p.s. i made this at holt renfrew

Every few months, Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street in Toronto hosts a blogger who has a book. This is such a special event because you get to have a few minutes of one-on-one time with a fellow blogger who was once like you (petite and only trying to spread her love through the world of blogging). 

Last year I met Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. Read the blog post here.

This year, Holts hosted Erica from P.S. I Made This where she was featuring her latest book, P.S. You're Invited. I running around all on Saturday afternoon so I managed to sneak in right at the end! I like to think that I'm a crafty person, but I'm not nearly as crafty as Erica. Her blog is so user friendly and in the simplest way possibly, she takes you from beginning to end on a craft. 

Check her out, you will feel inspired to make your own DIY project!

Fashion bloggers, Callie + Sam Beckerman from Beckerman Bite Plate was also there. I guess the way to meet bloggers is to go to blogging events! They are both super awesome and sweet. 

If you love seeing little fluffy dogs dressed up, then follow them on Instagram

They always manage to make me giggle

xo sara

painting pumpkins on breakfast television

Tuesday morning I was able to show Dina Pugliese how to paint creative pumpkins for the fall on Breakfast Television! Carving pumpkins is a classic family activity to prep your home for Halloween. Carving your pumpkin can be dangerous for young kids and also decreases the lifespan of the pumpkin. Painting is a great way to customize your pumpkins at any age!

The best part about painting pumpkins is you can start a new tradition with family and friends. Move over 'carving', painting is the new game in town!

Click here to watch the full Breakfast Television segment

The Chevron + Gold Glitter Pumpkin

Chevron is a really hot pattern in fashion and interior design so why not paint it on your pumpkin? Since you are working with a pattern, connecting it around the pumpkin can be tricky. Have patience - you might not get it right the first time but it's so worth it in the end!

Materials:
- Painters tape (I used 2" wide)
- Scissors
- Glitter
- Small paint brush
- Paint 

Personalized Small Pumpkins

Dinner parties happen all year round and for such a personal evening, it's nice to put a little personal touch. Place a small pumpkin at each placesetting with the first initial of each guest. This also gives them something nice to take home and remember the evening by.

Materials:

- Small paint brush

- Paint

Bedazzled Pumpkin

Dina took a real liking to this bedazzled pumpkin! The glitz and glam is something that every woman would love. The patterns are endless and so are the ways you glue the gems!

*Tip - when painting your pumpkin yellow, paint the base white first so that the yellow really 'pops'!

Materials:

- Small paint brush

- Paint

- Painters tape (I used 1" wide)

- Gems

- Rubber cement 

- Tweezers 

Rope + Bobble Pumpkin

This pumpkin was the most fun to make and rewarding in the end. Each pumpkin with this style will look a little bit different but that's the beauty of it! If you are looking for that perfect housewarming, new home or fall birthday present - this is that perfect pumpkin.

*Tip - cut the rope into different lengths and map out where you would like the path to go before glueing it down. Glue as much of the rope as you can to keep it secure. 

Materials:

- Small paint brush

- Paint

- Rope

- Small styrofoam balls

- Glue gun

- Scissors 

Cartoon Bobble Pumpkin

Every time I look at this pumpkin, all I see is a future Nickelodeon character!

Materials:

- Small paint brush

- Paint

- Medium styrofoam balls

- Exacto knife

- Glue gun 

{Images via Breakfast Television}

Thank you Deb McCain, PARA Paints and Breakfast Television for this opportunity 

and Dusty backstage of BT for taking pictures!

xo sara

DIY mouse pad | back to school

Make sure you are back-to-school ready with a fun DIY project! Creating your own specialized mouse pad is an easy and inexpensive way to add some excitement to your desk. This is also a great idea for a "going away to college" gift for a friend or your child! Below is a selection of my favourites. 

My friend Linda is at school for Interior Design - this mouse pad below would be perfect for her!

{one, two, three, four}

Follow on

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xo sara

DIY floating branch clothing rack

Space is limited in apartments these days so us girls need to come up with unique ways to mimic closets. This floating branch clothing rack is very awesome and super easy and inexpensive to make! This is the modern day storage solution! 

How do you get this look?
1. Go for a walk in a ravine, park or woods
2. Find a the branch length of your choice (make sure it's thick enough or it will snap!)
3. Paint the branch the colour you desire
4. Hang branch from ceiling with wire

{love aesthetics}

xo sara

ps . . .  sorry I've been away for so long

{wedding wednesday} dude, be my groomsman?

For the soon-to-be grooms out there, ask your favourite guys to be part of your wedding party in a fun way! With a label maker, simply create a design, print and paste on a bottle!

