valentine's diy: bentwood hearts

I’m going to come right out with it. The thought of batting my eyelashes across a candlelit restaurant dinner on Valentine’s Day creeps me out. I’m just not that kind of girl.

What I do go for, however, is cooking a great meal and making sweet somethings for the people I love. A cluster of these lightweight veneer hearts hung in a corner or over the dining room table creates a dreamy little heart forest and transmits a 'modern love' kind of vibe.

Materials: Strips of wood veneer (available in different widths in hardware stores), scissors, awl and cutting board, brads, glue, yarn or ribbon, clothespins, paint, decorative tape or glitter for decorating

Step 1: For each heart, cut two pieces of veneer the same length (I used 10” strips for the smaller hearts and 18” for the larger hearts). Bend one strip and then the other, so the cut ends line up and pinch together.

Step 2: Using a awl and a cutting board or mat, push the awl through to make a hole through all four layers of the veneer. Once the awl is all the way through, flip the stack over and push awl in through the other side so the veneer doesn’t split. Push a brad through and open ends to secure.

Step 3: Add yarn or ribbon to hang by sliding the central “stem” of the heart open and squeezing a line of glue. Position end of yarn over the glue, slide the veneer back and clothespin together until glue dries.

Step 4: Decorate with paint – acrylic gives opaque coverage and watercolor creates a softer effect. Alternatively, add strips of decorative tape to create stripes or add glitter.

Step 5: Hang in a cluster, or tie the hearts to dowels to create a mobile.

Big thanks to Michaels for sponsoring this post and encouraging us to be creative in the way we celebrate Valentine's Day. xoxo

post-holiday projects?

I love happy chaos and productivity of the holiday build up. But I also love the post-holiday sloth. After a few days of doing absolutely nothing but eating and drinking and eating more and padding around in my slippers, I like to have a slow, low-intensity project that I might work on around the fire.

STC Craft offered a lovely roundup of projects with free instructions from their beautiful crop of books this year. I didn't get to any of them before Christmas, but I just might try the one from One More Skein by Leigh Radford (and re-learn how to knit...yet again!). I can’t get enough of these slouchy-graceful cowls.

grab bag of holiday news

from That's Happy by Lisa RuppIn other news, I was on the radio last week talking holiday crafts on KQED here in San Francisco. It was a little disconcerting to be on the other side of the microphone – providing the answers instead of asking the questions. But after settling in, I had a blast and was very happy to be in the company of some very inspired gift givers and makers: Sean Timberlake of Punk Domestics and Gretchen Wustrack of The Curiosity Atlas, as well as Suzie Racho from The California Report, whose persimmon story brought tears to my eyes.

You can listen along right here.

If you’re at the wrapping stage of your gift giving, Ez at Creature Comforts has rounded up a couple stunning free gift tags to print at home, including the one above from Lisa Rupp. Cardinals always remind me of Virginia winters.

lo-fi holiDIY: silhouettes

Did everybody else make these in kindergarten? I remember my teacher shining a spotlight on my profile and tracing the shadow on a piece of paper taped to the wall. I think the only part I actually helped with was gluing the black cutout to a piece of construction paper and proudly bringing it home to my parents.

Based on that memory – and the recent resurgence of silhouettes, I made a little wall hanging with hooks and a group of ornaments of my niece and nephew.

I love the quaint, Victorian vibe of this project. For the wood slice, I tea-stained plain paper to give the name banners a more aged look. Done in miniature, I think they feel utterly precious. I confess that taking a photo and scaling it down on the computer breaks my self-imposed lo-fi mantra of the season. But I think anything that harkens back to 17th century France still counts.

Now, I want to be honest here. Silhouette cutting is an art form. I took a somewhat rudimentary approach here, but getting the profile cut just right took me a few attempts. Be sure you are working with a very sharp blade and take your time.

And ultimately, there is something very satisfying about tracing and then cutting the adorably round little features of my niece and nephew. And I think the result is heirloom-quality.

