like duff, but not

I came across this lovely Etsy shop from watercolor artist DIMDi, and there was an adorable painting of a Wheaten Terrier. Duff is a Wheaten Terrier mix, so it just hit my heart. So sweet and fluffy.

found via simplesong

friday photo: lanterns

Lovely photo spotted on Design Mom by Etsy seller Honeytree. Summertime in a photo ... sigh. I love summer.

live what you love

My dear sister-in-law gave me a teal letterpress print of the poster above, but here's a new edition in a lovely soft gray with a heart. Very inspirational, and reminds me of what really matters in life. Don't we want to incorporate our loves and passions into our daily lives?

I sure do. I want to live out my faith, my creativity, and so much more.

midweek crafting: diy fabric poppies

After a hard day at work, sometimes I want to unwind, and the television just doesn't help. Yesterday was one of those days, so I did a bit of crafting. I made these fabric poppies out of this old pillow fabric from our couch. It felt so good to just make something with my own two hands after being on the computer for the entire day. And they are so simple to create! I think I'll turn them into a necklace or attach them to bobby pins. I made them with things I already had, like a bracelet from H&M made of wooden beads that I took apart. Here are the materials you need:
- polyester fabric
- candle
- beads
- thread and needle
- scissors

And that's it! Gotta love a little midweek craft time. Does anyone want a poppy hair pin? Leave a comment and I'll send you one!

wonder foodie: making mallows

Ohhh yes, we did it! Last weekend, my sister and I took a day to tackle the delicious task of making the drool-worthy Neapolitan marshmallows that I blogged about earlier. And the result? Amazing bites of soft, fluffy and light-as-air marshmallows with three different layers of flavor.

This wasn't my first encounter with the homemade confection, but definitely results in a huge batch of sweets. I made marshmallows two Christmases ago from this Design*Sponge article, and those marshmallows were very small, much like mini marshmallows that you'd find at the grocery store. This recipe from Brownie Points blog made such a generous serving, I'll probably halve the recipe next time around. I highly recommend this recipe, and suggest investing in a candy thermometer and a Kitchenaid mixer.

Marshmallows are a deceptively simple sweet to make, and I think it's waiting for the sugar to get to the right temperature that's the hard part! We really enjoyed this process and enjoyed giving them out to people afterward since the three full batches made so much. Great for a party favor or little Christmas treats with packets of hot cocoa. Note to self: next time add a bit of pink food coloring to the strawberry to give it that true Neapolitan look. I love that we really did this ourselves and I didn't have to purchase them on Etsy. Yay!

wonder foodie: drooling over mallows

I was browsing Etsy when I came upon this lovely shop that was quite unlike the ones I usually browse, and soon found myself drooling over these delicious confections. The shop is called Vintage Confections and while I love a lot of the products, the ones that got my attention were the Neapolitan Marshmallows. Oh. Yummy. I love the combination of strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate, it all looks so good. And the colors are so pretty too (I feel like I've been into these colors lately). And while you're drooling with me, check out these Dulce de Leche Vanilla ones with caramel swirled in them, or the Honey Peanut Butter ones. Delightful.

all images from vintage confections

toys with imagination round up

Here's the post that I've been waiting to do forever! So as I was looking at those fun felt letters on Etsy, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed my fabric and wooden toys as a child. I'd love that for my children as well - natural fibers and natural elements to spur on the imagination, no need for bells, whistles, and crazy toys that play songs and make noise.

Nothing is wrong with those toys of course, but I just remember those times when my sister and I would make up games with the simplest toys. We stayed at my grandparents house after school for 4 days out of the week, and all we had to play with were old Berkeley Farms milk crates and a few stuffed animals. It remains one of the outstanding memories of my childhood. Here are some natural and wooden toys that I really like:

From top: Wooden Car from Stillpoint Woodworks, Safari Set and Hippo Teether from Little Alouette, Muji New York City in a Bag from the MoMA Store, Carrie Kitchenette from ImagineThat Wood Shop.

felt toys

As a child, I had this beautiful handmade wall hanging on the back of my door, with 26 pockets on it. Each pocket had a hand-sewn alphabet letter on it, and inside was a stuffed felt item that began with that letter. A for apple, B for book, C for car, and so on. When I came across these felt letters at Etsy shop MiChiMa, it was just so nostalgic! I love the idea of bringing back what's old as new again. These are adorable for learning how to spell or even to hang as a mobile. Coming up, a post on wooden toys! Oh, to be a kid again.

images via michima

a little artist: amy ng

These flora studies are done by Amy Ng, an artist from Malaysia who runs a blog called Pikaland. They are lovely both separate or together, I think it's so wonderful that she really got the flow and curve of the flowers. Click the image to see them larger, the small version doesn't do them any justice.

It makes me want to get out my watercolors again and paint something that was inspired by this trio. I just went through some of my old watercolor paintings the other day, and I think my painting aesthetic has changed a lot since then. Maybe I'll dabble in some soon!

yo, yo

I was browsing around one of my favorite Etsy shops, and saw these sweet hand-printed yo-yos. I mean, who doesn't love a little "walk the dog" or "around the world?"

by Something's Hiding in Here

honey is so sweet

For Christmas my bro-in-law and sis-in-law purchased a necklace off of my wish list and I wear it practically everyday. I really love that it's so delicate and small. It's like tiny pieces of confetti around your neck, and I can hardly tell that I'm wearing it sometimes. It's called the golden honeyed dots necklace.

You can find it at Elizabeth Rosas' Etsy shop here.