Greening the Indoors

Design Sponge is a blog I visit regularly

and I got really excited when the book,

Design Sponge at Home, came out.

I perused it immediately and even

attended the book party!

I just had to try out the crafts in the

DIY Projects section.

One of the projects is making your own terrarium.

If you recall, I made my own TADA! terrarium

using blah jars & bottles earlier this year.

The book suggests using ferns and succulents. I have never tried planting succulents. I greatly considered them because they are fairly easy to maintain. So instead of a terrarium, I'm planting them in these ceramic pots:

I use them for growing herbs in the summer, but they're

empty & in storage the rest of the year.

So here I am, trying to grow succulents.

I'm starting off with a Jade plant that I

bought at the Union Square Farmer's Market.

TADA! Just the right amount of

green I need indoors.

Here's how I planted it:

My jade plant fresh from the market

I transferred it into my ceramic pot

Add some moisture

Then top it off with some moss and

white pebbles from Sprout Home.

I certainly hope it lasts throughout

the winter because something green

and alive helps chase the winter

blues away.

If you have any tips on growing

succulents, please send them my way.

Thanks!

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!