You’ll Need:

For Silhouettes:

• Camera
• Photo editing software and printer (at home or copy store)
• Card Stock
• Thin permanent marker, like a Sharpie
• Craft knife with sharp blade
• Black paper
• Sealant (optional)

For Ornaments:

• Wooden circles for base of ornaments (I used 3” wide circles)
• Decorative paper
• Scissors
• White glue
• Ribbon
• Decoupage glue like Mod Podge, with foam brush
• Clothespins
• Finished Silhouettes

For Wood Slice:

• Wood slice, bought or foraged (if foraged, make sure to sand it)
• Plain white paper
• Pencil and eraser
• Black pen
• Craft Knife
• Small amount of black tea (a strong black tea, like Irish or English breakfast)
• Paintbrush
• Finished Silhouettes
• Decoupage glue with foam brush
• Screw-in brass hooks
• Sawtooth for hanging

How To:

To Make Silhouettes:

1. The quality of your silhouette depends upon the quality of the photo you start with. Get your subject to stand in profile against a solid background.
2. At home or at a copy center, scale your photo to size and print (the larger the image, the easier it will be to capture the details, but I wanted to work small so I scaled the photo down to 2 ½” wide). Print onto card stock.
3. With a fine-tipped permanent marker, trace the profile, adding a swoop at the bottom, below the neck. I wanted to add wisps of hair, so I took a couple small liberties and exaggerated their bangs and some pieces of hair at the crown.
4. With a craft knife, carefully cut out your silhouette. This is now your template.
5. Place your template on black paper and trace. Carefully cut out.
6. Repeat to create as many silhouettes as you need for your projects.

To Make Ornaments:

1. Place a wooden circle on a piece of decorative paper and trace the shape. Cut out.
2. Cut a 6” length of ribbon and fold in half. Place a small bead of glue at top of the wooden circle, and affix ribbon in place.
3. With foam brush, apply a thin layer of decoupage glue to the surface of the wooden circle, including the ribbon that is now glued onto the circle.
4. Place decorative paper on top and press into place with your fingertips.
5. With foam brush, apply a thin layer of decoupage glue to the back of the silhouette and place in the middle of the ornament. Secure the layers – especially where the ribbon is attached – with a clothespin while it dries.
6. When dry, add a sealant if desired. This can be another layer of decoupage glue or spray-on sealant.
7. Repeat to create additional ornaments.

To Make Wood Slice:

1. First make the name banners. With a pencil, draw a scrolling banner (or use my template) on plain paper. Add name, centered in the banner. Dip your paintbrush in a small teacup of black tea and “paint” the tea over the paper until it’s as dark as you want. Let dry.
2. When dry, trace over the pencil lines with black pen and erase the pencil marks. Carefully cut out just outside the lines with a craft knife.
3. Place your silhouettes and name banners on the wood slice to decide where you want to place the elements. Be sure to leave enough room for the hooks.
4. When you like the arrangement, glue everything in place with a thin layer of decoupage glue. Add a sealant, if desired.
5. Add hooks and a sawtooth at the back to hang.

Again, I want to offer big, merry, crafty thanks to Michaels for the support (and most of the supplies) for these lo-fi DIY projects.

lo-fi holiday doings, part II

The Prairie Collective is like an enchanted forest meets walk-in curio cabinet. Much of what they sell looks like it was whittled by woodland nymphs underneath a forest canopy and a double rainbow. Woodland nymphs with exquisite taste, mind you.

You might have read about the transformation of their shop on Design Sponge, where the Studio Choo duo contribute floral projects that are equal parts romantic and wild. Their columns make my heart swell with longing for their vision and skills. Well, this past weekend, the Prairie Collective gals had This Humble Abode in to share her homemade herbal cocktail infusions. It’s part of their winter workshop lineup. We’re talking grapefruit-tarragon served with vodka, star anise-ginger served with whisky and ginger beer, and kefir lime-something-or-other-delicious with gin and tonic.

The stranger next to me even let me take a sip of his drink. Because that’s the kind of magic spell we were all under.

doorknob decorations

When dressing up our apartment for the holidays, we do the typical tree, stockings and wreath to snazz up the front door. But I also love dressing up small, unassuming areas like the doors. I don’t know what it is about hanging pretty things from doorknobs, but I get a little burst of satisfaction as I walk down the hall past these cheery decorations.

For this project, I went for simple birds cut out of felt in two different sizes, along with beads and yarn pom-poms. There is something so retro-ski-hat-wintery about these plush little balls. I know there are pom-pom makers on the market, but I went with the lo-fi option of my two hands. The pom-poms are easy and quick to make. And if you get addicted to making them (ahem), you can create a snappy garland, or use the extras on presents, or string a few together for a soft and lightweight necklace. The pom-pom'ing is endless!

You’ll Need:

Card stock

Pen or pencil and chalk

Scissors

Felt (I used plain red and a glittery red)

Yarn

Beads

Needle

Embroidery floss

How To:

1. Create your bird template by drawing two different size, simple bird shapes onto card stock (or use my template right here). Cut out.

