I got a head

I visited this ruby-lipped lady three separate times in an antique store before her charm became irresistible and I bought her. I'm not sure what her story is— is she a fine art sculpture, or was she once a department store model for bathing caps or wigs? Beats me, but she is so lovely I had to have her. She will reside in the dining room, which is getting fancier (or by some definitions, crazier) by the minute. You'll see in a couple weeks.

P.S. If you ever wonder why there are pens in lots of my pictures, it's my attempt at indicating scale.

Helpful typography websites

Here are a couple of useful websites for those interested in type. The first is Fonts in Use. It's a gallery of, you guessed it. Search for typefaces used by a particular industry, a particular design format, or look up particular fonts. Let's say you're considering using Cooper Black on the flyer for your new high-end hair salon, and you're wondering if it could ever look anything but dated and kitschy. Check out the designs users have shared and form your own conclusions (The answer is no.)


If you want to impress your friends because you know what the little doohickey is called that hangs off certain lowercase "g's," Aaron Bloom's Typography site will help. Read about type anatomy and classifications, consult the glossary, or take a short quiz to see if you learned anything.

Mini origami Kleenex box

You'd love to spend 30 minutes of your life attempting to fold a mini tissue box for Kleenexes that dispense perfectly well from their original package, wouldn't you? I thought so. Follow along with this origami tissue box tutorial at Marigami Origami, designed by Paul Ee.

The 9.5" square of decorative paper I used makes a box that perfectly fits a Kleenex travel pack. For the record, I'm never doing this again.


Darned cute though, isn't it.

Good free fonts

If you haven't visited Fontfabric for awhile and you're a compulsive typeface hoarder, it's probably time to go check out their freebies bin again. This time I'm going to grab High Tide.

Popsicle desktop wallpaper

I'm done with winter. I should not be wrapped in a blanket at my desk, but in a beach towel in the sand. My fingers should not be cold from drafty windows, but from holding a piña colada. To put me in a better mood, I'm switching to popsicle wallpaper.

"Make Me Up Before You Go-Go" pattern review

My mom, also known as Grandma G in the comments around here, sent over pictures of a new bag she just made using the Make Me Up Before You Go-Go zippered pouch pattern by Erin Erickson. She used the Wildflower canvas print from my Outside Oslo fabric collection, and here's the result.


The design is for a big makeup bag that opens up wide enough to see all the way to the bottom. You could use it to store craft supplies or toys. Or instruments of torture like Mum shows in her photo.

(Apparently these tools are also used for sewing; read about them on her blog if you're curious.)

My favorite part about this bag: she quilted the tulips. They're puffy!


Mum provided some comments on the pattern, which I'll share here:
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I went into this project with every confidence that the pattern would be a good one, because I've sewn from some of Erin's patterns and tutorials before, and I know she does a meticulous job of pattern writing and sews many prototypes before she calls a pattern good enough. I wasn't disappointed! She did an excellent job of writing this one and also of taking many photos to demonstrate her instructions.

I had a little confusion when making the inside zippered pocket. I couldn't visualize how it was going to turn out, but I went ahead and did exactly what she said and followed the photos... and sure enough, it turned into a perfect pocket.

The hardest part of the sewing was putting the binding around the ends of the bag. I had to really do some wrangling (reminiscent of making that infamous Weekender Bag, but not that bad) around those corners, and I admit I picked out some stitches and resewed in a couple of places. Of course, I made it harder by choosing to do it the opposite way that Erin suggested in the pattern... I sewed on the binding from the outside of the bag, because I wanted to make sure my neatest stitching was on the part of the bag that would show the most. I'm glad I did it that way.

Other than that, the rest of the pattern was pretty easy to use. I thought the quilting made for a fun, attractive touch. I'd say if you've had some bag-making and/or binding experience, you could easily sew this project.

Erin has a lot of cool patterns in her shop, and I know she's been working on a fun wallet pattern that should be out soon. In fact, she just wrote a post about how much she prototypes during her pattern writing process. It's very interesting, and it shows all the hard work she puts into her patterns. Read the post and see all the variations for that new wallet here. I just may have to give that a try, too, when the pattern's released!
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To do: paint a dresser

I don't think I've mentioned this project on my growing to-do list: painting a mid-century Drexel Touraine french provincial dresser I got on Craigslist. It's in wonderful condition and just needs a coat of paint to freshen it up. Then it will hold things that belong in a dining room, like tablecloths and screwdrivers and batteries.

