A Sneak Peek!

Been busy, busy today preparing for tomorrow's "Fall Harvest" celebration! All the details to come quite soon!

But in the meantime... Take a Peek at the official invitation!

Invitation Ingredients

Orange Gingham Scrapbooking paper = Bo Bunny and Pink Paisley Papers

Pumpkin = Big Bazzill Brad in Apricot + green ribbon

Announcing my first Giveaway winner!

I must say, I really liked doing a giveaway. It felt like a very small scale Oprah "My Favorite Things" episode! I also got to see some your blogs too! Fun Stuff! Fear not readers... this shall not be my last giveaway, so stay tuned.... and considering the amount of applicants I would say your chances for a win are MIGHTY good!

So, using http://www.random.org/ I randomly picked between 1-13 (4 comments + 9 followers) and came up with #5 Sarah Brown!

Please go check out Sarah's wonderful blog, Brown Paper Packages tied up with String. If you like giveaways she has lots of them! Currently she has a really neat artwork giveaway, as well as DIY project giveaway! Ahem... maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth, that means more competition and more difficult odds for ME to win!

Thanks to all who participated, and Sarah, be sure to email me soon (allmylittleinspirations@hotmail.com), so I can get your magazine to you ASAP! I hope you enjoy it, and please be sure to show us if you find something within it that inspires you too!

My Very Own Magnetic Bulletin Board

I do adore Ballard Designs and when I received a recent catalog I immediately loved these magnetic bulletin boards.  As I looked at them I thought ... I can make that! So, with a few modifications, that is what my weekend was this past weekend and I am pleased with the end result. Mine ended up a bit more... ornate (nobody ever accused me of being a simple girl)

First off, I started with a 12x18 piece of sheet metal from my neighborhood hardware store (approx $7). These pieces of sheet metal come in various "thicknesses", I made sure to pick one on the slightly sturdier side. I had some black and white toile already (free! after I have owned it for more than a year I count it as free! heehee) that patched my black and white bedroom perfectly, and I picked up some velvet ribbon to add as an accent ($3). The more expensive and surprisingly difficult item to find was a 12x18 sized frame ($30). I was hoping to find a more decorative, but you will see how I jazzed it up in my own way.

Using a hot glue gun, I affixed the fabric to the piece of sheet metal. I then criss-crossed the velvet ribbon over the top, attaching when the ribbons crossed. *Note: I ran out of the velvet ribbon and had to go to three stores to find more. Really? Sheesh. Also, I think I would measure better next time. It just doesn't look as polished to me... but a good first try regardless.

The end product.... still maybe just a little bit too plain for my taste, and certainly, plain old refrigerator magnets simply wouldn't do. The magnets on this bulletin board need to be special. Another visit to my craft shop and I found these fun crystal and silver items in the jewelry making aisle, as well as some fun vintage-y medallions ($9) I used them to create some magnets, as well as a pretty little bow on the top corner of the frame.

So now, for roughly the same amount of money, I have a beautiful 12x18 magnetic board to coordinate perfectly in my bedroom, on the wall over my reading corner. I can easily hang pictures, magazine articles, wish lists and of course... inspirations.

Note: There is still time to enter for my Halloween giveaway! See post below...

An "Inspirations" Giveaway!

About 4 weeks ago I had happened upon a magazine, "Celebrate" by Phyllis Hoffman, while waiting to check out at my local Michael's craft store. It was the fall edition, and I loved it. I immediately subscribed to the quarterly publication. I wasn't sure when the subscription would kick in, so when I saw the "Celebrate" Halloween edition a couple weeks ago I couldn't resist... see my blog entry on 9/10/09, it's a problem. This Halloween focused magazine has fabulous articles featuring Matthew Mead and Amy Atlas, along with loads of creative decorating and cooking ideas. Imagine my surprise this week when I received another copy in the mail! Now I have two, and really... as much as I love Halloween magazines, I do not need two. So I now hope to make my over-abundance your Halloween inspiration!


So here it is folks! This is the time of year ghouls and goblins all come out of the shadows, so time for any mysterious blog lurkers to come out of the dark as well... otherwise, Corinne, my faithful reader... you're a shoe-in for my first ever blog giveaway!

