While I’m no stranger to traveling to far-off places, I also don’t think you need to travel long distances to explore something new—and worthwhile. On a whim, I recently bought “Missouri’s Natural Wonders Guidebook” by Don Kurz. For months now I’ve been aching to get in nature, find new spots, hike, go camping and just roam. This random purchase was my push to get moving, even if just in my own backyard. The book discusses the best natural wonders of Missouri. It features 100 scenic areas in the show-me state including prairies, wildlife areas, springs, waterfalls, swamps, geologic features, caves, trails, woodlands and streams. I live in Missouri, but I hadn’t heard of most of the areas mentioned in this book. I’m ready to grab my boyfriend, grab my dog and get out there. A note on guidebooks So, why did I buy this old-fashioned kinda hokey guidebook? There’s just something about holding a book in your hands, you know? Flipping through the pages with the pad of your thumb. Making notes in the margins and referencing them later. Opening the book, letting the pages fall and reading whatever page fate decides to land on. You can’t get that...
Living Room Gallery Wall
Need some inspiration to actually hang up your pictures, art and prints? A gallery wall is a fun way to display your favorite artwork. Gallery walls make a BIG statement and add A LOT of personality to a room. Did I mention they’re BIG? Their size is probably one of the reasons I had yet to add one to my home. I have a hard time making big decorating commitments, and this was a pretty big one. A whole wall dedicated just to art? What if I didn’t like it? But I got over it. When you really look at it, you’re not knocking out a wall or ripping up your kitchen tile here. You’re just putting a few nails or screws in the wall. So, I went for it. Here are a few tips I learned along the way. Plan, plan, plan The key to a good gallery wall—and less frustration—is planning your wall ahead of time. Gather all of the elements you want to hang, lay them out on the floor and arrange them how you think you’ll want them on the wall. Move items around until you get a look you like. But don’t get your...
Weekend Finds: Neighborhood Garage Sale Galore
Saturday morning garage sale hunting is one of my favorite activities. Especially this time of year when the spring coolness lingers until late morning and you can just browse and enjoy being outside. Yesterday, I was treasure-hunting solo, but usually my twin sister goes along. We both love bargain shopping and get really excited when we spot a good sale. We’re super efficient and can gauge the quality of a garage sale quickly. Without even speaking, we both know if it’s time to leave after just a few glances, or if the sale is worth a closer inspection. Twin intuition or lots of garage sale practice? Hard to say. Garage sale shopping was easy this weekend because the neighborhood across the street from my house was holding a neighborhood garage sale. House after house of garage sales in a small area. My bliss! Here’s what I found: Ship bookends: $2 “Tom Sawyer” book: $0.50 Four small plates: $0.50 Crate: $10 Two mini clipboards: $2 Industrial light (not pictured): $0.50 Silver chandelier (not pictured): $10 These miniature plates were labeled $0.25 each, but I got them all for $0.50. I was immediately drawn to the bird plate and the others went so well...
Featured on Better Kansas City: May 2015
This morning, I was invited to demonstrate how to make wall art using embroidery hoops on Better Kansas City, a local lifestyle T.V. show on KCTV5. This is the second time I’ve gotten to showcase a project on Better Kansas City! I like to show easy do-it-yourself projects that anyone can make. Requiring just fabric, embroidery hoops and scissors, this project is about as easy as it gets. Watch how to make fabric embroidery hoop art below. KCTV 5 Do you think the T.V. segment went well? My favorite part of this project is that it’s so easy-to-change. I’m always moving items around my house and rearranging the furniture, so what I love so much is that as soon as you get tired of the fabric, just change it! I hope that came across. T.V. is a different medium than I’m used to, but I like how it offers an opportunity to show projects in a more hands-on way. Related articles: Published in VintageKC Magazine: Winter 2014 My Column in VintageKC Magazine: Fall 2014 Published in VintageKC Magazine!...
Embroidery Hoop Art
If your walls are feeling bare as bones, but you don’t have the money to buy “art”, then this easy do-it-yourself project is for you. All it takes is some fabric remnants and a few embroidery hoops. (There’s no actual embroidering required with this project, although personally I’m eager to try that next.) Basically, you just place your fabric in the embroidery hoops, trim off the excess and hang your new hoops on the wall. See: Here I just strung several different sized hoops along a piece of twine to create a collection. The display pretties up a bare door. Fabric scraps leftover from other projects make the perfect pieces for this embroidery hoop art project because you don’t need a lot of fabric. I found my fabric remnants a while back at an estate sale for something like $1 each. (Sometimes supply hoarding turns out well for me!) But you can also find cheap remnants at fabric and craft stores. Thick paper will even work. The reddish-orange leaf pattern is actually paper not fabric. Or, you’ll even see I even used the denim leftover from cutting a pair of jeans into shorts. The leg pieces were leftover, so...
DIY Tiered Tray: 5 Different Ways
This tiered tray is one of my favorite do-it-yourself projects ever because of its simplicity—and its dramatic end result. Making your own tiered tray is about as easy as it gets. You simply glue two plates to opposite ends of a candlestick holder using adhesive glue. That’s really it! For full instructions, check out my original tiered tray stand, or watch this video where I explain how to make a tiered tray on Better Kansas City, a local lifestyle T.V. show on KCTV5 in Kansas City. What you’ll need: – Two plates (one large, one small) – One candlestick holder – Adhesive glue (I use Amazing Goop, which you can find at craft stores.) Use plates you already own or check thrift stores and secondhand shops. Finding cute plates at secondhand stores is really easy. I had a fun time shopping around for different options to show you. Since it’s springtime, I went in search of floral plates and I love the different ones I found. There’s a lot you can do with a tiered tray. Here are a five different variations! 1. Mismatched tray stand This is actually my favorite tiered tray stand look. Mix-n-match two plates that don’t have the...
Skeleton Key Wind Chime
For the latest issue of VintageKC magazine, a vintage home décor, fashion, and DIY magazine, a handful of other bloggers and I were challenged to create wind chimes out of vintage, reused or thrifted materials. Immediately, I thought of skeleton keys. What’s more wind chime-y than keys clinking together? Luckily, I had quite a few on hand. After I expressed my love for old skeleton keys to my tool-savvy grandpa a while back, he gives them to me any time he comes across any—and I’ve amassed quite the collection. (You can find them at flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores, too.) The next question was how to structure the wind chime. What was going to hold my skeleton keys in place? I wanted something that would hold up outdoors and that would go with the rustic look of the keys. Randomly, I’d purchased an old mattress spring at a flea market for $1 a while back. Don’t ask me why. I thought it would come in handy sometime. And it did! I decided to use the mattress spring as the base for hanging my skeleton keys. I strung the keys to the spring using 24-gauge craft wire. An old keyhole...