NEON & NATURAL POTHOLDERS

I've had such amazing feedback for the Neon & Natural Baskets I thought I'd try my hand at another Neon & Natural combination for the home: Pot Holders! 

 Now, I don't know about you, but my kitchen is incredibly tiny (a common affliction for New York City residences) and the things I keep in my home have to be really special, otherwise they are basically clutter, and ain't nobody got room for that. When moving in with my lovely boyfriend about a year ago, we scrambled to outfit our kitchen (and apartment in general) grabbing the first utensils that functioned and didn't completely offend our aesthetic sensibilities.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the things we picked, but there are a handful of items that I'm slowly replacing with prettier versions.

A couple of new potholders are a big ol' check off that list. The one we had originally bought functioned just fine, in that they prevented us from scorching our hands or coutertops, but it was a weird fuchsia color (not my taste) and collected dirt with it's grippy underbelly. It just always looked grimy, even after a fresh wash. So a remedy! What looks cooler and more clean that a splash of neon?

AEROPLANE STATIONERY

I HAVE RUN OUT OF STATIONERY.

This isn't really a big deal, but I'm sure you have run into the same problem I have: it's harder to find cool stationery than a new friend as an adult (there should be a single friend site ... OKcoolfriend? I'll work on the name). Everything I have been able to find in the stores has been either too cutesy (flowers are great and all, but do they have to grace the cover of every card??) or too business-like (from the desk of Sir Jillington the Third). Can't a girl get a simple and fun way to say "thank you" or "hey, how are ya?" or "you have 2 days to release the next season of Game of Thrones OR ELSE"??

I decided to take matters into my own hands ... at least for the stationery bit. I saw a bunch of tutorials on how to make your own stamps on Pinterest, and I thought "how fun! But I don't scrapbook" (ain't nobody got time for that) "and I haven't needed to stamp things since kindergarten ... I should get some ice cream".

Ignore that last bit. I have no willpower.

So here's what I did: I got some ice cream. Only joking. No, I'm not.

I took an eraser, sketched a design of a paper airplane in pencil (or rather dictated and critiqued my boyfriend as he sketched the design. Artist boyfriend not included), cut away everything that wasn't the design with an Xacto blade, and stamped it on some folded card stock.

The whole project took about 30 minutes start to finish and cost 6 dollars ($.79 for the eraser, $4.99 for the ink-pad).

All in all, less time than me searching for my keys, accusing my boyfriend of hiding them, finding them right where I left them, putting on my shoes, and running to the stationery store. Plus, less money than buying 6 cards worth of a bad design.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think, how you would use this technique, and/or whether you also have a hard time meeting new friends without the aid of school/playdates.

RECYCLED GLASS TUMBLERS

So this week I took on THE SCARIEST DIY project in the history of the world. Ever. The end.  

I kept seeing tutorials on how to cut glass on Pinterest with string, nail polish remover, fire, and cold water. So I thought to myself "Self, you have all those things. How cool would it be to turn old wine bottles (not that I have many of those lying around ... ok maybe a couple) into new tumblers?" To which I answered "The coolest. It would be the coolest."

The only problem is, you are literally playing with fire. And broken glass. And highly flammable liquids. It's scary.

Good thing I'm super tough.

So here it goes. Here's how to make your own. And some suggestions on how to make it slightly less scary.

PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED PORTFOLIO

I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a few big projects. I don't mean big as in they take up a lot of space, but big as in they take up a lot of my time, and if I'm perfectly honest, a lot more of my sanity. None more so than this most recent project (can I still call it "recent" if its taken 6 months to make?). I present to you ...

**DUN-DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUU** (that was supposed to sound like a horn ... go with me on this, people)

A professionally bound representation of my life's work!! I mean, no big. It's just everything that I've toiled over for the past 4 YEARS. My blood, sweat, and tears. Quite literally. Grad school is no joke, friends.

But look! Marvel at the clean white cover with the beautiful jewel toned geometry (look slightly familiar?)! Gasp at the print quality of the hairline diagrams! Pour over the nearly 50 pages of pure graphic gratification! And the way the cover image wraps the edges! I should sit down.

Sigh ...

JACKALOPE FRIEND

Can I just start this off by saying I can't believe I've let over a month go by since my last post? First off, I must check my apartment for wormholes and/or rips in the space/time continuum, as I am certain it was still the middle of summer a hot second ago. Time, man. Crazy stuff. I don't want to give the wrong impression: the month of August wasn't me sippin' mojitos by the pool (note to self: that sounds awesome. Find pool. Acquire mojitos). It's just that I took on a handful of long-term projects, two of which have FINALLY wrapped. WOOT. The first is a print version of my portfolio, professionally bound (SQUEEE) and in transit to me AS WE SPEAK (I'll post on that soon ... should be arriving in a mere two days!). The second is a project that is a bit ... atypical for me.

