i’ve been dying to try my hand at sunprints for some time now- so yesterday i spent the better part of my afternoon creating a custom corkboard and tray for my desk. even though summer sun is fading, there’s still plenty of light left over to create a custom botanical (or lace!) print for your home. in the video below i’ll walk you through the steps to create your own sunprint using fabric and then turning it into a personalized framed corkboard and accessory tray. i hope you’ll enjoy the project and give it a shot if you have a few extra hours this weekend!
*ps: i’m heading out a little early today to catch up on some book work so i’ll be back tomorrow with a full day of posts*
yesterday afternoon i hopped in a zipcar (and promptly got a parking ticket, grr!) and headed up to williamsburg to visit the lovely ms. amy merrick’s house. in addition to being the d*s editor in charge of “made with love” and “living in” (did you see yesterday’s godfather post? so cool), amy has one of the coolest homes i have ever seen. thankfully she’s going to let us have a peek for the d*s book, but until then she’s sharing some of her styling expertise with us today.
i’ve been dying to figure out the art of plate walls for some time, as they always seem to look so casually cool and sophisticated in everyone else’s homes, but not mine. i have a tiny one in my kitchen (which you’ll see in lonny mag tomorrow!), using a super simple symmetrical layout, but today amy is going to show us how to create a plate wall that’s more free-flowing. this project is a fantastic way to make the most of collections that have been relegated to dark cabinets somewhere- and is a great chance to save some money by purchasing cracked or chipped antique plates that aren’t food-safe. i hope you’ll enjoy amy’s project as much i did while filming it. looking to pick up some china like amy’s? try searching for “blue & white china” and “flow blue” on ebay.
for the past four years i have been pining over this incredible headboard featured in a 2005 issue of cookie magazine. it not only ignited my love for upholstered headboards, but sparked my interest in textiles from mexico, south america, india and uzbekistan. this particular type of textile, mexican otomi fabric, is handmade by the otomi indians of central mexico. i love the variations found throughout the style and the way that the animals seem to dance around in circles. so four year laters, i decided to bite the bullet and create the headboard i’d been dreaming about for what seemed like ages.
today i’m sharing my full steps below the fold, and in the video above. i shot this video in my bedroom yesterday by myself, so i’m living proof that this project can be done in a few hours, with little help. the final cost of the project depends on the source of the fabric and the shape of your headboard, but will always come in under the budget of a pre-made or professionally upholstered headboard (i called and got estimates from upholsterers ranging from $750-$1200!). i hope you’ll enjoy this project and consider creating your own variation; it’s a wonderful way to celebrate the artistic heritage of many world cultures- don’t be afraid to try this with indian block printed textiles, suzani or ikat fabrics from uzbekistan.
CLICK HERE for the project steps (update: including the headboard template!) after the jump!
last week we were introduced to a fantastic new creative arts cafe in manhattan called moomah. i was immediately blown away by the concept- and the fabulous interiors- at moomah so i decided to drop tracey and jacqueline a line to see if they’d let me pop by for a quick DIY project.
thankfully they were game and today they’re sharing a wonderful DIY shadowbox project that’s perfect for kids and adults alike (you can pick up affordable shadowboxes at ikea). whether you’re looking to spend more time with your children, or just create a keepsake to remember a special event or place in your life moomah’s diy project is a great way to an hour or two on a weekend afternoon.
if you’re in the nyc area be sure to drop by moomah for a class, a bite to eat, or just some quality time spent in an a positive, child-friendly environment. the interiors (including the bathrooms!) are reason-enough to visit in my book, so drop by their website or shop (161 hudson street, nyc) for more information. thanks so much to tracey, jacqueline, and everyone at moomah for letting me stop by on a busy friday afternoon (the noise is the background of the video is proof that moomah is already swinging and open for business).
