Ivy & Co.: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

ALOHA Friday Link Party #20

Welcome to Jed & Ivy's

Aloha Friday
Link Party #20!

I loved this Buffet Makeover from Happy Tree Life.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The best part is that it was :
#1- done with spray paint
#2- creatively glazed... with black acrylic paint, some water and a rag!

I think it looks great. Especially with the Life Aquatic print hanging above it, and the vintage typewriter. Thanks for linking up, Angie. And btw- I think Kona is just adorable!

Pau Hana!

It's the end of the week, end of the year, end of the holidays. Let's party!

DIY projects - Etsy products - Giveaways - Furniture Re-do's (my fave) - Sewing Tutorials - Inspiring Stories

By linking up, you're allowing me to feature your photos on this blog and pin them.

Share the Aloha and visit some links!

Don't forget about my new blog, "Best Bunting on the Block!" Link up your bunting by clicking here.

Aloha,

Rebecca

Monday, January 28, 2013

Pretty Recycle Bin

A few months ago our trash service decided they weren't going to pick up trash twice a week anymore. Instead, they were going to pick it up on Sundays, but then on alternating Wednesdays they were going to pick up Recycling and Green Waste. The recycling bin they provided for us was kind of far from our house, since there are a couple homes on our property that share the trash service. So what happened next was that piles of recyclables were ending up in our kitchen, next to the indoor trash can, and on our deck, before they were taken over to the main recycle bin. Something had to be done!! Of course, I made something...

I saw this pin on pinterest and was inspired.

Source: delightfuldozen.com via Randi on Pinterest

Here's what I used:

-metal trash can (I think it's a 16 or 20 gallon), $25 at ACE Hardware (kind of pricey, but that's what you get on an island!)

-4 yards of fabric (I got 2 yards in the polka dot, and 1 yard of the yellow/grey, and it wasn't quite enough. I supplemented by making the bottom out of some grey fabric I had at home.

-thread

I mainly followed the fabric bucket tutorial from Inspired by Family Magazine here. I use it alot :)

I measured the top of the trash can circumference and the bottom. I cut out fabric with the appropriate top length and bottom length. Then I stenciled a circle with fabric on the bottom to create the bottom part of the bag.

Follow the original tutorial for all the details. I didn't use any interfacing, however, I did stitch some thick terry cloth in the shape of an 'x' spanning the bottom circle, just for a little extra re-enforcement while carrying it. The other revision to the original tutorial is that I added a strip of the yellow/grey printed fabric along the top and inserted elastic in it so that it would be secure when folded over.

I will admit, my husband was smirking through the whole process of me making this, haha. He just didn't see why it needed to be, well, pretty. I sensitively told him to just let me make it and to try not to go searching and analyzing the reason behind it. It's a girl thing. :) We like things to be pretty. And this pretty recycle bin now sits on our deck, instead of piles of recycling.

Valentine's Day Past...

I shared some fun V-Day projects in 2012, and since I'm not motivated to make more V-Day projects this year, I'll re-share them. After all, how much valentine's bunting can someone have? 2 sets are good enough for me :)

#1- DATES TO REMEMBER:

Using a $6 canvas, my current "it" fabric, (which I've used on the no-sew tin and the pillow cover), some Modge Podge, scrapbook paper and a great new font, I made this for my husband, Kit, last year. It has been pinned over and over since last year, so I'm kind of stoked on that!

This is where Kit decided it should live:

It's on a shiloh-colored shelf (which matches the desk and mirror in this post), next to Kit's side of the bed. That's his grandfather's watch in front of it. He passed away in August 2010. Our friend from Slovenia took those pics of Ivy last April and he and his girlfriend had them framed for us. (The one on the right ended up in a Slovenian catalog!!) The ceramic dog is one of Kit's high school art projects.

I like the shine of the Modge Podge. And you can see the brush strokes.

to see the original post, click here

#2- V-DAY BUNTING:

I made a full size version of this heart bunting, and then a mini version.

