still loving

I love stripes! Especially horizontal stripes on walls. I want to redo my parent's upstairs bathroom and I think horizontal stripes would look great!

These are some of my fav stripe inspiration pics...


apartment therapy


simply grove


design dump


little green notebook


the lettered cottage


the lettered cottage


layers of meaning


thom filicia

just for fun

I came across this awesome photo editing technique the other day! It's called tilt-shift. It makes real life scenes in photos look like miniature models. I have no idea how to do this myself but I found this really neat tilt-shift photo editing tool. You just upload a pic adjust a few settings to your liking and then you have a "miniature" picture! Try it here! They also have a flickr group where people post their own pictures they edited with the tilt-shift maker. There are some really amazing images.


I tried out the tilt-shift maker a few times using pictures from different trips.

Before


After


and a few others I created...

target's designer capsule collection

I love it when designers collaborate with Target for more affordable options!

My most recent fav about to hit the stores is John Derian! I’m sure most of you have seen/heard about this but I thought I’d share just in case.

Here is a little preview of what will be available at Target starting Sept. 5!

John Derian for Target



love! love! love!


I really need some cute binders to keep all my craft/design ideas and inspirations in. I think I may just have to get these!


Here are two other designers about to be in Target stores!

Tucker for Target


Mulberry for Target


It you can’t wait until Sept. 5 go over to Gilt.com for a chance to buy from Target’s designer capsule collection today!


(photos via target)

happy shoes

Right now I have sad shoes under the bed. So boo! Hopefully one day I can have my shoes organized and on display. I found a few images that will be great inspirations!

Here is some eye candy for your shoes!









(photos via house & home, apartment therapy)

lonny time

It’s that time again! Lonny magazine Aug/Sept issue has arrived! I have been looking forward to this since I devoured the last issue!

So once again I wanted to share my fav images from the mag and highly recommend you check out the issue yourself!

















(photos via lonny mag)

what i'm loving...

Wallpapered ceilings! I love how it adds interest to a room without being overwhelming!

Here are some ceilings that have been inspiring me lately.
















I like this look but I'm not sure if it's DIY-able! It would be way too hard!



(photos via caldwell flake interiors, lonny, and simply grove, house&home)

blog awards

My friends Natalie at Pocket of Presh and Laura at Laugh a Little both passed along a Lovely Blog Award to me! So Sweet!

I also got a Sunshine Award from Wendy over at a&w! Yay!

So I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself and award some other blogs.

7 things about me:
1. I have been married to my sweet husband for 8 months.
2. I'm always working on something (usually crafts)
3. Crumbs make me gag.
4. I'm more productive at night.
5. I absolutely love my macbook!
6. I never go anywhere without a water bottle.
7. My relationship with Jesus is the most important part of my life.

Blogs that deserve both awards:
1. Have a Dandy Day- Great DIY projects and recipes!
2. A Southern Belle's Tales- This girl is too cute! I love all her little stories.
3.Free Fallin'- She's new to blogging but I can already tell I'm going to love it!


I also had a surprise in the mail yesterday! My sweet aunt Amy sent me some crockpot liners!!! Jake and I were so excited! We absolutely hate to clean that thing! I have been looking for these liners everywhere.

Thanks Aunt Amy you're the best!




I'm just so happy these exist!

candle magic

I saw a really neat candle craft on a blog a long time ago and I have been dying to try it. I couldn’t remember what blog the tutorial was on so I just had to try it out from memory.

I’ll show you how to transform boring candles…


to happy candles!


It’s really simple.

What you need:
-cheap candles (light colors work best)
-white tissue paper
-double sided tape
-card stock
-scissors
-hairdryer
-printer

Click HERE, HERE, and HERE to download the images I designed.

Or you can make your own. Make sure to measure around the candle as well as the height.

After you are satisfied with the image for your candle, take some tissue paper and cut it to fit on a piece of card stock. Place the tissue paper on top of the card stock and tape down the corners.



Print the image on the tissue paper.



After the image is printed, remove the tissue paper from the card stock and wrap around the candle to determine where to trim off the excess.

Cut off the tissue paper that doesn’t fit on the candle. Wrap the tissue paper around the candle and tape down the edges with a few tiny pieces of double sided tape.



Now this is where the magic happens!

Use a hairdryer to blow hot air on the candle until it starts to look shiny. Work in small sections all around the candle. The wax melts through the tissue paper and dries in a thin layer on top!



The wax dries really quickly and it looks like the image is a part of the candle! It’s amazing how the tissue paper seems to disappear.



To make stripes on a tapered candle don’t cover the whole candle with tissue paper, because it will be uneven and bunch up. Cut it into strips and then attach.



So fun and so cute!

Enjoy your candle crafting!

UPDATE:

A couple people asked if the the candles I showed you how to decorate in my candle tutorial could be burned.  I wasn't really sure, so I decided to try it out on one of the tapered candles that I kind of messed up on...

I don't recommend burning the tapered candles.  I let it burn for a while, forgot about it, remembered, then panicked because the tissue paper caught on fire and there was a huge flame!

The larger column candles would probably be fine to burn because the flame wouldn't be close enough to burn the tissue paper.  The tapered candles should probably just be decorative. So, if you make these to give as gifts, make sure to tell this to the recipient.

I think they are pretty to look at, and I don't think I could burn something that I spent time making. But that's just me.