christmas in july

I'm having a little christmas in july sale in my flapper doodle shop (50% off any order over $20 if you're interested! Just use code christmasinjuly) Anyway! I was looking for a Christmas-y photo to use on instagram to mention the sale and I stumbled on a bunch of pictures that I took for a Christmas apartment tour last December! I can't believe I never got around to posting these! I wasn't 100% smitten with how I decorated my apartment (kitchen excluded - loved that!) but I really liked how I decorated for the holidays :)

So, this is half a year late but it's Christmas in July so maybe it's right on time? :) Here are some snapshots from my apartment last winter! I think my absolute favorite decoration is the little hat-and-scarf set I put on my Dwight bobblehead. It was actually a wine bottle decoration that I got at the craft store, but it's a perfect fit for the bobblehead! :D

apartment tour part 3: my hallway

I told you I'd eventually finish my apartment tour ;) I think the only room left after this is my workspace. I like my new room so much more than my apartment, but I want to finish up the tour anyway, just to document what everything looked like. I love that my blog sort of serves as a record of my life (at least the last four years of my life, anyway) and I can always go back and peek at my archives whenever the mood strikes.

Also, I'm so sorry for the quality of the pictures in this post. The hallway in my apartment was SO dark, it's not even funny. It basically had zero natural light whatsoever, so I not-so-affectionately referred to it as the black hole. It was practically impossible to take good pictures, but in person it was actually pretty cute. I absolutely LOVED that as soon as you turned the corner to go down the hallway you were greeted by my enormous painting of Dwight Schrute. I originally painted him for the dining room but he fit so much better in the hallway.



The apartment came with a linen closet, but seeing as I have way more books than towels I decided to temporarily take the door off and turn it into a bookcase. I tried color-coding my books for the first time and I love it so much! I have a very photographic memory so this actually helps me to find my books easier. I'm always like "well, I know it has a red spine and yellow lettering!" etc. so this helped loads. I organized my books the same way when I moved back home, too :) I guess technically alphabetical order would be even more functional but it wouldn't be half as pretty..

The Read More Books sign was something I just drew to fill the space above the door. And to remind me to lay off the Netflix once in a while ;)



I love this little bookend guy! I haven't found a place for him in my new room yet but he definitely needs to find a home. I got him on amazon, here.



At the end of the hallway I had a little table with my cat book collection (I did a post on it here) and the letter that we received in the mail thanking us after my family adopted Hypatia. And of course, the Dwight painting :)

Sadness -- I actually don't have any place for him in my new room. Right now I just have him propped up against my desk but he really belongs somewhere where he can be the center of attention (like this hallway!) If you're interested in the painting (or prints!) I listed him in my etsy shop here.



The Hypatia dress that I designed last year had a place of honor next to my Hypatia art grouping. I blogged about the idea for the art grouping last year, as a way to grieve & honor a lost loved one's memory. You can read the post here.



My favorite addition to the grouping is the little beaded heart in the middle. My mom made it for me after Hypatia passed away last year, it spells out her name in morse code. It was such a sweet, thoughtful gift. I actually have more pieces to add, too. A few incredibly sweet readers sent me artwork via email that I still need to print and frame, and I also recently got a beautiful portrait from Danielle, as well. I had much more room for the art in the hallway than I do now, but I'll find a way to add them. No such thing as too much art on the walls, that's my motto! ;)

Well, that's it for the (dark, dark) hallway! I'll get the workspace tour out of the way soon so I can move onto the tours that I'm really itching to do -- my new room and my new workspace!! It still needs some finishing touches, like new blinds and a new light fixture, but it's already definitely home :)

apartment tour part 2: my bedroom!

My bedroom is probably my favorite room in my apartment (I know I said that about my kitchen too… it's probably a tie) It's definitely Hubble and Arrietty's favorite too -- they love cuddling up on my bed and lounging in my mountain of pillows. My new quilt is from Target. I know I'm going to get some eye-rolls but it's from the kid's section. I know. But I'm seeing the fact that it came in Queen size as a sign that they knew adults would want to buy it too. My pink alarm clock is from amazon and my bed is IKEA (from like 10 years ago, and I painted it mint.)



