DIY :: chalkboard candles

I have a deep love for candles and am a true believer that adding candle light to any space instantly creates a warm + cozy atmosphere. With Thanksgiving literally right around the corner, I thought a quick little DIY was necessary. As you all know by now, I am obsessed with anything chalkboard related!! As I was taking down my Halloween decorations I noticed these pillar candles that I grabbed from the dollar store. I thought to myself, hey why not turn those into rad little chalkboard candles!?!?! Duh!?!?!? All you need is glass pillar candles, chalkboard contact paper {a craft closet staple} a chalk pen, and 20 minutes!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

DIY navajo sweater jacket

Last weekend I was cleaning out my closet and found this army jacket that I had bought at the Salvation Army a year ago. I was on the fence about keeping it since I hadn't worn it in a while and am trying to make room for new stuff! Something about it made it hard to get rid of, in the back of my mind I knew that I would want it if I got rid of it. We all have those moments when you go on a cleaning spree and then think to yourself, damn I wish I had that piece still. So I slung it over my desk chair and decided that I would just figure it out later. Yesterday the idea came to me when I saw this beautiful navajo sweater jacket at Anthro that I wanted with my whole heart the minute that I pulled it from the shipment box. I clung to it as if it were my childhood blanket! The price though is not so heart warming {especially with preschool starting and holiday budgeting beginning} But then I remembered that little diamond in the ruff that still needed a home. I ran out to the Goodwill and found a navajo print sweater and grabbed my scissors. A new baby was born. . .

DIY home made birthday gift

One of my favorite things to do is to give gifts!! No matter what the occasion, making something special for someone you love is the best feeling on earth. I am so blessed to have an amazing group of friends in my life and this past weekend I delivered a very special birthday gift to my friend Katie. She has a beautiful family and our dear friend Kelly of wild {whim} photography took this gorgeous picture of them. I had an idea! Off to Michaels I went to buy a sliver of wood to transfer the picture onto! I hammered a little picture hanger to the back for easy installation, and there you have it! A unique, one of a kind gift made from the heart. For the full tutorial,  check out our post here. 

 I have told you before it is all in the packaging for me, it's like icing on a cake.  Every gift needs the perfect topping. For the family portrait I knew that I wanted to make a sweet little bag to wrap it in, so I got out my sewing machine and got to stitching. The end result was exactly what I wanted. . . gift wrap as well as an extra little gift that can be reused again and again! It's easy as pie. . .

 Supplies: your gift, fun fabric, scissors, silk ribbon, sewing machine

STEP 1: cut your fabric to size. I like to keep the fold at the bottom to eliminate a seam!

 STEP 2: Lay your fabric with the right side on the table. Fold over each of the 2 long ends to about 1 or 1-1/2 inches and make a crease. You can pin these if you’d like and remove the pins as you sew, or you can simply watch the line and keep it folded on the crease as you sew. Sew on the cut edge of the fabric, creating a pocket  for where your string will go. Sew both sides. 

STEP 3: Once both sides are sew with their folds, fold the fabric in half with the right side in. You’ll now want to sew up the 2 sides of the fabric in just one straight line. But DON’T sew over the holes of the folded edge part you just sewed. STOP before you get across these. You need these both open to get your string through.

STEP 4: Turn your bag to the right side out. You should have 4 sewn lines – 

2 folded over sewn lines for the string and 2 sewn lines to make the bag.

 STEP 5: Cut your ribbon, about 2-3 feet, depending on how large your bag is, 

and attach a safety pin to it.

STEP 6: With your safety pin as a guide, thread your string through the holes in the bag. Go through one side and continue on to the other side. Take off the safety pin and tie the two ends together.

Now you can cinch up your bag and it’s ready for some fun treasures!

With my little drawstring bag complete, I stuffed my heart felt gift inside and 

hand delivered the package.

XOXO

Laura

DIY mini terrariums // creative connections event

This past Friday night I helped host a wonderful event for a really cool group called 

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS at Anthropologie. They are a fabulous group of female creatives  who meet each month for inspiration & socializing. They network, learn from each other, and make new friends in the creative field! They also get to make those face-to-face connections with ladies that they tweet with, blog with, facebook stalk, and work near! I headed the DIY station of course, and got to meet a ton of talented young women with creative minds, in fields that I dream to one day be part of.  It was a lot of fun to teach a little craft that can be used in SO many ways. We made tiny terrariums inside of our glassware, tea cups, and bowls. These cute little trinkets make perfect teacher gifts, party favors, thank you gifts, centerpieces, and would look incredibly darling in the cup holder of your car! All you need is some gravel, a little soil, and a baby succulent. Find a container in your kitchen and layer away. . . it's that simple! Oh, and I served homemade peppermint patties and take five bark for the DIYers. . . stay tuned for recipes!

