Saturday Style File: Week Seven (On Sunday)

Happy Sunday :)

So, I slipped a bit for week seven of Saturday Style File. It's Sunday evening, but better late than never, right?

The highlight of this week's outfit is my new haircut! I decided that I'm going to rock a blunt bang again for a bit. That is, until I get bored and cut it again ;)

This week's look is more of the same from previous weeks. My standard winter uniform applies here (black turtleneck, skirt, warm opaque tights and boots). However, I did mix it up a bit with a summer top I love and some metallic booties.

Favorite outfit this week:

- Black turtleneck from H&M.

- Black skirt from Old Navy, many seasons ago.

- Blue summer blouse from Gap, five-ish years ago.

- Belt from Kohl's.

- Booties from Born.

Tonight A and I had a homemade pizza topped with sun dried tomatoes and basil. What a fantastic combination! If you haven't tried this, I would highly recommend it. 

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Saturday Style File: Week Five

Happy Saturday :)

This is week five of my little Saturday Style feature! The look I chose to sketch this week is the outfit I wore on Monday. The look was centered around a thrifted pair of ankle boots I scored for $8 on a Sunday trip with friends to Bar Harbor last weekend. 

The boots remind me a bit of the Frye Engineer Boot, without the hefty price tag. Their look is a little bit tougher than my usual taste, but when I put them on I instantly loved them. I am going to try them with a dress next week, I think.

Favorite outfit this week:

- The blue turtleneck is from H&M.

- The military-style short sweater is from Target. I love the stretchy, incredibly warm material this piece is made of. 

- The skinny jeans are from Gap.

- The ankle boots are thrifted.

See you back here on  Monday! 

Saturday Style File: Week Four

Happy Saturday!

This is Week Four of Saturday Style File. I'm finding that I really look forward to sitting down and doing these little sketches on the weekend. It's a great way to keep the creative juices flowing, without stressing too much about how "perfect" the final product is. I limit myself to an hour with my sketchbook, so it's a fun little challenge. By the end of the exercise, I have so many ideas for other projects! This is an hour well-spent each weekend, for sure.

Back to the outfit; I wore this yesterday for a casual Friday in the office and a dinner date with the boy that evening. You probably see a pattern forming with my clothing choices for the lower half of my body. If I choose to wear pants, they are ALWAYS cuffed and paired with a pair of tall boots. This is the only really practical choice with several feet of snow outside, and lots of slush. I hate to wear clunky boots, making it necessary to pack an extra pair of shoes and change when I arrive at the office. So, I find cuffed pants with cute boots is a really practical option during the winter months.

Favorite outfit this week:
- The black turtle neck is from H&M. It's a cold weather staple, for sure. Perfect for layering.
- The little jacket is part of a suit by Willi Smith. Suits don't really excite me, but I liked this short sleeve style. I purchased only the top from TJ Maxx.
- The jeans are from Gap.
- The scarf was thrifted, and a gift from my mother. I have received so many compliments on this piece! I thought the brightness of the scarf would liven up the neutral colors of the outfit.
- The suede zip boots are old, and extremely comfortable. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Holiday Happiness at Work

Happy Friday everyone! It's amazing to me how quickly December is passing; there is still so much to be done before the holiday arrives!

I thought I would share this fun little project a co-worker of mine found. He passed on the tutorial to me, and I whipped a snowflake up in a few minutes at the end of the day. It made me laugh how amazed people were by how quickly I pulled one of these together. What can I say? I love crafty projects!

These snowflakes are SO SIMPLE. What a great way to spruce up your office (if you are allowed) or home. I'm planning on making a few for my apartment this weekend, just for a bit of fun. I hung this one from the ceiling tiles in my office at work. It was quite a hit; I had people stopping in all day to comment on it!

Between my new snowflake, poinsettia plants and Pandora streaming Christmas music, I am feeling quite festive during the work day, indeed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Update: Weekend Wreath DIY

Last week I was really excited to find this fun little wreath DIY. Well, this weekend I went out to the craft store, bought myself a mess of felt and straw wreath and made my own mini version. I'm really happy with the way it turned out! 

If you are thinking about tyring this project yourself, be warned that making your own felt balls takes some time. Let's just say I'm really happy I decided to make a mini wreath and not a large one! Overall, though, the DIY is quite straightforward; not a bad way at all to spend a quiet weekend.

I can see myself hanging this up in my home year-round!

Monday Snow Day

Happy Monday! I am a very excited girl this morning, since today is the first official Snow Day of the winter season where I live. I work at a University, and class cancellations mean no work for me!