2. Place template on felt and trace outline onto felt. I like to use chalk on felt, but you can use a pen or pencil, as long as you can see the markings. Trace and cut out as many birds as you want (I double up the felt and pin inside the bird outline so I can cut two pieces at a time).

3. Create the yarn pom-poms by wrapping yarn around the fingers of your left hand (if you’re right-handed) until you have a substantial thickness of yarn. There is no set rule as to how thick you should make your yarn, but the thicker you wrap the yarn around your fingers, the more full the pom-pom will be. For these size pom-poms, I wrapped the yarn around my first two fingers. You can make them larger if you want (the larger the pom-pom, the easier they are to create).

4. Carefully pull the yarn off your fingers and place it on your work surface, trying as best you can to keep its shape. Cut a 6” piece of yarn, pinch the center of the wound yarn, and tie the piece of yarn around the center.

5. Insert the blade of your scissors into the loops of one end of the pom-pom and cut to open. Repeat until all loops are cut open, being careful not to snip the central piece of yarn that you just tied in the previous step. Repeat with the other side of pom-pom, and fluff into a round ball. Trim to shape if needed.

6. To create the ornament, thread your needle with an 18” length of embroidery floss. Create the ornament from the bottom up, so if you want a bead at the bottom, add it first. Leave a long enough tail to make a double knot at the bottom of the bead.

7. Work your way up, adding elements as you want. To attach the birds, pass the needle from the front side of the bottom of the bird to the back, and bring it to the front at the top of the bird, in a straight line. This keeps the bird in place with the floss on the backside of the bird. Pass the needle straight through the center of the pom-poms.

8. When you’ve created your ornament, cut the floss, leaving enough room to tie a loop at the top to fit over the doorknob. Trim ends and hang anywhere that could use some cheer.

Again, I want to offer big, merry, crafty thanks to Michaels for the support (and most of the supplies) for these lo-fi DIY projects.

halloween improvising

Okay, so maybe a group of us being the Chilean miners for Halloween was not a unique idea this year. But the cries of Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le! were so worth it. As was the comfort factor (a big, one-piece white painter’s suit), which was sublime.

We came up one hardhat short, so we improvised with a colander, a baseball hat, foam core to round out the brim, election mailers folded into ridges, and duct tape. Done.

the happy towel rack

My husband Mike has been up to a lot of DIY around the home lately, including this towel rack makeover. What used to hang on the back of our door was a ho-hum plain white thing. But Mike had a vision. Based on the Eames Hang-It-All, he bought wooden balls in two different sizes and drilled holes to fit them over the ends of the towel rack. Then he made this painting board to be able to paint the underneath of the balls without messing up the rest of the paint.

For some reason, this step slayed me.

There is something about this board that totally embodies how different we can be, in small little ways. And I love that. Mike is fantastic at prepping and keeping everything ordered and tidy when he works. Me? I probably would have painted the balls in the palm of my hand, not giving any regard to what I was wearing or how much paint I was getting everywhere but on the balls.

So now, every time I draw back the shower curtain, my heart crumples a little with love for Mike as I reach for a towel from the happy towel rack.

There are definitely worse ways to start a morning.  



summercraft: marichelle's diy decals

This week’s crafty guest is Marichelle of Lifeflix. Many of you probably know her former blog, Heart Handmade. Thankfully, she archived all that goodness, and is up to even more of it at Lifeflix. I mean, check out that nursery – it’s enough to make anyone’s ovaries start twitching. And that library kit? Come on. Marichelle is an endless font of beautiful ideas and can-do, so I’m thrilled to have her share a sweet idea here.

Hi everyone, Marichelle here from Lifeflix! Summer has always been my favorite season - flip flops, picnics, beach trips... any excuse to be outdoors enjoying the heat and sun! While I still enjoy these things in theory, being eight months pregnant now, laying out in the hot sun or walking around in 90 degree weather sounds more like a nightmare than paradise! Instead I've been decorating the nursery and keeping myself busy with DIY projects, anything to stay cool and indoors. Today I'm sharing an easy to do craft project on making your own decals out of contact paper, permanent markers and fabric scraps. These decals can be used on walls, mirrors etc.

