My Current Read: Design Sponge at Home

Hooray and Happy Monday!

I bet many of you already know about

Design Sponge, a splendid design blog

created by Grace Bonney.

Now, the blog is already a book!

{Cue applause}

I was one of the excited fans who pre-ordered it online and tore off the plastic packaging once it arrived my doorstep.

I breathed in the scent of the freshly printed pages and soaked in all the genius ideas for the home.

And how lucky that Grace gets to have a book tour all over the US & Canada! And it's not just any old boring book tour...there are partnerships with cool stores like West Elm and Anthropologie where she does the book signing, complete with craft sessions, food & drinks and pretty vignettes/backdrops created by Poppies and Posies. Let me show you:

The New York City book signing at West Elm

A lovely vignette showcasing Design Sponge style

using West Elm furniture & accessories

Detail of the photo booth backdrop; guests could pose with

funny cut-outs of hats, glasses & mustaches and then keep

the photo as a souvenir!

The crafting session during the New Jersey book signing

Grace taught eager guests how to customize

cloth items like these napkins

Grace Bonney, signing my book

It's beautifully written and is a wonderful resource

for inspiration. It's divided into 5 sections:

Sneak Peeks is one of my favorite parts of the blog and book...

...offering house/apartment tours

{Isn't there a voyeur in each one of us?!}

DIY Basics provides tutorials on sewing and

updating furniture

Learning to make a curtain panel or slip cover

would be a cool skill to master

Fresh flowers always enliven a room and

suggestions on how to make an arrangement is

the highlight in the chapter, Flower Workshop

I really like how old vessels are

turned from blah to TADA!

with just a few blooms

Before and After reassures you that it's alright

to rescue that chair from the curb or that

frame from the trash...

...because they can be brought back to

life with paint and a new purpose

And there's also DIY Projects which is my theme

for this week. Beginning tomorrow, I'll make some

crafts inspired by the ones from the book.

See you then!

Pop of Neon

This week, we shined the spotlight on crafty fashion bloggers found via The Today Show. I really like it when bloggers get media attention because you know how creative and passionate bloggers are! I also appreciate how many people are so into do-it-yourself projects, whether it's to save money, save the environment, make something unique or simply to brag, "I made that!"

The easy-to-make accessories I featured this week all have a blah to TADA! angle of improving what you already have on hand. And here's a final one by Geneva, author of the blog A Pair & a Spare.

The inspiration: Sass and Bide's neon necklace

blah: an old necklace that needed sprucing up

TADA!: An attention-grabbing neck piece!

The instructions are simple.

You can find them here.

Think about using this paint technique with other blah jewelry you might have or to update the look of vases, plates or picture frames. With the right coat of paint, what was blah will become TADA!

May you all have a creative weekend!

Unlikely Earrings

The Today Show lifestyle editor Bobbie Thomas produced a segment last week about making your own accessories inspired by high fashion. If you are a fashionista but are also into crafting and saving money, you would totally love this.

Today's craft is made out of bike tubes after a tire has gone flat. Now, that's blah to TADA! right there!

Inspiration: leaf-shaped dangling earrings

blah: used bicycle tubes

TADA!: one of a kind earrings!

Visit this site to see how Anna Brones made them.

Have a great Thursday!

A Skirt Make-over

This week, I'm featuring a round-up of fashion-forward accessories headlined at the The Today Show. What's TADA! is that they are all handmade by very crafty bloggers.

Today, it's all about the bag.

The inspiration: this envelope bag

blah: an old, extra-large thrifted skirt made of suede

TADA!: a very sexy shoulder bag

You can follow this tutorial by

Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage.

Aren't you excited to make your own?

ID Necklace

I picked up a few inspirations for D-I-Y accessories from

a segment at the TODAY show.

These ideas are too wonderful, I just had to

share them with you.

Let me begin with the inspiration:

The nameplate necklace made popular by Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw, in the show Sex & the City.

blah: an expired credit card

TADA!: A necklace with your name on it!

