As I mentioned in yesterday’s post I printed out quite a few copies of the Floral Flutter Pattern from the Inspired Bride and have since been inclined to make a few of my own little projects. My job requires quite a bit of sketching so I’m always on the lookout for new and pretty notebooks. My office provides us with these simple recycled sketchbooks but I thought it would be fun to spruce them up a bit. See below for how-to instructions and step-by-step photographs.

HOW-TO: To make the cover, print the pattern onto desired size of paper with a color printer (I used an 11×17″ piece of craft paper from a roll that I trimmed to size and printed on a large format printer). To cover the notebook, cut a rectangle from the printed paper, making it the exact height of the notebook plus the width times two plus the spine and an additional 1/2 inch on either side.

In a well-ventilated area, coat the back of the paper with spray adhesive. With the paper wrong side up, quickly center the notebook face down onto the paper being careful to line up the top and bottom edges. Continue wrapping the paper around the spine and to the back; smooth with a bone folder and making sure to define the edges. Now that your cover is in place you should have excess paper hanging off of either side. Using a ruler and craft knife, trimm of the excess paper. Ta-da! Now you have your own pretty notebook!

Make a set of these for yourself or give away as charming little holiday gifts. I hope you all have as much fun with this beautiful pattern from the Inspired Bride and be sure to check out all her amazing projects and loads of inspiration.

Though my wedding was nearly 2 years ago I still can’t help reading wedding blogs nor cancel the subscriptions to my favorite wedding magazines. This is a tough one to explain to my husband but I think he’s finally accepting my obsession with weddings. The fun part for me it to take the inspiration I see and try to incorporate it into my now wedded life. Who says you can’t still be inspired long afterwards, am I right?

This most recent project was inspired by the aptly named Inspired Bride. Maddy has to be one of the most talented ladies I’ve seen and I’m constantly in awe of her blog and work. She recently shared  this stunning downloadable Floral Flutter Pattern and I ended up printing it out in nearly a dozen color ways. I didn’t really know what I would do with the end results but I knew the possibilities were endless! Over the next few days I’ll share a few simple projects I came up with and was able to fit in over the weekend.

The first one is just an easy placemat. All you need is a large format printer, a ruler and an x-acto knife. After downloading the floral pattern and following the instructions I made the pattern to fit an 11×17″ sheet and printed onto craft paper. Any print shop like FedEx Kinko’s or a UPS Store have large format printers that can easily print 11×17 or larger. Once printed, just trim off the edges and place on your table! These would make the sweetest table decoration for a bridal shower, birthday party, holiday dinner or even a casual wedding. Best part, you can easily customize the colors or pick from Maddy’s six pre-designed color ways and they make clean up a cinch! You could also laminate them and make them a permanent addition to your table!

Download the pattern here and check back tomorrow for another craft inspired by these lovely prints. Thanks to Maddy for the constant source of beauty and this amazing free download!

I just love going into Packaging Specialties because I never know what I’ll find.  Take last week for instance: Christi, one of the store associates, mentioned that she designed cakes on the side and I couldn’t help but sneak a peek.  I was thrilled with what I found; her cakes are adorable and her attention to detail is utter perfection! Here are a few shots with more on her Facebook page.

Ever since my experiment with felt I’ve been enamored with all you can do with it. How freakishly cute is this little sandwich by Myrtle & Eunice? I can’t really figure out what I’ll do with this once I make it, but that’s beside the point! I can imagine that this furry treat would bring a smile to my face every time I looked at it, and to me, that’s priceless. I’m heading to the fabric store shortly so I can whip up one of these swiss, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Nom, nom, nom… See more pictures and get the complete felt sandwich recipe here.

Found via: WhipUp.

*Sad update to my Felt Rosette Pillow: Apparently a handmade, time consuming, 100% wool felt pillow is dog for chewtoy. See my precious little pups path of destruction here

I spotted this a while back on the always wonderful Graphic-ExchanGE. Transformer’s identity concept for a Moscow cafe is completely stunning. Just look at that place setting, it takes my breath away! All the elements work so well together, and I love how they’ve combined earth tones with bright silvers, so chic! Everything looks so rich and clean at the same time. Oh how I wish I weren’t 5000 miles away!