Sister Save The Date

My sister is getting married in March of 2014, and as her maid of honor I am trying to help out as much as I can. I wish I could contribute more, but with living on the other side of the country it is kind of difficult. I told her I would design her save the date cards for her, and am so happy she was willing to let me. She sent me a few pictures and told me ideas that she wanted to incorporate. I ended up making 11 different ones, but decided to only post four of my favorite ones here on the blog. She ended up using the last one, which is now a magnet stuck to my fridge! I am so excited for her and can not wait for the wedding! If it turns out that I do any other kinds of crafty projects for the wedding, I am sure I will end up sharing them with you all.

Flapper In Fleurs

Two things I have been obsessing over lately are spring flowers and 1920's style. My Instagram feed has been filling up with pretty blossoms of all sorts, and my Pinterest has been taken over by pictures of flappers. Seeing as I've had these on the brain so much recently, I decided to draw inspiration from them for a tiny style shoot I did on Saturday. I tried my hand at faux finger waves (definitely need more practice,) drew inspiration from the 20's for my outfit, and surrounded myself with this beautiful pink flowering tree. I really like how these pictures turned out, and I am also very pleased I was able to snap them before the day turned grey and rainy! 

Outfit Details:

-Blouse: Vintage

-Leotard: American Apparel

-Skirt: H&M

-Shoes: super old!

-Necklace: Coming soon to my shop

Flourish Like A Flower

I just wanted to say that I hope you are all having a lovely weekend so far! xxoo

Where The Air Is Sweet

This week I visited the sweetest little park not too far from my house. I actually went two times, but the first time was a bust, as it started hailing the second we set foot on the trail. The second time however, was amazing. The trail around the park was the perfect distance for walking, especially since there were a bunch of cute little spots to stop and sit, or in my case, to pose for pictures! There were tons of birds singing in the tree tops, all of the ponds reflected the beautiful blue sky, and I even saw my first wild Olympia bunny rabbit! I know I've mentioned it a ton of times before, but nothing makes me happier than exploring new parks around my new home! 

Outfit Details:

-Sweater: Pins & Needles

-Dress: Hand-me-down from naked lady party

-Tights: Capezio

-Shoes: Dean & Ozzy 

Accentuate The Positives

Being sick the past few months has really taught me something. It has taught me that there is always a positive to a negative. Even in the worse situations there is always something that can lift your spirits. I've been working really hard on trying to acknowledged the finer things in life. It is so hard (for me at least) to not dwell and worry about all of the gloomy bits of a bad situation.

Today started out as just another gloomy, rainy day in which I had not been feeling particularly well. I spent the morning cooked up in my office working on the taxes I have held off doing until last minute. When I decided to take a break from work, it was as if the universe knew I was in need of a pick me up. The clouds cleared away and the sun started shining bright as ever. I saw the tree outside my kitchen window, pink dew-filled leaves just twinkling in the sun, and knew I had to step outside to admire how lovely the day turned out. I never would have thought something as small as the weather changing, for even the briefest of moments, was worth cherishing as much as I do now. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on finding the positives when going through a rough patch. Comment below to share, or if you'd just like to talk about anything that picks you up when you're feeling down! 

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner

The winner of the $15 Shabby Apple Gift Certificate giveaway is...

Here's what Michelle wrote:

I would like to thank all of you who participated!  I hope to keep having giveaway in the future, because they are just so fun for everyone!

Spring To Life

The warm spring days have gotten me in the mood to spend all my free time outside. I've been finding myself standing outside on my porch with my eyes closed just taking it all in. I love to hear birds chirping and insects buzzing. I love feeling the warmth of the sun, and forgetting everything that troubles me. 

I spent a lot of time hanging out in my front yard yesterday. I pulled some weeds, picked up a zillion pine cones, and admired all the blooming flowers. There is just something about being one with nature that is so rejuvenating for the soul. 

Outfit Details:

-Blous: Thrifted

-Jeans: Forever 21

-Shoes: BDG

Giveaway - Win A $15 Gift Certificate From Shabby Apple

I am so ecstatic to announce this fabulous giveaway from Shabby Apple! I am a long time fan of their absolutely romantic vintage clothing, and could not believe it when they contacted me to do a giveaway on the Wear The Canvas blog! Up for grabs is a $15 gift certificate, and entering is so easy! See below for all the details.

How To Enter:
To enter this amazing giveaway make sure that you are a follower of my blog, and leave a comment below. (Please also make sure to let me know which service you use to follow my blog - either Google or another reader.) That's it! So simple right? I wish you all happy entering, and good luck!

