5 Fab Finds Under $50 - J.Crew Factory

I'm not a style expert by any means but I am a pretty darn savvy shopper. I get some great deals and thought that it's about time I share! Every couple of weeks, I'll be doing a "Five Fab Finds Under $50" spotlight post to give you some thrifty inspiration. The posts will vary between clothing, housewares, craft goodies (maybe under $5 for that category), etc. Today, I'm highlighting my fave things from our go-to shopping destination: J.Crew Factory.

While the Mr. and I have quite an obsession with J.Crew, our bank account doesn't exactly feel the same way. That's why the outlet is such a style saver! We can get amazing pieces on a tight budget. We're lucky to live super close to a physical outlet, but even if you aren't, guess what?! They have an ONLINE factory store as well. SCORE!

Skirt - Factory Pencil Skirt in Double Serge Cotton - Bohemian Red - $49.50

Pants - Factory Skimmer Pant - Dark Beechwood - $44.50

Tank - Factory Sequin V-neck Tank - Bright Spearmint - $39.50

Blazer - Factory Stripe Knit Pocket Blazer - Dragonfly Blue - $49.50 !!!

And the super deal is that gorgeous pink necklace!

Necklace -  Factory Mini Crystal and Resin-Link Necklace - Neon Azalea - $14.50

Which of those five is your favorite? Do you know of any other outlets that have a web option as well?? Tell me, tell me! (Please?)

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

DIY Woven Camera Strap

You may remember that when I first got my DSLR, I had these huge aspirations of making a ton of DIY camera accessories. Yeahhhh, about that. In the last 6 months all I made was my camera bag. It's a pretty sweet camera bag if I do say so myself but still, that was the only thing I managed to put together. After checking out Yellowcloth's tutorial for a braided baby headband, inspiration struck and I went off to plan my newest DIY: a woven camera strap! 

It took less than an hour to put together and I happened to have everything on hand already so it was pretty much free (from scratch, this would probably cost less than $10). Maybe it's boastful to talk about how much I love something that I made with my own two hands, but I can't help it! The Mr. has been teasing me because he keeps catching me admiring my handiwork, but again, I JUST CAN'T HELP IT! It's pretty and cushy and durable and just plain awesome. Read on to learn how to make one yourself!

Insta Replay Monday #18

We finally had a weekend that was 100% at home. Oh my gosh by golly, it was the best. weekend. ever. I think that the crazy Friday night snowstorm was motivation enough to just stay in and it was exactly what we needed. We cleaned, we crafted, we drank tons of coffee. My super amazing bff came over and we had a double date on Sunday night (I made smashed potatoes, garlic and brown sugar salmon, and herbed green beans -- yum num num!) Now that it's Monday, take a look at some of the Instagram snapshots from the last week:

my horrible shoe choice

the snowy gate of the oldest unchanged Lutheran church in America

a sneak peak of a project coming your way soon
my newly organized coffee station
Quinn bear being adorable
my craft room mumbo jumbo

oh, and my healthy lunch :)

STUFF TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS WEEK

DIY Camera Strap
5 Fab Finds - A Brand New Series

Personalized V-Day Artwork 

Can't wait to see you back here for some of that action!  Happy Monday, all.

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

Craft Room Organization: Clothespin Spools

One of my goals for 2012 was to learn embroider and now, it's one of my favorite crafts. It's one of those hobbies that you can literally do anywhere which makes it all the more attractive to a girl on the go.  I keep all of my embroidery materials in a basket and they've become a little, how shall I say it, disheveled? I created these clothespin spools to organize the whole kit and caboodle. 

5-Minute Weeknight Dinner - French Bread Pizza

Do you have a go to meal when you're in a time crunch? Ours used to be pasta until the Mr. dropped a bombshell revelation on me a couple of years ago... he hates pasta. GASP! I know. My new favorite is French bread pizza. It's such a breeze, can be customized to your liking, and let's face it, it's super flippin delicious.

My absolute favorite combo is a good ol' pepperoni and cheese! It really can't get any easier than that.

Pinspiration: Gilded Glass Vases

I've been trying to take a break from Pinterest lately. WHATTTT?! I know, it's crazy. But, I'm trying to practice some self-control. As much as I love it, I go a bit pin crazy at times. I can't even remember the last time I actually created something from the bountiful inspiration. That was, until this weekend! I made these pretty vases from recycled Starbucks glass bottles:

Insta Replay Monday #17

Yay for weekends! We had a great couple of days at home -- trip to Ikea, Five Guys, a surprise birthday party for my boss, and an amazing dinner with two of my best friends. Unfortunately, it didn't include nearly enough crafting or snuggle time with Aubergine, Quinn-Bear, or my handsome Mr. The only absolutely horrible part was when we took down our Christmas decorations and the tree. It's so bare in here... it looks like we just moved in.  Any how, it's already Monday so here we are! As you can see, I was a bit absent on Instagram this week... Whoops!

So, what's in store for you this week?

Gilded Glass Vases

Easy Weeknight Dinner

Clothespin Spools

Check back soon so you don't miss any of the goodness!

MyMemories GIVEAWAY

You might have guessed that this girl really likes printables so when I was approached by the team at MyMemories to try out their scrapbooking software, I kind of squealed with excitement. You see, it's definitely a great digital scrapbooking tool but after checking out their website, I realized that it was capable of so much more. What you ask? Greeting cards. Laptop skins. Photo books. Decorations. Calendars. Decorations. Even printable boxes.

