My name is Ez. I'm a lover of style and design in all it's many forms.
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Need a little inspirational pick-me-up? Then head on over to the brand new blog Color Me Inspired and enjoy the first (of what is sure to be many) gorgeous posts by friends Trisha and Becka.
It looks like they also have an etsy shop for printable downloads coming soon (the fans below are available for free on Color Me Inspired), so be sure to keep an eye on these talented ladies. I can't wait to see where they will take their lovely site(s). xox Ez {images © Color Me Inspired}
It seems that when I took our dogs out this morning, Fall had decided to arrive. The air was crisp and had that scent that spells a change of seasons. Yippy! Bring on the hot cocoa, apple picking, woolen mittens, and such...I'm ready!
Photo credits: 1. En Route | 07.22.09, 2. Cockades, 3. more mantel, 4. don't., 5. Untitled, 6. Dreamy blue-green Hamptons bedroom: Benjamin Moore's 'Spring Mint' + white trim, 7. The rope, 8. STARFRUKT
Hello lovelies! I hope you all have a fun weekend planned. I have a pile of things to work on so I'm off for the rest of the day and will look forward to seeing you back here again next week. Taa-taa 'til then. xox Ez
{product images by Old Soul, New Heart}
A visit to see the accessories at the newly launched Old Soul, New Heart will have you feeling like a kid in a candy store. Mother/daughter team Shea and Tamara create each piece by hand from materials they source from estate sales, vintage shops, and beyond. They've done such a great job! I love their aesthetic and am especially smitten with the pieces that involve vintage chains and bowties (like this and this). Ooo...and this belt is calling my name too! Can't you just see a bride or her bridesmaids wearing their pieces as well! Too good!
Stop on over for a visit. I think you'll love what you'll see! xox Ez
Hello lovelies! As promised I'm back with some of the photos that I took in Marichelle's yard earlier this week. Taking photos is (almost always) incredibly relaxing and energizing for me, so it was nice to have the chance to pull my camera out again and capture a few little glimpses of the beauty of this area. New Jersey's plant life is incredible... I guess it isn't called the "The Garden State" for nothing!
This a random vine that is growing across one of Marichelle's fences. Does anyone recognize it? I'd love to know what it's called.
A pretty Echinacea flower that Marichelle planted, and some fancy grass that I can't remember the name of. Clearly I am not a plant expert...just an admirer.
A bright and cherry little rose bush greets you near Marichelle's front door. Also welcoming you up the front walkway are two beautiful Hydrangea trees. Gorgeous!
An eggplant! Can you believe Marichelle grew this herself...and claims to have no prior gardening experience! As someone who can't even keep a cactus alive, I'm awestruck!
Thanks everyone for letting me share a few of my photos with you today...and thanks again Marichelle for letting me bumble my way around your beautiful yard! I had so much fun! xox Ez
Photo credits: 1. liquid sky, 2. Prize Ribbons - Bennett, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Aren't the sweet goods from etsy shop Slide Sideways the perfect pick-me-up for a gloomy day?! I'm especially mad for their cushions! See more right here. xox Ez
Hello lovelies! Wednesday's are generally reserved for posts on photographers and stylists, but today I wanted to do something a bit different and share a tad with you about one of my wonderful new neighbors (and sweet friend of mine), Marichelle Burdman (she doesn't know I'm writing this, so I hope she doesn't run me out of town after this).
You may already know Marichelle from her blogs Heart Handmade & Lifeflix, or her etsy shop Wunderlust, but what you may not realize is just how incredibly kind and talented she truly is (of course a lot of this is evident through her sites...but read on for a few things that I specifically love about Marichelle).
a. Her incredibly adorable effortless chic style. Seriously... I need to take lessons from this girl!
b. Her delicious cooking... she whipped this dinner up for us two nights ago with ingredients she grew from her own garden (so fresh and amazing). Also her blueberry crumble bars are to die for (that is if the perfect packaging doesn't kill you first).
c. She is incredibly talented and crafty...and seems to have a way of creating magic out of ordinary materials like muslin cloth, paper, and twine. Check out her shop to see what she's up to currently.
d. She and her delightful boyfriend "Hillsy" have transformed their home (they just bought it late last year) into a cozy and welcoming place where everything is beautiful but where you aren't afraid to put your feet up and settle in for a night of tv watching and a cup of "Hillsy's" famous tea.
e. And finally... and impossible for me to show in the photos (but most notable) is just how kind and generous both Marichelle and Hillsy have been to us in our first few weeks here in our new town. They are some of the loveliest and most down to earth people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing...and I feel luckier still to call them my friends. xox Ez
P.S. Coming up in just a bit I will show you a few photos I took in Marichelle's beautiful yard on Monday. I hope you will like them. xoxox
Vintage Blue by Rebekah aka Full of Bliss
I simply love the mood of these gorgeous photos by The Cherry Blossom Girl (found in her post titled Apple on a Stick).
