Pinspiration: Burlap Lace Table Runner DIY

And my Pinspiration continues... This time it's burlap & lace table runners. I'm not one for solids. I'm loud and colorful. I need a print to depict my energy and edge. What's not more edgy than burlap? And classic like lace? Put the two together to get a feminine soft touch, to break about the rugged exterior.

I seriously don't understand why I keep playing with burlap when I know I'm allergic. Oh yeah, I know why... I love the look. This should fall under the "beauty is pain" category. Yet another burlap item. I made these for my friends' bridal shower a few weeks ago.

A center piece doesn't always fill a table for me. I need a contrast and it's easiest to add with a printed table cloth or a runner. When looking at runners online, I realized it was going to get costly. I fell in love with many on etsy, but this was one of my favorites. Scalloped lace did it for me.

etsy inspiration

So after seeing this and thinking buying 4 runners was too expensive, I decided to make my own.

Supplies:

• Ashland Burlap Runner (found at Michaels for $16.99 - on sale for $10.99)*
•  Red Heart Boutique Sassy Lace (found at Joann for $9.99 - on sale for $6.99)*
• Aleene's Fabric Fusion (can be found at either Michaels or Joanns for $6.99 - on sale for $5.99)*
• Pins
• Rotary cutter (could also use a scissor, but I preferred this)

Each burlap runner was 5 yards, so I decided to cut it in half. I used two of the Ashland Runners to make 4 runners total. Each runner came out to be 7.5ft or 90" long. The tables we were to have were no more than 6 ft long. We figured this length for the runners would be fine for the tables, with the ends slightly running over but not too much.

First off, let me tell you how hard it was to find lace that wasn't going to cost me an arm and leg. After searching through the aisles and not finding what I wanted, I almost walked out of the store buying yards of lace fabric that I would have had to measure and cut. I had almost given up hope when, on my thrid trip to Joann's, I found a brand new product display in the middle of the aisles. Have mercy! It was packs of lace trim! You should have seen the excitement on my face. Thinking of cutting yards of lace fabric or buying yards of lace was not in my budget, money nor time wise. These were exactly what I had envisioned and it was perfectly priced. Not knowing how much lace would be needed at the time, I bought two of these Sassy Laces but only went through about half of one pack. BEST FIND!

And then it began. I cut my runners in half, laid down the lace where the end would be in the center and started pinning away. Once I was done with one side, I aligned the lace on the other side and continued to pin. My alignment wasn't 100% perfect but it was the best that I could get it to be in the late hour.

I had no time nor patience to whip out needle and thread  or the sewing machine I still have yet to learn to use so I relied on Fabric Fusion. Never having worked with it before, I was a bit skeptical, but found these to be lifesavers in the end. I laid out the runners and lace on the floor for space and placed my ever-s0-useful tarp underneath it to not get glue on the floor. Warning, the glue is pretty strong and it glues heavily on to your hands. There's no way out of that especially since you'll be patting the lace down on to the burlap. Instead of being peeved by it, it felt like a free paraffin treatment on my hands as I peeled the glue off in the end.The glue needs to be let out to dry for 4 hours, but I let them dry overnight as I was doing these practically around midnight anyway.

The runners turned out great and looked amazing on the tables at the Bridal Shower. Many compliments were received. They all asked where I bought these and were pleasantly surprised to hear that I made them. I think they were the perfect contrast to the tables.

Now, the shower is over and I have 4 wonderful runners at home and only one dining table at home. What would have cost over $110 with tax and shipping from etsy, just cost me $40 with tax and a few hours. It probably took me 2 hours total to make the 4 runners. I think it was worth the time and effort to end up paying a third of the cost.

I simply love it!
What do you think?

