{DIY} Garden Veggie Markers

I was gifted this set of Tekton metal letter stamps and finally found a project for them! My sister brought over some strips of brass and we used a hammer to spell out the various veggies I have planted in my garden. We placed the brass strips on top of a steel jeweler's bench block (you can't hammer metal directly on a table or floor, unless you want hammer marks everywhere).

I'm pretty excited about these garden markers because I can use them year after year. I was using strips of wood and they really wear and fade each year in the outdoors. 

Egg Decorating!

Last year I got a bunch of friends together to celebrate spring's arrival and get to crafty for Easter. Looking back at photos shows all of the different techniques we used to decorate our fabulous eggs. I'm getting extra excited for this year's Egg Decorating event. The coolest part about an annual egg-decorating tradition? Saving the egg shells year after year and remembering all of the lovable people who stopped by to get crafty and contribute to our massive Easter Egg Tree. 

This first photo shows a marbleized effect made by using nail polish dripped into water like this.

My sister designed this little bunny egg by drawing with wax on a plain white egg, then painted on the various colors of dye.

The navy blue Aztec-inspired design was also done using the wax-resist method. I drew the triangles first with wax(they are white), then dunked the whole egg in yellow dye. Then I used wax to protect a yellow stripe around the middle of the egg. Next I dunked the whole thing in a red/purple dye, and finished up with a dark blue. You always go in order of lightest to darkest when dong wax-resist egg dying. Very official here.

Etsy Picks: Washi Tape

I ordered decorative Washi tape from Etsy last week and it just arrived! I thought that having these cute little patterned tapes would make gift wrapping for birthdays super easy. I keep a huge roll of craft paper in our work room and use that for just about every type of wrapping project I have. The only thing that changes are the ribbons & decorative accents to make whatever package I have season-appropriate. Cue, washi tape for spring/summer!

• Japanese Blue Dot Washi tape (top middle) from Pretty Tape in Dallas, TX - $4
• Navy Baker's Twine from Pretty Tape - $15
• Navy Blue Striped Washi Tape from Pretty Tape - $4
• Gold Dot Washi Tape (bottom right) from Pretty Tape- $4

Ideas for using washi tape:

Travel Journal {2013 update}

I have a rule: any trip that lasts 3 or more days goes into the Travel Journal. I filled two volumes of journals in 10 years with watercolors, descriptions of the places I've been, tickets, newspapers, wrappers, on-the-spot polaroids, and digital prints. At the end of 2011 I decided to design and make my own journal for my epic Volume III. My adventures in making the journal itself are chronicled on this blog here in my post titled "Bookbinding 101". 

I wanted to do an update post with images from Travel Journal Volume III. On my recent trip to Lake Placid for New Year's Eve 2013, I had some time to catch up on entries and reflect on my custom-made book. It's the best one I've had yet :)

DIY Ikat Wallpaper

Back in June I wrote this post about wall-papering my closet to create a vibrant jewelry area in my dressing area. I wanted to purchase this beautiful yellow ikat wallpaper from Graham and Brown, but it was pretty expensive. Plus, I'm not an experienced wallpaper hanger, so I would've had to pay to install it, or risk ruining my beloved (and $$$) purchase.

In an effort to figure out a better solution, I came across this cool DIY how to by Emily from MerryPad. She used some extra paint to create an ikat pattern at home in her closet. Inspired by her DIY-prowess, I set out to make my own version of her resourceful home project. 

It only helped that the writers over at Design*Sponge had a contest going on last month that involved the use of Scotch Blue painter's tape (check out the rules here), that just sealed the deal for me to get my bootie moving. And now I shall share with you my little DIY Ikat experience!

Step one involved laying out the painter's tape. I tried to use a level to make sure they were somewhat straight. I also used a pencil to measure out the horizontal lines 6" apart and then the vertical lines 4" apart. 

The next part gets the party started. You bust out a small brush and start systematically painting brush strokes in a diamond pattern within the taped lines. Same number of strokes in the same position, repeated seemingly hundreds of times.

After the first diamond pattern dried I removed all the tape. Then I painted smaller diamonds into the negative spaces with a slightly thinner brush. 

The closet has more work to be done (shelves, etc), but the big DIY painting project is complete! Can't wait to share the final look when it all comes together (if I'm lucky that'll happen in maybe, like... 6 months)! I'm super happy with the look so far, and I think it's very reminiscent of the original Graham and Brown yellow wallpaper that inspired this project. Already I'm feeling energized by the daily dose of yellow this brings to my dressing area. So glad I finally took the plunge and made it happen!

Do you have a DIY project you've been meaning to start? Go forth and get to it! :)

Silk Screening: {invitation adventures}

Last week my boyfriend and I made silk screened invites for an upcoming summer party we're hosting.

The basic requirements for a silk-screen project are:

• the screen
• ink
• Speedball Diazo Photo Emulsion (light sensitive paint) 
• squeegee
• inkjet transparency (for printing your design)

We prepped the screen by painting photo emulsion on a clean piece of silk (set in a wooden frame) one night after work. As soon as we were done painting, the wet screen was propped up with plastic cups and put inside a large suitcase in the basement. This shielded the screen from light and allowed it to dry completely for 24 hours in the dark.

Happy Easter!

Happy, happy Easter! May your holiday be filled with the crafting of Easter eggs, fabulous food, fragrant Easter lilies, and the company of good friends and family.

A hollow, marbelized egg made last year for the Egg Tree during our annual Egg Decorating party. This was done using nail polish and a bowl of water (appropriated idea from a nail art process: tutorial here). At some point I'll get around to doing a full tutorial with the eggs!