My dresses didn't all fit in my closet so I picked out all of my lacy, cream and white dresses and put them on a rack in my room. I'm annoyingly absent-minded though and keep forgetting that I have these here when I get dressed...



I kind of ran out of artwork to hang up since my gallery wall in my studio used up most of the pieces I had brought from home, so I decided to just decorate with dresses! I have all of my prettiest vintage frocks hanging up in lieu of art, but aren't they art in and of themselves? They're beautiful!



The pink one with the big bow and bell sleeves is my all time favorite (close up a little later!) I think even if I did have enough art for my bedroom, this one would still be hanging up. It's a little like sleeping in a giant closet but, come on, that's actually kind of awesome! ;D



I have the makings of a little hat collection hanging on my wall, along with my not-so-little sunglasses collection. You might say I like to buy shades… eek! Also, my giant cat face tote is one of my favorite things ever. I got it on amazon here.



I LOVE this poster for one of my favorite Julie Christie movies, Petulia. It's just so perfect in my bedroom! It's surrounded by my faux-fur collars and my lady tie collection! I'm getting close to having one in every color -- it's one of my life goals, actually.



I keep my brooches on this cute little tiered tray that I got at Target a couple years ago (Their Valentine's Day section never fails to disappoint!) I love vintage enamel brooches -- I actually have a sweet & lovely project in the works that sort of incorporates them, I can't wait to share it when I'm finished! :)



More dresses on the wall (and a robe sitting on an incredibly awesome vintage hanger) My window looks so bright and sunny here but I don't get very good light during the day. I actually take most of my product photos back at home since they come out too dark at my apartment. I always make fun of people on House Hunters who go "oh, this space has simply marvelous natural light" but seriously, I wish I had considered that when I rented this place…



More dresses! Also, that robe on the door is my dream robe -- I must have searched for "pink vintage robe" on etsy and ebay every day for months before I found it and then… I never wore it. I love the idea of wearing a robe and walking around the house like some kind of 1960's screen goddess but when it comes time for PJs I'm only cozy in sweatshirts, t-shirts and flannels.. I can't help it!



I love love love love love how my room looks when my closet door is open. I have no idea why, it just looks so cool to me! Probably because I've actually never had a real closet until now. At home I had a shallow closet with sliding doors, which fell off their track when I was like eight. The idea of a real walk-in closet where I could actually STORE MY CLOTHES? I'm living the dream.



The amazing pink dress with big bow and bell sleeves. I can say for certain that I have known true love. *heart skips a beat* It's from Fancy That Vintage, my favorite vintage etsy shop!



I just realized I didn't get a good picture of this dresser -- oops! There's a slightly better one on my instagram here. I inherited it from my grandmother, and my dad let me paint it purple (he said he'd rather it stay in the family and be purple than get donated or collect dust in the garage and stay dark brown. Wise man, my dad!) My Grandmom Eve loved pastel colors, too, though so I think she'd approve :)

The shoes are from a vintage shopping trip a couple years ago -- my cousin found them and urged me to try them on even though they weren't my size. Low and behold, they fit like a glove. It was meant to be! :) I love the light pink color & little leaf cut-outs!



And a different angle on the dresses. There's only four walls, what can I say? :) I think last time I said my workspace tour was up next and then I posted this instead but really, my office tour will be next. Promise!

Also! I have a shop my closet update coming tomorrow, so stay tuned ;)

apartment tour part 2!

First up -- the exterior! yay! I'm really lucky that my landlord is pretty laid-back in allowing tenants to make a lot of drastic changes. They let me paint the spires on the castle as well as the trees (!!) pink! Also I attached some pretty pastel banners to the castle as well. It was so easy, I'll have a DIY post on it soon :)



In my dining room I have a variety of faux sweets and fruits on display all the time. And my dining room wouldn't be MY dining room without scallops, of course! I got the scalloped cake stand from Target, the napkin from the dollar store (if you can believe it!) and the bowl was a gift from my mom.



