Distressing Furniture

The hubs and I have been blessed with families that unloaded their old furniture onto us when we moved out.  Which is actually kind of awesome because we saved lots of money.  But it's less awesome when the furniture is outdated and non-matching.  Luckily for us, I'm a thrifty DIY kinda gal!

I did some serious research (ahem) on Pinterest, and consulted my copy of the very 90's DIY paint book Debbie Travis Painted House (thanks Mom!).  And came up with this!

This and That

So much for my 2013 goal of being a more consistent blogger!  I blame it partially on this little munchkin who has recently started walking (!!!):

 And also THIS little furball who we have added to our family:

The Joy of Quick-Wins

Sometimes just a minor effort gives maximum reward.  Like changing the buttons on an old sweater to update your look.

Super fun!

Happy Friday everyone!
xxx
Caramia

Sewing Inspiration: Downton Abbey and the Roaring 20's

Welp - I am officially on the Downton Abbey train!

Not that I didn't think I would like it.... au contraire bonjour!  (ps: that is a Ladies' Man reference).  It has everything I like in a show...  history, drama, intrigue, British accents, Maggie Smith, the English countryside, and period costumes!

DIY Fabric Necklace

I saw a feature in In Style magazine a few years ago on some fabric bead necklaces by Louis Vuitton, and I ripped it out for my Inspiration Binder.  These bad boys retail for over $800 (!!!).  Like, holy frig who has that kind of money for a FABRIC necklace?!?!?  No diamonds or gold or anything!!!  Well I figured I could probably make my own for a mere fraction of the price.  So I did some Googling.

Totally Lustworthy

Sweet Jeebus!  I must have a Minoru Jacket from Sewaholic Patterns!

All images from Sewaholic.net

This might actually be the perfect coat for living on the (very wet) West Coast.  I'm totally pre-ordering one!  I can't wait to get my rat-claws on this pattern - even though I won't be making it until next year...

Happy Monday everyone!
xxx
Caramia

UFOs and Minor DIYs

My apologies for my lack of productivity in blog-land!  In all fairness, I've been working quite a lot lately between my two jobs (one contract is finishing at the end of November though - phew!).  We also bought a new (to us) car - a 2007 Honda Fit and sold my old car (a 1996 Honda Accord ; man I love them Hondas).  The Fit is a standard (aka manual transmission), so I've been busy in the evenings learning to drive it.  It took a few weeks, and a lot of tears, but I'm now zipping around Squamish in my new wheels!  I'm still not super confident, and it will probably be awhile before I take it into Vancouver, but that will come I'm sure.  Learning to drive a standard was one of my goals for 2011, so I can now tick that off my list - Yippee!

How to Make Your Own Maternity Clothes

Throughout both pregnancies, I have slowly been bookmarking websites that have DIY instructions to make your own maternity clothes.  Mostly this is because I'm very cheap frugal and hate paying full price for something that I will only wear for a short time.  Also, because I live about an hour away from the nearest mall.

Lots of other bloggers have already compiled similar lists, and links that I had already saved on my browser popped up on these lists as well.  Here are a few links that I'm planning on using to make my own maternity wardrobe, as well as some of the "link roundups" that other bloggers have compiled.

Longing For Sunshine

It has been a decidedly crappy spring here on the South Coast.  I know it typically rains here much much more than the Interior, but even longtime locals are saying the weather so far this spring is out of the ordinary.  So what better way to beat the dreary grey blahs than by getting creative with Polyvore!

Summertime Brights by sunshinegirl64 featuring formal tops