This was the mastermind of Yuka, a thrifty shopaholic, entrepreneur and blogger. You can find out how to make your own by following these instructions.

Cool right?

DIY Inspiration

Happy Monday ya' all!

I was watching The Today Show last week where they had a week-long DIY segment that knocked my crafty socks off. Style editor Bobbie Thomas, who covers fashion, beauty & shopping for the program, invited bloggers to re-create accessories seen on the runway. Of course, the results looked high fashion but at a very affordable price. All this week, I'll show you my favorites, starting with this one:

Inspiration: a foil sequin dress & foil snake dress.

The material is shiny & iridescent, like snake skin.

blah: one of the many black dresses

in your closet

TADA!: A new dress using a two-step process.

You'll find all the instructions here and all you

need are foil glue and foil sheets.

According to Bobbie, the garment can

easily be cleaned in the washing machine.

I can't wait to try this!

Get Well Cards

Hello and Happy Friday!

Finding out that someone is sick is a blah.

Whether it's something small as the sniffles

or something major that requires surgery,

a hospital stay or intensive treatment,

it's always a nice gesture to send out

a TADA! get well soon card.

I'm planning to make a few this

weekend and I checked out

ETSY for some inspiration:

Lovely quilled flowers via Paper Daisy

Handmade card & envelope via PaniEva

A humorous card with a guy in a cast

trying to pour beer in a glass

via ableandgame

I like the cursive font & eco-friendly

nature of this card via HappyDappyBits

Isn't chicken soup the best solution

when someone you love is under

the weather?

via JuniperStreetStudios

A healing blanket sounds nice, no?

via SugarNotes

An origami card via JulieDyeCraft

Have a bunch of friends/co-workers

write a get well note on each of

these tags via LazyDayCottage &

tie them to a bouquet of flowers!

Or just say it with chocolates

via Chocolate Says

If you are not feeling well right now,

I wish you a speedy recovery!

Have a terrific weekend everyone!

Ribbon Roses

Thank you for coming over today!

This week, I've been sharing photos from

the "Walk for A Cure" event that I

attended last October 16, benefiting

the American Cancer Society.

Pardon the fuzzy photo; the lady walking in

front of me wore this badge. It says, "I'm

creating a world with more birthdays,"

which is the American Cancer Society's

goal through early detection and

raising funds for the cure.

Isn't that TADA!?

And what a challenge in perspective.

How many times have we complained

on our birthday, "I'm getting old!" or

"I"m another year older!", when in fact

a birthday & a new year added to our

life is a gift that we should never take

for granted because tomorrow

isn't always guaranteed.

Anyway, here's a craft inspiration

for the day:

These are ribbon roses that a lady was selling

at the event. It's a play on the pink ribbon,

the international symbol for breast

cancer awareness.

The folks who bought the roses

wore them in their hair or on

their T-shirts.

You can make your own by using old, blah

ribbon & turning them into TADA! roses.

Just follow the instructions here & here.

Have a nice day!

A Memory Quilt

Happy Wednesday Lovelies!

Yesterday, I told you about Making Strides

Against Breast Cancer, a charity walk

to create awareness and to raise funds.

Being part of the walk on that beautiful Sunday,

the atmosphere was upbeat and everyone

was enthusiastic to walk for their loved

ones battling the disease.

One of the things that captured my attention

was this memory quilt near the starting line:

Each square is dedicated to a memory of

a beloved family member/friend.

Some squares also celebrate survival.

I think this is one TADA! craft to make and give away

for any reason at all -- to show support during a

difficult time or to commemorate a

big birthday or anniversary.

The lucky recipient can hang it on a wall,

lay it on their bed, use it as a throw.

Every time they see it, they know

they are loved.

Here's a TADA! way to go about it: Buy some

fabric and cut it into squares. Give a fabric

square to family members & friends.

Have them decorate these with more

cloth, ribbon embroidery, fabric pens

or iron-on transfers/photos.

Collect the squares and sew them

into a most thoughtful quilt.

TADA!