This, that, & the other.

A bit of inspiration for your Thursday!

1/Cover  /Plate 72: Muscinae  /Plate 83: Lichen

These are some of my favorite sketches by Germany’s throwback jack-of-all-trades Ernst Haeckel (read: biologist, professor, artist, physician, naturalist, philosopher…I mean COME ON. Words like ecology and phylum? Yeah. His idea). They come from a book of his artwork called Kunstformen dur Natur (“Art Forms of Nature”) published in the early 1900s. I have a file of these images on my desktop that I click through when I’m short on inspiration. So much color, shape, and texture to get your brain buzzin! You can download the book in PDF form here. 

2/Avenue Journal Spring/Summer 2011

This article by Tom Greenwood from Avenue Journal. Beautiful thoughts about technology’s effect on photography, and general nostalgia. Realtalk. (It's hard to read in the photo but flip through here and you'll find it. It's at the end).   

3/NoLayout

This issue of Dapper Dan Magazine; I kind of died. I mean, serious jskaontheground. I cannot get over the layout, design, photography, balance of black and white…the CRISPNESS of the whole thing. So minimalistic and CLEAN, I love it! I was even MORE impressed when I started reading about the magazine, whose self-proclaimed aim is to inspire rather than follow trends. Their creative execution communicates just that, in my opinion. Even more thrilling, however, was the magazine’s manifesto. Because even though it’s for the guys (this is, after all, a men’s publication), it rings true for anyone with lungs that breathe and a heart that beats. As in, those words are going on my wall asap.

 

The magazine is based in Greece and publishes bi-annually. You can find all of their issues, current and previous, on their website. 

4/Paste

This entiiiiiire album by Frightened Rabbit, but ESPECIALLY the first track. I mean, super hung up on it...so funny because I used to skip that song. Always. So why the sudden obsession? I've been cleaning out my iTunes and rediscovering old loves in the process. One of my FAVORITE things about music is its power to speak truth into your soul, and how that truth changes over time. Songs that moved you then suddenly have deeper meaning, or none at all, years later. Songs you once hated become words to live by...but  that's a conversation for another time (:

Spring color palettes! I'm pretty excited because pastels, especially shades of peach and mint, have been on my love list for awhile now, and seeing some of the spring collections  has given me a few sewing project ideas! This is from Nylon's March issue, which has been sitting with its sisters (Elle, Bazaar, Vogue...etc) in a pile on my floor since the beginning of the month...derp. Better late than never, yeah? 


I hope you're having a lovely Thursday! This Houston heat has got me running around in shorts and sundresses...WITHOUT a cardigan. What?! Is this real life? I'm so psyched. 

A funny thing happened on the way to the art festival...

My Sunday was supposed to look like this:

• Finish a painting for a client
• Prep everything for Monday’s DIY post
• Go to the Bayou City Art Festival

What actually happened:

• Finished painting for client
• Headed to the BCAF with The Boyfriend
• Ended up at a rally downtown? ...this is not Memorial Park?
• Snuck into a golf course clubhouse to pee
• Found the festival, but nowhere to park, one hour from close time = fail.
• Official blog worknight at The Boyfriend’s kitchen table with Bon Iver on loop = success.

Soooo yeah. Pretty bummed about missing the fest, but there’s another one coming up in the fall. The Boyfriend and I got to wander around town (albeit confused) in the gorgeous weather, but I’m sad I didn’t get any fun “What’s going on? Where’s the fest?” photos of us. Oh well! Saturday I filed my taxes (finally) and spent three hours at the antique mall by my office, after swearing up and down I’d be there no more than an hour…this weekend was definitely a reminder that there’s life outside the to-do list, something I very frequently lose sight of. 

Antique finds, 3 hours & $5 later

I can't believe it's already Wednesday! PS (I know I say this every week but...) seriously czech out Christine's newest Tunes-day post... I lived off of her music recommendations when we had an apartment together and even now that there are 200 miles between us, I still do. This girl knows things.

My babyblog is one month old TODAY! And what a month it has been, lemme tell ya. These have been some of the most eventful thirty days of my life; so much joy, discovery, confusion, growth, and many, MANY lessons learned. That's the beauty of life though, isn't it? You'll never be the same person today that you were yesterday, or the day before that, or before that....I cherish the experiences of this month with my whole heart and am so excited to see what the next one brings!  

Also, I forgot to say this yesterday, but it bears mentioning: the end of National Craft Month is near, sad DAY! Yesterday completed the NCM series, but that doesn't mean the party’s over; faaar from it, friends. Every month is craft month in my opinion, and the year is still young! I will say though, I kind of totally bit off more than I could chew, diving right into a tutorial series as a new blogger. It was definitely a huge challenge, but I had a great time putting it together. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

So, what’re you celebrating today? 