Of course everything that Alix does is magic, but there something especially sweet about these shots and I just can't stop thinking about them. See more from The Cherry Blossom Girl here. xox Ez
When I came across this Gems T-Shirt by Print Liberation a few weeks ago, I was immediately reminded of road trips taken with my mom and sister when I was young. Winding through the mountains of Montana we would always find a place to stop for a quick rest at one of the many tiny rock shops along the roadside. If my sister and I had been behaving ourselves in the backseat we'd be treated to a shiny little stone of our choosing (which we would then lovingly added to our rock collection once we returned home again). We so looked forward to those pretty little gems...anything turquoise or blue being my first choice (of course).
All of this is to say that I adore this shirt and the days long-past that it reminds me of. Available on the Print Liberation official site and etsy store.
Hello, hello, hello again dear lovelies! I am so glad to finally be back and writing to you from my new place here in New Jersey. Thank you so much for your patience while I've been away. I hope you loved all the fabulous posts my wonderful guest bloggers created for you in my absence. A quick recap of these lovely contributors (just in case you missed any of their personal sites):
Moving has been a crazy, wild adventure so far and I'm ready for life to settle down soon. I'll share more with you shortly about our move as well as some helpful tips I learned along the way, but in the meantime I hope you will enjoy some of the bright and cheery things on my wish list for the rapidly approaching Fall season. What creature comforts are you wishing for today? xox Ez
Hi everyone! Marichelle here from Heart Handmade and Wunderlust filling in for Ez with another DIY project. This one is for a simple to make photo/print frame made out of recycled chipboard. Don't know about you, but I have a number of prints that aren't your standard 8.5x11 or 5x7 and it's quiet difficult to find frames for them. So I've decided to make my own and even use them for photographs, the best part is that you can easily customize the size!
What you'll need:
1. Ruler
2. Chipboard (I've saved up a couple from recent photo purchases on Etsy). You can also use thick stockpaper, oaktag etc- just use something a little thicker than regular paper
3. xacto knife
4. your favorite glue, I recommend using a thicker glue (elmers glue should work fine)
5. your choice of glitter (I used the Martha Stewart brand but you can use other brands as well)
6. scissors
7. twine or ribbon
8. self-healing mat or something you can safely use the xacto knife on
* you'll also need a hole puncher (smaller than standard is what I would recommend), pencil, wax paper, foil or parchment paper (whatever you have around), a craft sponge or brush for glue (if you don't have one, you can just snip a bit off of a new dish sponge)
Let's get started...
1. You first want to determine how wide you want the frame to be all around the print. I decided that I wanted it to be a little less than 1 inch wide all around the print.
2. So I measured 1 inch around the entire print and marked a line with a pencil.
3. If you have a T Square then great, but to make sure I had a straight edge I measured one inch in 1 inch intervals going vertically down the right-hand side of my print. Penciled in little marks, then connected the dots and drew my straight line/edge.
4. Cut off excess.
5. Now center the print on top of the piece you just cut.
6. Trace around the print.
7. To make sure that the frame actually frames the photo/print, the "hole" needs to be a little smaller than the photo/print itself.
8. So take your ruler and draw a smaller rectangle inside your current one. I suggest drawing it 1/8 of an inch smaller than your original trace (#5 and #6).
9. Carefully cut out the center (the inside, smaller rectangle). Make sure you don't cut passed your guidelines.
10. You should now have a frame!
11. Go ahead and lay it on top of your print to double check that you measured correctly. Next, you want to find the center of the very top, so you can make the holes for the hanging. Once you find the center, measure about 1.5 inches to the right and to the left. Mark with a pencil.
12. Using your ruler as a guide, make your holes and make sure they line up. It's important that your hole isn't bigger than the width of your twine or ribbon. I have the Martha Stewart punch tool so I was able to choose the 2nd largest puncher. If all you have is a standard hole puncher - you should still be ok but you'll have to finish the hanging differently than what I've outlined here. I'll provide instructions on how to finish it below.
Now for the fun part...
