Back from Vacation

I just got back from a trip to the land of my youth - Cape Cod. My sister Melanie(in the middle shown with birthday cake and confetti, since it was her 30th birthday) and our friend Laura and I all drove from Minnesota to the Cape. Laura is shown with a camera and cheeseburgers and I have my Bag O' Wicked Awesome Stuff (yes, I did quite a bit of shopping) and an ice cream cone from Friendly's (my favorite ice cream chain back east).

We spent lots of time at the beach.......

....collected a lot of shells.....

....and visited our old childhood street (from which this blog got its name).

Necklace Holder

Here is a simple and inexpensive project and a cool way to keep your necklaces from getting tangeled. If you are like me, you usually take them off and plop them down wherever - or, if you are especially tidy, you keep them tumbled together in a jewelry box.

Anyway, I came across this idea on a blog the other day (I would give credit but have no idea which blog). All you need is a cheap picture frame (I got mine at Walgreens for five bucks), some suction hooks, and some decorative paper or fabric. Cut the fabric/paper to size, slip it behind the glass, put the glass back on, and arrange the suction cups however you'd like.

The other nice thing about this project is that there isn't anything permanent about it. If you get tired of the background, just change the fabric/paper. You can also change the hooks around however you want.

My Book Bag

I've seen some of these bags made from books on various websites and etsy shops. I've wanted to make one for a while and have been on the look out for the perfect book.The Friends bookstore at the Central Library had a 50% off sale last week, and I scored some great finds - a whole big stack of books for only $7.50! Amongst the treasures was this gardening book from 1968 - and it was only a dollar. It was in a binder format so was the perfect size for a purse.

I bought some handles (about five bucks) and ribbon (two bucks) at Michael's. I also bought some Modge Podge to varnish the outside and protect it a little from scuffs and water.

For the interior, I used the retro flowered fabric from my recent thrift store splurge. A little hot glue, sewing, embroidery thread and more ribbon, and now I have my very own book bag. I'm looking forward to making a few more and am keeping my eye out for some cool, vintagey books.