The best part is that you can make your projects as simple or as personalized as you want by simply dropping photos into premade layouts, or designing yours from the ground up. I was overly excited to start creating so I loved that they offered a digital download option. No waiting for shipping and handling? Score! I started by making exactly what you'd expect, scrapbook pages.

Love is in the Air Printable

My favorite things in life are free. Well, maybe not all of them, but my pretty printables are! The first of the 2013 is a lovely Valentine's Day print in the perfect 5x7 size.

I made quite a few versions because I'm indecisive and I love color. Feel free to download and print whichever one appeals to you most; it'll fit perfectly into your favorite 5x7 frame!

Craft Room Organization: Mini Memo Board

I'm addicted to sticky notes. I write all of my to-dos on a note daily and periodically cross them off as they're completed throughout the day. The next day, I start a new one by rewriting the undone items from the day before and adding anything that pops up. Unfortunately, I've lost those uber important stickies more times than I care to remember. My office has become a black hole of clutter. A mini cork board covered in glitter was the perfect solution to keep my daily post-it at the forefront of my mind and on top of the mess, literally. 

I made mine out of six-inch square cork tiles which were left over from the seating chart I made for our wedding in 2011. Yep, I had those scraps sitting around for over a year and a half... that's probably why my craft room is such a disaster area -- because I hoard.

Framed Valentine's Day Wreath

I'm going to be honest: we don't decorate for Valentine's Day... before I started trolling blogs 1+ years ago, I didn't really think that *anyone* did. Turns out they do and I seem to be in the minority. Since we still have our Christmas decorations up, I decided to try my hand at a Valentine's Day themed something to encourage me to box up the holiday stuff. That something turned out to be a replacement for the Star of Bethlehem wreath that should have vacated our front door a couple of weeks ago.

I found all of the materials for this in the Christmas clearance bins at Michael's for a whopping $3.50. Quite a steal if I do say so myself.

Insta Replay Monday #16

Sometimes I can't believe how fast the weekends seem to pass. Last week was the first full week back to work and let's be honest, it was tough. Sometimes, busy is good though because it felt like it flew by. We had a really nice weekend with friends though and spent a lot of time on the road {and watching football, of course}. I even finished a few projects ahead of time since I'll spend a couple nights babysitting this week. 

Some stuff to look forward to in the next week:

a Valentine's Day wreath

a mini cork board

a sweet printable

Feel free to stop by and follow me @spool_and_spoon on Instagram, too!

DIY Fish Toy for Cats

I think I neglect to mention Aubrey a lot. She's kind of the best cat ever and so low-key. She was our first "baby" and I will always love her more than words can ever express. She hates really dislikes Quinn which breaks my heart but she keeps herself content. I feel like every once in awhile, she needs some super spoiling which is why I decided to make her a new toy. 

Spread the Word: 2013 Craft Challenge

One of my absolute favorite people in the world (Anja at Cocalores) told me about an amazing little thing she and a few of her friends (Rosie and PJ) have put together and I wanted to share with all of you as well: The 2013 Craft Challenge! Me, myself and I love a crafty round-up and this one is not only laid out for the entire year but there will be linky parties at the end of each month to showcase the fruits of your labor!

This is a great way to gather inspiration, meet new people, and see some amazing talent. I'll definitely be participating each month and can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with. I encourage you to tag along too and share your finished projects on the last Monday of every month!

Washi Tape Magnets

If you haven't guessed already I have quite the affinity for washi tape. Maybe the suncatchers or the holiday luminary or the mini bunting hinted at that before. If not, our new fridge adornments are definitely making my crafty crush obvious.

You see, our fridge was kind of lacking in the magnet department (we had two mismatched hand-me-downs) and I thought that an update was drastically needed. I gathered my supplies and set to work creating a bulletin board of sorts on the side of our fridge.

Insta Replay Monday #15

So, unfortunately it seems like we are all back to the grind. I guess I better get used to it since I won't have another day off until Memorial Day. Spool and Spoon will be back to it's regular schedule starting today -- beginning with Insta Replay Monday!

There are a ton of pictures this week -- my apologies.

I received an amazing gift from Anja of Cocalores

My keurig has been in almost constant use since Christmas

I got to babysit my three favorite munchkins

We watched the Mummers Parade

We went on a brewery tour with the Mr.'s family

My company had our holiday party at the Moshulu in Philly

Quinn enjoyed our first huge snowstorm of the year

A Dozen Inspiring Silhouette Projects

Back in November I won a pretty spectacular giveaway from Jen at Craft-o-Maniac. What did I win you ask? A brand-new Silhouette Portrait!! How flipping awesome is that? You might be wondering why it took me so long to mention it, but that's simple: it didn't arrive until yesterday. 

Now that it's here, I'm just dying to use it (once I finally figure out how to work it, that is). The moment that Jen told me I won, I got all giddy and went on a crazy quest to find the Holy Grail of Silhouette crafting. 

These are my absolute favorites! Take a look:

Better Than Anything Hot Cocoa

The holidays are over but winter has only just begun. We've had snow galore over in these parts and nothing is more warming to the body and soul than a steaming cup of hot cocoa. Especially when that hot chocolate is better than anything.

Enjoy a simple prepare-ahead hot cocoa mix whenever the urge strikes.