A Striking Idea (with Guest Blogger Lea)

 Out of the blue this week, I got an email from my childhood friend, Lea (who you might remember from this post or this post), with a couple of pretty great ideas for blog posts (with even the photos included!) that she just whipped up 'cause she felt like it. I have been busybusybusy (so what else is new?) and this little unexpected surprise arrived in the nick of time. Check out yesterday's post for the best method for cleaning waxy, smokey, dirty old glass votive holders. And read on today to see some of the unexpected ways Lea has used them around the house.  Candle holders: They aren't just for holding candles anymore. Thanks, Lea!

I hate throwing things away and, just like my mother, I have nightmares of landfills filling up. So, instead of trashing the old votive candle holders I collected for my wedding, I cleaned them and repurposed them. I even turned a hexagonal votive into a great matchstick holder and striker- just the thing to accompany all those candles. Here's how to do it: 

 

Step 1: Cut the striking strip off a box of all-purpose strike anywhere wood matches.

Step 2: Use an all-purpose glue stick to adhere the strips to the side of a glass holder. 

Step 3: Wait until glue dries,  then fill the votive with matches. Much cuter than a matchbox, you can keep this match holder close at hand for whenever you need a light. It's one way to really strike a bargain.

And even if you aren't feeling quite so crafty, you can find a million uses for glass votive holders all over the house. Votives are so pretty, match with any decor, and are very useful for holding all sorts of things. They make great bud vases, cotton swab holders, toothpick holders, mini bins for office, sewing, or art supplies, and whatever else you can think of (the possibilities are endless).

It's A Sign

In case you were wondering what I was up to during that lengthy period of time in August when I was not posting on the blog regularly, here's the answer: projects. Oh, sure, I did I certain amount of reading, suntanning and swimming (with the occasional wedding thrown in for good measure), but for the most part, when my mom and I get together, we end up doing projects. It's probably a good thing that we don't live in the same town because JM and my dad would forget what we look like without sawdust in our hair and paint on our faces. And this summer, one of our projects was creating signage. My family's lake cottage is in an old self-managed association where most things have a lovable, decaying, well-used quality to them. This year, we decided to class the place up a bit by replacing some of the more decomposed wooden signage that had been around since the (first) Roosevelt administration, and had become, essentially, unreadable. I like old signs as much as the next guy, but here's a tip: When you can't read them anymore, it's time to throw in the towel. But why hire a sign-maker, when you can easily make your own professional(ish)-looking painted signs yourself? With simple materials you can easily find, you can make signs for whatever your heart desires- house names, street numbers, "keep out- no boys allowed" for your treehouse- the possibilities are endless. Here are the easy-peasy steps we took to make our fancy new signs. And may they happily point the way and rot until my great-great-grandchildren replace them.




What you will need:
A piece of wood, cut to size
A computer print-out of what you want the sign to say, sized to fit
A piece of graphite transfer paper
Acrylic paint and a small flat-sided paintbrush
Varnish and a disposable sponge paintbrush

What you do:
  Step 1: Using your computer, print out the lettering for the sign in the size and font that you like (you may have to print it in several pieces and tape together, as I did). Place a piece of graphite transfer paper, graphite down, on your wooden board. Place the print-out on top, aligning how you like, and attaching it with tape to secure.

Step 2: Carefully trace the lettering on the print-out with a sharp pencil, pressing firmly. In case the photo at left has you perplexed, I do not have teeny-tiny hands- that is just an abnormally large pencil. For your purposes, any size pencil will do. Even a pen would probably be fine, come to think of it.

Step 3: Remove the print-out and graphite paper. I could have omitted this photo, and almost did, because it doesn't really illustrate anything and reveals that I messed up the placement of my graphite paper, and didn't transfer the top half of the word "courts". But I didn't because I wanted to show that everyone makes mistakes when doing projects, and it's no big thang- just fill in the tops of the letters freehand, and get on with it.Or, just place your graphite correctly in the first place.

Step 4: Using a thin paintbrush and your acrylic paint, carefully fill in over the lettering. The paint will cover the graphite. If you smudge, you will be able to wipe up the paint as long as it is still wet, so keep a rag at hand. Also, imperfections are part of the charm of homemade signs, so relax.

Step 5: Allow paint to dry completely. Cover entire piece of wood with varnish, and allow to dry until set. Hang or place your masterpiece and revel in your handiwork.

