Month: September 2017

psl.

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Next up in the throw-your-coworker-a-party vault: Laura’s Bon Voyage! And when your coworker’s last day of work occurs during pumpkin season you throw a PSL party! Yessss. Traditionally, PSL stands for “Pumpkin Spice Latte,” but for this party it also stood for “Please Stay, Laura.” (Yaa??) I decided to decorate  with some of the Lady of Honor’s favorite things: rose gold lovelies (letter balloons!), Rifle Paper co prints (wrapping paper as wall art!), and dinosaurs (novelty toys for the win!). We even went on a fallen branch/twig expedition around campus to collect some leafy decor. Plus pumpkins, because it’s a pumpkin spice party. We took PSL drink orders and pitched in for snacks. It was my first time having a PSL. I went the iced, half sweetened, soy milk, no whip route. I can’t say it’s a favorite drink, but it sure makes for a great party theme! And for snacks, Trader Joe’s had all the pumpkin spice things. All. of. them. I thought I was going overboard with all the pumpkin treats, but can …

always on vacay.

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I embroidered a hat for my Mommy to take her retired life to the next level. O_o I found a wide brimmed hat at Target and used embroidery yarn to hand sew on this fun phrase: always on vacay. Then, I made her model it for me. She’s a natural vacationer! It’s perfect for actual vacations, or for enjoying the garden or taking walks. What do you think? What other fun phrases belong on giant hats? Share below!

lucky bamboo.

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My Mommy turned 70 this week so we had a little celebration over the weekend. I was assigned party favor duty. Since I’m always looking for a way to incorporate soy candles into celebrations because I have a candle lady (#thatmakerlifetho), and the party was at a Chinese restaurant and the decor would be red (for luck!), I decided on lucky bamboo scented soy candle favors! My friend Joy even made custom labels for the occasion. To package them up for my Mommy’s guests I found some tiny bags from Michaels, made mini tassels, and included a few matches. I used embroidery floss for the tassels. You can make at least five mini tassels with one skein of floss. Then, I punched a hole in each bag and attached the tassels “luggage tag style.” Since I wanted to include matches not in matchbook form, I cut the striker from the box into small squares and used double sided tape to adhere them to the inside of the candle lids. The Diamond brand match boxes can …

color factory extras.

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At the end of your Color Factory visit, you leave with a map full of extra sites and experiences to discover around the neighborhood. We visited three of seventeen stops. Our first stop was BOBA (obvi). Stop #8 on the map was Boba Guys on Stockton. They had a limited edition strawberry cream boba (jasmine tea fresca with milk). And, it came with a hot pink straw (versus their customary black straws). I had mine with hemp milk and it was delightful, made with real strawberries. Cheers! Next, we visited stop #15, a colorful stairwell and an ode to the flavors of Chinatown. Each step along on the stairwell was painted a different color and represented a particular food or drink. Oh look, another boba picture. (And if you’re wondering about those flags, scroll on down.) Lastly, we visited this lovely mural (stop #16) by type designer Jessica Hische. Only fourteen more stops to go. 😛 And a little extra for this extras post — I made food and drink pennants for my Color Factory …

shop feature: pippa & co berkeley

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Hello pink flamingo. Hello balloon bar. Hello Pippa & co! Pippa & co Berkeley is now open in the Elmwood (my old hood!) and it is everything! It’s just like their first location in Alameda but with more space to put even more party decor! I visited on soft opening day; owner and party extraordinaire Lisa was in the house! A sprinkle/confetti selfie wall. Coral shelving units. Honeycombs galore. Pineapple everything. Patterns, patterns, patterns. All. the. things! I can’t wait to visit again! Even when there is no party to plan, it’s such an uplifting and inspiring store to be in. Until next time, Pippa & co!

confetti crown crew.

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For the opening reception of my pop-up at Mischief we threw a confetti crown party. (Throwback to our 5th birthday!) And I make my own confetti now thanks to a super cool paper shredder that cross cuts paper into tiny pieces. This time I used a colorful neon paper assortment on it’s own; next time I’m thinking I should add some sequins and metallic bits. Let the colorful mess commence! Sparkly everything, colorful gems, and hot glue make for a fun crafternoon. ​ Huzzah! We are still finding confetti bits around the shop and I’m not even mad about it. 😎 Thank you to friends, old and new, for celebrating with me!

mischief maker. 

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If you haven’t heard the news, I’m a mischief maker. O_o I’m the featured maker at mischief! Semantics… My Feed the Fish co line gets a special area of the store and I get to hang out and craft all day when I’m in-shop. I love my lil set-up! It changes a little when I’m in the shop so I can sit near my stuff. I am most especially proud of my banner bar, which has been a longtime dream of mine. I finally found the right display for it, and this pop-up was the perfect place for it’s debut! I’m about halfway through my ‘residency’ now and already so much has happened. I’ve learned more about shop-life, brainstormed crafty projects with shop owner Laura, and completed a lot of custom projects in store. What’s extra fun is that I get to interact with the customers and show them how I make what I make. I’m also teaching a few workshops throughout the month. A huge, huge thank you to owners Laura and Julien (the …

shop feature: morningtide.

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I’m all about being in-the-know when new businesses open in the community. When I heard Morningtide was in the works, you know I was all over it! This was another one of those ‘I found out on Instagram’ moments. The owners posted sneak peeks into the shop before doors opened. I couldn’t wait for the soft opening. Morningtide carries high-quality women’s clothing and accessories, home goods, body products, and select food items (like QUIN candies; mmm, my favorite caramels…). You could tell the owners have a personal relationship with each artisan by the thoughtful ways they display their product and highlight the artisan’s story. I visited during their soft opening and met one of the owners, Lisa Fontaine. And get this, I was their third customer! So cute! They were serving homemade red velvet mini cupcakes to celebrate, too. Yum! I can’t wait to see the shop grow and continue to celebrate independent artists! Some notes: The Morningtide grand opening party is on Saturday, September 16 and their online shop launches in early 2018.

pop goes the etsy.

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The San Francisco Etsy street team strikes again! This time, setting up a pop-up at Ghirardelli Square for the entire summer! Participating vendors set up a 3-foot by 2-foot space. I found the perfect display for my pennants — a flower pot holder! SF Etsy is all volunteer run, so we were each asked to volunteer a shift during the pop-up. For opening weekend I signed up to be a “Traffic Attractor,” tasked to get people to come inside and shop local. I made a giant pennant for the occasion, plus some neon arrows. So much good stuff in the market! Vendors rotated in and out over the weeks so the market was ever-changing. For one of the market days I got to teach a mini felt succulent workshop upstairs. And I got to set up an additional pop-up display. Loving this tiny set-up. A huge THANK YOU to the coordinators – Rebecca, Stephanie, Krys, and Debbie – and to my team members for volunteering many hours and so much energy to put on this …

swap.

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My friend Angel and I hosted our very first art and craft supply swap! We had never been to a swap before either so we had no idea what we were doing, but we knew we wanted makers to be able to get rid of unused items, perhaps pick up some new materials to try new creative endeavors, and to meet fellow creatives. Overall, I’d say it was a success and well-received. We will probably host another in the new year. This way to the swap! We held the swap at Makers Workspace and invited the maker community to join us. We also posted the event on Eventbrite so we could keep track of interest and contact information. The swap was free for swappers and we requested a small fee from non-swappers. This worked out great because we had enough paid participants to purchase some light snacks for everyone. I scored these fun balloon arrangements from crafty friend Rebecca at her art installation earlier in the month. She was so happy to see they were …