There are two ways to enter (and if you do both, your name goes in twice!) Here is what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment no later than Tuesday, October 6th at midnight.
2. Become a follower of "All my little inspirations" by Tuesday, October 6th at midnight (anyone already a "follower" will automatically be entered! Yay!

I will select at random and announce the winner Wednesday. You should have your brand new "Celebrate Halloween" magazine in the mail in a week!

Good Luck!

Fall has arrived!

The air has a definite crispness that has announced to me "fall has arrived" and along with it comes my overwhelming urge to want to purchase lots and lots of new fall coats! Since I moved to the Pacific Northwest from San Diego nearly 10 years ago, one of the things I continue to adore is the actual change of seasons that occurs here... and the excuse to change my wardrobe along with it! I was delighted to wear my coats then, and I continue to love my fashionable coats still today! My collection has grown, but that has not stopped my from wanting to add to it.


Earlier this week, some anonymous soul left a small women's catalog on a co-workers desk. I casually picked it up... and never gave it back. I am in love. I could buy oh too many items from this British based company, Boden. With the chill in the air, I am naturally drawn to the coat and jacket collections. How can a girl choose?

1. The Rainbow Coat caught my eye first. With all it's colors, it would go with just about everything!

2. The Effortless Velvet Coat comes in 6 fabulous colors! I can pciture wearing this to all my holiday parties!

3. I don't need this Jazzy Trenchcoat but my love of gingham makes it hard to resist

4. Truth be told.... I already have a jacket nearly the exact same as this Marylebone Coat, but mine is black and white and this one is green! They also have it in navy with fabulous red buttons!

5. The Uptown Coat. So simple, so perfect.

6. The British Tweed Coat? Doesn't everyone need an aqua jacket? What else would you wear with your red scarf? To make matters worse.... they have it in a stunning plaid too.

Gooseberry Patch

I love cookbooks. I read them like other people read novels. I pick them up wherever I can find them... and often times I have to find new and creative places to store them.

My most reliable, and most oft used cookbooks (because, let's face it... sometimes we are tempted to buy cookbooks that we will never, ever actually cook from!) are those from the "Gooseberry Patch". At nearly every dinner party and holiday, you can bet that at least one dish will be made from one of the many gooseberry patch cookbooks I own.

Why? Because they are no-frills, fuss-free and just plain old, good down home style cookin'. The added perk, nearly all of them come with other ideas for decorating, gift giving, crafting and celebrating.

This weekend, I made a wonderful Sunday brunch... with nearly everything coming from, or at least inspired by, a recipe from one of these wonderful cookbooks.

I think the favorite was "Oven-Baked Maple Pancakes" from the "Merry Christmas" book. The syrup was almost like carmel, and drizzled over the top, it was divine!

Oven-Baked Maple Pancakes

No need for syrup... it's baked right in!

3/4 cup of brown sugar, packed and divided

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cup biscuit baking mix

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Heat 1/2 cup of brown sugar, butter and syrup in a small saucepan over low heat; stir until melted. (I actually skipped the step of melting in a saucepan, and just used soft butter, then spreading the mixture in the bottom of the pan...worked great, and one less pan to clean!) Pour syrup mixture into a lightly greased 13' x 9'' baking pan. Combine remaining ingredients and beat with a whisk or fork until well blended; pour over syrup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until top springs back when touched in the center. Cut into squares; invert onto a serving plate and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

A New Cake Stand

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday, as there are only a few more left before we must wait until next year rolls around. While wandering about, I happened to end up in the "craft" section, honest mistake, really. I came across a booth full of lovely little cake stands, all different sizes, heights and types.

Upon further inspection and discussion with the crafter, it turned out that these adorable and wide variety of cake stands are simply plates adhered to a glass candlestick.... some new, some vintage.

Um... stinking cute, and I had cash burning a hole in my pocket... so, after MUCH review, here is what I went home with:

Now. If you are somebody who typically receives a plate or tin or basket of Christmas goodies from me... don't be too surprised if this is what it is delivered on this year. I can't wait to go "plate hunting" for the makings of my perfect cake stand gifts. I think the biggest challenge will be figuring out what adhesive to use.

Now, how in the world can I improve upon this already clever design? Hmmmm... let me think. How, oh how, can I make this cake stand even more perfect? OH! I know!.....

chocolate, caramel, ooey, gooey brownie goodness