I don’t bring my lunch to work as often as I should. And by that, I mean never. What if I had a cool lunch tote? It might not help, but at the very least, it’s a fun project to practice your hand sewing and to make something interesting. Whether you need a lunch tote…
Brrrr . . . it’s been beautifully sunny in Brooklyn lately, but still a bit too chilly for my West Coast sensibilities. I’ve scoured our archives and pulled our best cozy textile DIY projects this morning in the hopes that they will warm me up. One thing I love about winter is the prevalence of…
I’m constantly getting into silly arguments with my partner about my DIY projects. Whenever I turn to him for advice, ever the left-brainer, he gives me the practical answer, which I hate. Shouldn’t you be able to carry it this way? Wouldn’t this shape make it sturdier? What’s this extra piece for? Excellent questions, all….
I’ve been seeing a lot of slatted wood lately, mostly in large-scale designs like Morgan Satterfield’s lovely front porch screen or this incredible house that popped up on Desire to Inspire yesterday. I’ve never come across slatted wood as wall art, but after seeing this wall map project from Natalie Gluic, I’m thoroughly convinced that…
I love repurposed vintage, especially when it’s combined with new technology. The sleek, monochromatic look of contemporary gadgets meshes perfectly with the candy colors and rounded shapes of mid-century design, and today we have an awesome project to celebrate this happy marriage: a vintage suitcase charging station by Sara and Stacy of SugarSCOUT. Combining their love…
The one-week countdown to Valentine’s Day has begun, but I wouldn’t worry too much if you haven’t been preparing. There are tons of elaborate and expensive gifts out there, but you certainly don’t need to shell out a lot of money or time to pull together a sweet, thoughtful valentine. Anna Liesemeyer customized this cardboard…
I love maps, and the older the better. I absolutely adore giving reproduction maps from the New York Public Library. It’s seriously my favorite gift for nearly any occasion. Moved to a neighborhood in Brooklyn? A reproduction fire insurance map. Just got married? A map of your honeymoon location. I can come up with plenty of…
The mighty ampersand takes two things and celebrates how they come together. “You & Me,” “Bread & Butter,” “Sugar & Spice.” Not only does the ampersand combine things, it also stands alone as a beautiful symbol. This year I made my valentine a card that celebrates being together. It is completed with a missing…
We’re taking a short break from valentine projects, but there will be another awesome Valentine’s Day post coming up after this. Grace, Amy and I are gearing up for some major DIY time while I’m in NYC this month, and one of the ideas we’ve been tinkering with involves copper tacks — lots of ‘em….
Of all the holidays, Valentine’s Day seems to scream “handmade cards” the loudest. Glitter, doilies and lace are the usual suspects for decorating, but why turn to them when you can easily create a sophisticated ombre valentine? With this simple technique, there is no need for vats of dye, oodles of drying time, complicated instructions…
There’s a strong link between romance and the written word, making literary gifts — love letters, novels, poetry — a fitting choice for Valentine’s Day. We’re big fans of Juniper Books and its creative founder, Thatcher Wine, and we were excited to see that he has released several new book collections just in time for Valentine’s Day….
Thanks to a few recent online purchases, I had an enormous pile of long brown packing paper strips in my studio. I couldn’t bear to just recycle it; it seemed to have so much crafty potential. So tasked with the challenge of creating a project to help get organized for the new year, I decided…
Lately I’ve been trying to incorporate more play into my adult life, but it can be hard to remember what “playing” in the childhood sense of the word feels like. I imagine it’s wonderful — the mind is open, fearless, non-judgmental and full of spontaneity. These are the qualities I’d like to bring back into…
There are few things I enjoy more than supporting artists I love. But getting to support artists I love when they’re producing books with a publisher I love might tip the scales. The very talented Diana Rupp released a great new book, Embroider Everything Workshop, this past fall and made a great video demonstrating a…
Despite living in the technology age — or perhaps precisely because we’re in the technology age — the act of writing and receiving letters in the mail holds the same appeal and excitement for me as I imagine it did for Henry James or John and Abigail Adams. Though I couldn’t dream of matching the…
I’ve been needing some more room for my growing record collection and all the while have been looking for the right sized vintage box. I was hoping for something somewhat military surplus, but never found the right size or condition. If I found something, it was always a one-off and typically poor shape. Here’s the…
Happy New Year! I hope your resolutions include rejuvenating your worn-out furniture because I have lots of fun projects planned for us this year! First up is a new bed for Pixie. She’s been lying on an old cushion I pulled out of a client’s chair. Yuck! So I thought it was about time for…
Try as I might to achieve minimalism, I just can’t seem to stop the clutter in my life. After a huge clean, the house experiences a few days of perfect organization and cleanliness before the chaos creeps back in, usually through a series of seemingly innocent decisions — a piece of mail I set aside…
When I visit a friend’s home, it’s the little details filling the house that stand out and make me feel welcome. In my own home, I want to find ways to make my guests feel special. Baking cookies or having a favorite drink on hand is easy. What is not so easy is the tiny…
After tossing all the holiday wrapping and boxes and looking sadly at my overflowing recycle bin, I am not embarrassed to admit that I dumpster dove in my own trash. I had this idea to create a much more affordable version of Vitra’s Uten.Silo organizer using the boxes that had served their purpose and been…
