what have I been up to....

Well to tell you the truth ever sense I got back from Disney I have been at full capacity! I have been painting and fixing my house, playing with my Son, and every other second in between I am sewing. It has been non-stop! I am a bit tired but I plan on riding this energy wave as long as I can. I decide to show some (work in progress) pictures of what has been happening. This is my living room. It was a weird baby poo mustard before, with burgundy molding :(

Now it is a fern green with a mix of dark brown and original wood molding!

This is just one finished corner that I am so proud of! I get an idea in my head and I search for stuff to make the idea come true. I wanted a black bookcase, with deer, a globe, and some of my most cherished books. I think the vision has been achieved! Right at this moment I am in love with this corner. Hopefully I can pull off sprucing up the rest of the house!
Whats on those shelves...
1. Painting by PaintBox
2. Early female womb sculpture from my college years
3. Vintage books (old man in the sea, Poe, and early school books) found over the past 10 years
4. Vintage Brownie camera from my collection
5. Vintage Globe found at an auction
6. Vintage Buck and Doe from an auction
7. Vintage frame holding my Red Cross pin collection
8.Old blood letting kit, Victorian photo album housing my antique photo collection, and an early Dictionary.

Hello! Well I am back and I survived Disney and the heat. Actually I was more afraid of the plane ride then anything else. But now I am over it and can move on with my life (is that enough drama for you). So this week I bring back DIY Tuesday! I decided on a project that is a vintage project, but perfect for the trends of today! With all the faux bois and bark craze what could be a better project than a wood collection!
I always enjoy museum look home decor don't you! So slip on some hiking shoes and head for the trails! Gather up some branches or chunks of wood. I would keep the Branch diameter down to about 2 inches (this way they can fit on a shelf). Keep your branches in a dry place, making sure to get rid of any excess moisture. Cut the bottom and top off branch to make them flat for standing. Now you can saw out a 45 degree angle chunk to reveal the wood grain. You can either leave the wood exposed or cover it with a poly sealant. Each piece of wood (preferably from different trees) you can now label with the specimens name. You can either glue these labels on or pin them. I made some simple labels (below) so feel free to use them or make your own. This project literally needs no artistic or crafty talent. Its simple, fresh, and gosh dare I say educational!
xoxoxoxo

This week will consist of quick post here and there. I am getting myself and my family ready for a week long vacation. eek! So next week there will be no DIY Tuesday, but it will resume the next after.

I wanted to share with you an amazing artist name Kari Herer. She is a photographer and an awesome one at that! Her shop is filled with amazing and soft photographs of all types of flowers and odds n ends. But what I find the most striking of all is her use of magnolia leaves to make beetles!

I have to say I was pretty much blown away by how utterly beautiful these are! I am sort of a freak when it comes to beetles, but really these are amazing! So stop on over to her Etsy shop and pic up a print!

xoxox

Hello my sweets! This week I found a truly lovely tutorial on making those cute little (or big) tomato style pincushions. The instructions are brought to you by the fabulous The Purl Bee .

If you are not familiar, The Purl Bee is the blog by the Owners of Purl Soho! Purl Soho is an amazing fabric and notions shop in NYC! This shop is beyond yummy for the fabric addict! So check out the shop and the tutorial and make yourself or your Mom a sweet as can be little cushion.

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I will try to post as much as I can this week. My family and I are soon to be off on a vacation. It will be my first time on ..dare I say it.. an airplane! So I am a tad bit on the jittery side.

wish me luck :)