Have you ever seen a beautiful chalkboard in a restaurant or cafe, featuring detailed lettering and illustrations of the food, and wondered how they get such precise and saturated designs? Any time I’ve tried to do a drawing with chalk, it looks like it was done by a child. Which is partially a problem of artistic […]
Book Review: One Hour Cheese
There’s a Portlandia skit about how you can pickle nearly anything, which is a gentle ribbing of this city’s general propensity for DIY. Just because you can pickle something doesn’t mean you should, and the same goes for a lot of DIY endeavors. But when it’s this easy, I think you can (and should!) try […]
Book Review: The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day
Bread is one of those things that can seem super intimidating if you’ve never made it before. It does seem like there has to be some magic involved to turn flour, water, yeast, and salt into a dough capable of growing on its own, and we’ve all heard stories of tragic failures to rise and […]
Craft Book Review: The Sparkle Factory
Tarina Tarantino is known for her playful, glamorous jewelry and accessories. Her unique pieces have undoubtedly inspired plenty of DIY versions, so it’s fitting that she’s released the how-to manual The Sparkle Factory: The Design and Craft of Tarina’s Fashion Jewelry and Accessories. The book features 20 projects, plus sections on how the Tarina Tarantino […]