Friday Fotos and Faves

It was so rainy here in Seattle during the first week of summer that it was too easy to forget the couple of really nice, sunny days we actually did have! Here are some cool things I found while stuck in the house during downpours.

1. DIY mini fabric lamps (I am SO going to make these!)
2. Little gnome cross-stitch pattern (via poppytalk)
3. Embroidered screen door
4. Vintage tennis racket corkboard
5. Schoolhouse-turned-home in Chicago (viaDesign Mom)
6. Spoonflower + Craftsy: Summer Tote Contest

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Vintage Victory: Animal Alphabet Blocks

Ellen from the Netherlands always finds some amazing things at thrift stores and flea markets. Here's a wonderful vintage set of English animal alphabet blocks she found last fall in Belgium. How fantastic are these?!

Target 50th Anniversary: Past Is Present

Target is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with an incredible campaign of street window graphics. Allan Peters and his Target in-house team used modern-day images of models and put them in front of original 1960s Target advertising graphics to create the perfect blend of past and present. LOVE IT!

Friday Faves: For (Perpetual) Kids

1 Wave Desk at Offi & Co. || 2 Stuck! Bathplug by Slam Design || 3 Buttered Popcorn Jelly Beans at Archie McPhee || 4 City Stamp Set by Dwell Studio || 5 Self-adhesive Stylish Mustaches at Archie McPhee || 6 Universal Enterprise Kids' Robot Chef Set at Opus Design || 7 10-inch-tall, five-pound Giant Gummy Bears from World's Largest Gummy Bears || 8 Todd Oldham's Kid Made Modern Charley Harper Paint-by-Number Kit at Target

Hangin' Around

The latest issue of Covet Garden magazine has this fun little project for using up scraps of fabric you may have laying around:




What you'll need: Plastic hangers (if there are strap hooks, remove them, fun fabric, and masking tape.

1. Cut your fabric into long 1" to 1-1/2" strips. You can leave the edges raw and frayed, or for a cleaner look, fold them under as you wrap the fabric.
   
2. Starting at the tip of the hanger's hop, wrap the fabric over the end, tape in place, then start wrapping tightly around the hanger until that strip of fabric ends. Tape down the end.
   
3. Start again with another strip, disguising the tape from the previous strip.
   
4. When you get back around to where you started, tie the fabric off in a knot or bow and trim.

Little Things Mean A Lot

This past weekend I found a few little things during my once-monthly whirlwind tour of two local flea markets. Not a huge score, but I always come home smiling when I've found anything! Shown below are four flashcards (four of about 100 different images the dealer had...in retrospect I should have offered him something for the whole lot!), an old Lotto game card, a small card of yellow chenille yarn, and about two yards of vintage cotton-linen fabric. Total spent: $7.50. Woohoo!

Mister Rogers Remixed

Let's start off this Monday morning with something positive and inspiring, shall we? An incredible Mister Rogers remix, created by Symphony of Science's John D. Boswell for PBS Digital Studios. Apparently this is the first in a series of PBS icons the company plans to remix, so keep your eye out for more of your favorites!

Friday Fotos and Faves

My son's grandparents were visiting from out of town last week, which made for a fun-filled little vacation. Here are some favorite links I found this week while "recovering". ;-)

1. DIY upcycled paper fruit basket (via poppytalk)
2. (Temporary) tattoo-of-the-month club
3. Career advice to my 17-year-old self
4. DIY constellation jar
5. Pour paint pots
6. Felt lattice pillow

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

You Say "Potholder", I Say "Hot Pad"

My dad recently sent me six potholders my great grandmother made in the 1950s. I hung them in a little collage on the wall in our breakfast nook, but now have visions of expanding this new collection, so I've been doing research. I just love all the designs and the way they look when grouped together. They make me want to learn to crochet, but I just don't think I have the patience!

Here are some lovely photos I found. The first three are closeups of a few of the hot pads crocheted my great grandmother, followed by some vintage potholder crochet books from the '40s and '50s, a collector's wall collage, some details with interesting patterns and colors, and an amazing installation by Anu Touminen at the Nordic Watercolor Museum.

Friday Faves

1 Retro TV Mouse Pad at Perpetual Kid || 2 Mix Tape Dispenser by Jamie & Mark Antoniades || 3 Todd Oldham Kid Made Modern at Target || 4 Puntine Colorate pushpins at Curiosity Shoppe || 5 Giant Paper Clips at fab.com || 6 Present Time Karlsson Spirograph Wall Clock at amazon.com

Keep Your Feet Sweet!

I tend to have a lot of black and gray in my wardrobe, so I like to brighten up outfits with handbags and...colorful socks! Not to mention, with all the rain here in Seattle, any color added to everyday life is good, and necessary! The Swedish company Happy Socks makes colorful, artsy unisex socks and women's tights, and there are so many styles to choose from! I think they're a fun source of pattern and color inspiration, too!

Make a Woven Belt Using Square Knots

While we're on a vintage crafting roll, here is a project from the November, 1932, issue of Popular Science. It would probably take me the whole summer to make this belt, but would provide some relaxation and distraction. However, if you're into macrame and making friendship bracelets, this might be a cinch. The finished belt looks really cool--I'm wondering how different colors of cord, or even twine or hemp, would look... (Click on the image below to pull up a larger version.)

Fun with Paper Bags and Crayons

When summer comes, what will you do with all those leftover lunch bags? Do you have lots of paper grocery bags waiting to be recycled? Here's an ad for Crayola from 1958, which features some fun crafts to make using paper bags. I thought the puppets were adorable, and I love the illustrations in the ad.

Party-Time Plush Menagerie

This two-page spread of cute, fun-to-make plush toys was in the November, 1976, issue of Woman's Day magazine, which I recently found at the thrift store. Unfortunately the patterns were only available by sending a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope...remember those?!) to an address which is probably no longer valid, but I thought they were great for inspiration. I also just noticed they're sitting around the table each drinking "frosty ones"--little plastic toy beer mug charms! Party on, menagerie!

Friday Fotos and Finds

Click on the photos above to check out my Instagram feed. Here are some fun links I found this week. I'll be away next week but have some favorite objects (wants...needs...gotta haves...) lined up to pre-publish before I step out of the studio.

1. Joshua Scott's toy font (via Pugly Pixel)
2. Butterfly cross-stitch pattern freebie
3. How to make a statement necklace
4. The amazing world of sand art
5. Homemade pixie sticks!
6. Custom kicks for the pop culture set

Enjoy!