THE DIRT: Paper Whites in Jars

There’s nothing like ringing in the new year with fresh flowers on the table. Sort of like a fresh start.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 187 & Repurposed Hanukkah Candles

FROM MY ARCHIVES | REPURPOSED HANUKKAH CANDLES

Hello friends and happy Tuesday! The holidays continue as we get ready to ring in a new year in a few days. Are you ready? Seriously, at my age I think I’ll celebrate from the west coast with the east coast and then call it an early night. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll get a burst of energy.

So let’s get this creative party started – I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to. If you’re new to link parties, share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

BE MY GUEST: Fairytale Flower

I’ve a long time admirer of these beautiful handmade flowers by Gia at Fairytale Flowers. Gia has a blog One Perfect Day and shares her creations at my link party.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 186 & Inspiring Red & White

Hello friends! I hope everyone (who celebrates) had a wonderful Christmas. Things always get crazy leading up to the big day but we always ends up thoroughly enjoying ourselves with family and celebrating this special day. And now we can look forward to the new year and hopefully a slower pace. It’s been a busy week so if you didn’t get a chance to stop by, here’s what I shared this week.

New Year’s Eve Confetti Bottles  |  Christmas Vignettes  |  5th Annual Owl Lovers Calendar (Free Printable)

And now for the projects in the spotlight this week. There a a lot of yummy food features because you all have been very busy in the kitchen. Plus, it’s the season for cooking and baking!

CELEBRATIONS: Christmas Vignettes from my Home

Merry Christmas friends! If you celebrate Christmas, I wish you from the bottom of my heart a joyous day of faith, family and friends.

If you happened by today, here are a few photos from my holiday décor this year. Enjoy the day. I hope to have the features from The Inspiration Board up tomorrow but they might be a little later in the day…

INKLING: 2015 Owl Lovers Free Customizable Calendar

For the fifth straight year, I’m so pleased to be able to share with you the free customizable Owl Lovers Calendar. I love this calendar and I’m so happy that Shivani of My Owl Barn has continued this wonderful collaboration. This year 46 artists from around the world have contributed to the calendar.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 186 & Tiny Sweater Ornaments

FROM MY ARCHIVES | Tiny Knitted Sweater Ornaments

Well friends, ready or not, Christmas here we come. I actually pulled it off in the last few weeks. Tree decorated, gifts purchased and wrapped, Christmas cards mailed and so on. Who’s ready to settle down for a long winter’s nap? Hopefully, we can all relax and enjoy the true meaning of the season.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

CELEBRATIONS: New Year’s Eve Confetti Bottles

The New Year is just around the corner – can you believe it? Every year I like to come up with a fun way to count down the new year before midnight. Somehow, it always winds up with a lot of confetti and vacuuming. Oh well, it’s not a New Year without confetti in my house.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 185 & Inspiring Stitches

Hey, hey, hey friends. I’ll keep this short and sweet because it’s been an insane week and I’m sure you are just as busy. I was sort of counting on a slow week at work so I could get some blogging and holiday prep done but work was crazy with a capital C. It will be a mad dash to the finish line but as always, end with a joyous holiday. Enjoy the weekend everyone. I’ll see you back here on Monday.

And, in if you missed anything on homework this week, here’s what I shared.

Marshmallow and Peppermint Stir Sticks  |  French Quarter Book Review and Giveaway  |  Upcycled Gold Sweater Napkin Rings

And now for the projects in the spotlight this week.

UPCYCLING: Old Sweater to Gold Napkin Rings

When you’re cleaning out your closets after you make your New Year’s resolution to get organized – don’t forget to save your old sweaters for crafting throughout the year.

Homework {Reading}: French General–A Year of Jewelry {and a giveaway}

Here in Los Angeles, there’s a little store called French General. The owner and jewelry designer Kaari Meng, first opened the store in Soho and then moved to Los Angeles. The store is located in a Spanish-style warehouse and is only open one day a week for loyal and devoted fans to shop and browse through the collections of textiles, notions, ephemera and other items found on her yearly trips to the South of France.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 185 & New Year’s Eve Confetti Straws

FROM MY ARCHIVES | NEW YEAR’S EVE CONFETTI STRAWS

Happy Tuesday and welcome to The Inspiration Board Creative Party! We’re halfway through December and 10 days away from Christmas. Time sure flies when you’re running out of time. Oh my! I hope you’re all caught up and have had some time to enjoy the creative process. I’m so happy that you’re here and that you’re going to inspire me.
So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

GOOD TASTE: Marshmallow & Peppermint Stir Sticks

There’s nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on these chilly nights and during the holidays it’s fun to add a pizzazz to your cocoa.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 184 & Snow Day Inspiration

Happy crazy time friends. Are you on the crazy train too? We’re on serious final countdown until Christmas and New Years and I still have about a million things to do. I have begun to accept the fact that I will probably never be the person that gets holiday shopping done in October, has the Christmas cards ready to mail at the beginning of December and actually has a tree up and decorated in time to photograph and share here. But that’s okay – we’re all going to enjoy the beautiful holiday season even if everything isn’t picture perfect.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this week, left comments, entered my giveaway and linked up projects. I’m so grateful to all of you. In case you didn’t have a chance to visit me, here’s what I shared this week.

Red Velvet & White Tulle Tablescape  |  Martha Stewart Inspiration and a gold foil kit giveaway  | Dollar Store Owl Makeover

And now for the projects in the spotlight this week.

ETCETERAS: Dollar Store Owl to White Glue & Crackle Paint Owl

One of my favorite things to do is to makeover dollar store items. I’m always on the hunt for fun knick knacks that I come across while strolling around the dollar store.

HOMEWORK {Reading}: Holiday Issue Martha Stewart Living & a Giveaway

There’s still time to create handmade or homemade holiday gifts and these ideas from the pages of the holiday issue of Martha Stewart Living are amazing. This story is titled Partners in Craft. I love that title because I love to share ideas and feel like the creative community is all about partnering. The projects featured in the story and in this post were created by members of the Martha Stewart extended family – colleagues, friends, current and past contributors to the magazine.

ALL STORY PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNA WILLIAMS

These cookie snow globes are darling. We’ve all seen hundreds of variations of the mason jar snow globe but these take things to a new level. Everything in the jar is edible. Homemade gingerbread cookies, royal icing and little trees made out of hard candy are nestled in a snowy field of icing.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 184 & New Year Paper Fortune Cookies

FROM MY ARCHIVES  |  New Year Paper Fortune Cookies

Welcome to The Inspiration Board Creative Party. I hope you’re all having a great week and enjoying the pre-holiday prep. Every now and then I have to remind myself that having everything perfectly decorated and every package perfectly wrapped is not what it’s about. If things don’t get done, then they just won’t get done. There, I feel better already! Anyway, I’m so happy that you’re here and that you’re going to inspire me with your brilliant creativity.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

CELEBRATIONS: Red Velvet & White Tulle Table

Inspiration strikes in the strangest ways sometimes. My table color scheme this year is inspired by this spool of deep red velvet ribbon.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 183 & Vintage Style Christmas

Happy Friday everyone. If you’re keeping track, there are only 20 more days until Christmas. That means I have approximately 19 days to get everything done. Hmmmm – I don’t think I’m going to make it this year. I mean, I still have pumpkins on my front porch. I obviously need to get moving. I’m taking inspiration from all of the wonderful projects shared this week on The Inspiration Board. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, commented and linked a project this week. I’m so grateful to all of you.


If you didn’t get a chance to visit me this week, here’s what I shared.

Dollar Store Coffee Mug and Sock Cozy  |  Handmade Market Holiday Gift Guide  |  Gold & White Holiday Hutch

And now for the projects featured in the Spotlight this week.

CELEBRATIONS: White & Gold Holiday Hutch

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a sneak peek of my gold & white hutch while I was working on it. I love how this turned out and just like every year, I think it’s my favorite one.

SHOW & TELL: Handmade Market Holiday Gift Guide 2014

The Second Annual Holiday Market Link Up was a smashing success. So many beautiful shops shared their wares. I’m amazed at the beautiful products and love to support handmade. If you missed the link up, I host a link party every year for handmade shops and then create a holiday gift guide from featured items.

