Angela

DIY art gallery wall reveal + tips

February 4, 2014 by Angela

After living in my cozy little apartment for 8 months, I can finally say—my art gallery wall is finished! This wall is a huge open space right above my couch (purposely left out of these photos, the cats have really done a number on our perfect Craigslist find!), and stretches into the dining area. The wall is super long, but I really wanted it to fit well above the couch. For a while, it was only half done—but I’ve added a few amazing pieces to my collection, which I’ll talk about today! If you are starting a mini art collection like mine, there are a few places I’d recommend for awesome prints—check them out below:

Independent gift stores: Most of the tiny cards that I displayed are from an adorable home shop in Burbank, CA, that features handmade art and gifts from different indie sellers. I fell in love with the California, bird, and butterfly-themed prints, and added them to my wall last to tie everything together. The large butterfly poster was for sale at a vintage and art boutique in Bellingham, WA, for only $5—but I’ve seen it multiple places. Small specialty shops are such a great way to get when you have something in mind like filling an art wall—but no idea where to start.

Etsy: Duh. For a while, I thought my wall would be entirely Etsy, but I’ve managed to branch out (I’m adventurous like that). Etsy has, of course, one of the largest selections of art, design, and typography prints (and original art) that you can find online, straight from the sellers.

Tiny Prints: Yep, this 5×7 postcard-type print and glittery gold background is from the customized greeting card website! I got an idea to customize a card and make it into a piece of wall art when I noticed you could totally change the text on their holiday cards. This one was a New Years card, but I uploaded my own photo and wrote “hello, 2014—with love, from California” as a tribute to a new year in my new city! The back features a cute sparkly diamond design, so I turned one of my prints around and layered them on top of each other.

Thrift stores: Is there a shopping trip that can’t be completed at a thrift store? I truly don’t think so (though the above options are acceptable replacements). I thrifted the small botanical art print (center) from a vintage field guide long ago (you may remember my photo backdrop wall) and still have tons of pages to work with. I absolutely love thrift-shopping for paper supplies (more on that later!) because even if you only end up with one book, you instantly have hundreds of pages to work with. This United States map was from a 1940s atlas. I personally wouldn’t have wanted to tear pages from such a unique book had it not already been destroyed by the thrift store (insert angry rant about how some thrift shops insist on writing prices directly on the cover and pages, not to mention stores that actually staple their price tags to the clothing!…ugh). I took a pink pen and marked our journey from our college town way up in Washington all the way down to our trip to San Diego last year, and now our home in LA! Can’t wait to connect the dots next time we move.

Artists/Businesses Featured (besides thrifted or DIY):

Have you posted a home tour on your blog? I want to see it!

8 Valentine’s Day cards to say how you really feel

January 28, 2014 by Angela

I am a greeting card addict. I’ve been collecting them since high school. It’s one of my many quirks. Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is coming–and as someone who used to work in a greeting card STORE (dream job, right? for a 16 year old!), I can already feel the love! It only took me about five minutes to round up these cute/hilarious/cheeky Valentine’s Day cards, because I’d secretly been book marking them all month. I haven’t allowed myself to actually buy any of them this year because of my overload of holiday cards that I just had to have (and not send!) in December. Here are 8 cards that say it all for you:

CarolineMcgahDesign (also featured in my last Etsy wishlist)

sadshop

Do you give Valentine’s Day cards each year?

Easy crochet infinity scarf pattern

January 23, 2014 by Angela

This post is KIND OF a milestone in my crafting career. Today, I am posting my first-ever crochet pattern! I have a little secret with crochet: I never read patterns (let alone write them!). All my designs are made through a process of trial and error (and error) until my scarves are the right length, coffee cozies the right fit, flowers are the right size, etc. When I first started crochet, I learned from watching instead of reading, and simply never thought much of the fact that I don’t follow patterns. Lately, I’ve started to read a few good crochet books and learn from other artists, too. This scarf pattern may seem TOO easy to even be a pattern, but then I remember trying to teach my sister crochet–it’s very hard if you are totally new to needlecraft!

