Category — Project + DIY

Ah, what a weekend! Temperatures soared to almost 30 degrees and it felt more like August than the first weekend in May! No complaints here…we soaked it up as much as we could. My youngest came down with a bad cold at some point (really not fair to be sick when it’s so beautiful out!) but sitting in a kiddie pool eating popsicles can do wonders! I got some much needed gardening in as well as some much needed rest. I’m actually feeling pretty caught up (minus the 3 loads of laundry I put off folding all weekend) and am relatively ready for the busy week ahead. What about you? How did you enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures? Mother’s Day is next weekend and with three kids under 10, my expectations are never high but it always feels great to receive handmade tidbits, made with love…

Cartolina + Rifle Paper Co. cards at Spruce Collective

Better Homes + Gardens

Hitch Design

Parcel Post

Urban Outfitters via DesignLoveFest

The Paper Mama

Furbish

Quill + Fox

Isn’t that floral monogram especially lovely? It would be such a pretty DIY for a wedding or birthday party and looks relatively easy to make, bonus! Sometimes I think the best gift for busy moms “in the thick of it” is time alone. I can literally count the days that I’ve spent alone inside my house over the last ten years, strange right? But those rare quiet moments (without chores, cooking, driving around or other to-do’s) are such a treat. How will you be showing the special mama(s) in your life that you care? Enjoy this sun-filled Monday…how will we ever get any work done?!

So, here it is Friday again and I still don’t have a good name for this shiny new weekly post. Help please! Friday Faves…Weekly Round Up…Weekend Warm Up…yawn, yawn and triple YAWN!  What should I call my Friday edition? I’d love to hear your ideas since I don’t seem to be getting anywhere fast. This week felt a little stressful/overwhelming for some reason but we had a houseful of dear friends and kids over for dinner last night and I feel all the better for it. It’s amazing what good friends can do to restore the spirits, isn’t it? Here are a few of my favourite web finds of the week…

1. This print should probably be our new motto at the shop (we paint a lot of #$% gold!)…

Jay Roeder

2. This Mother’s Day tea party is far too perfect…origami butterflies,  anyone? Gorgeous.

Janis Nicolay for Poppytalk

3. We’re about to expand our clothing boutique at Spruce so I’ve got outfits like this on my mind…

Off of Broadway

4. Pretty taken by the geometric punch of this DIY pendant light…it would look great in Gabe’s room!

Vintage Revivals

5. Loving the curated collections in PJ Mehaffey + Dylan Hightower’s eclectic home…

Design*Sponge

6. Really trying to make my health a priority, exercising and drinking smoothies like this every day…

Camille Styles

7. Determined to break my current “black thumb” streak and get out into my garden…gnomes like this might help!

Tracey Ayton

And since at least a few of you seemed to like my mix tape last week, here’s another to help us roll into the sunshine this weekend! Pretty sure I’ll be enjoying at least one cool drink on my patio…how ’bout you?

1. Churchill: The War Within
2. Tegan + Sara: How Come You Don’t Want Me Now
3. Cayucas: High School Lover
4. Miike Snow: Animal
5. Vampire Weekend: Run
6. Me In You: Kings of Convenience
7. We Are the Tide: Blind Pilot
8. Plug In Stereo: Oh Darling
9. Stars: Hold On When You Get Love, Let Go When You Give It
10. Gotye: Save Me

We’ve got plenty of sun and a random heatwave in the forecast so it’s time to dig out the flip flops and get some colour onto my pale winter skin…very much needed! We’ve got 3 kids birthday parties and a Cinco de Mayo shindig packed in over the next couple of days, what do you have planned? So Cheers to the sunshine, Salut to good friends and Cin cin to a Happy Weekend :)

Now that I’ve got a spiffy new blog design, I thought I should think up some snazzy new names for regularly occurring blog features. Friday Favourites, hmm. Not exactly original, I know (and my use of the words “spiffy” and “snazzy” is somewhat worrisome too) but it is what it is for today! I’m a visual person and while link lists work well for some, time is short and I need to see inspiring pictures before clicking through so here are some of my top links of the week:

1. This family farmhouse over at Country Living is right up my alley…isn’t that vintage mail cabinet crazy? As in awesome?

Country Living

2. I seem to have a black thumb these days but this DIY Succulent Wreath is too pretty not to try…

DIY Succulent Wreath by Prudent Baby

3. Clare Elsaesser‘s art gives me goosbumps…in a good, pull-on-the-heartstrings kind of way…and Victoria over at SF Girl by Bay has a giveaway going on right now for one of her prints. I’d choose this one, “Married to the Sea”. Fingers crossed…

Tastes Orangey  (Great contest for a 16×20 print over at SF Girl by Bay!)

