Friday, August 31, 2012

cattails


The man-made pond near our house is absolutely full of cattails, so every year, I cut a little bouquet of them. I know that I could spray them to keep them from popping their seeds out, but I have a whole pond full of them at my disposal so why not just enjoy them for the season and get fresh ones again next year?

Besides, they look absolutely gorgeous when they pop, don't they?




These are some of my favourite photos (right now). I really couldn't choose which was better so these are kinda duplicates (which I don't really like to do, but I didn't have the heart to delete them).

Also desktop calendars! You have choice again:

1920x1080

ipod

I originally had the cattails mixed in with some end-of-season blue delphiniums. I love the blue and brown combination.

16by9

As usual, the printable wall calendars are now available for September as well:

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

DIY: colour-blocked earrings

One of my insane talents is finding amazing earrings at thrift stores. I guess it's not really a talent, but I always find earrings that don't seem that amazing to anyone else until they see me wearing them. Then those "yeah, I guess they're all right" *shrug* earrings I showed off to whomever I shopped with turns into "OMG! Where did you get those earrings?!"

But the other day, I saw the most amazing colour blocked hoops with the perfect shade of pink and, for some dumb reason, I scoffed at the price and left them. I don't know where my brain was. I'm still kicking myself about it, but I happened to have a pair of simple silver hoops that I have never worn, so I decided to colour block them myself with a little pink nail polish.

Super easy!


Grab some painters tape, nail polish colour of your choice, and get to work!


Tape off the sections on your earrings. I cut the tape to equal widths and I lined up the tape lines on both earrings so they stay a matching pair. Make sure that the tape is pressed down along the edges really well.


Paint on the nail polish. I needed two coats and I found it best to heavily apply the paint. Just make sure it dries completely between additions.


Peel off the tape and wear! (There was some smudging and bleeding when I took my tape off, but the nail polish scrapes off really easily with a finger nail so it's not hard to fix that up at all.)

Friday, August 17, 2012

friday fixation: pinterest DIYs

Here're some fun things I've been contemplating lately!


{DIY ombre wall} I'm not going to paint a whole wall like this -- I've since grown very tired of my two "fancy" painted walls -- but I like the technique so I am going to use it on something else! (I'll post it as soon as it's done!)


Source: 
blissfulbblog.com via idle on Pinterest




{DIY headboard} I really love how this looks. Initially I was thinking about making a tufted headboard, but that's starting to feel a little busy to me as, lately, I've been gravitating towards simplicity and calmness.


{DIY origami wall art} I love how this looks, but I think it would look miles better in plain white or black and white paper. I think this idea might be perfect in our bedroom (which is getting repainted soon. I'm SO SICK of the blue!).


{DIY geometric pendant} I've never used shrink plastic before, but this style totally motivates me to try it! I've been really obsessed with low hanging, pendant necklaces lately. It's high time I made some of my own.

Source: pasaj.com via idle on Pinterest

{DIY knit pendant} This isn't a DIY. You could purchase this pendant if you really wanted to, but it's so easy to do yourself, right? I don't want the neon orange; I'm thinking it would look much better in a soft grey or white. (Also, worst shop photo in the world, right?)

Source: plumo.com via idle on Pinterest

{DIY cloud brooches} Also not a DIY, but totally doable. Who can't draw or form a cloud shape? And not as brooches, obviously, as pendants duh.


{DIY photo art} I'm not going to download this and print it (but you can for free!), it just makes me wonder why the hell I'm not printing my own photography to hang in my house. (Currently going through all the photos on my computer and choosing print worthy pieces...)

Friday, August 10, 2012

friday fixations


{dollar shave club} This commercial makes me want to join! (I already use a man's razor anyway. I think they work better and last longer than those prissy women's ones.)

 
{real actors read yelp reviews} Oh! This made me laugh so hard!

 
{the human jukebox} Wait for the dinosaur. Oh hell. Watch it all.


{call me maybe chatroulette} I'm so sick of this song, but this still made me smile.


{how to draw simon's cat} Cuz you need to know how to do that, right? (also see the hedgehog)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

DIY: shower curtain


I never mentioned it but I first attempted this in my own bathroom. I used a double sheet and sewed in some buttonholes to attach it. The whole task seemed rather simple in my head but executing it took me a couple days and a few headaches. Not from the sewing itself, but from the calculating and measuring and figuring. It was all worth it, though, because, let me tell you, I've never had a fabric shower curtain. I've always had a plastic one, and you know what? The fabric makes all the difference!

My next mission was a curtain for Idle Husband's bathroom, so when I stumbled on this adorable Space Invaders sheet, it was like fate! Making a curtain the second time around was much easier than the first. I think I picked up a few tips that would help anyone sew up one of these bad boys and you, too, can spend at the very least 3 bucks (yes!) and an hour or two of time on a brand new shower curtain.

