Pinspiration Sunday

Hellooooo!  Yes, it's been a while since I last posted but you see, for we teachers there is currently a much bigger, more stressful time of year upon us than Christmas - the dreaded report-writing season!  However, I'm happy to announce that despite nightmarish dreams last night involving me suddenly discovering I had new students added to my class, for which I had to write reports last minute (true story!), I am officially finished writing reports for my class.  Whew!  So now I can finally start to enjoy the holiday season - I'll share with you what I've been up to recently later this week.  For now, go grab your hot beverage of choice and let's have some pin-sharing fun.

Currently:
* listening - to the radio; Sunday countdown programme
* reading - hahaa!  No, seriously, you think I have time to read these days?!
* making - Secret Santa gift for a co-worker (squee!)
* eating - nothing yet
* drinking - water
* wearing - PJ shorts and fleece top
* weather - cloudy, wet snow, 1C
* feeling - starving!
* wanting - more hours in the day
* needing - to seriously get back in control of the eating situation
* planning - everything that needs doing before flying on the 18th
* thinking - I'm sorry, I don't understand the question...  Brain is mush.
* loving - being done with report writing!  Did I mention that already?  Whoot!
* enjoying - the wee bit of snow we received

And on to the pins...

One-Day Wonder Pillow

Still need some quick gift ideas or home decor for the holidays?  Consider some quick and easy throw pillows.  Love the star but also the running stitch in the background adds great dimension, texture and interest.

DIY Earbud Case

Here's a cute stocking stuff idea that the music-lover or smart phone junkie in your family would likely appreciate.

 

No Sew Tree Skirt

Here's a modern but simple take on the tree skirt that anyone with a glue gun and a pair of scissors can do.  I love how delicate it looks.  Perhaps add a few gold beads to the centers of the flowers?

Perseverance by Amy Heller

I'm totally in love with this LO and not just because I was a figure skater half a life ago.  I often enjoy circular designs but what really did it for me was the wiggly stitch lines that mimic blade lines on the ice.  Total nostalgia.

Mistletoe

I also really love this LO.  Crate Paper has been featuring crafting with pink for the holidays on their blog, as their Bundled Up collection features a lot of pink and it's been very inspirational!

Twine Wreath Card

I know, I know - Thanksgiving was months ago now but I really like the idea of the twine wreath; easily adaptable to Christmas cards if you're still frantically searching for inspiration for those last minute cards (or haven't started yet - eek!).

 

DIY Ornament Wreath

 And speaking of wreaths, how about this gorgeous DIY bauble wreath?  Totally gorg, right?  And what's even better - super cheap and easy to make!  Win, win.

Felt Owl Decorations

Owls!  Yup, my owl obsession kicked in when I spied these cuties!  No ready-made pattern but really, you can figure it out from the photo.  Felt, embroidery floss, ribbon and black beads.  You can do it, I have faith in you.  ;)

Cookie Cutter Decorations

I also thought these were a cute and unusual idea - use cheap cookie cutters as shadow box frames for little holiday vignettes.

Colour Share

And a little colour palette love to leave you with today.  I just love red and turquoise together - they're like the perfect combination for just about anything, as far as I'm concerned.

All right, I'm going to cut myself off there or I might just spam you with another 100 or so images (gah, don't you just love/hate Pinterest?) and deprive you of any time to actually get your own holidays sorted.

Pinspiration Sunday

So, a lot of new goodies in the crafting world with CHA-S last week.  I'll admit, I was hooked entirely on the scrapbooking market side of the event.  I'm really not sure how my budget is going to survive my next purchase once the new releases are available - I have something akin to at least 3 collections either already in or eagerly awaiting going into my 2Peas bucket - yikes!  Anyway, go grab your hot beverage of choice and cozy up for your weekly dose of photo love.

Currently:
* listening - to the birds chirp and the wind blow
* reading - Through the Kaleidoscope (Amy Heller's scrapbooking colour theory class)
* making - my first Amsterdam travel LO!  (trip 2 years ago)
* eating - far too many unhealthy things lately - really must get a grip
* drinking - water
* wearing - PJs
* weather - overcast, 22C
* feeling - hungry
* wanting - far too many beautiful new CHA products *sighs*
* planning - to set up my new paper stash system
* loving - having an old friend over for a weekend crop; thanks, Anya!
* enjoying - Oskar snoozing in his basket next to my bed (sweetness)

This past week's inspiration:

Heirloom: Citrus by Joel Dewberry

OMG, total *love*!  I just found this this morning and although I've been planning for years to re-decorate my lounge in a lovely mauve, I'm seriously considering changing my mind to these.  There is even a selection of the collection available in home decor weight fabrics.

Tips for Perfect Pressing

I will admit, I have a tendency to fall victim to this - I don't always properly press my sewing and it can turn around a bite me in the butt later.  Always good to review the 'basics', as it were, and not get sloppy.  I also quite liked the envelope tip to avoid getting seam allowance lines on your blocks - very handy.

Little Free Library

I just think this is so inspirational - a grassroots organisation promoting free lending and exchanging of books using tiny little birdhouse/mailbox-like containers in communities worldwide.  Such a great initiative!

2Peas Mix & Match Pinterest Challenge

This is my Pinterest board for the 2Peas Mix & Match CHA-S challenge game.  If you've not seen this, the premise is to choose 5 current products from the 2Peas store and 5 yet-to-be-released products and mix n'match them together for a unique look of old and new.  I based my board on the absolutely *gorgeous* Carta Bella Hello Again collection (yes, that will be jumping into my next 2Peas bucket for sure).  There's a mix of Maggie Holmes, OA, Webster's Pages and Fancy Pants in there as well.

Beating the Heat by Kiwijesta

How awesome is this page by Kiwijesta at 2Peas?  She was inspired by Paige Evans and her use of scraps but I really feel that she's made it her own, hands down.  I love everything about this page from the misting to the paper choices to the embellishments and especially that pop of dark turquoise in the title and journaling.  Just awesome.

You've Got Mail card

Serious cuteness alert - I love this idea.  I could see adapting a matchbox for this card or of course you could just DIY the shape from cardstock scraps.  Would be a really unique way of inserting gift certificates, event tickets or anything else.

DIY Embellished Bobby Pins tutorial

The Maggie Holmes embellished clips were very popular in her recent release and there's more on the way in the new collection.  I've also seen bobby pins being used in card making recently, too, so it's certainly a growing trend.  I love the look of these fabric covered button pins and they're super easy to make - you just need a button covering kit and some flat-backed bobby pins.

Origami Arrow tutorial

I also thought this origami tutorial could be fun to try for when you're short on dimensional arrows or want to focus on using up your paper scraps, etc.

North Pole by WRMK

I will undoubtedly have an entire post on the topic of finding this year's Christmas collection of choice, which seems to have been a whole 'drama' unto itself.  However, I'm really liking the look of North Pole, by We Are Memory Keepers (go figure).  More on this at a later time.

Colour Carb palette

And finally, since I'm taking a colour theory class at the moment, let's enjoy some colour love.  How yummy and delicious is this palette (haha!).  *swoon*  It reminds me of Amy Tan's gorgeous Yes, Please collection, which I believe I can safely say is my currently all-time favourite collection to date.  Just yum.