If it's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Today I rolled out of bed around 9 am or so to participate in the "sweetest" service project ever--Muffins for Mommy.

37 year-old Amme, mother of 4, is fighting brain cancer and our task was to make felt muffins to sell and raise money for her. Each muffin is unique and scented (mmm!). Aren't they adorable? It was a great way to spend my morning and really get me into the Christmas spirit. If you'd like to check out her beautiful family and read updates go here and to donate or learn more about the cause go here!

Fall for it.

As I was repainting my chipped nails this morning I set the bottle of polish down on the counter next to a barette that just so happened to be of the same color. A few moments later I turned around to face my closet and saw a pair of my worn cords lying on the ground that were also the same color. I looked up. A dress in the same shade. Much to my surprise I found an eyeshadow and a knob that just so happened to match the gang. So what's the color? I call it a "sunwashed brick", but others may say its a muted coral. Essie calls it "mamba". Call it what you want, but I think I've found a new favorite fall hue without even knowing it. Since September seems to be that awkward transition month into autumn (where you realize you need to start changing your color palette, but don't want to trade all the bold summer shades for neutrals) this pinky brown color is just the right thing.

My favorite (transitional) fall things.

Essie "Mamba" Polish $7.99 at HEB.

Barette $3.95 at H&M

Knob originally $14 at Anthropologie, on clearance for $3.95

Dress from Gap. I bought it when it was an "additional 40% off clearance items". I think the grand total was $12

Cropped cords from Banana Republic. These were also an additional 40% clearance at the time. I ended up paying $11 for them.

"Paradisco" eyeshadow by MAC cosmetics. $13.50

Easy breezy beautiful...pillow!

This pillow is so easy to make-- just time consuming. I am no seamstress, but I saw this on Pinterest and knew I had to recreate it. So here are the steps! (this one has a lot of pictures).

I decided to get this navy broadcloth at the fabric store and cut two big(17"x17") squares. I began cutting strips of muslin to make the 3 stripes. I used the quilting board to determine the width of my stripes. Then I pinned them down.

I cut petals (& a lot of them!) from this left over mustard upholstery fabric.
I tried tracing my petals to make them all even...

but that got old. The different sizes ended up working well though because I used the larger ones on the outside
and the smaller ones in the center.

I made my not-so-even outer ring of petals and pinned them down before sewing them on.

Then I pinned and re-pinned petal after petal until my flower began to take shape.
I didn't want the fabric underneath to show through or else it wouldn't look as full.

I thought this was a good illustration of how crooked
I sew.

I took three petals, pinched them at the bottom,
and hand stitched them before sewing them into the center for a 3-dimensional core.

I used an old feather pillow of mine and stuffed it into my new pillow.

The finished product!

Twine Bowl

I currently have an app on my phone called stumbleupon. It's a great site for when you're bored and want random pictures, videos, etc to look at, but recently I found out (thanks to my sister) that there is an arts and crafts section. It's amazing! It has thousands upon thousands of craft blogs, etsy pages, hair styles etc. In other words, it's right up my alley. Anyways, last night I was in the mood to do a simple craft and found a tutorial on making twine bowls. So I took a shot at it. Here are the steps:

You need modpodge, a bowl of any size, twine, a foam brush(if you don't want to use your fingers) and saran wrap

Wrap the bowl with saran wrap(or ziplock bag etc.) and paint a layer of modpodge in the bowl. Begin to coil.

Continue to coil and wrap the twine inside the bowl. You'll need to drizzle the modpodge as you go so the twine stays in tact.

Let dry about 24 hours. You may need to take the twine bowl out and flip it upside down to let the bottom part dry. Some of my saran wrap stuck to the bottom, but I figured it's not too noticeable.

And voila! I put buttons in my bowl for easy access when I craft. Plus they look pretty chic in that bowl!

Anthro Satin Flower Tutorial

Last week I was wandering around a mall in Dallas and decided to drop by one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie. I was looking at the variety of hair accessories and stumbled upon these cute little babies. I couldn't believe that there were $15 dollars just for two, but luckily my sisters had shown me the tricks of the trade so you & I can make some for cheaper! These are actually really simple and all you need is:

1. Scraps of satin material (I love pastels and neutrals)

2. Bobby pins (or any kind of barrette)

3. Hot glue gun

4. Thin satin ribbon (to wrap the bobby pin)

5. Some type of embellishment like rhinestones, pearls, etc (this is completely optional maybe you want them plain)

6. A lighter

Step One: Cut two circles--one slightly larger than the other. I used a quarter and a nickel to determine the sizes of my circles.

Step 2: Wrap ribbon around the bobby pin. You can either wrap both halves or leave the bottom unwrapped.

Step three(and four): Burn the edges of the fabric letting the flame barely brush up against the edges. Next glue the two petals together and on to the bobby.

                                         

                                         

Step 5: Add rhinestones(or whatever you choose) using a hot glue gun.

I'm selling these two on my etsy shop

Pucker up

From the J.Crew Summer 2010 LookBook

One of my newest obsessions is lipstick. I used to use a lot of lipgloss(mostly because they come in an array of scents--yum!) but they just aren't really working for me anymore since they lack the pigment that lipstick has. So this past year at school I began my collection of colors. I even got a little crazy and realized I had a couple lipsticks that were practically the same shade--oops. Naturally my lipstick fetish was inspired by J.crew (their models always look so effortlessly fresh with a little pop of color on their lips). As for my top three favorites they are:

1. Heartless--from the Venomous Villains collection at MAC Cosmetics. It's not only a pretty shade of red, but Cruella De Vil is on the tube!

2. Morange--also from MAC Cosmetics. It's a bright orange color that is almost identical to Siren by Revlon( and it's about half the price!) I wear both interchangeably.

3. Primrose--by Revlon. I bought this pinky color because I saw Spencer,(my favorite character) from Pretty Little Liars, sporting a similar shade.

PS If you're in the market for a new lip balm try one of the Rosebud Perfume Co. salves. They smell amazing!

Bird Chair!

I have been meaning to post a "before" picture of the chair my roommate & I reupholstered (as many of you have seen the "after" on facebook), but I've taken my sweet time. So, today is the day! Unfortunately I don't have a really good shot of the chair alone with the maroon fabric on it. 

About to paint the frame....

& the finished Product!

I bought the material from Joann's in the home decor section so it's a bit more durable & yes, of course it was on sale! The paint is a pale blue matte color from sherwin williams--I wish I could remember the name. The pillows were made by my sister Breanne. I thought she did a great job making them look anthropologie-esque.