For this cozy corner of my bedroom in North Carolina I decided that I wanted to do a series of frames to fill up the wall space. As I began researching that idea, I realized that yet again, it was not the most affordable of ambitions. So instead, I did it myself for far less.

The piece is made from a plain wood plank from Home Depot that I had cut into the sizes I need. Then I trimmed the edges with folded organza fabric that I already had. I bought the buttons and sewed them to the corners of the fabric, and finally created a large bow as the centerpiece (the bow was the biggest challenge, I am desperately seeking a bow-tying mentor). The objects in the frames are mostly from things I found around my room. I printed a few photos I have taken, of beautiful doors in Florence and Richmond, and paired them with teal tissue paper (finding the perfect hue of tissue paper, also a major challenge). The chandelier is from an ad in a large Texas home design magazine I had. The fabric swatch in the middle bottom frame is leftover from a previous craft, and it ties in the room with another piece I have displayed. The pairs and striped paper are from my stationery collection. I splurged on the little wood planks that I are on the top right corner, and I purchased teal glitter as well. And finally, the lovely Nancy Reagan makes an appearance in the piece, in an outfit that coordinates perfectly, and that I took out of my Nancy Reagan paper doll book that I ordered on eBay years ago. I had a friend tell me she didn’t get it, and sometimes, I realize that I don’t quite get it either. But I just can’t help but love it, it feels so intensely personal.

The end.

Aside from the poor photo quality of this picture, I think this is my favorite of my limited greeting card collection. In my family, you can expect a beautiful card from me every year …but not much else. So I like to do something special to make up for my lack of Santa-style gift giving powers and send something more along the lines of what Mrs. Claus would do.

Once again, I could not count on the marketplace to provide me with exactly what I wanted. For the wall space above my desk, I wanted to put a long, rectangular bulletin board that was the same length as my desk itself. I felt this certain length would add a dynamic that the standard bulletin board could not provide. I have made multiple bulletin boards, as gifts for other people, but this one (being my own) was crafted for my own frugal purpose. Hence, it is yet again another piece made with cardboard, duct tape, and fabric. This time I did splurge on a little batting, though (how very rich of me). Add it all together and here’s what you get!

Another simple greeting card. Just goes to show that with a little bit of personality and that special personal touch, you can outshine the fame that is Hallmark in each and every way. I made these for Phi Mu to send as correspondence to other chapters, and I like to think they are much cuter than any of the cheesy “greek” products you can purchase online (though if I had it to do all over, with a more forgiving budget, I would change the cardstock of the background and add puffy paint for the ears…or something like that).

The idea for these glitter pumpkins and gold leaves was not original (unfortunately). I came across them during a middle of class web surfing escapade to the Martha Stewart website. It’s a fun an easy craft that beats the mess of trying carve a pumpkin! We used these as decorations for our (soon to be annual) “Fall… on your face” season party at the Estate. We even glued some of the gold painted leaves to invitations we made, and with Gini’s spiced apple shots, its needless today that this event was a favorite!

Here is my first attempt at a fondant cake. It was really fun to make, and it turned out not too bad! Moral of the story? Fondant. Tastes. Awful.

My valentines cards this season.

Painted this summer, now hangs in my bathroom.