My DIY easy leather journal

Make a quick leather journal from a dollar store notebook and a thrift store coat. This is similar to my DIY rustic leather journal except this one uses an inexpensive notebook for lined paper (instead of cutting your own paper.)

It's easy enough to make a bunch as teacher appreciation gifts or as a DIY gift for groomsmen in a wedding party.

Get the full tutorial at Dollar Store Crafts.

Spring cleaning - shoes and accessories

Above is a small fraction of my Shoemageddon. At last count I had 26 pairs on active rotation and probably just as many stashed in tote bags in the bottom of my closet.

Shoes get out of control because they are so easy to try on and look interesting even when not actually being worn. If the shoe fits, take it home and store it.

If one is feeling down about personal excess of any sort, one can always turn to celebrities to feel better. Take a stroll through The Coveteur and various other blogs and your own shoe issues will dwindle to a single shelving unit.

 

 

So, gotta ask - does anybody out there not have enough shoes for a centipede with a personal stylist? 

Spring cleaning - getting real with your closet

Have you started spring cleaning yet? Here are some tips and inspiration to get you started or keep you going.

First I'd advise a spring cleaning mantra. My friend Katie's mantra for 2013 was "space not stuff." Mine has been "get real."

'Get real' means to sit down and make a list of what you really never wear.

I did this and came up with the following:

• wrap skirts
• short fat furs

Since I don't own any this was not helping.

So I tried a list of "things I tend not to wear."

I tend not to wear:

• red, pink, lavender or purple
• pants
• non-neutral shoes
• jackets

I'm not sure how far this will get me in eliminating half my closet.

How about you? Are there broad categories you know you really don't wear?

Closets via The Coveteur and Domaine.

Spring party

Food envy alert. Homemade braided bread. Ham baked overnight and monitored like a newborn. Things with real caramel rum sauce. Dips, bits, bites. People sneaking off to other parts of the house to snort from-scratch-totally-real key lime pie. This is how my family parties in Ohio.

Wish you were here.

Wish I were here.

Gatsby book clutch

If you plan on standing in line for the opening of The Great Gatsby, do it in literary style with a Gatsby book clutch, complete with a tutorial and print-ready vintage cover.

Little cousins

Babies can wear a facial of snot and potting soil and still be cute.

Below is the referenced potting soil going into baby cousin Piper's mouth. The photographer did not stop this, but Aunt Stephanie did.

 

If I could talk I would say 'I'm so tired my pigtails are crooked.'

Meanwhile, big brother Brock was transfixed.

By friend Isabella's video game.

DIY decor inspiration from Brooklyn

You don't need soaring ceilings and a Manhattan view to incorporate some doable decor inspired by Athena Calderone's Brooklyn apartment.

But it sure helps.

Calderone, an interior designer, is practically a neighbor. Not withstanding that my one-bedroom Brooklyn Heights pad could fit into the foyer of her DUMBO rooftop apartment, I think we have a similar aesthetic. Here are some of her attainable decor tips, plus a few of my own.

My tip: Don't be ashamed of your IKEA. The bed above is a Malm.
Her tip: Combine polarizing elements . . . like a clean environment with eclectic oddities.
My tip: Lean heavy on the clean environment. We've all got eclectic oddities out the wazoo.
Her tip: Your living room should make a statement. You spend most of your time there.
My tip: Go for some huge art. Even the dumbest paint splat will look interesting if it's enormous.
Her tip: You can transform a room and create a moody elegance with a statement color.
My tip: Keep your color palette limited.
Her tip: Paint your bed the same color as your walls for a streamline look.

Is Athena's apartment your style?