The Beach House Studio Reveal

Are you ready for the 2015 House Revivals craft room reveal? Okay, maybe not "the big reveal", but the "this is where we are now, and where we'll probably stay until my schedule frees up in, ohhhhhh, I don't know, January 2016 maybe?"

At the beginning of the year, this attic was a big overwhelming mess.

Mini Composition Book Travel Journal

With summer just around the corner, many of us are planning to get out more and take some trips. This is a perfect time to "get your feet wet" with art journaling.

I remember, as a little girl on road trips, my mother would give the kids notebooks and tell us to write and draw about what we were seeing.

A Beautiful Mess

As we head into summer, we are gearing up for lots of guests at our beach house. Entertaining can be pretty stressful, and I think we all pressure ourselves to "be the hostess with the mostest".

We plan elaborate parties, with fancy decorations, and worry about whether all our guests will be impressed. During our parties, we're constantly tidying up, checking on toilet paper, putting out dry towels, and making sure there is plenty of ice.

Craft Storage From Altered Tins

I love a good upcycling project, and these upcycled Altoids tins are no exception.

I have some lovely sets of Melody Ross debossing tools, but while the alphabets and numbers came in beautiful tins, some of the smaller sets came in blister packs.

Creative Blog Business Card Tutorial

A few weeks ago I was able to attend Snap Conference for bloggers. It was tons of fun -- there were lots of conference sponsors who gave out lots of swag, and let us try out lots of new products!

I ordered a new set of blog business cards for the conference, but when they arrived, I realized the fronts of the cards were off-center. It bugged me.

How to Draw and Paint When You Don't Have Time

I love drawing and painting, but sometimes my own perfectionism, tedious techniques, and a busy schedule, keep me from indulging more often.

This is why I was thrilled to discover Lindsay, The Frugal Crafter's video tutorials a few months ago.

What Your Collections Say About Your Decorating Style

I'm a collector. I'll bet you are too. We all collect different things, things that speak to us. We all collect for different reasons, reasons that say something about who we are.

You may collect scarves, or lipsticks, or china, or fibers, or rocks, or shells, or recipes, or quilts, or paintings, or crazy friends, or shoes, or books, or office supplies.

Driftwood Magnifying Glass Handle

First of all, I want to start out by saying I LOVE this idea! Second, it's not my idea.

I saw a tutorial for making a rustic magnifying glass handle, using a stick, by my friend Gina at Shabby Creek Cottage.

This Beach House is Getting Curb Appeal

Our beach house renovation is starting to move forward again!

Last year we renovated the last of a half-dozen decks.

Because this deck is ocean facing and subject to harsh elements, we bit the bullet and had custom stainless steel hangers and stainless screws installed.

How to Create an Altered Book the Lazy Way

Do you long to create art, but don't have a lot of time or experience or art supplies?  Art journaling or altered books might be a perfect way to explore color and texture and different art mediums without investing in lots of expensive materials, and you don't need any artistic skill to get started!

You can probably create an art journal or altered book with items you already have around the house, or with a few minimal purchases. If you have kids in the house, you can borrow their glue and paints and markers.