My brother Collin working on his wax resist egg using a kistka tool, which allows you to draw with the wax.

Our family Egg Tree, where all of the eggs we decorate each year find themselves on display each Easter.

My mom, ever the crafts-woman, making chocolate covered strawberries for Easter Sunday.

An amazingly fragrant Easter lilly. My namesake, and a gift for my Mom as a "thank you" for having us all over for the holiday (and cooking so much!).

Our crew of friends, buzzed on Trappist Rochefort beer and giddy after a full 8 hours of egg decorating. We're a little hard-core about our crafts. This is one reason why I love the holidays, creating traditions that are fun and inspire everyone to create brings a lot of joy and camaraderie to our little bunch.

Etsy Pick of the Week {Pom Pom Magic}

I'm getting into outdoor party mode lately. The flowers are up, the weather is warm, and lots of the past few weekends have been spent pruning, mulching, and weeding outdoors. The nights are still cool, but as they warm up and summer comes, I'll be looking forward to lots of outdoor BBQs with friends and family on our little patio.


I think these festive pom poms would be a fun addition to an outdoor party hanging from a low, wide tree branch. They're like big carnation flowers in punchy, fiesta-like hues.

• Katey Collection Pom-Poms (5 total) - from Sarah at Paperwhite Designs in St. Louis, MO - $20.00

Taste of Terrariums

Over the holidays (yes, 2 months ago!) I was the lucky recipient of a fabulous, handmade terrarium. It's been a joy watching this little guy flourish. Gets me excited for the spring season that's coming our way! I've been reading about gardening lately in an effort to better prepare for the growing season. This year I want to make some drawings of my raised bed and really try to plan the garden "schedule", if you will. Here's to a gardening agenda (my first ever!) to keep me on track this year!

The world of Charles & Ray Eames

Over the weekend, I watched this great documentary about husband & wife team Charles and Ray Eames. The PBS documentary (titled "The Architect and the Painter") walks the viewer through the couples' personal, professional, and creatives lives together. From the MoMA design competition in the late 1930's that sparked Charles' fascination with the perfect modern chair, to the couples subsequent adventure out west & the development of the Eames Office in downtown LA, this movie really gives the viewer an inside glimpse into the wonderful world of the Eames, both as a couple, as artists, and as successful entrepreneurs.


For those not familiar with the work of Charles and Ray, definitely click here to read about and watch this amazing documentary on the PBS website.


Some of my favorite quotes from the Eames:

• "Take your pleasures seriously."
• I love this quote, because it reminds me that life = work = play = life. Your play can turn into your work, but you must approach even the fun you seek in life with curiosity, devotion, and commitment. 
• "Never delegate understanding."
• This quote from Charles Eames really resonated with me, as I believe in this philosophy whole heartedly (and try to live by it daily). I am the type of person who truly desires understanding, and I will ask a million questions about the topic at hand until I fully understand it (this, I have been told, is called "hashing"). At the essence of this quote is the importance of understanding. You can't count on others to  fully understand a subject or a process for you, if you need to break something down and dig deep, become the expert. Ask the hard questions, read the volumes of books, and do the research that will get you to the level of understanding you need to tackle whatever it is you need to tackle.

Go forth, young creators... be inspired by the fascinating lives of Charles and Ray. You'll find curiosity, creativity, love, and a little bit of tragedy in this gem of a film.

XO

L

Craft: Writing about young entrepreneur friends

In 2011 I got the chance to write my very first published article for a local magazine, Berks County Living. The assignment was about environmentally-sustainable fashion. I chose to write about my very talented childhood friend, Annika Blomberg. Annika has been working with recycled materials since we met, over 10 years ago. She recently gave up her day job as a fashion merchandiser to focus on her accessories line, Anschtecka. Check out some of Annika's hand-made creations here. 

Bookbinding 101

I am, admittedly, a big journal nerd. Back in 2001 I started a travel journal and began visually documenting any trip I embarked on that lasted more than a few days. I've been doing it consistently since, which adds up to over 10 years of travel journaling (as I said: nerd).

Knowing this was a fond habit of mine, my sister got me a great book called "Real Life Journals: Designing and Using Handmade Books" as a gift a few months back.

The book is so amazing. First off, it walks you through a bookbinding questionnairee before you jump into actually crafting your book. The questionnaire is called "Choose your own bookbinding adventure", how freaking cute is that? As you go through the little survey, you answer questions like "Do you want your journal to open flat and stay open by itself so wet paint can dry easily?". My answer was YES ABSOLUTELY and OMG HOW DID YOU KNOW THIS BOTHERED ME IN OTHER JOURNALS?!?! After you've answered the questionnaire, you end up with a suggested book type based on your personalized needs. Genius!

Needless to say, this little book helped me embark on my very own journal-making endeavor that was tailored to my personal use for the book (read: traveling, watercolor, lots of collage, and overall durability).

I ended up creating a concertina fold, which allows you to sew lots of little "pamphlets" of folded paper together. I also got a little crazy and alternated regular drawing paper with vellum for the actual text pages. I'm so excited about the mix of textures in my new book.

You can see above that I used 3 concertina folds for the project, 2 white with 1 black sandwiched between. I sewed each pamphlet of folded paper into the concertina fold and added 2 strips of fabric for extra support.

I bought some panels of black leather and stitched them together for the cover. The end result is something I'm so proud of and can't wait to use! I hope it holds up through many, many trips. It will be stowed away in my suitcase on many adventures to come. Here's to a calm, creative, and adventurous 2012...