Posts Tagged ‘diy’

Catching Up

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This week is my goal not to add any new projects to the docket, but to actually finish projects I’ve had in the queue for months. I just got around to lettering this quote for Danni:

and this sign for Angela:

I’ve been meaning to get around to both for some time (like several months). I’ve got a couple more calligraphy/lettering projects to finish this weekend. I can’t wait to show those to you, too! I’ve mostly been doing digital lettering these days, so it was fun to bust out the old pen & ink.
Speaking of calligraphy, who’s up for a class? For those of you who are local, I’m thinking about doing a class on the 17th of September from 1-3pm. Registration is limited & will go live next week. You’ll want to stay tuned. If you’re not local & looking to get in on all of our calligraphy fun, don’t despair! We will be filming the class in preparation for the online class I’ve been promising for nearly a year!

 

DIY Photography Backdrop

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I’ve had a few people ask me where my photography backdrop is in relation to our house. Well, it’s in my little studio room. I got the idea when I realized I had a TON of curtains & curtain rods hanging around from our old place. I thought a great way to clean up the look of my non-maternity maternity shots would be to add a curtain over the closet doors. Then I added another curtain to the floor to cover up the ugly carpet. I’ve been using this system for a while now, but now I’m wanting an even cleaner look.

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I totally get washed out in white. PLUS a white backdrop is harder to expose for & get correct white balance for. I’m still a major rookie at the photography thing. In the back of my mind I’ve been thinking a middle-grey curtain would be so much better to shoot. Yesterday it clicked. I thought I’d go to Home Fabrics, a place that my friend had told me that offers discount home & upholstery fabrics, and see what they had. Despite their lack of grey fabrics (they mostly have tan & burgundy) I was able to find some printed grey cotton for $5 a yard. It was originally $10 a yard.

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I needed cloth that was 57 inches wide – which just so happen to be the exact width of this fabric! All I had to do was hem the two ends & I was ready to rock & roll. Did you know that if you rip fabric, it’ll rip in a straight line, exactly perpendicular to the selvage? That’s how I was able to get an even hem on both ends. Making this back drop took about 15 minutes & $22.

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I slide the fabric to the edge of the curtain rod & use bulldog clips to secure the extra off the ground when not in use. It’s a pretty slick system. Much better & cleaner than my last method.

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Backdrops are so yearbook/1990, but I love that I can focus on taking pictures of me & the kiddies without worrying about the background/ugly carpet/styling. What do you think? So, if you take outfit pictures or kiddie pictures, what kind(s) of backdrops do you use?

Feeling a little Nostalgic

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We went to Provo today to visit with friends and family. I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic, seeing some old haunts (particularly Diego’s – YUM). While there, we ran across loads of yard sales which reminded me of the yard sale Chris and I had when we left the area over two years ago. Which then reminded me of the window bench and coffee table that I so proudly made and sold at that yard sale.

Chris on the window bench

This bench was made almost entirely out of windows from the house I lived in while single. Besides windows, I used plywood, foam, fabric and screws.

window table detail

I thought this thing was so stinking awesome, but I couldn’t bare the thought of moving it all the way to California (it weighed close to a metric ton). Thankfully, it went to a good, loving home.

window bench detail

This was one of many of the projects that Chris and I embarked upon while we were dating. I knew that he was the man for me when he started to get excited about miscellaneous projects like this one. It’s been a long time since we’ve started a project like this, pretty much a year and a half (remember this one?). Now that we’re in a house of our own I’m dying to work on some projects. And believe me, we have loads of projects that lie ahead.

Nathan & Linnley’s Wedding: The Invitation

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I’ve been anxiously waiting for the right moment to blog about my sister’s wedding invitation. I’ve been so excited about the design and even more excited when all of the elements came together about 3 weeks ago. My sister’s colors were black and light blue and their wedding budget was pretty tight, so I worked very hard to figure out the most economical way to print these babies.

linnleys-invitation

Click on the image to enlarge

The invitations turned out beautifully, but the production was not simple or time-friendly. I have many very nice aunts and cousins that agreed to hang out at my parent’s house for nearly 6 hours scoring, folding and taping items into place. Granted, not all 6 hours were working on the invitations alone, they were also assembling blue petal boxes to fit a small handful of chocolate cashews (the candy that brought the couple together in the first place).

Nathan & Linnley Invitation pocket detail

The wedding went very well, and I think Nathan & Linnley are very happy together. To read more about their story, check out their blog.

I’m all biased out.

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[This is a pretty long post. Sorry]

Excuses, excuses: Chris and I got back from our Idaho/Montana trip late Thursday night. We’ve not been in one place for more than 3 days for the last 2 weeks. We’re living out of suitcases at my parents’ house. . . Therefore it’s been just a teensy bit difficult to do much of anything crafty, especially in time for Easter. I was hoping to make a big deal out of it this year with dying eggs, homemade easter baskets with sweet treats, and matching dresses (all traditions from my childhood), but it just wasn’t very realistic (just like my idea of having an elaborate party for Penelope’s first birthday).

However. . .

For the last couple of months, I’ve been thinking non-stop about making a striped skirt like the one from Anthropologie and I just so happen to have 5 yards of very similar fabric. I think it was Saturday afternoon that decided that now was the time to make that idea happen.

biased skirt

I used the skirt pattern from the Sew U book (it’s genius), and modified it just a tad. It probably took me nearly an hour to figure out how to place the pattern pieces on the fabric to get the stripes to line up just right.

high waisted striped skirt

I like the enclosure in the back with the grey buttons, I also like the light weight fabric and the look of the bias. Overall, I think it turned out ok, but Chris just might say otherwise (he’s just not a fan of the pleats in the front). So, I’d like to ask you: Should I keep the pleats in the front, or should I modify the skirt to make it flat-fronted?? I’m not sure, because it looks like pleats are all the rage, but I’m a little self-concious about it. Seriously, I need your opinions!!

striped biased skirt 1

Anyway, It turned out ok, but I’ll definitely make this skirt again so I can learn from my mistakes.

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Penelope’s dress turned out slightly better, but it too, has its flaws. The inspiration for this dress comes from a Martha Stewart magazine photo of a girl in a pink scalloped dress. SWOON with a capital S! This was my attempt at making that dress from a japanese dress pattern. The pattern is starting to get a little small for Penelope, so I tried to enlarge it. The proportions came out a little funny, but the dress still looks as cute as a button.

Nel's striped scallop dress

I love this little girl, and the grey stripes with the pink ribbon fit her personality just right.

Penelope's striped scallop dress

Overall, my attempts to be matchy, matchy for Easter were fairly successful, and all it took was 10 straight hours of sewing and $5.

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