*music in the video is “die die die” by the avett brothers, who’ve been on constant repeat in my house for months.
when it comes to gardening, i’ve got a pretty black thumb. so i’ve always been intrigued by the idea of terrariums- those little glassed in worlds where plants seem to thrive within their own self-contained environment. but after a few unsuccessful tries, i gave up on being able to create and sustain my own indoor terrarium. that changed a few weeks ago when i received a beautiful terrarium as a birthday present. i was hell-bent on getting this one to work so i headed straight for the experts- sprout home. i’ve been a fan of sprout for years and was thrilled when tassy from the brooklyn shop (click here to see her lovely bklyn home) offered to share her easy how-to tips for creating and managing your own terrarium.
not only was the process easy, but once i saw someone break everything down, i realized that this was THE perfect project for anyone who wants a little green space in the city. terrariums are inexpensive, easy to manage and, if you know the right steps to making one, perfect for anyone with small spaces- or a black thumb like me.
thankfully tassy invited me back to film the making of a terrarium from the ground up, and shared her expert tips for terrarium creation and care. i hope you’ll enjoy her how-to video as much as i did, and that you’ll be inspired to pick up your own terrarium and try one at home. if you like the vessels you see in the video you can buy them right here (scroll down for all the options shown in the video), or try creating your own using a found vessel or something you have laying around the house.
thanks so much to tassy and everyone at sprout for their help with this video. and to julia for the birthday gift that inspired this project!
*if you have any questions for tassy, please leave them in the comment section below. she’ll answer them as a group later today!
music from the video: “at the beach” by the amazing avett brothers. if you haven’t checked them out, click here. they’re fan-tastic.
today i am thrilled to share a special in the kitchen with: sarah magid. i’ve been a fan of sarah’s work for a while now and have been dying to work with her on a cooking project. and thankfully, she agreed! so yesterday i visited sarah’s beautiful home in greenpoint, brooklyn (stay tuned for a sneak peek of sarah’s home in the coming weeks) and watched as she baked delicious dark chocolate cupcakes with espresso whipped buttercream and hand-sculpted sugar flowers (the cupcake is vegan-friendly!). normally i’m more of a cook than a baker, but sarah’s work really inspires me to get in the kitchen and try out a simple recipe like this. the steps take hardly any time at all, and produce incredibly tasty results (so tasty i ate them in the car on the way home) so i hope you’ll enjoy sarah’s recipe as much as i did. and if you’re looking for a bit more a baking challenge, sarah also teaches you how to make hand-sculpted sugar flowers in the video- so you can decorate your treats like a pro.
thank you to sarah and her adorable daughter ruby (you can meet ruby at the end of the video) for welcoming d*s into their home on such a dark and rainy day.
also, many congratulations are in order for sarah on the release of her new book: organic and chic: cakes, cookies, and other sweets that taste as good as they look- a wonderful, approachable guide to organic baking. i spent the last hour drooling over her recipes for cakes, cookies and updated junk food, so if you’re looking for more sarah magid in your life, or just a visual and baking treat (the book photos were shot at saipua, with flowers styled by weeder’s digest’s sarah ryhanen!) click here to pick up a copy- i guarantee you’ll find at least a recipe or two that make you want to drop what you’re doing and start baking (or at least eating).
CLICK HERE for the full cupcake and frosting recipe, and links for buying gumpaste and decorative baking powders online!
brooklyn designer lindsey adelman, will be at the icff this weekend (booth# #1942) and several other shows this week- and i’m currently swooning over her ‘knotty bubbles’ and ‘agnes candelabra’. can’t wait to see them in person. click here for more info on her show schedule this week.
i also wanted to start this morning with a beautiful short film that i thought would set the tone for the last day before design week kicks off. icff starts tomorrow, followed by the stationery show, surtex and all the off-site shows (stay tuned for coverage of everything staring this monday on d*s) so i’m enjoying this beautiful, calm chalk animation video by lucinda schrieber of sydney, australia. “autumn story” is a beautifully animated short and i love the way the birds fly from chalkboard to chalkboard. it’s pretty with or without the sound (if you’re stuck at work and can’t listen). [thanks, liz!]
