Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

Monday, November 30th, 2009

A Post-Turkey Return

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
Didn’t get the chance to post last week, since I was running around prepping for (and ultimately enjoying!) the holiday. Lots of fun crammed into the last 5 days or so… I’m still trying to recover! Not only did I have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, I played hostess for our 5th annual “friendsgiving” on Saturday, aptly titled Thanksgiving 2 (or T-Givs 2 for short). Flaming marshmallow drama aside, it was a wonderful time spent with my favorite people, sharing my favorite foods.

The photo above is of a little arrangement I put together for the celebration, inspired by found items from the Fall. Shadow boxes and floating frames were used to display various nuts, cinnamon sticks, leafs, feathers and a few fabric scraps that tied in with my palette. Glass bottles wrapped in twine held branches and floral stems, while pine cones and mason jar votives punctuated the display. For the focal point, I affixed unfinished wooden letters (custom made by woodenletters.net) to a 24″ x 36″ canvas and propped up the number 2 in front for added dimensionality.
I didn’t document my work in progress, but everything here is easily DIY-able! The bottles did take a while to wrap, but I love the way they turned out. Super cheap to make, and the end result is something that I’ll get a lot of use from! All of the frames will also be recycled for other projects, or become a part of everyday décor.

Did you host your own holiday get together? What are some of the things you did to dress up the room or table? Feel free to share pictures if you have them!

Posted by Anjelica at 7: 00 am
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Posted in DIY, Décor | 2 Comments »

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Magical Stained Glass


Loving this photo featured on Apartment Therapy from this year’s Bienalle International Art Exhibit in Venice.  The colorful reflection on the floor is from American artist Spencer Finch’s ”Moonlight” installation, an ode to stained glass created by applying gel filters to existing windows throughout the space. The hanging incandescent bulbs make up Finch’s “Moondust,” which complement the windows and add a magical feeling to the room. Check out more photos from: Spring Globe’s flickr 
The colors and lighting in this picture are absolutely gorgeous. Stained glass is incredibly dramatic, and the idea of creating a simple and temporary stained glass window with colored film is brilliant. Maybe one day I’ll take that up as a DIY project! In the meantime, here are some easy ways to instantly incorporate a stained glass feel into your home décor.
Clockwise from top left:
Aqua stained glass table lantern with metal handle from Glassware Manufacturers 
Butterscotch stained glass lamp and multicolor lamp from Charmaine’s Past & Present 
Mixed color glass mosaic tiles by EVIT 
Stafford wine glasses in amber and Cathedral goblet in blue from Anthropologie 
Amber mosaic glass bowl by Glassware Manufacturers 
Tree of Life stained glass window from Stained Glass & More
Stained glass leaded mirror by Libby Harri at Tinted View
Glass genie bottle from the large decanter collection by Joe Cariati 
Recycled collage made from fused glass dinnerware and bottles, featured on Southern Exposures (similarly amazing work available from Daniel Mahr Stained Glass Studio )
Other worlds kaleidoscope with stained glass wheel from Anthropologie 
Turquoise blue gilded glass votive with horizontal and vertical accents from Luna Bazaar 

Posted by Anjelica at 3: 55 pm
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Posted in DIY, Décor | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Junk Food

This odd little illustration by Jared Stumpenhorst, originally dreamed up as a t-shirt design for Woot, caught my eye mostly because of the interesting selection of snacks. I’ve seen the burger/fries combo on t-shirts, the cupcakes and candy combo, even a family of fruits with faces–but I’d yet to come across such a fine sampling of junk food. 

The nervous smiles on their faces make me wonder, are they self-conscious about the way some might look down on them? Or are they about to get eaten by someone more like me?

Let’s face it, these snacks may not be the best for your diet, but there are some benefits to cooking them in your own kitchen. Healthy recipes and fresh ingredients can take out a lot of the yuck-factor from these usually mass-produced treats. Alternatively, making a conscious decision to buy all-natural alternatives to your old favorites can help satisfy a craving without doing any real damage. Everything in moderation, right? Ahh, junk food..

Clockwise from top left:
Really simple homemade pizza from (one of my favorites!) Smitten Kitchen 
Copycat Oreo cookie recipe by Cupcake Project 
Soft pretzel recipe from Cooking Light via My Recipes 
Healthy microwave potato chips from Fat Free Vegan 
100% natural GuS (Grown-up soda) available in a variety of flavors
Fried chicken photo from Sweet Tea with Lemon , recipe by Alton Brown 
Homemade peanut butter cups from Genesis of a Cook 
Glazed donut holes recipe by Diana’s Desserts 
Greek lamb burgers with spinach, red onion and Feta from Bon Appétit
Fresh fruit roll-ups recipe by Sugarlaws 

Posted by Anjelica at 10: 00 am
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Posted in DIY, Food | 3 Comments »

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

DIY: Ruffle Embellished Cardigan



Yesterday we tweeted about a cardigan-centric post from You Are my Fave, which featured this photo of an embellished sweater from J Crew . The ruffled beauty is unfortunately sold out, but that shouldn’t stop you from re-creating the style with pieces from your existing wardrobe!



