All posts tagged: spring

stop and smell.

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Have you visited the Berkeley Rose Garden? May is a lovely time to wander the garden. I especially appreciate a sunset visit. Sometimes Hubby tricks me by saying something adventurous and romantic like ‘let’s go to the rose garden,’ but what he really wants to do is check out the Rose Garden tennis courts (yes, they have tennis courts!). I’m not mad about it though; look at these blooms and the view! There are plenty of spots to sit and levels of garden to wander. I not-so-secretly would love to be able to name off varieties of plants so I like that the rose bushes are labeled with common names. Also fun: There’s a tunnel that connects the Rose Garden to Codornices Park across the street which has a playground, lots of grassy hang out space, a creek, and hiking trails. For more rose garden adventures, try the Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland or the State Capitol Park World Peace Rose Garden in Sacramento, too. I hope you get to take some time to enjoy …

pool noodles.

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I repurposed Awreatha from winter craft events and created a few spring-ready flower arches. Pool noodles for the win! Similar to Awreatha, I wrapped each pool noodle in strips of felt. For one I repurposed the wired leaves from Awreatha and inserted those into the pool noodle before wrapping with green felt (to both hide and secure the wire). For the first arch, I wanted to create a rainbow. I grabbed all my felt scraps and went to town with making flowers. Anything goes for this arch! I also used a few felt balls for floral centers. For the second I went with a spring jungle look and chose dark orange, pinks, yellows, and a neon yellow/green (tennis ball color!). For this one I wanted a more cohesive look so I created multiple of each flower type. Then glue, glue, glue! For the rainbow I started glueing from the middle of the arch to make sure I was adding flowers evenly across the arch. For the spring jungle arch I sprinkled flowers all over, adding …

spring into mischief.

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This past weekend I set up my window display at Mischief in Oakland! Over the past few months I schemed, I sketched, and then cut, glued, and made it all come to life!  Early sketches: I created five pajaki chandeliers, nine felt flower bouquets filled with over sixty blooms, five fringe garlands, and lots of flower crowns for the two-window display. Literally translated, pajaki means “spiders of straw.” Don’t Google “pajaki” on it’s own; always search for “pajaki chandeliers” – or you’ll be in for a frightening treat. You have been warned! O_o The paper chandeliers are traditionally part of Polish Christmas celebrations, but they are so colorful and sweet, I think they should be around year-round, especially during the Spring!  You’re seeing 40+ hours of work here (maybe more, I didn’t actually keep track, but I’m on season five of Parks and Recreation now)! I’m so excited that it all came together in the windows. As I was setting up, a customer came in and said “It’s so spring-y!” – Success! Pajaki chandeliers are usually …

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 …

bunny butts. 

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A pom pom DIY for Spring! Materials and tools: Cardstock Yarn Hole punch Paper scissors Pom pom maker (I like using the Loome tools. You can also use a fork or make your own out of cardboard.) Fabric scissors Make a pom pom: wrap yarn around your tool, tie tightly around middle with a separate piece of yarn (it’ll resemble a donut, sort of), cut the loops (a fuzzy ball!), and give it a hair cut (don’t be shy; cut a lot!). Make sure to leave the tie yarn long. Cut a bunny shape and punch two holes to attach the pom pom. Tie on a pom pom. Bunny butts! These make cute table settings or Easter basket notes, or a fun surprise for your favorite bunny fan. Try it with different colored paper and yarn, too. Happy making! 

I’m makin’ pay-puh.

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Pay-puh flowers, that is. West Elm + Paper Source = Craft Party! There’s nothing like creating in beautiful spaces, so when West Elm announced a free craft night I was sooooo in. And I convinced a couple of friends to join, too! They had all the paper laid out with templates, instructions, and tools. All we had to do was cut, curl, and glue. And then we had a photoshoot in the store and celebrated over pizza. Of course! How do you ladies night? Share below. 

floral backdrop.

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So by now you’ve already got something  planned for Mom, right? Wait, what? You don’t? Well, here’s a quick DIY you can put together for Mom’s Day- a floral backdrop. It’s perfect for a Mom’s Day photoshoot! She is a (role) model afterall. 😉 All you need is a dowel, some twine, ribbon, faux (or real!) flowers, and hot glue. Keep in mind you can use any length ribbon/twine. Here’s what I used for each of my pieces. one dowel three 5-foot strands of twine two 2.5-foot strands of ribbon 14 flowers hot glue First, hot glue and wrap on some twine. Five loops around the dowel is plenty, but I really liked the green on tan look so I did a few more. Fold the ribbon in half and hot glue the midpoints onto the ends of the dowel. Tie a knot to secure. Next, lay out your flowers along the twine. Tie them on tight with a double knot starting from the top. Optional – you can place a dab of hot glue …