a little spring in your step

I'm sure everyone is feeling the same way about summer after this tragically long and brutal winter. As much as I love boots, my feet are sick of being smothered.

Dear spring, please be kinder, i'm cold and tired of wool.

So thanks to a very kind friend who rewards me in gift cards, I picked up these sandals from Target last night. I absolutely adore the blue pair: the braid, the straps, the color, but the yellow pair kind of snuck up on me. However, I think they'll be perfect with the nautical outfits and the flowy skirts.

With the addition of these, along with the other two pair of flats that magically appeared in my closet recently, I fear that a very large shoe purge is in order. Any size 7s out there?

and now for something the same

This is the last and final post about all things Kate. I finally mailed everything to her this past week and I know I know, 3 full months to get photos to the bride? Luckily she was patient with me, and because she was a friend I adjusted and photoshopped a LOT of her pics, say 97% of them. Because who doesn't want everything to just pop?

So here is a final send-off to that fantastic and frigid December wedding, with some of my favorite shots {some repeats, some new}:

So goodbye Kate and Paul, and I wish you the most happiness in a world of endless possibilities.

write it down

To reduce confusion I spray painted some chalkboard paint onto these glass jars from Target.

I'm in love with 'Rust-Oleum' chalk board spray paint and 'FrogTape' painters masking tape. Everything in this house will be labeled eventually.

it's a pincushion! it's a tutorial! it's totally rad!

Are you sick of pincushions yet? {Or exclamation points for that matter?!?} I know i'm not, but I like things in multiples, so it's hard to judge. Here is the tutorial that two very cool people asked me to post. It's pretty much a rip-off of an online tutorial I found, but the link no longer works for me, so here's my version:

Supplies needed: hot glue gun, ball jar with removable lid center, stuffing, cardstock, scissors, fabric, pencil/pen, coordinating pins.

Step 1: Trace your lid center onto the back of the fabric you'll be using and the piece of cardstock you need. Cut the fabric leaving about .5 - .75" excess around your drawn circle. Cut the cardstock on the actual drawn line.

Step 2: Place stuffing on wrong side of fabric, then put lid center on top.

Step 3: Push through lid top and hot glue edges of fabric down.

Step 4: Hot glue cardstock to bottom of lid center. This isn't necessary but it gives it a clean look. You could probably do the same thing with ribbon or more fabric.

Step 5: Reattach to jar, insert coordinating pins and voi la! You're done.

Step 6: Sit down and admire your craftiness. Preferably with some hot tea and a brownie in hand.

{A Tinkerwiththis crafty tip: look in unusual places for small amounts of inexpensive fabric. Like clearance cloth napkins or baby receiving blankets. This fabric is Liberty of London men's boxer shorts! I bought it on clearance for only a couple of dollars.}

pins and needles

and the wiener is....JEN!

Congrats to you and thanks to everyone for participating. We'll be having more of these soon. All the links are great for inspiration and ideas and I'm excited to try a couple of the things.

So Jen, all you need to do is pick one of the two below, and email me your shipping info to tinkerellenATyahoo.com.

Thanks and happy monday everyone!

craft night project reveal and a contest: pincushions abound

It was a lovely night, filled with the dog under our feet, delicious pie and good company. We all worked on our random projects and I was delighted with how many of these pincushion projects I was able to crank out.


These two were made from mini casserole dishes, one for me, one for gifting...I loved the coordinating pins I found in my stash. These were made by tracing the dish on the back of the fabric, cutting with a 1" allowance along the border, hand sewing through the edge and then pulling on the thread and bunching the fabric into a bowl shape. I added some stuffing and then hot glued the fabric 'bowl' to the inner edge of the dish. This would probably work great with anything from tea cups to small bowls to gravy servers!

These other versions were made using the ball canning jars, where the tops are removable. See the link in my previous post for the tutorial. They were so quick and easy to make too. And they have extra storage for ribbon, pins, measuring tape, whatever you need handy and visible.

I'll be giving away one of these small jar pincushion to a lucky reader. Just comment here with a project you want to do, want to see craft nighters make, or just something that caught your eye. You have to have a link in your comment to be entered. I will close the contest and announce the winner next monday...happy researching!

craft night mish mash

So this week, all are welcome of course, but we're basically doing a 'whatever you're working on' night. I have a few projects to do for some people, along with a few fun things to get to. My night will basically go like this:

Cake stands
Appliqued onesies
Pin-cushion jars

Anyone have other brilliant quick project ideas??

the gang

So here they are, the rest of the craft night purchases. Once the weather warms up and I have the time to work on them, they'll be transformed into delightful creatures. For now they are wretched and homely. And due to a complete bathroom design, they may stay that way for a while.

You know, it's difficult enough designing an entirely new bathroom, but throw in a complete opposites taste couple and it's doomed. Here's to compromise becoming my new best friend!

craft night project reveal

So our craft night field trip was AWEsome. MB and I couldn't stop the idea pouring through our heads as we strolled through aisles of pottery, dinnerware and candlesticks. I have quite a few more to make from my purchases, but those needed painting, and since there's currently snow on the ground, the weather just isn't peak for spray painting. For now I give you the easy ones:

This piece consists of a funky teal plate we found and a squat white glass vase, $2 each. I think they look splendid together {thanks MB!} and it's a hefty enough piece now to hold fruit, desserts, seashells, or whatever your fancy...

These two are my favorites so far. I think they'll have a new life on my dresser corralling random jewelry. Both bases were candlestick/pillar holders. I really love the brass/bronze warm base contrasting the white of the ceramic. The plate version cost $3.69, and the tulip bowl version was $4.00.

I affixed the pieces using a calking gun and some Loctite construction adhesive which was about $5 but should cover me for all the projects I'll be making. I'm thinking these will make great inexpensive gifts for eclectic entertaining...

bridge the design

So with the rest of the house in disarray, there's really only a few cozy corners of retreat. This is our one corner of the living room that's actually set-up, and where we spend our tv-time.

I made all the pillow covers myself and i'm in love with birds right now, so the clearance target tablecloth was the best solution for a spring look. I think it was $4 and I still have leftovers for minor sewing projects.

The couch came with us from Brooklyn and although the bonded leather isn't the prettiest, it's holding up well to the new paw prints. It also doubles as a full-size sleeper, so it may have a second life in the guest room or craft room.

Above the couch is one of my photographs of the brooklyn bridge. It's one of my favorites and it makes me happy to see it every time I walk in here. I had Staples print it as an engineering blueprint at 20x28". It's basically a large print out on a plain white paper, but it only cost me about $2, so along with the as-is IKEA frame at $10, I have a large piece of art for $12. Can't beat that...

And just so you know i'm not always so put together, that lampshade is totally jimmy-rigged on the base, so don't touch it or it shifts around...the husband LOVEs that!