my inspiration

some time last year i started my inspiration notebook. and i don't know how i ever lived without it. 

i used to get tons of old magazines from mom and sister-in-laws, and kept them in stacks with lots of dogeared pages. but no more! i'd like to share:

it's a simple 3-ring binder, with a cloth cover that i made and embroidered {the back is light blue} i keep stuff that i'm inspired by, have diy instructions, or i want to make.

i currently have 8 different categories. they are home, clothing, accessories, paper craft, miscellaneous, random inspiration, holiday, health & beauty {i still have a few things that don't fit, so they just get tucked in the front pockets}

everything gets tucked into page protectors. multi-page articles get put together in one sleeve, and little images are taped onto a blank page.

here's a little peek at some of my favorites: {click to enlarge}

{home}

{accessories}

{random inspiration}

one of my all-time favorites: 

do you have your own notebook? i want to take a peek, too :)

last day of school cupcakes

today was the last day of school. we had so much fun! and one of the things i did with my kids was give out "awards" {you know, stuff like best laugh, mr. nice guy, miss congeniality, ect} so to go along with the little certificates i made up, i gave out these "award ribbon" cupcakes.

{fruit roll-up ribbons and white chocolate and sprinkle letters}

don't they look cool all together?

and if you're wondering how i carry all these cupcakes around, it's in this awesome carrier my mom gave me a few years ago. 3 stack-able tiers that fit inside a carrier with handles. very awesome. {and for me, a must-have}

t

they were a hit! and a lot of fun to think up. definitely not perfect, but then again, i wasn't really going for perfection :)

crafty guest posting

come see me on joanne's craft blog today. 

especially if you want to make one of these:

{the terrarium that is}

mail surprise!

i checked the mail yesterday and was surprised by this package, from who else but my bestie! i have never run up the stairs to open something so fast in my life.

and of course, what is a best friend for but to indulge your weird obsession with vintage frogs {especially in mug form!} 

i love it- so much character :)

{remind me some time to show you the rest of my froggy collection}

topped off with these goodies:

oh sarah, you're the best!

the chair: progress report

it's finished!

see before photos here

i can't believe it's already done! i spent most of my weekend working on it, but since i approached everything the "angie" way {wing it as you go, and be willing to do, redo and re-redo things} i just figured it would take awhile. 

and while there are lots of imperfections, i am thrilled with the result! i love the way it turned out, and now it's not such an eyesore {hubby says it never was, but i always had a serious problem with it.}

i think it's my favorite chair now. i added extra padding to the inside of the arms, so it's actually a lot more comfortable now.

the kitties wasted no time in reclaiming it. 

yeah, they're totally ridiculous, and i'm ridiculously excited about how this turned out :)

stamping wishlist

i don't do a lot of stamping {i just dabble} but when i run across stuff like this, it makes me want to take it up as a serious hobby. 

camera rubber stamp

 turning the mount into a camera? way too cool.

i

wooden deco line

 i can see making some adorable cards with matching envelopes with these. i can't even pick a favorite.

f

vintage office rubber stamp kit

to send some adorable packages. among other things.

p

love stamp set

possibly my favorite of the bunch. and hubby always like handmade cards :)

anyway, i just couldn't resist sharing part of my wishlist.

and tomorrow, i'm gonna show you how my chair project is going. i'm excited!

kitty love

i love my kitties. a lot. 

i always say i'm not really a cat person, i just like mine. otherwise, i prefer dogs. 

but how can you resist all this cuteness?!?

{aria is grey, cache is orange}

sometimes we call her fatty catty cause she doesn't really watch her figure :)

and the kitty cache, as we like to call him. can you tell that he's sleeping in the unfinished chair? i can't keep him out of it!

the (possibly too ambitious) chair project

this is it. the chair. the chair that has worn corners, and permanent cat hair {the only cat-hair-covered item we own} the chair that husband loves to read it, and i try to pretend is not there.

and since i'm so honest, and have no shame, this is what it really looks like:

::shudder::

 but did i mention that husband loves it?

so my plan {for over a year now} has been to cover it. but fabric is expensive, and i've never done anything like this before so i keep putting it off. but last weekend when i was home i found this twin comforter my big sister gave my mom, and the colors are perfect! and it's awesome! and i was lamenting the fact it wasn't big enough for our bed. 