You'll need:
Transparent Contact paper
Lightweight fabric scraps
Pencil
Scissors
Glue (*I use Arlene's Tacky glue)
Permanent Markers

First you want to come up with your design. I'm currently obsessed with clouds and raindrops so I made a fabric cloud decal and three marker painted rain drop decals in three different sizes.

Marker-Painted Decals
1. Cut out a piece of contact paper (size will depend on how big you want the decal to be). "Paint" the transparent side ("right side") and make sure it's dry before moving on.
2. Turn over to the "wrong side" and draw your rain drops or your own design/shapes with a pencil.
3. Cut out your design/shape.

 

Fabric Decals
1. Cut out another piece of contact paper (size will depend on how big you want the decal to be) and draw your design on the "wrong side".
2. Turn over to the "right side".
3. Cut out a piece of fabric, the same size as your contact paper. I find that lightweight fabrics work a lot better than heavier ones.
4. Apply a thin layer of glue to the "right side" (transparent) of the contact paper, going slightly over the edges of your drawn design (you should be able to see your pencil markings from the other side). Make sure you get a nice even amount on.
5. Carefully lay down your cut fabric piece and glue it down to the contact paper.
6. Once dry, cut out your shape by following your drawn outline on the "wrong" side.

... peel off paper backings and there you have it!

Thanks so much, Marichelle. And super-duper big, happy wishes for you and your new baby. What a lucky little girl.

summercraft: tomato cage lanterns

It’s funny how some projects are born. Like this one: I recently created fabric lanterns out of old tomato cages for an upcoming Washington Post project. I first tried making them with tissue paper paper-mache, but that bombed. So I sewed the fabric into the cages, which made them lovely and taut (I’ll share that version when it publishes next week). But I still wanted to try another method that would be a faster, more lazy way to transform the humble tomato cage into a July Fourth-worthy lantern.

That’s when I tried homemade fabric stiffener. I dunked the whole piece of fabric into a bowl of diluted glue, squeezed out the excess, and draped it over the frame. At first, I didn’t think I liked the effect because it was so different to the drum-tight version. But after it dried, I became enamored of its relaxed, crumpled vibe. And the lighting-fast way the project comes together and then dries to a hardened shell.

I used an old ripped sheet for the base fabric and appliquéd red and blue stars onto the fabric, but you can use any material you like, and skip the appliqué step if you’d prefer

You’ll Need:
Tomato cage (I used the 33 inch size)

Strong wire cutters or hacksaw

1 yard fabric

Clothespins

Fabric scissors

Elmer’s glue

Bowl

Battery operated votive candle

How-To:

1. Wearing safety glasses (and being careful!) trim upright prongs from the tomato cage just above the smallest circle.

2. Working with the wider end of the cage on a table, drape fabric over the top of the cage, with at least ½” of fabric extending up and over the top of the cage. Secure fabric in place with clothespins.

3. Now pull fabric to the bottom and secure, again with clothespins. Continue around the entire bottom of the cage.

4. You can trace along the top and bottom openings with fabric pen, and then cut out the fabric. Or you can cut while the fabric is on the frame – you don’t need to be very exact. Just leave about ½”-1” excess fabric around the top and bottom of the cage, and where the fabric will overlap. Remove clothespins. If you are adding appliqué, do this now so you can see where to add the decorative elements.

5. Here’s where you get to get a little messy. In a bowl, mix 2 parts glue to 1 part water and stir. Dunk the fabric in the glue mixture until it’s thoroughly saturated, then squeeze out the excess glue and drape the fabric over the cage, turning the top and bottom edge over the frame to seal, and let dry.

6. As it dries, check to make sure the top, bottom and side seams are drying closed. If necessary, re-pinch the seam into place as it dries and flip when the lantern is partially dry to better seal the bottom fabric.

summercraft: simple decoration for paper lanterns

Surely last holiday season, you saw those mini gingerbread houses that perch on the edge of your mug of hot chocolate? The ones that made your heart break a little with the utter genius and cuteness of the idea? Well, meet Megan of Not Martha. I have long admired her talent and creativity. Last fall, I got to spend a weekend in her company and meet the warm, talented spirit behind the clever ideas and beautiful photography. So for all these reasons, I am thrilled to have her and her stunner of a DIY project here as part of Lazy Summer. Here’s Megan:

We have a bunch of paper lanterns left over from our wedding reception and I had been planning on hanging them around our deck this summer. But I had forgotten that up here in Seattle the summer days are long and the sun sets fairly late, so we would rarely be turning the lanterns on. I decided to decorate them so that they would look a bit more festive while hanging in the sun and a bit less like, well, lanterns left over from our wedding reception.

