DI(fr)Yday: How to make a studded trasparent clutch

I've been wanting to try Honestly...WTF's transparent-clutch tutorial for a while now. It's not complicated, but it involves drilling into plastic, which takes a lot of patience. You have to be really gentle. It feels like the drill will never break through and you'll want to apply more pressure, but you don't want to crack the plastic. 

I kicked my clutch up a notch by adding screw-in studs like these to the sides. (I used leftovers from the frenemy bracelet.) All I had to do was screw additional holes into the sides of the box. Admittedly, this made the DIY 9-times more complicated (drilling 9 holes instead of 1), but I really like the dainty-meets-tough-girl look that it achieved. 

When my new clutch isn't going for a night on the town, it lives on our dresser where it displays Instagram prints. 

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DIY Valentines

Why not shake it up a little this year and show your S.O. you care with a DIY Valentine? Or, perhaps you'd rather decorate for the holiday a little with some cheap and unique DIY crafts. Either way, I've searched through craft blogs and found four incredible Valentine's Day DIY ideas. Some take a bit more time while others are super simple. Make sure to click the links to be transported to the blogs that originated the ideas for more photos and full instructions.

First up, there's the adorable rose ring that would go great with any Valentine's Day outfit.

Would you believe it's made from paperclips?!

No Joke!

For instructions for this awesome and obviously thrifty project, check out it's creator at Cute Little Disaster.

Next up is a fun twist on a traditional paper Valentine. Color Me Kate created a flipbook from photos of herself embellished with heart stamps. Click here for a link to the instructions and a video of the completed flipbook in action.

Here's another great variation from the traditional paper Valentine. One of my favorites, Design*Sponge, used iron-on transfers the write a message on a spool of ribbon and then packaged it in a gorgeous antique typewriter-tape tin.

Make sure to check out the blog for more gorgeous photos and full instructions.

Now for some decoration ideas. Here's a gorgeous heart-shaped wreath made from completely free and 100%-biodegradable yard waste!

Isn't it lovely? It was created by Sweet Paul. Click here to visit the blog and see how they did it.

This final project might be my favorite, just because it's so simple, yet so gorgeous. And I love projects that involved magazines.

Isn't it lovely how the garland catches the light? The idea comes from the blog Oh So Crafty. Make sure to check it out for full instructions.

Christmas Wrapping

Not only the title of my favorite Christmas song, Christmas wrapping is also one of my favorite ways to have a bit of artistic fun. My mom and I used to do it together, sorting through bits of lace and magazine clippings and wallpaper samples, trying to make each package a totally unique piece of crafty work. "Bohemian" is the word my cousin Michael used to describe our gift-wrap style "Anthropologie-esque" is the word we are found of using. (My mother is almost as obsessed with Anthropologie as I am.)

This year, I decided to create brown-paper packages tied up with strings (one of my favorite things) and decorated with bundles of cinnamon sticks and pinecones. I had a lot of fun, and I hope my packages will inspire you to have fun with your Christmas wrapping.

The whole big pile:

Details and bits:

Something special for my mum (The reindeer bag is from Starbucks and the juniper stamp came of a Christmas card I received.):

P.S. After running a few essential Christmas errands, I am enjoyed a calm snowy afternoon. I hope you all are getting the chance to do so as well. Mmmmmm... moose mug of hot cocoa and a book. What could be better?