Fireside

With the start of a rainy day we thought we'd share this post with you!

We love the cozyiness of sitting by a fire, especially under a sky studded with stars on a late summer night. What we like even better is to recreate this feel at home when you really need a night under the open sky but cant get away for a weekend of camping. Here are a few ideas to create your own little outdoor retreat at home...

A full on campfire may not be a possibility in your own backyard, but a nice sized fire pit will be just as cozy and is easy to make. Check out these great DIY instructions to create your own. If  you want the feel of the fire but on a smaller scale, check out how to make a tabletop fire pit here.

Create your own little fire bundles with aromatic herbs and botanicals. Wrap rosemary, lavender or pine in newspaper and tie off with twine. Throw into the fire for a burst of that woodland scent.

We love good food. It doesn't have to be fancy, just good quality and shared in good company. Campfire food to us immediately says cozy and comforting. Roast marshmallows on skewers. Give your s'mores a little twist by adding a salted dark chocolate (this is our favorite mid range brand) and a handmade graham cracker (we love this recipe by smittenkitchen).

Make your fireside event your own... for more cozy inspiration check out the etsy treasury we've put together to help you complete the look!

Get Organized for 2012

We know with the New Year there are a lot of new resolutions to attend to. We asked around and it seems many of you want to start the year off with an organized (and stylish) home. Here are some of our favorite organizing tips and inspirations to get you started in the right direction!

We love using vintage pieces like a locker to house items like books, photo albums and magazines that tend to end up in messy piles if not contained. Add a pop of color with a fresh coat of paint. For those of you who like a rustic look and can tackle a little DIY, these shelves made from wooden palettes are an awesome way to create unique and stylish storage. For quick and easy clean up, use a magnetic strip (from Ikea) to quickly contain metal cars and toys. We love the graphic quality of little vintage toy cars lined up in a child's room! For your craft space, try using a garden storage system with tins and buckets to hold pens, markers and other bits of crafty goodness! And last but not least, don't overlook a piece you might already have. Old wooden crates look fabulous mounted on a wall for a quick and easy display!

DIY Glitter Table Numbers

Made these gorgeous glitter table numbers today with a few simple craft store items...
Found this amazing new glitter spray called Gitter Blast by Krylon at Arch. You have to get the glitter blast line, I was blown away by the saturation, coverage and sparkle!!!! I did 13 table numbers and bases with just one can.

Start with wooden craft letters from Michaels about 2.99 a letter. If you can find paper mache ones that would work too.

Hot glue the numbers onto these little wooden plaques with a beveled egde about 80 cents a plaque, also at Michaels.

Do a light to medium spray of regular gold spray paint. I just did this as a precaution so as not to use as much glitter spray. I may not have even needed this base coat, but its good for any missed spots. Once base coat dries its time for...

GLITTER!!!!! Spray on the glitter blast. The paint goes on thick and covers beautifully. It dries quickly too and doesn't shed! Seriously this is the most amazing glitter spray ever.  One tip is it sprays on kinda foamy. Dont' spray too close or you get little bubbles or drips.

These would be great in letter stoo for a birthday, anniversary, new years party etc... think 2012 in glitter!!!!!

Fun Find: Kokeshi Doll Gift Bags

I have been seeing kokeshi dolls pop up everywhere these days. I just came across these kokeshi doll gift bags and I had to share them with you. They are absolutely adorable & super affordable. I could see them incorporated into so many different types of parties...a children's tea party, a sushi party, an around the world event. They could be used simply as a party favor bag, or why not set them up as a collection on a mantlepiece, or have them line the middle of a table serving as a centerpiece. You could play off the fun colors in the design of the bags with a color palette of soft pink, brighter pink, a soft buttery yellow and an accent of black.  I love that they are made of 100% recycled hand made paper consisting of cotton fabric remnants with traditional silk screen printing. Pretty amazing.