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Japanese Masking Tape + Eva

britt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:47:47 +0000

Looking for a reason to buy some (more) Japanese masking tape? Yeah, me too. I covered these tiny binder clips with some of the tape and they are pretty adorable. Almost makes me want to get organized. Almost. Maybe these would help, too:

These clothes pins made by Whitney of Whisker Graphics remind me of ones by SusyJack. Whitney also used the tape to label her files.
The very clever Merilee of Mer Mag made these great invites:

And while we’re on the subject of garlands:

These decorations from Project Wedding (they have great party ideas even if you’re not getting married) use the tape for the little flags and place settings. I love that color combination.
And last but not least:

Holly of Decor8 had the idea to make a simple border on a picture frame. It really suits that photo, doesn’t it?
So if you were looking for ideas to justify purchasing some beautiful masking tape, there you go. I bought mine through Origamisan who had good prices and was willing to make custom combinations.
In other, bittersweet news: my laptop has bit the dust. It has served me well (*moment of silence*). But I have found comfort in my brand new MacBook! It’s so beautiful… and fast. It will be much easier for me to post now. I do sort of feel like I have deserted Wall-E for Eva, though. That may be a dorky reference, but I seriously loved that movie.

PS I Made This: Statement Necklace

britt — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:15:40 +0000

And by “I”, I mean Erica Domesek. I’m really loving this statement necklace that was featured on Refinery 29. She uses upholstery trim - that’s genius! It has my head spinning with possibilities.
Check out her site, PS I Made This, for other ideas.

I’m In Trouble

britt — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:04:39 +0000

Seriously in love with these vintage-inspired trouble lights. Wouldn’t one of these lovelies look beautiful strung above a wooden table and tolix chairs? Of course, with such a setup one would be forced to eat aged chevre and torn bits of crusty bread with a glass of red wine for every meal… Sounds perfect to me.
Mechanic’s Beacon Lights 1, 2 & 3

Office Supplies That Make Me Smile

britt — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:53:11 +0000

1. Spotted Deer Notebook, Anthro 2/3. Diamond and Stripe Notebooks, Present & Correct 4. 2010 Deluxe Wall Calendar, SusyJack 5. Memoir Stapler, Anthro 6. Pixel Colored Pencils, Fred Flare 7. Poketo Notefolio, Poketo 8. Washi Paper Masking Tape, MoMA Store 9. Clock8, Mike Reynolds 10. The Public felt case in blue, EtCetera Media 11. Arrow Clips - Quiver of 5, SusyJack
It must be Back to School time because everyone seems smitten with office supplies right now, myself included. For this series, I tried to focus on items that would make you happy every time you reached for them. Need to jot down a note? Oooh, just use one of these square pixel pencils and a retro argyle notebook. Maybe then you can tear out the note and tape it to the wall with a little Japanese masking tape. See? Happy.

Vibrant & Modern Area Rugs

britt — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:48:13 +0000

Above, left to right: Coqo Floral Rug in Yellow, Anthro; Vernal Cusp Rug, also Anthro; DwellStudio Home Plus Rug, Design Public

Above, left to right: Thomas Paul Lovebirds Rug, Design Public; Stilton Jellybaby Rug, Madeline Weinrib; Whorled Trapunto in Charcoal, Anthro

Above, left to right: Mantadia Rug in Black, Anthro; Chrysanthemum rug, Amy Butler for Chandra; Helix Rug, Jonathan Adler

Above, left to right: Green Zig Zag, Madeline Weinrib; Parrot Tulip, Amy Butler for Chandra; Periwinkle Chi Chi Kari, Madeline Weinrib
Can you tell I’ve been rug shopping? We want to get a nice, graphic rug for our living room. Our kitchen, dining room and living area are all together so we thought it would be nice to define the living room area a little. It’s really hard to find a good area rug - locally, anyway. Apparently in the world of rugs “contemporary” means art deco revival patterns in muddy green, burgundy and taupe. Those are earth tones? What horribly depressing earth are these people living on?
Anyway. I love all of these rugs but my absolute favorites are the Green Zig Zag and Stilton Jellybaby (both by Madeline Weinrib). I have seen the red and white Zig Zag rug in several places (like Design*Sponge and Making It Lovely) and it’s really charming, but I haven’t seen the green one as much (the only picture I found is here). Rugs are a bit of an investment so I want one that is versatile and that we’ll be happy with long term. These two seem like they would work equally well in the living room, dining room or bedroom.
Any suggestions?

