All posts tagged: decorate

did you get the memo?

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I taught another felt succulent workshop at Rare Bird, but this time we designed memo boards. I had leftover wire pieces from some shelving and was thinking about how I could use them for an art project. And then it dawned on me – put a felt succulent on it! And a memo board workshop was born. It had been a few months since my last workshop at Rare Bird, and since then, they’ve consolidated their space. It’s half as big as before but still packed with lots of creative magic. My set up for class — For my succulent workshops I usually bring a set color palette, but this time I brought a rainbow of felt and let workshop goers pick their favorite colors. It’s so fun to watch people create and see them get excited when they complete a project. I had three people sign up for memo boards, but we had a no-show, so I ended up teaching a private class to a mom and daughter duo. They created such beautiful work. …

galaxy grandma.

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My friends and I threw a grandma shower for our soon-to-be-grandma friend Sahskkia! The theme: Galaxy Grandma (because her grandson’s name was inspired by a constellation). We reserved a table at Riggers Loft in Richmond. They have a large space next to the water. The table we reserved was already beautiful (solid wood!) so we only decorated with a few additions – golden faux candles and twinkle lights, some fun signs that my friend printed out, gold star table scatter, and a plate of cupcakes for the centerpiece (more on the cupcakes in a later post!). We had wine for the table, but some also tried other beverages. Plus, there was a taco truck. Instead of typical party games, we had our own watercolor paint night. The idea was to create galaxy cacti, inspired by Aima Kessy of Dainty Rebel, to continue with the galaxy grandma theme. Clearly, I was most excited for the crafty portion of the evening (so many photos!). Beautiful! What a fun place to host a celebration! In addition to awesome staff, …

craft lady reporting for duty.

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A friend of a friend got married and I was craft summoned! I helped with day-of decor set up. It felt like a craft challenge. It was pretty exciting. The reception was held at Hillside Community Church in El Cerrito just a mile from my home. When I arrived the bride had a whole squad of decor helpers setting up all of the guest tables. The decor themes included elephants and travel so they had postcards and elephant figurines on display. My mission: pie bar set up and assorted sign making! I brought some of my craft lady display boxes and decor, and was given doilies, fabrics, and chalkboards to play with. My friend Laura was on map duty, as well as signs, making sure everything was pretty, and then tending bar at the wedding – she did it all! Before/During:  Display hack: tape boxes together for varied height! Font inspo: the wedding invites! After:  Pie bar close ups! I’m really into these crocheted doilies and golden elephants! And I couldn’t help but take so …

fruit party.

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Another coworker leaving means another fun party to throw! 😦 and 🙂 We made it a summer theme and asked people to bring fruits and veggies to share. We dubbed this all the “Hello Summer, Bye Bye Melissa.” party! One coworker made a watermelon basket! We also had cucumber-blueberry water and some pan dulce (in case fruits and veggies were too healthy… 😉 ). For decor, I raided my honeycomb and paper stash. I picked a few honeycombs in summery colors – I thought they would pair nicely with all the fresh fruits and veggies. I also made tiny honeycomb fruits on sticks by adding a paper leaf on top. Placing them in jars with floral sand added some nice height to the tablescape. I also made food picks with washi tape, and I found one paper fan in my party decor stash so I made a kiwi wedge – thanks Oh Happy Day! Plus, for added tablescape fun (or chaos!) I cut fruity scrapbook paper into scatterable sizes – kind of like large, easy-to-clean-up confetti. And what …

chocolate party.

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My sister and I threw a chocolate themed party for Father’s Day this year. We had a chocolate tasting, a chocolate inspired menu, and a chocolate activity. This could be a fun party idea for any occasion! Chocolate Tasting I searched for locally made chocolate bars and found Nohmad Snack co based in Torrance. We tried four of their single origin bars. Chocolate Menu It was a fun challenge to come up with a chocolate menu that wasn’t all sweet. I made chicken mole, cauliflower and peppers with picada sauce, and chocolate bread pudding. For the mole, I used Oaktown Spice Shop‘s Mole Poblano blend – a nice shortcut! For the veggie dish, oh my gosh, make double the picada sauce – it is so good. For the bread pudding, I was super impressed that I made a custard and not egg drop soup! Chocolate Activity What’s a family hang out day without an activity! My sister put together a design-your-own chocolate dessert topping. My niece got really into it. She made a double-sided piece! …

ice cream pawty.

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Happy First Day of Summer! Here’s a fun idea for a summer day, or any day really – an ice cream pawty! My friend Laura threw an ice cream pawty for her pup Pebbles! Laura set up human snacks plus puppy ice cream and toppings. How cute are these emoji labels for the puppy toppings? Per crafty friend protocol, I helped with some of the decor set up. We strung up garlands, and scattered ice cream and Pebbles head photo props around the pawty. I also helped with making signs. OoOoo, and check out this suspended centerpiece she put together, too – honeycombs for the win! Ice cream time! The human ice cream was catered by Tucker’s in Alameda. We all got two scoops plus all the toppings we wanted! The humans had fun, and I think the pups did, too! Happy birthday, Pebbles! Let’s recap the last pawty, too.

flower lockets.

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Springtime in the Bay means a bounty of blooming wildflowers. Here’s an easy project that yields stunning results with craft supplies from your own backyard. My friend and I cohosted this craft for another friend’s birthday and everyone loved it. All you need: lockets pressed flowers glue cotton swabs scissors yarn or ribbon Press the flower petals The step that takes time is the pressing of flowers. I’m not sure if my method of pressing flowers is correct but it works for me. Pull off petals and place them on a sheet of paper. Do not overlap petals. Place another few sheets of paper on top, then stack (heavy) books on top. Check on the petals after a few days and change the paper. After at least one week the petals should be ready for this project. Protip: choose petals that will fit your lockets (or lockets that will fit your petals) if you would rather not cut the petals. Design and glue When it comes to glueing, less is way more. Once you decide …