in the mood for scrapbooking :) mmm'yeah.

although scrapbooking is a therapeutic pass-time that allows me to organize my collection of photos in a meaningful format, i've found myself guilty of cheating on it with summer these past several months. as if that weren't bad enough, my sewing machine has also been getting plenty of action and attention from me too, but now that the weather has taken a drastic drop... there's not a more perfect time for me to once again cozy up inside the house with these nostalgic memories.

they say we take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone - and making the time to revisit and sort out these developed vignettes of my life to rekindle a much neglected love is just what i'll do! now that everything is out and in sight... here's to hoping i'll be able to complete a few more of my books in progress this winter; a few pages at a time!

...if youre thinking "wow, what a mess!" this is actually organized in my own messy way! eheh.

DIY wine coozy :) how fun!

some people enjoy winding down to tv. others might do it by going out... but all i need is good music, a glass of wine and inspiration :) i stumbled upon this wine coozy idea a few weeks ago and thought: genius... and cute!

it also makes for a more personal companion when gifting your favorite bottle - and the best part, you can skip the wine bag and/or bow... and customize it any way you see fit! definitely in my realm... and most definitely a dorothy project!

this tutorial i followed is pretty simple and straightforward. using leftover fabric, i found a coordinating print from my stash to balance out the girly pink! the hardest part was probably deciding whether i wanted to use my pink buttons, or the gold ones! hha.

there were also a few "tweaks" between my cozy and the original that is worth noting though...
1) i didn't need to use batting because my coordinating fabric was thick enough.
2) instead of using two buttons, i had a set of four i wanted to integrate and found it secured much better in two points, versus one... as well as looked neater too.
3) rather than fastening with twine or cord, i used two coordinating NEW hair ties and it was the perfect touch to bring it full circle; literally! talk about a minimalistic approach to re-purposing! i'm a happy girl right now! (i'm doing a happy dance too, haha.)

practical. useful. and easy! but most of all, so darling cute!

and it was such a totally simple and rad diy - i made another one! ahah.

DIY cardboard "scrap" book!

i don't know about you, but i have a pretty large arsenal of quality scrap paper (and fabrics, for that matter) that i've acquired from previous projects over the years. dub me a hoarder, but i still think they're too good to toss... plus, i keep telling myself "one day i'll use them for a really cool project!" and uhhhh'm, yeah - no. hasn't happened, ahah.

seeing them slowly accumulate in a box is not very inspiring either... especially when i have to justify keeping it around every time i reorganize. as if that weren't bad enough, with the recent holidays, cardboard boxes have also been piling up! although i'm not complaining :) thank you for thinking of me, friends, i love presents! eheh.


anywaaays, this cardboard "scrap"book project came to me, recently, like one of those over-exaggerated and animated eureka moments! while i was reorganizing my arts/crafts supplies and faced with the challenge of having to justfify my box of various scrap paper (for the nth time! or throw it away). challenge, accepted! and i ended up making this neat little cardboard [literally] scrap book in an attempt to use up what i could! <3

the first thing i did was cut the cardboard into similar sizes; it didn't need to be perfect..! :)
second, i went through my scraps and picked out the salvageable pieces :) naturally, a color scheme surfaced. 

third, i took out my scrapbooking boxes containing my letters, embellishments, ribbons, trinkets, etc... and found complimentary pieces to use in tandem with my scraps to create basic layouts and decoration.

the fourth step was going through my box of "old" photos that never made it into my traditional scrapbooks and picked out a themed-selection to use for this particular book. in this case, it was pieces of me while i lived in milwaukee, wisconsin.

after all the "pages" were put together, i drilled holes into each cardboard piece and secured it all together using twine... and might i add, i absolutely love the finished product! this was the perfect dorothy project to re-purpose leftover cardboard, use up some scraps and showcase photographs that've been sitting in a box for the last [almost] decade! it's no secret i love, love, love all things handmade :) so i'm kinda proud of this little baby. don't judge me, lols, kthxbye!