Host Your Own!

Over at NewlyWife today. Talking a bit about Whatever Craft Weekend and thoughts on how to host your own craft event! Come stop by!

Craft Weekend House

Hello readers! Do I still have some of those?! At this point, I'd doubt it. Major blog-slacker. Ugh. But I'm here with something to post about. Yippie!! I just got back from an AMAZING weekend in Kansas. Kansas?! You may be screaming. Yup! I got the best opportunity to join a dozen other woman from around the US for the weekend with Meg and Kimberlee at their Whatever Craft Weekend. Seriously, inspiration OVERLOAD. Before getting to the recap, here are a few snapshots of the house.

And those were just from downstairs. {How I miss capturing the charming upstairs is beyond me!!}

Showering with Love {Bridal Shower}

Hop over to Newlywife to check out the fun, lavender-filled shower we threw for my sweet friend, Lindsay! Who's getting married THIS month! YAY!

Glitter and Gloss Craft Day

A few weeks ago, I got to leave the boys in good hands {W} and spend SEVEN hours crafting with some fabulous girls. Spoiled, I know! I pumped extra for T the days leading up to the event and was actually quite nervous since this was the first time he'd be taking a bottle. Thankfully, he was super chill and went with the new program. And I got to craft...for SEVEN hours!

Check out more of the great girl time event from Heather via Glitter and Gloss blog.

IG ::Sharing the Love::

Those who know me know I kinda love Instagram. Kinda alot. It's basically the improved twitter since it's a feed of pictures with captions, although I never did twitter. It's a little peek into whatever the person is seeing, eating, buying, cleaning out of the carpets from their kids, etc...you get the idea. Even better are the fun filters and the square size. Truly, Instagram is so square.

Not too far into my discovery of this fun app, I started to venture beyond friends and family that I knew. It was kinda scary but I liked their style and taste so I thought it would fun to enhance my feed a bit. I started with bloggers I follow and it kinda spread from there. Now there are a few favorites that I pretty much love every single picture they post and they are quite inspiring. Yet they have no clue who I am or maybe even that I'm following. Maybe it's their photography, style, products they like, or ideas they share. 

Wanna know a little trick? If I see something I like, I take a screen-shot so it's saved into my photos. Maybe it's a paint color they used to paint their living room, or a new product they just bought, or a latest DIY project that I want to show W. And another trick I use to find new people is the "Following" section in news. It shows you who loved or commented on others' IGs. I've found a few more random people to follow from that.

So here are some of my "you don't know me in real life" IG-ers that I personally love along with a few of my favorite pictures. I found as I was making this that I'm 90% vintage and only 10% modern, preppy or classic. Guess I'm drawn to the whimsy, old, and hodge-podged. All that to say, these may not inspire you, specifically, but perhaps it'll just be an encouragement to use IG for inspiration. Find people who share things you love but take it up a notch.

I'm gonna get that 10% over now... ;)

IGer: Glitter Guide

She's got expensive and glamorous taste. And every once in a while there be something she shares that I could potentially put on a wishlist. ;)

On to the 80%...

IGer; Cubby Graham

Just started following him and can't even tell you how I stumbled upon him. But he does great things that make you wonder how come your iphone doesn't get shots like these. He does have a waterproof case which allowed for that first picture. I also learned about the trends of photoidgrams and ollograms..which uses that small extra lens for a special effect.

IGer: Miss Sew and So

Australia based with a cuuuute cottage house. She does great beach pics too.

IGer: Denise Bovee

IGer: Kirsten Rogers

Big following of over 9,000 people! She's a photographer by trade so you know her pics are going to be great. She also homeschools her kiddos so its fun seeing their daily adventures.Truly beautiful everyday living. It was hard only picking four.

IGer: Joy Prouty

So I've left my favorite for last. She's also a photographer by trade in Southern California. In fact she posted about a garage sale she was having and it killed me to watch the feed that day and the days leading up to it. Would have loved snagging some of her vintage finds! She gets asked all the time if the pictures she posts are taken with an iphone. They are hard-to-believe good. And her love of farm life and wide open spaces make my heart skip a beat! And with over 3,500 pictures, she keeps her followers happy with all her artwork!

