Weaving - My New Obsession!

This is a long story and so I will tell all of it, in excruciating completely irrelevant to the point detail. It all started with an Etsy gift card, as all good shopping stories should. I have been in possession of this gift since the beginning of May and I have about a thousand (okay, 5 - 6) items on my Etsy wish list that are all so well ... completely perfect in every way. So I just can't make up my stinking mind and I'm sitting on this, waiting it out.

And then I get those Etsy Finds emails every day. And if you get them you'll know that they highlight what's trending (flamingos, pineapples, succulents, flowers, neons, neutrals, galaxy prints ... you name it). Tends to be what's trending on Instagram and sometimes on blogs too. NOT, mind you, amongst the serious fashion bloggers, but rather the mama, party inspiration, or creative DIY type blogs. Have you noticed that often a blogger's Instagram account is much more exciting than their actual blog? Oh goodness, you might even think the same of mine! It's often more down to earth, a true picture of their day to day that isn't necessarily presented online. Mine is definitely that. I find that I have little time to write really in-depth posts that describe my daily life and so I focus on telling my stories with pictures instead. They often do a far better job of capturing a feeling or emotion than my words ever could. And Instagram is my favorite absolutely instant way to capture my family's every day. Fabs. But I digress ... 

So these Etsy emails keep featuring these wall tapestries. And I'm digging them. And then I start to see them on Insta, one pretty pastel piece commissioned for a baby's room and a black and white version hung oh-so-cooly above a minimalist console table paired with a tiny potted plant. And before I know it, I'm completely engrossed. 

So weaving, this new-to-me textile art, really impresses me. It's a sort of nostalgic craft (hello 70's!) that now seems to have come back in a new way. And the artists that create them, those like Maryanne Moodie (top 2 images), are just plain incredible. Their creations are so beautiful but crazy, crazy expensive to purchase! I ended up selecting a few Etsy shops that were creating some amazing pieces but decided that really, I'm just not willing to spend that kind of money. 

So I went the DIY route and began to search for tutorials, eventually discovering what I thought to be  a really simple tutorial (out of a plethora of them) that seemed to have clear instructions, inexpensive materials, and an end result that I really liked (below). Let me assure you, I'm not trying to channel Anne of Green Gables here and I'm certain my sisters will have a good giggle about this. :)

But off I went to St Vinnys in the hopes of 1. finding a vintage version with a chic enough look and color combo to work in my home OR 2. finding a loom (did a little research on those too, prices/DIY  options) and other supplies. And absolute shocker, I found a handmade loom, needle, yarn and twine. All there! Total of about $8 spent on all of it. And just in case I am an absolute failure at this, then no hard earned cash wasted right?

So there's my loot. I hope to find a quiet morning when I can start working on my first project but realistically this may have to wait until school starts again in the fall. I will certainly keep you up to date on all weaving shenanigans. If it goes well, I'll try more color combos and designs. 

So how about you? Are you into the trend too or is this the first time you've noticed it? Would you give it a try? Woulnd't it be fun to meet up at a coffee shop and tackle it together? Or have a pro teach us how? Perhaps it could be the DIY for our next big workshop event. Would you go? And with that in mind, do you create these beauties already and if so, would you get in touch with me? I'd love to see your work. Let's collaborate!

DIY Fresh Flower Wreath

I pinned this tutorial this morning and thought I'd go ahead and give it a try right away. The flowers in my garden won't last for too much longer! 

I thought we'd give it a try in a newborn photo shoot this evening. It may be a little too big for her head and the flowers may have wilted by then, but we'll see ...

Have a very happy weekend friends!

PS: I received an email from a lovely reader in Cyprus today, who introcuced herself and requested the recipe for my scones. I was so thrilled to hear from her and have decided that it was a very good thing that I did not add the recipe. :) So, if you would like it too, I am happy to share but would love to hear from you and "meet" you first. Makes it much more fun for me this way! And Maria, I'll get it to you soon. :)

DIY Spring Wreath

I've had the best luck thrifting of late, one of my fun finds being this twiggy wreath form for 25 cents and 2 containers of tiny silk flowers, 50 cents each (definitely have a vintage feel about them, though I'm not sure how "old" they are). So with a $1.25 well spent I got busy this morning creating a whimsical wreath for our front door, just in time for Easter. It's a dainty one and I think it would be perfect half the size, perched atop a little lady's head for Easter pictures. Don't you agree?

DIY instructions:
1. Map out your design on the wreath before you begin.
2. Grab that hot glue gun and go to town!

In other news ... 

Last night I tried this recipe. It was a hit! Very appropriate for a spring lunch with the girls (minus the sauce perhaps) with a tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. And fruit salad and ice cream for dessert. Just sayin' :)

DIY Paper Background

 I finally set to work on this little shadow box that I picked up at our Goodwill about a month ago. I found some cute vintage inspired papers (on sale!) at Hobby Lobby and cut them out to size, placing them inside the little holes for a fun collage effect. A simple project that has made such a sweet impact on little E's wall! 