Here is a picture of one by night and by day next to a lantern that I used as the base. I am happy that the tissue adds a lot to the size while hiding the battery housing. However, it does dim the amount of light that shows through:

Do you remember that craft we did as kids where you twist a small square of tissue paper over the eraser end of a pencil, dip it in glue, and stick it down to paper plate to decorate a valentine or a holiday wreath? I'm doing the exact same thing here, only larger and on top of a glowing orb. The result is a bit like a flower pomander. For the pictures for this tutorial one I chose shades of yellow and orange, mostly because the day I went shopping for tissue paper it had been cloudy and gray for what seemed like weeks and I really wanted something sunny. I suspect this would look even more like flowers if you used three tones of the same color.


What you'll need:

- Glue sticks or a glue gun (if you have one, lucky person).

- Sheets of colored tissue paper cut into approximately 6-inch squares, no need to be exact here. I went with three colors and used about four sheets of each color, for a total of twelve sheets of tissue paper for each lantern. You can feel free to use as many colors as you'd like or stick to a single color.

- Three objects with round, flat ends that range from 2 to 1 inch in diameter. You'll be using these to form and glue down the tissue so objects you can wash with soap and water are best since the glue can seep through the tissue. I ended up using the top of a bottle of mouthwash, the end of a large plastic knitting needle, and a tube of mascara. (The mascara runs, so this is the most useful it's ever been.) I also considered votive holders, Crayola makers, empty vitamin bottles and the handles of wooden spoons from my kitchen.

- A few paper lanterns. The ones shown here are 8 inches in diameter. (If you don't have any lanterns to repurpose you might want to keep in mind buying in a color that would work well as a background color. I found that the colorful tissue filters light so this isn't something you should necessarily embark on a quest for.)

- A free afternoon and a few friends. I suspect three people could finish six lanterns in the amount of time it takes for the sangria to soak, which obviously you'll need to sip frequently to be certain.

Notes:

You don't have to layer the colors as I have, but I did find that it was a nice way to evenly space the colors without having to pay attention to where I was putting them. It also means the color is uniform when the lantern is lit. However, if you want to create a polka dot or stripe effect go for it.

I used three different sized objects to glue down the layers of tissue to create a bit more texture, the final color applied sticks out furthest and is a bit more prominent in daylight. If you find all this overly fussy by all means go ahead and put one layer using whatever sized thing you want.

The Steps:

1. Let's just take a moment to learn from my mistakes. Before you start make sure each of your lanterns actually work. Overall this isn't a difficult project but you might find yourself a wee bit upset if you discover, after multiple changes of batteries and light bulbs that came from working lanterns, that your frilly new lantern is simply a dud. I am, ahem, speaking from recent experience.

2. Decide which order you want to apply your colors. I found that the color put on last is the most prominent, so I went with orange first and yellow last.

3. Wrap a square of color #1 over your widest object, apply glue to the end, then stick to your lantern. Do this all over your lantern, spacing them about 1 inch apart. The next two layers will add a lot of bulk so don't worry if you think things look sparse. (The images I show here only create a single section. I've done it that way for the purpose of brevity, it will go faster if you do all of one color at a time.)


4. Apply color #2 using your medium diameter object and glue those into the center of color #1. Then do the same with color #3 using your narrowest object.

5. You're done, congrats. The sun is setting and it is time for that sangria.

Thanks, Megan! May your summer be long and lazy, and lit with gorgeous paper lanterns.

take from me my lace

A Cup of Jo’s lovely giveaway the other week reminded me that I had yet to photograph this necklace I made. I bought this lace collar at a discount fabric store, then it sat in my random-little-nice-things stash for months. I recently pulled it out thinking I might tack it onto a linen pillow, but the graceful sweep led me toward a necklace. How I love asymmetrical things.

Making the necklace took a couple jump rings, some plain gold chain, a closure, and about ten minutes. Voila.

PS, I had never seen White Owl’s goods before (via A Cup of Jo). Looks like we share a thing for asymmetrical lace, and I love their feminine, bookish styling.

new washington post project

A new project to take on spring showers is up at The Washington Post. This was a great project to create and work on because, really, when do you ever consider an umbrella DIY fodder? Give one of your dark workhorse umbrellas a punchy makeover with bright stacks of nylon circles, tacked down with buttons for extra dimension and homespun charm.

Get the step-by-step right here.