I love crocheting infinity scarves. I always keep a few in my Etsy shop, and I love seeing how other people layer them up for winter. There are a lot of infinity scarves and patterns out there, but one thing that separates my scarves from most crochet is this: they’re really, super long. Unravel one of my infinity scarves and it can rival you in height (or me, I’m pretty short). I love the cozy look of wrapping a scarf around (and around) and throwing it over a sweater. So, I made a variation to share today, of one of the simplest designs you can do in crochet. This one is a moderate length compared to a lot of my others, so feel free to keep crocheting that foundation chain for a longer scarf than the one here. I currently have about three on heavy-rotation each winter :).

For this pattern I used double crochet throughout, a super large hook, and a yarn needle for weaving at the end. I love using large hooks because you get that chunky knitted look. Here’s the how-to:

*worsted weight acrylic yarn, 2-3 skeins, or about 380 yards.

*size N hook

*large yarn needle

TO BEGIN.

Chain until scarf is 84″ in length (or your desired length)

This is what it will be around.

Turn, insert the hook into 3rd chain from hook, and double crochet in each chain across.

Turn, chain 3, and repeat. Repeat until you have 7 rows of dc.

Optional: crochet a border around the scarf in either slip stitch or single crochet – most of the time I find it looks uniform enough not to need to do this, but it can add more of a finished look.

Fasten off – leave about 8″ at the end to sew the scarf together and weave in.

Sew it together with a large needle. Make sure it hasn’t twisted and is all facing the same direction. Weave in the other end and make sure everything is secure. There you have it! Wrap around two or three times depending on the look you want. Store it lying flat to prevent excess stretching.

Let me know if you will give this crochet scarf a try 🙂

Artist Holly Farrell

January 6, 2014 by Angela

Holly Farrell is a painter based in Toronto whose work features everyday objects in an extremely realistic yet charming way. She has a focus on the vintage that’s very apparent, and I love how subjects like shoes or chairs are brought to life with the vivid colors and soft texture. When I saw her painting of a seafoam green armchair on Pinterest – which looks just like a photograph – I knew her study of these found objects were perfect pieces to share here on the blog. What do I like most about

Holly’s work? It’s hard to decide, but think of the types of wonderful rooms in homes these paintings could be found in? A collection of women’s shoes for a dainty powder room, images of the chairs or books in a library? Some of my favorite pieces from her are the mugs and chairs, though she has done representations of vintage dolls and Barbies. It puts me in the mood to go to an antique shop.

I read on Holly’s press page that she is a self-taught painter, who actually hasn’t been painting all her life – amazing! Her work is featured in various galleries and they’re available for purchase (some of the features here are sold out). Thank you, Holly, for letting me feature your work!

website | galleries

Pretty holiday packaging

December 23, 2013 by Angela

I can’t say for who, but there are definitely a few California themed tourist gifts in there for the

ones who I know wish they were enjoying the sunshine right now – my sister almost had to

walk my Christmas gift to the post office in the slushy snow last week (that’s quite the

dedication for a last minute gift).

Have you sent holiday packages this year?

DIY Holiday Wreath

December 16, 2013 by Angela

Last year I bought a plain wreath from Michael’s and glued ornaments and pinecones to it for the holidays. It turned out awful. Things just didn’t look right – ornaments were in the wrong areas, the twigs looked off. When my sister and I hung our creations on the wall – we broke into laughter. I was hesitant to try again when I saw this wire pine garland but I really wanted to make it into something. I’m happy to say it turned out perfectly! So, if you want to make your own wreath to display at your holiday parties or Christmas dinner – try this one, made of a few unlikely materials….

Materials:

1 pine garland (will make enough for 2 or 3 wreaths)

A few floral stems, to be cut into embellishments

Pinecones, real or fake

Glitter or paint for the pinecones

Berries or other faux natural decor

Hot glue & gun

Form your wire garland into a double-layered circle and wrap several of the twigs around the ring.

Glue the stems and wrap those pieces around the back of the ring. Embellish it with berry bunches, glittery leaves, and pinecones. I suggest doing one material at a time to make sure you get things spaced nicely around the ring.

That’s it! I chose bold decor in pink, purple, and champagne colors so I didn’t feel the need to
embellish much further.

Did you DIY your holiday decor?