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diy leather ipad case
i’ve been meaning to update my ipad case forever… and on a whim a few months ago, i bought a yard of this soft white faux leather. so expect to see it used in a few more projects because i have a huge ass roll of it now.
i can barely sew — as i’ve said before, so if you’re a great sewer, this will be a cinch for you. for me, not so easy.
L E A T H E R I P A D C A S E
materials
soft leather
elastic band
upholstery scissors (or a rotary cutter if you get down)
suede cord
pins
needle
thread
xacto
glue (optional)
directions
step one . cut down your leather using your ipad as a guide. leave it long on top and bottom.
step two . cut out four strips of the elastic, making sure they’re long enough to essentially loop around the corners of the ipad.
step three . again, using your ipad as a guide, measure and mark where your elastic pieces will go to securely fit. if they’re too loose, un pin and pin again. you want to make sure they’re as tight as possible so it won’t fall out. pin the elastic down into place.
step four . sew the elastic bands into the leather. it’s ok if it looks whack — it really won’t be visible once your ipad is in place. also if your elastic is not perfectly straight like mine, as long as you have enough leather to trim off on top and bottom – you can make it straight afterwards.
* step five . now if you’re not an advanced sewer, you might notice the back looks wonky once the elastic is sewn in. mine pinched all over the place which i knew would bother me. so in order to hide this (and add more protection to the ipad) i cut out another piece of leather and glued them together.
step six . once the leathers dry, measure, mark and cut out the shape you want. you can do a much straighter line with a rotary cutter, but my scissors worked fine. i cut it long enough so there would be a flap on the right side of the ipad.
step seven . using an xacto, cut a slit onto your flap and make sure it’s wide enough for your cord to thread through. knot it on the inside, and trim it to where you can wrap the cord around the case a couple of times.
and there you have it! a very minimal and simple ipad case that’s soft enough to cuddle with. (i cuddle my ipad a lot.)
i remembered right when i finished the case that i really want to swap out my ipad for an ipad mini, so i might be making another case someday.
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palm springs pt 2
we went to palm springs last weekend to scout wedding venues – and i’m just now finding the time to post photos… better late than never right? you may have noticed i’ve been really bad about posting for the past few weeks. i promise i’m going to get better. but life things are really pretty chaotic right now. so it’s just a matter of balance.
we stayed at the ace for the weekend, and besides going around to scout venues, we mostly hung around the room and the pool.
we had brunch at cheeky’s, which always has a line, but it’s one of the best brunches in palm springs in my opinion. their bloody marys are super spicy in the best way.
we never go to palm springs and miss out on eating at las casuelas terazza, which is a cute authentic mexican restaurant with al fresco dining, margaritas, and a lot of times on weekends – live music.
pretty sure everyone stays at the ace for the design, not for the luxury aspect. it’s just an old super 8 motel with a hip facelift, but i can’t help but be inspired when i’m there (or the parker). i’ve been in this lobby a dozen times, but was really inspired this time, thinking that we need to DIY a macrame chuppah for the wedding.
we did find our venue – and we set our date! but my anxiety is getting the best of me, and i’m seriously wishing it wasn’t so soon… this is a normal reaction to an engagement right?!
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i link you
i’ve always found mirror ads on craigslist so weird — you can almost always see something weird in the reflection. well now there’s a tumblr page full of them (via craigslist mirrors)
how beautiful are all three of these DIY valentines day wrapping ideas? (via the house that lars built)
these printable super bowl bingo cards are the easiest way to get the kids and women interested… i usually just eat and drink the whole time (via studio diy)
old people reenacting images from movies – it’s obviously adorable (via reddit)
loving this brilliant jewelry box diy made from two acrylic frames so much… i don’t usually bother copying DIYs for my house but i totally would want to make this (via house of earnest)
pretty funny truthful posters of this years oscar nominated movies (via college humor)
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netflix gems pt 2
well – i’ve been watching some netflix as usual, and i thought it was time to share some more favorites!
frances ha ok. i love this movie. it’s about a lost 20 something who’s struggling with her career path and her best friend moving on without her. but gideon didn’t like as much as me. maybe it’s a girl thing.
house of the devil if you like horror movies, but especially if you like 80s horror movies – this throwback is really well done. stylized super well, the plot is not my absolute favorite, but if you’ve been meaning to watch it – then watch it. sound advice.
ramen girl don’t hate. this looked so cheesy and i kind of turned it on just to see how bad it was. an hour later and gideon and i are both ridiculously into it. if you give it a chance, this movie will make you want to move to japan and make ramen so fast.
robot & frank a super sweet movie about a senile old man and his robot. i’m a sucker for friendship movies.
once bitten you may have watched this as a kid on cable, but as i’ve shared before – i have a serious love of 80s movies. especially sex comedies. (i’ve mentioned before but HARDBODIES is our absolute favorite) this one stars jim carrey as a vampire. there’s an amazing dance scene. i mean. it’s good.
walking and talking yet another friendship movie – i was super bored and not into it when i put this on, but ended up liking it. you might too.
hunk omg another 80s sex comedy? yep. that’s what netflix is for. this one was surprisingly entertaining – and watch out for brad pitt as an extra on the beach!
a bag of hammers a kind of sweet drama about two deadbeat guys who end up raising a kid. i cried. therefore i share.
blackfish a really sad documentary about seaworld. another crying movie. super well done and seriously makes you want to go free all the whales.
