Tag:

Archive

Friday Favorites #546

by Kaylah Stroup

This post contains affiliate links. Check out our disclosure policy for more details.

I don’t crochet or wear shawls but my goodness, how rad is this pattern!?

Forever a fan of a circle shaped bag!

I already own about five billion tooth-shaped vessels but none quite like these! (They’re shot glasses!)

You know I love a bold black and white jumpsuit! It reminds me a lot of this one which I already own & love. (It’s also on sale!!!)

I am positively swooning over this plant! The review photos show that people actually get ones equally as beautiful as the product photos. I am so tempted.

This tape!

I love Forgotten Fern’s work so much.

This patch!

Love love love this sweater. That color is perfect.

These earrings!

Mother Mountain Herbals‘ products all look and sound so lovely. My face is so dry this winter. Their face oil sounds like the perfect solution.

Yet another lovely striped sweater! I am obsessed with that sleeve with the tiny stripes. Such a fun little twist.

Link love…

A little something from the shop that fits this week’s color theme!

Happy Friday! xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup

30 minutes and one pass of the approximately 900ft beach. Just a quick arrangement because surprise surprise! it’s cold at the lake in January. Mostly broken shards of plastic today. Sometimes the larger, more interesting things seem to have been cleaned up but there are always tiny pieces littering the sand.

I will forever love making a colorful little arrangement against the dark moody beach!

Other fun finds from the day…

Two pieces of pottery with lettering left on them. Felt like such a treat because I most certainly wasn’t looking for them. Certain beaches have certain treasures, this isn’t a normal place for me to find pottery so when I glanced down not once but twice to have letters looking back at me, it was a surprise. A wheel. The legs of a plastic soldier. Chuckie Finster’s head. Not my largest haul but any day I find a plastic soldier is a good one in my book!

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!

If you like my ‘found on the beach’ collections – prints, phone cases, and more can be found here.

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

office tour 2020

by Kaylah Stroup

At the beginning of every year, I like to completely clean my office. A fresh start! This little ritual first started as me just taking everything off my bulletin board and starting over but over the last few years has turned into cleaning out the whole room. It feels so good… even if I do mess it up again almost immediately.

It’s also been a really good excuse to photograph and document whatever room I’m calling my office at the time. I love to redecorate so things around here never really look the same for too long.

We’re currently in the process of house hunting so hopefully, as much as I love this tiny room, it’ll be my last year in here. That makes this post extra special. I’ve loved this room immensely for the last couple of years.

arranged my whole memo board around this gorgeous calendar!

took forever but I’m so happy to have finally found the perfect place to hang that muscle dude!

My office is quite honestly a minimalist’s nightmare. There is a lot of stuff jammed in there! Obviously, if I had the option it wouldn’t be so packed but all of the furniture in there is kind of a necessity for the things I do in that room. A sewing desk, a computer desk, shelving for fabric, storage drawers for products for the shop and a rolling cart I cut fabric on (luckily that fits under the sewing desk when not in use.)

Everything above (except for the photo in the right side of the collage) is on the computer side of my office. Last year for Christmas my parents bought me a desk for my sewing machine which I set up on the opposite wall. All the photos below are from the sewing side of my office.

sources –
photo shelves
sewing desk
computer desk is from World Market
moon calendar
cactus neon light
color LED lights behind the computer (buy some, they rule!)
string lights
grid memo board is a repurposed dog crate (read more here!) Here’s an affordable one if you’re on the hunt!
large witchy hand print is by Hugo Gyrl, found at Glitter Box.
rainbows made with crystals (read more here!)
small round mirror is from Target a while back (here’s a similar one)
anything else – just ask!

previous office tours –
▴ 2019 ▴ 2018 ▴ 2017 ▴ 2016 ▴ 2015

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

Friday Favorites #545

by Kaylah Stroup

This post contains affiliate links. Check out our disclosure policy for more details.

This siamese kitty pin! So cute!

How cute is this fox dress!?

This sweater!

Love this bug print!

I am very into this coat. The color and style are just perfect!

The perfect patch for all you cryptid lovers!

I’m obsessed with these custom pet portraits.

Slug life!

These shoes!

This wrap dress is covered in stars! If you know me, you know I love wrap dresses and starry prints!!

This insect notebook!