Sew Smart

Last weekend, at my brother- and sister-in-laws' beautiful wedding reception, the dance floor was wildly, awesomely fun and crowded from practically the band's first note (particularly when the mother of the bride took to the stage to play the cowbell). In this merry fracas, however, some reveler (who shall remain unnamed) accidentally snagged an appendage on Ali's (the bride) gorgeous lace wedding gown, tearing a large hole in the cap sleeve, only midway through the evening.  Where, oh where, was the torn and tattered bride to turn? Well, if you have me for a sister-in-law, the answer should be obvious: to me and my bottomless bag of tricks. Did you really think I would agree to be a bridesmaid and not bring my trusty sewing kit? Oh, ye of little faith.
Okay, fine, I have no idea how to sew lace (I'm pretty sure most people in this country stopped learning "tatting" once the TV was invented). And after one (or three) too many celebratory drinks I probably would have poked lovely Ali twenty times with a needle had I given it a shot (speaking of shots...). But, luckily, I had my other secret weapon with me there, as well: My Mom. Quick as a bunny, she patched up Ali's dress good as new, without drawing blood, and sent her back to shake it on the dance floor before she missed another song. Sure, my mom is the real hero in this story, but the point is that her heroics were only made possible with the use of MY sewing kit. Which is why I am taking 50% credit.  Mama didn't raise no fool.
Here's how to make your own perfect on-the-go emergency sewing kit, to help you save the day (okay, and sometimes help you help save the day) wherever you go. Forget those pre-made sewing kits they give away in hotel rooms or sell in drugstores- the boxes are alway flimsy and break, and there is always a ton of stuff you don't need (A measuring tape! Purple thread! Tiny, dull scissors!) and not enough of the stuff you do. But feel free to poach the useful items from those kits. Get a little creative, get the essentials, and you'll be prepared for anything. Mama says.

What you will need:
An Altoids or other sturdy metal candy tin
or
A sturdy cardboard jewelry giftbox with a lid
A rubber band to hold closed

Put inside:
*Sharp scissors with rounded tips (so they won't get confiscated at the airport).
*1 bobbin each of black, white, and a mid-tone gray thread. One of these will work in almost every situation.
*Assorted sharp needles.
*A needle-threader (especially if you have poor eyesight or shaky hands).
*Assorted safety pins.
*Assorted straight pins.
*Assorted buttons.
*A seam-ripper.
*Toupee tape. (It's super sticky, and will fix anything from a droopy hem to a cleavage-revealing neckline).

Go forth and save the day. And call me if you need my mom.

photo credit: Craft stylish

A Banner Day

Yesterday, I posted about my niece's 1st birthday party and the banner garlands I made to decorate. Today, I thought I would walk you through the super-easy steps to make one for yourself! What's cute about the banners is that they can be made in any color combo and instantly add a festive party vibe to any space, be it a Manhattan apartment or a suburban park (oooh, I just got cute tingles thinking about a bunch of these strung from trees over a picnic table). I could see them at a birthday, shower, or anniversary party, or even at a playful wedding. You could also add a letter to each flag to spell out a cute message ("Just Married"?), or the name of the birthday boy or girl.  I think they'd also make for cute decorations in a kid's bedroom, or as a pretty sweet alternative to a mobile over a baby's crib. But don't read anything into that- I'm still very happy just celebrating other people's banner occasions!

You Will Need:
Scissors
Pencil
Various colors and patterns of construction or scrapbook paper
Glue stick (if you are using one-sided papers)
Japanese or regular hole punch
Length of twine, cord or ribbon


Step 1: Make a triangle template for your banners. I used a junk-mail postcard to make mine. I simply measured the center of one side and cut diagonally to each of the opposite corners.  You could make your triangles longer or bigger according to your taste (or really tiny would be adorable, too).

Step 2: Use your template to trace your triangle shape onto your papers (hint: if you reverse the direction of the triangle each time, you will waste very little paper). If you are using patterned papers that are printed on only one side, use a gluestick to attach them back-to-back before you trace your triangles.



Step 3: Following your pencil lines, cut out the triangles. If you are a perfectionist, you can use an Exacto blade and a cutting mat, but I found that scissors did the job just fine.





Step 4: Punch a hole in each of the upper corners of the triangle. I used a Japanese hole punch to make a smaller hole, but I think a regular hole punch would be fine.

Step 5: Wrap the end of your twine, cord or ribbon with tape, and snip off the end to form a stiff end that won't unravel (like on a shoelace).

Step 6: Thread the cord through each of the holes on each flag, always going in on the left, and coming out on the right. Slide the flags to the end of your cord and space them evenly.  Try to create a random assortment of the colors and patterns- it will look cuter if you don't follow a set order.  Drape them from the ceiling and have a party!