Humble Materials, Flawless Execution

britt — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:36:02 +0000

These gorgeous necklaces by Lauren Manoogian taunt me. Yes, they are made out of paperclips and tape (maybe even this tape?). But there is a huge chance that a DIY attempt will end up looking like a kindergarten project. Those colors are so perfect. Moving on.

These items by Marion Vidal led to a similar I-could-totally-do-that moment. Such simple materials with obvious construction. Yet again I have decided to leave well enough alone. The beauty of these bracelets and necklaces is in the subtle proportions and tones.
I was incredibly relieved to find this necklace project (shown below) that is refined and completely do-it-yourself-able on Park & Cube, inspired by this tutorial. Hurray!

P.S. It’s our second anniversary today! I can’t believe we’ve been married two whole years already. We had a beautiful pre-anniversary weekend up in Whistler and had the best meal ever at Araxi. Happy Anniversary, Ryan!

Rescued Cashmere

britt — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:15:14 +0000

A few weeks ago I came across a post on the Sculptress Studio blog (discovered through her inspiring Flickr feed) about attending a sheep shearing at a 1840’s festival. Making clothing at that time (which isn’t long ago, really) was a three-year process. Three years. What she wrote here really struck me:
“Clothes had value far beyond what they do today. How many shirts and socks have I thrown away because of a small hole worn in the fabric? How easily would I have abandoned it if I spent three years making it? How did waste apply in the three year cycle? I imagine by the time cloth reached the trash pit it had gone from adult clothing, to children’s clothing, to quilts, to patches, to rags, to wicks, to nothing but a few thread bits.”
Around the same time, I came across baby vests made from rescued cashmere, like the one pictured above, made by eecee bb. An excellent example of good quality adult clothing being saved from the trash and turned into something useful (and adorable). I really want to try to be more aware of the impact of my purchases, and re-use as much as possible.
Have any good upcycling tips?

Found Freebies, Part 3: Creature Comforts

britt — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:35:27 +0000

Creature Comforts is one of my favorite daily reads. Ez has such a beautiful style, and it comes through on every single post. I was so happy to be included in one of her blog roundups a couple months ago. She has a whole series of free downloads available and they are all really well done so I had trouble choosing just a couple. The first, an adorable stationery set, I printed and sent off with an anniversary gift not long ago. It’s really charming, and I love the linen look of the paper. The other download, shown in the two side photos, are these mailing labels, which are so cute and simple. I really love them all, so head over and check them out.

Thanks for sharing, Ez!

Beginner’s Quilting

britt — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:44:59 +0000

My brother and his wife are having a baby girl - she’s due in about a month. I’m so excited to have a niece! We threw a small shower yesterday here in Nelson for Jayce, my sister-in-law. Part of my gift was this crib-sized quilt. It’s my first attempt at a quilt so I kept it pretty simple. The backing is just a soft, pink flannelette and you will probably recognize the Amy Butler fabric I used for the top and binding. I wanted a fairly bold pattern so I could stitch around the lines. It worked out quite well. In the beginning, I was trying to decided if I should hand-stitch around the flowers and leaves or machine sew a grid of some sort. This tutorial from Purl Bee helped me to decide on hand-sewing, and gave some really great tips.

One of the most valuable things I learned was the quilter’s knot, as seen in this tutorial by Heather Bailey. How did I not know about this? This tutorial (also by Heather) really helped me with the binding.
If I ever make another quilt, I think I will try to do something like this gorgeous one on Flickr. Do you quilt?

Found Freebies, Part 2: The Small Object

britt — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:25:23 +0000

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Sarah Neuburger of The Small Object, creator of the best wedding cake toppers ever to be made. Seriously.

Look! The one on the right sort of looks like Ryan and me. If only I had known about these two years ago…
Sarah has generously provided some free downloads in her signature style. Above I have shown the Flying Floating Mailing Labels and the Little Notes, but there are more here. These make me so happy!
Thanks, Sarah!

We’re in Nelson right now visiting our families. I almost forgot how calm it is here (we unknowingly moved into the entertainment district in Vancouver). Hopefully we’ll be able to go sailing at some point with my parents. Have a good weekend, everyone!