{one} Use a template! The first shower curtain I made out of a sheet, I used measurements to figure the length, width, and distance between buttonholes. I thought it would save me so much time but it ended up frustrating the hell out of me and made me do a whole lot of figuring and math (which I really don't like doing). So even if it pains you (and trust me, it pains all of us), remove your existing shower curtain or curtain liner and use it as a guide for your new one. Lay it out, lay the sheet on top of it and mark and copy everything.

{two} Use the hems you've got! If you play it smart, you should only have to hem two sides of your sheet --the sides you cut. If you're using a twin sheet, even better! As I discovered with the Space Invaders sheet (obviously a twin, duh!), you'll only have to hem the bottom as the width is just a touch too small to bother cutting.


{three} Practice making buttonholes on the actual fabric!  It's very important that you practice the stitches on some of the scrap fabric you get from hemming the sheet to size. Thread tension is really important for buttonholes otherwise, you get a lot of pulling and bunching and weird stitches. The only way to make sure it's 100% correct is to practice on the fabric you're actually going to use. My first curtain has a few wonky buttonholes because I used a different sheet material for practice (eh, I thought, all sheets are the same! NOPE). As it turned out, the tension was all wrong for the actual sheet material I used and I didn't realize it until after I'd screwed up a few stitches. The only real saving grace is the fact that the buttonholes aren't very noticeable once the curtain is hung up, so if they are a little crooked don't worry so much about it. And don't forget, it's not like these buttonholes are going to get the use that an actual button would give them, so you don't have to be too technical about getting the stitches spot on.

If this is your first time sewing buttonholes, you'll have to practice making them anyway, and do practice -- a lot! I would give you a tutorial for doing buttonholes, but every machine is different so it's best to look to your particular model to figure it out. Most machines should come with a buttonhole foot (an absolute must) and, hopefully, a manual which will tell you exactly how to do them. There are a lot of great tutorials on the internet if you need visual help, too.


{four} Don't cut out the buttonholes until you do a final check! Make sure you've hemmed it the right way (if your fabric has an up and down), make sure the buttonholes are evenly spaced, and make sure the buttonholes are on the right end of the fabric before sewing. It's a pain in the ass to take out all of your stitches if you've gotten it wrong but it's completely impossible to fix it once you've cut open the slits! I checked the sheet for hemming. Then I marked the buttonhole locations with a pin, which I then traced over with pencil, then I held it up and visually checked it again. Then I sewed the button stitches first, double checked them again, THEN I ripped out the middles. It's a lot of checking but better safe than sorry!

Anyway, the picture doesn't really do it justice, but the curtain is so adorable! It always makes me smile when I see it (the bathroom is just off the stairs so it's the first thing you see when you come up), it lends a brightness and uniqueness to the bathroom (where are you gonna find that curtain in the stores these days?), and the fabric cost me all of $3! Would it be overkill to have curtains for summer and winter? I feel like making more!

Friday, August 3, 2012

august calendars

1920 x 1080

I liked this photo so much, I kinda went crazy with it for the desktop wallpaper this month! You can get it with or without a calendar and there are three different iphone options, too.

{desktop wallpaper (without calendar)}
ipod/iphone: cherriesblueberriessaskatoons

1920 x1080

{desktop calendar}

And, as usual, here're the printable wall calendars for August.

{printable wall calendars}

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

fruit pops


Eating berries by the handful just wasn't cutting it, so I had to start freezing them.


And you should, too. It's too damn hot not to.


{fruit pops}

Any fruit you've got in any amount you've got (pitted, seeded, skinned, sliced -- if necessary)
a little pot
a little water
a little sugar
a little lemon juice

Put the fruit in a pot. Add a little sugar to your liking; add a little lemon juice for brightness (about a teaspoon); add a little water for berries just to get them started (if you're using peaches or another wetter fruit, you probably shouldn't have to bother). Boil until the berries pop and break down and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a proper blender and puree that way. You have the option of straining the skins out if you want. I did for the saskatoons but my lazy crept in for the others. They're still good, though. Carefully pour into a popsicle mould and freeze until hardened.

{hint} run the pop mould under warm water until the popsicles loosen and you can remove them. Then wrap each pop with plastic wrap and store in the freezer like so. I figure if I'm running the water to remove one, I might as well remove them all at once so that later I can just reach in the freezer and grab a pop as I like.

{suggested} If you don't wanna make popsicles, the resulting mix is really delicious poured on pancakes and added to smoothies!

{warning} you will have blueberry mouth (blue lips, blue teeth) so maybe don't offer a blueberry pop to company.