You can see the scalloped cake stand a little better in this picture. Also, not really apartment related, but I've decided to start letting cute little pastel woodland creatures live in my hair. I think it adds a really cute touch to my hairdos! :)



My landlord was totally ok with most of my changes but wasn't too happy with my idea to put a tree and a tree swing in my living room. I eventually sold them on the idea though and I LOVE IT. Arrietty likes to sit on the branch next to me while I swing and watch The Office on my tv across the room. And an added bonus -- the tree attracts cute pastel woodland creatures, perfect for the hairdos I just mentioned! :D



One of my favorite things in my apartment is definitely my vanity. I got it at the thrift store and painted it purple, then added clay squirrels around the edges (another DIY post! coming soon!) Hubble keeps thinking they're real squirrels (why he's more interested in these than the *actual* squirrels in my hair, I have no idea) and keeps trying to attack the mirror. It's so cute!

.... APRIL FOOLS! ;D

apartment tour part 1: my kitchen!

FINALLY! :) I decided to start with my kitchen since it's my favorite room in my apartment. A lot of the other rooms feel very "meh" -- I had great plans but their execution just didn't match the awesomeness that I was envisioning in my head. My kitchen, though, came out exactly the way I wanted. I love it so much!! :)



I threw caution to the wind and decided to paint my cabinets (gasp!) and remove the doors. Me and my mom have already figured out how to change everything back (we figured it out before I ever painted in the first place) so if you're a renter, you can stop having heart palpitations now, lol! I have a plan. I promise ;)

The scalloped border at the top is actually craft foam that I cut out in a scalloped pattern and then attached with command strips. Since it has a little texture to it, it actually passes for painted wood if you don't look super close. I wanted a scalloped border desperately. I searched tirelessly for scalloped wood trim locally and kept coming up empty so I came up with this diy version instead. It was much, much cheaper and I think it looks just as great as wood would have :)



I'm not a big candy eater but I like having a lot on hand for guests. And these sweet little jars from Michaels were absolutely perfect for storing it! They remind me of an old time candy shop!



I didn't want to paint the bottom cabinets so we just covered them with curtains, velcro and command strips again. Sidenote -- if you're a renter, command strips should be your new best friend. You can use them to hang basically *anything* and they come off clean. They have them for all different weights, so I've used them for everything from lightweight craft foam to a heavy metal sign.

Also I should probably add that I don't use my stove so the fabric isn't an issue (read: fire hazard) If it was, you could just pull the velcro off and hang the curtains to the side while you cook. But I basically just use my toaster oven for breakfast and lunch and eat dinner at home with my family pretty much every night.



I'm kind of a little obsessed with my microwave. It's MINT GREEN for crying out loud! eeeep! I got it on amazon but it looks like they don't have this color in stock anymore, just black and red (although they look awesome too!) And, bonus, it cooks well too! haha!



I have a loose "ice cream and sweets" theme going on in the kitchen and by far my favorite part of the theme is this jumbo ice cream wood die cut from Everyday is a Holiday. I love everything Jenny and Aaron make and honestly I wish I could just plaster my whole apartment in their artwork - I love it!

I also got those little fake donuts from Home Goods and the melted ice cream is from amazon. The ice cream scoops sitting on the itty bitty scalloped display stand are actually play food from when I was a kid. They still have a bit of the artificial ice cream scent that they had 20 years ago, *sigh*.



Above the stove I have a little cabinet that's perfect for things I don't need to reach very often, like my cookbooks. lol! I'm joking, I do like to cook... I just tend to do it at home and make up my own recipes with whatever is laying around..

The ice cream cone is a nightlight that I got on amazon. My little cat teapot on the right is Lefton. They're usually annoyingly pricey on etsy and ebay but I snagged this one pretty cheap last year in an ebay auction. If I could afford it I'd get the whole cat set (you can see the set here, isn't it cute?!)



The aforementioned toaster oven :) It's actually a toaster and a toaster oven, which I find pretty spiffy! Also I have these beautiful scalloped canisters from Bombay Duck. They don't ship to America so Laura from Cardboard Cities graciously shipped them to me from England. (Thank you Laura!!)

