happy friday!!!

ahhh, i am super glad it's friday. and we have a long weekend! ours will be spent in the yard (again!) but things are beginning to shape up. we need to plant some more boxwoods to replace a few of the dead ones... pretty much put mulch down EVERYWHERE dirt is exposed... and maybe i can sneak a few new plants into our shopping cart as well.

here are some links from this week:

dreaming of this (pictured above) duvet cover from urban outfitters. isn't it lovely? i am seriously considering trying a diy on it. i think i could pull it off with 4 or 5 matching flat sheets... so similar to the anthropologie shower curtain i was crushing on last fall.

thinking of making these diaper pouches for a few of my pregnant buddies... so cute and they look fairly easy to make. from noodlehead.

this asparagus and spinach quiche looks heavenly... maybe i can make it for brunch soon? from closet cooking.

genius diy twine (or ribbon, i would think) holder. from justsomethingimade.

this homemade pesto sounds really good. i have been wanting to try my hand at making pesto since we seem to eat a lot of pasta (hey, it's easy to make!) and this sounds delish. from giverslog.

hope you all have a lovely (long) memorial weekend. i know i will enjoy the extra day off!!

new lamp!

as i wait for my new friend, willie, to fix our refrigerator, i thought i would show you my new lamp that i acquired about an hour ago. it's metal, it's heavy... and it only cost me $15.

i found it on craigslist yesterday... and while i usually wouldn't pay that much for a used lamp (i know, i'm cheap) i could tell from the photo it was probably an expensive one brand new. and i was right... the guy i bought it from said it came from restoration hardware. and while i couldn't find this exact model on their site, the two that came the closest were $200 and $300! not bad, huh?

i figure it will look pretty swanky in the bedroom once our nightstands are finished up. i really had my heart set on a pair of matching lamps, but i think we can mix and match and it will still look good. i love how industrial it looks...

friday links.

see that dress? (sorry for the weird picture, d gets tired of me changing settings every 2 photos, and it's not like he could pose for it) i made a trip to the thriftstore thursday after work and discovered they were having a 50% off sale on all women's clothing. so... i ended up with 2 workout shirts, 2 short sleeve (work-ish) type shirts... and this dress all for under $7. i probably could've come home with lots more, but i wasn't really in the mood to dig that much this time. i am really contemplating wearing the kelly green dress to a wedding this weekend (with a cute little sweater and a belt). is it too formal? too 80's? just right? i really think i can get away with it being in-style at least for this summer. and for $1.50, why not?

what are your plans for the weekend? we need to work on the yard... a lot. i started mowing wednesday night, but one of the back wheels nearly fell off. so, d gets to fix that before i can finish. i also need to pull weeds, plant some stuff, and build that raised bed thats been taking up space in our garage. so that's probably what we'll be doing for the most part.

here are some fun links from this week:

this maple dijon grilled chicken sounds easy and tasty! we haven't even used our grill yet this year... from closet cooking

beautiful handwriting examples found on la dolce vita

amazing patchwork furniture found via decor8. i would love to have one piece of that crazy furniture in my home... i think i might could pull it off on something small.

some great tips on thrifting by already pretty.

really love how this desk and diy coffee table turned out. via designsponge.

also loving the 'how to make a pouf' tutorial from d*s earlier this week. these would make great little pet pillow for the pups.

learning how to tile.

before

over the easter weekend (you know, last month!), d and i went up to amarillo and helped my parents tile their kitchen. i finally remembered my camera last weekend, and took some pictures of our handiwork. i can't believe how far this kitchen has come... UPDATE my mom sent me a photo of the kitchen before... can you believe how far it's come?

after their new laminate countertops were installed, my parents picked out some tile and we headed up there for two very long days of work. for anyone interested in learning how to tile... it will save you a ton of money, but it does require lots of time and patience. just be sure to do your research or talk to someone with tiling experience.

these pictures aren't the greatest... i still haven't quite figured out how to take the best photos in low-light situations with no flash, but this gives you an idea of what it looks like. there's still tons of wallpaper to deal with - but that will be another time. the folks are still debating on colors... although they know my vote will always be green :)

more friday links.