XOXO 

Laura

homemade gift idea :: get well soon

Looking for a charming gift idea? I made this little gem for my soul sister Mary. She is a treasure hunter at heart with a wonderful bohemian way of living.  I wanted to create something to cheer her up for all of the sunny days to come!! I picked up this silver rimmed, cut glass bowl from an estate sale and planted baby succulents in it. Voila!! 

bun heads

Once a bun head, always a bun head! Growing up as dancers, we were forced to secure our precious locks into tightly pinned doughnuts on the tops of our heads on a daily basis. At the time we thought that there could be nothing worse than this unattractive hairstyle that gave us Dumbo ears! Well, now look at us. . . wrapping our hair into buns has turned into a pretty much daily activity. When we saw that thing called a "sock bun" on the internet we were hesitant to try it, kinda reminded us of those cheesy infomercials. But one day we thought screw it, and we went into my husbands sock drawer and stole a pair of long grey socks! We cut the toes off, and each took a sock into the bathroom. The rest is history. The sock bun is our new favorite hairstyle. No more bobby pins or weird droopy buns. Just a beautiful, doughnut that sits right on the top of your head! It goes up in minutes and stays for hours. Try it, it really feels magical. We like to keep our hair a little messy when doing it so that we still have that natural and effortless look the topknot is known for! Here is our how-to:

 

start with a sock that matches the color of your hair so that it hides inside of your bun later!

cut the toes off to create your "bun tube"

 

step 1::

secure your hair into a ponytail at whatever height that you like your bun.

we like ours pretty high up there!

step 2::

place your hair inside of the tube with a little bit of hair peeking out of the top

step 3::

peel the ends of your hair down in a circular motion around the sock.

roll the sock down, tucking your hair inside with each roll.

continue rolling until you reach the base of your ponytail.

give it one extra roll to tighten your bun

voila!!

fathers day gift idea

In celebration of all the fathers out there that love to enjoy a cocktail or two, here is a simple, yet meaningful gift that is personal+practical. . .

{SUPPLIES: Modpodge, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" tile, a small brush, and clear Polycrylic }

{STEP 1:} photocopy your favorite pics onto cardstock. I was lazy and used my color printer

{STEP 2:} trim the pics to size + modpodge onto tile

{STEP 3:} once the modpodge is dry, paint a coat of polycrylic onto your pics

I have to admit, this project came about because I bought these stone ice cubes that I thought were neat. But at the same time, I thought to myself "what a random Father's Day gift?" Our dad LOVES his whiskey but I realized my gift needed something more personal.

{STEP 4: Presentation is everything! Tie your best ribbon, twine, or rope around these suckers and your gift is complete and sure to impress!}

These were super easy, cost $1 a pop, and turned out better than I expected! I am definitely going to make these more often. . . birthdays, party favors, any holiday really!

chalk.chalk.chalk

Chalkboard paint might be my favorite thing in the entire world- I am 100% obsessed with it! Everything that I own would be covered in chalkboard paint if I had the time. A chalkboard in the kitchen is a whimsical necessity for everyone, it is perfect for writing menus, recipes, to-do lists, and daily affirmations. My new kitchen was lacking wall space to hang a chalkboard, so I decided to paint the ugly pantry door into a giant one! The depth of the black color and ever changing drawings that cover it add a layer of interest and playfulness to the room. Major bonus alert. . . the large chalkboard is perfect for the kids! It keeps them busy while you are cooking + baking!

 {before}

 

{after}

check out pinterest for some other amazing ideas!

beach hair potion

Memorial day weekend is just a few days away and the ocean + sunshine are calling our names. Oh wait, we have other plans. . .  wah wah. With a BBQ on the to-do list this weekend we still want to pretend like we were at the beach all day like all of you other folks!  Here is a perfect little potion to create those salty ocean waves without actually going the the beach. We made it using ingredients that we already had in our cabinets, it other words it was FREE!

 {yep, that's us!!}

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon all natural sea salt

1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon hair gel or leave in conditioner

Fill a cute spray bottle with hot water and dissolve the sea salt completely. Add the other ingredients and shake what your mama gave ya! Just kidding. But seriously, shake the bottle for 60 seconds or long enough to mix everything thoroughly. Spray the potion onto your hair // twist baby sections of hair // let dry in the sunshine. That's it!! Make sure to shake it up before each use. Here is a little more beach hair inspiration. . .

DIY :: S'MORE KITS

Let's just say that we are not a camping family, except for our older sister Katie. She married into a family of campers and now has bins in her garage dedicated to the "sport".  For her son's 7th birthday they rented a campsite and invited us along. We thought, hey why not make a project out of our adventure and make the kids s'more kits? We filled boxes with the standard graham crackers, hershey's chocolates, and marshmallows. Simple yes, but oh so cute! We bought fabric, cut it into squares, wrapped the boxes, and tied them to sticks for roasting. These blissful boxes of goodies would be perfect for birthday parties, wedding favors, a baby shower, or just to spice up your next camping trip. With open minds and a suitcase full of our glam-ping gear, our adventure ended up being truly divine!

Supplies for 6 boxes:

1.5 yards of fabric

6 boxes (Joannes has em)

clear bags (also from Joannes)

bakers twine (optional- I just tie it on EVERYTHING!)

1 box of marshmallows

1 box of graham crackers

1 bag of individually wrapped hershey bars

6 sticks

Box makes 2 s'mores each! When you pack your baggies put 2 graham crackers in a bag (the box should have 4 crackers total) as well as 2 marshmallows in a bag. 

Tie your box up in fabric. Watch a great tutorial here!

Grab some little helpers to hunt for the perfect roasting sticks!

Throw em' over your shoulder!

p.s. the fabric can double as a placemat/napkin. 

Trust us, you will be thankful for those after all of that ooey, gooey, goodness!