Angela

DIY fridge magnets

June 16, 2014 by Angela

I was really in the mood to craft but didn’t feel too inspired by any one thing, so I went straight to my supplies. This DIY was born from having the same piece of cork board and unopened magnet pack for about three years now (no kidding!). I like being able to put a mail key or spare key on the fridge and not having it take up space in a dish or poke holes in the wall of my apartment. If you want to make something similar, here’s the how to…

Gather supplies: glue and glue gun, magnets, flexible cork, masking tape, paint, and key hooks. If you need to buy the key hooks, you could try these ones, which are much cooler; mine are taken off an old key holder wall hanging.

Tape all areas you don’t wish to paint. Then paint, let dry. Draw or paint on gold details. Hot glue the hook to the cork and cork to the magnet. Let dry before hanging…& there you have it.

There will be lots more bright DIYs on the way… What’s your latest craft?

Surreal Santa Monica

June 9, 2014 by Angela

With nothing to do and a little time on our hands, we decided to head over to the beach the other night, just after sunset. Just Kevin and my camera… it’s always a good time for adventure. Lately I’ve been uninspired with my camera and these blurry photos are the antidote: reminding me of a time when my friends and I would go out with point-and-shoots and wave the camera around as if blurring the light was some fancy photographer’s trick, no thinking of shutter speed or aperture or other terms I still don’t quite understand…

We parked north of the promenade, and could see the pier off in the distance. But it was quiet where we were. There’s a trail headed down from the bluff and a sky bridge over the coast highway.

The tail lights through the gate on the sky bridge… like hearts or butterflies or birds.

Traffic leaving Santa Monica…

Once we got down to the beach, we could hardly see in front of us. It was quieeet. Just the waves. And lights to the right of us. When you’re walking across the sand in Santa Monica you have to go much further than any beach (ever?!) to get to the ocean. Perfect when you need beach space. Awful when you’re walking across scorching sand. Eerie, lonely, and beautiful when you’re exploring past sundown.

Looking back toward the bluff side and buildings downtown.

I love this picture so much because that black line across the top is about ten palm trees.

For the lifeguards. Ghostly. We thought about whether lifeguards take their girlfriend’s on dates there…kind of romantic, but mostly inappropriate, ha. Which makes me think of what growing up next to this kind of beach was like, what memories would be later on in life—breaking curfew out with your friends—in my case literally doing nothing out of the ordinary, just walking around, laughing and exploring. And getting ice cream, always. Then doing it again weekend after weekend.

Setting the camera on the sand to try and force still waves.

Looking out toward the pier at the constantly changing wheel. xx

DIY desk organizer

June 4, 2014 by Angela

The other day I was looking for office supplies to go with the new desks I just ordered online. I had about enough spending money for a charming new pencil set (which I bought and love!) but not much else. I saw this adorable scalloped desk organizer online, but it was out of my price range. It’s so cute and gave me instant inspiration for my own cardboard version. Sure, it’s not as sturdy, but with an extra layer of cardboard it’s actually pretty nice.

So if you have a cardboard granola bar or cereal box and some cute paper, you’re ready to make your own. Side note: I discovered these bars at Sprouts and am not sure whether I’m totally healthy for eating one per day (they’re sooo good) or if it’s more like that scene in Mean Girls when Regina doesn’t know she’s eating bars designed to make her gain weight. I guess we’ll see…

Materials: Scrapbook paper, gold pen, hot glue + gun, a cardboard box, ruler and scissors

Cut the box into a small tray, knowing that it will be a bit taller once the scalloped edge is on.
Create a stencil of the front of your tray, only with a scalloped edge. repeat for other edges of the box (or leave only the front scalloped, you choose). You’ll glue this on later, so you won’t have to cut scallops into the tray itself, which is very tedious.
Then, repeat the scalloped rectangle design with your scrapbook paper. To recap, your box will have three layers: the tray itself, the cardboard scallops, and the pretty paper. This makes it easier to cut and a lot stiffer.
Color in the scallops with a metallic pen.

Cut cardboard and scrapbook paper squares to go on the ends of the tray.

Glue each piece on, layer by later. Make sure to let each dry completely before doing the next. Touch up if needed.

If you choose to do two boxes like me, glue them together at one end, and you’re left with a desk organizer that has two compartments, ready for your notes and stationery.

What do you think? Can’t wait to see how it looks on my shiny new desk :).

5 ways to spark creativity

May 29, 2014 by Angela

It seems like everything comes in fives lately. We can’t always control when we feel ready to tackle creative projects. For me, it’s a huge struggle because I need to bring my best ideas at work, and, I need other, separate, good ideas for my blog, shops, and a little thing I went to college for: creative writing/storytelling. Sometimes it’s more exhausting than liberating, but like they say: I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The passing of Maya Angelou reminds me more than ever just how much ONE person can do in a lifetime. Everything I want to do in life (cue big, sweeping statement) is defined in one word, creativity. This has helped me get and stay creative in my 24 years of being inspired by wonderful and surprising things:

DIY floral crown

May 27, 2014 by Angela

If you know me, you probably know that every spring I make a new floral crown. They’re gorgeous for photoshoots, but I must say, I still haven’t gotten up the courage to wear them out and about. I’m not sure how having beautiful flowers surrounding my face could ever be a bad decision, yet I suddenly feel like everyone’s staring. Anyway, I’ll spare you the step-by-step since there are a million out there and just show you my little trick for the easiest floral crowns ever.

Materials needed: A pretty + inexpensive flower garland, a few extra faux floral stems, hot glue and gun.

Since you have the garland, all you need to do is cut it the circumference of your head, bend the wires together, and secure with hot glue.

Then, apply the flowers (taken off of other floral stems) around the wires.

And there you have it!

This is one of my favorite shades of pink.

This time around, I really went all out for a super full, leafy crown.

I used the same method for a grecian crown I wore to a theme party in college. Happy last days of May!

Creative styling ideas

May 22, 2014 by Angela

Whether it’s for a blog, shop, or instagram, it seems like every photo out there has an extra dose of creativity lately. I love seeing clever styling when it comes to fashion, products, DIYs, and decor… especially when it has that aerial view on a crisp background. I remember reading a few times that Pinterest has made people push themselves more in terms of creativity because everyone wants to be able to take that gorgeous photo. Here are some styles I’m loving and ideas for doing them yourself:

The Pink Diary is a blog full of perfectly styled outfit ideas. Tip: Fold clothes so everything fits in the frame, and add little details like polish.

Free People‘s blog is one of those few brands that’s actually a go-to for inspiration. This packing list keeps it simple on a blank backdrop.

I’ve always loved when Etsy sellers style each product according to a specific brand and aesthetic. Factory1974 does just that on a neutral wood-grain background. With products, it’s important to keep your branding functional–people should be able to see what they’ll get. This one’s a definite success.

Another shop on Etsy, Smile Mercantile, has a shop fully stocked with perfectly curated supplies and vintage goods. Valerie seems to get EVERYTHING right here, and each picture looks different–and worthy of sharing! Now that I think of it, I feel a shop feature coming on…

Coffee table and workspace styling is huge right now, so if you have a cute table, you better be photographing it! This photo by Rebecca Dale of a space/styling on WithLoveFromKat (including a print by MadeByGirl) couldn’t be better designed. Tip: Fresh flowers can only make your photo better.

Charity styled this 80s party dress on our shop’s instagram and pretty much doubled our followers instantly (hey, we’re getting there!). So, the tip here is: Get creative and you can’t go wrong. Oh, and add a pineapple. Always add a pineapple.

Are you into this styling trend? Which one is your favorite?