Yarn-spiration

One of the inevitabilities of living a crafty life is that is comes with a lot of baggage. (Literally, not emotionally). I have a healthy collection of yarn, fabric, sewing machines, knitting needles, books, and various tools that I can whip out at a moment's notice.

The trouble is, all of these wonderful things need to be stored somewhere. As someone who is currently settling in to a new apartment, it can be tough to figure out where to put all of this STUFF. (My silly husband actually suggested I pare down my fabric stash before the move. Ha!)

That's why I was super jazzed to come across this image this morning:

Photo from wise craft

I love this idea, found at the new-to-me blog wise craft. She originally found it via Living Etc and executed the idea with a big vase from Ikea.I love that it's a storage idea that leans more towards art than utility.

Practical, simple, and beautiful. Perfect.

Whole Lotta Love

I don't know why it has taken me so long to fall in love with Lotta Jansdotter.

Lotta is a Swedish-born fabric designer and author who currently lives in Brooklyn. I've become a bit obsessed with her designs and aesthetic since picking up her newest book, Handmade Living. It's full of beautiful photos of her home and includes lots of really practical ideas for cooking, organizing, and decorating.

 

Something about the bold, hand-drawn designs against white and beige is really speaking my language right now. Usually I'm drawn to bright, sassy colours and really lively pattern (a la Amy Butler), but something about Lotta's simple Scandinavian style just feels so soothing.

After falling in love with Handmade Living, I picked up her book of stencils and plan to go to town on some plain white curtains we bought for our new apartment. I'm also planning to stencil some fabric to use on the mis-matched dining room chairs I wrote about a few posts ago...and maybe a table runner...somebody stop me!

Champagne birthday

Today -- the 28th -- I'm turning 28.  I feel like that makes my birthday extra special this year.

I have been spoiled rotten by friends and family all weekend -- including a homemade dinner of pulled pork and french onion soup at my parents' house. The meal was capped off with the delicious Boston Cream cake you see above. (Thanks Mom!)

I've taken the day off work and plan to relax, watch movies, cuddle with my cats and have a sushi dinner with my fella tonight. Heaven!

I'm still alive

It's been awhile, gentle readers. But, I have an excellent excuse: my fella and I are moving back to our hometown in a little over 2 weeks. Our new place is way cheaper, closer to my work, and closer to most of our family and friends. It's also about half the rent of our current home in Toronto. 

We've been pretty lucky with our beloved Toronto apartment -- it's amazingly clean, well-cared for, and functional. However, our new place is...well, let's just say it's going to need a bit of spit and polish before we move in. My brain has been swirling with plans with how to make it a home.

My first idea: mismatched dining room chairs. I plan to replace my current matching set with a bunch of charmingly different chairs, all painted in neutral white. Something like this:

Second, I've been obsessed with this simple balsa wood sculpture thingy since I saw it on Design Sponge last week.

I'd like to use the same materials to make a big Finnish star that we can hang in our new bedroom. They look very complicated but are actually very easy to make.

I'm also working on knitting a pouf for our new living room. (I wrote about my obsession with these way back in September). I'm probably about halfway finished the knitting, then I have to assemble and stuff it. When it's finished, I hope to have something like this:

So, as you can see, even though I haven't been blogging up a storm, my creative juices are stewing. Stay tuned for the finished products!

Wanty

Behold the newest object of my desire: a 3-foot-high orange ampersand.

                                     

Why would I want a giant "&" symbol, you ask? I have no idea. But if it weren't $125 plus shipping, it would be mine in a heartbeat. Methinks a little DIYing may be in order. 

For those of you who can afford this beauty, you can find it here.

Quick lamp makeover

I love spray paint. Seriously. There's no better way to change something so inexpensively and so quickly. Case in point: my lamps.

These lamps, purchased from Ikea a couple years ago, were starting to look a little blah. After a few coats of spray paint, they look totally fresh and new. I also picked up a couple of new shades, just for fun.

And, if I ever get bored with the turquoise (which I inevitably will) I can change the colour again. That is the glory of the spray paint!

In other crafting news, I have been busy recovering a few chairs for the living room (including the orange chair I wrote about in a previous post) which I'll share as soon as they're finished. I've learned that upholstering chairs is harder than it looks. It's kinda hard to make it look professional and neat rather than an amateur Trading Spaces project or something. (Not that I didn't love Trading Spaces. It feels a little blasphemous to take a shot at my beloved TS!)

It's interesting to note that a lot of my creative energy is being taken up by taking a picture every day for my Project 365. I have really been enjoying sinking my teeth into photography and challenging myself to find a new shot each day. However, it has meant that I haven't been sewing/knitting/etc. much lately -- not only because I'm devoting a lot of my attention to pictures, but also because it's a bit of a time commitment to take, upload, and edit a photo each day. I have a long sewing to-do list and I'm hoping to be able to commit some serious time tackling those projects in the next few weeks.

Since I have no new sewing projects to show you I'll leave you with my 365 shot from yesterday: some pretty pink Gerbera daisies (which happen to be one of my favourite flowers).

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Moccasins!

Guys. I just signed up for a make-your-own moccasin class. And I'm SUPER pumped.

The class takes place during two Saturdays in March at the workroom, a beautiful sewing studio/fabric shop in Parkdale. (It's run by Karyn, one of my fave bloggers whose photos have made several appearances on this blog -- including the one above).

I have been dying to take one of the workroom's classes for ages, but the timing never seemed to work out.  Well, my friends, the stars have finally aligned. So, not only do I get to take a class at the workroom, but I'll end up with an adorable pair of moccasins. I've never sewn with leather before, nor have I ever sewn anything for my feet. Exciting things all around!

I will keep you posted on my progress once the class starts. One of the best things about it is that I get to take home the commercial pattern - meaning I can make moccasins again and again, if I so choose. Now I just have to contain my moccasin excitement (mocca-citement?) for another few weeks...