hey munday! an interview over at "how about cake"

hello lovelies. well we did it! we survived the marathon - hills, heat and all. i'll be back w/ pictures and tales of our weekend tomorrow.

until then - check out this little interview i did w/ brad from how about cake:

:) talk soon!

tues-DIY: my funny valentine ...

i participated in a super cute blog valentine swap via blogger friend charlotte. each participant was given the name + address of another. then w/ only the direction to "create a valentine. make it pretty", we each made and mailed a special valentine to our partner.

so how do you create a valentine for someone you don't know personally!?! well you blog stalk, of course. :) my partner was jaclyn journey a wedding/event planner from louisville, kentucky. check out her beautiful work - here.

state pride is the thang right now! i wanted to give a gift that keeps on giving ... so i created a stationary set for jaclyn to spread a little kentucky love:

follow along to make your own:

supplies
* cardboard/cardstock
* add'l scrapbook paper
* scissors
* glue



for the cards:

1 // cut your cardboard or cardstock to size. my cards were 7" h x 5" w folded in half to be 3.5"h x 5" w.

2 // cut out your states. rather than trace or free hand the state of kentucky, i opened this free vector map in illustrator and resized the state to fit. note to self: if you're tracing on the reverse side of your cardstock, be sure to trace your state w/ wrong side out - or you'll end up with a backwards state! :)

3 // cut out your hearts.

4 // glue your states + hearts to your cards. press to dry. easy-peasy!

for the envelopes:

1 // i cheat! find another envelope that fits your cards.

2 //  open it along glued seams.

3 // trace and cut on your decorative cardstock. glue along seams! that's it.

of course ... i couldn't just send stationary - i wrote jaclyn a special little kentucky poem:

thankfully she has a sense of humor! ;)

happy valentine's day, lovelies. xo.

take ♥ tuesday

OH MY GOSH - it's wednesday. just realized. even brunettes have blonde moments. ;) 

{clockwise from upper left}

1 // these simple heart dishes. french inspiration + pottery (shall i make my own?) ... via alder & company.

2 // this heartbeat necklace diy  ... via i spy diy. inspired by bright tiger designs on etsy's "you make my heart beat" necklace. decisions time: purchase or make?

3 // this vintage inspired digital wallpaper ... via fossil. oh hey ... an opportunity for me to plug the "31 days to a better photo" challenge again. (you're not too late, it's day 1.)

4 // this adorable bicycle poster designed for art crank minneapolis 2010 ... via allan peters (and dedicated to his baby-to-be). gah - i must find out if this print is still available for our {someday} nursery! emphasis on adorable, right!?!

and a little bonus for take ♥ tuesday: check out the "comment love challenge" on desirous of everything. every blogger could use a little comment affirmation this february ... right? and here's your opportunity to comment to win a copy of elsie larson's blog love e-course! get on it!

 

credits:
blog bling - pugly pixel
blackjack - dafont
aw conqueror inline - font squirrel
photos: 1 - alder & company // 2 - i spy diy // 3 - fossil // 4 - allan peters

blogs(i'm)lovin' ...

{click to explore}

the pretty blog 

a fun little south african based blog w/ "inspiration, trends and advice from proposal to ever after".

why i'm lovin'?

(clockwise from upper left)

1 // "do-able" DIYs ... including this adorable valentine's day heart garland

2 // wedding inspiration galore ... including these fun madlib guest cards (attention, bro and sis-in-law to be)

3 // loads of printables ... including these fantastic music inspired "you rock" valentines (um in my humble opinion, you can never go wrong w/ david gray!)

credits:
blog bling - pugly pixel 
blackjack - dafont
aw conqueror inline - font squirrel

photos + screengrab - the pretty blog

{ someday } wood & wool stool

w + i are becoming more and more restless. we have lots of little dreams. some days we dream about packing up and moving to france or morocco. then other days we dream about buying a little farm outside of nashville and raising goats and chix. and yet on other days when we're feeling even more ambitious, we dream about combining the two and having a little farm in the french or moroccan countryside.

i am proud to announce that we've successfully kept a budget for an entire month! so we're one tiny step closer to putting those dreams into action. in the meantime, i like to think that our home could {someday} be half as dreamy as the home of wood & wool stool owner ingrid jansen.

{source: wood & wool stool}

time to pick up my knitting needles!

{blog}share: embroidery mecca!

got a looooong list of embroidery projects piling up like me?

