Chalk and board, the fellow friends.

Well, I have been finding the neatest things! Did you know Crayola makes dry erase crayons? They are the best! They work great on chalkboard too. I made a cute little chalkboard out of adhesive chalkboard paper (a GREAT find from dollarama). A drab frame is now the announcement board for my unit next year at college! A little teal paint, and the chalkboard paper made a lovely combination. I hope my unit enjoys it as much as I do!

Before

After!

Enjoy!

Spring Inspires!

Well, summer is setting in! Alright, that was a little lame. But it is starting to look less like winter outside, and that excites me! Today is Easter Sunday, which brings about lots of freshness and newness! The resurrection of Christ, buds on the trees, and new blog banner and background! What do you think? My sister and I put these together, and I love the banner!

Being home from college brings all sorts of newness as well. Looking for a job, having my own bathroom, and more time for crafting! Having time for the third brings me much joy! This summer, I shall garage sale like none before! Starting my crafting marathon, (and I do mean just starting. There is MUCH more to come!) I redid a frame, and I have to say, it turned out simply lovely. The gold ornament was actually on a necklace at le chateau. I was not a fan of it as a necklace, but since it was on sale, I knew it would have purpose elsewhere.

And what else do I do other than craft? Cook! Okay, I haven't actually done much of this yet. But, i was extremely inspired by a $2 cookbook. Yes! $2! A picture for every step of the recipe? Yes please!

What is Spring inspiring you to do?

Enjoy!

Craft Retreat..at home.

Have you noticed the new banner and background? I thought it was nice and wintery, since winter has set in here! I have had many ask about the name of my blog, and it is NOT because I live in a place where it is summer all the time. definitely not. I actually just happen to enjoy summer, and when I think of summer, I think happy, sunny thoughts. I am an extremely optimistic person, so...

summer=happy=kristen

That, and it's a line from a Feist song, 'Gatekeeper'. I enjoy that song a lot.

Clarified!

Oh, I have missed crafting! During term break, I have been so excited to just craft and listen to Christmas music for the first time of 2010 for four days straight!

Thanks to my sister Jenni, I decided to try a new plant (my strawberry plant wasn't too ecstatic about living indoors), and so:

Presenting, sprouts!

They started out as these, wee little guys:

And thanks to warm water and a Mason Jar with cheesecloth, they're flourishing!

I think they look ravishing! I plan to eat them on a sandwich. When, you ask? No idea, but if you know of anyone who would like to eat a sandwich with sprouts as a vegetable on it, I know a sprout supplier! If you're looking to grow your own, here's some instructions I found helpful.

Onto Project numero Two: (I don't speak any other language than english. i know, i had you convinced for a second...secundo?)

Is it weird or neat? I truly do not know. It's a satchel of some sort. I was thinking of attaching an old leather belt as a long strap to it. Made out of MCC fabric and Wal-Mart fabric. No pattern necessary!

Project Three:

I'm an open book, really. I decided to take an old book a few weeks ago, wanting to create one of those secret compartment books (I was an avid Nancy Drew reader at one point, and I am pretty sure she must have used one of these). It's not finished yet. I'm about two hundred pages in. Here's how to attempt this one.

Project Four:

Just some more wall art for my dorm. I painted an old frame, and really wanted to keep some of my favourite tea boxes. Anyone who remembers Tazo African Red Bush knows what i'm talking about. Three boxes of it stashed away displays my lifelong devotion to this magical tea.

And! I promised I would display some of my tea cups. Here's a few!

Ikea find.

Ten Thousand villages. It's so textured - I love it!

Try having your own craft weekend. It's super fun.

Enjoy!

Dorm Decorating-Phase 1 (reposted)

I had a little mishap with my blog, and had to delete this post. But here it is for an encore, Dorm Decorating -Phase 1! In case you haven't gotten to enjoy it yet!

I have been coming up with many ideas to decorate my dorm room in the fall, and I think I've come up with a colour scheme. I'm thinking red and teal, muted teal (I'm not letting this teal get a word in). Now, at first I didn't think these two colours went together, and was trying to decide if I should go red, or teal. I've come to realize that I can make my two absolute favorite colours live together for 8 months happily and in harmony. They may not always want to get along, but I think with hard work and a little encouragement here and there, they can work out their differences.

I found these frames on my garage sale trip so I suppose this could be considered a part three of the Garage Sale Adventure. They're so fun and vintage looking, I thought they needed some fun and vintage decor in them. My sister (see link above) and I found some old Hollywood silhouette faces, (Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers..the whole lot) and I traced them onto some homemade paper that I found and then attached those to some gorgeous paper I found at Michael's a while ago, and Voila! I came up with some pretty wall art for my future dorm!

Here's some really elaborate, vintage dorm room ideas! Gorgeous!

Blair Waldorf's Dorm Room -check out the chandelier wall decal at the 'other things to include' section. My sister just gave me one of these that I will also use in my dorm!

Vintage Inspired Wall Art for Dorms -On a whole site for dorm decorating! Who knew such thing existed?

Enjoy!

P.S. Watch for a before and after dorm room transformation to come soon!

Dorm Decorating-Phase 2

Everyone has chosen a favourite colour of choice at one point in their life.

Frank Sinatra's favourite colour was orange.

Jennifer Garner's favourite colour is purple (or violet, rather, or so the name of her daughter proclaims).

My favourite colour has been: blue, orange, red, yellow, purple..

but never green.

I'm not sure why, but I've always had an aversion to green. I'm not sure if it's because it's not easy being green (props to Kermit the Frog for being brave enough to address this problem we've all encountered at one point in life or another). Maybe it's because I enjoy it simply in the form of plants and since I live in a place where green isn't the most prominent colour outside for most of the year, it simply makes me long for those two months of summer per year.

Whatever the reason, I have never liked green. But! Lately, I have found myself to enjoy a shade of green, a colour I like to call - Muted Teal! As explained in my last post, I have been planning out my dorm room decor for the coming year and have a few more pieces that will contribute to my beautiful room! And of course, they're in my favourite shade!

And look! I will be eating my cereal out of a German made bowl!

Can you find me in this picture?

Enjoy!