{wedding window}

:: See you next week for another Wedding Wednesday ::

xo sara

DIY gold leaf easter eggs

I discovered the lovely Freutcake blog today and had to share this gold and colourful DIY Easter egg project! Leah has lots of great ideas and fabulous pictures!

When I was young, we used to always decorate Easter eggs with coloured dye and make fun patterns. Below is the grown up Easter egg decorating project! These eggs would look lovely in large glass bowl or scattered around your Easter Brunch/Dinner table! If you would like some tips on how to make your table look colourful, have a look at my post that was featured at Style at Home!

If you are inspired for a little more DIY gold leaf, check out this project here!

What you will need:

 - Hard-boiled or blown eggs - dyed

 - Gold leaf glue

 - Gold leaf

 - A small paint brush

Step 1: With dry eggs, apply gold leaf foil glue in desired pattern and allow to dry completely  Glue will turn from milky white to clear and be very tacky to the touch but not wet.

Step 2: With tweezers or fingers, apply pieces of gold leaf to dried glue.

Step 3: Press gold leaf down with fingers. Gently rub gold leaf to smooth and remove excess.

Step 4: When completely finished gently rub entire egg with a paper towel to remove any loose pieces of gold leaf.

Please note: Gold Leafed Easter Eggs are best used for decoration. 

{All images and instructions are from Freutcake}

:: For more Easter posts, please view here ::

xo sara

DIY gold polka dot mugs

This is a quick and fun DIY to get you through the week! Decorate a mug with a Krylo paint gold leafing pen and bake at 350 degrees. After 30 minutes of baking, let it cool in the oven. I am a huge fan of polka dots but you are welcome to create any design your heart desires! Happy crafting!

{sterlingstylelove}

- For more DIY ideas, please view here - 

xo sara

festive friday | chalkboard "dip" mug

DIY Chalkboard "Dip" Mug

A GREAT GIFT IDEA!

Using painters tape, mask off the top half of a mug and apply chalkboard paint.

Have fun creating artistic mugs with chalk! Great DIY for parties or gifts.

- Linda Claire 

- For more Festive Friday posts, please view here - 

festive friday | hot chocolate party

I have paired up with Sara Russell for a "Festive Friday" series to get us all in the holiday spirit. Be sure to visit every Friday for more festive ideas for the holiday season!

Baby, it's cold outside! Warm up this winter and host a cozy Hot Chocolate Party! I found this fun idea from A Pair of Pears blog. It is a great way way to spend time with friends, eat delicious treats, and sip on some heart warming hot cocoa. 

A quick and easy DIY: Plain white mugs + Porcelain Pen

Great way to personalize each mug and it can be used as a take-home gift for your guests!

They created a treats table that including yummy s’mores, frosted sugar cookies, candy canes... etc. They also served pretzels to had some salt to all the sweetness. 

In another area they created “the hot chocolate bar” where ingredients were displayed for guests to help themselves and create their perfect cup of hot cocoa. 

A Pair of Pears, is a blog created by a lovely couple Jake & Jaime who do an excellent job at organizing fun parties. They are talented graphic designers and I love what they created for this hot chocolate themed party. From the invitations to the decorative labels, the graphics really add a personal touch! They are also super generous, and provide printables to their readers so anyone can organize a themed get together just like this one! 

Happy Festive Friday!

xo LC

DIY chalkboard chargers

With this rustic fall weather, I have been inspired to bring the outdoors in with a wood charger. I found this great DIY chalkboard charger on Delight By Design and thought I would share it with you! These would be perfect to have around your Thanksgiving table.

- Happy Thanksgiving America! xo Sara -

{Delight By Design}

For more DIY chalkboard ideas, please view:

DIY chalkboard table

DIY chalkboard placemat

DIY chalkboard lampshade

DIY chalkboard cheese platter - featured online at Style at Home

Follow on

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xo sara

nail art

With the holidays just around the corner, it's time to get your nail art on for those parties! I have been noticing lots of funky nail polish designs lately and been dying to do something funky on my nails. For more great nail art, visit Trophy Wife Manicures.

[the design files]

DIY glam up your ikea closet

Jen Ramos from Made By Girl has her NYC closet featured in the new Style at Home organization issue! This fabulous closet was made from the PAX wardrobe and the doors are white BERGSBO from IKEA. Jen has glammed it up by putting stunning hardware on the doors. Don't you just love the wallpaper in the drawers?! This really personalizes your closet.

Personalize your drawers with wallpaper! Tip from Jen - use tape instead of 

Jen recommends to use double sided tape when securing the wallpaper to the drawers. 

[MadeByGirl]

- For more closet posts, view here -