If you'd told me a year ago that I was going to put something of this style in my house, I'd have laughed at you. But I didn't bank on having a fireplace in my dining room that looks like this. We fell in love with the house and it has been bossing us around ever since.


I think I'm going to paint it all white to downplay the dresserliness of it and make it more modern. Only the accent wall has fuschia wallpaper; the other walls are white, so adding some white over here seems like a good idea to tie things together. See some examples of similar dressers painted white that I collected on Pinterest.


This is sort of where we're headed— a Photoshop collage of ideas I made several weeks ago. (Visualize that fireplace with faux tin tile instead of the gray stuff I pasted on. This mockup was before I hatched the plan of a removable skin for the antique tile.)

Free pattern downloads

Jessica Nielsen is an illustrator based in the Netherlands, and she generously shares many of her pattern designs as free downloads for personal use. You could use them as gift wrap, make patterned envelopes, print out notecards, or set them as wallpaper backgrounds on your computer or phone. Find a selection of designs here, or visit Jessica's Etsy shop. I love her style!

A brief office tour

I don't think I've shown pictures of my office yet, so here's a quick look. It's on the second floor above the parlor, so it's much brighter than the downstairs rooms. Thank goodness— if I had to work in the gloom of the living room or dining room, I'd probably design nothing but gray logos in my state of depression.

The floor is a lighter finish than downstairs and the whole space is sunnier. The fireplace behind our desks was removed at some point, which makes it much easier to put tables there (though the chimney juts out, which is a bit challenging).

It's filled with the same stuff we had in our Chicago place. Spray painted file cabinet, the boxes we made to put our monitors on, the Steelcase chairs I reupholstered, and various orange stuff I either painted, purchased, or was given.


Here's a new addition: Vara orange doors for the IKEA Besta cabinet we've owned for years. I bought the doors yesterday and put them on, and they hide all the ugly clutter that used to be visible under the window. Fantastic!


I've got a bunch of job files I need to access easily, so I figure if they have to show, they should be my favorite color. (Boxes of 100 colored file folders are available at Amazon.)

You'll notice there's a tiny room adjoining the office, accessed by double pocket doors on the office side and another door heading out into the hallway to the right of the couch. (The office also connects to our bedroom with double pocket doors, so I can roll out of bed in my PJs and plop down at my computer after a very short commute.)


Alex has dubbed this room the "Designer Lounge," which sounds very glamorous. It's like I'm Don Draper, and perhaps I need to have a glass of whiskey and lie down for a moment to mull over a particularly snarly creative problem. Like what to put on the walls, for example.

I'm sure what caught your eye and made you gasp with delight, however, were the two 70's table lamps. Are they not awesome? A recent find.


If it's round and lights up, I automatically love it, and here are not one but TWELVE total orbs of glowing beauty. Don't let the high ceilings fool you. Each lamp is over three feet tall, so they are not petite. There is no overhead light socket in this room, so whatever lamps we add have to work hard at dispelling the gloom. Twelve bulbs will do it!

Fireplace tile cover-up plan

I've had a brilliant idea. You might recall the spinach dip tile on my dining room fireplace. Beloved by antique Rookwood fans, despised by yours truly. I can't bring myself to rip it out, so my plan is to hide it in a temporary fashion. I considered decals, wood panels, and all sorts of inelegant options.


Then I stumbled on Fasade panels at Home Depot one day after abandoning Alex in the insulation aisle. (He was engrossed, which was mystifying, since it's the most boring aisle in the entire store.) My wandering led me to these thermoplastic panels modeled after vintage tin ceiling tiles. They're lightweight and seem easy to cut. There were only a couple options in a rack in the store, but I looked online and found lots more designs and finishes. I contacted the manufacturer for samples, and these arrived today.


Excuse the nasty looking photo with flash, which doesn't do the finishes justice. I'm narrowing it down, and then I'm gonna give this fireplace a facelift. (Please note this is not a working fireplace, so you needn't fear I'll end up with a melted puddle of tile.) I'm so excited! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Meaty steak and bacon dog collars

Aroo Studio hired me to create a custom meat-themed design for their line of dog collars and leashes last year. I threw in some bacon, ham, steak, and a drumstick, and here's the result. These cute samples arrived today.


