A Beautiful Mess

Planting A Simple Cacti Garden

2013-06-18T14:17:16-05:00

I'm enjoying the never ending process of adding more plants to our home. When I saw this wide, shallow circle vase I knew it would be the perfect home for a little cacti grouping! I love cacti because they never die. They're cute too, and come in a huge variety. So here's a quick tutorial on how I made this sweet mini garden.

Supplies Needed: A wide, shallow vase (mine is approximately 10 inches wide by 5 inches high), rocks, soil, cactus plants you love (you can mix in some succulents and aloe too if you like!) and a shovel. This project takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Cacti and succulent plants rarely need to be watered. Most people say to water them once or twice a month or when the soil is completely dry.

Step 1: Add some rocks to the bottom of the vase. This will help with drainage when you water them.

Step 2: Add soil. I filled mine to about an inch from the top, but it wasn't densely packed so there was still plenty of room for plants.

Step 3: Plant a group of small plants in the soil. Be sure to space out any colorful cacti.

Step 4: Cover the top of the soil with a thin layer of rocks. It's just for looks! So cute... done!

What about you? Have you planted anything lately? I'd love to see a link to your project. xoxo. Elsie

At Work With Stash Co.

2013-06-18T10:51:55-05:00

We are excited to welcome Kelly Amber Garcia to the blog today to share a little bit about the inner workings of Stash Co! "My name is Kelly Amber Garcia and I am the Operations Chief of Stash Co in Sealy, Texas. We design and build leather goods and furnishings. Specializing in the use of reclaimed textiles + woods, and new North American Bison and Brazilian Hair Hides." "We are a small artisan business with strong focus on providing unique goods and individualized customer satisfaction. Our days are fluid and occasionally unpredictable. We often joke that if one of us even steps out for 15 minutes, at least 5 new exciting things happen. This has seriously happened to me when I’ve gone down the road to make a UPS drop off... maybe four times. haha.

I love that no two days are the same here at Stash Co. Since we put mindful production above everything, we are currently a small operation and therefore we wear a lot of hats. We do it all from taking out the trash and scrubbing the walls to scouting materials and building merchandise. Our task list is endless and keeps us excited to come to work everyday."
"My favorite thing about our workspace is that everything that we use right down to the space we are in is repurposed for us to carry out our job. The space we are in was first created for building mattresses, then Cheryl’s (Stash Co Owner) grandparents used the space for a decorating center, which is still running at the front of the building, and now we utilize the majority of the factory to design, build and sell bags.

We use a lot of traditional bootmaker/leather worker tools as well as repurposing other items to fit our needs such as woodworkers clamps, a customized vacuum press, office binder clips, and one of my favorites, the customized drill press for sanding and punching." "Stash has been collecting unique containers for more than 20 years. You will find most of our tools in old toolboxes, coffee cans, vintage mail sorting cart, garden crates, milk crates, cotton baskets, recycled pin cases, and a variety of other individual organizers. Again, the majority of the space, tools and organizers have been repurposed to fit our needs as bag builders.

Everyone has a Belgium garden crate on there work tables with their name in chalk on the front to case our workorders, tools, notebooks, ect... Inside my crate I keep a giant mason jar for all my most often used tools (scissors, rotary, scratch awl, lighter, etc...) and a small tray of thing I will need throughout the build process." Thanks so much, Kelly, for sharing Stash with us. Be sure to stop by and check out Stash Co, and don't forget to visit Kelly over at her blog Mucho Mucho Bueno Bueno! xo.

Cookies & Cream Martini

2013-06-17T16:18:10-05:00

Do you love cookies & cream ice cream? If so, you have to try this martini! It's one of our favorites to serve guests as a dessert cocktail.

To make this martini, mix two parts Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, one part vanilla vodka and one part fluffed marshmallow vodka (cake or whipped cream would work too). Shake them together in a martini shaker with ice and serve!

Don't forget the crushed oreo cookie rim! We also used a little chocolate syrup to garnish the inside of the glass before pouring the drink.

Enjoy! xoxo. elsie

Let's Make Hair Clips!

2013-06-17T11:11:58-05:00

Lately we've been noticing hair clips popping up everywhere. We're loving it! In fact, back in the olden days one our very first DIY posts was how to make a hair bow. We love that clips can be edgy, cutesy or add a pop of color- depending on your outfit and your mood! Here are four ideas for simple clips you can create at home.

Cut out a strip of leather that is 1 inch by 4 inches long. Place the leather on the wrong side of your fabric and cut your fabric an inch bigger than the leather on each side (so there is enough fabric to wrap around the leather). Put a line of Tacky Glue around the edge of the fabric and fold the edges towards the middle of the leather, wrapping the leather with the fabric (kind of like a present). Once the glue on your wrapped leather has set, use more Tacky Glue to attach it to your barrette base.

For this barrette, fold the prongs of the studs until they are folded all the way under and the stud can sit flat on a table. Put a dot of Tacky Glue on your barrette base and place the stud on top. Continue this all the way down your barrette until the barrette is covered.

Using crystal trim (found in the ribbon and trim department at a craft store), cut two strands of the trim long enough to cover your barrette base. Put two lines of Tacky Glue down the length of the barrette base and place the two rows of the crystal trim on top.

To make a tiny fabric hair bow follow our oldschool DIY. Bows are amazing because you can make them in any size with nearly any textile. Fun!

Happy Monday. xoxo. Elsie