Edgy, Cool Stickers!

When I was a little girl I used to love stickers. Most kids do, don’t they? Well last weekend…I rediscovered stickers. I was browsing the sale section at the art supply store and spotted a cool looking book: Sticker Bomb 2.

It looked interesting because the images on the cover were not cutesy but graphic, intense and funny. But I wasn’t about to buy it because what I really came in for was spray paint (I’ll have to tell you in another post about the spray paint drama that happened later that evening in my apartment…). A few days later the hubby tasked me with decorating the vintage Gibson guitar we bought him at an antiques fair a few weeks before. I told him excitedly about the sticker book I had found and we headed to the art store. I panicked when I didn’t see it with the rest of the sale items, but after digging a little deeper we found that it had been hidden behind a stack of flowery folders. Ha! It was ours. And better yet, for 40% off! Later that night we embellished his guitar, his iPad cover, my notebook and the decal on my laptop.

I was on a roll. I was totally sticker happy. This book was mad cool. It had an introduction about the street art and culture of stickers written by some of the artists whose work was featured. All of a sudden I felt that I sort of understood the stickered bathrooms of cool bars & live music venues. That Saturday we  planned to add stickers to our bikes (and anything else I could get my hands on) but first we went to my friend Marlene’s garage sale. We bought some very cool stuff, including a CB2 floor lamp with large metal shade. You can probably figure out the rest….yes, that night I most definitely made a sticker project out of it. We’re really into how this new creation brings some edgy-cool (a quality we love about street art) to our living room. Oh, and check out that fantastic horse pillow I bought from her garage sale as well…

I’m going to order the other book in this sticker series. Stay tuned for more sticker creations. Like how my old, boring microwave becomes totally pimp.

DIY: Impress Your Guests with a Trifle

It’s a detour from interior design, but I made this the other day and it’s so good I had to share. I bring you the yummy…the beautiful…the trifle! Oh, and most importantly…the easy! If you have guests coming over and you need a quick and fabulous dessert forget the ready cake mix and build a trifle. If you don’t have a large beautiful vessel, like this one which I found at a thrift store, make mini trifles in wine glasses. That’ll be sure to add an instant cuteness factor! OK, so whaddya need? I like to use tapioca pudding, crushed chocolate cookies, and strawberries or a medley of berries. You can use vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, blueberries, graham crackers crumbs…or whatever other delicious ingredients you think work together. They key to a trifle though is use a transparent glass bowl (or glasses or cups) and find three ingredients that contrast in color. A great texture combination is something creamy like pudding or mousse, fruit, and something cookie or cake-like. Layer the ingredients carefully so that they show clearly when you’re done. Get as fancy as you like with the top layer. It takes a little time, but arranging strawberry slices in circles as the top layer looks soooo pretty and you’ll score lots of oohs and aahs from your guests. I am so into this trifle idea that I’d like to try using it for a savory dish. Keep an eye out for it in future posts but in the meantime go make your own trifle and enjoy the compliments.

The Elusive 3-1/4″ Drawer Pull

You see them everywhere- French provincial style drawer pulls with pretty, delicate leaf motifs. So you’d think that you could easily replace or match one. If it’s 3-1/4″ on center, think again! This was my experience when I found a great dresser missing a handle. No problem I thought. Little did I know it would take weeks of searching online, scouring eBay, and rummaging through salvage shops. Not only was I unable to find a match (I knew that would be a long shot anyway) but I couldn’t even replace the entire set because apparently the 3-1/4″ is an uncommon size. And good luck finding it in a French style without paying a fortune.  The solution? I decided to go eclectic. I found some 3-1/4″ pulls in a cast iron style that were more of a scrolly fleur de lis rather than a leafy design- but still French enough. Luckily the 2 top drawers were smaller so the different style pulls worked rather nicely. Oh and check out the 2-tone cream and pale blue paint job… nice huh?!

Stop and Smell the Roses

As the proverb goes “no matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.” And after an unusually harsh winter, signs of spring are finally here! The birds are chirping; the sun is shining; baseball is back and the flowers are blooming! To celebrate the beauty of spring and my mom’s birthday, I made her a birthday cake out of fresh flowers. The concept is not unique or original, however, my design cost less than half as much as commercially made flower cakes. And, besides, it was handmade from the heart especially for my wonderful momma!