Adjustable collars come in small, medium, and large, and matching leashes are available. Color choices are yellow with red, or aqua with orange. Everything is handmade with 100% hemp webbing, which is washable and gets softer with age.

Get your pup some of this meaty goodness right here at Aroo Studio.

3D origami hearts

Yesterday's post got me in the mood for origami, so I tried out the instructions in Samuel Tsang's video on how to make 3D paper hearts. The lighting isn't great, but I figured out the steps, thanks to Samuel's pen. The folds aren't difficult; it's just hard to see them.


Each heart is folded from one square of paper. The openings in the sides make it easy to string them into a garland. Just think— by Valentine's Day, you could fold hundreds. Thousands. You could have a heart garland long enough to wrap around your house a few times.


If you need more Valentine ideas, try one of these other DIY projects.

Quick paper fortunes or party favors

I like these ten-second paper fortunes whipped up by Leyla Torres at Origami Spirit. Each little stick unfurls to reveal a message. You could make a jar of love notes for Valentine's Day, offer recipes to guests as party favors, or have your kids draw tiny pictures to mail to grandma. They're cute. Watch Leyla's instructional video right here.

Free font: Ayres

Ayres is a condensed serif typeface designed by Mariel Gornati. It's got some pretty ligatures and alternate characters. Download it at the bottom of this page at Behance— free for personal and commercial use. (Firefox works best.)

Peanuts are the new black

Alex lost his heart to a peanut on one of our antique store visits a few months ago. I think it reminds him of his years at Kraft, where Planter's was one of their brands. I'll admit it. This dish is fun. We took it home.


I googled our peanut and found similar F.B. Rogers silver-plated candy dishes on eBay for $15-$30. Some sellers say they're from the 40s, some the 60s.

Yesterday a new CB2 catalog came. Behold!


Peanuts! Maybe they'll become the new owl, or the new antler, or the new mustache.


The best thing about the catalog, though, was the rooms. Look— dark woodwork plus modern furnishings. It is VERY hard to find inspiring examples of Victorian homes that still have dark trim and that aren't full of really traditional furniture. If they have modern furniture, the woodwork has nearly always been painted white.






I'm saving this catalog for inspiration.

P.S. This post was not sponsored by CB2 or Kraft Foods or the American Peanut Shellers Association.

P.P.S. Saying something is "the new black" is the new black, as you've probably noticed. I love it when it doesn't make any sense. Here's an interesting article about this cliché.

New year, new wallpapers

If your computer or mobile device needs a facelift in 2014, grab one of these free wallpapers from generous designers around the web.

Above, January wallpapers at Sarah Hearts.


A variety of motivating messages from The Sweet Escape.


Pretty cacti backgrounds by Helen Dealtry at Design Sponge.

An Orla Kiely gift from Japan

My friend Megumi knows of my Orla Kiely adoration and just mailed me these Orla-print shirts from Japan, purchased at Uniqlo. I have no idea what "HeatTech Japan Technology" is, but I could definitely use some heattech in my America house today.


Megumi took a wild guess at what size would fit her 5'11" friend, and she did well with the XL. The sleeves are little bit too short, but if I push them up, nobody will be the wiser. The torso fit is perfect— not snug, but not too roomy, either. I love the patterns!

Spray painted planter

Over the holiday break I traveled a bunch— first to Alabama and then to Minnesota for Christmas with my family on the farm. One day involved making Christmas ornaments with my little niece. We sold our products at an ornament stand in the living room. She set the price at 2 pennies each and we split the profits. I took my nine cents and went thrift-store shopping when I got home. Fortunately I had a little extra cash in my bank account, which enabled me to buy a dresser on Craigslist which I plan to paint for the dining room, and a couple of vases for the parlor mantel.


I loved the shape of this mid-century planter (maybe McCoy?), and the green-gold color was kind of cool, but I decided it should be pink to match the parlor chairs. I spray painted it with Krylon ColorMaster Mambo Pink Gloss, and now it's quite happy looking.

I stuffed a plastic bag inside the pot to shield the interior and taped the opening to the rim with blue painter's tape to get a clean line. A cardboard box made a good spray booth in the basement; I painted near the outside door which was open for ventilation. The key when spray painting is to apply lots of thin, light coats, and you'll get a lovely result.