Painted Wooden Spoons

Inspired by: Painted Wooden Spoons by Milk Farm Road >> Reality: hand-painted Ikea wooden kitchen utensils 

From Inspiration to Reality is a series depicting easy DIYs based on super expensive cool stuff. I really liked these $30 wooden spoons that I spotted on Pinterest, but with a 50 cent pack of wooden kitchen utensils from Ikea and some creative mixing of acrylic paints, we have the same effect, but for much less. :) Try it yourself! -Amina

My Ikea Wishlist

I. Love. Ikea. 

Maybe that's hypocritical to my environmental ways, but in the case of Ikea, I'll make an exception. I live three miles from Ikea. I go there all the time to visit my future furniture that will hopefully be actually mine in about six months or so when me and Brad move out of our tiny first place and into an adult Ikea heavennnn. 

On my Ikea wishlist:

1. Mandal Bedframe with drawers! $349

2. Malma Black-Brown Mirror $2.99

3. Bojne chair $89.99

4. Karlstad Sivik Sofa $499

5. Nils Armchair $89.99

6. Norden Birch Dining Table $279

7. FÖRHÖJA Birch Kitchen Cart $99

8. Stokholm Rand Rug $199

So my plan is that I'll have a big wooden table in the kitchen with four chairs (two of each kind shown) and a sweet living room comfy couch with this rug under it. Oh - the kitchen cart is a must have for my life. And I love that bed - it's so practical and sexy plus the mirrors go well with the overall color scheme - dark and light. I love the simplicity and the practicality. It's natural yet so inspired and the colors, I think will open up our new place, wherever that may be. ;)

I go to Ikea way too much, especially during the holidays..

Beneath a ginkgo tree...

lies millions of ginkgo leaves! I'm getting married under a ginkgo tree. Officially decided. :)

Photos from my walk home. -Amina

The North Sea

by Richard Corey

I saw this picture via the A Merry Mishap blog today. Her husband snuck on and did a guest post to suprise her for her birthday. So cute! He included the link to this picture and I instantly fell in love with it. I love its attitude. Rough and wild but oddly calming. I can feel the wind and breeze when I look at this picture and listen to Corinne Bailey Rae's album The Sea - definitely my favorite album of all time. Maybe it's the colors that appeal to me so much or the nature of this wildness - out of control but always ordered. That's the way the planet is and seems to be much of the time - out of control and disorderly, but only to balance from the stress we put on it in terms of resources and pollution. The sea knows what it is doing but we may not always.

Meow

Source: love-maki.blogspot.com via Amina on Pinterest

I have two cats. They are adorrrrablee & I got to play with them this weekend. This picture makes me miss them.

November Calendar Inspiration

This photo: October Browns by Knitting Iris (here via Flickr, discovered on Creature Comforts)

Every month I put together a little calendar to go in my planner. Lately I've been into graphic designs and I fell in love with the circles and colors of this picture. I love the texture of wood. I always try and trick my boyfriend Brad into grabbing big tree trunks off the side of the road so I can make things with them. :) I have a great stump my mom got for me that I use to decorate with at craft shows and I dream of making coffee tables and end tables and lamps with other stumps.

Making these calendars have been a really great exercise in breaking down images and the world in general. It comes down to looking at shape and color at a very basic level. Here are the designs I've done so far. Start keeping your eyes pealed for more with my 2012 calendars, coming very soon!!!

Check out the printable DIY for these calendars that you can find >>here. 

Enjoy! & let me know how it works for you! ;) -Amina

Oh, hey October. Nice to finally see you.

Source: None via Amina on Pinterest

I didn't think Fall was ever coming this year. September used to be my favorite month, but now it's October. Global warming has totally f'd up my seasonal preferences. I just hope this means the Winter won't be as terrible this year.

Mountain Scarf

I want to go shopping. But I'm poor so I'll probably try and make it.
Totokaelo

Yellow Love

Source: mayamade.blogspot.com via Amina on Pinterest
Ready for Fall.

Hello World... again

Source: love-maki.blogspot.com via Amina on Pinterest


A third blog for me. Yes, I'm an addict. I need an experimental space. I've had a blog and an Etsy shop, I've stuck with that rhythm for a while - I need to find the aesthetic and creativity/business viability that I might be able to stick with to make money off of forever. Or at least for a little. The picture above is the inspiration that I'm working with. Lorena Arance is amazing.