enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

adding gold toes.

Last Friday morning, I saw this post on A Cup of Jo and dropped everything to make my own version. It's strange, some projects are like that... I see something and then cannot think about anything else until I have completed my own version. (The taped desk and yarn vases are other examples.)

I had a pair of black Blowfish flats in my closet that I liked but could totally benefit from some extra "oomph." I also had some metallic gold Martha Stewart craft paint and the rest of the supplies on hand, so really, this was an easy project.

I followed the steps to the letter (the key is creating that seal with the mod podge!) and seriously, this could not have been easier. I wore the shoes out to dinner Friday night. So rad. And awesome because I get to cross "make something wearable" off my September goals list.

also pictured : j.crew toothpick jeans, an old polka dot gap blouse & a kate spade bangle.

material 15 of 27 / felt into an autumn wreath.

I have a feeling these materials are going to start crossing themselves off without too much help from me. Autumn and the holidays are made for projects and I am so excited for more craft time this season.

Felt was something that I was waiting for fall to work with because the plan was always to make a wreath. Originally, when I bought my supplies, I assumed it would be a flat wreath with felt "leaves" layered on top of each other. When I started playing with the felt and the foam base I had bought, I realized this wreath would look way better if the "leaves" were three dimensional and more structured.

If you want to make your own, follow the super simple tutorial below.

Supplies needed : felt in a few different saturated autumn colors, a foam wreath base, scissors & straight pins. (I picked up all of this at a Jo-Anns, a big box fabric store.)

Freehand cut your felt into leaf shapes.

note : this wreath is going to look better if you buy "good" felt. Look for rich, saturated colors, not just the basic primary colors. My fabric store sells a few different kinds of felt. They have cheap, pre-cut craft felt in the craft section and then big bolts of decent & small bolts awesome felt in the fabric section. Buying buy the yard (or half yard) will probably be less expensive and you'll have richer color choices. I bought a 2.5 yards total of four different colors and have some left over.

Use a straight pin to pin your first leaf to the foam base.

Fold up the first leaf and pin a second one so both are secure but sort of "push-up" the one next to it.

Keep going.

And going! This is definitely a project where the more you do, the better it looks. Continue pinning felt all around the foam ring.

Be sure to pin it to the outside and inside of the ring as well so the wreath looks full and the foam is no longer visible from any angle.

Hang it up! I used fishing line so the wreath appears to be floating on the mirror above our mantle. Seriously, such a fun & easy project. This would be awesome with different shades of green felt and a big red bow for Christmas too.

This is project 15 of 27. I am attempting to complete 27 craft projects using 27 different materials before I turn 28 on 02.22.13. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest. Birthday challenges are my favorite. You can see the 26 Projects I completed while 26 here and the 27 materials I have used so far here.

Other posts you might enjoy:

• our favorite toddler art supplies.
• creative books I always return to.
• super simple rainbow quilt.
• big script art 
• hand carved stamp
• three things I know to be true / DIY projects.

project life : week 36.

Week 36 and I still love this project.

(click photo above to enlarge for a [somewhat] clearer image.)

Still playing catch-up and will be for the next little while. This week, I've got our trip to DC to share - aka, the first week of September. The wedding we attended was where we took the majority of the photos, so this week is lacking a smidge in documention. But that's okay. It's in the books so onward we head.

In retrospect, my travel photos were super random, but sometimes that works in something like this. I just printed my "favorites" slipped them in pockets and called it done.

I trimmed that large circle from Elle's Studio down to create a journaling spot that didn't take up too much space. Still LOVE journaling text hanging off the edge of a photo.

When we travel, we always, always, always do the crosswords. I think it's because we have time to kill and are often getting our coffee outside the house.

I gave a nod to that with green Amy Tangerine thickers. LOVE the color & texture on those. I also had a small handful of business cards and a movie ticket. I tucked them all together in a pocket and held them in place with a spiral clip from Office Depot.

Yep, yep, I adore this project. I feel re-inspired to finish out the year strong and already so excited to begin living and documenting 2013.

supplies / Paper Source circle label, Martha Stewart & Avery labels, Elle's Studio journaling spot, Amy Tangerine thickers, Amy Tangerine patterned paper (green), Studio Calico patterned paper (gray), Office Depot date stamp, Design A page protectors (which are available in this variety pack), Clementine core kit,, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.