So, do you follow anyone whose "follower" numbers triple or more the number they are following?! Anyone whose pictures you look forward to seeing? Perhaps you found a few more to add to your feed if you use IG. 

oh, ps... I'm thats_sew_swenson on IG! Come find me! :)

{disclaimer: don't worry, Mom. I'll show you how to use it again soon!}

Circle Garland Tutorial

I became a circle garland fan with our dining area re-do. I'm finally getting around to that tutorial. For this garland, I used felt but the one hanging in my house is made of paper. Both are great mediums to use. Obviously, felt is much more durable and hardy than paper. But the steps and outcome are the same.

I started with tracing lots and lots of circles.

Cut, cut and more cutting.

Into stacks.

Next, I worked out my pattern...

 Then dumped them into bowls...

Almost good enough to eat, eh?

Seriously, love felt.

Time for assembly! Basically, I just fed the felt circles through the feed-dog and the foot; making sure to keep the foot down the entire time. Once it catches, it moves through on its own. Continue to feed the felt through and adding each new circle until it catches. Don't worry if a few stitches pass before the next circle catches, the spacing won't matter in the end.

I kept my bowls close so I could just grab a new circle fast and feed it through. The biggest pain is keeping up with the pattern and getting circles in fast enough.

And out comes the garland on the other side.

In no time at all, you'll have a super long garland...

Ready to hang up...

or wrap up for transfer!

Easy way to add some whimsy to a room or party!

Meet Our New Backyard

The biggest event/project that we tackled over the long weekend was our pathetic backyard. Now, looking back of course, I wish I took 'before' pictures for the full effect. But during, I thought for sure you, dear reader, would have lost complete faith in our ability to keep-house. Just imagine: toys strewn about, a patio table set sent from the 80s that my parents generously donated during their move five years ago, a random rectangle of fake grass cluttered with giant tree stumps and dried dog poop, and neglected planting pots stacked haphazardly. A giant jasmine bush that hasn't been pruned in ages and could be mistaken for Cousin It. Don't forget the miscellaneous weeds here and there that climb to your knees. Got that imagine? Now see why I didn't want to include a 'before' picture?! 

Our backyard wasn't always so neglected. W has spent hooooours out there trying to get it back in order. But it really was a two day project and we never had two consecutive days that we wanted to spend back there. {So grateful that we did a fun adventure weekend last weekend so we could be content to stay at home.} The other problem was we kept the few items that we wanted to get rid of in the hopes that we would trash them soon. That never happened. This time we really did the dirty work and moved them out of the backyard. We finally had a blank slate. The back now has designated purposes and has so much more room! Seriously, we made a break-through.

I pulled out lights and our recycled tire chalkboard {that I bought from our local antique fair} from the garage; both I got two years ago. 

We used the lights to section off the 'dining/lounge' area which is right outside of the sliding door.

As you can tell, we don't have anything to sit or eat off of yet! Still working up a plan for that one.

Next, we randomly found a stake out here which I knew would work perfectly to complete this project. W nailed the boards in and we stuck it into the ground next to our baby lemon tree.

E and I potted the rosemary and mint this week. And I put up a burlap banner I made for a friend's upcoming outdoor wedding. I may not want to let it go, but it needed a good temporary home to motivate me to finish the rest of the crafts for her event.

The little plant area sits next to E's hoop and basket of outdoor toys. The open space is available for a kiddie pool during the summer or maybe a little sandbox. We're still planning on putting a large chalkboard against the wall for the boys to use, but like the furniture, that's a project for another day.

Even if we aren't outside, I turn on the lights every night. They are fun enough to enjoy even from inside the house.

So amazing what a simple box of lights and a couple of lanterns can do to enhance the mood. :)

We're kinda obsessed with the space now and have had several picnics outside since the weekend. It's gonna be a fun summer! Now, if only we can fully complete the back before summer's end I'll be ecstatic! Nonetheless, I'm in love and so glad we put in the two days that were needed to get 'er done!