You can't really see them well but I also have scalloped unicorn glasses (yes, SCALLOPS AND UNICORNS) from urban outfitters. I got three last year and then they sold out.. I e-mailed them to ask if they'd be restocking them (I was kind of obsessed with having a whole set) and they said they were discontinued. Sadface!! I was randomly searching for unicorn stuff last week, as you do, and found they had been restocked after all! yay! My mom got me more as an early Christmas gift so now I have a complete set (although they arrived after this picture was taken, so there are only three here.) Sorry, unnecessarily long story alert! :)



One of the first things I decided to do when I had to start buying things to fill up a kitchen was that all of my mugs would be tv show tie-ins. From the left I have LOST, Parks and Recreation, Fringe, Supernatural, Mad Men, The Office, Twin Peaks, Breaking Bad and The Office again. I also have a 30 Rock one on pre-order (it says TGS with Tracy Jordan. I die!) It's probably my favorite thing I've done since I got my own place. I just really like tv...



When I decided on the ice cream theme I knew I had to have a print of Diana's ice cream photo hanging up! Way back when, I got a set of postcards of this photo as one of my first ever etsy purchases. The lamp is from the sadly-no-longer-in-business Fred Flare (although Perpetual Kid has it here!)



On top of my stove I have my little collection of salt and pepper shakers and my (of course) ice cream kitchen timer. The backsplash is magnetic so I used it to display some of my instagram magnets from sticky9. It's mostly my cats, surprise surprise! :)

And that wraps up my kitchen tour! Phew! Next up: my workspace. Coming soon, I promise ;)



ps. Here's the before and after!!! :)

DIY giant tissue paper heart

This particular wall in my apartment has been causing me headaches ever since I moved in. I painted it white so I'd have a plain backdrop to use whenever I needed one (mostly for etsy product photos) but I still wanted something hanging there in the mean time. It had to be light and easy to remove whenever I needed the plain wall, but large enough to fill up the space.

First I bought a huge projector screen and did a painting on it, thinking I could easily roll it up when it had to be out of the way. But the paint made it difficult to roll up and the big black bar at the top drove me nuts. Then I bought a lightweight cotton tapestry and stretched it on a wooden frame. It was way too dark and busy for the space, so that didn't work either.

Finally I remembered seeing this project on Bri Emery's instagram. I love the way the heart looks but I wanted to make a wall-hanging version without the frame and chicken wire. I LOVE how it came out! It was probably the most time intensive DIY project I've ever worked on but it was definitely worth it.



Materials: Assuming you want a giant heart, Elmer's makes really massive foam board sheets. I got mine at Staples for (I think) $7 each. They're seriously huge. (see board-to-Hubble size comparison above) If you want to make smaller hearts (maybe as Valentine's Day decorations!) you can get smaller foam board at the dollar store or any craft store, or even just use cardboard. You also need Elmer's glue (I needed two bottles to fill the entire heart) tissue paper in the color of your choice (I used about 75 sheets. They came 5 per pack at the dollar store) cut into squares about 2" x 2" and a pencil.

Step 1 - Draw half of a heart onto one piece of your foam board. Cut it out using an x-acto knife (it doesn't have to be too smooth because the tissue paper will cover the edges) and then trace the half-heart onto your other sheet of foam board. Cut out that half.



Step 2 - Line up the two halves and tape them together with clear packing tape or duct tape. Tape both sides.

Step 3 - Cut a rectangle out of your foam board scraps and tape it to the back seam of the heart. This helps keep the heart sturdy, so it won't bend in the middle.

Step 4 -Pour some glue onto a paper plate. Take 2 pieces of tissue paper and wrap them over the top of your pencil. Dip the pencil into Elmer's glue and then adhere it to the foam board. It's the same method you probably used for art projects in kindergarten except instead of one class period this will take hours and hours and hour. But it's fun, I promise.

I used two pieces of tissue paper at a time because I was finding it filled up the heart quicker and the glue wasn't sticking to my pencil eraser. I started out using one piece at a time and pretty much every piece stuck to the pencil.

Once everything is dry you'll probably notice that the heart is incredibly warped. Just flip it over and paint a thick layer of Elmer's glue on the back and let it dry -- that will snap it flat again. To attach it to my wall I screwed a sawtooth hanger to the back and hung it on a single nail. It's incredibly lightweight so it doesn't need much help staying on the wall and it'll be SO easy to take it on-and-off whenever I need to.



I think this would also be cute for a handmade wedding decoration or a photobooth backdrop! Also, like I said, tiny versions sprinkled around the house for valentine's day would be so cute (and less time intensive lol)