Yaaaayyyyy!!!

Looks like going through old blog drafts is more fun than I had thought and I can't believe I didn't blog about this one before. A long time ago Molly from Wild Olive did a post where she admitted how each time she writes "yay" in a post, she secretly (well, not so secretly now) thinks about Kermit's waving his hands in the air enthusiastic "yaaaaayyyyy!"  Priceless. I am one in the same with Molly and also imagine (and often actually say out loud - with hand movements), "Yaaaaayyyyy" all Kermit style when I'm pumped about something. She even made an adorable image to go with it:

Yaaaaayy! I love Kermit, and the muppets, and if you haven't seen it yet, the new muppet movie! What fun! Oh Kermie, I love you. 

What a glamor shot! Today I'm heading to Kelowna with some lovely lady pals for a fun packed day filled with some crafty consignment selling, shopping, and (I'm sure) many Kermit "Yaaaayyyyy!"-worthy moments. Wish us luck! What are your plans for the day? Do you love the muppets as much as I do?

DIY notebook jacket

Although I'm still trying to get the hang of the new blogger posting system (to all those non-blogging people out there - it changed dramatically), I am enjoying being able to sift through all my draft blog posts with such ease! It also makes blogging a bit easier for me since I am on a mini break in Kamloops right now and wanted to schedule a ton of posts to make my vacation a little more stress free! How lovely! Here's one project that I found back in 2010 (oh my) that I still think is just awesome. Behold - notebook jackets from lune vintage:

What a marvelous idea! You can customize your own journal (or sketch book if you'd prefer) super easily just by spending an hour (well...probably less than that if you're a sewing pro) with your sewing machine and an old tea towel! Heck, you could even use some old scraps of fabric you have kicking around and make it to fit any size of journal you'd like. I totally want to make one for my little black book of ideas I like to carry around with me. Lindsay actually suggested I start using one of those mini books since its nice to get all your thoughts in one place you can look back on (which is ideal for blog post inspiration on the fly)! How cool! Now if only I could find a tea towel as awesome as that deer one at a thrift shop. Looks like I'll be keeping my eyes peeled! What do you think? Do you keep a journal or note book handy? 

With summer peeking just around the corner it's time to think about craft shows! Besides my endless hours of crafting I have ahead of me (oy!), I've been brainstorming new ways to freshen up my booth! I've really been enjoying searching pinterest for fun display idea and even started my own board for inspiration! Hooray for the internet and its endless inspiration! Although I am already quite pleased with my set up I've got so far, I seem to keep expanding the products I want to sell and need to start thinking vertically! Sure the table space may be limited, but the sky isn't! I'd really like to come up with a stable, easy to transport, and interesting way to add a little more height for display and think these stacked boxes from Apartment Therapy might be the perfect solution:

Aren't they neat?I love the painted and stacked box idea and although I wouldn't go for black (more likely wood tone, white, or cream), I really like this idea. Plus all the boxes stack together for easy travel and can be picked up at craft stores! I haven't actually checked on their availability at Michaels yet...but if all else fails I do have one handy Fraser kicking around who I am sure could manage this project. Perhaps it would be fun to just make wooden square frames (minus the bottom of the box/the back) to you could get a little more light in there and clamp the cubes together for a little added stability. The hooks are a totally sweet idea and despite a few minor details, I'm sure I could modify this baby to make it work! What do you think? Any other suggestions for a more successful use of vertical space on a craft table?

