Drawing with Thread....

Another amazingly creative idea found on Idea Quarter via Pinterest. Framed pin and thread text art by Debbie Smyth. Photographed by Zac Mead. 

It blows my mind what Debbie Smyth can do. You must run as fast as your clicking finger will allow over to her blog where you will be blown away by what you see. The installation landscape piece is out of this world and it kills me to think that in just a few weeks it will all be taken down. Thank goodness for pictures! Oh how I wish I lived in England so I could see it in person! If you do live in England you can purchase a Debbie Smyth piece all for your own. You can find her Alphablox on notonthehighstreet.com. Go check out her blog right now! I insist! : )

A New Adventure....

I've been a bad blogger this week. The wee boy got sick, really sick so I was off dealing with all of that. Been in the house way too much this week. He's on the mend though (yay) so I took some time for myself and went to Michaels last night. I came home with this...an embroidery kit. I've been wanting to try for awhile and thought this might be a good place to start. I'll keep you posted on how the new adventure goes....happy Saturday everyone! Catch ya on Monday! : )

Rainbow Cupcakes

Oh you know I'm gonna be making these! So fun! You can find an awesome step by step guide for making rainbow cupcakes on the awesome blog Spearmint Baby. Thank you so much for giving me my weekend project, haha!

Overlay magic!

Check out this awesome lamp! It's a bit of a DIY project using a lamp from Ikea and overlays from the awesome website Hambly Screen Prints (pssst, I'm kind of in love with the woodgrain ones!). You can see the step by step DIY here.

Cheese that makes me go mmmmmmm.......

This adorable idea makes me wish I wasn't allergic to cheese. Of course I could always come up with something else to wrap in fun fabric but these little mini cheeses are just too sweet. This super cute idea was thought up for Mother's Day over on the wonderful blog Twig and Thistle but they could also be used for baby and wedding showers, parties, or just a fun Sunday brunch! Click here for the complete DIY and more amazing photos.

Recycled Paint Chips

I think I've found a kindred spirit in Kristen over at Paper Crave. She loves the paint chip wall and so do I. I've often wanted to grab as many paint chip samples as I could carry but alas what to do with them? Well check out this sweet little idea that Kristen put me on to from Real Simple. How fun! Hmm.....there might be a trip to the hardware store in my near future.


image from Real Simple

Why Pictures are Important!

Hands down the number one thing that catches my eye when I'm looking for a shop to feature is the product photography. If you have interesting, eye catching photographs that jump off the screen I'm ten times more likely to feature you. Interesting and unique photos make me excited no matter what the product and therefore I want to share it with my readers.

Why do I mention this today? Because the above photographs from the shop Twirl Away on Etsy are the perfect example of what I'm talking about. There are numerous shops on Etsy selling children's clothing and more specifically children's clothing for little girls so why did I pick this particular shop to feature? The photographs. I love, love, love how the photos are cropped, only showing the actual product that is on sale but still on a model. So unique and unlike what I typically see when shopping around online. I also love the neutral background, wood floors and having the little model standing on the foot stool is fantastic! All so unique!

Having great photos will get your shop noticed for Etsy features, blog features, treasuries, sales, the list goes on and on. Read all you can about taking great pictures, think outside the photographic box and see what you can come up with to help your shop stand out.

The second biggest reason I wanted to feature this lovely shop....the actual products. I love these little skirts! They're adorable. I love the styles and the fabrics! The four pictures above are only a small sample of what Twirl Away has to offer. Be sure to check this shop out!


Wow, that was a lot of writing for me. I'm not usually so chit chatty. haha! Happy Tuesday all!

Paper Easter Egg Cups

Every year I attempt to decorate eggs and every year it's a disaster! A fun disaster but a disaster none the less. I think I might stick to paper decorations this year. I love these awesome Easter Egg Cups from Paper Source. They're so simple and make a much smaller mess! You can get all of the instructions by viewing this blog post on the Paper Source Blog.

Yummy DIY Easter Eggs!

Oh my goodness! I want, I want, I want! Good thing this is a DIY project! Rice Krispies and colourful toppings = awesome. The Bouchon Bakery kindly put together instructions on how to make these lovelies. You can see them via the blog The Kichen. If anyone knows where to find these cute half dozen egg cartons please share, thank you!

I originally found this post on the awesome blog Chickidee. This blog has a great design, it's easy to navigate and it's full of awesome projects and goodies. Be sure to check it out as well as the Chickiedee shop!

Happy baking!

Pie Pops

It does not get anymore fantastic than these! Pie Pops! I mean, come on! Check out Bakeralla to get the step by step instructions for these tasty treats!

The Hungry Caterpillar is making me hungry!

Okay if you have kids then there's a pretty good chance you are familiar with the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. So you will definitely appreciate this awesome Cupcake Party Train (see below).
How amazing is this! So cute! More pictures and how-to info can be found on the blog Coco Cake Cupcakes.

I love the look of these cupcakes and how two different tones of green were used. I want to eat them all right now!

I originally saw this awesome cake idea on the blog Spearmint Baby.

How To - Product Picture Taking

Just a little behind the scenes look at how I take my pictures. I use a white piece of poster paper, natural light and a little point and shoot Cannon Elf camera. I'm fairly critical of my pictures and always think they could be better but considering what I'm using at the moment I think they turn out pretty good.
Here's the basic set up. I took these outside but I usually take my pics on my kitchen counter by the window. I've also taken them in the living room. It all depends on time of day and which side of the house is getting more sun.

Getting closer....I take most of my pictures on the Macro setting. I love it. The macro setting allows me to get some unique angles and the products always turn out nice and crisp looking.

Even closer.....now as you can see the pictures is alright but kind of dull looking. Well Linda at a la mode told me about Picasa and now I use it all the time! Picasa is a free download off the internet. It's amazing how the click of one or two buttons can make your pictures pop! I like the "I'm Feeling Lucky" and "Highlight" buttons the best. So here's the before without Picasa and.....

.........the after with Picasa. These pics turned out a little too blue because I took them a little too late in the day but you get the idea.

It takes a little work but it's worth all the effort!