SAO PAULO

this eclectic house in são paulo over on the selby was full of charming details. i especially loved their colorful pool area!

see the full house tour over here!

MAKE IT / 11

you guys know it’s mother’s day this weekend, right? why send flowers when you can make her a cute tasseled floral pillow? eh? ok, let’s do it…

what you’ll need:
- sewing machine (don’t be scared, this is easy)
- 1 1/4 yard of fabric (for an 18×18 pillow)
- coordinating thread
- pins
- scissors
- ruler and straight edge if you have one
- yarn
- yarn needle
- 4 medium sized beads (we used a wooden one)
- cardboard cut to roughly 3×4 inches
- 18 x 18 inch pillow insert (we got ours at west elm)

how to make the tassel (reference photo below)
- wrap yarn around a piece of cardboard. I like a nice pouffy tassel with lots of attitude so I do this
about 50-60 times.
- slip yarn off cardboard being careful to keep the loops neat.
- take a piece of yarn about 18 inches long and slip bead onto it. now use that piece of yarn to tie one end of your loops with the bead on the inside. tie it nice and tight, maybe even take the yarn around a second time to really secure the loops.
- now cut the bottom of the loops in half.
- smooth the yarn around the bead and tie a piece of yarn at the bottom of the bead. (the bead helps the top of the tassel to have a very round shape)
- now trim the bottom of the tassel so that the ends are all even. this is my favorite part, it’s like a little tassel hair cut.

how to make the pillow cover (reference animated photo below)
- measure and cut three pieces of fabric: 1 piece at 18.5 x 18.5 inches and 2 pieces at 18.5 x 13 inches
**helpful tip, I like to make a pattern out of a thick piece of paper so that I can easily make new covers in the future. I also find it a little easier to measure straight lines on paper than on fabric.

- on the two smaller pieces fold one long edge over twice and sew flat
- lay your larger piece with the right side up.
- now lay one of the smaller pieces down so that the unfinished edge lines up with the top, right side facing down and then lay the second piece down in the same way so that it lines up with the bottom edge. The two pieces should overlap several inches in the middle.
- pin around the edges and then sew together giving yourself a 1/2 inch seam allowance on all sides.

then:
- clip corners on a 45 degree angle taking care to leave a little fabric between the stitching and where you cut. This step helps your corners stay sharp.
- turn pillow cover inside out.
- to attach tassels use a yarn needle and feed the long loose ends of your tassel through the corner of your pillow case. I like to feed one through each side of the pillow so that I can make a nice secure knot on the inside with just a little bit of fabric in between.

finally!
- insert pillow form
- throw them all up on your sofa, pillow party!

let us know if you make them & tweet @designlovefest some photos of them!

(photos & creations by natalie shriver – see more DIY projects here!)

NO WORK, ALL FUN

this was definitely my favorite photo from the trip. these hammocks were right outside of our hotel and they were calling our names the whole time.

i went to mexico with my boyfriend and my two friends emma & ryan. it ended up being such a perfect trip…and most of all it was easy! cabo is a short 2 hour flight from los angeles which is really nice.

i did a little post when i was there and told you about mama’s…i always ate there with my family as a kid so it was really special to be able to share this place with my friends as well. simple food, spicy salsa and fresh ingredients. we loved it so much, we ate there three days in a row.

another amazing food spot is maro’s shrimp house! they have local cuisine & some of the best shrimp & lobster i’ve ever had. all for 16 bucks. i can’t stop thinking about how delicious that meal was…

we went on a tequila tasting tour with grayline los cabos (we also went on a glass bottom boat ride!) and i spotted this little plant sitting against this ridiculously colorful pink wall.

the tour also took us to a bunch of the beautiful surfing beaches (my boyfriend loves to surf!) we also spent part of the day hunting for mexican blankets that we could bring home and hang in the windows of our new house. success photo here.

if you watch the video below, you will see it took me about 7 minutes to actually get situated in this hammock. all while looking like a total fool. it was pretty hilarious. (and how pretty are those color choices on the hammocks?!)

it’s hard to completely take off work because i really enjoy my job…but a balcony office was a pretty nice change.

we rented scooters for a few days and rode all around town. i was actually pretty scared to do it at first, but by the end of the trip i was loving it. i haven’t seen my guy that happy in a long while, so it was definitely worth getting over a little fear.

this month i decided i was going to take care of myself. worry a little less, take some more time to myself, and be more spontaneous. my life is really scheduled out and i tend to get really wrapped up in stress…so it was nice to just book these plane tickets randomly one day and let the rest work itself out. thank you hotels.com for the awesome room with a view & also to grayline los cabos for showing me around parts of cabo that i had never seen before! like i said, i spent years going to cabo with my family over the summer and it holds a great spot in my heart.

oh! and the video. emma and I shot some super 8 on our iphones (you can get the app here) and i put a little video together of all of our days there. and that boppy song? that’s all thanks to sharing an office with the best dj (the flashdance!) who always gets wonderful music stuck in our heads. this brenton wood song was played over and over on our trip…

thanks for following along on our trip! -bri

FLOATING LITTLE ANIMALS

beautiful origami mobiles made from japanese paper for your little one over here! this would look adorable in a kid’s bedroom!

PATTERNFEST / 4

texture adds interest to this palette of neutrals! -molly

photo 1 / photo 2

see last week’s patternfest here

GREAT STYLING

i love when people show products in such a creative way. these photos really take you into these children’s world, don’t they?

LUCKY!

good morning from santa monica! i’m currently pretending that i’m on vacation at the viceroy hotel (which is one of the most beautifully designed hotels!) the lucky fabb sha-bang is today, wish me luck!

the kelly wearstler store in west hollywood really blew me away. i mean, i knew she was legit and everything, but seeing her new store really made it real for me. she had some gold glitter boots on display that made my heart stop.

if you are staying in LA for vacation, you should seriously check out the viceroy hotel. you won’t regret it. it’s been fun having kristin by my side!

(photos via designlovefest instagram)

REDO MODE

after living the loft life for a while, we sort of shifted our decor to fit the space. for instance, our huge over sized flag might not fit in our new home as well as it did in the loft. and now i am thinking about what our yard will look like (i love that patterned chair)…will we redo our bedroom? all these thoughts are spinning through my head now. (even though i said i was going to be calm about the move)

i’ve had my eye on this simple blush colored rug from serena & lily for a while now, i just haven’t had a good spot in the loft for it. hopefully my next home will have the perfect place for it.

i also really love these colorful herringbone throws! they match our couch perfectly. maybe i should find a new HOUSE before i start redecorating it in my head. but i just can’t help myself.

• post sponsored by serena & lily, all opinions are sincere

SEES THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY

i just love how matthias heiderich views the world. he notices corners and shapes that people might normally glance right over.

it must be pretty cool to see such ordinary objects as beautifully as he does. let’s all try it this week.

see more of his work here.

LO BJURULF

she really gets it. and that pattern below kills me!

and what a great rug…