Color Me Badd

I lot of people have been asking me about my new banner (see above). Questions like, "How did you convince an incredibly creative and talented and famous artist to paint your blog banner?", and "What artistic genius came up with that gorgeous composition?,"  and "How come you don't have a nose in that picture?" The answer, I am sure you will be amazed to learn, is that I painted it myself! (And  I can't paint noses!)
I have long admired the charming and pretty pictures by watercolor artist Caitlin McGauley that appear in Daily Candy and Lonny Magazine, and I've always wanted to be able to paint like that. But I don't have such an inflated self image that I think I could just freehand it the way she does (okay, fine, I tried and I failed)- so I decided I would figure out a way to fake it. As long as I was already stealing her style, I figured I might as well cheat, too.
Here's my tutorial on how to paint your own pretty little pictures. It's easy (you really don't need to be a good artist), addictively fun, and I think the personalized paintings make for super-cute gifts, cards, or décor (imagine a series of paintings of your favorite objects framed on a wall). And somehow, rendering even the most everyday things (like my husband reading the newspaper, or my silly dog) in watercolor just make them really cute. I mean, even cuter than they already are.

Step 1: Take a digital picture of whatever you want a painting of, and open it on your computer. Or, as I did in this example, find one on the internet, and scale it to the size you want (if you are planning to scan your illustration, as I did with my banner, scale it bigger than you want to paint and shrink it on your computer after- you'll be able to get more detail). This time, I decided to paint a beer bottle, because I figured that if watercolor could make a beer bottle look cute, it would work for anything. And, also, I like beer.

Step 2. Go into a dark room, and put a piece of paper over the image on your computer screen.  I use white cardstock cards from Staples because that was what I had at hand in the dark room. I am sure higher-quality materials would make a difference, but I'm not going for perfection here. In fact, I sort of love the imperfections. Using a very sharp pencil, trace the image onto the paper. It should show through very clearly. The more detailed you are here, the less you have to improvise later. But try to keep a very light touch so the pencil doesn't show too much, and so you don't poke a hole in your computer screen.

Step 3. Using a small brush, start painting. Again, no need for fancy paints- I just have a Crayola palette that I got at the drug store, and a few cheap brushes. I have no technique to share here - just play with the colors until you get one you like and paint it on there- like coloring, only watery-er. Also, put lighter colors down first, and darker ones on top. Also, if you are doing something detailed, let it dry completely before painting another color nearby- they will bleed into one another.  That's pretty much all I've got. Just have fun!

Step 4. Step back and admire your genius. And maybe have a beer.

Silly-houettes, Part 2

I know that maybe the whole silhouette thing is getting a little played-out on this blog, what with this post, and this post, and my banner... But before I can put the whole topic to bed once and for all, I feel compelled to show the full how-to and results of my own little project.
For the how-to, I'll show you how I made Skipper's silhouette. It's one in a series of silhouettes we are doing for our salon wall (a topic for a future post) of all of our family and friends. I still think that it's such an easy project, and makes for a really sweet and personal decoration or gift. For ours, I opted for the classic black-and-white look, but I also made one of my brother, sister-in-law and their baby in pastels that hangs in her nursery. And I love the look when done in bright colors or even patterns.













Step 1: Take a cute picture of your little friend in profile. Open the photo in Adobe Illustrator. For the low-tech version of these instructions, click here.










Step 2: Using the pen tool on a second layer, trace the outline of your friend. Print the outline on plain paper and scale it until it perfectly fits your frame. Reflect the image, so it prints the opposite side of how you want it. Print it on the final paper you intend to use in the real project.








Step 3: Using small sharp scissors, cut out the silhouette, moving slowly and staying exactly on the lines.










Step 4: Use a glue stick (remember to put the glue on the "wrong" side), to adhere the silhouette to the background paper you are using.










Step 5: Place the glued paper in a heavy book to dry. The pressure of the pages will prevent the paper from puckering or peeling away. If you use a standard glue stick, it should be dry within 20 minutes.









Step 6: Place the silhouette in your frame of choice, and hang up your new unorthodox family portrait proudly in your house.

There. It's out of my system.

Picky Picky: 9 Unexpected Uses for Toothpicks

Sometimes I enjoy finding alternative uses for ordinary household items more than I enjoy using the item for the purpose that nature intended. I feel that way about toothpicks- maybe I have weird teeth or something, but they don't actually seem to do much in terms of dislodging food particles after a big meal at a restaurant, and I always feel gross using them in public. Here's a tip, restaurants: If you're handing out freebies, I'd rather get one of those swirly mints. Plus, ever since I heard a horror story (admittedly, it does sound like an urban legend) about someone who swallowed a toothpick, which then punctured their intestines, I am always very cautious when attacking my molars. Luckily, there are plenty of wonderful MacGyver-like things you can use toothpicks for that carry little-to-no risk of intestinal puncture. Read on.


