the Play Space Collection.

My new design blog, Sissyprint, has just opened the Sissy Shoppe on Etsy.  

We are JUST starting, so more items will be making their debut.  

Currently listed is the Play Space Collection!
I can't wait to hang these goodies in my children's room.

Check it out here!

And, there will be a giveaway this weekend at Sissyprint.

So stop by and enter!

Happy summer everyone!

Doesn't the sunshine just make you happy?!

all images and illustrations are ©emily ward

Happy Summer Print

My mom always had cross stitch samplers that she'd change out throughout the year.

Easter, Summer, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fall, Winter, Christmas...

Why not do the same with a little graphic wall art?

Find a frame you love and just switch out the graphic periodically as season and holidays change.

Click here to download a high quality pdf of this graphic.

Don't forget to visit Jordan at Blueprint Crafts for the "New to You" series today!
She just turned an old mason jar into this little goodie...

Happy Summer!

Thrifty Work Space

 I wish I knew how to make my camera take bright photos.  Any tips anyone?  This is my workspace and ALL of it (with the exception of my computer) was purchased on a budget.  A very TIGHT budget. But, especially as a freelance designer, I spend a lot of time at this little place.  So, it has to be a place I enjoy being.

I got this lamp off clearance for $8, the squirrel for $5, and the vintage alarm clock for $2.

 I honestly think my husband thought I'd gone too far when I brought Howard home.  But, he keeps me company.

A vintage suitcase purchased for a few dollars at an estate sale a few years ago.

I'm still searching for one a little flatter.  But, I'm keeping this one around in the meantime.

My second favorite, a mustard yellow office chair, totally vintage and absolutely free.

A flag garland made from burlap and leftover fabric scraps from my grain sack pillows.

This craigslist find is my favorite piece of furniture I own.  It was a bit of a splurge for me at $200.  But, it was already finished, is solid wood, and was custom-built for the previous owner.  I've been searching for some antique, mustard yellow knobs, but have yet to fall in love.  But, this is a refuge I don't mind working in.

New love for an old window

Not so long ago, I was behind a local goodwill store, dropping off some bags from a de-cluttering spree.

Propped up against the side of the building were a few old windows, recently dropped off, no doubt.

I asked the man collecting donations if I could purchase the lot of them, on the spot.

He told me just to take them.  I probably got embarrassingly excited and quickly swept them into the back of my car.  Oh, the ideas...

There are so many vinyl on glass calendars out there.  So, I realize this is no novel idea.

But, an old window adds a new flare, I think.  And there were already holes drilled into the wood, so stringing through some wire and ribbon for hanging was a breeze.

No painting or distressing necessary.  It was roughed up to perfection, as is.

New to me and pretty much free.  Life is good.

Vintage Flour Sacks... oh the options!

My absolute favorite thrift-type store is Vain & Vintage in Pocatello, Idaho. All things vintage, all things perfect. I really need to do an entirely separate post simply to introduce you to this place. It's truly glorious. I feel right at home whenever I'm there. On my most recent trip down Center Street, I stumbled across a stack of vintage flour sacks. I instantly fell in love with the graphic elements, printed onto the fabric in perfect shades of blue-grey, bright reds, and a rustic navy blue. They ranged in price from $7 to $12. A little pricier than I would have liked. I'm a 50 cent kind of girl. But, I fell so head over heels, I had to splurge a little for these.

Today, I'm going to show you how I like to rock pillows. I'm a germaphobe, so I formulated this "pocket pillow." It's a cinch to whip up and easy to peel off the pillow case when it needs a good washing. You can find vintage flour sack on ebay (although the large canvas ones like this are a bit trickier to hunt down). Or, you can call on the lovely ladies at Vain and Vintage.

Cut your pieces. My pillow form is 16"x16", so my instructions are directed toward those dimensions.

Give the inner edge of back panel 1 and back panel 2 a 1" hem.

Lay the back panels on top of the front panel, right sides together. Be sure to layer back panel 1 under back panel 2. This is the part that will allow the case to removed from the pillow form later on, if need be.

Now for the speedy part! Just sew around all four sides of the square. I tried to make a graphic for you to understand how the pieces need lay. See the "sandwich" to the right? Hope that makes sense.

Clip the corners of your pillowcase without severing your stitching. This will make your corners nice and smooth once you turn it right-side out.

Turn your pillowcase right-side out. Iron that baby, make it look a little more profesh, and insert your form. See the pocket on the back side? I ran out of sack material for this pillow. So, I supplemented a little with some ticking I had in my stash.

Ta-da! Done-zo! I've got flour sacks on the brain lately. Here are some other fun options they can be used for! P.S. I got this rocking chair at a garage sale for $4.  Just sanded it down, primed, painted, and distressed!  Now, it's one of my favorite things.

Shopbellavita.com

sarawakianali.blogspot.com

sarahblucastle.com

Am I crazy if I want to sprinkle my itty bitty apartment with flour sack elements? Covered chairs, pillows, maybe some curtains for my kitchen... I might go a little overboard. Love these little gems.

Blueprint Crafts Monday - craigslist rehab

Doesn't this coffee table look totally anthro? I love it. Check it out over at Blueprint Crafts today!

Love Nest Wall Decor Freebie

Lately, I've been attempting to decorate my itty bitty apartment to make it feel a little more "me." Not gonna lie, it has not been easy. We are still living in limbo waiting for the job, so my budget for decor is nil. But, that's okay... it's forced me to be creative, so not all is lost.

What better way to spruce up the place with a little wall art? And ta-da! FREE! You can also resize them and use them for cards, housewarming gift gift tags, etc. Lots of uses

Want one of these goodies for yourself? There are two versions. Go here and here to snag some!

