Fabulous Design Tip No. 5

Jonathan Adler is crazy. I love it. From his 15 Fabulous Design Tips.

Sleeping in public places

On Saturday we spent a glorious afternoon at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Part of what made it glorious was the nap we took on our picnic blanket in a secluded spot. Usually I have a hard time sleeping in public places because I'm always afraid I'll get in trouble. I'll miss my train stop, I'll drool on the person next to me, someone will take my stuff, a policeman will knock on my window and arrest me, you name it. But Saturday I felt nice and safe under a tree, way back where no other visitors wandered. Now I just need to figure out how to make some kind of DIY inflatable neck pillow. Stay tuned for that tutorial. (Yeah, not likely.) And does anyone else struggle against the temptation to eat any wild berry thing you find in the woods? I just wanted to pop one of those green things into my mouth. But I didn't.

Marimekko desktop wallpapers

Um, you may not have noticed, but I have a thing for desktop wallpaper. I also have a thing for fabric designers, particularly of the Nordic and Scandinavian variety. (Is it in my blood? My mom's side of the family is Norwegian. The only time I ever give it a thought is when we eat lefse at Christmas time. But maybe my genes predispose me to love Scandinavian design? Beats me.) Anyhow, while poking around Marimekko's site, I came across some downloadable free desktop wallpapers and some ecards. Reading about their designers' individual creative processes was also really interesting. If you're a creative type, maybe you'll be interested, too.

I really, really like these

Our friend Janet Moran offered us a free photography session in exchange for a couple of paintings. We just got the pictures she took of us—and she's a genius! She led us around her neighborhood in Rogers Park and managed to find all kinds of interesting places to snap photos. (Don't you love that sticker?) So if you're in the Chicago area, hurry and book Oijoy Photo for a shoot before all of Janet's time slots fill up.

And if you want to waste more time...

Upload a photo here and see it in a museum. Silliness! Via Photojojo.

Wordle

Several people have sent me a link to Wordle, a site that automatically arranges words on a page. You paste in your own text or a web address, then pick the typeface and colors. Kinda fun. Here's my blog, Wordle-ized. Did I really write "naked" in a post sometime? Yikes, apparently so. This blog is so risqué.

How to get wax out

Maybe everybody knows this already, but I found it to be life-changing. When your candle is burned up and you want to get the wax out of the holder, put it in the freezer for awhile. The wax contracts, loosens up, and you can dump it right out in one big piece. Awesome.

Easy fabric vase covers

While poking around in my cupboard the other day, I found a shot glass that would make a lovely little bud vase. Except it wasn't very cute, so I put a removable jacket on it. This turned out to be so easy and so much fun that I couldn't stop making these vase covers. Here's how.

1. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around your glass or vase once, plus about an inch of overlap. Make it as tall as your vase is, plus an extra half inch. (Of course, vary this depending on how much glass you want to show at the top.)

2. Fold over and press a half inch at the top and bottom of the fabric; then sew a seam across it to hold it down.

3. Wrap the fabric around your vase, right side to the inside, and pin it exactly where you'd like your seam to go. Slide the vase out and draw a line along the pins to help you sew where you need to.

4. Sew the tube along the line and press the seam open.

5. Flip the tube right side out and put it on your vase.

I put some cuttings of pothos vines (is that what these are?) here in water. They'll grow for years like this. A fresh flower centerpiece would be nice, too. Or maybe at Christmas I'll sew new holiday covers and put in some holly or branches. So many possibilities.