*if the items aren't sale, these stores always have at least a 40% coupon available online and on their app everyday

Fab Finds: eDivv

Don't know about you, but I have been caught up in the craze that is subscription boxes. My vices have been Popsugar, FabFitFun, Birchbox, Glossybox, and Darby Smart. The problem I struck was that I was getting a lot of product, full size and samples, but not all were items I would use. Then comes eDivv; a website designed for all the other subscription crazed women to trade their products. For the past few days, I filtered through my boxes of unused, undesired samples and have been uploading to the website. I've already made 4 successful "Divvys" this weekend. Can't wait for the products I really want to try to arrive in the mail this week!

For all you fellow subscribers, if you haven't joined eDivv, definitely consider it. Especially, if you are one of those who've filled boxes with the products you don't want like me. Happy Divvying. :)

one of my current Divvys

DVF - Journey of a Dress

The prints! The colors! The wraps! 40 years of amazingness! A fashionista's Heaven.
Diane von Furstenberg is celebrating 40 years of her wrap dress. What better place to showcase her designs than at the old May Co. building on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax, which is now part of LACMA West. Exhibit runs through April 1st and is free of admission. Must see for all the fashionistas and divas of the world.

As soon as you enter, you are consumed by blown up images of her work through the years.

The illumated sign makes you giddy with delight of what's next to come.

Mannequins upon mannequins lined up with 40 years of wrap dresses from DVF.

Prints everywhere, especially on the floors and walls. You can't help but have major selfie photoshoot moments, so please excuse my postings...

getting caught up in the journey

Andy Warhol. What can I say? I love his work. I remember back when I was in NY and at the MET, I got lucky as there was the 'Regarding Warhol' exhibit. As tired as we were and having found the exhibit in the end, I was not calling it a day till I got to experience all of his work. A print I don't recall seeing was him capturing Diane von Furstenberg.

so iconic

 A feature that I loved, and that I'm seeing more of, was that there was a photo print station. If you used the hastag #journeyofadress on Instagram, you could request to have your photo printed. Whether you kept it for yourself or you posted it on the wall, it was fun to have.

can you spot ours?

Not going to lie, we were completely dedicated to catching the #iamsorry exhibit at the Stephen Cohen Gallery, where Shia Labeouf was reportedly found having cried from all the harsh words. This exhibit was a mile away and we drove by, but the long line outside and the grumblings in our stomachs allowed us to skip that venture and move on to dinner. Dinner location of choice: Little Next Door.

Delicious french dishes and hibiscus champagne.

We capped off the night off with this amazing chocolate soufflé. Yumm to infinity. Along side delicious crème anglaise, I wish I could have this dessert everyday.

I'd pick that chocolate soufflé over making Shia Labeouf cry anyday.

A Week of Musical Love

When others fest in their love for one another, I engulf myself into my love... music. This past week has been a fun change of pace with two concerts within the week. I pushed my "old lady" and "tomorrow's a work day" excuses out the window and went back to my old routine of over abundance of concerts. My love for live music is immeasurable. I have been to so many concerts, I've lost count. I have boxes upon boxes filled with ticket stubs. Here's another two to add to my collection.

St. Lucia @ The El Rey.
Wow! I've been hooked on St. Lucia for awhile now so I was definitely looking forward to seeing them live. My Pandora station has been on them for months now and I love how all the bands I love stream through. Oh, and the El Rey... one of my favorite venues in LA, others being the Hollywood Bowl and The Wiltern.

With Conway as the opening act, I had two immediate thoughts: wow, she sounds so much like Gwen Stefani and déjà vu to a scene of Pretty in Pink. From her outfit to the jams, it gave the vibes of definite flashback to fun times.

Conway

I can't wait till I see St. Lucia again. It was such an awesome show. I sang my heart out with the rest of the fans, per usual, and danced around.

St. Lucia

Something I've always wanted but never had til that evening was my very first Dirty Dog tasting. Don't know what a Dirty Dog is? As my youngin coworker defines it "oh that hot dog I devour on the cab ride back to my apartment after the bars." Oh you know, these carts that line the late night streets of LA near bars, clubs, and music venues.

