Jumping on the Neon Bandwagon

Afraid you can't pull off the neon color trend that's popping up everywhere this spring? Me either.  BUT, I think I could easily add it to something small, like a scarf or a piece of jewelry and not feel weird about it. That's why I like this DIY neon necklace project from My Two Butterflies.

If you have a chunky, fake gold or silver chain necklace sitting around, simply weave some neon thread or yarn through it and viola! If you don't have an old necklace available, I'm pretty sure these things go for $5.00 at a Claire's or Target store and the thread is available for $1-$2.00 at any craft store. It's cheaper than buying something pre-made from a high-end retailer AND you can customize it to your liking.

Listen Up, Crochet Lovers!

You know those cheap, fake wooden shoe stands you can get at places like Bed, Bad & Beyond and Ikea? I think they sell for something like $10 each?  Here's an idea: instead of using them for shoes, you can turn them into genius storage solutions for crocheting supplies.  Love it!

It almost looks like art, doesn't it? Makes me want to crochet right now!

The Ultimate Tron-Inspired Stroller

I was browsing one of my favorite websites, NeatoBambino, when I came across this stroller project. Amazing!!  I'm not a Tron fan, but I might use this dayglow lighting system to be seen better if I took kids for an evening stroll.

Before

After!

Check out the video of the lighting sequence in action:


Stroller Upgrade: lighting test from Bhautik Joshi on Vimeo.

Mixology Monday: Valenciana Cocktail

We visited a popular Capitol Hill bar called Manhattan over the weekend. They serve a delicious concoction called the Valenciana. It's similar to a mimosa, but packs more punch. In addition to brut champagne, it also contains orange bitters, an orange twist and a floater of grand marnier.  It's the perfect sip on a sunny afternoon!

The Valenciana Cocktail

Friday Funny

This Friday Funny video kills me every time I watch it.  Have you ever seen a toddler with so many slick moves?



Happy Friday!

DIY Jewelry Boards

It's spring cleaning time and I'm feeling motivated to finally do something with our closet space... or spaces, since our new house will have plenty of closets! I love the idea of creating jewelry mood boards and hanging them up in there. What a fun way to spruce up the closet and keep my accessories organized.

I'm not quite sure what I'll end up creating, but here are some of my favorite boards so far:

This one uses vintage knobs to secure flirty accessories.

I love the modern, rocker vibe with contrasting colors.

Bohemian-inspired, with A TON of beaded jewelry. 

These repurposed wooden boxes would look great in a shabby chic room.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the boards I end up going with!

Celebrating Spring

Since today is the first day of spring (goodbye, winter!), I'm feeling inspired to celebrate with something sweet.  Of course it's always a good time for sweets, right?

1. Frosted sugar cookies - Mrs. Fields
2. Robin's nest brownies - photo courtesy of The Naptime Chef
3. Bunny cupcakes -  Mom Logic
4. Terra cotta cupcake pots - Frog Prince Paperie

Mixology Monday: Unicorn Tears

I hope everyone had a great weekend and for those who celebrated, a happy St. Patrick's Day.

Mike and I worked on some preparations for our move into the new house and spent some time with our friends, Brian and Wendy.  They took us to a fun little Greek restaurant (the Irish joints were all too crowded) and we sat for hours and talked and laughed.

Since we were in a Greek restaurant during an Irish holiday, business was pretty slow. Also,  I couldn't get any Irish beers or cocktails so I decided to have some fun with the bartender. After a few failed attempts at mixing various liquors and juices together (think vomit flavors with black licorice undertones), we created a magical elixir that I ended up calling "Unicorn Tears."

Why Unicorn Tears?  St. Patrick's Day is a zany holiday. Zany holidays call for zany drink names!

So what's in a Unicorn Tears cocktail? It's a mix of Absolut Berri Acai, ginger ale soda, and two squeezed lime wedges.  Easy enough, right?  If you're counting calories, you could make this with Diet ginger ale and the result would probably still be the same.

Ta-da! Unicorn Tears. Looks just like a vodka soda, doesn't it?

