3.31.2008

colour lovers

















bart forwarded colourlovers to me about 30 minutes ago & i've got a profile up already. this is a place to create, share & search for colors, color palettes & patterns. i love the site; it is easy to use & search. an aspect that i really enjoy is when creating a new color or a color palette you can upload links & images that inspired the creation. here is my take on the kiwi restaurant in la paz.
Kiwi Restaurant

ffffound



this site is a great source of laughter & inspiration. it's not new, i'm just late - check out ffffound.

3.28.2008

hollywood regency



i've seen this term around - hollywood regency - but i let it slip past me. up until wednesday i let it be seen, but never registered. up until wednesday i had not heard of the parker palm springs. this leads to fantasizing about sun, living in southern california, having bold wallpaper & wearing a bathing suit with a flowy white robe all day, every day.

hatch has a great post on decorating titled hollywood regency 101 that you must read if you are interested in the style. it's funny to look back at my apartment inspiration folder & see how much of it is in this style.

3.26.2008

worm meet robin


















it's always fun at my 8-5er when i get to work on one of our quarterly postcards. my director brought the concept to me & let me go to town. i had a lot of fun doing photo tracing & vector work - not to mention picking the colors. i would make the greens a little less muted next time, but i love the fresh feeling of the pink-oranges with the warm grays.

happy spring everyone!

my polaroid blog



i love it & am adding it to the blogroll - readers meet jen & her polaroid blog.

etsy wednesday



i love these sweet flower pins by creme-tangerine. the pins are made from layers of hand-cut & singed fabric, embellished with seed beads & finished with a simple pin on the back. most pins are 1.5" to 2.5" & cost $10-$20 for a set.

all freckles



a lack of posts huh? i'd say so.

bart & i just got back from our 8 day trip to el pescadero, in the baja. it was a fantastic trip, 80 degrees & 100% sun, it was much needed & deserved. i'd recommend it to anyone; sierra de la costa was the perfect casita, just 100 yards from the beach & run by great people. we spent most of our time sitting on the beach & swimming in the ocean at our beach & los cerritos; we did make our way to la paz for the day, eat lots of tacos at barajas tacos & drink a lot of tecate & tequila.

on a color & design note - i was amazed by the natural & man made color palettes of the baja. la paz was filled with burnt corals, seafoam greens & off white. i also liked the greens, warm greys & bursts of red found on our drive through the desert. i am hoping to do some color schemes from my trip - keep your eyes peeled.

more pics

3.13.2008

red velvet cupcakes & more















i made my 2008 to do list about 2.5 months ago & i am off to a good start; i like lists, i like making them & crossing things off of them. so far i've attacked cleaning out my walk-in closet, going somewhere warm for my birthday (leaving for the baja on monday) & here is my experience with making red velvet cake.

my first shot was about a month ago. the cupcakes & frosting turned out yummy - but it made a ton. the red velvet was very moist & flavorful & the frosting was super rich (i ate many spoonfuls).

recipe found on the food network:

cupcakes
15.5 ounces all-purpose flour
1.25 teaspoons baking soda
1.25 teaspoons salt
1.25 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 cups vegetable oil
13 ounces granulated sugar
1.25 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
4 tablespoons red food coloring
1.25 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider)
1.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

mix flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa in bowl & set aside. in a mixer add the oil, sugar & buttermilk, mix until combined. next add the eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla & water, mix well. slowly add dry ingredients to the mixer, just until combined; do not over mix. bake the cupcakes for 20 - 30 minutes at 350 F.

cream cheese frosting
1.5 pounds cream cheese, room temp
1 pound butter, room temp
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

mix cream cheese & butter until creamed. gradually add the powdered sugar & finish with adding the vanilla after all combined. this makes a lot of frosting; i recommend cutting the recipe in half or being prepared to freeze it.

here is another red velvet recipe that i used for the most recent batch. i liked these just as well & they are a lot simpler to make. i found this recipe on the recipe slanger.

cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1.5 cups water, room temp
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon red food coloring

start by mixing the cake mix & cocoa, set aside. blend water, vegetable oil, eggs & food coloring in mixer. add the dry ingredients & mix on a medium speed for 2 minutes. bake for 22 - 25 minutes at 350 F.

i used the same cream cheese recipe from before, this one simply used a little bit of milk in addition to the other ingredients.

--

in addition to red velvet cupcakes i made a couple other items last weekend: chocolate covered red vines & buttermilk cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting.

i wasn't a fan of the buttermilk cupcakes, but the frosting was to die for. i used the basic cream cheese frosting recipe, but added 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice & 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. it was a perfect pucker. mmmmmmm.

for the red vines i began by melting white chocolate morsels over boiling water, stirring often. once it was completely melted i dipped in red vines to cover about 4 inches of them. i placed them on wax paper covered cookie sheets, poured on the sprinkles & popped them in the freezer for 15 minutes. they are a sugar overload & i might add a little milk to thin out the chocolate the next time.

3.12.2008

etsy wednesday



i recently found the store of picciolo. she is a london-based graphic designer by day & artist by night. i like her stuff because it is all so clean, yet detailed & playful. the store features key chains, fabric art & hanging decorations. her work ranges from $8 - $48.

cork coasters & trivets
















i just saw these on the design*sponge; they had a diy contest & this was one of the finalists. #18 by abigail, that's all they give us.

i've been a keeper of corks ever since i was a bartender back in michigan. i've also been wondering what to do with the latest collection & here i go. the corks were sliced into about 1/4" discs & then stitched together with 2-3 stitches. this should be a quick, fun project!

3.05.2008

etsy wednesday



i'm keeping my hair a bit longer these days & have found that bobby pins are my new friend. these, from seattle etsy seller, jande are just too cute. she will make sure that your bobby pins match your hair color & the set will run you $6.99. not too bad.

james jean





















bart introduced me to james jean. his work is just incredible, not much more to say.

3.03.2008

high-waisted, button-front skirt

















i saw this skirt by house of spy in lucky magazine a couple of months ago & was determined that i could make it myself. after a few sketches & planning out what my simplified skirt required, i headed to the fabric store, not sure of what i wanted. i stumbled upon some blue/grey stretchy canvas that resembled dickies material. i knew it would work.

i created a rough outline (pattern) based on my earlier sketches, drew it in chalk on the fabric & began cutting. i only cut out the basic shapes, leaving a lot of extra fabric at the top of the pieces because i hadn't figured out how the draw string or waistband was going to work. i was hoping that all of the details would come together after i was able to hold the basic shape to my body (i need a dress form, but think i would be frightened by it). i was happy to find out that they would. the adjustments go like this:

- 2" waistband with a split in the back
- 2.5" hem at bottom of the skirt
- two darts on back of skirt, each 4" from back seam
- 3 buttons down the front of the skirt (i am going to add some hiding snaps too)
- 2 darts on front of skirt, each 2.5" from the button panel
- faux draw string attached 2" from each end on the inside of the skirt, come to the front through buttonholes & tie

more detailed pics