, really...

The idea is to create something {anything}
every day for 30 days.
{for each day in June}


I've decided to take on the challenge.
I'll do my best to post what I create.

Tomorrow, I plan to make a list of some ideas.
I definitely do not have thirty one-day projects floating around my head!
{If you have suggestions--I'll take 'em!}

If join the Creative Community, let me know...
I'd love to see/hear/taste what you create, too!

Friday, May 25, 2012

So Many Crafts...So Little Time

Well, I suppose that's not entirely true.

I have {and could make} quite a bit of time for creations...it's more often the finances {and the fear that they may turn out a little clumsy-looking or the "what in the world will I do with this once it's made?"} that stop me from crafting the night away.

I've made a few pretty fun pieces recently:
This felt fire {and logs}

The flannel number 1
{hidden behind a mass of 1st Birthday presents}

This luggage tag countdown
{I have 18 books left in my 100 Books Before I'm 30}

A cork doormat for my mom's birthday

Many, many, many more pieces to come...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Love. Love. Love.

Some online things I love this week...

What? This is the best.


{I'm not much for jewelry, but I love these rings}







Oh man...what did we ever do before the internet?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

This Is Colossal

One of the best discoveries from last week?

So many super rad art projects in one place?
Jump back.
I love it.

Here are some of my favorite posts from the last week:








*I'd like to try to build these.

Do yourself a favor and follow this blog.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Friday Fashion Photos

For the past month, I have been drawn to neon colors.

I bought some neon pink shoes and tried a bright orange nail polish {that looked like I had colored my nails with a highlighter--too 4th grade to stick with it}
I did love the hot pink polish {which I later found out was glow-in-the-dark!}

Bright colors and bold patterns are always the first items to catch my eye in a store
and, consequently, make up the majority of my closet.

When I saw these heels on Garance Dore's blog...
Clearly, Christian Louboutins are beautiful, but bright yellows?
Get at me.

It made me think about other photos I've seen recently that have challenged my day-to-day style pairings. Not-so-shockingly, they are all from Atlantic-Pacific.

{I love combining polka dots and stripes}

{Bright yellow and purple--I'm in--adding a leather jacket? Love.}

{Love the dress...the hat? Not so much}

{Sweet pairing of yellow and blue stripes}

{Just the classiest of picnic ensembles}

{Another way to wear that stripey coat with polka dots}

{I'm not a huge fan of trousers, really...but yellow polka dot jeans? I'm in to that.}

May your Friday feel as fun as mix-matched patterns
in really summery colors!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Staying Grounded In A Culture Of Adrenalized Leadership

This week, I sat in a meeting specifically held for staff members 35 and under.
Since the meeting, I have been sifting through what I heard and how I might apply it to my life.

I thought it would be worth sharing what I heard.

We began by reading and discussing Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26,
with particular focus on verses 15 and 16.
His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.

Your past successes cripple you more than your failures.

Which lead to a conversation about Adrenalized Leadership
it is possible for your body to become addicted to busyness and feel depressed without it

{Dr. Archibald Hart}
1. You develop a certain aloneness {separation}
2. You develop a certain arrogance {entitlement}
3. You develop an addiction to being successful
4. You develop the risk of adultery {spiritual or physical}
Suggestions for Grounded Living
{from Mike Erre}

1. Begin each day with a WAMM {What Activities Matter Most} list
list the 5/6 things that must get done that day and do only those things
before adding--or saying yes to--anything else

2. Live an anti-anxiety lifestyle
get outside. exercise. sleep 8 hours. eat fewer carbs midday.

3. Find your rhythm and be ruthless about it
• Manage your energy, not your time
• What time(s) are you at your best?
• Pick the life you want: choose your priorities and back-fill your job around that*

4. Have a plan for your leisure time
• Have friends that teach you to play
• Don't hang around people that drain you
• Have a Sabbath

5. If this job is destroying your life...don't do it!
Don't be passive. Don't be a victim.

What do you think?
How does this apply to your life?

*This was the most catching line for me...
and the one I am working toward putting in to practice.

Love. Love. Love.

I mentioned earlier this week how much I love the blog

I love it so much that I've devoted an entire
Love. Love. Love. post to the projects I found there
and would like to recreate.






I should probably look in to purchasing a sewing machine for some of these projects...
hand-stitching is so time consuming.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Women Can Make Fire Too

Since Christmas--when I made all of my gifts and then, sadly, did not take pictures before gifting them away--I am of the belief that I can make pretty much anything.

I'm serious.

My friend, Sara, saw this skirt on NattheFatRat {right}
and I said, "Psh, I could totally make that"

My roommate found these hairclips online...
to which I said, "Seriously, I could make those"

So far, my friend Katie seems to be the only one who believes me.
She has told me--on more than one occasion--
that I should open an Etsy Shop and sell things made out of felt.
I told her I would call it Felt Needs.
{She didn't get it.}

But she did send me a picture of a felt fire
and asked if I could make it for her son's 1st birthday party.

And you know what?
I did.

Photos to come...

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Carmichael Collective

I'm really enjoying the projects on the Carmichael Collective site
{from a creative company in Minneapolis}
They describe it as "creativity for creativity's sake"

I think they're pretty clever.

Bug Memorials

PiƱata Anatomy

Urban Plant Tags

I would love to make pieces like this, just for fun...