Well, here we are....I've finished my very first yarn wreath!

I'm so thrilled with how it turned out, just had to share!

I knew that when I started Project Make It that I would be challenging myself to actually get some of the DIYs/patterns I have stored away done.  What I didn't realize was how great I would feel making something totally different than anything I've made before.  I honestly feel that by making this wreath,

I have filled a creative void

Sounds so silly, but it's true!

I'm happy that I started with this particular project, because it's very forgiving.  It also taught me that perfection isn't always best.  The slight imperfections add character to the wreath.  The flowers are imperfectly cut, the wreath is imperfectly wrapped, but I love it more because of that!

Okay, that's one!  I think my next project will be the pillows....you can find the link to the tutorial here.

What are you making for yourself/your home as part of Project Make It 2011?

Shared this wreath at Mique's Pity Party!
Come see!

Cheers,

Have You Started?

Have you started any projects yet?  Have you entered the Project Make It 2011?  You can find out more here.

I've started my first project, the yarn wreath.

What I've learned thus far.....

• it's true, as mentioned in the tutorial I used, imperfect = perfect
• it's recommended that if you use a hay/grass wreath to keep the plastic on....well, the store I bought mine from took the plastic off, easy fix = put some saran wrap around it when you get home!
• overlapping not only looks better (in my humble opinion), but it truly blends in and gives the wreath a thicker look
• it takes time to wrap the wreath....a looonnnng time
• don't worry if you don't cover the wreath perfectly the first time around, that's when overlapping comes into play
• you can move in the opposite direction when overlapping....who knew?!
• make sure you pull tightly (but not too tightly).  It looks better, but if you forget, once again, overlapping will fix that problem in a jiffy
• make sure you keep an eye on the interior of the wreath and the top, I missed spots in the interior because I was so focused on the top or front....but once again....you got it, problem can be easily fixed with overlapping (I promise, won't say it again).
• when cutting the circles of felt for your flowers, it doesn't have to be a perfect circle (at all) in the beginning since you'll be cutting waves into it later

Here's a quick pic (I apologize about the poor quality, it was taken with my iPhone) of mine so far.....

Few last thoughts.....these are fun to make, really, I have enjoyed it!  Making felt flowers, awesome, will definitely be making more for other at home projects!

Cheers,

Lighting

"Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect." ~ Wikipedia

Today, I'm heading out with a friend to do some shopping for the home.  Our plan is to hit Homesense, oh how I love Homesense.  This store honestly makes me happy.  I shop with a smile, I am inspired and motivated.

Today's shopping list looks a little something like this:

1 - How lovely would it be to welcome guests into your home with a gorgeous chevron rug? I'm looking for one with off whitish-tan and black.

2 - Our living room is in desperate need of some lighting, so I'm off to find a gorgeous floor lamp.  I'm hoping to find one with a nice, solid wood base and an off white shade.

3 - I'm determined to add some family photos to the walls of this house.  Must buy: perfect frames!

4 - Please see #2

5 - There is unused space above our kitchen cabinets.  I want to use that space to display some lovely white ceramic pieces.  Cake plates, bowls, etc.

That's what I'm up to today....are you going shopping? What are you shopping for?

Cheers,

P.S.  Have you checked out the Project Make It page? If not, hop on over and add to it if you'd like!

A New Year

A new year is upon us.  I can hardly believe it! 2010 seemed to have flown by. I can vividly remember so many moments during the year.  Last January was the beginning of a very busy year for my husbands squadron, which ended up keeping him away from home more often than not.  He, the kids and I trudged along, thinking that August would be the end of all of the craziness and trips, but alas, it was not.  It took the month of December to arrive for things to slow down.  We've now had him home for several weeks and that alone, was the best Christmas present ever.

We're not sure what 2011 will hold in regards to his schedule, but we're ready, we're refreshed and we're prepared to conquer!

I'm not sure why, but for some reason the thought of the beginning of 2011 is very exciting to me!  I usually do get excited about starting a new year, but 2011 feels a little different.  I have some resolutions that I'd love to share, nothing "major" (as Victoria Beckham would say) but I feel that if I write them, or say them out loud, that I will have more of a drive to meet those goals I've set in place.

1 ~ I will move elliven in any which way I can to another level.  Do I know where that is? No, not really, but I want this little shop of mine, to be in a different place by this time next year than it is now....further ahead.

2 ~ I will do a better job of spending less.  I'm a good shopper, and that's not necessarily a good thing!

Those are two of mine.....do you have any resolutions that you'd like to share?

Well, that's that friends!

Cheers,

From Us To You

It's time, and I honestly can't really believe it.  I love this time of year, it's just so fun!  We have finished our shopping, I've started drying out the bread for stuffing, the stockings have been hung and the menu for Christmas Eve and Christmas day have been made.  So joyous!

decorations all around the house!

I am now going to be taking a little break from blogging, not a long break, just a wee one.

I thank you for following along, I thank you for supporting my little shop and,

I hope you all enjoy a absolutely fabulous holiday!

Cheers, happy holidays to you and yours!

Treasury Love

A few lovelies I found while browsing our fav site!

