I Don't Need HGTV To Make My Space Awesome

    It is no surprise to anyone that I love to make things to decorate the space that I call my own. I have my innocent obsession with HGTV makeover shows. Now, this has its downfall... I get way too many ideas to make my space look radtastical (yes, that is a word... in my mind at least) and I either don't have an unlimited amount of money to make my gold leaf wall paper line the room or I simply don't have enough room left to make a project happen. So, what do I do? A ton of little epic things! Off I go to the thrift store and dollar stores. They always have such awesome things to either make other items with or fun little trinkets you can make better with very little effort. A mini show off after the jump!

Reginald, My Deer Reginald

   
    Ok, even I'll admit the title is a little corny. Ever so fitting though, don't you think? I was moseying around on pinterest.com and came across these felt mounted animal heads. There was a precious little doe, a soft bunny, a squirrel looking chipper and I believe an adorable skunk. They were all a little too whimsical and didn't have enough of their attributes played up. I thought to myself, "Hmm, I'm sure I could whip something up that looked halfway decent." That is exactly what I did, I made a buck named Reginald.

No Creations Doesn't Mean No Creativity

    I haven't exactly been super busy photographing any of my latest creations. However, I have been thrift store hunting and craftgawker.com stumbling (oi... that is a death trap... got stuck flipping through the endless pages for HOURS!). After creating Reginald, to be explained in a post in the near future, I needed to give my little fingers a break from creating things. What I have book marked, saved into the all important "art ideas" folder on my laptop, and just plain jotted down in my idea book has come to a point where I feel I must share some inspiration. Don't need to be selfish with my collected goodies, now do I?  Ideas after the jump!

Hot 'N Steamy

    My love of all things steampunk never fails. I have FINALLY received my long anticipated package from India with a handful of old watch faces and guts. So what did I do?

All Nice And Cozy

    Prepare for a post that is fairly obese with pictures!

    My lovely neighbor/crafting companion Denise asked if I would make a bunch of coffee cozies for her fellow officer's wives. Happily I obliged. Each lady had a special color felt picked out just for her personality as well as a button (or two) that matched her disposition. I felt like I knew each of these gals a bit after I made each piece. Some were organic in nature, light hearted and girly, bold and fun, and there were also a few refined and classic. Crazy what you can get from two pieces of felt and a button or two. Needless to say, I had a ton of fun making these little cozies.

A Battle Entered And Won

Working the the wedding industry I have seen every type of cake/cupcake flavor imaginable; strawberry and lemon tart, coffee and caramel, chocolate, vanilla and orange, and yes... red velvet. I generally stay away from eating the sweets at weddings because lets face it, eating cake every weekend can have quite a negative effect on someone. There is one weakness though, red velvet. It is quite a trendy flavor in the industry currently, but I have loved that flavor since who knows how long. Having never been a fan of chocolate, this very light hint of chocolate was surprisingly pleasing to my pallet. However, MOST bakers DO NOT get the cake right. Too much chocolate, a cupcake paper full of frosting and a smidge of cake, too dense,  and the worst... too dry.

Up On A Pedestal

    As many of those in my life know, I LOVE old school/classic/retro things. Mildly obsessed? Maybe.. but I haven't acknowledged I have a problem yet, therefore my problem doesn't exist! (Perfect logic... don't question it.) As most of you also know, I refuse to pay top dollar for pretty much anything. I'm a college kid dammit! Haha! What I can't purchase on a budget I create, and I create quite frequently. It has its downside and upside. I may not be able to have the snazziest store bought things, but no one else has the nifty little trinkets I make with my own two hands. Personally, I think that results in some of the more unique pieces.

The Topiary I Can't Kill

 
  I have loved topiaries since forever, they are fancy schmancy and frankly just adorable. However, I  don't have the patience for the ivy bush to grow nor the skill to make a chunk of ivy look like an elephant balanced on a ball (it would end up looking like I had a mild seizure while wielding garden shears, yikes).

    Soooooo, instead of going grand, I thought small scale. I didn't think it was absolutely necessary to have a giant potted ivy bush in a 2 foot tall pot on my porch to sport the topiary look. A small 3 inch tall pot seemed to do the trick just fine. Since keeping plants alive is not exactly my forte, I opted to go the nifty not live route. Some foam core as dirt, a styrofoam ball to shape the top, moss as my ivy, and a wooden dowel for the trunk and I had myself a suitable base for my topiary. Lets not forget to mention the grip of hot glue used to make these suckers. I didn't have too much trouble with this project surprisingly, though I will mention that hot glue is hot (duh) and it oozes up to the top of the moss when you press down on it to adhere it to the core. Learned that one the hard way. Oops... haha. See my result after the jump!

Blue Ribbon Worthy

    While tooling around the craft store (bad idea to go into one with out a list... I always walk out with more than I intended), I saw the most adorable paper ribbons. The precious zig zag/crinkle, a little sparkleness tossed on, a nice message proclaiming a job well done, and that sharp look of the paper ribbon tassels below all the decoration. Then my eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the price tag. How can three layers of paper, a bit of adhesive and glitter be damn near $7?! The supplies cost $1... maybe... $1.50 if you wanna get real fancy with it. Being the crafty chick we all know I am, I said, "Nay! I will not pay seven times the cost of supplies for something that can easily be made!"