reusing carpet samples

How to make a pretty sweet rug for next to nothing at readymade.

I bet you could do this with some flor tiles, or you could just buy this rug below for $150 :)

hooray for aprons

from funktion home

from anthropologie 

above is a kids apron... very cute

new website

Happy Saturday morning! I have some great news...my new portfolio site is up. I only have a few projects up right now, but I will update you when more get added. So go visit thesmallthingsstudio.com

it's friday and everything is going to be alright

I recently got my October issue of domino magazine, my mega source for design inspiration. I was so excited to see an ad in there for their very own decorating book that will be out on October 14th. Yay! Here are some of the awesome rooms I found in this month's issue. 

polka dog bakery

Nice packaging for these fancy smancy pup treats! Visit the site here and get some for your own special pooch. 

jennifer strain photography

Does an amazing photo journalistic style. Visit her here. And here. This first image is a self portrait. I absolutely love it! 

poster ideas

So here is a poster I am working on for my illustration class. Feel free to leave comments and critiques! 

the balloon festival

We had such a great time at the balloon festival this weekend! I love the excited looks on my nieces' and nephews' faces every year when the balloons go up :)

saturday morning breakfast

I absolutely LOVE monkey bread. A lot of people take the time to make theirs from scratch, but why do it when there is an easier way. Here is my very simple, saturday morning perfect monkey bread recipe. 

Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

1 small bag pecan pieces

1 c. sugar

3 tbsp. cinnamon

2 cans pillsbury butter tastin' biscuits cut into quarters

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick unsalted butter or margarine

How To:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Grease a bundt pan

Mix together cinnamon and sugar in small bowl

Roll biscuit pieces into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture

Layer with pecan pieces in bundt pan starting with pecans until done

Melt butter, leftover cinnamon sugar mixture, and vanilla in a saucepan until boiling

Pour over dough balls in bundt pan

Bake 25-30 min. Cool 20 min before inverting

When all is good and done, it should look like this without the icing. I took the picture from Martha's site. If you want to put some icing over it you can just mix some powdered sugar and milk to create a glaze. I prefer my monkey bread without it though. Enjoy! 

cute details

I found amy blackwell's etsy shop today in their featured section. I'm in love with the tiny details and patterns!

some nice photos

Neat photos from shadow play

yellow under $100

Adding an accent of yellow, is the perfect way to brighten a room without overdoing it. Here are some yellow finds for a super cheap price. 

Rug from Anthropologie

Chirp pillow from CB2

Folding chair from IKEA

Bird print from sugarloop

mmm banana cream pie

I made this one for my dad's birthday a few weekends ago. It's from the Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook by Elinor Klivens. Its a nice book, and very cute in design, but you can also try some of her recipes including the pie above here.  

HOW was your sunday morning?

This morning I was reading my October HOW design magazine when I came across some neat things.

Method is such a neat brand, literally, with its clean products and clean design what's not to love? Not to mention I use their vanilla apple scent in my home and it is so refreshing. It's not too "perfumey" and is very light. The images above are of their store in soho, one more reason to visit NY. 

What a classy solution to a hot dog package. Kinda like a Starbucks for hot dogs don't you think? Gourmet, but a bit far away... Hawaii ... hopefully they will expand somewhere in Texas. 

guacamole, from mexico!

I was shopping at our local antique mall when I came across Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. What a great find! My mom used to own one but tossed it in a crazy cleaning rampage. Not only does it have the best coffee cake recipe ever, but it offers some neat 50's illustrative inspiration... oh, and insight to the origins an pronunciation of guacamole :)

Butterquick Coffee Cake

sift together...

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

add...

1/3 c. soft butter

1 egg

1 c. milk

in separate bowl...

2 tbsp. soft butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

beat mixture for 2 min. pour into greased 9" square pan. cover in crunchy topping.

 

bake at 350 F for 35-40 min.