Aloha means love!

to see the original post, click here

#3- HEART GARLAND:

To get in the Valentine's Day spirit last year, I decided to make some Heart Garlands. I first started making garlands when I came across this post from www.danamadeit.com last Fall. MADE is the first blog I ever followed! Search "garland" on her blog and a ton of posts will come up.

I bought a $0.26 sheet of red felt and a mistake pink felt the other day at Walmart, then dug out the white felt from Christmas. Then I started cutting out hearts.

For the edges of the garland, (to tie it to something), I used this vintage ribbon that has adorable little hearts and flowers on it.

It's so simple to make... you just sew across the felt.

Then I hung it in Ivy's room, in front of one of her windows.

It's right behind her butterfly mobile that used to be above her crib, and is now above her big girl bed.

I liked it so much, I wanted to make a head wreath for Ivy... a.k.a. a haku lei here in Hawaii... out of felt hearts. Hahahaha. I figured, she's 2 years old, I can get her to wear it at this age.

I twisted the angles of the hearts to go sideways.

She loved it. And wore it all night at dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. ALL NIGHT.

to see the original post, click here

And that's it for my past V-Day posts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

--Becca

Monday, January 21, 2013

Giveaway! Jenn Alexander's New Album

At 20 years old, thousands of miles away from home, excited but frightened about where I was going in life, I met Jenn Alexander. And boy did I need to meet her. She seemed to be everything I was not: content, confident, at peace with the world around her, so focused on others, but always making her husband and growing family her #1 priority. Almost 10 years later, I still think she is AMAZING and secretly want to be her (did I just say that?) But seriously, I just met up with her for about an hour last year while she was vacationing in Maui, and she knew all the right things to say to me, while bringing refreshment in telling me about what was going on in her world.

She just released her second album on 12-12-12, and I asked her if she'd be willing to do a giveaway on "Jed & Ivy." Being the kind person she is, of course she agreed. She's like that. Here's what her website says about her:

"Spirited. Sassy. Soulful. Benz meets Beach Cruiser. Cinnamon Latte meets Champagne. Tough meets Tender. Laughter meets Tears. Red meets Yellow, meets White, meets Grey. Meet Jenn Alexander.

... Few performers can entertain a room so thoroughly and leave you feeling like you've met an authentic friend.

... Fans of Sara Groves, Brooke Fraser, Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles, and Adele, will savor the piano driven songs and soul searing sentiments of Jenn's music at live performances and on her two albums, Walking on the Seam (Dec. 2012) and Better Than Fiction (2009)."

So with that being said, I know you want a SIGNED COPY of her latest album, Walking on the Seam. I'm listening to it on repeat as we speak. Don't be surprised if I start playing it in my dance classes this week, either. To enter the giveaway, just answer any of the rafflecopter questions below. If you don't win, (or you just want to support a wonderful singer/songwriter!) you can download her albums on iTunes, or purchase her album through her website (order a copy, or do a digital download): www.jennalexandermusic.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Jenn Alexander on Facebook! Click here.

Hope you all enjoy her music as much as I do!
Thanks Jenn!
Aloha, Rebecca

Thursday, January 17, 2013

ALOHA Friday Link Party #19

Welcome to Jed & Ivy's

Aloha Friday
Link Party #19!

My DIY projects have been few and far between, since about Thanksgiving. Actually, that's not totally true. I've been DIY-ing, but it's been mainly for work and out of necessity, not for the blog. I've made:
-"housewife" costumes for work, including Peter Pan collars and aprons
-lost all my "to-go" cups, so I made one out of a mason jar
-co-created a vignette for ampersand's debut dance concert
-made a magic wand and tiara for Ivy to take as a gift to a birthday party
-picked up some amazing "Hawaii Business" magazines from the 70's, featuring some awesome ads like the Hawaiian Airlines ad below. They were free at the library!