...but look at them now!

If you have been faithfully reading Amis since last year, firstly I thank you, and secondly you might have a distant memory of these , well lo and behold they are finally done!

Over the summer I stripped and sanded the arms to their natural colour and simply applied a coat of sealant. Over the fall the lovely Shannon from KiwiCovers re-upholstered them in a great pre-washed white denim. Now all they need are some bright throw pillows. My little abode is slowly, but surely coming together!

xo J

What's on your fridge?

All wrapped up and ready to go!

This year one of my best ami and myself spent an evening putting together these great little magnets for all our friends. We figured everyone would have their fair share of baked goods and thought this was a great little give away at our annual Christmas party.

We roughly followed this tutorial but instead of photoshopping the pictures into a polaroid template I simply used this incredibly handy Poladroid maker and we mounted the pictures on to white foam core which created a nice clean white border.

They are a great little gift any time of the year!

xo J

The final countdown...

The countdown to Christmas has always been one of my favorite things. Every year in high school some friends and I would always create a Christmas countdown in our school agenda's complete with decorations scribbled in with green and red pen. The advent calendar at home was another fun extension of the Christmas countdown where my brother and I would take turns opening the window to get our daily chocolatey treat.

Since I won't be getting my apartment until just before Christmas I am sadly not decorating my place this year but this DIY Advent calendar is book marked as a must for next year! So incredibly simple yet so incredibly cute!

Check it out here to get the free download and instructions.

xo J

P.S. A big Happy Birthday today to one of my very best sister-amis...you know who you are!

Su pinata es fantastico!

When I commit to a theme party, I commit! We had a Seis de Mayo party last week (soooo much cooler than Cinco de Mayo) complete with decor, cerveza, tamales and enough salsa to last a lifetime, and just because I wasn't already busy enough I knew I had to make a pinata.

I felt like a kid again with flour paste goo all over my hands, coloured tissue paper littering the table and a bag full of goodies to stuff inside, but I must admit it was a crowd pleaser!

Step 1: Papier mache the heck out of a balloon

Step 2: Lots of tissue paper circles

Step 3: Display, like a colourful pineapple!

Step 4: Destroy!

xo J

WEDDING WEDNESDAYS……DIY Weddings!

For a craftier, budget-conscious wedding with lots of personal touches and eco-chicness think DIY!! I know I am for a number of my wedding details. It allows you to be more hands on and have more control over your wedding plans and your budget. And DIY is definitely not only for the frugal, but also for those who really want to personalize their wedding with details that really show off who you and your partner really are.

A more do-it-yourself wedding can include organizing your wedding without a wedding planner, creating your own decorations or making your invitations. It can be the small details (putting together your favours) or the larger ones (decorating your reception space), and it’s also a great way to involve friends and family and make it a part of the pre-wedding festivities. Arranging your own centre pieces never sounded so fun when you can get your girlfriends to help you out (add some vino, appies and some music and you got yourself a party)!

And there are a ton of great DIY wedding resources out there with lovely ideas for inspiration and sourcing materials. Online, in magazines and on the bookshelves at your local bookstore, DIY is all the rage right now so there is a lot of knowledge and info to draw from. Some great online resources I’ve stumbled upon include 100 Layer Cake, Ruffled Blog, Style Me Pretty, My DIY Wedding and of course from the woman who made DIY trendy again Martha Stewart Weddings.

DIY is definitely not for everyone especially when it comes to your wedding, but for those who want to be more hands on in the creative process or just want to add a personal detail or two, doing it yourself can really add that special touch and keep your budget in check too!

Deck The Halls With Rosemary

Home made wreaths - they're fresh, smell great and look amazing. And I just discovered that us mere mortals can make them pretty easily - woo hoo!

Bonus with this wreath: it's edible. If you need a sprig of rosemary for your roast potatoes, just go to your door and grab one!

Disclaimer: You do not need to be crafty AT ALL to do this project! My second to worst grades in high school were earned in art class - if I can do this you can too!

Rosemary and Eucalyptus Wreath
What you need:
Rosemary branches - washed and cut into smaller pieces (I did 6-8inches). Separate the rosemary - one pile of tops, one pile of stems
10 inch wire wreath form
floral wire
cutters
clear "ouchless" ponytail elastics
ribbon (optional)
eucalyptus berries - or any berry/accessory you like

Gather your rosemary branches into bundles of 3 or so. Use one top with its pretty end sticking out a bit, then fill in the bunch with two stem pieces. Secure with an ouchless elastic.

Once your bundles are completed, take a bunch of bundles and just lay them on your wreath form - make sure you've got enough, and make sure the leaves are all going in the same direction.

Next secure some of your floral wire to the wreath form. Lay a bunch of bundles on the form, then use your floral wire to wrap around the bottom of your bundles a few times. Lay down another bunch of bundles with the tops covering the bottom of the previous bundles and secure with wire as before. Continue all the way around the wreath. Cut the wire and tuck it away.

Next take some of your berries and place them into the wreath. The rosemary is thick enough to hold the berries without them falling out. Add as many as you like.

Finish off the wreath with a ribbon at the bottom if you like. And you're done!

Except for the cleanup - (working on a table cloth is a good idea so the rosemary needles don't get everywhere!

Full credit for this project goes to the master of craft non-disasters Ms. Martha. She has a very helpful "how-to" video for this project posted on her site here. I watched it a good 15 times. And like I said, it was easy and turned out very nice.

Go make one too!

They might not look like much...

...but I have big plans for these 2 chairs.

With a bit of re-finishing on the wood and new upholstorey they will look as good as new. I saw these in the window of the used furniture where I picked up my white vanity table and thought they had so much potential. Yes, the material is ugly and they need some new stuffing, but I loved the shape of the arms of them. So I will keep you posted as the renovation progresses….oh yeah, and they were only $20 each!

Pretty Blossoms for Autumn

If you've got a party coming up, or want to add a little springtime feel to your home through the dark days of Fall and Winter, try this paper project found on Apartment Therapy.

With some branches, tissue paper, scissors, tape, time (and maybe a bottle of wine) - you've got yourself a sweet centrepiece. I think this would be fun to do with friends - maybe throw yourselves an "it will be Spring again one day" party! Directions found here.

Wear Your Heart on Your Wall

So I actually did this last year over the course of a rainy weekend. I wish I could say that this pretty little nook always looks this neat and tidy! I got the idea for this little project
here, but as I don’t have a stack of polaroids lying around, I simply started collecting the photos of friends, family places that are special to me. I actually like the varying sizes better then the uniformity of the polaroids.

This is a good temporary wall art installation as the pictures are just taped on and therefore can also be changed out and if you have to move you don’t have a dozen or so little holes to patch!

P.S. I also re-finished that vanity table all on my own!

Pssst....I made this!

A two-tone throw pillow with fabric flowers as part of a baby shower gift.

Not only did I make this but it was hand sewn! I lifelong dream of mine has been to have my very own little sewing machine…maybe this year is the year I make that dream come true, because this pillow would have taken no time at all with a sewing machine rather than laboriously stitching every evening in a dim living room, but it was worth it because I was really proud of the outcome (even though I think I could perfect the finishing better….a sewing machine would help with that!) and the mother-to-be loved it.

I hope by making this a regular series of mine on Amis that I will stay motivated to actually try all the creative ideas that are bubbling up in my head! Stay tuned!