15-LOVE... (see what I did there)

A fun little D.I.Y

Add a little color to your home with some homemade Rainbow Rackets. 

A few months ago I made my tassel bag with my friend Emy (see previous blog post).  I had a bunch of left over embroidery thread from that project that I wanted to put to good use. Emy had just finished a cute racket of her own (that inspired me-obviously) and with my  3+ hour drive from DC to NC, I figured I had time to waste tying knots and wrapping thread. I started with the "heart" racket... which was super easy and just takes some planning before you start.  This DIY can definitely be done while watching TV in your PJ's. Trust me.  I think they would be so cute hanging in a kids room! And I love that you can create whatever you want.  

Supplies:

1.  I found the rackets at a thrift shop for about $1. Can't beat that! I prefer older looking rackets (all wood). Plus, I like reusing!

2. Embroidery Thread (Michaels or Joann's fabric has a bunch). 

My embroidery thread. I like lots of options. 

How to:

1. Gather your materials.

2. Choose a design... you can create anything that you can visualize in squares. 

3. Choose your starting point and tie your embroidery thread in a knot in that location. 

4. Wrap the thread until you get to the desired stopping point. 

5. Tie another knot to end the color. 

6. Move to the next color and/or design.

The heart.

Modern plus signs.

 The finished products...

Have fun!

-Nicola & the little pup

Let the holiday season begin...

The Chalkboard is up! It's official... summer is over and fall is here.  

This last year we moved from CA to NC. We used to always go trick-or-treating with our friends and their kids. Each year, I loved giving them each a little bag filled with all kinds of halloween goodies. What kid doesn't like that?! This year, I decided to send a little box of Halloween fun across country to make up for the fact that I couldn't give it to them in person. Plus, they're my pen pals, and we mail things back and forth quite a bit. I'm sure they'll love receiving a box that is just for them.

MY  LITTLE HALLOWEEN KIT:

I collected all kinds of Halloween treasures from Target, the Dollar Tree, Homegoods, and Michaels. They always have lots of little things that cost a few dollars near the check out or in the holiday section. I figured that I should go small since I need to ship it across country (and I hate paying to ship things).

1. A little trio of things that make for a good halloween... "Glow Stick or Treat, Smell my Feet". I couldn't really find or think of a trick off the top of my head, so glow sticks were the next best thing.

2. A few jokes were thrown in the mix... "what animal is best at baseball... A bat!" Get it?!

 3. Other random Halloween goodies to make the month more fun.
**I'd like to apologize in advance for the noise makers ;)

I packed all these goodies in a USPS box and filled it with confetti... and sent it on it's way.  It's a surefire way to cheer up some kids and have them jumping for joy when the package arrives with their names on it. 

-Nicola & the little pup

We're backkkkkk...

I feel like we've been MIA for a while.  Probably because we have been! Summer has been way too fun and busy around here.  We've been living it up as much as possible. I planned to post some of our pictures, but as I looked through them I realized that there are quite a few (and by a few, I mean thousands- I have a problem). So I thought I'd spare you the downward scrolling and post our adventures in parts.

We started out with a little trip to California for a little summer fun with family and friends (Part 1). From there, I was lucky enough to go to Phuket, Thailand with some friends (Part 2).
And we've been keeping busy here in NC with crafts, gardening, eating, and exploring (Part 3).

Part 1:

 C A L I F O R N I A  aka. H O M E

We've been visiting, eating, and beaching our way through the summer.  

I know that was probably a picture overload... We had the best time with our friends and family. I have so many pictures, I could hardly choose which ones to post. 

To Be Continued...  

-Nicola & the little pup

What's old is new...

I had this old dress that I wasn't a huge fan of, but it was really comfortable. It was black. When I was doing laundry months ago I got a few drops of bleach on the front of it. Five minutes later I had brown spots all down my comfy dress. Since then, I have been staring at it with hopes that it would somehow repair itself so that I could wear it again. I decided that I would give something a try before I chauffeured it to the Goodwill.  And, good news... It's been upgraded just in time for summer with a little BLEACH TIE DYE session.

How to Bleach Tie Dye your goods... 

Supplies:

- Item of clothing

- Bleach

-Bucket

-Rubberbands

- Rubber gloves (optional)

The easiest instructions ever: 

1) Take rubberbands and twist them around your item. I went in a straight line down the dress. (pic 1) 

2) Fill bucket with water and bleach (10 parts water to one part bleach). You just need enough to cover the item.

3) Place item in the bucket (let sit until you notice that it's the perfect shade)- mine was about 20 mins

4) Remove from the bucket. Cut the the rubberbands off and transport to the washing machine. Be careful, if any bleach gets on your clothes or carpet you'll have more to tie dye. :) I used an old target bag to make sure that my current dress didn't get ruined (I wouldn't put it past me).

5) Place it in the washing maching and wash on cold with NO laundry detergent.

Rubberband wrap up

Post bleach treatment- all different shades

The final product- front

Back

It's super easy and is the perfect solution for a shirt, dress, or blanket that you have ruined, are bored of, or just want to tie dye. I really want to try something that's navy blue. The black above came out a rust/brown color. So it's all a mystery. :)

- Nicola & the Little Pup

All things tasseled...

Lately, I've noticed that tassels are making a come back and I'm loving it. I'm not sure they ever really left, but I know that I could use more around my house...

This weekend we went to Maryland to see our friends June and Emy (and to check out Washington, DC). Emy (see her blog here: Emy's Blog) and I decided to step our crafting up a notch by trying to tackle a tasseled bag. We were inspired by good ol' pinterest and this cute blog (original tassel tote).  It wasn't a super hard craft, but it did take some time making all those tassels and tying all those mini knots... ugh! And the most difficult part was sewing them to the bag (my bag had a cotton liner, and embroidery thread is thick).

Here's how simple it is...

Supplies:
- embroidery thread (any colors you like)
- scissors
- a large needle (to sew the embroidery thread to the bag)
- an old bag (mine had a liner which was hard to sew. Emy's didn't, but she had to add a bead to the inside so that the tassel would stay in place).

Step 1: Make your tassels. You can find a million links with directions on Pinterest. They are super easy.

 Step 2: Lay them out to be sure that the colors are spread out the way you like them.

Step 3: Begin sewing them to the bag. This might take some time if you have a liner in your bag. We used a needle to get the thread through and tied knots on the inside to be sure that they stayed put. 

Step 4: Admire that beauty. 

The Front 

The Back.

Our bags. 

Emy's had a nice fold over the top with a gold edge. Any old bag you have looks cute. 

We're officially ready for summer! 

-Nicola & the little pup