Five Favorites 5/21

First of all, thank you all for your tips and encouragement on my photo frustration post! It seems I'm in good company . . . many of you, too, seem to have hoped that a nice camera = amazing pictures, and are kind of annoyed that it doesn't work that way. I got some great suggestions of places to start learning, so I'll be compiling those into a post for next week so those of you who are interested in learning with me can figure out where to begin. I've been doing a little playing around with the manual settings on my camera, and it's not quite as scary as I thought it would be. Sigh of relief!

And it seemed like a lot of you were hoping this would turn into a bit of a photography series . . . is that right? I could probably make that happen. Let me know if you'd be interested in a Photo 101-type series on this here bloggy, and if it seems like something a lot of you would like, I'll see what I can do. I know some people. It could happen. It might be awesome.

On to the main event! I loved these five projects from some amazingly-talented ladies this week: 

Coral Reef Dress @ Blooms and Bugs

This little dress is so sweet--I want one for me! It's sewn using a cozy knit material, and depending on the size you're making, I bet you could make this out of an adult top that you don't plan to wear anymore. I love repurposing old stuff!

Nailhead Bulletin Board @ Libbie Grove Design

These bulletin boards are so cool! (I think every time I've typed the word "bulletin" in my life, I've spelled it "bulleting" . . . it's just too hard to resist adding a "g" to any word that ends with an "in". Same deal when I talk about my cousings or baking pumpking bread.) When I saw these, I misread the title and thought it was nailhead headboards . . . and now Kristy has me itching to transform her great bulletin(g) board idea into a headboard for my ugly bed!

Button Necklace @ Sara vs. Sarah

Hey, I know some earrings this necklace would look awfully cute with . . . isn't that a fun necklace? I sure like it.

{Want to hear a button story that's (hopefully) kind of funny? My freshman year of college, I was so fortunate to end up as roommates with a wonderful girl who is now my baby's godmother (I'm LDS and we actually don't do the whole godparent thing . . . but I've always liked it, so Forrest has one. You pick and choose your favorite parts of various religions, too, right?) and one of my very best friends . . . but she's just one of these sweet, kindhearted, innocent girls who is so fun to play tricks on. She had a favorite button that she hung onto forever, waiting to use it on the perfect project because she just loved this silly button. If I remember right, I think it was actually used on a few cards, but she would always ask to have it back later. Anyway, another roommate and I thought it would be funny to kidnap her beloved button and ask a ransom for it. To make it really authentic, we took a few pictures of her button tied up and being held at knife-point and emailed them to her. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm kind of surprised she's still my friend after I put her precious button through such a traumatic experience. But no buttons were harmed that day.}

Thrifty Collage @ The Goodey Knot

What a cool piece of artwork! Kaitlin (who has a bunch of really neat projects on her blog) created this using little thrifty finds and leftovers from around the house, including pieces from her wedding bouquet and early sewing projects. I think that's a really amazing way to hang onto those sentimental little pieces you can't bring yourself to toss out, but would otherwise just be cluttering up a closet somewhere.

Prep School Skirt @ Emilie Handmade

I just stumbled across Emilie's blog this week, and I'm so glad I did! It's full of really clever ideas and tutorials for sewing, home decor, and fun parties. She created this skirt from . . . wait for it . . . a thrifted men's blazer that she picked up for $1.50 and turned into this adorable prep school skirt! I love it, and she wrote up a tutorial so we can make one, too. Smart lady! I love it!

If you were featured, feel free to grab yourself a little trophy:

<center><a  href="http://www.maybematilda.com"><img border="0"  src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n628/rfield3890/mmlovesme.jpg"  border="0" alt="Photobucket"  /></a></center>

And leave a comment letting me know if you'd be interested in a photo boot camp series!