National Craft Month: Contain Yourself, 3 Ways.

Spring is finally here, and you know what that means…spring cleaning! I don’t know anyone who’s ever actually stuck to this ‘clean once a year’ bit, but I completed phase one of my cleaning in January and there’s still plenty of work to be done. Everyone and their mother is having sales on bins, boxes, and organizational whathaveyou to aid the toss-out process, but when you’re on a tight budget, it gets a little tricky. How do you clear the clutter without spending a boatload?

Easy! Almonds and oatmeal.

No really! This week’s DIY is a great way to get organized using the resources around you, and I've got three ideas on how to do just that.

1. Lacy Vase You will need:

1. Cut a piece of lace large enough to wrap around the canister, with extra for overlap. Apply fabric glue with paint brush around the top rim of the canister, just under the lip. Glue the top part of the lace all the way around. Smooth the lace as you go so it lays flat along the canister surface. 


2.  Glue the first edge of lace to the canister. Glue the overlap edge after the first has dried. I let mine overlap about ½ inch so that the bottom pattern of the lace was continuous. Add tiny dots of glue to the bottom lace edge if they stick out too much.

3. Thread your needle and circle stitch all the way around the rim of the canister, and there ya go! Fill with flowers to brighten up a room or use as a centerpiece, or organize your crochet needles! 

2. Striped Supply Holder You will need:

*disclaimer: When I made mine, I painted the colors backwards…so the photos are misleading-ish. I’ll explain.

1. Paint the entire canister with your basecoat color. I accidentally grabbed the green while doing this, but my basecoat should’ve been off-white. Let dry completely.

2. Tape off the edges of your stripes. Paint within the taped lines. I had to use the tape AS my stripes to reverse my basecoat mistake and it turned out alright, but if you’re using darker colors this might be more difficult. Allow paint to dry completely and then remove the tape. There ya have it! Clear out some kitchen drawer space (t-shirt DIY deja vu, anyone?) by storing cooking utensils in your nifty new container! You could also save the lid and use in your sewing room to store smaller bits of scrap fabric. 

3. Fabric Organizer You will need:

1. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around the container, with extra for overlap. Don’t worry if it hangs past the bottom of the container either, we’ll get to that! 

Apply fabric glue with paint brush along top and bottom rims of container, smoothing fabric as you go. Glue edges. Let dry.

2. Trim bottom excess with the exacto knife, using the bottom rim as a guide. Wasn't that easy? Use as a desktop organizer for pens and pencils orrrr... I'm making a few of them to organize some of my smaller craft supplies, so I'm saving the lids. Wouldn't they look cute stacked and labeled?  

A few more tips on tidying up:

·  Scour your local thrift store for cheap wicker baskets, bins, jars, and vases

· Wrap small boxes or shoe boxes with fabric or wrapping paper that matches your décor to organize craft supplies or photos on a bookcase

·  Hobby Lobby has a great selection of mason jars and general glass containers for the kitchen or sewing room. I bought a tiny one recently for all of my buttons! Might be in the market for some larger ones to organize my flours pretty soon.

If you’re in need of some de-cluttering as badly as I am, I hope this inspires you to get started and have some fun while doing it! What does ‘spring cleaning’ look like for you? Do you have any organizing tips to share? I’d love to hear them! 

This, that, & the other.

Lately I've been obsessed with cut-out dresses. And by lately, I mean for the past year or so. Here are some designs that REALLY make my heart smile.

1/Summerland 2/Vanilla & Lace 3/Burdastyle 4/Vivat Veritas

1. this dress designed by Alexandra Grecco for Summerland. I want to say it came out late spring of last year, something like that. I was actually surprised it was still available, but I'm so glad it is!  

2. the Lydia Dress by Abi of Vanilla and Lace has been on my wishlist for a little while now. Choose from a variety of colors, and she'll tailor the dress to your measurements! You can find it and other lovely handmade garments at her shop. 

3. this dress by Mari Koppanen. I know, I know...she was part of last week's Thursday post but her work is just so incredible; it's hard NOT to be inspired!

4. this heart cut-out tutorial by Vivat Veritas. So excited to try it! I wonder if it works on old t-shirts...? Haha. 

Oh, and one more thing...it doesn't fit today's theme BUT it's already been out for a week and I'm dying to share! 

5/Brooklyn Tweed

Brooklyn Tweed's spring lookbook is ouuuut! It's kind of silly for me to get excited about this because a) I don't know how to knit, b) they have a very limited collection of crochet patterns available, and c) Texas weather is already too warm for any of these (sad day) but it's inspiring nonetheless! The Oslo scarf was automatically my favorite. One of my goals for 2012 is to relearn knitting basics (for the what, fifth time? Sheesh) and maybe finish one small project. For now though, I'm content to drool over BT's gorgeous knit patterns and yarn collections. Check out a few of their past lookbooks (confession: I still do...all....the...time), you won't be disappointed. 

