Houzz Feature: Colorful Doormat DIY

Hi blog friends! I'm finally getting back on track with blogging this week. I hate getting off schedule, don't you? The good news is that I'm slowly chipping away at my to-do list. I am still busy, busy for the rest of April but at least taxes are done and out of the way now. One less thing to worry about. Thank goodness!

Today I want to share another DIY I created specially for Houzz that got featured this week. Last week I shared my first DIY and announced that I will be contributing to Houzz on a regular weekly basis now. I am really looking forward to the challenge of writing more and producing more home decor and home improvement DIYs. I have been wanting to transition into more of that anyway and so this was the perfect opportunity. 

For this project I spruced up a plain, boring doormat and turned it into a personal work of art. Most of the store bought versions are pretty typical and I figured putting my own touches on a mat wouldn't be too hard. Turns out it is the perfect weekend DIY which can be completed in an hour or two, depending on how much detail you put into it. You only need a few materials too. Check out all the specifics for making your own personalized doormat on Houzz:

Step Up to a Work-of-Art Doormat

For one of the shots, I enlisted the help of my dog Scout. She doesn't have the best track record for being a helpful model but I never give up hope on her. And she is just too cute! It's hard not to snap a few pictures. I decided to throw a few of the pictures together and turn them into an animated gif.

Cute, right?

If you have Photoshop you can make your own gifs like this. My friend Jenny of Hank & Hunt posted this amazing tutorial about how to make your own. Jenny is crazy talented and she has such a fun blog so head on over and give her some love and say hi. If you don't have Photoshop you can still make animated gifs, using this free website MakeAGif and it works great.

Happy gif making and have a great week everyone!

Font Love, Vol. XXIX: Bodoni at Home

Hello friends and happy Friday! How was your week? Are you looking forward to the weekend? It looks like it is going to be stormy here in Southern California which means a lot of time indoors. This actually works out best for me since I have taxes to finish up and plenty of projects to keep me occupied. Sometimes it's nice how the weather works to your advantage, keeping you inside, keeping you busy. 

Today I want to celebrate Font Friday and share a freebie font with you, Bodoni at Home. I have always been a big fan of Bodoni Roman, its bold and classic look. Bodoni at Home pays homage to Bodoni but being a handwritten type, it feels less rigid and formal. I am always attracted to handwritten fonts so it is no surprise that this one caught my eye too. Designed by Giuseppe Salerno of Resistenza, Bodoni at Home was drawn with a stylographic, calligraphy pen which gives the edges that rough look. And I love the all-caps.

poem: The Far Field by Theodore Roethke

The pictures are from the photoshoot I did with my brother and his girlfriend last weekend. We shot in this beautiful, serene field near my home. I have shared a few teaser images on Instagram but unfortunately I cannot share the main shots quite yet. Everything turned out great though so I look forward to posting about it here when I can.

It's amazing what beauty can lie right outside our door. I didn't even know this field existed until the day before the shoot. It is quite magical don't you think? Especially with all those yellow wildflowers.

Have a great weekend everyone!

If you want to see more font picks, check out the blogs of my other type lovin' friends:

Alexandra ♥  The Aerialist Press 

Alison ♥ Alison Owen Design

Anna ♥ And Everything Nice

Jen ♥ Blush Printables

Sofia ♥ Brancoprata

Steph ♥ Bubblerock

Vicki + Barb ♥ Curly Willow DIY

Catherine ♥ Design Editor

Chelsey ♥ Fourth & Folded

Laurel ♥ Go Against the Grain

Jenny ♥ Hank & Hunt

Allie ♥ Honey Bee Invites

Alison ♥ The Knotty Bride

Jenna + Elizabeth ♥ Little Bit Heart

Cécile ♥ My Paper Lounge

Lauren ♥ Palm Papers

Kerry ♥ Super Swoon

Wendy ♥ WesWen Design

Easter Hike

Happy mid-week everyone! Southern California went from having perfect, clear weather this weekend to being cloudy and rainy today. Fluctuations like this are business as usual here but at least the holiday was spared from the gloominess. On Sunday my family went on a hike in the local mountains to soak up the sun's warm rays and to spend our Easter outdoors in nature. Outings like this call for a camera of some sort but I didn't feel like lugging around my dSLR, especially since we had Scout along for the fun. It's hard to be dog wrangler plus family photographer at the same time. So I opted for my more compact Fuji Instax camera which gives me instant, tangible pictures.