I started this fun wreath project over the weekend, which is turning out to be quite a bit of work! I'm really excited about the results so far, though, and I can't wait to share. Hopefully I will be able to finish it up today, since my schedule just opened up :)

I also finished this new print for the shop. I'm calling the piece "Patience", the style of which is heavily inspired by the fashion and photographic style of Anthropologie. I had a lot of fun working on this print, which is available in both 5x7 and 8x10 sizes.

It looks like I have another day of cooking and creative fun ahead of me today on this snowy Monday. I'm going to turn on the Christmas tree, put on something cozy and enjoy the wintry weather from the warmth of my apartment. Thank you, snow!

Holiday Cheer!

The tree is decorated, which means I am one happy girl! On a whim I picked up some silver ribbon for the tree, thinking I would replace the red ribbon we used last year for a more "winter wonderland" feel. I ended using both strands of ribbon, and I'm really loving the sweet candy cane effect!

I have been meaning to make a tree skirt, but just haven't gotten around to it. I used the white under-side of a yard sale find from a couple years ago. It's a bit country for my taste, but overall I'm happy with the result and excited to have the delicious pine scent in our home. Nothing is better than enjoying the light of the tree with a mug of coffee before work, mmm.. Puts a smile on my face just thinking about it!

This weekend I'm hoping to pick up a few more decorations, bake a pot of beans, mail out our holiday cards and enjoy some creative time. I have so many new ideas floating around in my head, but this week has been so hectic I haven't had a chance to start any new projects. I'm really looking forward to it!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Quirky Holiday Fun

I stumbled upon this gorgeous wreath DIY at Poppytalk this morning. I want it for my front door in a very bad way. I just might make this my weekend project! I love how festive this bright wreath is without being too obvious. It's just plain cheery!

Pickles recommends buying the felted balls pre-made, but I don't think I'll be able to find any in my area. I do know that I can get my hands on some wool roving, though, so I may go for it! Maybe a mini version would be more doable?

I think this would look great on our white outside door. We went pretty traditional with the tree, so I'm loving the idea of a more offbeat take on the holiday wreath!

The Holiday Season is Here!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! A and I hosted our first dinner, which turned out quite well. Today I'm looking forward to having a nice piece of leftover pie for breakfast, and catching up on the stack of magazines on my coffee table. Long weekends are absolutely wonderful, don't you think?

I thought I would share with you the design of the family Christmas card A and I will be sending out this year. The piece is a combination of paint and embroidery. I wanted to keep the look simple, yet festive. I made a few little gift tags with the design, as well. I absolutely love this time of year!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happiness Is..

1. Painting, drawing and otherwise creating. I'm making our little family's Christmas card this year, which I'm really excited about! I'll share it here once I finish..

2. Spending time in the kitchen making whole, yummy food for those I care about. In the past few days alone I have made a loaf of bread, chicken pot pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and turkey chili. It's such a soothing thing to be in the kitchen chopping, mixing, tasting and enjoying.

3. Returning after work to a warm, cozy home. Nothing makes me happier than to have two kitties greet me in the entryway, followed by my boy. This little ritual signals to me that I am home, and the stress of the work day begins to fade away.

4. Date nights. Tonight A and I are heading to the movies to see Morning Glory. It's not really about the movie so much as it is about spending time together. I'm really looking forward to it :)

5. Days off! I don't have to work tomorrow, and I intend to savor it. I plan to make myself something nice for breakfast, perhaps attend a yoga class and work on a few crafty things that I haven't had much time for. There are some chores that SHOULD get done, of course, but I'm seriously considering blowing those off. Laundry can wait for another day :)

What makes you happy? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Bunting.

.. I NEED to make some of this. The bare brick wall in my apartment that is screaming for some fun.

Weekend DIY

I have had a little 5x5 inch canvas sitting among my crafting supplies for months. I had intentions to make a little painting, but most of my creative time lately has been devoted to drawing. This weekend I came up with an idea to use the little canvas along with a small self portrait I did several weeks ago.

I have been seeing Japanese Washi tape everywhere, it seems. I just can't seem to get enough of it! I decided to incorporate a similar, patterned ribbon tape into my little DIY project.

I simply cut several pieces of different patterns and used the strips to adhere the small illustration to the mini canvas - That's it! I really like how the canvas makes the picture three-dimensional, and the patterned tape adds additional visual interest. 

 The result is quite playful, I think. Such as simple project!

Putting Pen to Paper

A little doodle I did while sitting on the couch with a coffee, watching my handsome Princeton sleep. 

