When it warmed up outside and the plants began poking their heads above the ground and growing leaves again, I started thinking about fixing up our yard. Last year we didn’t do much other than put in some raised vegetable gardens and try to keep the grass mowed, so it needs a lot of work. […]
A New Skill: Stone Setting
On Sunday I attended a jewelry class I had been looking forward to for a while. It was on free-form stone setting, and it was the first time they had offered the subject at my favorite bead shop, Dava Bead (they have tons of classes, but they fill up quickly). It wasn’t addressed in any of my […]
DIY Striped Soap
Recently I saw some striped bars of soap, thought they looked cute, and had the classic, “I could make that!” realization. I had soap base leftover from my coffee mint soap, so all I needed was some soap colorant. Turns out it’s just as easy as it seems: pour colored soap in layers, then slice […]
DIY Exfoliating Mint Coffee Soap
I’ve wanted to try making my own soap for a long time. Actually, real soapmaking involves making the soap base from scratch, using lye, oils, and precise measurements. But melt-and-pour soap couldn’t be much easier. It’s all in the name: melt the base, stir in additives like essential oils, herbs, colors or scrubby bits, and […]
DIY Geometric Himmeli Diamonds
Once I got started making himmeli-inspired shapes, I couldn’t stop. The only thing that stopped me from making brass versions of the other straw prototypes I came up with was that my hands were sore from cutting too many brass tubes. But this morning it occurred to me that a cutting wheel on a Dremel […]
DIY Himmeli Geometric Gem Decor
Before I started this project I thought the hardest part would be figuring out how to put the shapes together, so I started by practicing with some cocktail straws. I worked out all the kinks with the straw prototypes, and then I moved on to the brass tubing versions. It turns out that cutting the […]
DIY Cake Stand
Everything looks better on a pedestal. Even in ancient times they put statues up on stands, and at some point somebody decided that cakes and desserts deserve to be treated as objects of worship, too. And so cake stands were invented. The Mosser glass jadeite version kills me (it comes in a bunch of lovely […]
Faux Fur Scarf DIY
I’ve been wanting to make a colorful faux fur scarf ever since I posted this roundup of inspiration back in November. In the meantime I encountered even more examples of colorful faux fur looking stylish. From left to right: This slideshow, Anthropologie, this slideshow. Although spring is well on its way here in Portland, I know […]
My DIY Bath Tray/Caddy
My DIY Valentine’s Day gift for my husband, a bath tray/caddy with woodburned initials.