Friday Funny

Have you ever seen a raccoon play air harp with a sprinkler?    You're welcome.  Happy Friday!

Coffee Filter Lamp Shades

Dude Craft has a great idea for transforming an ordinary paper lamp (think Ikea) into a work of art, using nothing but a Modge Podge and coffee filters. The patterns are beautiful, aren't they?

An Adorable Little Girl with a Very Inspiring Story

Hello, readers! I'm finally back from Austin and feeling exhausted, but happy to he home again.

Let's jump right back into the swing of things, shall we? I came across this story this morning and found it so touching, I knew it had to be shared with you.

Little Alida, who suffers from a rare disease called neuroendocrine hyperplasia of infancy, is being kept alive by her companion dog, Mr. Gibbs, who has been trained to carry oxygen tanks on his back for her.  You can read more about her story here. If you're having a tough day or you need a little attitude adjustment, watch the video below too. What an inspiring story!

Alida and her best friend, Mr. Gibbs.

South by Southwest, Austin Bound!

It's almost Friday, readers!  For most of you, this means you're one step closer to enjoying the weekend. For me, it means I'm one step closer to taking one of the most demanding work trips of my life. In just a few hours, I'll be heading down to Austin, Texas, for their Interactive festival called South by Southwest.

Over the last few months, I've worked on planning several big events for my company while we're there, including a panel discussion with some very well-known Internet consultants, and one giant party that I've co-planned with folks from Bing, the search engine. In addition to booking a chart-topping, super secret band for one of our events, we're also having the following to entertain our guests:

The Bumbys!  They evaluate you for a few seconds and
then they write an appraisal (a haiku) about you.

MRI light painting! We're having this in a photo booth
instead of your standard photo booth stuff. Cool, huh?

Exciting stuff!!

Anyhoo... this will be my last post for the next five to six days so I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I'll be back at it and posting by Wednesday next week. See you then!

DIY St. Patrick's Day Votive Holders

Here's a fun little project I came up with over the weekend: do-it-yourself festive St. Patrick's Day votive holders!

I had a strong desire to do something creative and I'd been wanting to try Sharpie paint pens for a while. It turns out they're really fun to paint with! Also, when you're drawing with them on glass, if you make a mistake, you can quickly wipe it away and start over.  No fuss or mess!

Here's what you'll need to make your own St. Patrick's Day votive holders:

• glass votive holders (I used one that I had sitting around the house)
• votive candles
• Sharpie paint pens (I picked up several in green, silver, white and black from Michael's)

The green and silver colors contrast nicely, don't they?

Jumbo Sharpie paint pens like this one go for $3.00 each at craft stores.

A closer look...

I've shared this project at:

http://www.alittletipsy.com/
http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

Happy 100th Birthday, Oreo Cookies!

The Oreo cookie turns 100 years old tomorrow! 

To celebrate this birthday milestone, Kraft will be releasing a limited-edition cookie filled with colorful birthday cake sprinkles.  If you're one of Oreo's 23 million Facebook fans (what a reach!), then you no doubt already know this special cookie will be hitting grocery store shelves very soon.

Happy dunking!

So THIS Happened on Saturday...

We made an offer on this Seattle farmhouse and it was accepted!

Mixology Monday: The Reckoner (Infusing Bourbon)

Happy Monday everyone!  We tried a new cocktail joint over the weekend called The Clever Bottle.  I ended up ordering something called The Reckoner. It's a unique combination of fig-infused bourbon, cardamom, fresh-squeezed sour mix and egg whites.  Cardamom is definitely not something you'd expect to find in a drink, but it was delicious. I also loved the fig-infused bourbon. It gave the drink a little extra spice.

When we came home, I looked into how hard it might be to infuse my own bourbon. Turns out it's actually quite easy!  Basically, you fill a bottle of bourbon with your preferred infuser (apples, persimmons, etc.)  and then let it sit for three days. Take a look at this great how-to guide if you're interested. Cheers!

The Reckoner

The extensive cocktail list

All of their liquor is sourced locally, either from Washington or Oregon state