DIY-ing for What You Want

I am sure I'm not alone when I say it can sometimes be difficult to achieve a unique aesthetic in the home. It's hard to resist the convenience and price point of big box stores. The internet has helped immensely, what with all of the amazing design blogs out there providing endless inspiration, and handmade marketplaces like Etsy making wonderful vintage and homemade items accessible and affordable. 

Living in a rural area (like central Maine) adds to my frustration. So often I see blogs featuring the perfectly curated homes and closets of stylish Californians or New Yorkers, who have access to the seemingly endless numbers of vintage shops and independent boutiques. Where I live, big department stores largely round out the list of shopping opportunities. I would love to explore opening my own business in the area to serve a market of design-conscious, creative women that I know must exist here, but I digress..

The point of my long rant is this: I want curtains. Not just any curtains will do, because almost one entire wall in our apartment is covered in windows. I want them to not only be functional, but to fit with the aesthetic of my home. 

I love these curtains artist Amanda Johnson made for her own living room, out of vintage sheets!

She pieced together several patterns she liked, and the result is wonderfully fresh and eclectic. I love how creative people are! When you can't find what you like at a price you can afford, why not make your own version? You are guaranteed to end up with something that truly reflects your personal taste, and have a little fun making it too.

You can bet I am now on the hunt for some great sheets to make several sets of my own curtains. Thank you, Amanda, for the inspiration and the tutorial!

Craft Night: Wallflowers

I recently came across these beautiful flowers on the wonderful blog of Frenchie and Flea, and quickly added them to my "to do" list. I'm thinking tonight is the night to make some! I have a few very large bare walls in my apartment. A garland of these buds will really pretty up one of them.

The tutorial from Dana Made It looks super simple. A few napkins or tissue paper is all you really need. I'm looking forward to making these tonight while eating homemade brownies and watching Castle on the couch with my boy; a perfect way to start the week.

Playing With Color

I want to preface this post by saying I am painfully aware of my terrible photography skills. Not only am I a novice with a camera, but the light in our apartment is awful. Even in the middle of the day, the dreaded flash is a necessity if you want to see anything!

However, I'm really excited to share the results of my recent weekend painting project! I found this fun nightstand at a local yard sale about a year ago. It was a very dark brown color that really made the bedroom feel drab (similar to the bed which I hope to replace soon with a vintage metal one). I chose a color called "banana", and I am really loving the final product. My side of the bed is now bright and cheery; just what I want to wake up to in the morning!

Do you like bright home decor, or do you prefer a calmer space with more neutral tones? I'm curious!

The End of Another Weekend and New Art

It's the end of the weekend already? It seems hard to believe, but I guess that's what you get when you are busy!

Today was spent mostly at home, cooking a nice beef stew with homemade biscuits. The weather was perfect for stew; it was a bright, crisp fall day outside. I absolutely love the Fall in Maine. We are starting to see some hints of the coming season, and I couldn't be more excited!

My boy was a doll today and moved all of the furniture in the living room around for me. I get restless after a few months of the same thing, and he is a sweetie for putting up with me :)

The picture, above, is a new print I added to the shop today!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Change is Good

Those who know me will tell you that I love to change my hair. It's a running joke with some friends of mine that my hair is different literally every time I see them (once every couple of months). It's not really a joke, though, because that really is how often I change it up! Hair is like another accessory to me, and I love to play. I never worry about absolutely hating a style; hair grows back, right?!

On a whim a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go to more of a bob style with blunt bangs. My last, quite short hairstyle was growing out a bit and I was liking the long pieces around my face. I thought bangs would be fun to show off the vibrant red (not really visible in these pictures) it currently is. And don't tell anyone, but thick bangs allow my unruly eyebrows (truly) a bit of a break from the tweezers and scissors! As important as eyebrows are, I can get a little lazy about maintaining them (oops).

I'm loving the cut right now, so I just may keep it for a while. That is, until I suddenly decide to change it again!

Incarnations

I finished this piece tonight, and just listed it in the shop. I really love origami birds, and this is my attempt capture their unique structure in two dimensions. It was fun to play with patterns as if I were folding these myself out of pretty paper pieces.

I hope you like it!

Princess Buttercup

This dreamy photo shoot from a recent issue of N.E.E.T. Magazine directly inspired this little piece. She reminds me of Princess Buttercup, which I adore. Honestly, who doesn't love The Princess Bride?

I think this would be really sweet in a little girl's room.

I hope you are all enjoying your week so far!