Author Archives: Jordan Rae

A girl stands in front of a door. The door is painted blue with flowers and leaves painted on the panels of it.

DIY front door makeover

We finally did it: we gave our front door a makeover.

Years ago we painted it green, which was a big improvement all on its own. Our house is quite a bland and boring color (#beigemoms would love it), so painting the doors a bright color makes all the difference. But for some reason we never actually did it until a handful of years ago.

We enjoyed our green era, but the color was never quite right, so this spring we sat down and went through some paint chips and decided on what era we’d be entering into next.

of course I stuck with my classic floral design, which I’ve painted on so many other projects (like skulls, portraits, and mirrors) 🌸

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A straw hat with blue flowers laying on it sits aesthetically on a white dresser.

summer of 2026

I’m not gonna lie: this summer has been the opposite of relaxing for me.

But I’ve had an abundance of work opportunities and pet-sitting jobs, which I’m so grateful for. Because of the multiple-week jobs, I was able to save enough money that I shouldn’t have to worry about paying car insurance and taxes next year 🎉

As a small business owner who’s never had a traditional job, it’s always an extra big sigh of relief when I confirm that my work is continuing to financially sustain me.

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Three denim patches sewn into the shape of various butterflies and moths sit on a white dresser with a vase of flowers beside them.

recycled denim patches (new collections)

You may remember seeing my DIY recycled denim patches that I shared in June. Well, I’m very happy to share that the patches have been quite a hit in my Etsy shop 🎉

Although I can always imagine the exact kind of person who will enjoy each new project that I make, I never know what projects will actually get found by those specific people, and therefore get the attention they need to be successful.

But apparently recycled denim patches are a highly-searched-for item.

(who knew?)

I sew each patch freely, so each one is truly one of a kind ✨

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Four painted animal skulls sit on a lace doily

collecting skulls (and respecting the dead)

I recently realized that although I’ve shared my skull art with the deer skull, the coyote skull, the beaver skull, and the gray squirrel skull, I’ve never shared my full painted collection on my blog.

So I thought it’d be a good time to share some photos and the stories behind the more personal pieces of my collection ✨

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painting a squirrel skull

I’ve had this little gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) skull laying around since last summer; it came from a squirrel who met an unfortunate end on the road in front of my friend’s house.

And now that it’s been almost a whole entire year since I got it, I figured it was finally time to paint it.

If you’ve never seen my painted skulls before, you can see the coyote, the deer, and the beaver skulls in these posts!

A squirrel skull sits on a white surface surrounded by plants, seeds, and other organic materials.

you can watch a YouTube short of this project here

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A shirt with three bug patches sewn onto it

DIY recycled denim patches

I’ve discovered a new project, a way to use all of the scraps of denim that I’ve been saving! If you remember these cute denim bags that I made, you may remember that I made my own patches to sew onto their flaps. This made me think…couldn’t I create my own patches for (and of) anything with this same method??

The answer, of course, is yes.

And after seeing a few inspirational photos on Pinterest, I had a ✨vision✨

BUGS.

(because I’m clearly still firmly in my bug era)

I thought it was kind of a nice synchronicity that I made these right around the time that Noah Kahn came out with his new album The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs. I really think some Noah fans should find and appreciate my work

These came out exactly how I imagined, but better.

If you don’t know how to sew, you can now buy these in my Etsy shop!

If you do know how to sew, and you’re interested in making some of your own, here’s how I did it.

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