Link love…

Happy Friday! xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

A few of my favorite posts from 2019

by Kaylah Stroup

2019 was a weird year. Easily my least favorite year ever. There were massive highs but the biggest low I can imagine, I lost my mom. I tried so hard to think of a way to avoid talking about it in this recap but what can I say? It definitely shaped my year.

In 2019, The Dainty Squid shop became my main focus. The blog took a bit of a backseat. I apologize. I definitely miss writing here daily and hope to get back into a routine soon.

All that to say, I feel like this year’s favorite posts round-up is a bit different than normal. I’ve broken it down into categories! I wasn’t so sure at first, mostly doing a recap out of the fact that I knew if I didn’t have one to look back at I’d be mad but I’m really excited about how this turned out. Hope you’re ready to catch up on some posts you may have missed!

Some favorite posts featuring abandoned places…

Two Guns, AZ

abandoned church

Slug Bug Ranch

abandoned school

Also, the abandoned trailer park (becoming an annual thing now!), and the Anasazi Inn. Fort Courage was also pretty amazing. I’m still digging my photos from that waterlogged mattress factory too!

I made some cool posts that had accompanying videos…

curiosity cabinet video tour

2019 road trip video!

our homemade zipline

I also made a handful of hair videos that proved to be pretty popular. I enjoy talking about hair and it’s already fun to be able to look back on the changes I’ve made. Here’s when I went from green to red, when the saltwater pool stripped my color, when I touched it up with orange and pink, and when I finally went blue!

I did some monthly recaps…

raise hell eat tacos shirt

I wrote about grief…

▴ my mother’s plants ▴ grief & road trips ▴ I cry over four leaf clovers ▴ grieving in the digital age ▴ the greatest loss ▴ six months & six things I want to tell you.

Let’s end on a high note, miscellaneous posts that make me happy…

Mountainview Cemetery + Wild Horses

Vincent Baptist Church Cemetery

found on the beach

a letter to 2014 Kaylah

dump digging treasures

my favorite desert oasis – the wigwam

I am SO ready for 2020. Let’s go! xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

raiding my scrap basket

by Kaylah Stroup

I had definitely planned to blog about The Dainty Squid shop and my sewing projects A LOT more this year. Obviously I did not do that. I managed to squeeze in a few posts about it here and there but it wasn’t even a fraction of as much as I had imagined. My sewing machine and I have definitely been busy though, especially this holiday season.

When I first re-opened back in January, the one thing I promised myself is that I would allow myself to play. When I had a sewing business before I burned myself out by just concentrating on making stock, making stock and…making more stock! I felt like it was a waste of time to experiment because I already knew what made money so I should just keep doing that. That eventually led to a period of about three years or so where I didn’t touch my machine at all.

This time around, I wanted to make sure that I had fun. I enjoy making regular pouches, they’re satisfying but without a break, it can definitely get repetitive.

baby basket king

November and December have been wild! I had a goal – which I crushed. I made a stretch goal and somehow squashed that too! I thought I was stocked up and prepared for the holiday season but I completely underestimated how quickly the things I had made would sell. (Seriously, thank you!) There was obviously a part of my brain that was like “SEW. NOW. MORE STOCK!” I even cut out a ton of fabric to do another big update before the holiday rush was done but came to my senses that if I were to actually tackle it, I’d probably hate myself.

Still wanting to sew but wanting to give myself a bit of a break, this week I pulled out my scrap basket and sorted out some fabrics I might want to play with. I realized almost everything I pulled fit into a nice little color palate so I narrowed it down a bit more and decided to give myself a little challenge – make as many bags as possible from the small amount of fabric I had in there.

making the straps. (& in true Kaylah fashion “If I’m making them in this fabric, I should just go ahead and whip up some others…”)

The result was a collection of seven one of a kind bags. I managed to squeeze a pencil pouch, three wristlets and three clutches out of the scraps. I am so pleased with how they turned out!

I love anytime I can just piece together different fabrics then play around with decorative stitches. I also really enjoy making things that are bigger than my normal bags. The clutches are my favorite because they hold so much! I made one for myself a while back from other scraps and it holds all my stamp carving supplies. You can spot it in this post. I just think it’s a really useful size!

The seven one of a kind bags are live in the shop today if you want to get your hands on one! xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

gift guide for your ~weird~ friend

by Kaylah Stroup

This post contains affiliate links. Check out our disclosure policy for more details.