La La Love

 Been doing a bit of love day decorating around here. Here are a few peeks. 

Our sticky tree, now decorated with hearts (50% off Christmas ornaments actually!). And there's Charlie boy enjoying our string of candy inspired lights, a set I bought before the boys were born when I was still romantic enough to hang surprise lights around the 4 poster bed for when the huz woke up. Wait, what am I saying, I have a massive heart as a head board ... that's pretty romantic!

A pair of his and hers crocheted undies! 

Hearts cut out for DIY arrows and a love note from Starbucks. 

 Pizza night while we watch America's Funniest Videos. Parker is desperate to submit something to the show and so he keeps a supply of silly stints on hand, with a subtle hint to get my video ready. Nothing's panned out yet, but these things can't be forced. I'm sure his shining moment is coming or likely it will be Monty's as he's the one who is prone to spectacular falls and mishaps. 

On Sunday we tried making our own arrows, a super simple version of the others I've seen and loved, with goodies we had on hand.

 We grabbed our left over skewers from summer grilling, a sheet of red felt and a couple of sheets of scrap booking paper. 

 And used this fast grab tacky glue instead of a hot glue gun. Certainly a better option for the kids and it held everything together perfectly. 

 And I put them in a wine decanter for a dining table centerpiece (sitting on the doilies you see above, Could not find enough doilies to do a runner the length of the table, so worked with what I had). 

Crafty Friday {and fun news!}

Well, I did it! I finally completed the pipe-cleaners-turned-word project (DIY found here) and I think it looks pretty sweet. Here are some pictures, step by step. 

I found these balls of yarn at Goodwill for $3.99 and thought they would look cute and colorful housed in glass jars. 

I decided on the red and pinks, all those LOVE colors, you know.

But before all of that, I grabbed the stash of pipe cleaners from the kid's art supplies and went to work (1) twisting 2 of them around and around each other for what I thought might be a more stable letter to work with and (2) shaping them into letters and twisting the ends together. Really simple stuff. 

Then I started wrapping with yarn, a bit of trail and error with the ends but eventually I figured out a good system. 

(and decided to change the "F" to lower case)

And last night, the entire family sat in front of the fire wrapping their own letters while I finished mine. 

 And here it is!

And now for the exciting news! 

I've been given some really amazing opportunities of late and I wanted to share them with you. First of all, I'm freelance writing for a women's magazine in town called You and I couldn't be happier about it. I'll be writing a fashion column for the mag and my first one is out in the March issue and is all about your vacation wardrobe and finding inspiration from the resort 2012 runway trends. So much fun! I will say, writing about spring break and packing an imaginary suitcase was sort of odd in the middle of all this snow, but it wonderful to dream about the sun. :) I'll be sure to share the articles and pictures here too. 

And then, I found out yesterday that Lovelies will have a feature on one of my favorite DIY and vintage lifestyle blogs in this blogosphere - A Beautiful Mess! It's a must see site, so definitely go and take a look. They'll be featuring the DIY collar I shared here a couple of weeks ago. What an awesome surprise! I hope to have many more faces come this way from all of this exposure. 

So dear readers, I'd like to ask a favor. If you enjoy reading Lovelies, I would be honored if you spread the word and invited your friends and family this way (linking a favorite post on Facebook is an easy way to do so). I'm working hard to grow this little place. Many of you have told me that you're fans but have not yet become "followers" by signing up at the left side of the blog page. I do understand that many are not bloggers themselves, which tends to make this territory a bit unfamiliar and inevitably keeps you from "following". Funnily enough, now that everyone's on Pinterest and feels comfortable there, I'm finding that soon I'll have more followers on Pinterest than I do here! Pretty insane. So please, click "follow" here too! A seemingly insignificant technicality but very helpful to me in the long run :). 

Have a beautiful weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!

Crafty Thursday {a bejeweled collar}}

I broke out the ol' needle and thread this morning, attempting to recreate a little something I've sorta loved for a while now (this collar at Crewcuts). I'm not all that good with a needle and thread, but you really don't need to be and I was pretty chuffed with the results!

I found this stunning collar and cuffs (from the 1950's!) at our local antique mall for just $23. They're seriously beautiful, so you can imagine my excitement over the notion that I could possibly make my very own "modern" collar, similar to the one I'd goggled at many times before. 

Here is the set as I bought it. 

I found a couple of thin velvet ribbons. Well, actually I cut them off of an old jewelry bag that I wasn't using. But they were delicate and adorable and perfect for the job. 

And the result!

Wouldn't it be perfect over a flouncy little black dress? 

Meantime, little "smarty pants" E sipped OJ and soaked it all in, nodding his approval. 

Now for those cuffs!