flowers and packages.

just a few images from right before our girly party last night. i made quiche, and it was wonderful. i always swear that i am going to take photos of it before it gets devoured, but that never happens. i'm always in such a rush to get it to the party while it's still hot! i love our dinner potlucks... so much good food to eat! i always leave very satisfied, but feeling that i must have gained 10 pounds over the course of the evening.

these little flowers i made make great gift toppers. and they have an alligator clip on the back so you can wear it pretty much anywhere! i would share a tutorial, but there are already so many out there, i don't know that it would do any good. these are super easy and fast to make though.

the gifts i needed to wrap were a little oddly shaped, but the kraft paper was perfect. and i didn't have time to make tags, so i pulled out my alphabet stamps, and that did the trick. i will have to remember this in the future, i can't believe how cute it turned out.

i really wish now that i had wrapped all our christmas presents like this. so simple, but they turned out so perfect. it's trying to snow here, but not succeeding very well. as beautiful as the snow is, i'd rather it not ruin my travel plans for the weekend.

ornaments.

ogee ornament | betz white

i had such grand plans. diy gifts, ornaments and gift toppers. pretty things, made by me. unfortunately, i only got around to a few diy gifts and no gift toppers. mass-produced wrapping all the way, baby.

anyway, i thought i would post some fun diy ornaments i've found recently to get your gears turning. you could always throw a few together this weekend or keep them in the back of your mind until next year.

modern paper ornament | how about orange

swirled crayon ornament | say yes to hoboken

felt ogee ornament | betz white

fabric ball ornament | the red thread

twisted felt garland | the purl bee

pottery barn knock-offs | crafterhours

simple monogram ornaments | MADE

cute birdie download | that's happy

these would be cute to print onto fabric and stuff!

there's always next year, right? i should probably make these now to get ahead of the game. i'll try to share my diy gift here pretty soon. even though it will probably be too late for christmas, it would still make a great new year's gift :)

friday link love.

i don't think i'm the only one ready to head home for the weekend. it's been a long week - with everyone trying to wrap up projects before christmas!

i also received my silhouette machine today. wasn't sure when it would make it since i didn't receive any notification that it had shipped... but oh well. i'm glad it made it safely and i can't wait to play!!

now for the links...

i love this roundup of crate photos over at decor8. i could see this trend staying around for awhile, but i certainly wouldn't spend major bucks on this look. i scored a few fruit crates for free on freecycle, and they just need a little love (and cleaning!)

maggie makes has a great tutorial on making your own molded package toppers. these would be beautiful ornaments or just everyday artwork too!

these hand sanitizer holders seem really handy (and cute!) visit a lemon squeezy home for the tutorial.

design mom posted a great tutorial on making bleached out tees. these would be perfect, inexpensive gifts for the kiddos in your life.

these painted pillows are really beautiful... i could see these being a pretty simple diy. found on hindsvik.

i guess that's it folks. have a wonderful weekend!!!

friday links & update.

where has the week gone? it felt extremely long, but went by rather quickly. i also can't believe it's already december. luckily, we have most of our holiday shopping done (ahhh, and spent too much money last week!), but i still need to do some wrapping and maybe some decorating. i'm almost embarrassed to post a photo of our 'tree'... i just can't bear to lug out the big one and rearrange our furniture. it's okay since we don't really entertain, right?

in other exciting news, i took advantage of a special earlier this week and bought a silhouette machine!!! i am so freaking excited for it to arrive so i can start playing with it. i already have a few projects in mind...

anyway, let's get to the links...

love these chairs posted by little green notebook. i have some extra chairs that were hand-me-downs, and have highly considered plastering paper or fabric all over them.

as much as i love painted furniture, seeing a dresser makeover like this makes me remember just how much i love the texture of stained wood. props to the painted hive for keeping it natural!

this ribbon stamped with an eraser stamp would be perfect to wrap around my gifts this year! i guess i'll have to make some for myself! via creature comforts.

welcome to the goodlife shares basic tailoring tips to make your clothes work better for you.

these paper stars would make great (cheap!) ornaments for your tree. visit annekata for the tutorial.

cute gift wrapping ideas over on giverslog.

i guess that's it for the week... have a good weekend!

{wednesday} link love.

since i doubt (hope) i won't be on the computer much the rest of this week, i thought i'd pull together a short link love today.

these paint by numbers coasters on d*s are cute. i really need to chop up our branches and make something!!

i'm sure this will be making the blog rounds, but this fence bench on the brick house is pretty sweet. gorgeous and just about free.

this decorated chalkboard is super cute and would make a great gift. and, i didn't know sharpie made paint pens! i will be on the lookout. from creature comforts.

wristlet key fob diy over at prudent baby. another cute (and cheap) gift.

these newspaper ornaments are really nice looking and would be easy for kiddos to make. via life in the fun lane.

diy monogram mugs are another inexpensive gift option. i've seen similar initial mugs for $10 or more, so why not make your own? thanks design mom!

i guess that's it, friends. i look forward to eating lots of food and being lazy over the next few days. are you taking part in black friday? we've gone to a few stores super early a few years in a row, but i don't know if i can do it again this year. i'm hoping to take advantage of the internet instead.

headboard is finished!

after waiting what seemed like forever to find a great (+cheap) headboard, i didn't wait long to fix it up to my liking. d and i both wanted to keep the gold flourish at the top, but i wasn't sure how to tape it off since i had decided to spray paint the headboard.

so, with my vast knowledge (haha) of paint, i figured i could use some type of oil to act as a mask/barrier. i figured it couldn't hurt, and if we didn't like the results, i would just paint over the swirl at the top. so i brushed some vegetable oil onto the gold swirly and started spraying.

after several light coats and some drying time, i wiped the paint off of the filigree. it didn't block the paint completely, but we both LOVE how it turned out. one word of caution though: if you do attempt to block the paint this way, make sure you do a good job of rubbing all the extra paint/oil off. i got most of it, but a few light smudges on our pillowcases prove i wasn't thorough enough. i'll probably put a clear coat over the top when it's dried out a little more.

friday link love.

we are getting new carpet in our offices at work today, woohoo! i've only worked here (nearly) 3 years, and the carpet and walls have always made me cringe. well, they let us paint, and i am super excited to get the new carpet in. it's going to be like we moved into a completely different office space.

can you believe thanksgiving is next week? it's too soon. where did the year go? and do i have to get the tree out? i've highly considered cutting a tree shape out of pretty paper and taping it to the wall. no, seriously.

i've got to work on our headboard this weekend. with the sun setting about the time i get home, i have no daylight hours during the week to sand and paint. bummer.

this puffy bloom tutorial on no big dill is another take on fabric flowers. so different and so cute for little girls. maybe i can get myself in gear to make a few.

great article on the mansurovs discussing equivalent focal length and field of view. they also did a comparison between the 35mm f/1.8G(which i have) and the 50mm f/1.4G. definitely helped me feel better about my lens purchase.

both of these before and afters on d*s this week were amazing. putting a dresser up on legs and that adorable type tray makeover? love.

this crayon apron would be a cute gift for little ones this year. tutorial on prudent baby.

lovely leather cuff tutorial on made by me. shared with you. reminds me of a sexy red bracelet miranda on satc wore...

great upholstery tips on all things thrifty.

paper twine flower tutorial on no big dill. these would be pretty bunched together on top of a gift or tied around a bag...

i love the quote from bazaar of serendipity this week: "my little dog, a heartbeat at my feet." (wharton) such a simple line of text to describe something so meaningful in my life.