Office Space Inspiration

We only have three large projects going on at our house right now!  Thankfully one is winding down (the bathroom) and another, (my new office/craft space) is functional!  The only thing that needs to be done for it to be complete is staining the cabinets that Adam had built for me.  That coupled with some fun and functional decorating will maket this an awesome space!

Here is some of my inspiration for what I consider to be fun and functional office space!

My workspace will be similar to this, spanning along two walls.  Unfortunately I am dealing with shorter ceilings and will lack some of the finish that this space has since we built my space in our old farmhouse basement.  Overall, I like the clean lines and organization.

Via

I am definitely getting one of these large box shelves with plans of incorporating baskets for storage.  This is also going to serve as its true purpose, a bookshelf, to keep my collection of design books and magazines.

Via

I LOVE this bulletin board.  It is a DIY project that you can find on RealSimple.com.  (I actually love the whole space, check out the link under the picture.)  I am definitely incorporating one (or two) of these bulletin boards.  One of the things I like the most is the color that can easily be brought into the space by covering a bulletin board with fabric.

Via

I am am an avid rubber stamp collector!  Making greeting cards and little extras like gift tags, notebooks, etc... is probably one of my very favorite past times.  I like the idea of putting them in a wire basket so I can quickly find what I am looking for.

Via

I think this is an easy and cute idea.  If I can figure out a way to incorporate jars like this, I probably will! :)

Overall, I'm going for a pretty simple design that allows me to stay clean and organized.  I honestly didn't realize how much stuff I had until I had to put it all away... yikes! :)

{Gift DIY} Clutch + Giveaway

I was definitely a "Suzie-homemaker" this weekend.  I spent all of Saturday sewing. (My mom would be proud at how far I have come with my sewing skills - I have moved past straight lines and can now sew around curves...)  Amongst other things, I made a few of these chevron clutches as Christmas gifts for some of the awesome ladies I have in my life!

I found this awesome tutorial from a blog I frequently visit called "See Kate Sew."  To get the tutorial for this clutch click HERE.  To find the fabric check out fabric.com.  Choose a heavier weight fabric like a home decor weight so that the clutch has some structure to it.  I chose a chevron print since that is the "in" style right now.

There are so many different things this clutch can be used for:

Purse

Make-up bag

Jewelry Travel case

Diaper/baby wipe holder

Gadget holder (ipod, Nintendo DS, cords)

Do you love it but don't want to make your own?! Good news - I am going to give away one of these clutches!  (Merry Christmas!)  Here are 4 ways you can enter to win:

1. Become a follower (+1 entry, leave a comment saying you are new follower)

2. "Like" Design Your Dwelling's Facebook page (+1 entry, leave a comment saying you "liked" the FB page)

3. Leave a comment with your idea for how you will use this clutch. (+1 entry)

4. Re-post this blog on your Facebook page (+1 entery, leave a comment to let me know you did)

There you go - you have up to 4 chances to win!  The winner will be announced on the Design Your Dwelling Facebook page next Monday, December 19!

Have a great Tuesday... Beth

Table Assignments

Check out this cute idea for table assignments! 

My friend, Sarah, got married this past weekend and used this idea to assign guests to tables! When the guests walked into the reception hall there was table filled with these jelly jars.  Based on their photo slide show, it appears that they made all of the Jalapeno Jelly themselves.  The idea doubled as a party favor for their guests too!

If you are hosting a big holiday party (or getting married) this is a neat, personalized idea!

Enjoy...
Beth

P.S. Make sure to read my blog next week for decorating and DIY gift-giving ideas!  There will also be some give-aways! :)

Thanksgiving Hosting Ideas

Thanksgiving is almost here!  For those of you that are hosting Thanksgiving, I'm sure you are already thinking about how you can get creative when it comes to decorating and entertaining your guests.  This weekend I worked on a few simple Thanksgiving hosting ideas for you to incorporate next Thursday!

To make these cute ideas happen, all you really need to do is make a stop at your local office supply store.  For some reason my imagination runs wild in these places and I come up with a few DIY projects and go home with more office "stuff" than I really needed. :)

Wine Charms

Wine always shows up at Thanksgiving celebrations!  Here is a quick DIY idea for wine glass markers.

DIY Wine Charms

Supplies:

Rubber stamps

Stamping ink

Metal-rim tags

Glass Marker

I love this idea for serving mixed drinks - it is so easy!

Glass Marker

Supplies:

Brown tags

Rubber stamps & ink (optional)

Sharpie marker

Rubber band



Dinner Menu

If you are having a well thought-out menu, this idea will work well!

I hope these simple ideas help you create a beautiful celebration!

Beth

P.S. I just built a Facebook page for Design Your Dwelling!  Check it out - I hope you "LIKE" it! :)

Good DIY Finds!