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diy vintage rose jewelry box
i know what you might be thinking. whoa. that’s a girly jewelry box and totally not what you normally see on almost makes perfect. i think you’re right — it turned out QUITE feminine looking. but it’s almost valentines day, so i think that allows me to girl it up. this simple little jewelry box would make the perfect valentines gift for your mom or sister or niece or … a girl. that’s in your life. you get it.
materials
wooden craft box
gel medium
a paintbrush
a brayer tool
white craft paint
felt
liquid stitch
scissors
sponge
a print out of your choice
directions 01. sand and paint your craft box if you choose and let dry overnight. paint the inside edges but don’t worry about the inside of the box which will be covered by your felt.
02. find an image you like, measure your box, and print it to fit. many internet sources say inkjet prints don’t work with gel medium, but they actually do.
03. cut out your image as best as you can, and keep in mind that it will reverse once it’s adhered to your box, so if you’re using text, print backwards.
04. brush your image liberally with your gel medium, once saturated, lay down on top of your box.
05. make sure all the sides are covered and it’s sitting tightly on top with no loose corners.
06. using your brayer (if you don’t have one, you can just use a book or credit card), burnish your image for a couple minutes.
07. let dry for about three hours. then, using a bowl of water and a sponge, gently wet your sponge and dampen your entire image. you’ll begin to see the image coming through. keep patiently wetting and removing the paper backing.
08. wet your fingers and keep rubbing more paper off. it will become messy but the darker detail of your image will start showing through even more.
09. once you’re happy with your image, brush away the paper and let dry for an hour.
10. measure your box width and cut your felt to the same width. as tightly as you can, roll up pieces and wedge them into your box. add glue to the bottom of the box and secure them into place. my box fit eight rolled pieces (eight pieces of felt).
and there you have it. the girliest diy jewelry box i’ll ever make that i’m really not even sure i like that much. but if you like it – i’ll be happy.
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getting me some bridesmaids
i have three girlfriends that i knew i wanted to be my bridesmaids right away. so the other night when we went out for champagne to celebrate the engagement, i made each one of them a simple little card with my favorite photo of the two of us, a personalized “trait” that i need for the wedding — and gifted them each a simple little brass ring.
they loved the cards, the rings, me asking so officially — and saying YES. and now i have my three adorable bridesmaids.
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getting organized
like i said, being sick when the new year starts really makes you feel like you’re behind on all aspects of life. we were wanting to move pretty badly, but now that we’re engaged, we’re going to hold off on moving. and because i’ve been in the “i’m moving at some point” mindset, our apartment is just littered with trash, empty boxes, craft supplies… it’s time to try to get organized around here. also thinking of hiring a cleaning lady to bring me some sanity. that works for most people, right?
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what’s been up
sorry for the radio silence last week… last weekend i went to the walk in clinic for what i thought was maybe an ear infection. the doctor said i was fine, but the next day – came down with the flu. yes i am of the strong belief that going to the clinic got me sick (the waiting room was full of people coughing). so while i brought gideon to vegas for his christmas present of penn and teller – i got sick during dinner and coming down with the flu in a vegas casino is probably the least ideal place to be. btw i made those vintage style tickets for him, and i highly recommend designing the tickets if you get someone them for a gift. way more exciting a reveal than ticket master.
i spent the rest of the week in bed – and besides getting sick over and over, i’m in the midst of wedding venue scouting. which is much harder than it seems like it would be before you get engaged. by the end of my research, maybe i’ll do a post on all the pros and cons of the places we’ve found. we drove to joshua tree to check out 29 palms – and it would be a really cool wedding with everyone staying on the commune, but overall it just wasn’t totally right (and we didn’t like the food)
trying to stay sane while juggling being sick, going back to work, getting back into DIY mode and finding a place to get married. so far, not doing so well on the sane part.
all photos are from my instagram // follow along @almostmakesperfect
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freeloader // 6
ok now that christmas is over — i’m due for a new background! so are you! and as i’ve expressed my undying love for african mudcloth patterns, i thought i’d make my own. i tried it with a black background like you’re used to seeing, but can you believe it – it was hard to see! hope you like!
this wallpaper is for personal use only, and NOT for re-distribution.
if you’d like to post a link sharing them, you may not directly post the downloadable files.
please credit and link back to this post for downloading the wallpaper.
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diy marble tray
my first diy of 2014 and BOY IS IT AN EASY ONE! i seem like certain things a lot. triangles. gems. leather. wood. and marble. so even though i already made my brother get me a marble pastry slab for my birthday, i decided i could use more marble (until i get my marble kitchen countertops someday).
materials
the largest size marble tile you can find at the hardware store (mine were about 8×10)
drawer or cabinet pulls of your choice *
felt sticky pads
industrial strength glue (the strongest stuff you can find)
a ruler and pencil for measuring the distance* i had a hard time finding cheap brass hardware, so i bought some silver ones and rub n’ buffed them. to save yourself the trouble, just order some brass ones online if you want brass. WHY HAVEN’T THE HARDWARE STORES STARTING STOCKING ANY YET?!
directions
step one . stick four felt pads on each corner on the bottom of your marble
step two . using a ruler, figure out exactly where you want your handles and lightly trace around with a pencil.
step three . glue those babies on, if any glue leaks through like mine clearly did, scrape it off as much as you can with a thin tool (i used a kabob stick)
step four . LET DRY FOR A LOOOOOONG TIME. i waited two days.
you can use this thing of beauty anywhere. i first tried it in the bathroom!
then i tried it on the coffee table!
then i covered it in stuff i ate!
i never tried it because i got tired of walking, BUT it could also look really cute on your desk with your pens and paper clips.
now i do recommend you be careful, because this is not for HEAVY DUTY walking around everywhere with it use. just be gentle and i think the tray will hold up just fine!
