I’m so thrilled to have my dreamcatcher DIY included in Natural Modern magazine! It’s a special interest Fall issue from the company that produces magazines like Atomic Ranch and Flea Market Decor. The magazine focuses on midcentury lines, natural elements, and a laid-back aesthetic. Inside you’ll find tips for personalized decorating from Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess, easy & stylish DIYs, a houseplant guide, a how-to for creating gallery walls, and a bevy of inspirational boho-modern ideas for your home.

You can snag a copy from your local Target, Barnes & Noble, or grocery store. You can also buy it online here. I hope you check it out!

Xoxo

I typically wash my hair no more than twice per week to help stretch the time between colorings and to avoid drying out my hair. For years, I’ve been using dry shampoo on my no-wash days and I love it! Dry shampoo not only keeps my locks looking fresh in between washes, but also adds fullness and texture to my hair. And lets be real, sometimes I stretch my washings a little too long and dry shampoo saves me on the days that I don’t have time to wash, dry, and style my hair.

Last year I wrote about a few of my favorite natural and cruelty-free beauty products, one of which was Lulu Organics Hair Powder. I still love the stuff, but it’s quite expensive. When I looked at its minimal list of ingredients, I thought I’d try making it myself. Turns out, it’s super easy and inexpensive, so I thought I’d share the “recipe” with you!

Ingredients:

1.  2 tbsp baking soda
2.  1/2 cup corn starch
3.  2-3 drops of essential oil or perfume
4.  2-3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (for brunettes)
5.  2-3 tbsp cinnamon (for redheads)

Combine ½ cup of corn starch with 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Add a few drops of essential oil or a spritz of your favorite perfume (I used Nirvana White which smells divine). If you have light hair, you’re done! For brunettes, add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to darken. For gingers, add a few tablespoons of cinnamon to redden.

Store the dry shampoo in a pretty glass bottle or an old spice jar. To use, sprinkle a little powder into the palm of your hands and work it into your roots. Or, keep the dry shampoo in a shallow dish and use a makeup brush to dab it directly onto your roots.

Are you sold? Are you making this yet? Hurry!

Sometimes you have a million photos to edit, errands to run, blog posts to write, and a list of home improvement items that will make your head explode.

So you say F**K IT and make something cute. Making cute stuff is my new boyfriend.

This DIY is so easy it’s stupid. Ready?

First, go to your local Target. Flip through the bathing suits while frowning. On your way to the outdoor/patio department, put several things in your cart that you definitely don’t need. Don’t worry, you’ll probably shove half of them onto a random shelf just before you reach the register. Once you’re in the outdoor section, grab a couple of these mini concrete planters and/or these ceramic planters. Pick up a macrame hanger, too, not because it has anything to do with this DIY, but because it’s cool and you can’t beat the price ($6.99!). If you don’t have a pencil with an eraser and a fine-tip sharpie at home, grab those on your way out, too. I tried a few different paint pens, but the fine-tip sharpie worked best. Try to leave Target without spending a hundred dollars. Good luck!

Sketch your pattern onto the planter with a pencil. If you don’t like what you see, erase and start over. I was going for a hand drawn look, but feel free to use a stencil if you prefer.

Once you’re happy with your sketch, trace over it with your sharpie. Add succulents, cacti, or herbs to your planters.

Now stare lovingly upon your new works of art, like you would stare upon Jared Leto’s hair. Focus on how your life feels slightly less empty than it did before.

Optional: Knock over one of your cacti with the back of your hand and spend the next twenty minutes tweezing spines out of your skin.

Whoops! Don’t worry, the cactus is fine (but you should see the other guy).

Xoxo

Update! A small batch of dream catchers are now available in my shop. Treat yo’self! 

Something peculiar happened the other night. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to a faint pitter-patter on the other side of our bedroom. I sat up slowly, held my breath, and listened intently. Celia poked her head out from under the covers and watched curiously as I cocked my head to the side.  Is it a tapping? No… maybe more like a crackling? I pulled back the covers and crept across the room. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed our new dream catcher fluttering against the wall, its feathers pirouetting and pas jetéing, like tiny ballerinas. I scratched my head for a moment and looked around. Is there a draft in here?… I shrugged it off, crept back to bed, and buried my face under the covers. As I drifted back to sleep, I imagined the feathers wearing tutus and dancing to Swan Lake.

When I awoke the next morning, I recalled another dream. I was at a cocktail bar having a glass of wine with Bruce Willis and my good friend Melanie. Bruce leaned over the table, reached into my hair, and lifted out a dark strand. “I just love these low-lights. They give your hair so much dimension!” Melanie joined in, “It’s like a decadent river of chocolate running through a field of wheat!”. I rose from bed feeling positively bouncy and unusually optimistic about my hair. I dare say the universe was attempting to send me another dream about my teeth falling out that night, but thanks to my new dream catcher, it died hard (like a vengeance).

A little bit about dream catchers: Native Americans believe the night air is filled with dreams, both good and bad. The dream catcher catches the dreams as they flow by. Only good dreams can pass through while bad dreams are caught in the webbing and perish when the sun rises.

And now! The part where I show you how to make your own Die Hard Dream Catcher™

First: Gather supplies.