  1. skeleton twins tank top
  2. cemetery angel enamel pin
  3. cat skeleton and anatomy kit
  4. bird skull jewelry organizer
  5. denture mini wristlet
  6. anatomically correct glow in the dark skeleton dress
  7. framed mother of pearl butterfly
  8. The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth: And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine
  9. skeleton apron
  10. coffin curio shelf
  11. tiny skull ring
  12. set of three tooth planters
  13. dental disease tooth model (with removable teeth!)
  14. diaphonized frog
  15. textbook anatomy skull pin

tooth planter

skull sleep mask

16. crescent moon jewelry dish
17. tooth magnets
18. dead man’s bones candle
19. bird leg side table
20. hand skeleton model
21. skull scissors
22. articulated cat skeleton
23. winged skull ring
24. skull mug
25. bat enamel pin
26. sloth skull shirt

future ghost shirt

clear cat jaw model

Even more!

More? You got it! Here’s a list of nearly 100 more weird finds I’ve compiled.

Boom! No excuses not to find something perfect for that strange person in your life. I know I’m a little late in the month to be posting a gift round-up but there’s definitely still time for presents to arrive in time for Christmas (and even if they don’t, at least you’ll have bought something your pal is sure to appreciate!) xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

enamel pin gift guide 2019

by Kaylah Stroup

This post contains affiliate links. Check out our disclosure policy for more details.

pins by Asilda Store

I guess it’s an annual tradition now that I create a pretty little round-up of enamel pins around the holidays. This year I’ve teamed up with Etsy to showcase pins that are all from awesome small businesses across the globe. It was so hard to narrow my final list down! I could browse pins on Etsy forever.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again – I seriously LOVE enamel pins as gifts. They’re inexpensive and there is basically one for absolutely any interest you or your pals might have.

Enjoy! xoxo

1 // create something new 2 // space cat 3 // homebody 4 // angry cat no banaya 5 // lemon drizzle sheep 6 // flatwoods monster 7 // sasquatch alien 8 // i like cats 9 // words fail me 10 // not joining ur pyramid scheme 11 // screaming conure 12 // meowdy 13 // spent all my time worrying… 14 // be a nice human 15 // snail 16 // high five 17 // skater raccoon 18 // plant mom 19 // i have no idea what i’m doing 20 // you do you 21 // springtime possum 22 // guinea pig with succulent 23 // anti-anxiety magic 24 // fiddle leaf fig 25 // ace ventura 26 // you are boobiful 27 // booty 28 // idiot screen 29 // blue mushroom cluster 30 // pretty bird 31 // honduran bats 32 // cat cake 33 // the no sleep gang 34 // four-eyed sphynx 35 // shy and ready to cry 36 // starmadillo 37 // doodle noodle 38 // dusty moth 39 // rad teeth 40 // jackalope

enamel pin display

adopt a cat pin

pins by Hemleva

PS. Make sure to click around. So many of the pins linked are made by folks who have tons of other fun designs. If you’re viewing on a desktop, Etsy will recommend you similar items from the same shop at the top of the listing which is a great way to quickly get a peek at the shop’s other goodies!

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

Friday Favorites #543

by Kaylah Stroup

This post contains affiliate links. Check out our disclosure policy for more details.

Tina Sosna has such a charming shop. So many lovely stationery goodies including these adorable cat stickers.

This candle sounds so lovely and earthy.

You know I love a good polka dot dress!

This coffee mug + lid. How cute!

Y’all how rad are these wall mushrooms by Fainyia Shtuchki?!

Digging this sweater!

I really love Justine Gilbuena’s work!

I am obsessed with this starry robe!

Finally got my paws on one of those silly teddy bear sweater/coats. I get the hype. I’m so cozy! Professor approves too!

This print!

More sweaters that caught my eye! What can I say, tis the season – I’m freezin’!

How cute is this phone case!?

Link love

  • I was working on my enamel pin gift guide (coming next week!) when I spotted this pin of Liam McPoyle from It’s Always Sunny. I lol-ed!
  • I can’t stop thinking about this lightning bolt jewel orchid. Such a gorgeous plant!
  • Lovin’ these melty face glasses!
  • Modcloth has their ‘Mod Outlet‘ going on right now. 60-90% off!!
  • My favorite around the house / sexy time bra is super duper on sale right now depending on what size you wear. I’m honestly obsessed with this thing. It’s comfortable as all heck and looks amazing on.

New in the shop this week – Christmas cactus pouches! (They’re on sale too!) The holiday shipping deadline is sneaking up, don’t miss out.

Happy Friday! xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts