I’ve channeling all the cozy winter feels for this holiday season (even if the California weather has other ideas!) To create a comfy atmosphere, my first project of the season was sewing these pillow covers from old sweaters. (More on … Continue reading
About once a year, my friend Ariana (of Act 2 Decor) and I get up early go to the Alameda Point Antiques Fair to browse and look for treasures.
I’ve been working hard to clean out the house this year, so I kept my shopping restrained, but I was looking for a vintage felt pennant to finish up a new gallery wall in JJ’s room. I found the perfect piece, and it was definitely meant to be, because it was sold by the family of a former coworker!
When I got home, I was inspired to make some more pennants of my own. I made one for my home town, Toronto, and one for my sister-in-law’s family in New Jersey.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s how to do it:
Create a template for your pennant – mine is on two sheets of scrap printer paper. It is 7.5″ high x 21″ long.
Cut out the pennant from a large piece of felt
I sketched the images freehand in reverse on the paper side of the Heat ‘n Bond
For the script lettering, create a word processing document, print out the words, and trace them in reverse onto the paper side of the Heat ‘n Bond
Choose your felt colors for the letters and design and fuse Heat ‘n Bond to one side
Cut out your letters and designs
Arrange on the pennant and iron in place
Cut strips of felt for the binding (optional) and ties and sew in place
Here are my finished pennants. I should make one for San Francisco next!
Here’s a picture together with my vintage find:
And here’s how JJ’s new gallery wall came together!
I had so much fun! What city do you want to celebrate and what image would you use?
Julie aka “Jewels”
I am seriously in love with all the caned cabinet doors and other furniture that’s popular these days. This look fits with all of my favorite styles – Chinoiserie, Hollywood Regency, Bohemian, Mid-Century Modern… and I am excited to find … Continue reading
When we moved into our house, the small enclosed balcony became a place for LEGO, board games, and other toys. Now that the boys are older, I’m excited to reclaim this room as a more grown-up space for reading, lounging,… maybe even napping!
At 5’x15′, there is not much space in here, which made this a quick project! The key elements I wanted to include were:
The look I wanted to achieve included:
Here are some pictures of how it has all come together. I did buy this daybed quilt set, but otherwise, everything in the room we already had in our house!
I love this ceramic garden stool, but I have been looking for the right spot for it – what could be better than this indoor-outdoor room?!
This bookcase was my grandmother’s. I repainted it about 20 years ago and added the caning (post coming soon) for this space, to create a tropical feel.
We’ve had this round mirror for a while, and it’s a bit small for where it was hanging before, but it works perfectly here. The walls in this room are crazy hard to drill into (which makes sense, because they are actually exterior walls), so I braided some rope from my macrame days and hung it from a hook in one of the ceiling beams. I like how it adds to the outdoorsy, bohemiam vibe in here!
This room is a win-win with the plants – they love all the light, and they definitely help make me feel like I’m outside in nature!
This daybed is a magnet for people who love to snuggle!
Finn would also like to snuggle on the daybed. This is his mildly dissatisfied face, because he had to stay on the rug…
Last couple of close-ups of this vignette. I love how everything old feels new again, when you find just the right combination!
So excited to read, and snuggle, and knit, (and nap) in our new sunroom!
Julie aka “Jewels”
San Francisco’s fog is not the best climate for gardening, but my little lemon tree is getting established, and I wanted to create something citrus-inspired! I had some old canvases lying around (let’s just say that for me, paint-with-wine events are more about the experience than the product!), so I decided to transform them into something new!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s how to do it:
Paint the canvases in your background color:
Cut out your shapes:
Start arranging your citrus into branches:
For ideas on how to arrange your shapes, you can look at these inspiration images I found, as well as my finished product.
I am thinking of eventually putting these canvases in my office at work, but for now, I like the feeling of going to sleep in a garden here!
Julie aka “Jewels”
Here is version two of these DIY clay ring dishes! First, I made some in white with stamped designs. I love how those look, but keeping the white clay as clean as possible is a bit stressful. The marbled dishes, on the other hand, are so addictive and relaxing!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s how to do it:
Here are some progress shots and the final products!
Here is how to start the marbling process:
This is what the bowls looked like out of the oven.
Next step: gold paint on the rim!
Last step: clear gloss varnish!
I’m seriously addicted to making these bowls… can you guess what’s up next?!
Julie aka “Jewels”
These little pretty and versatile trinket dishes have been catching my eye for some time now, and I just needed an occasion to try them!
I’ve been so lucky to have a lot of fun dinners/ brunches/ weekends with my girlfriends recently. (See the moms’ brunch I hosted here.) I thought these dishes would be fun to make as party favors/ souvenirs.
I tried making a few different styles of dishes, and I’ll post the variations here soon. While I love the results of all of them, the white bowls are a bit stressful to make (hard to keep clean!), and the marble is really relaxing, so choose your project accordingly!!
There are so many different kids of polymer clay, and when I found myself overwhelmed standing in Michael’s, I appreciated this overview of the different clays and their uses. After reading this summary, I ended up choosing Premo Sculpey.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s how to do it:
Here are some progress shots and the final products!
Clay rolled out, stamped, and ready to mold
This is what the bowls looked like out of the oven, before paint and varnish. I like the matte look, but I suspect they’d get dirty over time.
Next step: gold paint on the rim!
Last step: clear gloss varnish!
Here’s a sneak peak at the marble bowls. I’ll get the post up some time (soon?)!
I’m seriously addicted to making these bowls…
Julie aka “Jewels”
I threatened this punny post title last year, when I sewed a planter bag for one of my big fiddle leaf figs. That fig and another have outgrown their pots again, so I’m sewing new planter bags for them. I’ve … Continue reading
I want to be very clear that I’m no minimalist, but I’ve definitely been working hard on taming the clutter in our house. In the process, I’ve really noticed how calming it is to see a formerly-cluttered space all cleared … Continue reading
I’m not usually a big Valentine’s Day person, but then again, a holiday built around chocolate can’t be all bad! Anyway, a couple of weekends ago, I got the urge to make something – anything! – and I put together … Continue reading
