I've had this piece I made hanging on my wall for a while now, but recently decided to add a little something to it. Using a bit of double sided tape I added the vintage letter cards I bought from a shop on Etsy a while ago. But it hung on my wall plain for several months and I've gotten lots of compliments on it. As you have probably noticed, my favourite thing in the world is craft paper (cardboard, paper bags, etc) so what better to make decoration of my wall from than the rolls that your toilet paper/paper towels come on!

-lots and lots of toilet paper/paper towel rolls
-hot glue gun
-scissors
-patience

1. I decided to keep my flowers white (using toilet paper rolls) and my leaves brown (using paper towel rolls) but if you can always paint your rolls  before cutting them if you want to add colour. Let them dry before doing step 2.
2. Flatten, measure, and cut the paper rolls into even pieces (Measure!! If you don't, your decoration won't lie as nice...I know this because I didn't measure). I would suggest about half inch pieces.

3.  Make how ever many flowers you want by hot glueing 5 pieces together.

4. Build your decoration by working on a table (again, speaking from experience, if you don't, it probably won't lie flat on the wall once you're done). Lay out the flowers and piece by piece add the other coloured pieces as leaves branching out. Be creative, you can make it any shape, with as many or as little flower and leaves, and make it as big as you'd like.

5. Optional: Add any other decorations to it if you want, like cut outs of birds, buttons, anything really. I added my vintage cards spelling the words 'The Fortress' . You of course, can just leave it plain as well.

6. Hang it with a few clear thumbtacks or nails.

Happy crafting!

I am very proud to say that today I am guest posting over  A Starving Creative blog.  It is run by a lovely lady named Stephanie and it brings me great joy to show her off to you guys. She has been someone I've looked up to ever since I was little and it's great to see her exercise her creativeness and let the whole world see it.

My post is a tutorial for my latest creative endeavor:
DIY Painted Rock Book Ends
Visit her blog to see more pictures and the steps on how to make a pair yourself!

I still can't stop talking about this find and I can't wait until the next dinner I host so I can use it. I did a little research and I found glass drink dispensers that had no pedestal or etched glass going for near $100! Honestly, this has got to be my favourite find of all time.

For the photo, I styled it with a feather necklace handed down from a friend and intend on pairing it with the burgundy tights I picked up this same trip and the perfect dark caramel high-waisted mini skirt and tan shoes that I am still on the hunt for. 

This little number was the last thing I picked up in this haul. It kind jumped out at me from the racks.  Not that I need anymore dresses, but I couldn't help it because I absolutely adored the colour palette.

Come summer,  I will probably wear it with this straw hat , shell and cord necklace, blue braided belt and these shoes I bought (from Costa Blanca X) last summer. It's hard to tell in the picture (the lighting is terrible in my room) but there are thin yellow stripes that these shoes would pick up wonderfully.

I think I might just leave that outfit on my mannequin for now as I long for summer, since it happens to match my room anyways. Then hopefully by summer I have the time to repaint! And I know, I just painted my room a little less than two years ago, but I need a change. Hopefully this summer I can do a complete bedroom make over.

Anyways, happy thrifting! I hope you all find something great.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Only a day after getting an iPhone, I successfully put a crack in the backing (why would you make a phone out of glass, really??) and so even though I had a case, since the back was clear you could still see the crack. 

To do this 5 minute make over all you need is a case with a clear backing and some scrap material, patterned paper, or even a photograph. Use what ever you want to see on the back of your phone.

Position the case to see what parts of the design will on the back of your phone and then trace around the outside of the case.
Cut it out inside the line. Try it in the back of your case and trim as necessary.
If you want to be fancy, cut the camera hole in the matching shape as in the the case. For this time, I just cut a rectangle in the corner because when I tried cutting such a small oval it was making my fabric fray like crazy. When I use paper or a thinner fabric as the backing I will do an oval. 
Now just put the fabric/paper in the clear case and add in your iPhone.

Voila! Now you can change the design whenever you want at little to no cost, which is perfect for me, because I will probably change it weekly. I already have an idea for the next couple... I will try and remember to take pictures of them once they're made and will update this post with more pictures.

Update:
Did I say I'd change it weekly? Apparently I meant every few hours. Here's the new one I did.
Printed on craft paper with little embroidered details. Can you recognize the inspiration?

Looking through my albums of photos from this year I realized... I didn't really take many photos. 
But I wanted to try my hand at one of those 'year in photos' posts that everyone is doing right now, so disregard the fact that some of the photos are really random, and that almost every one was taken by my cellphone. Long and short of it, I guess a bunch of what this post is about won't really be important.
So these aren't really the high points of my year, they're actually just random points (some of which correlate with the pictures).

-Spent New Years Eve with my cousin's family like we used to many years ago.
-Saw a snake eat a mouse for the first time. When he attacked it, I screamed.
-Had a sleep over with my best friend of 13 years for the first time.
-Assisted at a new born baby shoot for the first time with another friend.

-Bought delicious new tea and drank it all the time. Also started drinking a lot of aloe juice.
-Started watching my friend's weekly volleyball games.
-Decided that when I get my studio it will be called "The Fortress"

-From the pictures I have of this month all I know is... I ate lots of marshmallows apparently.

-Saw my favourite band, the Civil Wars, live for the first time. Blew my mind.
-Finished college (and won some awards!) with our class' Year End Show!

-Took this picture of a pretty tree and relished in the beautiful weather and being finished school.
-Had a rad time celebrating my birthday with my sister and cousins.

-Ate fruit, yogurt and granola for breakfast every other day. Delicious.
-Started this blog!
-My darling godson Aaven and his parents came home for a visit from the Philippines.
-Attempted to give my cousin a hair cut and learned it was definitely not a skill I was born with.

-Went to Florida with my family and cousins and discovered that contrary previous feelings towards the summer heat, I now love it. I've longed for summer ever since.
-Cousins from both sides of my family had weddings, one of which I helped with the floral arrangements.
-Hosted my first outdoor movie bash watching Audrey Hepburn in 'Funny Face', complete with -blankets on the lawn and a table of sweet treats. Definitely going to become a summer tradition.

-Read a whole lot of books over the summer (some of which aren't pictured).
-Did a whole lot of babysitting for my cousin's adorable twin girls.
-Started going to the gym on a regular basis.

-Saw the most gorgeous sunset off my cousin's balcony (that this picture does not give justice).
-Still spent a whole lot of time watching the twins.
-Started working for a company I really like.

-Went hardcore with the Halloween costumes this year and made myself and 2 cousins coordinating -Nightmare Before Christmas costumes to wear.Managed to go 7 months without dying my hair ( I gave in at 7 months and one week). The picture is my Sally dress in progress.
-Created the branding logo  for Joanna Dass' photography career.

-Started the month off right with seeing the Civil Wars live once again.
-Began training at another job.

-Managed to make a few hats during this hectic and busy month.
-Finished my Christmas shopping on time and within budget!!
-Survived my first boxing day working retail (at two shops nonetheless).
-Decided to end my year with dying my hair.


In conclusion:
This year absolutely flew by before I knew it, faster than every other year I can remember. I still clearly remember just how I spent the first day of 2011, yet I can barely remember what happened during the year because so much happened (more interesting and important than the points outlined here) and it's hard to believe it's over. I've got high hopes for this coming year, though I'm not sure exactly what they are yet. Here's to hoping for the best.