I feel like I should give some background on why this is.

FADE TO: SEPIA TONE IMAGE OF YOUNG CURLY-HAIRED NERD

Just kidding. I have always been awesome. Just ask my mom. Totally cool. However, I've never really been the type that wanted to settle down (at least not immediately). But being from the midwest, this was not always so very common. I've been out of high school for a decade now (Seriously. Not cool, time.) and almost everyone I know from those days have long since married, many now with families and mortgages and all the other adult things that adults have. Adults. 

So while I've spent my twenties pulling caffeine-fueled all-nighters to crank out that last drawing that will totally make my super important presentation that I have IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS - OH GOD, TIME, YOU DEMON-MONSTER, my peers were making tiny humans. And it's not that I don't want a family. I do. It's just that babies are a lot of work. And messy. And loud. And scary. I guess I've just never been that close to kids.

ENTER: LUCY

When my sister told me that she was expecting, I was so excited for her. I knew that she really wanted to start a family, and I was curious what this whole baby thing was all about (some reason, there aren't that many of them in grad school ... must be the lack of nap-time). I couldn't have imagined how enamored I would be with that little girl. She's sweetness and sass, as only a 2 year old can be. But she's also quirky, and oddly tidy, and bossy (just like her momma). She's curious but also a total scaredy cat. She's funny, and silly, and the pickiest human of any size I have ever encountered.

And it's her birthday. What on earth do you get a picky, sassy, silly, angelic little girl who doesn't need anything?

How about a stuffed Jackalope doll with bendy antlers and a fluffy tail? I must say. I nailed it.

GEOMETRIC JACKET OVERHAUL

So this past Christmas I got a nifty new cover for my Kindle Fire from the 'rents. First off: Pops, I think the jacket is awesome. It keeps my kindle safe, has a removable blue-tooth keyboard, and it's very own kickstand. All super handy and very useful.  The only thing is ... Well ... I don't ... not ... dislike how it looks.

Whew! Feels good to get that off my chest.

And fear not! A bit of leftover fabric paint, a roll of masking tape, and a Saturday afternoon later and I have a kindle case to crave.

The only tricky bit about this project is how to get a series of triangles to touch point to point. It requires a 4-step tape-paint-
dry-repeat process. Don't worry, I'll walk you through it.

NEON & NATURAL BASKETS

I don't know about you, but lately I've been seeing neon everywhere. Aside from the nostalgia for neon troll shirts declaring how awesome I am (people have the right to know), I am completely taken with the latest trend: natural materials mixed with a blast of neon intensity.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and remedy my bathroom storage problem (there's only so long a person can survive using plastic baggies as storage containers) and get my neon and natural fix. 

Behold! Hand crocheted hemp and nylon string baskets ... garsh, they're pretty.

TRIANGLE TEE

I've been seeing the most adorable printed tee's lately. They're usually crisp and geometric, but always completely COOL. I decided to give it a try myself with less than $10 worth of supplies from the local art store and a tee I already owned (there's nothing like working with what you've got!).

It turned out to be easy, fast (30 minutes in all), and a complete success! Plus, there is loads of fabric paint left over ... I can't wait to try out some more fabric projects!

Get ready for a gorgeously gilded graphic get-up. It's go-time. (I swear I'll stop now)

CHEVRON YOGA MAT BAG

Gift time part two! To accompany the stained glass water bottle, I was looking for something unique to get my sister who has recently gotten into yoga. What's more fun than a pretty bag to carry your mat around with?

This bag is based off of Hanri's pattern which can be found here (she has a wonderful blog all about yoga, you should check it out!). I wanted this bag to be specifically for a yoga mat so the design had to be adjusted in the diameter of the bag as well as the overall length. This bag also features straps that automatically close the bag when you wear it. Fun!

STAINED GLASS WATER BOTTLE

It's that time of year: rapid-fire-gift-time. Within a one month period, there's Father's day, graduation season, two family member's and a close friend's birthday. This would be just fine if I were rollin' in the dough <audible sigh> Alas, I am just about the farthest thing from dough rollin'. I just finished grad school and got a super education, a rather fancy looking piece of paper, and a long-term budget. Solution? Put my design and fabrication training to use and produce some pretty presents to please the people (alliteration makes everything sound excellent).