{source: 1, 2, 3, 4}

then ... may i introduce you to sarah's hand embroidery tutorials! big ol' exclamation point! best tutorial site i've found all year! :) she has tutorials of everything!

from the very basic {ie. chain stitch}:

{source: sarah's hand embroidery tutorials}

... to the more advanced {laced herringbone stitch}:

{source: sarah's hand embroidery tutorials}

i might have to print EVERY single tutorial on her site for future reference (the whole "we don't have internet at the apt" thing really can be a bit of a prob at times.).

i can't wait for the weather to get a bit cooler. w + i find ourselves staying home a lot more during the fall and winter months. which means i get a whole lot of projects finished! speaking of which - it's about time to start working on christmas presents! :) i definitely learned last year that if you're going to do DIY gifts you can't start in december!

okay okay - what's your ultimate must do embroidery project at the moment?

best. giveaway. ever!

unfortunately it's not from me! ha. but check out oh happy day for your chance to enter as well as overall blog awesome-ness ...

{inspire} patchwork curtains

you know the saying "when it rains, it pours"? well wade and i had one of those weekends. ending w/ my poor husband throwing his back out (you should see him - hobbling around like an 80 year old man.). and icing on the cake - a slight fender bender after yoga this am!

so today i'm daydreaming about a peaceful weekend at home next weekend (only 3.5 more days to go!). and some patchwork curtains for our bathroom based on loads of inspiration:

1 maggie & sparrow // 2 dottie angel // 3 kelly rae roberts // 4 under the sycamore

ps - have you been introduced to dottie angel? just happened upon her blog this afternoon - and now i have a big ol' blog crush:

{source: dottie angel}

it's a living daydream. say it with me "so inspired" ... now to find the right fabric.

{source: dottie angel}

{inspire} fabric scraps

super-sized thank you to lisa for saving the day (and this blog post)!!!

a few weeks ago i shared my first roundup of favorite diys --> here. the easter egg bunting was sadly finally removed this week! the sewing notions art looks adorable above our recently overhauled desk. and i've cut out the little birds for the bird mobile. just need to sew and stuff. (i think i'll spread my flock around the apt - not exclusive to a mobile). 2 1/2 out of 3 - not bad!

maybe putting my inspiration in "writing" will keep me on track!
so here are a couple of my latest floral favorites:

1 // this dressed up sailor bracelet by ashley ann of under the sycamore. seriously!?! the girl sees inspiration in everything. and absolutely everything she touches turns to gold. so simple ... so adorable.

{source: under the sycamore}

2 // this adorable a-frame tent from cakies. love the vintage sheet - and my wheels are turning - think scraps of vintage fabric/old quilts! i sent wade a picture of this expecting a "you're a nut" reaction - we don't have kids and all. but instead he loved it too! i'm thinking this will be essential at all of our summer picnics - and future at home date nights. cute cute! bonus: the tent is made w/out nails or screws - so it's super easy to take apart and store.

{source: cakies}

3 // this pretty pretty recycled roses wreath from alisaburke. (thank you to mary of the sugar mountain for pointing this bad boy out. without her, i might have missed it!) i'm not usually a wreath girl. don't get me wrong - i think they are adorable ... but i am usually focused on the interior of our little apt. so our door lacks lovin'. but this is super cute - and a good use for all the fabrics scraps i have lying around.

{source: alisaburke}

4 // and last but not least ... this super cool side patchwork side table from urban outfitters. ooh the possibilities. maybe this is a little too ambitious for my {inspire} list. seriously we're about out of room for "new" furniture in our apt. but i'm thinking piano bench makeover. hmm ....

{source: urban outfitters}

what's inspiring you currently?

{blog}share: cinco de mayo ...

this is honestly the busiest week that wade and i have had since getting married last september. i've seen about 5.2 seconds of him this week. and that just won't do! tonight we have plans to squeeze in a quick little cinco de mayo dinner at home before heading separate ways again.

to get in the mood - here are a few cinco de mayo ideas that i had to share. asombroso!

1 // this fantastic ruffled streamers DIY by dana made it - guaranteed to make an appearance at every future party i host:

{source: dana made it}

3 // these yummy strawberry margarita popsicles from bakers royale. not a fruity drink person? check out her corona pops too!

{source: bakers royale}

3 // these adorable recycled tin can bouquets from style me pretty:

{source: jose villa photography}