Guest Post: Visit the Beer Can House with Lisa of Nest Interiors!

Lisa is a store owner (of Nest Interiors)  crafter and blogger based in Louisiana, USA who I first met as part of the blog writing team over at Handmade Spark.  She has a background in interior design and is incredibly passionate about creativity and the handmade community.  Today, she is going to take us somewhere truly unique!

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The Drinks are on the House!

Between renovated bungalows and newly fashioned condominiums, there is a hidden gem in this up and coming Houston, Texas neighbourhood.  At first glance you wonder if crazy magpies collected all this shiny stuff and then you realize you've found the Beer Can House.  Yes, a house comprised of mainly beer cans, though you'll find plenty of bottles too!

Begun in 1968 by homeowner John Milkovisch, he admitted it was a lot easier than painting every year. Since his passing, Houstonians have rallied to recognize this amazing work of folk art and are in the process of restoring his original vision.  During my visit in March it was apparent that this work is on going as the vintage lock to the house broke and the volunteers couldn't open the door for my visit.

The outside however is filled with plenty of inspiration.  I was amazed by the pattern play of aluminum, bottles, even cemented marbles and shells...no surface is left unadorned.  Walking through, listening to the house (because, yes, it actually sings with it's tin garlands) I couldn't help but think about the impossible number of hours this tinkerer-come-artist spent on this magical place.

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I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for these crazy, lifelong, one-man's-dream/tinkering/ridiculous hobby turns into amazing artwork stories!  Thank you Lisa, for sharing this with us!  And if you are like me and enjoy these monuments to everyday creativity, I'd highly recommend the book Destination Art which gives a great overview of some of them from all over the globe (along with many more 'traditional' sculptural installations).

Also, make sure you check out Lisa's latest project - Cottage Nest - a collaborative blog about all aspects of craft, handmade and creativity.  If you're interested in submitting posts to this lovely new blog, you can find all the information right here.

Guest Post: Note card tutorial from Heidi of Row House 14

Heidi is an English teacher living in Baltimore, USA and she is also the designer of some seriously fine stationary under the name Row House 14.  When she contacted me with the idea for this tutorial I was so excited!  I'd seen the finished product (aren't they gorgeous?) and was very keen to see the process.  Plus it's the first real how-to on Good Things* - hopefully it'll motivate me to do some of my own!

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I've spent most of my life working on some sort of creative endeavor, be it drawing, photography, writing, graphic design or whatever I'm up for that given day.  So when I fall into a creative rut I try to sit it out and hope for some inspiration to fall into my lap.  This was the case the other day.  I've embarked on a Design a Day Challenge in which I'll be designing and creating 30 things in 30 days. The idea was to get myself out of this creative rut and get my creative juices flowing.  Good idea in theory, but maybe not as great in practice as it seems I had trouble getting started!

So anyway, here I was, sitting at my dining room table, having one of those creative blocks when I just happened to notice that some of the items that were scattered about made a perfect combination!  Yellow and light gray colored paper, gray satin ribbon, white twine, white linen card stock, and aqua colored buttons.  It was as if some little creative elf had come out during the night and placed these items next to each other to try and get my rear in gear on the creative front!

I spent a couple of hours the other afternoon making some lovely flat note cards from these supplies and thought they'd be perfect and simple to share with you.  

[Click on 'read more' to see the full tutorial after the jump!]

Guest Post: Introducing Juanita Tortilla!

Today I am super excited to be introducing my first ever guest blogger!  Please give a warm welcome to Juanita, the fabulously talented lady behind Juanita Tortilla.  I met Juanita through the Etsy Expats team - she's originally from Singapore, has lived in the US, and now lives in Switzerland!  Anyhow, here she is to tell you a bit more about what she does...

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I am more of a daydreamer than a doer, and more of a doer than a reader.  So when it comes to crafting and putting things together, it is all self taught.  In 2004, while living in America and struck severely by the DIY fever, Juanita Tortilla was born.

As of 2009, the aim of Juanita Tortilla is to reduce new waste and to work with resources that are already available to us.  By reusing materials and repurposing, it has allowed me to create one-of-a-kind, unique and functional things such as bags, purses and smartphone covers.

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Thanks Juanita!  I find the way Juanita combines and repurposes existing materials to be quite inspiring, don't you? 

Want more?  You can explore her website here, or you can head on over to her lovely blog.  Her crafty creations are also available in her Etsy shop - if you click on the images in this post  it'll take you directly to that item.

Holiday happenings!

[Airplane by CharlenePrecious]

Well, by the time you read this I should have touched down in Rome, sunk in to holiday mode and completely forgotten about any blog related responsibilities for at least two weeks be missing my little bloggy outlet terribly.

But even though I'm disappearing for a few weeks that is no reason to stop visiting, because I have a treasure trove of treats lined up for you!  Over the next fortnight you'll be meeting a bunch of guest bloggers from all over the globe and they'll be sharing recipes, how-tos, crafty goodness and interesting parts of their world.  Plus, I've got a few other bits and bobs scheduled too.  It is going to be ACE - new friends to meet and things to learn! Hurrah!

So, a huge thank you in advance to my guest bloggers (make sure you show them lots of love, okay?) and a big stay tuned to all my lovely readers!

Oh, and I notice as I type this that Good Things* now has 100 followers!  Yowsers!  This makes me very happy!  So happy that I'm going to hold a super special giveaway in August!  Exciting times!

Death by Doxie

It's a sausage roll!