9 Unexpected Uses for Toothpicks

1. Bring Home the Bakin': This one's obvious, but bears mentioning. Insert a clean toothpick into cakes and breads as they bake to test whether they are cooked through- if the toothpick comes out doughy and wet, leave it in the oven longer.
2. Stick With It: Use a toothpick to apply glue or paint, when a delicate touch is required (like building one of those model airplanes you've been wanting to try, or applying sequins to your Halloween costume). The wood makes a surprisingly good little "brush".
3. Be Fasten-ated: When sewing a button back on, place a toothpick between the cloth and the button. This will prevent you from sewing it on too tightly (which makes it hard to get through the button-hole).
4. Put the Icing on... the Icing on the Cake: Use a toothpick to "sketch out" the design on a frosted cake before you write or decorate it with icing. Alternatively, attach pretty personalized paper flags to one end of the picks and plant them on top of cupcakes- it's a super-easy way to make store-bought, generic-looking cupcakes seem personalized.
5. Let Your Light Shine: When lighting candles, use a match to light the tip of a toothpick on fire- it will burn slower and longer, saving you from using up all your matches and singeing your fingertips.
6. Get a Clean Cell: Dip the tip of a toothpick in cleaning solution to gently clean between the keys on your cell phone or computer keyboard, and to efficiently clean out the little cracks and crevices (and those little speaker holes).
7. Boil Better: To prevent that pasta pot from boiling over and making a hot mess (literally!) of your cook top, stick a toothpick between the pot and its lid. This will allow just enough of the steam to escape from the pot.
8. Get on a Roll: Next time you finish using the packing tape, fold the end around a toothpick. Then next time you'll save yourself the frustration and agony of searching for that illusive end.
9: Simplify Your Spuds: When you microwave a potato or yam, use four toothpicks to create "legs" for the tater, elevating it from the bottom of the microwave. This will allow it to cook from all directions, and it will be ready faster. It makes me kind of sad to think of any of you at home microwaving a single potato, but I decided to include this tip, nevertheless.

Sometimes it pays to be picky.

photo credit: www.aboutmyplanet.com

Foil Dull Scissors

Is there anything worse than dull scissors? Okay, yeah, fine, genocide is worse. But dull scissors are pretty annoying. And if you live in a house like ours where the same scissors might be used to trim bangs, cut open packages or chop herbs (oh, calm down- I put them through the dishwasher every day), it's likely that your scissors could be sharper.

Here's a quick trick for sharpening scissors, and all you'll need is a large piece of aluminum foil.

1. Take the aluminum foil and fold it in half three times.
2. Cut through the foil over and over with the scissors (creating a "fringe" effect). The foil will remove the little metal burrs that are dulling the scissors' edges, as well as any residual glue or gunk that is attached to the blades.
3. Test sharpness by cutting a piece of paper. If they are still dull, repeat steps 1-3.

It's a simple fix that really makes the cut.

photo credit: audelaine on flickr

A Tie Game

Now that you know how to iron an old ribbon, I thought it might be helpful to show you the best way to tie that lovely ribbon around a gift box. You may be thinking that you already know how (and what kind of idiot do I think you are?), but there's a better way than the way you know. Which doesn't make you an idiot, just sort of sadly misinformed. I learned this method during my tenure at Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, where exceptional ribbon-tying skills were a prerequisite for hire. How I snuck through the doors only knowing the lame way you know is still a mystery to me.

{click on the image to enlarge}

Here Goes:
1. Wrap your box with pretty paper (or try one of these alternative wraps).
2. Run the ribbon around the length of your box in one direction, ending with both ends on top. Pull until one of the ends is the exact length it should be in order to form the size of bow and tail that you will want on your finish product (we'll call this end "A", and the longer end, which is still attached to the spool in the picture, end "B")
3. Leaving end "A" on top of the box, wrap end "B" around end "A" twisting at the center of the top of the box. Run end "B" around the bottom of the width of the box, ending with end "B" at the top of the box again.
4. Tie the two ends together into a pretty bow. (That may be a lesson for another day).

The reason this method it better is that it leaves the "twist" in the ribbon at the top, hidden under the bow, instead of on the bottom of the box, where it looks sloppy and leaves the bottom uneven. In this method the ribbon rests flat against the bottom of the box, which is particularly important when you are wrapping little packages (like wedding favors) or stacking presents. It's one of those things that makes you wonder why everyone doesn't just learn this way to begin with (like peeling a banana from the tip instead of the stem- which takes off the weird stringy things, and leaves you the stem to hold onto like a handle. So much better!)