I can't believe how long I've been without this late night treat! Yummz. Bacon!!

I know I look ridiculous but it was delicious.

Sons of the Sea @ The Belasco Theater
Haven't heard of them? Don't be surprised. I wouldn't have either if TicketMaster didn't broadcast their calendar with "Brandon Boyd with Sons of the Sea." Anything with the mentioning of Brandon Boyd captures my attention immediately. Five minutes after seeing the email, tickets were purchased and a fellow Incubus loving friend became my accomplice. Eagerly waiting for the day to see Brandon Boyd on stage again, we counted the days down. Once we arrived at the venue, there was a line 3 blocks down to enter. No joke, doors opened at 8PM and we witnessed this lengthy line at around 8:15PM and had no choice but to join in.

Literally in a sea of die hard Incubus fans, we awaited for Brandon and enjoyed the tunes from DJ Kilmore.

Ohh, Brandon. We've missed you so. If you didn't know who you were seeing, you would have thought you were at an Incubus concert- just with new tunes that no one knows.

And now for the good stuff, Brandon shirtless. *sigh*

Someone was getting tired. We're getting a bit old for GA weeknight shows. haha

I'm just proud I survived the night in my booties. Definitely broken in now.

My concert bug has kicked in. Need to go to more shows! Sad I missed Band of Horses acoustic set this week, but there will be more chances and more shows soon enough. After deciding to pass on Coachella, I'm eagerly anticipating the Eager Beaver ticket sales and lineup announcement for Outside Lands in August at Golden Gate Park. For now, I can only wait patiently and scope out upcoming local shows. Till next time...

Showers of Love in Santa Barbara

In the spirit of this past week of Love, let's talk bridal showers.

When you have a friend getting married, sometimes it doesn't really hit you till you see the rock on her finger in person, she texts you a picture of her dress, you attend her shower or bachelorette, or maybe when you see her walk down the aisle. Either way, it will hit you soon enough and when it does it will hit you HARD.

Last Saturday was Christina's Bridal Shower. With slight change of plans due to some sprinkles in the sky (we moved everything indoors), I think her shower went without a hitch. Everyone had an amazing time and you could tell that she was glowing. A few months away from the big day and just watching her be showered with all that love and excitement, she was utterly glowing... and that's when it hit me. My college roomie is getting married!!!!!!! The simplest action in just watching her happily open her gifts as I sat to the side putting the bows and ribbons together to make a bouquet did it really hit me as to what was really happening. This only confirms the fact that I will definitely be crying as I stand beside her when she gets married.

Bride with her Momma

You may have seen a few of my DIY shower decor in previous posts and wondered what I was doing or thinking. Well, this is how we put it to use:

Tulle Wreath

LOVE signs & flowers for table decor.
DIY on burlap runners

Love is Sweet banner

Remember the dessert table doodle I previously made? Well, never underestimate my execution. Whatever vision I set forth is what I aim to bring to life. I think this came out beautiful. What do you think? We had a red velvet cake, fudge squares, Abuelita chocolate cheesecake bars, Armenian nazook cookies, french macaroons, chocolate chip cookies and Crunch hearts.

The shower was later in the afternoon so we had light appetizers and fun beverage choices. It's always nice to have a specialty cocktail and the non-alcoholic version for your guests. 

Champagne toasts always make a nice touch. We were blessed to have the maid of honor and mother of the bride share sweet sentiments.

What's a shower without games? Some find it silly; we found it tons of fun.

Grandma knows best. Trying to win.

The toilet paper bride game can sometimes be a hit or miss depending on the crowd. So happy the guests were happy to play. It turned out to be a hit!

Such beautiful brides!

With games comes prizes. We decided to mix things up and had different gifts for different winners, but all wrapped nice and pretty.

Can't believe how quick it all went by. Next thing you know we'll be out having a blast at the Bachelorette party and then celebrating with Christina and Kenny at their nuptials in Lake Tahoe! Can't wait!

Love you, Steenie!