Family cluster necklace underhercharm $78.00	strawberry sash clutch eclu $58.00	IVORY Rose Blossoms 3 Flower... supplier $7.50	Daisy Bouquet Post Earring lepetitruban $15.00
Magnolia Blush HeatherHarrisP... $25.00	Warm Taupe Mobius Cowl Knit ... ImpossiblyAlic... $60.00	CHRISTMAS SALE - Romantic Ro... sewlola $25.00	Light ivory or white chiffon... percyhandmade $58.00
Dill - Recycled silver moder... jakecleo $40.00	Ivory Silk Pleated Clutch wi... BabbsBoutique $73.50	Mustard Print on Off White C... joom $28.00	Deux 10x10 metallic fine art... ChelseaVictori... $30.00
Clutch in Blush Pink w Bloss... jennyndesign $103.00	Pattern Silk in Off White ToonDesign $12.00	Clutch - The Lily Viola Clut... thesocialseam $60.00	Cashmere Pink Peony - Reclai... thejunebride $15.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Soft and Precious treasury

Cheers,

Oh Christmas Tree

Don't miss out on the goodies sale!

It's always such a treat to see pictures of people's homes and decorated Christmas trees.  So fun to read about family traditions and to see which heirlooms have been passed down from generation to generation.

So I thought I'd share a pic or two of our decorated tree!

When we first moved out on our own, I was determined to have a tree that was totally coordinated...something a la Monica Geller from Friends....you know what I mean?  And I have to admit that it did start out that way, but things have definitely changed.

With the kids growing up and wanting to help more and more, I've realized that it's more fun to let them enjoy decorating the tree thus creating wonderful memories, than for them to sit back and watch mum decorate the tree.  So there is no rhyme or reason to our decorations.  There are some new ones, some old ones, some from when the kids were born, some from when hubs and I were born, some that are handmade, some that I have no clue where they came from.  Some branches have a million and one decorations on them, some have none.  It's a complete mishmash, but one that I cherish oh so much!

The only prerequisite now is that the tree has to be f-a-t!  The wider, the better!

I have to apologize, the quality of the pics isn't the best....oops

Cheers,

We All Love A Sale!

With the holidays drawing near I thought I'd share another discount with you before I close the shop for the Christmas break.

From now until December 21st you can save 10% on your entire order!  Simply enter coupon code: GOODIES during Etsy checkout!

On that note,

the shop will be closed from December 20th until January 3rd.

Cheers,

elliven Tote!

Hello! I hope you are all enjoying a great start to your lovely weekend!

I'm so excited to post about this that I couldn't wait until Monday (so unfortunately for those of you who are reading this today, or this weekend, you'll probably see a few tweets about this post until Monday, sorry, I apologize in advance).

So anyhow, as you know, I've been working on constructing and designing a tote to sell in my shop.

My goal was to offer a simple tote with classic elliven accents/details.  A tote that you could use to carry letters to the post office, to carry books to and from the library, to carry your magazines.  It can serve so many purposes and all the while, it will keep you looking fashionable.

I made this one for a family member for Christmas, I hope she loves it!  I'm terribly excited to show you this.....

I'd love to share the name with you, but then the recipient of this particular tote would know it's for her (yup, naming it after a family member, it's just sooooo her!).

tote is made with twilled cotton and features a ruffle down the entire front 

straps have been adorned with a 1" wide strip of brilliant sequins

the inside of the straps are sequin free for comfort 

large enough to carry magazines, but not bulky 

coordinating cotton interior features a two section slip pocket, one of which is pleated

I'm so thrilled with the end result of this design, although there is still a slight amount of tweaking that needs to be done.  It was a challenge trying to find the right embellishments for this tote.  I knew the direction that I wanted to go with it, but finding the right materials sure was tricky!  There will be a few different accents, but the design will stay the same.

I will be producing a few more prototypes over the next little while, and listing them in the next few weeks.

I have been doing a lot of thinking the past couple of weeks about just what it is what I want my shop to represent.  It's always been about simplicity, clean lines, nothing over the top, and I've always wanted my items to help keep you organized and fashionable.  It's sometimes hard to stay focused when you have so many ideas floating around in your head and it can be easy to steer off course (at least for me).  Leading me to make items that don't fit the elliven motto.  I feel that I am getting back on track and after really taking the time to think about the direction I want things to go.  I feel good about where I am at and the direction I am heading with my designs and items.

I truly feel that this tote fits the elliven look, hope you do too!

Cheers,

An Unexpected Guest

The other day while eating our lunch, we looked out the patio window and realized that we weren't the only ones enjoying a little bite to eat....

oh, hello!

We have an apple tree in our backyard.  A few apples were left on the deck (tons of spiders on them....need I say more).  Turns out that they make the perfect winter treat for these furry little guys!

Too cute!

Cheers,

Down and Out

What a week this has been!  We were hit pretty hard by the flu over here.  Started with our eldest, then the youngest had a little bit of a nasal cold, then I had the flu (slept ALL day, literally, it was terrible, I felt like death).  Next it was the middle little guys turn and then my husband.  In the midst of all of this, we had a Christmas dinner to attend, family visiting from Ontario, school concerts, kids christmas parties and christmas tree shopping to get done.  It was a wild week, one that I am glad is over (except for the visit from family).  Enter a huge sigh of relief here that the flu has left (knock on wood and yes, I did lysol the entire house!) and hoping that we can now recoup a bit.

have you been hit by the flu this year?  

We heard it was going around, but had no clue just how bad it was until we fell victim....

So now, I'm trying to catch up.  I closed the shop during all of the craziness, it is now open again.  I am going to try to get the tote prototypes done this weekend and if they turn out (fingers crossed) look for new totes to be available in the shop sometime this month! Yippee!

yes, I am back.

I am also trying to figure out a few things (yet again) as to where I want this shop of mine to go....why does this seem to be such a confusing, constant battle I have with myself?  There were a few blog posts that went up while I was sick on blogs I frequent, boy, did they ever have me thinking.  I know where I want my shop to go, but I'm so scared, so nervous, have I lost my mind?  Is this realistic?  Do I really know what I'm doing/talking about? Ugh, sometimes, you just need to jump in right.....

Cheers,