At any rate- that's a wrap.

photo credit: The Container Store

A Bright Idea

If you have old-lady pack-rat tendencies like I do, you probably have a bag or drawer of used ribbons somewhere in your house that you have saved from various birthdays and holidays for the last 25 years. In theory, these are kept for the purpose of re-using when wrapping gifts for others. But sometimes, when you pull that drawer or bag out, those wadded-up, wrinkly, old ribbons don't quite have the jaunty, festive look that you are going for, so you end up cutting off a new piece from the spool.

Here's a quick fix for "ironing" that old ribbon without hauling out your ironing board and iron. Simply remove the lampshade from a lamp, make sure the light bulb isn't too dusty, and turn it on. Within a couple minutes the bulb will get hot enough to "iron" your ribbon by holding it at the ends and rubbing it back and forth.

So when you need a pretty ribbon, make like a comic book character, and let a light bulb go on over your head.

photo credit: Real Simple

Silly-houettes

Remember back in November, when I was waxing poetic about silhouettes? And how I was talking a big game about how I was going to try making them for my husband and myself ("A great project for this weekend", I think I said)? Well, half a year later I finally got around to it, and it turns out it's so much fun. In fact, I've become obsessed, and want to do a whole wall featuring the profiles of all of our favorite people, animals and things.









Kind of like this gorgeousness from Apartment Therapy: And, yes, silhouettes will be sized according to how important the subject is to us. Watch out, because I'm totally in love with those tiny ones.











There are two ways to make them: high-tech and low-tech. The high-tech way is to open the photo in Adobe Illustrator and outline the profile using the pen tool (on a separate layer). Fill with black, and delete the original photo.

The low-tech way is as follows:

1. Take a photo of your subject's profile with a digital camera. Here is mine:








2. Print out the photo with the size that you want the head to be. Then, use a piece of tracing paper and a pencil to draw the outline. You can chisel your chin or clean up a messy bun (like I did) a little if you want, but don't give yourself a full silhouette rhinoplasty or else you won't end up looking like you.
3. Use carbon paper to copy the silhouette on to a black piece of paper (You can get it from Kate's Paperie or Paper Source, but I just got mine at Staples). Carefully cut out the silhouette using nail scissors and an Xacto blade.
4. Mount the silhouette on white (or patterned, if you want) paper. Voila.

If you're still confused, I found fully illustrated instructions on one of my favorite blogs, Design Sponge.

I'm going to buy some cheap oval and square frames and and spray paint them glossy back and gold for my display. I'll post pictures once it's up...which, at this rate, will probably be some time next year.

So go ahead and get shady.

Wreath-thinking pt.2

Inspired by the gorgeous brussels sprout wreath I posted earlier, and my incredible luck at having a fireplace in my new kitchen (I like to pretentiously call it the hearth), I decided to make a veggie-themed wreath to decorate it. After a brief (45 minute) brainstorming sesh in the produce aisle, during which I manhandled every type of veg to test for durability (white asparagus was very tempting, but seemed iffy), I wired sprouts, radishes and mushrooms and attached them to a simple evergreen wreath that I bought for $8 from a street vendor. I finished the whole thing off with a gorge vintage ribbon that I may or may not have purloined from the ribbon closet at my old job.
You know what they say- home is where the hearth-wreath is (just don't try to say it ten times fast).

Rethinking Wreathing

I've been seeing a lot of unconventional wreaths around and loving it.

Look at this genius wreath made from brussels sprouts I saw on housemartin's blog! I (freakishly, I know) love brussels sprouts, so this wreath is somehow both adorable and appetizing to me.





You probably recognize this yarn ball wreath from the door of your local Starbucks- good for them for coming up with something so clever and cute. It's as sweet as a venti gingerbread latte.


These gumdrop and cotton-ball-and-white-pom-pom cuties are both from Martha Stewart. I've always loved the gumdrop one, but it seems like a lot of work spearing all those gumdrops into place, without any of the reward of getting to eat them.








On the other hand the pom-pom wreath just seems like it would be a fun afternoon spent glue-gunning, albeit one resulting in very linty fingers.

I haven't finished my own wreaths yet (far too lazy and behind in my decorating to start from scratch, I am just going to gussy up some evergreen ones I bought from a street vendor). I'll post photos this afternoon, once I have donned them in their gay apparel. Er, once they have donned their...Once their gay apparel has been donned. On them.