Transitions

Whenever transitions happen, I tend to get very creative, unintentionally. I start a bunch of projects, organize stuff, and just do a lot of things. Like right now? I decided to try to make my own backpack for next year (almost done, hopefully). Last week? Blueberries and peaches were on sale at Sprouts, so I decided to do some canning.

I was definitely winging it. For one, I've always had someone else doing the actual canning, and babying me through it, but this was all me. Also, I didn't totally follow a recipe. I don't like the idea of a jam being mostly sugar, so I used Pomona's Universal Pectin and followed the directions on there + the directions on this blog for blueberry jam. But I also referenced Paula Deen's recipe for blueberry lemon jam to add more lemon in (more lemon, far less sugar = so good). With the peaches I made peach-rosemary jam (from Martha Stewart), again using the Pomona's Universal Pectin to reduce the sugar. It was more savory than the blueberry, but both were very good.

Another creative project I took on? Re-doing the blog design. I really like it. Simplifying.

$7 "Keds"

First I saw these magical lavender Keds on Pinterest last week:

Then I found this awesome tutorial for dying canvas shoes:

via sweet verbena

And then I made these:

Thoughts:

• I tried sewing the elastic into the shoes at first, but that was super hard, and I was pretty sure if I kept going I'd finish the project with a few fingers punctured. So I gave up and went with shoelaces.
• I kind of wish I would have spent the extra $2 to buy a package of grey dye, too. I think adding a little bit of grey to the purple dye would have helped it match the tone of the original keds that inspired this project. Oh well!
• I also replaced the insoles with Dr. Schooll's insoles (about $10). Hopefully that will make these shoes more comfortable to wear at out and about for longer stretches of time.
• All in all, this project cost about $7 ($17 if you count the insoles, but that's of course optional): $5 for the white canvas sneakers at Wal-Mart, and under $2 for the dye at Joann's fabric (I think the dye is usually a few cents more, but they were on sale).
• I bought one extra pair of the canvas sneakers, but I haven't decided what to do with them next. Maybe glitter!?

Update:

Martha Stewart Glitter Paint, $3 at Michael's. So good.

Easy Card Tutorial

Notes:

• On my printer, the card went in the right side of the paper tray, but I'm not sure if other printers are different. I recommend testing on a regular piece of paper first before you put your cards in.

• The cards I used were purchased at my local craft store-- it's a brand that sells 40 blank cards for about $10. It's a pretty sweet deal, and the base designs themselves are beautiful. I usually use them plain, just for little notes to people, but this is an easy way to add a personalized touch to the card without causing your craft room to explode with scrapbooking supplies.

Giving

World: 

The We Are Women Project is still selling books (for 25% off in January, use code LULUBOOK305), and will be re-releasing the book in a couple months, but expanded, and in a hardcover format. As always, all proceeds from both books go to the Campaign to End Fistula to help improve maternal healthcare in third world countries.

Local:

Knitting scarves for the Love Scarf Project. I'm just about done with #2, and I'm hoping to get 2 more done this week. The scarves will be donated to City of Hope in Los Angeles, CA to be given to cancer patients for Valentines Day. (They are collecting both knitted/crocheted caps and scarves).

Self:

I have no idea what I'm giving to myself, but in an attempt to get people thinking about it, we're asking for "I Am" statements over at the We Are Women Project. Like this:

"I am a lover, and am loved in return."

We've gotten a few, but we really want a lot more! We're collecting submissions through January, and will begin posting them in February. (I used picnik.com to edit the photo, which is way fun and easy to use). Send them to me at allison a barnes @ gmail . com (without the spaces, of course).

Ruche

Ruche is a vintage inspired boutique with very reasonable prices and very cute clothes.
Check them out here.

[Find it here]

[Find it here]

[Find it here]

Want to make your own romper?
Check out the tutorial that my dear friend Andrea created for FabricWorm!

Also check out this vintage 80's jumper from SeeSaw Vintage.
It's currently on sale for $20, and I can't see that deal lasting long!

Happiness

 Check out this article: 

"9 things to do to be happy in the next 30 minutes."

[Photo by me with my golden half]

I Made This For You.

Stephen and Shauna of "Something's Hiding In Here" are the cutest,
and I think their gifts to each other are adorable,
as are their vintage bikes.

Hint to Future-Husband:
Stephen knows how to treat his wife.
Hint. Hint.

Embroidery Patterns

The talented artist Sarah Jane (mentioned previously here) has now made embroidery patters of her calendar prints. You can order a pdf of any pattern for $4.25 here. So cute, and so tempting!

more tables and settings.

[Audra Medunitza, via Style Me Pretty]

To achieve a similar table:

[Click on the photos to go to the sources!]

tables and settings continued...!

Remember yesterday's post?
Here are some options from Anthropologie
to create your own whimsical table settings:

Pie Love You.

This year I'm concentrating on reading: reading for fun, reading my scriptures, and actually reading for my English classes (you'd be surprised how little reading I actually did for my Brit Lit classes back in '07-'08).

This year Kimberly is baking 52 pies, because she loves her husband.

I'd say both of our goals are very worthwhile.


Check out Kimberly's blog, Pie Love You, where you can find the recipes and reviews of all the pies she makes this year.

make your own!

My plans for handmade Christmas gifts has kind of gone downhill. Dad's present is half done, but that's the non-handmade part, and the handmade part might not ever happen. Sorry, Dad. I'll blame this one on my troublesome sewing machine.

Anyway, despite my lack of creativity, Christmas is almost here, and you still have time to do some last minute crafting! Here are some great places to start:

[Click on the photos to go to the sources!]