Weekly Inspiration

My husband and I got married almost one year ago, on October 10, 2010. I was 8 months pregnant at the time and it was kind of a last minute decision so we decided not to do the traditional wedding. We had a small very informal ceremony at the Old Mill park in North Little Rock. We decided that since not everyone could be there, a year later we would have a family celebration. It's almost time! I thought I'd share some of my inspirations with you.

Source: etsy.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I love the basic shape of this simple chiffon dress. I want mine to have the same outline, but I want to do something a little different with the bodice. I'm also just using cotton instead of chiffon.

Source: flickr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

This is a detail from Marilyn Monroe's famous dress from The 7 Year Itch. I love the detail in the midsection and plan on doing something similar for my dress. Yes, I'm going to sew myself a dress and yes it will be the first piece of women's clothing I've ever made. Wish me luck!

Source: hostessblog.com via Ashley on Pinterest

This lovely party on Hostess with the Mostest has heavily influenced my theme. I want a woodland theme but nothing too cutesy. I plan on lots of little toadstools on my table.Also lots of moss and rocks and moss rocks.

Source: emersonmerrick.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I'm kind of obsessing over terrariums, especially the ones under bell jars like these. Mine will most likely be in humble recycled jars but hopefully still have a whimsical feel.

Source: theknottybride.com via Ashley on Pinterest

For my cake topper, I want to sculpt an autumn tree and have our initials carved in it like this one. I also want 6 little toadstools at the base to represent our 6 children. I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to pull it off, but I'm going to try!

Source: diywedding.org via Ashley on Pinterest

Lastly, here's what I plan on doing for the favors. Instead of printing on the paper, I want to use my brown craft paper and a hand carved stamp with chalk ink. I haven't decided what to put inside yet.

I also plan on lots of pumpkins and bunting. Man, I love the fall! I'm so excited to have my little faux wedding. :)

Weekly Inspiration

Autumn is finally coming! The maple trees are starting to turn and the weather today is fantastic! I've been pinning autumn ideas like crazy. Here's what's been inspiring me this week:

Source: polishthestars.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Pottery Barn inspired decor. Megan at Polish the Stars gives a tutorial on staining the fabric, printing directly onto fabric and making this lovely wall hanging. Perfect for Halloween.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Ashley on Pinterest

This would be great to make with some thrift store wool sweaters or even just craft felt.

Source: fiskars.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Pumpkins and sewing-- two of my favorite things! I think it beats the traditional tomato any day.

Source: dana-made-it.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Dana at Made always delivers! This post is what made me start following her blog. I've got a lot of leftover fall color felts that will be great for this.

Source: quinceandquire.typepad.com via Ashley on Pinterest

So simple and so lovely.

Source: tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Easy, simple fall decor. I'm going to print it and hang it on the fridge. :)

Source: imgur.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Oh, how I wish it looked like that here! Breathtaking!

I love the fall. It's my favorite time of year. What's been inspiring you this week?

My Grown-up House

It may seem strange to say, but I feel myself slowly realizing that I am, in fact, a grown up. With a real house and family of my own and a car and everything. It's strange because until recently I have always looked at certain things and said to myself "Someday..."  As in, "Someday I will have a house of my own with a yard and I can do all this cool stuff." And someday is here, has been here for a little while now. So I think I'm going to start concentrating on making my home the way I have dreamed it would be.

Most of my craft efforts have been focused on making gifts for other people. While I love doing that, it occurred to me that I can also make things for myself and my home (duh!). I have started doing some actual decorating from scratch with Lex's room and am very pleased with it so far. I think my first order of business will be to finish his room up. Here are some pictures of it when we first moved in.

When we first looked at the place, I fell in love with all these windows! Aren't they great? I've done a lot with his room, but I'll save those pictures for another post.

The rest of my house is another story. See, most of my furniture is inherited and is kind of a hodge podge of different styles and woods. Likewise, most of my decorative pieces have been acquired piecemeal over the years with no real design in mind. As I look around, I see things I have had since high school and I'm thinking it's time for a change. It's time for some design. Here's a look at my living room when we first moved in.

There have been some changes (like getting rid of that sad chair), but it's still very similar.

So, I've decided to start a new series called "My Grown-up House." I am going to room-by-room redecorating on a very small budget. I'm basically going to be transitioning from a college apartment to a more grown-up, cohesive space.

There are still other somedays like "Someday when I own my own house..." or "Someday when Lex is bigger..." but I can still wait for those.

My Newest Obsession

Don't you just love that feeling of excitement and wonder you feel when you stumble upon something that you never knew existed and absolutely love? I'm basking in the glow of it right now because I have discovered the world of miniatures!

I have to admit, I've always been a bit of a craft snob. I would see things made by people that I thought were really tacky, and it would turn me off to the whole craft. It's the reason I waited so long to try out crochet and why I've always sort of snubbed anything to do with dolls (except Barbie dolls, that is :) ). I have come to realize that I was being a bit close-minded and not seeing each craft's potential.

Here is the dollhouse that first inspired me.



Isn't it amazing!? Someday I will do one as fancy as this, but I decided to start with something a bit simpler.  What really got me to take the leap from thinking to doing was this craftalong on Craftster. The creator, Knickertwist, does amazing "wee houses" and other whimsical miniature things. She uses the Creatology kits you can get at Michael's for cheap and suggested we do the same. I got the "fantasy" dollhouse and am thrilled with it so far.(The link I used for Amazon lists it at $49.99, but it only cost $12.99 at Michael's.)



Here is the front. I'm loving the light main color with the black accents.



This is the back. As you can see, there are four rooms including the attic.



And here is a good view of the porch and terrace. Isn't she lovely?

Thanks to my fellow Craftsters, I have discovered a myriad of resources for both tutorials and ready-made pieces. I have been having a field day on Pinterest. Check out my board! I'm doing a sort of spooky, sort of Victorian style house. You can read my house's back story on my board description.

There are so many times that I find a new craft and love it for a little while, but then my passion fizzles out.  With this one, I've been going strong for the last two weeks and have been overflowing with ideas. I can't wait to start on the interior and start molding things with polymer clay. The possibilities are endless!