To make the flower cake, you will need bouquets of fresh flowers (any of your favorite blossoms will do – I chose purple daisies, green mums, and mini roses) and two fresh flower floral foam bricks bound together and cut into a cylindrical shape. After you cut the foam bricks into the desired shape, soak them in water for a few minutes. Cut the blossoms down to about half inch stems, place the foam on a cake pedestal and start adding the flowers. Once the foam is completely covered in blossoms, you can decorate the top with candles, ribbon, or any cake topper of choice. And, before you know it, you will have a vibrant and fragrant flower cake!

One-Hour, No-Commitment Pop Culture Wall

We’ve all been there: at home on a Sunday, wanting to execute a home makeover project but never quite getting to it. Maybe you’re low on motivation (and funds) to head to the hardware store for the supplies you need. (This happens to me with cooking sometimes…I get excited about making an elaborate dish, like paella, but then get discouraged when I realize I don’t have saffron, parsley, mussels, and about 6 other ingredients). Or maybe it’s a case of ADD: you get excited enough to start a striped paint job, but can’t commit to the several hours involved to complete it. Sure, we’re all competent enough to take on the most challenging projects, but there are those days when we are just more likely to execute something if 1. The supplies are handy and 2. It doesn’t require a lot of time, money or effort. Here’s one I tried on one such weekend: the 1-hour, no-commitment pop culture mural. You’ll need a stack of cool magazines, adhesive putty and a pair of scissors. This is as easy and cheap as projects get…

Gather some magazines you have lying around and carefully cut off the front cover. We had a ton of Rolling Stone, which happens to have great cover art. Put a pea-sized piece of adhesive putty on each corner of the cover and proceed to hang on the wall of your choice. The order can be completely random. If you have a laser level you may want to use it to keep your installation straight.

Voila! That lackluster room suddenly pops with pop culture!

Handmade Gift Bags: Easy Breezy Screen Printing

Hello, and welcome to the first Handmade Article!
Here I will provide a newbie’s point of view to a myriad of art projects.

Being the aspiring crafter that I am, I wanted to do something creative and personalized for my best friend Erin’s bachelorette party in Vegas. And as an alternative to paper or plastic gift bags, I thought it would be a fun idea to make reusable canvas totes for the party. Not only are the totes environmentally friendly, but we also filled them with fun goodies for the perfect souvenir of our awesome weekend together.

Erin’s sister, Kacie, helped me pick out an image and my friend, Kevin, helped me customize it with Erin and Nathan’s initials and wedding date. I loved how the image turned out and was super excited to get started.

Since I am a screen printing newbie, I used the internet and friends as references for my project. And, I found that The Gospel of ScreenPrinting was an extremely helpful resource.
The most challenging part of the process was creating a successful screen. After a few experiments with different exposure times and distances, I was finally able to produce a successful screen. The overall process can be challenging for first timers, but the end product is well worth it!
Because everything is better when it’s handmade from the heart!

Steps for Screen Printing:

1. Degrease the screen – Wash the screen with dishwashing soap and rinse thoroughly – let dry completely
2. Coat with Emulsion – Since the emulsion is light sensitive, this step will need to be performed in a dark room under a red lamp. Pour a light coat of the emulsion onto both sides of the screen and spread evenly. Prepare a dark place for the screen to dry (at least 4-6 hours)
3. Exposing the Screen – Prepare an area to expose the screen. Place a black sheet of paper or cloth under the screen, then put the positive image on top of the screen and lastly, place a piece of glass on the positive image. Use this as a guideline to determine exposure time for a 150W bulb:

• 8×10, 12 inches, 45 minutes
• 10×14, 12 inches, 45 minutes
• 12×18, 15 inches, 74 minutes
• 16×20, 17 inches, 92 minutes
• 18×20, 17 inches, 92 minutes

4. Washing Out the Screen – The screen is still light sensitive, so be sure to wash out the screen in a dark room. Gently wash out the unexposed emulsion from the inside of the screen. Once complete, you will be able to see your image!
5. Printing – Now are you are ready to screen print. You will need to tape off the area that was not filled with the emulsion. Masking tape, duct tape, or packing tape and foil will work just fine. Next, place your screen on the area that you want to print and pour ink onto the screen. Hold the squeegee at a 60 degree angle and slowly spread the ink evenly over the image. You will need to run the squeegee over the image a few times in order to get an even coating. Then, slowly separate the screen from the printing surface. And, tada, your inked image will appear!