Here are the shops featured in this year’s Handmade Market Holiday Gift Guide. You can view the items in the slideshow below or in the collages with links following the slideshow.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 183 & New Year’s Confetti

FROM MY ARCHIVES |  New Year’s Confetti Matchboxes

Happy beginning of December everyone. Can you believe it? The countdown has begun. Is anyone else suddenly in panic mode? Like every year, it will all somehow get done. Anyway, I’m so happy that you’re here and willing to share your amazing creativity on The Inspiration Board.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

CELEBRATIONS: Dollar Store Coffee Mug Sock Cozy

We’re officially in the holiday season. O.M.G.!! I have a million things still to do. If you’re like me and need some quick and easy gift ideas, this dollar store coffee mug sock cozy couldn’t be any easier or easier on the wallet.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 182 & Sugar & Spice Inspiration

Happy Friday everyone. If you’re here in the U.S. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with plenty of stuffing and pie! Since most of us today are recovering from way too much food, I’ll keep this short and sweet. Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here next week.

Here’s what I shared this week here on homework.

Artful Christmas Book Review | Birch Printable Thank You Cards  |  DIY Spiral Notebook with Wood Veneer Cover

And now for the projects featured in the spotlight this week.

INKLING: Birch Thank You Cards–Free Printable

A few weeks ago I created some free printable Birch Gift Tags and they were quite popular. Yay!  In honor of Thanksgiving, I created a matching set of Birch Thank You cards. I’m so thankful for all of you and wanted to share these with you on this day of thanksgiving. The link to download the free printable is at the end of the post.

I made a version with a nice serif font.

HOMEWORK (Reading): Artful Christmas 30 Elegant Craft Projects

Today’s reading aka book review is just in time for the holidays. Artful Christmas by Susan Wasinger has over 30 elegant craft projects that will make your house beautiful for Christmas without breaking the bank.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 182 & Pecan Mini Tarts

From my archives | Mini Pecan Tarts

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone. If you’re here in the U.S. it’s a big week for us. Time for turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings – and lots of pie! Have you seen the joke on Facebook “It’s Thanksgiving – time to set your scales back 10 pounds”. Haha – I love that one. Anyway, I’m so happy that you’re here and willing to share your amazing creativity on The Inspiration Board.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

INKLING: The Cinch–DIY Spiral Notebooks

Guess what I’m going to be making for Christmas gifts? Lots and lots of pretty spiral bound notebooks. And it’s super easy now that I have a Cinch by We R Memory Keepers. The Cinch is basically like a comb binder but with nifty features that make it easy to create pretty notebooks.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 181 & White Christmas

Hello friends! It’s Friday and we did it again. We crafted, decorated, cooked, baked, sewed and diyed through the week. All while inspiring each other. Hip hip hooray for creative sharing. Thank you to everyone who stopped by this week and a big virtual hug to those of you who shared a project here on homework. Here’s a recap of what I shared this week.

Acorn Cap Birdseed Cakes  |  2nd Annual Handmade Holiday Link Up (for Etsy and Handmade Shops)  |  Vintage Button Napkin Holders

And now for the projects featured in the Spotlight this week.

CELEBRATIONS: Vintage Button Napkin Rings

One week until the big turkey day! Are you getting ready? I made these vintage button napkin holders that I think will look nice for Thanksgiving.

AU NATURALE: Bird Seed Acorn Cakes

As the weather turns colder, it’s time to remember our little backyard friends. I’ve been wanting to make some bird seed cakes for the longest time and finally took the time to whip some up.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 181 & Cameo Candles

FROM MY ARCHIVES | Holiday Cameo Candles

Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome to The Inspiration Board Creative Party. I’m so happy that you’re here and willing to share your amazing creativity. You all inspire me every week and I can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on. The weather has definitely turned chilly – I’ve been thinking about comfort food, knitting with chunky wool yarn and of course all the good things that come with Thanksgiving.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

SHOW & TELL: 2nd Annual Handmade Holiday Link Up

Welcome to homework's second annual Handmade Holiday link party. Throughout the year, the majority of link parties welcome crafts, diy, recipes, decor and other creative projects but often ask that you refrain from linking your shops. Now it's your turn to market your handmade shop or handmade item with the chance to be featured in a Holiday Gift Guide that I will put together from selected link ups.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 180 & Inspiring Sides

Hey, hey, hey friends. It’s Friday! We did it again. We crafted, decorated, sewed, and baked our way through the week and inspired each other with our creativity. Thank you for stopping by, commenting and sharing your links here at homework. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here next week.

In case you didn’t have a chance to stop by this week, here’s what I shared.

Upcycled Sweater Heating Pad  |  Fall Vignettes  |  Willow & Sage

And now for the projects in the Spotlight this week.