4. This peek inside Katie Stratton‘s art studio, featured on A Beautiful Mess is too good not to share…

Katie Stratton‘s Studio featured on A Beautiful Mess

5. Shelley introduced her shop, Dignify, to me this week and I’ve been revisiting it all week. Beautiful Kantha blankets (made from vintage saris!), jewelry and more, all handmade by women around the world. Love the products and LOVE the philosophy behind it all. Stay tuned for more about Dignify…

Loving these Kantha Throws from Dignify

Now, it was only 3 years ago that Rachel and I swore to each other that we’d never share music on Birch + Bird. Keep in mind that I also once swore that brass hardware would never ever see the light of day in my home (click here to see me eat my words). Never say never, right? My close friends know that I’m a huge fan of mix tapes (well, mixed CD’s actually) and I’m pretty prone to slipping them in purses at parties! I think the habit started when I was about 9 years old, secretly taping the Top 10 at 10 when I was supposed to be sleeping! Anyway, new music makes me happy and here are a few tunes from my current playlist,  just in time for the weekend :

1. Hannah Georgas: Somebody
2. Lord Huron: Time to Run
3. Ellie Goulding: Anything Could Happen
4. Rah Rah: Prairie Girl
5. Two Door Cinema Club: Sun
6. Chairlift: I Belong in Your Arms
7. The Lumineers: Submarines
8. Class Actress: Keep You
9. Philip Phillips: Gone Gone Gone
10. Hey Ocean: Give

My musical tastes are about as eclectic as my decor sensibilities but hopefully you like the mix tape! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Well, I’m wiped from the weekend. I’m not sure what’s more exhausting…corralling 11 ten year olds in a public place or hosting 14 combined family members under our roof, phew! But we had a great time and Gabe is blessed with such a loving family and some truly great friends.

I’m a longtime fan of gallery walls (as you may have seen in my own home below) but, despite my somewhat Type A personality, I’m drawn to eclectic salon style arrangements far more than the more orderly, symmetrical versions. There definitely needs to be some sort of balance to the collection but matching frames and too much of a theme make me yawn a little bit. Don’t mind the odd crooked pic in my own home and scroll down to see more inspiring examples of well thought out gallery walls…

My bedroom. Photo by Janis Nicolay for HGTV

My daughters’ shared room. Photo by Janis Nicolay for HGTV

The Apartment via Style Me Pretty

Like the look but not sure where to start? Thrift stores are hands down the most affordable place to find art that you love and most of my favourite pieces have been found in one junk barn or another. Etsy is my next best bet (pour yourself a coffee and prepare to browse for awhile) and I’ve seen some amazing pieces purchased at local art schools in friends’ homes too. And of course, family photos always add a personal touch. But my best advice is to simply buy what you love! Why would you want to look at anything else?

Land of Nod

The Selby via SF Girl by Bay

Old Made New

A Beautiful Mess

Vogue Living via SF Girl by Bay

Hitta Hem

Do haphazard frames and artwork make you cringe or are you of the quirkier-the-better frame of mind? Either way, gallery walls are the perfect way to feature growing art collections all in one room. Afraid of moving things around and potential nail holes? Don’t be…nothing a little hole filler and leftover paint can’t touch up! Have a great start to your week :)

As promised, I’m here to share some pretty pics and DIY’s from Sadie’s seventh birthday party that we hosted at Spruce last Friday. She’s been planning her crafty party in the workshop for months and it was so cute watching all the four-seven year olds trying to be ladylike in such a grownup space :) Because our back room is already so pretty, I didn’t even think about actual party decorations until about an hour before the kiddos arrived…whoops! But lucky for me there were plenty of creative supplies on hand! I rolled out a kraft paper runner for the tea party table and painted it with as many sweet sounding words starting with S that I could think of. Then I “borrowed” some goodies from around the shop (Jessica made the heart/string art and Monica strung the vintage doilies), brought in some fresh flowers and ordered child-sized High Tea from Tracycakes. I think it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself…

Another last minute decision was our DIY craft. Sadie and I had originally thought we’d try making polymer clay bead necklaces (like these) but without an oven at the store, I thought it might prove too tricky. We then decided to pick up terra cotta pots from the Dollar Store for her friends to paint until we started setting up for the tea party with our stash of mismatched cups and saucers…light bulb! We’ve got a number of Pebeo Porcelaine paint pens on hand from past classes and we have a wide variety of permanent markers, which also work great on porcelain. I happened to find some strong multi-purpose glue in the storage room that is strong enough for ceramic and had already purchased spring bulbs and divided them up into smaller pieces. So basically, it cost me the price of the plants…win win! It didn’t take long for Sadie and her 7 friends to get busy…

Step 1: Draw directly onto the teacup and saucer with Pebeo pens or permanent marker. Images will be much more durable if baked in the oven, according to instructions, but I wasn’t too worried about  things being dishwasher safe for this craft. This is Lilah’s saucer below ;)

Step 2: Use a minimal amount of ceramic-strength glue to affix teacup to saucer. Press firmly and let dry for one hour, or according to instructions.

3. After glue has dried, plant spring bulbs or other flowers gently in teacup. Lightly water.

4. Top with a gold critter of your choice! These ones were ones that I spray painted gold for a past terrarium class…love the hippo!

And voila! A messy but fun little party craft perfect for kids and adults alike! Pretty cute, right? Most importantly, the birthday girl was happy as could be!