{tan cotton heavy twill, corduroy stripes, and houndstooth/paisely wool}

see how well it matches our rug!?

and then i was struck by genius. i'm recovering our chair with it. 

 yup, that's right. i'm covering our chair with a blanket. 

and it's gonna be awesome! {if i don't totally screw it up}

  {matching pillow sham}

i've never attempted any project like this before, so i decided to attack it in steps:

step 1: go to the library and check out lots of books on how to do it.

step 2: look at the pictures {don't actually read anything} and feel confident that this project will be a breeze. {cause the pictures make it look so easy!}

step 3: drink some iced tea, and start tomorrow!

ok no, i've already started, but i'll let you know when {if} i finish. i fully expect this project to take me weeks cause i prefer to learn by trial-and-error. {which can be quite time consuming} but i'm excited! 

wish me luck?

violin fingers

this past weekend i went to omaha to visit my family and play a gig with my sister- dinner music for my mom's women's retreat {the last one she planned before she moves to chicago in june}

 {and yeah, sister and i decided to match and wear black and yellow. cause we're awesome and never too old to be matchy-matchy}

i know it looks like we're just making goofy faces, but we're really that {some might say overly} dramatic. 

but whatever, we have fun.

and what was supposed to be 1 hour of dinner music, turned into 2 {which was fine with me, because little sister and i don't get many opportunities to play to together anymore and we had plenty of music} and if you've never seen a violinists fingers after 2 straight hours of playing {and a 20 minute warm-up} let me show you:

can you see all the little black lines? it looks really weird, but it doesn't last long. it had already mostly worn off 20 minutes later, when i took the photo. the little indentations from the strings are already totally gone.

it somehow feels oddly satisfying- like i've been playing super hard {which i guess, technically, i was}

me as a greeting card

so a few weeks ago i went over to t-la-re for a fun 50's photo shoot.

it was awesome! and so much fun.

kim b took our photos, edited them, added some hilarious captions and made them into cards, magnets, and prints. 

 did i mention that they're awesome?!

and yeah, i got the coolest yellow 50's dress from misti {the store owner} and this is one of 2 photos of me that kim printed. i feel very special :)

if you want to see the other cards she printed up and you're in the area head over to t-la-re.  and if you're not in kansas, then just check out this website.

{the photos were taken from her blog. also awesome}

may day baskets!

i'm still reeling over all the wonderful comments you all left me yesterday! i feel very loved, indeed!i'll be visiting all my new followers soon- i'm so happy to make some new bloggy friends :)

so, since i was away i didn't get to post all my amazing may day baskets! and i literally can't wait any longer to share all the wonderfulness.
i got this little bundle of may day love from kellie over at the rice babies

i really love the fabric scraps, felt flowers, handmade earrings, and notecards.

plus this little fawn, which i hung up immediately. i love the handmade goodness <3

this package came from gabrielle at bee wise bags

oilcloth scraps, vintage hankies, pin cushion ring, notecards and grocery bag pattern {with all materials included}

i've already sent half of these cards out. i love them! and i'm loving the grocery bag {i'll have to show you that one later}

i also sent out my packages, too.

this one went to jess from the mundane adventures of miss jess
{i wrote the address wrong, so it got sent back to me, but hopefully it's there now!}

and this one went to kami at bellevue natural health

and of course, i couldn't leave out my bestie, so i sent her a few goodies, too

i had such a wonderful time with this swap and i hope you all did as well! thanks so much for joining the fun- let's do it again sometime, k?

the comeback kid!

today is a big day for me- besides returning from my little bloggy hiatus, i'm today's featured blogger on sits! so welcome and hello to all my new visiting friends! 

i feel so much pressure to show off my entire personality in this little post- but instead of trying too hard, how about i just link a couple of my favorite posts so you can get to know me on your own?

a little about my life: la boheme

one of my favorite crafty posts: christmas stockings

my thoughts about: girlfriends

and you can always click on any photos in the right column to read more.

i'm so excited to be back, and i'm so excited you're all here!  i can't wait to catch up with you all and say "hello!" {plus, i've got lots of things to show you. and did i mention i missed you?}