Bulletin board makeover!

I took before and after photos of this project, but the before photos magically disappeared. Hmm. Anyway, I have had this pretty plain, rectangular bulletin board in my room for as long as I can remember. It has been nearly any color of the rainbow, and in 2003 (I know the year because for some reason I painted the year on the board) I painted it glittery black with a strange pink color.

I've seen lots of cute fabric-covered bulletin boards and have considered buying them, but I never can make myself since I always had old faithful hanging behind my door. I saw it hanging there a few days ago with tons of random junk pinned on it and decided to do something about it.

I painted the wooden edge white and sanded it off to give it a neat, vintage look. Then I measured the size of the cork, cut a piece of fabric to go in it, and used my mom's staple gun to staple it down. I got the fabric for $2 a yard, so this project cost me right around $1. Awesome!

As you can see, I have pinned vintage button cards all over it. I went to an estate sale the other day and picked up a pretty hefty bag of vintage buttons. I've already got a huge collection, but couldn't just leave them there! I thought this was a unique way to display and store them.

So there you go. I officially don't have to hide my old-school bulletin board because now it is cute! I hope this inspires you to find something that is pretty strange looking at make it pretty and useful.

Happy crafting!

Lauren

Historical inspiration

I get a lot of my creative inspiration from history. Whether it be cameo pendants, antiqued-gold charms, or retro print fabric, most of my designs have been inspired by the past. Yesterday, my boyfriend and I took my nephew to Shiloh National Military Park, which is the location of a Civil War battle. Scattered around the grounds are cannons, monuments, and the famous "Bloody Pond." While walking around one of the battlefields, I found this cannon. I absolutely love the color of the cannon, and found it intriguing that something so dangerous could be so inspiring.

Isn't it cool? If you haven't visited Shiloh and you live nearby, you should check it out. I'm no history buff, but it is a really neat place.

- Lauren

New new new!

I was recently chosen for a Heartsy feature that will take place sometime this week. I have been crafting like crazy in preparation and thought I'd share some of my new designs!

All of these designs (plus many, many more!) can be found in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for looking!

- She

Custom order

I love custom orders! Some days I'm not feeling very creative and I need some direction. Custom orders definitely help with directing me! This week I received a custom order for fabric flower shoe clips for a bride. Her main color is purple, so I made sure to include some really fabulous purple paisley in her flowers. It also inspired me to branch out and start creating more shoe clips. I can't wait to list them on Etsy!

Anyway, here is the finished result of my custom order!

If you are interested in shoe clips or a custom order, feel free to email me at jewelryaccordingtoshe@gmail.com or just leave a comment! :)

- She

Allllll new!

Here is a little preview of what I have been making this week! 

Braided fabric bracelets!
I'll be listing some in my Etsy shop soon!

Graduation week recap!

I look super serious!
(I was actually a little bored..)

The two men in my life, Sam and Zak :)

Monday-Thursday: laid around, watched True Blood (it is so weird yet so addicting), read, tried to find things to do with myself since I have no homework, made some jewelry, and spent far too many hours in the closet due to tornados. We were safe, thank goodness!

Friday: had second job interview, got job offer, accepted job offer(!!!), had graduation practice, had a mini-meltdown, went to dinner with Sam.

Saturday: woke up way too early, changed my mind on my graduation outfit 37 times, graduated(!!!), saw lots of friends and family, got awesome gifts from friends and family, went to dinner with Sam's family at my favorite restaurant (Sakura), came home and fell asleep while Sam watched some weird movie.

Okay, so my week wasn't super crazy and wild, but I did get my first "real" job and I graduated! I start working tomorrow as a technical services instructor at a local non-profit agency for individuals with disabilities. I will be working with children and some adults and helping them improve their academic skills. I am lucky because this job is actually at the same place that I interned this past school year, so I am already very comfortable there. This job is not the same job that I had as an intern, but I hope that I can catch on quickly and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my internship!

Although Sam is wearing a robe in the photo above, he actually is not graduating this year. He is a year younger than me and will be graduating next May. He had to wear a robe because he is the academic marshall AKA the student with the highest GPA in the Junior class. What a smarty pants! He had to lead all of the graduates in and hold a huge flag. I was really happy that he was a part of the ceremony!

Anyway, I know that this blog post is not very crafty or creative, but no more school = more crafting, which = more blogging on more crafting. Yahoo! I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe week!

Lauren

Ribbit.

Just thought I'd share a photo of my Valentine's present from my nephew. He knows how much I dislike frogs and thought it would be funny to get me this. He was giggling the whole time I was opening it!

Share your love!

Though Christmas is generally seen as the season for giving, Valentines Day is also a great time to give to others! Etsy has a special project this year called Share your Love 2011. Etsy admins and volunteers will be working with Citymeals-on-Wheels to bring "nutritious meals, handmade greeting cards, and companionship to elderly New Yorkers." 

Though I plan on making my own Valentine's Day cards for this project, many individuals will purchase and send in cards. If you are looking for somewhere to purchase unique Valentine's Day cards, take some time and peruse Etsy. There are thousands of unique little shops with lovely cards!

I hope that you all can find time to send a little card to be given to these individuals. Even something as small as a card can make someone's day and honestly, what is better than knowing that you're making someone smile?

When you've got your adorable card(s) all packaged up, send them to:

Etsy

Attn: Adam Brown

55 Washington Street

Suite 512

Brooklyn, NY 11201

All cards must be received by Wednesday, February 9, 2011. This means that you should probably send them out by the Friday before to be safe!

You can find out more about Share your Love 2011 by clicking here.

I'm off to make some cards.. happy {early} Valentine's Day!

- She

My Sneaky Santa!