13. Give one side of your frame a very good coating of glue using either a brush, sponge or even your fingers. Spend a good amount of time making sure that you have an even coat, you'll thank yourself later once you begin applying the glitter. You'll have less touching up to do, promise.
14. If you have a tray big enough it might be easier to work in it, but if not, you can lay down a large sheet of wax paper, parchment paper, foil even newspaper on top of your work area so you can get glittering! The MS glitter comes with a handy salt & pepper like dispenser so I was able to shake down the glitter. I also like to use a spoon (actually think that this method is a lot easier) and spoon the glitter all over the frame. Once the glue dries (I waited for about 5 minutes) you want to life the frame and tap in on its edges, tap all sides making sure that you get all of the excess glitter off.
15. At this point you want to examine your frame. Does the glitter look even? Are there spots that could use a little more. If so, make sure you wait until the glue has fully dried. Once dry, you can apply a tiny amount of glue with your finger on the uneven patches - pat it down with your finger so you don't get bumpy patches. Spoon or shake some glitter over the newly glued patches. Once dry, tap off excess. Wait to dry.
16. It's alright if you've glittered over your hanging holes. Simply turn it over and slip a fairly big needle through the hole or use a pencil. Measure out your twine/ribbon - mine was 10.5" long. Carefully thread one end through one of the wholes (from the back of the frame to the front of the frame).
* if you're using a standard hole puncher and the hole is too big for the twine (the knot will slip right through the holes) you can thread the twine from back to front then take the twine and thread it into the other hole (from front to back) and once both ends are in the back side of your frame, line the ends up evenly and knot the ends to close the loop.
17. Repeat with the other end of the twine.
18. Knot the ends (I double knotted mine) in the front of the frame.
19. Now attach your print to the back. I simply used tape on all four sides. Your done!
Note: If you notice that the edges of the frame are curling up at the edges, simply lay it glitter side down on a lined flat surface and lay a couple of heavy books on top overnight.
I hope some of you give this a try. Thank you again Ez for inviting me to guest post while you're on your way over here, can't wait to see you!
x Marichelle
Greetings Creatures of Comfort! Susy from SusyJack* and HeySusy, in my second guest post while Ez is on the road. How cool is it that Ez is organized enough to schedule all these cool posts while she is away? Personally, I find that *very* impressive. Ez, if you're reading this...I am in complete and total awe.
So...I've been working on some new pattern ideas lately...and I thought this would be the perfect place to try them out! I've created templates with 10 calling cards each, in two color-ways. After all, variety is the spice of life!
These would make wonderful calling cards, but they could also be used as place cards, or even to top off a gift (I think they would make a sweet accent to a simple kraft-or newsprint wrapped package). I hope you enjoy them. Just trim along the crop lines. You can also print them out, and then run them back through your printer to place your own typed message on each card, and trim when you're done.
Download Template for Pink Cards
Download Template for Ochre Cards
Hello Everyone!
This is Janice from Papier Valise + the scissor variations blog.
This is a quick + easy project that can be customized simply by choosing a piece of your favorite fabric.
Make 1 or several + create a display board mosaic.
Gather Together:
**Canvas Frames (any size-I used 8" square )
Cork Liner (available here, or check your local hardware store)
Marking Pen
Scissors
Staple Gun
Fabric Remnants (a bit larger than your canvas size)-I used a lightweight upholstery floral + a solid linen
Using your canvas frame as a template, trace onto the cork sheeting and cut out.
Flip your canvas over so the front side is facing you + place your cut out cork piece on top + using your staple gun secure at the four corners and in the center of each side.
This creates a thin cushion for your push pins.
Cut a piece of fabric approximately 1" square larger around the perimeter than your canvas size. You can eyeball this, but keep in mind you need to pull the fabric up around the sides. My canvas size was 8" square, so I cut a 9" square piece of fabric.
Lay your fabric down onto a flat surface with the wrong side facing you.
Place your canvas, cork side down onto the fabric, centering it.
Choose an edge to start securing. Pull the fabric up along the edge and onto the back of the canvas frame + staple in the center. Place a staple in the left and right corners. Working on the opposite side, pull the fabric tightly + staple to secure. You will then need to tuck the fabric in at the corners, pull it up and staple.
Like wrapping a gift. Repeat with the remaining sides.
Create some push pins with some decorative items.
** The quality of your canvas frames is not so important for this project. I had these cheap ones in my stash--they were $1. each
Text + Photos Copyright 2009 Janice Rusnak
