New Creations 7/12

woven bronze beads with white briolettes

sea glass chalcedony wrapped in gold filled wire

gothic quatrefoil shape


peacock blue quatrefoil shell earrings

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DIY Mouse Pad

My Powerbook just turned 6 so it's been around for awhile... the mouse pad starting sticking not long ago so my wireless mouse is now necessary for my sanity. Nowhere sells cute mouse pads that match my decor so I decided to make one with scrapbook paper and double stick foam sheets from Michael's.

(One side)

The project was super quick. I peeled off the sticky foam backing, slapped on a cute sheet of scrapbook paper. I chose paper from Anna Griffin's collection~ beachy and bright!

(The reverse side)

Repeat this for the other side of the foam and voila, a double-sided mouse paper. As a finishing touch I cut off rounded corners to make it look like an actual mouse pad and I added these cute little Louis V stickers I've had laying around to the mouse itself. A posh little upgrade for my good old powerbook :) Gotta love scrapbook paper... it has a million uses!

Trinidad & Tobago

I just hung this print titled "Trinidad & Tobago" in my house this weekend and I'm in love with the colors, contrast, and texture.
The print on the woman's skirt is really fun and ties in both organic and geometric shapes that I enjoy in fabric and accent pieces. I put mine in a black frame with a bright white mat similar to this image from art.com. It really pops against the contrast of my Tuscan yellow/terracotta colored walls.

Using vintage art/travel inspired posters as decor is fun and easy because they are timeless yet very colorful and not too stuffy or generic.

Pineapple Palm Sconces

Stray Dog Designs is one of my favorite sites for quirky, original home accent pieces and lighting! Last spring I used their artichoke lamp for a project inspiration and just recently I've found another piece to inspire me. The "Sam Buffet Lamp" shown below encompasses a lot of elements of design I adore... clean lines, a crisp white shade, and those dramatic palm leaf touches! Unfortunately I can't possibly fit one more lamp or lighting fixture in our house (my husband and I were laughing that we never use any of the built in/recessed lighting our house actually came with). So I used the lamp as inspiration for some existing sconces in our dining room and used some left over material from my Mediterranean inspired chandelier project.

Here I rolled, cut, and molded the crayola clay to resemble the leaves on the lamp/chandelier. It needed to dry for about 1/2 hour so it wasn't too moist/floppy to be molded to the sconce. These little ramekins were the perfect size for drying and shaping the clay.
Here is a picture of one of the sconces minus the candle holder (4 in all). I had previously removed the orange mosaic tile coverings because they seemed to dark/drab after getting soot and buildup on them.
I pinched and fit the semi-dried clay into the cup of the sconce and molded it the way I wanted, and made sure to cover the metal prongs that were previously holding the glass candle holder up.
Ta da!



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Happy 4th of July

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Summertime...

Spending a lot of time on our patio makes me thankful for the space we have! It's quaint, charming, and perfect for our small family. Plus, my husband did all the tile and landscaping himself, so it has extra meaning. That being said, it's fun to look at the designer patios/yards also. Here are 2 designer patio styles I've been drooling over lately. Totally different styles, but I'm in love with both:

First Friday Show

Here are a few pics from my show at the Roseville Fountains- it was such a great turnout this month!