Jamie Wilder!!! Thanks to everyone for participating! Jamie, I’ll be emailing you to discuss the details and get your shoes painted.

I saw these awesome jello-filled eggs on Oh Happy Day and I think they would be perfect for Sunday Brunch on April Fools Day or for Easter. I know kids will love these. Heck I love these, and I’m 28!

They look so easy. You drain the egg from a hole in the bottom of the shell, rinse, and fill with jello! To learn how to make them, check out the post.

Photos: Oh Happy Day

If you read this post back in January, then you know I’m a huge fan of Bubble Teas. I was at my local Hong Kong Market and I came across something that I couldn’t pass up — bubble tea jellies!

They had pineapple and strawberry flavored jellies so I bought one of each. They are made of coconut and produced by Tapioca King, a Houston-area Bubble Tea supplier. The strawberry ones taste a little fake to me on their own but the pineapple ones are yummy.

At my local bubble tea shop they sell something called “fusion tea” which is basically tea and flavoring. They use real fruit juice for the fruit fusion teas and I am especially fond of the mango fusion tea. After I found the pineapple jellies, I thought a mango fusion tea would be a great compliment. Sort of a tropical themed tea — mango and pineapple. The pineapple jellies have sort of a pineapple texture so it almost tastes like real fruit.

To make a mango fusion tea you will need unsweetened strong black tea and 100% mango juice. Mix about half tea and half juice into a shaker with ice and shake to mix then pour into a glass. If you like your teas extra sweet you can add some simple syrup or honey but I think the juice is sweet enough.

Now add the bubbles. You can use tapioca or jellies if you can find them. Or just have a yummy fusion tea.

See the jellies at the bottom? They don’t look quite as cute as the tapioca but they sure are easier to prepare.

Add a fat straw and enjoy. You can also make fusion teas with other juices. I bought some guava juice that would be awesome in a tea.

Have you made any fusion teas?

Shortly after the warranty on my glasses expired, I noticed the anti-glare coating that I paid a small fortune for was getting scratched up and foggy. My glasses looked like a hot mess. I called Lens Crafters to see if they would replace the lenses for me since they applied the cheap crappy coating or if they would at least remove the coating. They told me I would have to buy new lenses since the warranty was expired. A quick Google search gave me an idea — Armor Etch. I read that if you apply it to your plastic lenses it will completely remove the anti-glare coating.

I cannot believe how well this works. Keep in mind Armor Etch should only be used on plastic lenses. Armor Etch is used to frost glass so if you put it on glass lenses they will be frosted and the anti-glare will be the least of your worries. I read on the bottle — which can be purposed at most craft stores for about $13 — that it does not etch plastic so that made me feel more confident about using it. I decided to post some pictures of the proper way to use it because I couldn’t find any when I searched. I also found a few blogs that posted how to use Armor Etch the wrong way. You should NEVER rub the product into your lenses unless you want some scratched up lenses. Also it’s a good idea to have a pair of backup glasses before attempting to do this just in case something goes wrong.

Step One: Dab the Armor Etch onto one side of your plastic lenses using a Q-tip. Do not rub it onto the lenses, just gently dab. You may want to take out your lenses to prevent damage to your frames. My frames are plastic so I left them in and there was zero damage. I have no idea how Armor Etch will react to metal though. My guess is that it would be OK, but I make no promises. If you can’t remove your lenses I recommend testing a small amount of the product on the inside of your frame to see if it is damaging before applying it to your lenses.

Step Two: Let it sit for five minutes. For me, five minutes was all it took to remove the anti-glare but you may have to apply it two or three times, especially if you have older lenses.

Step Three: To remove the Amour Etch, hold the glasses under a faucet. The water will wash away the product, do not rub it off with your fingers or a Q-tip to prevent scratches. Once the product has been washed away, use a mild soap (like dish soap) and water to wash off any residue. Dry with a microfiber or other soft cloth.

Step Four: Repeat steps above on the other side of the lenses.

Then enjoy anti-glare free glasses that look like new again!

If you’re looking for a cool piece of unexpensive artwork, look no further than your local fabric store. Covering a canvas in fabric is an easy way to get that pop of color of design that you need in a room. Plus you can use old an canvas or thrift store find and repurpose it as cool wall art using fabric. The best part of covering a canvas with fabric is that you can use any kind of fabric.

I was looking for something interesting to go with my Anthropologie Laelia bedding and I came across this awesome fabric on Etsy from FreshModernFabric. She has a fantastic collection of fabrics. The one I ordered is called Nethercote from the Miscellany Collection by Julia Rothman for Cloud9 Fabrics and as soon as I saw it I knew it was the one. You know what they say, when you find the one you just know it. It’s so cool and doodley — I’m in love. It’s the magical land of doodle. I ordered a half yard of the fabric for $6 plus shipping and got to work on new pictures for above my bed.

If you never covered a canvas in fabric before, it’s pretty much as easy as you imagine it to be. Cut the fabric to fit your canvas leaving at least an inch on all sides or more if you have a thicker canvas. In my case the half yard fit EXACTLY on the two canvases I already had. I didn’t think to measure before I ordered the fabric so I’m glad it worked out so perfectly. Wrap the fabric on each side and fold at the ends then staple. And yea, that’s it. I made two canvases and hung them above my bed.

