I Heart Green

Over the course of my life I have had many favorite colors. For a very long time red was the favorite, but at some point over the last few years I started to really dig green. Bright yellow greens make me especially happy. I have been seeing a lot of green show up in kitchen photos lately and it makes me wonder… I mean I love green now, but who knows when the shift will be to yellow or blue or back to red? Then I am stuck with green cabinets as a haunting reminder of my green period. This kitchen is a wonderful use of green accents and vinyl wall decals, which may be so last year, but are something I still happen to love. The swatch of green on the wall give the table and chairs a special place. I have been coveting those IKEA chairs since I saw them and I think they look great in this small kitchen. If you will really closely you will also see another of my favorite things, a little birdie. This is a really great way to add color quickly to a rental space that you have to paint over. Way to go, Jennifer!

Rubber Hose Chair

I love the idea of taking something that is destined for the trash heap and giving it a second life. All the better if that item is something I would like to have around anyway. This chair is beautiful and uses rubber hose that has been rendered useless with age and use. I can totally see having a bunch outdoors on our deck. Best of all? There is an Instructable so that you can make one as well! Even more brilliant is the fact that the frame is a 2′x2′ piece of plywood with almost no waste. Bravo! Now I just need to get my hands on a rubber hose that will otherwise be thrown out. Anyone? via

Shirt Skirt

I am getting back into wearing skirts lately. I always forget how comfortable they are during the summer. I even took to wearing skirts while for bike rides at the shore. If you haven’t tried it, I think you will be surprised. I have a few jersey skirts that get a lot of use, but I also have a lot of tshirts that are sitting around. I am thinking about doing a mash up of this tutorial and this one. As I have mentioned, I am not a sewer, but these seem like good projects to cut my teeth on.

Street Clothes

I started a couch to 5k program this past weekend. With help from an iPhone app I am alternating between walking and jogging for 20 minutes. It is torture all the way, but getting into shape always is in the beginning. I have even figured out how to work the run into my commute home so that I don’t have the temptation to stay in once I get home. This has me taking a slightly different path to my apartment and on Saturday this meant I passed a few boxes of free baby clothes. Isn’t it lucky that I just happen to know someone who is going to be needing baby clothes in the near future! These are obviously used items and even after giving them a good wash in hot water there are still stains on them. No problem! I have been reading about freezer paper stencils and this is perfect time to try them out. I downloaded some free dingbat fonts printed and cut them out and covered up some of the stains with puppies and giraffes. Emily at paperseed has generously provided templates for a dragonfly, flowers and a butterfly as well. I used the tutorial she suggested as a reference and it worked well. It is a bummer they are single use, but until I get a Yudu, this will do nicely.

Vintage Silver Garden Markers

These vintage silver garden markers are wonderful! I love just about anything that has letters stamped into it. At $8 each they would make a lovely gift for the gardener in your life. Personally, I think I am going to grab some of those flea market finds I have been hanging on to and my stamps to bang out (pun intended) a few of my own. I knew that jewelry making degree would come in handy!  via

To Make an Omelet…

I read somewhere that creativity is quantity not quality. When I read the headline I was like, “No way! Why would they say that?” Then I read the article. It is totally true. In order to be really successful at something you need to practice and learn from mistakes. The only way to make mistakes is to go ahead and do it. That can be a little daunting in this era of DIY and the internet. It seems as if everywhere you click you see lovely, wonderful, creative end products that make you wish you were that creative and talented and perfect. No one posts about the time when they made handmade soap that accidentally ended up looking like SPAM once it was sliced. Until now that is. Craft Fail is a site devoted to all those projects that ended up less than perfect. I personally love it. It can been really tough for me to get started on a project when I know there is a 50/50 chance of it being not so great (or a down right disaster) when it is done. Now I can learn from other people mistakes and realize that mistakes of my own are learning experiences in themselves. I think that the SPAM soap might be considered a happy accident rather than a fail. Especially with the little SPAM wrapper. Too cute! So let’s all get out there and make some mistakes! via

Not In This Economy

The economy has been on my mind a lot lately. It is a tough time to justify spending money. Personally, I have always been thrifty. I am pretty sure I get it from my Grandpa (thanks, Grandpa!) I tend to save my money everyday and over indulge once in a while, sometimes on one big thing, sometimes just a few days of “reckless” spending. I buy store brand when I can, I don’t buy expensive clothes (although I do tend to pay for comfortable shoes figuring I only get one set of feet) and I will make instead of buy if I can get away with it. Can I just tell you that I love what I am seeing in my RSS feeder lately. Articles on how to make your own cleaning supplies, how to make your own bread, how to paint your own wall mural. I am a fairly crafty person but I never thought about making my own butter. In this age of convenience we tend to buy things instead of looking to how we can make, grow or re-purpose what we have. Recently, I read an article on how to grow my own loofah! I love it! I know we all only have so much time in the day and can we really can fruits and vegetables or compost under your sink in our tiny NY kitchen? Maybe not. But I bet there are things you can do to help put a few more pennies in your wallet. Do you really need to use paper towels? I know, I know they are so convenient but if I can get by without them, so can you. As an extra added bonus (as if saving money wasn’t enough) this new way of thinking about saving money can help save the environment. How you ask? For example, making your own cleaning supplies means you are not throwing away extra packaging and you are reusing bottles over and over. Talk about win win!

DIY Lampshade

I love love love this DIY lampshade by Carrie of Carrie Can for her sister. She takes an ordinary paper lampshade, and transforms it with tissue paper. The materials are dirt cheap but the result is wonderful! I am inspired to get started on a few lampshades of my own. You can find a full tutorial on craftster.org. And in case you are wondering the mural in the background was done by Carrie as well. Her sister is awfully lucky! Thanks for the inspiration and tutorials, Carrie!

Improved Candy Hearts

I am not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. At some point February 14th became the time for ridiculous mark-ups on flowers and candy that will be 75% off on February 15th. Yes, I am a jaded New Yorker. So sue me. I have to admit that I have a soft spot for the idea of candy hearts. I say the idea of them, because I don’t really love the taste. I do however love the taste of shortbread and the idea of spray painting cookies. If this sounds good to you, head on over to Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (love the name!) because this is the post for you! Wonderful step by step instructions with pictures to make these adorable over-sized hearts. The geeky messages are a nice addition. Maybe this year my sweetie and I will spend some quality time together baking cookies. To me, that is the spirit of Valentine’s Day. via

Wow…

I heart these DIY shelves. As a matter of fact I heart just about everything about Stephen and Shauna’s home. Clean and simple with quirky accents (is that a porch swing in the bedroom?!) Wonderful use of colors, textures and patterns. I am definitely having home envy. M&I are in the process of deciding if we stay in our current apartment or look for something else when our lease is up in a few months. If we do stay then our place needs some freshening up. I am definitely going to be stealing a few color and decorating ques from this amazing apartment. You can see more of what they are up to on their blog Somethings Hiding in Here. Check out the house tour to see more amazing images. via