what are your plans for the weekend? d is driving back from houston as i write this... but our plans are to go to amarillo this weekend to visit the folks (hi mom!). maybe we'll look at cars up there as well... i think i know what i want, but we're waiting to see if we can fix my car inexpensively before we jump into a monthly payment again.

i know, i didn't make it around to posting anything else this week... but here are some more favorite links.

fabric tape tutorial from annekata. i am definitely going to make some of this to use on gifts! so cute, and does double-duty since it's tape!

i really must try this strawberry lemonade cupcake recipe from IS*LY... sounds soooo good.

i want to make some of these fabric covered thumbtacks... tutorial from getcraftee

not that i enjoy thinking about this, but someday perhaps i will look into these juniper urns for our sweet little doggie children. found on makeundermylife

friday link love.

it has been a rather trying friday, and i am ready for it to be the weekend! we will be test-driving some new cars (yay!), visiting with our moms and probably doing some much needed yard work.

i find so many cool new blogs (well, new to me!) every week and thought i would share the love. i also save a ton of posts (thank you google reader for making that easy!) that i want to share. maybe i can make this a weekly thing?

really cute diy concrete planters on martha, found via giverslog.

the lettered cottage's post on making a brand new home your own. LOVE her kitchen!

these periodic wall decals would be perfect for d's office... found on cozy little cave.

mother's day roundup for diy gifts on luvinthemommyhood. so many great ideas!

grosgrain ribbon belt tutorial from ruffles and stuff.

and a few new-to-me blogs that i am enjoying:

uber-chic for cheap

good bones, great pieces

adventures in dressmaking

fabric rose tutorial.

i have had several friends ask me to show them how i made my little roses... so i thought i would put this tutorial together! i basically did a search online and found some other tutorials, and just kind of went my own way. i'll be honest: i didn't want to have to machine sew or iron anything. there are tons of ways to make these, though (and each one produces a different result) so i'll post some other links at the bottom.

you'll need:
fabric (t-shirts work great)
hot glue gun
scissors
tv (optional)


so... here's what i started with. the other half of this shirt make all those other blue roses from a previous post. and this is a small. imagine how many you could make from an xxl shirt? i like to use kind of stretchy fabrics. nothing too thick or too thin/sheer. t-shirts are perfect.

cut a thin strip of your shirt out. about 1 1/2" - 2" wide and however long you can get. you can make the strips wider or thinner, depending on what size you want your rose.

fold it in half, make sure you have the right side of the fabric facing out.

put a thin strip of hot glue down on one end. i try to use the end where the seam is...

and fold it over. please be careful not to burn yourself...

you'll want to start wrapping the fabric around the starting point...

but don't go too far! you'll want to start adding folds in. i tried to get a decent picture of what that looks like here... but it's hard when you have to hold the camera too. basically you just twist the fabric over...

so that it makes a nice little fold in the fabric. try to keep this towards the top. you'll want to put a drop of hot glue down every once in a while, especially before and after the folds.

just keep wrapping and folding, wrapping and folding. you'll get a feel for how many times you want to fold the fabric over. i usually try for about 2 folds per circumference wrap in the beginning, and then 3-5 as the flower gets bigger. just remember to put drops of glue down every once now and then to make sure it all holds.

when you get to a desirable stopping location, cut the end off, but leave about an inch or so hanging off.

here's a back view. put some hot glue down on the bottom (a fairly good-sized dollop)...

and push down that fabric you left at the end. be careful not to burn yourself! this is where i usually get burned...

and there you go! you can always swish around the fabric until you get it to the shape you want. and the best thing about these is that they're not supposed to be perfect! you can make a ton of these watching a movie or your favorite tv show... and all with stuff you probably already have.

also, you could use a needle and thread to stitch instead where you would normally use the hot glue. this would produce something you might be able to throw in the washing machine... but don't take my word on it. i'll mainly be making these to put on pins, headbands and maybe some jewelry.

here are some links to other fabric rose/flower tutorials i really liked:
everyday chaos
tincancanoe
youcanmakethis
pretty-ditty
make it do