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Craft Night at Anthropologie

January
29 20
comments

I’ll be hosting a Valentine craft night at Anthropologie in Chicago next week! Come help me check off a Lovely Life List item (“teach a craft project to a group”), and go home with something cute that you’ve made. There will be two free sessions with just 25 spots in each, so be sure to register with Anthropologie to get in on the fun.

I’m looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Valentine's Day Craft Night with Making it Lovely

Update: The event sold out an hour after it was announced (!), but you can still sign up for the wait list in case of cancellations.

link    Crafty (& Handy)  •  20 Comments  •  January 29, 2013

Photo Skillz

December
19 35
comments

I often see my old photos pop up on Pinterest, and I’m amazed at how much my photography has improved. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m pretty comfortable with my camera now — manual settings and all.

Here’s a shot of my library from 2007, about six months after I started this blog, and then a recent shot of the same space.

I remember having trouble with that first photo way back then, but I did my best and I thought it looked all right. I still see some problems with the newer one, but it’s clearly an improvement. The first one needed a lot of help from Photoshop to even get it to an acceptable level, and the second had just a little tweak for brightness and contrast.

I’d love to learn more about lighting. There was a professional photographer here yesterday (shooting my house for a magazine’s Christmas issue to come out next year), and the contrast between myself and him was stark. He took his time, perfecting every shot and getting the lighting just right. I usually come in, set up my tripod, take a few shots, and move on. I was easily five times faster than him, but I’m sure his photos will be five times better than mine.

This was a quick snap — one that isn’t very good — but look at all that gear. I wouldn’t know how to use a lighting umbrella, or where to shine a spotlight at the ceiling to better illuminate the area behind it.

Library Photo Shoot

Having a blog for the last five years has pushed me to better my photography, and the constant practice has paid off, but I’m curious about what my photos will look like in another five years.

link    Library, Photography  •  35 Comments  •  December 19, 2012

DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees

December
18 37
comments

Christmas Decorations in the Dining Room

Here’s a cute DIY project to add a little sparkle and shine to your holiday! These colorblock Christmas trees took a few hours to create, but if you simplified the palette (and skipped the glitter paint), you could finish them in about an hour. Here’s what you’ll need.

Supplies

DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees (Supplies)

The smaller cones were to be glittered on one side, so I first painted the entire cone in a solid color. The larger cones were each going to be painted one one side with metallic paint (which I knew to have good coverage), so I started by taping them off and painting just half in a solid color. It’s easier to tape a cone vertically, though I’m sure these would look fantastic done horizontally if you’re up for the challenge.

DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees

Acrylic paint dries quickly. I found that by the time I was done painting the last of my six cones, the first would be ready for another coat (I did three on each). After the last coat had dried, I removed the old tape from the larger cones and retaped them to paint the other sides. The metallic paints I used looked good after just one coat, but I still did three — because I am weird and like to keep things even.

DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees

Adding the glitter… there went the whole ‘keeping things even’ idea. I lost count of how many coats of glitter paint I used! I knew they would take a while to build coverage, and I think I may have put 10-12 coats of paint on each cone. Early on in the process, I considered ditching the paint and just using glitter, but it was my hope that by using the glitter paint, each Christmas tree would be less likely to flake and leave a sparkly trail wherever she may go.

DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees - Adding Glitter

So far, so good. The glitter is staying put, and I love the two-tone effect.

DIY Colorblock Trees

I’m not sure if I’ve found the perfect place for these yet though. I like the effect of the mirror, doubling them and showing off both sides, but there’s already a lot going on in the hutch above, and with the stockings below. What do you think?

Christmas Decorations in the Dining Room

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This post is a collaboration with ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape. To join the creative community, visit www.facebook.com/ScotchBlue.

link    'C' for Crafts, 'H' for Holidays, Crafty (& Handy), Dining Room, Holidays  •  37 Comments  •  December 18, 2012

A Hip Handmade Holiday

November
7 26
comments

I was in Salt Lake City last month to meet with Allison Faulkner and Susan Petersen of The Craft Pack, along with their fantastic designer Matt Mildenstein. I got a sneak peek at their new digital book, A Hip Handmade Holiday, which is filled with craft projects, ideas, and digital downloads, all to make gifts for under $10 a pop.

Alison Faulkner, Nicole Balch, and Susan Petersen

A bunch of us bloggers gathered and got our craft on, choosing different projects from the book. (I went with the Nutcracker Bowling League.) I have since decided that I ought to set aside entire days devoted to group crafting, because that is fun.

Getting Our Craft On

Video! Done in one take! Alison and Susan are naturals. (Oh, you guys. I’m totally going to be a pro at this some day. I’m working on it.)


The trip was made possible by Vivint. Styling and awesome background by Cayleen Haynie, and music by Pleasant Pictures.

“I kind of Sgt. Peppered them up a little bit.” See? Pro-talk. The nutcrackers are awfully cute though, aren’t they? I’m a little hesitant to let the kids use them as bowling pins. I think I need to make a few more, specifically to set aside as decorations.

The Nutcracker Bowling League

We got our party on* later that night, after our marathon crafting was over. I’m pretty sure 95% of the internet’s cute, crafty bloggers are based in Utah, including most of the ladies below.

* Parties in SLC are mostly fueled by Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. Also, I got eyelash extension while I was in town! (Sadly, not before the video and photos though.) Utah, you’re a kick.

A Hip Handmade Holiday Celebration

A big thank you to The Craft Pack for having me out to Salt Lake City. Their book, A Hip Handmade Holiday is available now, for $10.

link    'B' for Books, Crafty (& Handy)  •  26 Comments  •  November 7, 2012

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