If you read my last post, you’ll know that I’m Anthropologie crazy right now. So I spend a decent amount of time browsing their website and dreaming that I had loads of money to make my whole apartment look as amazing as one of their stores. The other day I came across something totally awesome… you can request FREE 4×6 inch wallpaper samples of all of their amazing wallpapers. I had no idea at the time what to do with the samples but I placed my order.

To order your own samples, click on one of the wallpapers you like on the Anthropologie website and click on “Request Swatches” at the bottom. That will take you to a screen where you can request all the samples you desire. Shipping is free too.

A week later all these pretty samples arrived and I decided to make artwork with them. I had a picture frame from Ikea that holds five 5×7 inch pictures and since Anthropologie sends the samples on a nice little card with info on the back, I decided to put them in the frame and make some cute artwork.

I taped the samples down to the matting in the frame.

I decided to position the samples so that each one would be aligned to alternating sides of the matting.

So easy. I think this artwork idea would work with any frames that are 4×6 or 5×7 inches. Of course there are probably a million other ways to make artwork with these cool samples as well. Now I’m just wondering what to do with the other five samples. Maybe another picture… or maybe some magnets for my fridge?

Did you notice my cat in the top left-hand corner of the picture above? He loves to sneak into my pictures and take naps. Often I don’t even see him until I edit the photos. Sneaky cat.

I decided not to hang the picture but to throw it up on my dresser next to some other pictures, Anthropologie-style. The picture next to it is a temple rubbing on rice paper that my grandfather got in Vietnam when he was in the army. My grandmother gave it to me last year and I was shocked that it had held up so well. The other picture is the door of a bar in Denton, TX where I used to live. It’s a good mix so far but it’s missing something.

Maybe this? I’m thinking I need one more picture and I love these prints from Heather Galler. The one above is my favorite.

What are your ideas on how to use these wallpaper samples?

I get a LOT of emails about TOMS and I hate saying no to people but I just don’t have time to fill all of the requests I get. But I did notice that my Shoe Gallery is one pair shy of nine and that empty space annoys me every time I see it so I decided to have a contest. I love contests and winning things so and I’m guessing that I’m not the only one.

The contest is pretty simple. It starts as soon as this post is live (on March 20, 2012) and will end on April 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm CST. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email (so I can contact you if you win), and what design you want painted on your TOMS. Be as specific as you want.

One winner will be selected at random and announced some time Sunday (April 15th) evening after 7pm. A few things to note: You have to provide me with the TOMS you would like painted and they should be white or off-white canvas classics. You mail them to me when you win, I will paint them with the design listed in your entry comment and then I will pay to ship them back to you.

I may decide to choose a second winner if I read some totally awesome design ideas that I just cannot resist to paint, but we’ll see how it goes and how many entries I get. I’ll update you on that. Maybe a vote on the coolest idea after the contest is over… so be creative with your ideas but don’t forget to be you.

Please share this contest with anyone you think might want to enter. And good luck to everyone. I’m super excited to paint some TOMS!

Contest Wrap-Up:

1. The contest starts as soon as this post is live (on March 20, 2012) and will end on April 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm CST.
2. To enter, leave a comment on the bottom of this post with your name and email (so I can contact you if you win) and your fabulous design idea that you want painted on your TOMS.
3. One winner will be selected at random and announced some time Sunday, April 15, 2012 evening after 7pm CST.
4. The winner will mail me a pair of white or off-white canvas classics TOMS and I will mail them back all pretty and painted with the design listed in your comment. We can talk details when you win.

Good luck!

I recently bought the Anthropologie Laelia bedding and now I’m completely obsessed with making my bedroom feel like an Anthropologie store (minus all of the price tags and employees). I love the ambience they create and the mix and repurposed old and new things. The buyers at that store have a great eye. I saw the Laelia bedding in one of their stores last year but wasn’t looking for bedding at the time. I was browsing the website last week admiring the bedding and noticed the Laelia shams on clearance. The quilt was sold out. So I turned to my friend eBay, and purchased the quilt. Ever since I’ve been finding some amazing Anthropologie-inspired DIYs by some awesome crafters. I can’t wait to get busy on some new decor projects!

Here are some of my favorite Anthropologie-inspired DIYs:

I found this great Ruffled Lamp Tutorial from Mama Says Sew. This will look perfect with my bedding.

Here’s a cool Zip Tie Lamp Shade DIY from A Little Glass Box. I love the gold with the blue.

I wish I would have found this before I bought bedding. Here’s a tutorial on how to make a Knotted Quilt from Kojo Designs. You can’t really have too many quilts though right?

Anthropologie is big on letters. Here’s how to make some Zinc-like Block Letters from Sugar and Charm using craft paint.

Dress up your cabinetry with some cool expensive-looking Custom Cabinet Knobs from Infarrantly Creative. It looks so easy, I’m definitely doing this when I find a cool old dresser to redo.

Make some Spring Blooms using styrofoam balls and Q-tips (!!) at Homemade Ginger.

Whoa, a super cute Throw Pillow from Glue Gun Crafts that doesn’t involve sewing! Count me in. I’ve beeing look for a cool yellow and white pillow to go with my bedding.

Check out this Wire-basket Pendant Light from Under the Sycamore. PS I totally LOVE her pretty floral blog theme.

Here’s a great Flower Vase from It’s Overflowing.

I want this Upholstered Chair from Three Boys for my new bedroom so bad. The fabric is gorgeous. I’ve never upholstered anything before but she goes step by step so maybe I can do it.