I love Valentine's Day.

Vintage Summer - Flower Power

So, a little irony this week as Blueprint Crafts also posted about planters this week!

How charming is this old pitcher? I love it! I even think the imperfections add to its flare.

Old galvanized buckets, vintage coke bottle boxes, antique bowls...

What found objects have you used for planters this summer?

homemade pop art with an owl in the mix

I have been looking for a whimsical print to hang in the room of little Lady P.

I haven't had much luck finding anything I particularly love. Lots of like, but no love.

For some reason or another, I've developed a crush on owls.

I found this photograph of a cute little owl on google images and saved it to my desktop.

Then I discovered this fantastic photoshop tutorial and transformed the owl photo into a duotone print of my own. You can do any color. Pink was just a no-brainer for me.

Just some free art for your home. What a deliciously easy goodie.

Happy summer everyone! It was 81 degrees in Idaho today! YAY!

Reader Tip Tuesday - Mothers Day Gift Idea

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Miss Elizabeth with To Be Charmed, but it really is one of my favorites. I kinda think Elizabeth and I could be kindred spirits because everything she posts makes me drool. From inspiring projects she's found elsewhere to items she's conjured up in that genius mind of hers, I love it all. Now, I know Mothers Day is coming and Elizabeth forwarded me this lovely, feminine spin on packaging a gift. I adore those gorgeous tissue paper flowers! And to pair them with a nicely scented candle. Perfection. I can NEVER have too many candles. These flowers make me want to make some GIANT ones and hang them over the crib of my little Lady "P." This is the final feature for Featured April, so be sure to get all the details for this project here.

Thanks to everyone who submitted tips! There are some ladies out there with some wicked good ideas. Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Reader Tip Tuesday - Tile Coaster

Hey everyone! Meet Jordan! She is the genius behind the featured blog of the week, Blue Print Crafts. I love when you find something at a store, laugh hysterically at the outrageous markup in price, and say to yourself in total confidence, "I can make that, better and cheaper." And that is precisely how Jordan rolls. See these DARLING tile coasters? She saw some at Tarshay (aka Target) for $15 and had her own "I can make that" moment. Get the lowdown on how to make these goodies here. I'm adding this project to my next girly weekend. Love it.

Just keepin it in the family

As many of you know, Ruffles and Stuff has been hosting quite the exciting contest this month. I've been racking my brains for something ruffly and haven't been able to come up with anything. I think it's fair to say I've been afflicted with non-creativitis lately and it shows.

Sorry guys.

With the deadline being tomorrow, I had almost decided not to participate. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about family. Our families are such a blessing and have such importance in our lives. So, I decided I would make a family tree. I was a little intimidated with the feat of trying to make a tree out of ruffles. But, I think the texture of the ruffles is what makes it looks so whimsical.

Wanna make one? I cut a bunch of elongated triangular shapes out of the brown flannel and ruffled them up. I laid out the branches and trunk onto a sky blue print and sewed them in place. If I were to do this again, I think I would have ruffled the sky blue backdrop.

I ruffled up a ton of flowers out of two different green cotton twills. Initially, the flowers were all the same sizes, but I love the variety of sizes much better. Even throwing on a few yo-yo flowers would be darling!

Most of the flowers are embellished with vintage buttons or pearls so you can hang miniature "name tags" from them. I just cut a few small rectangles from cream card stock, hand-wrote a few family names onto them, poked a piece of thread directly through the "tag", tied a knot, and looped it around a button.

What fun it will be to continue adding to it over the years! I realize the construction details of this piece are vague, so if you'd like to make one, feel free to email me questions and I'd be happy to help you as much as I can.

Happy Easter everyone and happy weekend!

Reader Tip Tuesday - Spoon Rehab

I love things that are unusual, unexpected, and add a little whimsy to life.

So, when a reader sent me a post about these sad little guys...

That she rehabbed into these black beauties... I kind of got tickled.

Because I kind of love them.

They came from Random Thoughts of a SuperMom. If you want to check out all the details on this project, you can visit Kelli's work here. And really, all you have to do is spend a few minutes browsing through her other projects to realize her blog is appropriately titled. She truly is a SuperMom! Plus, she often leaves me some super nice comments.

So, like her spoon and fork, I kind of love her too! Thanks for the tip, Kelli!

Paper Mache Grass Bowl

Sorry guys! I've been kind of M.I.A. with the projects lately! I've been a busy little bee with some design jobs and rehabbing a few craigslist finds. But, I'm back! And, I've got a fun one for you today! Easter is coming and I needed a little art project to enjoy with Buster "J." I remembered seeing this project in a magazine a while back and thought I'd give it a whirl. It's super simple, fun to do with the kiddos or on your own, and just in time for the upcoming holiday.

Shred some lightweight paper using either a paper shredder or just cutting strips with scissors. I did mine in varying colors of green, but any bright color would be fun!

For the glue, mix 1 part water to 2 parts glue. Cover the outside of a bowl with saran wrap and tape inside to hold it in place. Paint a thin layer of glue over the saran.

Lightly sprinkle the strips of paper with water to moisten, and start layering paper over the bowl.

Once finished layering on the paper, apply a coating of glue over the paper. Let sit undisturbed until it's completely dry and hardened. Mine took about 36 hours.

Gently separate the bowl from the saran, then the saran from the paper strips. Take your time and whala! DONE! I can't wait to fill this with some dyed eggs. More pictures to come. I just didn't have anything exciting to fill it with yet.

P.S. Speaking of dying eggs, I have some FREE labels and tags coming to help you host an egg dyeing party. Stay tuned for those little goodies.