I'm in the last set of pictures on the left with Scout. Can you see me? I am very camouflaged.

It was a really fun hike and I'm glad I have these little photos to remind me of the trip. Scout especially loved splashing in the water and cooling down in the stream. She usually dislikes water but for whatever reason, being out in nature changed her mind. Whenever our family gets together I feel like we always go on long walks or hikes. Does your family do that? A family that walks together, stays together maybe.

How was your Easter weekend? Did anyone else go hiking? 

Houzz Feature: Vintage Pillowcase Cushions DIY

I'm blogging a bit late again today although not nearly as late as yesterday. My blogging will probably take a hit this week since I have a handful of projects I am getting together plus my part-time Anthro job which is getting busier and busier plus the added fun of taxes. They have been put off far too long and now the time has come to tackle them. Joy. But that is life and once I get going it probably won't even be that bad. 

Today I have some exciting news to share. If you follow along here you know I have been contributing a monthly ideabook to Houzz, a design inspiration and home improvement website. I have had a lot of fun collaborating with their team so I was thrilled when they asked if I wanted to write more frequently. I am getting into the routine of writing two ideabooks per week where one of the two will be devoted to DIYs. I will be be showing Houzz readers how to make decor items and small-scale home improvements. It feels great to be coming up with regular content and I'm so glad I can write and offer advice to a whole new set of readers. I will be sharing my ideabooks here as well so you can see what I'm working on too. Today I want to share my first DIY, a vintage pillowcase cushion project.

I designed these cushions to serve as extra pillows, floor seating or even mini tabletops. You make them by repurposing old pillowcases which I find so often discarded at antique stores and usually priced pretty cheap.

Vintage linens can often have fun and funky colors which make this project all the better. I love adding hints of vintage style throughout my space and these cushions are the perfect little touch. I'm using them in my studio now and they are quite comfy.

Visit Houzz to see the whole project:

Vintage Pillowcase Cushions DIY

I am so excited about this collaboration! I'm planning a lot of neat features in the weeks to come. Visit my Houzz profile to see all of my ideabooks and search the site to get inspiration for your next home improvement project. There is so much to see and the search features are really great. It is easy to refine your search and find exactly what you're looking for. Enjoy browsing and I hope you like my first DIY project.

My Week Through Instagram: Week Fourteen

Happy Monday friends, now that it's almost Tuesday. This post shows you how behind you get after a holiday weekend. Did you all have a great Easter? I planned a photoshoot with my brother and his girlfriend on Saturday and then we had our big meal afterwards. On Sunday we went hiking in the local mountains and it was an absolutely beautiful day. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday. Oh yes, and then we made yummy cookies. What special things did you do?

This week I have lots of catching up to do and already I know April is going to be packed with lots of deadlines. But now a moment of reflection and a peek into my week fourteen of 2012...

Sunday: I got this succulent plant a little more than a year ago and I have enjoyed seeing its growth. It looks so wild and untamed now. The jar cannot contain it.

Monday: At the beginning of the week I was busy styling a project in my studio which I'll share more about in the coming days. This is just a little scene I imagined for it.

Tuesday: Normally I walk in the evening but on Tuesday I walked in the morning and soaked up the sun's warm rays. The street was empty and I felt such solitude (other than Scout by my side). 

Wednesday: Our newest plant edition to the living room. It fits in nicely and it even came with the basket.

Thursday: On Thursday I drove around locally to scout some locations for our photoshoot on Saturday. These open hills totally inspired me. We didn't end up shooting here which is probably best since this was private property. The brush was actually grey in color but the Instagram filter made it look purple. Sadly no, those are not hills of lavender.

Friday: I stumbled upon these cute yellow chicks in storage. I don't normally like typical and kitschy holiday decor but these guys are pretty sweet. I think I bought them for $1 last year after Easter.

Saturday: Saturday I was busy getting the photoshoot together. My Mom spotted this amazing chair in a local antique store and bought it for only $35! We used it as a prop and the color matched the color scheme of the shoot perfectly. I cannot wait to share pictures...and video!

So that was my week fourteen. What did yours look like?

Follow me on instagram if you like. My username is laurenelisecrafted. Or see all of my pictures on the computer through Followgram.