The Many Faces of Burlap

I fell into this burlap craze early. Really, pre-craze. There happened to be a remnant of ivory at Hobby Lobby one day. It was a month before I used it. 

First Burlap Project

The idea of burlap was imported from India, and was much rougher and a tighter weave than we generally see in fabric stores. Now, there are lots of ways to add this rough fabric to your interior. Without actually touching it. (Sometimes, I get burlap splinters.)

There is no link to this choice, so here is how I would do it: Tack used burlap bags from Rural King or eBay and use a dark, contrasting ribbon to tie them up. I'll let you know how easy it's going to be. I just realized it would look great in my kitchen over the sliding doors. And now that the Main Man is away at work (teaching), he can't protest!

I love these planters because buying large trees usually comes with the burlap.  But not nearly as pretty.

Easiest Christmas tree ever. Just add lights.
(Which I do in a top to bottom zig zag. Easy to put on, and fast to rip off.)

Wrapped around candles with ribbon and raffia. These candles don't even match, but by adding the wraps, you didn't even notice, did you? 

With Summer on it's final decent, how are you planning to use burlap in the Fall?

Friday Favorites- Pre-Fall

I'm an adult and I get the hiccups. There I said it. Does that embarrass anyone else?

Moving on…

Yes, it's still July, but here in Indiana, it's been a few chilly mornings in a row. So this weeks favorites are cozy without the winter weight.

Lightweight and ready to warm up your favorite summer shirt

Oak tree sweatshirt, for those of us with long hair. Hoodies are the worst.

Dress it up, or not.

This tunic comes in lots of colors and a customizable length! 

Why yes, this does make me want to nap.

Does any of this make you ready to give up warmth for cozy? Are you dreaming of apple cake? Because I have an amazing recipe if you need it. ;) 

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Whole New Way To Wreath

I don't just make wreaths. I make removable, switchable and easily storable wreaths. Until recently, in the form of an attachment that you add to your own wreath like this:

You can read more about why I do it that way on my Etsy About page.

Thanks to an inspiration on Pinterest, and a little thought, I began making these:

They start with a metal form that I make to hook together at the ends. I send everything in separate pieces which saves on shipping because I don't have to use huge boxes. Assembly takes a few minutes. With the exception of all burlap. They are horrible to assemble, and they can bounce back from being folded in shipping.

The possibilities are endless! Lots of fabric choices:

One side burlap, one side fabric:

More fabric:

Really, anything you can dream up! Colors of your favorite team? Easy! A snowman pin to attach? Of course! 

They measure 13-14", which is the size of a straw wreath. But can be bigger or smaller upon request.

When you're ready for something new, fold up the sleeve, and add a new one, taking minimal storage space.

Which one will get you ready for Fall?

Friday Favorites: The Unexpected Mason Jar

Growing up, seeing a mason jar meant one thing- peaches. 

Down from the depths of the cellar, and later the basement, of my Grams's house would come wonderfully preserved peaches. A jar might last through lunch. 

Because I could eat every single one of them from the jar, with a fork, by myself.

But these days, old is the new, well, new. 

I bring you, the unexpected Mason Jar.

Spoon rest or general holder.

Can you imagine the refracted light? Even the lids have great detail!

Sweet smelling jewelry.

The beauty of Etsy is that if you don't want the tags to say 'Parenting Advice', message the seller! I'd take them blank.

Hello summer party!

Which is your favorite? I can't wait to give the spoon rest to my mom who never has one and hates a mess.

In other quick news, I mentioned last week we may be moving. It's a no go. The job was not available much to everyones surprise and disappointment. That's okay, I was sad to leave my giant single bowl sink. More on that later...

Easy Pendent Lights, Restoration Hardware Knockoff

Victorian meets Industrial Revolution meets Craftsmen. Oh, and modern. That's my style. 

You can see why I fell IN LOVE with these lights:

We only needed two, but for what they are, they are expensive! $99 each! So, I moved on. 

Then, I found these on Etsy:

Our plan was to head to Lowe's and get the kits to turn our recessed lights to pendents. My main man is something of a general contractor at our house. He can do a lot, but knows when to call the professionals. 