I was paging through a magazine this weekend and came across an article that featured a "professional crafter!"  I wonder how you become that because I think I would like that job!  Even though I don't see this in my near future I did find some great DIY projects to practice my craft-making skills.  I thought I would share them with you.  If you click on the buttons below you will be linked directly to the blog site and if you click on the title of the DIY project, you will go directly to the instructions.

Chevron Clutch Tutorial and Pattern

This project is so cute - I am definitely making these!

Rustic Wooden Wall Sign

This would make a great wedding gift!

15 Inspired Decorating Solutions

These rooms and ideas are beautiful if you are looking for some decorating inspiration!

One last thing I wanted to share was this awesome picture that my sister, Kayle, took this weekend while she and her husband were on a cattle drive in Nebraska.  It was too good not to share with you! :)



'Barnone' on a Nebraska cattle drive



Kayle and her husband, Heath, helped move 1,000 head of cattle for the ranch that Heath works at.  What a neat experience!  I'm pretty sure that this is the first cattle drive that Kayle had ever been on and it makes me think about how exciting new experiences are.  So - I ask this question:

When was the last time you did something for the first time? 

(Feel free to answer in the comment section below!)

I will leave you with that thought for the week!  And happy crafting!

 *Beth 

DIY Vanilla Extract

I am proud to say that I have officially started my Christmas gift-making for 2011!  This is way ahead of schedule for me, but in order to get this done and wrapped by Christmas I needed to start now.  A couple of weeks ago I came across a recipe for Homemade Vanilla Extract on one of the blogs I follow, Whipperberry.  It looked fun and easy to make so I thought I would give it a whirl!  I think this will make a great gift for our mom's, grandmas and the just-in-case I need a gift, gift.

All you need is vodka (anything cheap) and whole vanilla beans.  I took the recommendation from the Whipperberry blog and ordered my vanilla beans from Beanilla Trading Company. 

Who knew that vanilla extract was made out of vodka and vanilla beans?! Out of curiosity I checked the ingredients on the vanilla extract in my cupboard and sure enough - alcohol and vanilla beans and of course a few preservatives.
As for packaging, the mini wine bottles from either Barefoot or Sutter Home wine work great!

DIY Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1 cup of Vodka for 2 Vanilla Beans

Let it sit in a cool, dark place for 1 1/2 to 2 months, shaking it every couple of days

Remove the vanilla beans and strain the liquid thru cheese cloth

Package it up with a cute label! 

(Go to the Whipperberry Blog for packaging ideas- great ideas!)

So this weekend I picked up my supplies from our local HyVee grocery store so I could start my homemade vanilla extract project.  I didn't think of it until I left the grocery store but, I must have looked like an absolute "soak" when I was pushing my cart through the store.  I had a huge bottle of cheap vodka and eight mini bottles of Barefoot brand wine.... and a six-pack of Shocktop... Haha! 

I'm pretty excited for this DIY project!  I just need to empty out all of my mini wine bottles (1 down, 7 to go) so I can keep this project moving. Guess that means I will be drinking wine! :)

Let me know if you take on this project!

Have a great week and enjoy!

It's A Girl!

GOT YA!! For some of you, I bet you had to read this post because the title completely caught you by suprise and you had to figure out what was going on!  No, I did not and am not planning to have a baby.  Maybe someday, but not any time soon...

However, our good friends in northern Iowa just had their first baby, a girl, named Riley Jo.  And, because I love giving gifts you better believe we mailed them one right away.  I am pretty proud to say that I actually made the majority of their gift (if you count items and not $$ because we did give them a Target gift card.) Some of you might think I am crazy for spending time on this stuff because it is SO MUCH easier to go out and buy something but that's definitely not as fun when you want to give a unique or personalized gift.

Here is what I made.  It's not much (that's why they got a gift card) but it was fun! :)

I love making greeting cards!  I do a lot of rubber stamping and use a lot of Stampin' Up products.  Making cards is something I do to relax.  Not to mention it saves quite a bit of money when you consider buying $3.59 greeting cards these days - Ridiculous!  Even though I love making greeting cards my boyfriend, Adam, said I can't make a living do that...

I also do a little bit of sewing- mostly straight lines yet - so I made a burp cloth.   If you can thread a sewing machine you can make one of these.  Just pick out some cute material, sew the material right sides together and then turn it right side out and stitch up the opening.  Very Easy!

This was my favorite part of the gift!  I picked up a cute jar a Hobby Lobby, (usually 50% off every other week), tied a ribbon around it and used my rubber stamps to jazz it up.  You can't see it very well but I filled it with those cheap, plastic, little girl barrets that I found at Target.  It would be cute filled with diaper pins or candy if you wanted to give something simple as a birthday gift. 

Personalized gifts are fun and pretty easy as long as you are willing to put a little more time into them.  If you don't like taking the time to make gifts or don't feel very creative, let me know, I would be happy to make personalized gifts for you to give.

Happy Crafting!!