Hi friends! I am so, so sorry for not blogging in so long. Some of you know that I recently had surgery for a severely herniated disk and I was feeling great for a few weeks. I was beginning to feel like my old self when I started suffering from similar pains again, only on the opposite side this time.

I’ve thought long and hard about this decision but I’m afraid I will be officially taking some extended time off from Twig & Thistle to rest and (hopefully) heal. I feel like I’m breaking up with a best friend or the sweetest boyfriend ever and I can tell you this hasn’t been an easy process for me. You all have been so supportive and generous with your comments and kind emails and I will miss all of you dearly. I’m not sure how long I”ll be taking or what exactly the future holds but I hope to run in to all of you again soon!

Before I say my final goodbye, I have one last DIY project that I had to share. (I managed to fit this one in when I was feeling tip-top) I’ve been drooling over this painted zig-zag rug by The House of Smiths and wanted my own little bit of chevron style so I thought I’d make a picnic blanket!

This project took me about 4 hours total but overall it was pretty easy. I bought a fabric drop cloth from Home Depot for $6.98, which is perfect for a picnic blanket since it’s backed with plastic. And since I was covering a larger surface area, I didn’t have enough vinyl to spare so I created a chevron template out of foam core to trace the pattern onto the tarp.

Once my pattern was drawn, I used painters tape to seal off the paintable areas – this part definitely took the longest. Once it was all taped up I got to painting with a roller which went relativly quick and dried overnight. I love how it turned out and I have so many more picnic blanket ideas now. I think they’d make fun gifts or a great way to decorate for an outdoor summer party.

Lot’s of love to you all and thank you again for visiting! Sincerely yours, Kathleen xoxox 

Have a splendid day! xoxo

Image by William Brinson of House of Brinson

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend ahead and for those of you celebrating the 4th of July, may you have a fun and safe weekend! I don’t have any major plans but I hope to get some R&R and hopefully a little sun if it ever decides to show up here.

With a few days before the holiday I thought I’d do a round up of some of my favorite crafts I’ve seen lately. Hope you enjoy!

Creature Comforts Fabric Dessert Flags, Two Shades of Pink Mason Jar “Sippy Cups”, Packagery Paper Button Garland

My friend Ali introduced me to photographer Ditte Isager recently and to my surprise I recognized a lot of her work from my countless Martha Stewart magazines. Some of her most recent work can be seen in the Poppy Love article in the May Issue of Living.

The saturated tones and playful sense of scale is stunning and so ethereal. I adore Ditte’s work and you should definitely check out her extensive portfolio if you get a chance. Inspiration galore!

How cool/genius is this?! Tear off gingham napkins that are not only adorable and handy but sustainable too! These bad boys are made of cotton and can be thrown in the wash to be used again and again.

I seriously need to get some of these for summer! The one in the image above can be found at Cox & Cox in the UK but for those of you state side, they’re available at Neiman Marcus in red, blue or brown.