Speaking of stripes

Cotten tote bags from IKEA. $6.

Summer Kate Spade giveaway

As a little blogger appreciation, I'm giving away these vintage Kate Spade sunnies. The style is calle Brice, and they come with this pink case.

To enter, just be a follower and leave a comment. If you tweet or post about it or tell your mom, give yourself extra comments.

Happy Summer!

Better Homes and Gardens does the pouf

The July issue of Better Homes and Gardens features this pouf, and BHG.com includes a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own for less than $50.

The BHG pouf looks very similar to my own Moroccan ottoman project from '09 - the difference being that my pouf was made from an old party dress and cost no where near $50. It cost $0.

That being said, BHG did offer some good tips I didn't think of. One, after stuffing your pouf with towels, fabric scraps, blankets and so forth (which I did), top it off with fiberfill to give it a nice puffed shape, thus avoiding pouf cellulite.

The other was a how-to for adding decorative stitching along the seams of the pouf.

DIY art inspiration - Lipstick dots

Save your stubs.

See more Jen Ramos art at Cocoa and Hearts.

DIY copper pipe table

A little DIY inspiration from Brooklyn designer Paul Loebach. The Ultra-Conductive Table is made from copper pipe and nylon zip ties. See more here.

Peonies day by day

I photographed the same patch of peonies day after day until I aroused suspicion and concern.

They are now all gone. Sniff.

My DIY: Faux brass starbursts

Here's an easy poor girl's Kelly Wearstler project I did for Dollar Store Crafts.

My bloggie friend Danika at Gorgeous Shiny Things beat me to this particular DIY. I have built on her creative foundation with a large glob of off-brand playdough.

Start with barbeque skewers and a package of mini craft dough tubs from The Dollar Tree.

Open two tubs and squish the combined dough into one ball. Stick it into one tub. If you want a hole in the back to hang your starburst on the wall, do this before you squish in your dough ball.

Stick the skewers in pointed side down, starting from the center of the dough ball and working out. I did about 50 skewers per starburst.

Allow the playdough to harden. It will crack. Don't worry.

Paint with gold spray paint. (I understand how people get addicted to this stuff. The gold paint, that is.)

Let the paint dry and display your starburst somewhere where no on will ever accidentally sit on it.

Moroccan lanterns again

Just bought this. The little guy. $15 at Z Gallerie.

I waited too long on the big one. The large Tunis is over two feet tall. But it was $50. Couldn't make up my mind. Now all gone.

Every woman needs a 27-inch metal thing that serves no purpose other than holding candles. Who is with me on that?

A forest of figs

Fig trees appeared on the cover of both House Beautiful and Elle Decor this month. (I'm such a trend spotter.)

I've been liking them since Karen McAloon stuck them in half her makeovers for HGTV's Find Your Style. Whatever happened to that show? I loved it.

Karen, wherever you are, you were right. Figs are cool.

Some random figness. (To be clear, these are fiddle-leaf figs, which are big house plants, not to be confused with yummy eating figs, which grow in the back yards of Italian households.)

Inspired in June - Stripes

Stripes and summer - not terribly original. Stripes and leopard - original.

When it comes to fashion, it appear stripes go with absolutely everything, even other stripes. For home decor, I prefer a soft skinny stripe. How about you?

What's inspiring you in June? Link up below.

Images: Z Gallerie Venezia Pavilion; The Glamourai; Atlantic-Pacific; Karla's Closet; JCrew; House Beautiful

What inspired in May (and April)

Here are a few things you've been up to or been sharing that inspired in May or possibly April. First up is the Moroccan-esque Hotel Areias do Seixo, Portugal at From the Right Bank.

Here are a few more inspiring homes, the first from Full House and the second from The Diversion Project.

In the spirit of DIY global flair, Danika at Gorgeous Shiny Things had a great roundup of do-it-yourself ikat projects, including this one from The Mustard Ceiling.

Cristin at Simplified Bee introduced me to the Jonathan Adler console. I would like Mr. Bromeliad to build a version of this as a dining room table.

On the fashion side, you know how I love a good macrame project. And I really loved Donatella's colorful bracelets at Inspiration & Realization.

She also made this amazing tube and bead necklace featuring my other favorite medium - hardware.

Smart n Stazzy made a yellow trim straw tote inspired by Kate Spade while I Still Love You shows you how to make a no-sew clutch.

For a complete list, check out the April/May Inspired blog party.

Thanks to Copy Cat Crafts, Craft Gossip, All Free Sewing and Refashion Co-op all for featuring my No Sew Ruffled Top make from, no joke, safety pins and a shirt sleeve.