Paper Bows

My sister and I used to have loads of fun cutting up old magazines in high school for collages, and although that was quite a while ago (over 10 years in fact), I still like the idea of using old magazines for crafts. When I came across these awesome origami bows from How About Orange it brought back all those fond memories. Okay, so mashes of cut up images aren't exactly on par with these crisp folded pages, but they are both from magazines so the jump wasn't that far. Just look how awesome they are:

What a fun way to reuse all those old Self magazines I seem to hold onto! And you can take the project one step further and make your own bow banner like Janel did at Run with Scissors:

Neat! I really like the spiral red and white cotton string she used to tie it all together and I even have my own spool of that (in blue) somewhere in my craft room! Okay, admittedly I wouldn't even know where to start to look for that spool (I bought it last year in San Fransisco) but once Fraser is finished his practicum he's promised to devote a few days for helping me organize. It is so much easier to get big tasks like that done with an extra set of hands (and eyes)! What a great guy! As for now, Looks like I need to start practicing my bow making and paper folding! What do you think? What would you do with old magazine paper bows?

Friday Find: So Little Time

Today's find is one awesome wood accessory shop from Australia - So Little Time.  Unlike a lot of other laser cut pieces you see out there, Kirsty adds little hand-painted details to each piece making them extra special. Take a peek at a few of my fave pieces from the shop:

 

Have you fallen for them as much as I have? It's no surprise I'm so in love with the painted geometric shapes necklace (quite similar to the polymer clay ones I made), but the subtle wood grain popping through the pastel paint job is just charming! Oh and those cute animal brooches! Darling! I'm sure everyone needs a little raccoon or flying pig on their lapel right? I think so. Check out the rest of the So Little Time shop and see what pieces tickle your fancy. Which is your favourite?

Smelly Sachets

Pretty much every project they post about on the Purl Bee I fall in love with. It's like Molly has a little window into my mind where she picks out little snipits to turn into project she knows I'll like! Okay, so I know the blog isn't actually focused in pleasing me, but it sure feels that way sometimes. Their lavender sachet post particularly caught my attention for this reason, since I similarly have had an evolving relationship with lavender! 

I'm not sure why I hated it so much growing up, but at some point my scent sensors (oo, say that ten times fast) morphed and went from "lavender = vile stinky weed" into "lavender = lovely and aromatic reminder of mom's garden!" Now I can't seem to get enough of lavender and besides it's medical uses (it does wonders on my skin rashes and blemishes), I love smelling fresh lavender around the house. Enter Purl Bee's sachets:

Aren't they charming? What a great way to use up loads of special fabric scraps and scent every drawer in your house! Heck, they may even do a number of my coffee drenched dress code drawer! What a thought! Looks like the perfect little project for me and a potentially fun new product to sell at craft shows. Perhaps I could do a little embroidery or screen printing (oOoOo) on them? What fun! 

The reason I wanted to post about these lavender sachets today is because I am driving home to Kamloops for a little mini break! Hooray! And although I have now killed countless lavender plants in our apartment in Victoria, my mom is the master of front yard gardening and has loads of lavender plants in Kamloops that thrive! Oh am I ever jealous. Here's to hoping I can harvest myself some lavender while I'm there so experiment with my own take on such lovely smelling sachets. It may be a little early in the year to hope for blooms...but it is May now so a girl can dream. Wish me luck!

Anemone Felt Pins

As I'm sure you all know, I am a huge fan of felt! It is the perfect craft medium because it is easy to work with, doesn't fray, and is available in an assortment of amazing colours! There are a plethora of awesome projects you can make out of it, and if you've ever tried crafting with wool felt squares you'll fall even deeper in love! You may recall a previous post I did where I spilled the beans on all my supply sourcing secrets (link) and where I raved about the fun felt you can get from Benzie Bazaar's shop on etsy.  As it turns out, Benzie also has an etsy shop of pre-made goodies where you can find their most swoon worthy anemone felt brooches. Just look at those jewel tones:

 
When I came across these gems on Benzie's blog I couldn't help but post about them! I love the french knots, texture, size, boldness, and (of course) colour of these brooches! Ah! I'm sure the coordinating outfit in the image above really helps me see how awesome they are but they are just so darling! Red not your thing? Not to worry - they've got lots of other colour combinations to choose from. As for me, I'll be dreaming about these flowers til the cows come home! What do you think?