I've been receiving lots of awesome gifts in the mail from my sneaky santa and I finally figured out that it was all from the lovely Stock! She sent me a huge lot (over 1 pound!) of salvaged vintage earrings, facial scrubbies from LaRue Fashions, a fabulous bracelet/cuff that she made, and a sweet note on a card by HappyHoundCreative. I thought I'd share some photos of my awesome gifts with you guys!

Oh, the fun I will have with these babies!

Facial scrubbies, bracelet, and card! 

Coolest. bracelet. ever. 

I'm sending loads of love to Stock,
the greatest, sneakiest santa ever! 

I'm officially ready to play sneaky santa again. Is it Christmas 2011 yet? :)

- She

Handmade Gifts!

I've been trying to step out of my jewelry bubble for the past week and work on some fabric projects. I've seen several felt and fabric flower brooches and I thought they would make great gifts for my girlfriends! I've been using some beautiful fabric scraps that I purchased from Sandi at Sandi's Stash and vintage earrings that I received from my Sneaky Santa! Here are a few of the finished projects:

This one is for my best friend Chelsea.
Her sorority colors are purple and pink!

For my other friend Chelsea!

I'm not sure who this one is going to yet..
possibly my best friend Bryghte! 

For me! I pinned this little guy on my
favorite winter coat. 

Here's my flower pinned on my ever-so-linty
black pea coat!

As I said in a previous blog post, handmade gifts are perfect to give to those who mean a lot to you. Not only do they reflect the recipient's personal style, but the fact that you spend lots of time finding fabric, meticulously cutting out circles by hand, and stitching these babies up really shows how much you care.

Are any of you giving handmade gifts this year?

- She


P.S.
To whoever my Sneaky Santa is, thank you SO much for my gift. I have already used several pieces from it and have about 500 other ideas for it. You're the best!

FREE Gift Ideas!

I found these tips for positive thinking in one of my textbooks and I thought I'd share them with you guys! I hope you enjoy these and try to give some of these free gifts this holiday season. Don't let their price fool you, they're worth much more than any Christmas gift! :)

1. Give a smile to everyone you meet (smile with your eyes)-- and you'll smile and receive smiles

2. Give a kind word (with a kindly thought behind the word)-- you will be kind and receive kind words

3. Give appreciation (warmth from the heart)-- you will appreciate and be appreciated 

4. Give honor, credit, and applause (the victor's wreath)-- you will be honorable and receive credit and applause

5. Give time for a worthy cause (with eagerness)-- you will be worthy and richly rewarded 

6. Give hope (the magic ingredient for success)-- you will have hope and be made hopeful

7. Give happiness (a most treasured state of mind)-- you will be happy and be made happy

8. Give cheer (the verbal sunshine)-- you'll be cheerful and cheered

9. Give encouragement (the incentive to action)-- you will have courage and be encouraged 

10. Give a pleasant response (the neutralizer of irritants)-- you will be pleasant and receive pleasant responses

11. Give good thoughts (nature's character builder)-- you will be good and the world will have good thoughts for you

- She 

Positive thoughts found in:

Social Work with Groups: A Comprehensive Workbook, Seventh edition, Charles H. Zastrow. 

My Busy Mind.

I've got a problem. I generally have about 368 different craft ideas going through my head, but lately I've had at least 423. My latest craft endeavor? Felt flowers. I've been making these like nobody's business. Here's a little creation I made for myself. Maybe I'll make some to share with you guys on Etsy! (unless, of course, I move on to another idea..)

(Please excuse the terrible quality. I was too lazy to get my "real" camera
and used my phone.)

Does anyone else have creative ADD? Please tell me that I'm not alone in this! :)

- She

Christmas Favorites

Or ornaments, to be exact. 

My very favorite ornament. It's vintage, too!

Peace seems to be the theme of my tree..

Hoot! Hoot!
My mom got me this a few
weeks ago at K-Mart of all places.
How cute!

A glimpse of my fab tree skirt, which is
actually just a scrap of fabric!

These remind me of huge chandelier earrings.

I got a few of these at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.
I've got some in green, too!

I made the bottom ornament with
paper scraps and Mod Podge a few weeks
 ago. You can't see it well, but I also made
the huge bow!

This reminds me of a candy
cane with a modern twist!

Earth! It says "Peace" on it, too!

My cute penguin ornaments, tree skirt,
 and antique painted frame!

Who's ready for Christmas? I sure am! 

- She

Monday Treasury

My teardrop necklace been featured in this treasury created by BaghdadBum! Come check out all the other lovely featured items! Also, don't forget that you can save 20% on all of the items in my Etsy shop by simply entering GIVETHANKS20 in the coupon code box at checkout. Happy shopping!

'Something wonderful for your Monday.' by baghdadbum

NFL Bottlecap set-SHIPP... KompletelyKahn $22.50	Rose Patterned Jello Mo... NannysRose $10.00
Blue Christmas - chainm... DoBatsEatCats $15.00	Ice Blue - handmade nec... BlackSheepBead... $33.00
5x7 Photography-Heart S... CreationsAnew $15.00	Street Lamp A La Blue 8... ShoppeVonShult... $15.00
Handmade Silver Bracele... laruefashions $14.00	Teardrop necklace accordingtoshe $12.00
Light Blue and Silver L... JewelsbyTrish $34.00	Christmas gift tags, sn... chocolatedogst... $3.50
Decorative cheese box H... inspiredbymari... $30.00	Spinning Control Card a... yarn2spin $14.00
Kanzashi Fabric Flower ... HoldsIt $10.00	Continental Breakfast I... Culinarychiqco... $10.00
CHRISTMAS Decoupage Orn... twig2nestStudi... $10.00	TICKLE YOUR FANCY blank... PaintedMemorie... $3.00

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