This old tank and cardigan have fallen out of  normal rotation – the tank is a little short, but I love the pattern and couldn’t bear to part with it in my most recent purge.  The sweater? Just a big bored with it.  Feeling inspired, I decided to combine the two into something new!

I thought this shirt would make a great ruffle for two reasons: 1. it’s a cute, neutral color and pattern and 2. the soft jersey knit material will hang well and can live without a hem. First, I split the shirt down it’s side seam. Luckily for me, the lace trim was only on the front, leaving a nice open area on the back for me to trace my first ruffle.

The first strip I cut was for my larger, bottom ruffle. I measured the fabric out to remain 5″ wide from start to finish. The second ruffle was cut out of the front of the tank, on the bottom half. This second strip  started out at 3 1/2″ and tapered off to 2″at its end (about 18″ long). I wanted this strip to have a narrower end so that my top ruffle would have more defined layers. 

Thread a needle through the top hem of your ruffle, folding the fabric back and forth (like a paper fan) as you sew. As you pull the thread, the fabric should gather and start to ruffle. I used a regular thread, but I’m assuming this would work even better with an elastic.

With a steam iron, I carefully pressed my pleats to form sharp creases in the fabric. Easier said than done, but the results came out great! Now, lets fold these bad boys into their final ruffly state…

1. Start with the small tapered ruffle, laid out flat
2. Fold the top half of the ruffle down over the bottom half, with the reverse side of the fabric showing
3. Fold the remaining bit down, print side up, to form a wedge shaped piece for your top ruffle

4. Next, lay the larger 5″ ruffle out on a flat surface
5. & 6. Fold ruffle back and forth in a zig-zag to create alternating layers of patterned and reversed fabric

7. This is what my completed bottom ruffle looked like when I was done folding.
8. Once you’ve laid out both ruffles, pinch the folds and discreetly sew each layer to secure.
9. Here are the finished pieces! I decided not to sew them together, in case I wanted to use the top or bottom ruffle separately on another garment.

10. Use a safety pin to secure the bottom ruffle to your cardigan. You can also sew them on, but I wanted the option of removing them before laundering as well as using them as embellishments elsewhere!
DONE! Pin the top ruffle in place and VOILA! A magical creation, all your own.

Only took 2 hours, and it didn’t cost $118 from J Crew. Score.

Posted by Anjelica at 10: 00 am
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Posted in DIY, Fashion | 15 Comments »

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Fowl Friends

Even though the fall is creeping in and the mornings are freezing in my apartment, an (seemingly) invisible bird outside my window insists on waking me up instead of letting my usual alarm clock do its job. Don’t birds migrate south in cold weather? What happened to this guy and why did he get left behind? Maybe I’ll try to catch him and domesticate him. OR I’ll just look at these lovely curiosities on boxes from Lyndie Dourthe! Amazing!


Clockwise from left
Rotulos Roura company owl in Barcelona via Whorange
Paper mobile from Sandra Juto
Owl Plushie from Night Owl Papergoods
Birdhouse dolls from Tamar Morgendorff
Owl painting from Andrew Holder
Owl Book End from Chatchada
Godzilla Grows Feathers matte print from Charmine Olivia’s Etsy
WAWAYA owls from Gnip
Bird Sketches paper print from dolangeiman’s Etsy
Owl candlesticks from Laura Walls Taylor’s Etsy
Cardinal garden bell from The Gardener
Bird Mobile from Grayhood
Lacy Bird bowls from Prince Design UK’s Etsy
Amma maternity stationary from Beastpieces
A Simple Bird from BROOKLYNrehab’s Etsy

Posted by Anjelica at 1: 47 pm
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Button Bonanza

Well, I’ll have to admit, this is an  extremely literal interpretation of the above photo from Chris Glass, but I couldn’t help myself! Buttons are cool.
I hardly ever bother incorporating buttons into my crafts, but it’s clear that I should! All of the ideas below would be simple to recreate with your own personal touch. I especially love the button hair pins: bobby pin + button + hot glue = super cute! You really can’t argue with such a cheap and quick way to jazz up your everyday accessories. 
Check out the links for tutorials and more button-centric inspiration!
Clockwise from top left:
Vintage button earrings from edithandlulu’s Etsy shop ($12)
Handmade crochet headband with button accents from brokenhallelujah’s Etsy shop ($10.50)
Button Hairclips photo from Flickr, DIY tutorial on Martha Stewart’s site
Candy buttons tutorial with cute printable labels for gift-giving, Bake It Pretty blog
How-to: Colorful button bouquet from American Crafts Studio
1940′s Vintage necklace with French China button from Bumbershoot Design’s Etsy shop ($23.50)
Herringbone stripe button purse from Nonsuch’s Etsy Shop 
DIY tutorial for personalized shrinky dink graphic buttons at Oh! I like That!
Letterpress stationery with scissor and button pattern from Letterpress’s Etsy shop ($4.00)
Making a button clock article from Martha Stewart


Plus, check out this book of neat button crafts by Susan Beal (Amazon)! Oh the possibilities..

Posted by Anjelica at 10: 05 pm
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