So, what's inspiring you lately? 

Stitch swappin' & then some.

Here's my finished piece for the stitch swap hosted by Wild Olive! This is the first crafty swap of any kind I've ever done, and I'm pretty excited. It was a lot of fun to exchange ideas with other swappers and see the progress of their work. I said a final farewell to mine the other day; it's headed to its new home overseas as we speak!

Would you or have you ever done a craft swap? What did you take from the experience?  

Oh! And. I spent my lunch break at the local thrift store a few days ago. Here are a few of my newest treasures:

Forget oil & vinegar; say hello to my new flower vase! ...or crochet needle holder. Not sure yet, ha. 

What time is it?!

Perfect yarn basket

Lovely lace bedskirt (I needed one so bad!) and floral sheets. I'm so ready for spring!

By the way, One Sheepish Girl is hosting an exciting giveaway! Enter to win a custom embroidered necklace from The Merriweather Council (her work is so colorful; I love it!) but hurry, the giveaway closes March 24th! Details on how to enter here.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you're having a fulfilling day of thanks and wonder. It's been a crazy week, but it's not over yet (: 

National Craft Month: DIY T-Shirt Utility

I'm a hoarder collector by nature.

My craft shelf is packed with odds and ends and waytoomuch yarn. My tub of fabric has long maxed its capacity. The closet can't hold anymore cardboard or paper or thrifty clothes to be altered (but don't you dare throw out that almond container! I can totally use that!) ...yikes. And of course, I've accumulated ohso many t-shirts...festivals, shows, random college events (and what college kid/person in general doesn't like free stuff?!). It's problematic when keeping your clothes organized equals impossible because you can't open and/or close this drawer because it's stacked to the brim with folded tees. That you don't even wear. That you will probably never wear again. Ahem.

So you might be able to sell a few, or just donate the whole lot. That's well and good. I've done both many times. But here's the thing: your old t-shirts are literally bursting with craftastic potential (I mean literally bustin' outta that drawer, girl. BEGGING for attention). SO. This week, I'm cleaning out my closet and giving a few of my old threads some new life! Here’s the scoop:

The T-shirt Bag

As a “collector”, my day-to-day bag is full of extra crap I probably don’t need. Like 17 bobby pins, or Vicks vapor rub, or three packs of travel tissue. Or 10 highlighters, 6 pens, 3 pencils. Geez Jessica. Geez. Add to that “necessities” like phone, wallet, cigarette case, body spray (you’re not takin’ my spray!), idea notebooks and planner and well…you’ve got yourself a bag o’ bricks to carry. That’s why I’m not sure a t-shirt bag is really utilitarian for my purposes, but maybe if I line it with something? For now, mine are strictly for yoga mat and yarn project use. They probably make great beach or produce bags too. So there you go.

PS you already have everything you need to make this project. Read: t-shirt, scissors, and a safety pin. Gotta love simplicity. Tutorial here.

T-Shirt Yarn

I almost peed my pants when my sister showed me this DIY. Ok no I didn’t, but I was pretty stinkin’ excited. Remind me again why I need more yarn? But it’s made from t-shirts! And takes 10 minutes to make!  And...you see where I'm going with this. 

The T-shirt Necklace/Headband

I get Martha Stewart craft emails to my inbox every day. Yes, I’m that girl. Most of the time they’re a little meh but a few weeks ago this one brightened my day. My first attempt was a little short for the necklace I wanted, but it makes a great headband, so I’m not complaining. I made a second one out of a larger shirt, and it turned out beautifully. PS I braided my strands of fabric because I didn’t like the look of them by themselves. Add some beads to spice it up if ya fancy.

Make It Cute

So you’ve cleaned out your t-shirts. You’re preparing to repurpose or rid yourself of them forever. But wait, this one is actually kinda cool. And this one has a lot of great memories attached to it. On second thought, maybe you’ll just keep a few of them…

No! I mean yes! Look, this happened to me while working on this post. You love the shirt, hate the way it fits, don’t wear it ever but are content to let it sit untouched, taking up space. Alter that mess! Turn oversized tees into long racerback tanks you can wear with tights, or crop tops for summer. Take 'em in and cut off the sleeves (or make them cute like this).

And when all else fails, cut up your shirt and sew it into a pillow, so now you can stare at it all you want without wasting any precious space in your drawer. Problem solved.

What do you use your old t-shirts for? PS If you make any of these projects I’d love to see pictures! Email them to me at onetwothreepeaceful(at)gmail(dot)com, and I’ll post your fancy craftin’ skills. Have a tee-rific day! (haha...that was a terrible joke, sorry)