One of my favorite elements to use in my home is rocks. Which doesn’t sound very attractive, but I’m not talking about any old piece of earth. I prefer chunks of marble, fossils, minerals, and crystals. Mostly they just sit around and look pretty, but these particular rocks have a job to do: holding back […]
DIY Mesh Skirt Modification
It’s been kind of a long time since I’ve done any clothing projects. But I’ve been seeing net and mesh used in a lot of cool ways this Spring (some of which I rounded up here), and I was feeling inspired. So I took a pencil skirt that I’ve had for a long time, and […]
Striped Succulent Terrarium
One thing I definitely inherited from my mom is a love of plants. She has extensive gardens, and often during the summer she doesn’t stop weeding and planting until it’s too dark to see (although I wouldn’t be surprised if she kept going with a headlamp). While growing up, often I was drafted into helping, […]
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 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 […]
DIY Valentine’s Day Heart Bath Bombs
These heart bath bombs would make a great Valentine’s Day gift even for someone you’re not romantically involved with. Moms, friends, sisters, or anyone you know who deserves a luxurious bath.