making—painted bead necklace

inspired by this pin on pinterest, i picked up some wood beads and bright springy paints and had a go at painting beads. i painted a lot (and am wishing i'd gotten a few more colors), but am now having fun mixing and matching my beads on the chain depending on my outfit. sam helped choose today's combination.

there's a tutorial here, if you need one, but it's not exactly rocket science—buy wood beads, buy some acrylic paints, paint the beads, string them on a chain (or cord of some kind), and you're all set with a fun new accessory.

have you seen this?

sometimes i wish i had a brain that could come up with stuff like this. but think i'd get even less sleep than i do now.

full story here.

box lunch

i'm always struggling with what to put in sam's lunch these days. afterall, when he's at daycare for 10-11 hours at a time, he's bound to get pretty hungry. though i'm not sure i'm dedicated enough to put something like this together, i thought these bento lunchbox ideas were just too cute not to post.

(also thought that these lunchboxes were pretty neat—maybe too fancy for sam, but i'd love to carry one to work!)

the problem with quilting

i've been wanting to try my hand at quilting for a long time, and since we're planning on putting sam into his own bed sometime soon, i thought now might be the time to dive in and give it a try. i've gotten a few fat quarters to work with that will color coordinate with what's already in his room, but i'm having a hard time deciding on what i'd like to pattern to look like. even with relatively simple shapes (squares and triangles only, please), there are so many possibilities…

i'm hoping to jump in soon (it would be nice to have the handwork ready for driving to minnesota), but for motivation and inspiration, i've been looking at some quilting books i borrowed from mom, as well as this and this.

status updates are sure to follow. also, advice is much appreciated.

bedrooms

i recently happened on this post, which reminded me of the above image. i just adore this room and would love to re-create something like this if i happened to have two boys (not that we're working on a #2 - so don't start getting ideas).
and if you're like me, and in the mood to drool over other people's fabulous houses, check out this kitchen. to. die. for. (found via here.)

selvedge

yesterday one of our printer reps came in and brought some samples (presents!) with her. amongst the different publications was an issue of selvedge (which i've seen on other blogs but hadn't located in our local bookstore -- and even if i did, the cover price of $25 per issue is a little prohibitive with my budget). so it was super exciting to get to keep one to drool over for free.

the eye candy is pretty much what i'd expected -- lovely things to drool over and feed the imagination (and make me wish i had more time on my hands to work on all kinds of things i don't really have time for anyway).

faerie lights

just had to post a couple of these wonderful images.

found via here.

this week's food experiment to come tomorrow.

from the archives

someone at work found this great old book that they published back in the 60s, and i decided i needed to scan a few of the pages for my own archives. i really love the style of the illustrations, and especially love the clothing (how much fun would it be to be dressed up like the lady in the second image -- red hat, red shoes, white gloves -- fabulous!)

i'm not a spinner, but...

...when i saw this book at the local library, i just had to pick it up. there's something so very intriguing about the yarn in these photos. i'm not sure that all the outcomes are quite my style, or something that i'd wear, but looking at the photos and reading the various ideas was rather inspiring. i also kind of keen on this post, and am wondering if i could make something like that.

q:

q: how cool is this? a: very much so

maybe in my next life i'll be witty and think up great halloween costumes. and have time to execute them. and go to parties where people can admire my cleverness.

found via.

another purchase when i win the lottery

how cool is this necklace? i wish i understood how it was made, because there's no way i could afford to buy it (unless i win the lottery, that is.)

found via here.

no snow day for me

woke up this morning to a few inches of brand-new, sparkly snow. it was awfully pretty. too bad work doesn't take the day off, but i guess even our schools were still in session, so at least i'm not the only one wishing i was home curled up by the window staring out into white loveliness, or thinking about grabbing the camera and snapping a few pictures. of course, my photo probably wouldn't have been quite as gorgeous as this.

image via here.

update: sweet! we're getting dismissed early because of the snow! i get to leave at 3pm today!

taking care of business

i decided to (finally) do some of the backing-up of stuff on my computer this afternoon. i'd like to say that this would be part of my "getting my work and workspace more organized" new year's resolution, but i'm not even organized enough to actually have resolutions...

in any case, while i was waiting for files to copy and disks to burn, i stimulated my eyeballs with some of the eye candy here. mmmm.... eye candy....

papercut

i thought this artwork was so inspiring. more found here.

(found via)

cute tootsies

aren't these adorable? i do believe i have some red felt around here that might make cute little tootsie warmers for the ninja. now i just need to find the time to make cute things...

catching up

i'm trying to catch up on things i meant to post this week while i was not posting.

first, these images. aren't they lovely? found here.

the second is this image, found here. i just thought it was really cute and funny.

eye candy at this website (can't remember where i found the link. sorry!) and this resource (found via here and linked from here).

artwork and a trip to the dollar store

yesterday we managed to remove one more piece of extraneous furniture from the room where we plan to put the boy. huzzah! progress! one of these days we might actually buy paint. but until then, i can entertain myself by looking at other people's wonderful rooms (especially here and here), and inspired by all the kid friendly artwork (like the above).
i did get to the dollar store today to pick up a few cheap frames. stay tuned to see the results.
(image Synesthesia print via)

pattern envy

i'm really loving the looks from the marimekko A/W 08 collection—especially that center dress. the prints are fantastic and the shapes are super cute.
found via oh joy.

yummy

not that i need yarn for another project, but those colors are just deliciously droolworthy.

(image via brooklyntweed)

a day of meetings

meetings are really just about doodling anyway, right? i think this is what happens when the smell of dry-erase markers start to affect my brain.