• A wooden embroidery hoop (I used a 14 inch hoop, but any size will do)
• A stick from your yard, at least one inch wider than your hoop
• 30-40 Feathers (I used artificial feathers from JoAnn Fabrics)
• Suede cord
• String/twine (similar thickness to bakers twine)
• Optional: craft paint, for painting the ends of your feathers. I used metallic gold and robins egg for a little extra glamourtimez.

1. Begin by wrapping the suede cord all around the hoop. This takes a while. I recommend putting on some music or a movie to help pass the time. I listened to this podcast from This American Life in which they discuss seven boring topics to avoid at dinner parties. Ironically, one of these topics is how you slept, and/or your dreams. Apparently people find these topics uninteresting. IS ANYBODY STILL HERE?

2. Once your hoop is completely wrapped in suede cord, attach the stick to the hoop with twine.

3. Tie individual strands of twine (aprox 30 inches long) to the branch, about 1/2 inch apart from each other. I tied 17 strands of twine to my branch (you may need less if you use a smaller hoop). Do the same for the bottom half of the hoop.

4. Wrap the bottom of each strand around the stem of a feather and tie in a knot. I chose to trim my strands of twine into an inverted triangle shape (see below), but you can do whatever your heart desires! Be creative.

Hang the dream catcher near your bed, or your favorite napping place.

Enjoy blissful dreams for all of eternity.

xoxo

This is a bit of recycled content from my old blog, but I made some no-sew curtains for the dining room recently and just HAD to share the DIY again!  Because they’re so easy!

I’ve been on the hunt for new curtains since repainting the dining room.  I didn’t have a specific color or pattern in mind, but Mike D politely suggested that I look for something not girly, and when Mike D speaks, I sometimes try to listen.

I couldn’t find any curtains I loved at my usual favorites (West Elm, Ikea, Anthro) except for a few that were well over $100/panel.  Yikes!  I change curtains like I change my underwear so I can’t justify spending a couple hundy when I’ll probably want to replace them in 5 minutes.

And then this happened.   Charcoal & white ikat fabric, affordable, long enough, wide enough, approved by Emily Henderson herself.  Well, shoot.

Sold!

Now here’s a little known fact about me.  I do not sew.  Not one little tiny bit. I dabbled in sewing as a kid, but I don’t remember any of it because I have blocked out my childhood.  Just kidding, mom.

Re-learning to sew is on my bucket list, I just haven’t found the time to dedicate to it yet.  Maybe when Mike D makes enough money to allow me to be a stay-at-home fur baby mom, I can finally teach myself.  I’ve got goals, my friends.

In the meantime, don’t fret because I have… *cue the sound of angels singing*… HEM TAPE!  

I love it more than baby kittens and reeses peanut butter cups.

[No I don’t]

Now buckle up for the easiest curtain DIY ever!

Once my fabric arrived in the mail,  I gave it a good ironing and then cut two evenly sized panels (approximately 86″ long by 36″ wide) leaving an extra inch at the top and the bottom for my “hem”.

I didn’t take a picture of that part (farts!)  but instead please enjoy this ridiculous picture of my cat.

On the cut edges of each panel I created a small fold, placed my handy-dandy hem tape inside the fold, and pressed with an iron until it bonded.  Supes easy.

Once all the “hemming” was completed, I clipped on some curtain rings that I purchased from target, and I was done-zo.

I don’t remember exactly how long this took, but it was about the length of one Real Housewives of Atlanta, minus commercials, plus several pauses to run after Eleanor and collect Christmas tree ornaments from her mouth.

Is that helpful?

Speaking of RHOATL,  what is up with that new Miss USA chick (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MISS AMERICA)?  And really, WHAT IS UP WITH HER?

But I digress.  Here are Le Fancy Drapes all hung up and dazzling.

Cost Breakdown:

• Fabric:  $49.00
• Hem Tape:  $0 (I already had some in the house, but it’s about $2 per roll and lasts forever)
• Curtain hooks:  $9.58 (Two packs of 7 clips at $4.79 each)

Total Cost:  $58.58 ($29.29per panel)!  Woot!

The dining room is coming along swimmingly.  Since painting, I have hung the heart shaped polaroid collage, painted that ugly old bench, and created some vinyl record storage.  I have a future post planned for the frame gallery that you can see in some of the pictures above, and after that I just have to refinish my grandmother’s old dining room table.  And maybe switch out the light fixture.

Maybe.

And now I shall leave you with some recent instagrams.  Cuz they purty.

1.  My signed No Doubt poster, reframed and moved to a new spot in my office/studio.
2. New throw pillow from Ikea.  $10!
3. I broke my tripod (sad face).  A stack of books & boxes works surprisingly well in a pinch.
4. I received my drawing of Eleanor Rigby from Hannah Evelyn Rowlands in the mail!
5. Christmas (Troll) Tree.
6. When I push the pouf over to the glass door, it’s Eleanor’s favorite thing ever.  FULL VIEW SQUIRREL ACTION.
7. Another gold sofa!  What! What? Whaaaaaat.
8. My first geocache thanks to my friend Jillian for letting me tag along (she’s a pro).  I must admit, it was quite fun to wander around the woods looking for something hidden, crossing my fingers that it wasn’t a serial killer waiting in the bushes.  Hooray for not getting murdered!

xoxo