CELEBRATIONS: A Touch of Fall from my Home

These are just some snippets of fall from some of my projects or the styling for some of my projects. I love fall and when I went through my photos recently, I put together some of my favorite. Not everyday has to include a complicated craft or diy project to keep me inspired. Sometimes it’s something as simple as some peppercorns or moss.

HOMEWORK READING: Willow and Sage–Homemade Bath & Body

It’s here. The second edition of Willow and Sage. If you’re not familiar with Willow and Sage, it’s created and published by Stampington & Company. Stampington & Company is a paper, stamping and crafty company. This bath & body magazine is out-of-the box for them and it is simply gorgeous.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 180 & Acorns in the Snow

From my archives | Acorns in the Snow

Hello friends. Today is Veteran’s day in the U.S. A day we celebrate America’s veterans and honor them for their service and sacrifice for our country. For all of you who have served or have a family member who has served, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So let’s get this creative party started. Share your creativity by linking up below. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on. I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday.

UPCYCLING: Sweater Sleeve to Heating Pad

Now that the weather is dipping, it’s time to bust out those old sweaters. Not to wear… to cut up. Whoever first came up with the upcycle sweater idea was a genius. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of sweater crafts. You can use the sleeves to cover cans and jars, make stockings and more.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 179 & Comfort and Joy Inspiration

Happy end-of-the-week friends! We did again. We crafted, sewed, baked, cooked and created our way through another week. Phew! Thank you to all of you who stopped by, left a comment and shared a link this week. I’m so appreciative that you choose my little corner of the creative world to spend a few minutes. If you didn’t have a chance to pop in, here’s a recap of what I shared.

Book Review – Craft Fail  |  Free Printable Birch Holiday and Non-Holiday Tags  |  Sloppy Dogs (kid friendlier Sloppy Joes)

And now for the project featured in the spotlight this week.

GOOD TASTE: Sloppy Dogs {Kid Friendly Sloppy Joes}

I’ve been making Sloppy Joes like this since my son was little. I think it happened by accident when I was going to make Sloppy Joes but didn’t have any rolls or hamburger buns – but I did have some hot dog buns. That’s the night the Sloppy Dog was born in my house.

HOMEWORK {READING}: Craft Fail Book Review

If you’re a crafter, baker or creator of any kind, you’ve most likely had a failed project at one time or another. I’ve had many, many failed projects. I’ve never posted about my craft fails. They usually go straight into the trash can. But Heather Mann, creator of the site Craft Fail celebrates the failures.

The Inspiration Board: Creative Party 179 & Honey Pops

FROM MY ARCHIVES :  HONEY POPS FOR A SORE THROAT

October is in the rear view mirror and now we’re on a collision course to the big holidays. Hold on friends, time always seems to speed up right after Halloween. Have you had time for crafting, baking, sewing and decorating lately? I hope so, because I can’t wait to see what you’ve been creating. Welcome everyone to The Inspiration Board. I host this party every week so that we can inspire each other with our creativity.

I love pinning and sharing your projects. The features will be up as always on Friday. So go ahead, link up your creativity.

The Inspiration Board: Spotlight 178 & Hello Fall Inspiration

Happy Halloween everyone. Now that my son is away at college, I seriously almost forgot it was Halloween. I mean, I have a pumpkin on the front porch and a bowl of candy ready but I had to remind myself that the little trick or treaters will be showing up tonight. Are you ready for Halloween? I hope so!

As always, I huge thank you to all of you that shared projects on The Inspiration Board this week. Everything was gorgeous and inspiring as always.

Here’s a little recap of what I posted about this week.

Easy Homemade Gift Ideas  |  Yarn Scrap Bird’s Nest  |  Sock-It-To-Me Cake

GOOD TASTE: Duncan Hines Classic Sock It To Me Cake

If you’re as old as I am, then you might remember this classic Duncan Hines back-of-the box recipe.

SHOW & TELL: Homemade Gift Round Up

In a few days Halloween will be behind us and we’ll need to turn our attention to the major holidays that are around the corner. I’ve been thinking about some homemade gift ideas and thought I’d share some things that I found. None of these gifts take major crafting, cooking or sewing skills. I think they’d all be pretty easy to create but would make a big impact. I love homemade gifts and can’t wait to start creating some of these.