And a friendly reminder : International customers (in some countries) can PRE-ORDER the Seafoam kit, binder, paper & monthly dividers right here. Pre-order is not currently an option for those inside the US but everything will be available on Amazon later this fall. I will absolutely keep you updated as I know more. Thanks so much for your excitement over this kit!

around here.

It has been just great to have a week at home. I was running (actually typing) like a crazy person, wrapping up projects, getting stamps out the door and trying my best to stay organized. Thank you again for all your orders and thank you double for your patience as we wait for backordered stamps to come in. I will be shipping them all out as soon as I have them.

Today is a big deadline day for me. I am turning in things, clearing a HUGE item off my to do list and perhaps most importantly, freeing up lot of space in my brain. Next week represents a slight break in all the deadlines and I am going to celebrate it by reading books (JK Rowling's new book releases next week!) and completing craft projects. I am ready to embrace fall and at the top of my very long list of fun holiday tasks is making a giant autumn wreath, sewing a flannel dress & finishing up a summer garden photo book (and mayyyybe starting another quilt...). The blog is going to be hopping with project show & tell soon, for sure. I am so looking forward stepping away from the word processor and up to the sewing machine/ground/scissors/pile of felt/pens.

This week, for the first time in months, we lit candles and I placed a rather large order for some new flavors of David's Tea. In just a short while it's going to look, feel, smell and taste like fall around here.

How awesome. I'm totally inspired. Thank you, late September, for bringing with you a burst of creativity.

summer 2012 / i want to remember...

This weekend, we officially launch ourselves into fall.

I'm totally excited for it. Summer is absolutely my favorite season, but part of what's awesome about it is that around mid-September, I am always ready to embrace what comes next.

I am looking forward to the return of flannel shirts and big wrap scarves. To waking up to a chilly house and drinking coffee & tea because it's warm, not just because it tastes good. I am looking forward to pumpkins, a shift in farmer's market produce, decorating our house for the holidays and hosting Thanksgiving again for our families.

As I wait for all that, I want to take a look back at summer twenty twelve. This is the best summer I have ever had. And nope, I don't say that every year. (Or if I do, I am lying.) Much of what has made this summer great is the simple but monumental difference that Paul is home. It's fascinating to compare these past few months with the exact same months last year. I took a quick look through the archives and yep, last year, right around this time, was when the bottom dropped out and I realized just how long that deployment was going to be.

But this summer, and what almost feels like an excess of time together, has made up for it.

And so, from summer 2012...

I want to remember that we perfected how to barbecue chicken.

I want to remember the smell of BBQ flooding the upstairs through an open window.

I want to remember that coral nail polish was all I wanted to wear.

I want to remember going in the ocean for the first time in years and getting tossed by waves.

I want to remember how I cut each backyard tomato in half so we could both taste each one.

I want to remember those crazy basil harvests.

I want to remember how great the light was in this townhouse each evening.

I want to remember making pizzas every five days.

I want to remember the sense of accomplishment that came from having a garden.

I want to remember that we squeezed in four weddings.

I want to remember some of the best corn on the cob I've ever had.

I want to remember (the few!) lazy weekends.

I want to remember being thrilled every time Fun.'s Some Nights came on the radio...even if we had just heard it on another station.

I want to remember the lens popping out of my sunglasses almost daily.

I want to remember spending less money on things and more money on experiences.

I want to remember how we managed to avoid Olympics' spoilers.

I want to remember just how much we loved watching the Olympics together.

I want to remember how creative and productive I felt.

I want to remember the peace that came with deciding to not try for a baby this summer.

I want to remember breaking in new rainbows.

I want to remember racing through Battlestar Gallactica and so many books.

I want to remember sitting in the parking lot with the car windows down waiting for Paul to finish up work.

I want to remember celebrating cocktail hour.

I want to remember my total addiction to instagram.

I want to remember the sunsets we walked out to the beach to watch.

I want to remember this summer as truly one of the best.

*this post was inspired by a great one from Ali a few weeks ago.