*To be eligible to win you must complete the mandatory entry, still be a Wear The Canvas subscriber/follower at the time of the drawing, and be a U.S. resident. 
*This giveaway will run through Friday April 5th. The winner will be randomly drawn by random.org

Let The Sun Shine In

Hello, hello! Long time no blog, I know. It makes me so sad that I am still fighting off this stomach thing, whatever it may be. My days lately have either been super awesome, or very terrible. Today was one of the good days tho.  I did some uploading to my Etsy shop, got all dolled up, and enjoyed a heavy rain storm followed by the most brilliant sunshine! Spring is finally rolling in, and I have dressing appropriately to welcome it back. As it gets closer and closer to Easter I find myself dressing in more pastels. It's funny how holidays I don't really celebrate make me want to be festive! Does that ever happen to you?

Outfit Details:

-Sweater: Vintage

-Blouse: Vintage

-Skirt: Vintage

-Shoes: Steve Madden 

Raspberry Pie Bars

Happy Pi day! That's right pi not pie, you know, 3.14! I have been wanting to make a pie for pie day since, well, as long as I have known about pie day. So in honor of the holiday, this year I made a pie. Actually, I made pie bars. I cheated just a bit seeing as it is not a real pie, and most importantly it is not round. But hey, who cares? It's pie-like enough for me. You too can make this scrumptious dessert by following the recipe below.

Crust and Topping
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups sugar
- pinch of salt
- 12 tbs cold butter

Filling
- 3 cups fresh raspberries
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- zest from half a lemon
- pinch of salt

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish and set aside. 

-Add flour, sugar, butter, and salt into a mixing bowl and beat until mixed and crumbly. 

-Set aside one cup of the mixture. Take the remaining mixture and press into the bottom of your glass baking dish, making sure to cover the entire bottom. Bake for 15 minutes.

-While the bottom crust is baking, whisk the eggs together in a bowl. 

-Add sugar, flour, sour cream, and lemon zest. Mix until combined.

-Fold in the raspberries. 

-When crust is done baking, remove from oven and spoon the raspberry filling mixture on top. 

-Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture you set aside on top. 

-Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is lightly browned.

Once it is done cooking you can eat it warm out of the oven, or chilled in the fridge for two hours. I decided to eat mine cold, but I can just imagine how yummy it would taste gooey and warm with a scoop of ice cream! 

Doorway To Spring

This weekend was a reminder that Spring is right around the corner. The sun decided to poke its head out from behind the clouds, and showered everything in Olympia with it's warm golden sunshine. It finally felt right to wear my spring green skinny jeans, which I've been itching to wear for months. I also got to wear my newly favorite 80's floral blouse, even though it still was a little too chilly to go without my sweater.

I spent Saturday gallivanting around downtown with Fermin. We bought goodies from a bakery we had never visited before, ate a small picnic at the park, and then took these pictures at my favorite wall in Olympia. I have seen these beautiful mosaic doors and silly water drain pipe/planters many times since moving here last month. Every time I lay my eyes on them, I think to myself how beautiful they are, and how I must take photos in front of them. Now, I'm happy to say I can cross that off my Olympia bucket list. The rest of the afternoon was spent re-potting some new succulents for my kitchen window, and doing yard work. My desire to get my hands dirty with soil and spend hours picking weeds in the yard is just another sign Spring is in the air! 

Outfit Details:

-Sweater: Forever 21

-Blouse: Vintage

-Jeans: Urban Outfitters

-Shoes: BDG

-Purse: Vintage 

Nature Inspired Fiber Art

 I have always been a lover of all things felt. I can honestly spend hours oohing and aahing over random plushies I discover on Etsy and Pinterest. I also have an unspoken rule with myself to always have a big bag of felt lying around for when I get the itch to whip up a little something or other. Last time I got the urge to craft with it, I ended up making some of my favorite felt pieces to date. I created two tiny orchid sculptures, and a mini cactus plushie.

I created the orchids first using a mini Altoids can as the base. I wanted to place the cactus in a similar container, but didn't have anything like it in my stash. I ended up finding a rock that I could use as a base instead. While looking for that perfect little stone outside, I was really inspired by all the moss that had sprung up over winter. I went home, finished the cactus, and started working on some mossy rocks using embroidery thread. I didn't end up finishing the rocks until last week, but am so happy they are finally done! It means I'm free to start working on my next felt project whenever creativity strikes!