What we discovered were these little gems:

They screw right into your recessed can lights and cover the hole. The hardest part is getting the wires even, if you're doing more than one. We got a little angry at a wire, which is very adult, I know.

Actually, we got ours from Menard's, only because Lowe's didn't have the industrial cage. They also had the Edison light bulbs. 

Each kit was $20, cages were $3 and the fancy lightbulbs were $8 each. That's a total of $62 for both. NOT $99 for one at Restoration Hardware. Now, you can tell that mine are not quite as seamless in color, but only if you know what you're looking for! When that light is shining, it's too awesome to care!

Of course I couldn't get a good picture with the light on, but at the very least, you can see the shape is awesome!

What do you think? Are we close?

Friday Favorites of the Small Variety

By Monday, we should know if we are moving two hours to the north. The whole area is picturesque, surrounded by several lakes and zero fast food. What a fun adventure, right? 

Wrong. 

Mostly. 

Because we would have 2 weeks to do it. That's right, pack up a family of four and my office to move to a town where rental properties means on the lake for a cool 2 grand a week. 

That's not in my husbands' teacher's salary. 

I looked. 

Basically, if this is God's plan, than it'll work out. Do not try to change my mind, I might lose it.

Onto Friday Favorites! This week, it's all small, easy to pack things.

At least I appear friendly.

Which room can't this go in?

Can you tell anchors are a current favorite of mine? Since you see your phone all day, everyday, why not remind yourself 'not to sink'?

Coordinates of anywhere you want to remember. Vacation? Last home? Where you met your great love? I'd pick the last one.

Wear this and show the world you're ready for adventure!

Come back Monday. I've been working on a whole new version of removable wreaths that I can't wait to show you!

A Chalkboard Backsplash (not)DIY

Does everyone have to go to Lowe's three times per project, or is that just me? 

First trip- a quick one to grab paint chips and get hot glue for work.

Second trip- Paint color picked, and asked for chalkboard paint tinted, which I saw on my Lowe's app, so trusted the people behind the counter to get the right thing. I was in a hurry. All this was behind my main man's back because he was NOT on board with this genius idea.

Third trip- After my main man left for baseball practice, I had 4 hours. I set up and looked closely at the paint. It was satin finish. Off to Lowe's I went. Luckily, it's close. The ever so pleasant girl behind the paint counter, (read: snotty) informed me that teachers were buying satin finish as a chalkboard. No. Pinterest to the rescue and I wandered over to the tile isle to get matching grout. It comes in several colors, so that was the easiest part of this project. I had to re-buy the first batch of paint I'd returned, and came home to get started. 

My word of advice? If you do make your own, do it in small batches. The grout soaks up all the extra moisture from the paint and it gets real thick, real fast.

When we changed out our awesome white 90's laminate top, we opted for no 4" backsplash.  That line is from layers of paint and wall paper (again, the 90's where our clothes were baggy and our houses were old lady chic). 

After scraping and sanding that, paint was mixed and away I went.

For our approximately 20 feet of backsplash, the whole project took about 2 hours. That includes mixing the paint, two coats and removing/replacing all the outlet covers. 

Here's what I LOVE about it- there is barely any texture to it. I was concerned that it would end up all rough and when someone wanted to change it, it would be a pain. Nope! It might take a quick sand, but nothing time, or clean up, intensive.

The First Favorites Friday!

To start this brand new blog, I'd like to do a small shout out to my fellow Etsians. 

A few of my favorite things!

Baseball is a way of life in my house. For $12, this will show it off nicely.

I mustache you not to steal my cookies!

This honey will make you scoff at store bought stuff. Check out the honey straw too!

What a pretty way to put such a perfect statement in your house!

Sassy and proud of it!

Unisex Bathroom Wood Sign And it's only $3!

6" Rustic Metal Letter. You get to pick uppercase or lower and how many holes it comes with.

Be sure to follow to see all kinds of fun! Different things I've been working on for my shop and our home, plus lots of fun things from other crafters and artists. See you soon-

Have a wonderful weekend!