21 Ways to Create Your Own Bookends | The New Home Ec By craftyamy | Does anyone have the obsession with books that I do? I have a huge collection – I’m a classics reader personally. Jane Austen completely does it for me! nggallery id=’125769′ About craftyamy craftyamy Amy Anderson is a crafty, DIY kind of girl who lives in Atlanta with her pug. Photo Tips and Techniques for Beginners I remember the day I got my DSLR camera in the mail-- I had saved up for months to buy my little Nikon D40 and I watched the postal tracking code like my dog waits for her food in the mornings. (So. Excited.) :) When my brown Amazon box finally came, my heart was beating so fast that I could barely cut open the tape. I took out the Nikon and held it in my hands-- that weight and feel is so familiar to me today. Back then, I didn't have a clue as to what in the heck I was doing. This photo: ISO: 400, f/2.8, Shutter: 1/30, taken in Wyoming at the Grand Tetons National Park, summer 2011. I think that composition is the first, easiest, most fun, and most important lesson to learn in photography. Square Composition: This photo: ISO: 400, f/5.6, Shutter: 1/125, taken in the middle of the "Snowpocalypse" that happened early Feb. 2011. I am also a huge fan of the square photograph. More square love: This photo was taken in Victoria, BC in fall 2010. To freeze motion: To illustrate motion: For fun:
Celebrate Every Day With Me: The Best Ever Picture Hanging Tip There is nothing like company coming over for a little motivation to clean your house and take care of those put-off tasks. (I’m sure you are much better than I am!) After painting my daughter’s room this summer, I have been lax at putting everything up on the walls. Half way through the task of hanging items on her wall, I stumbled on this amazing idea on Pinterest. What You’ll Need: A piece of wood and a small nail. How to Make It: Drive the nail through the wood just enough that you will leave a mark on the wall when pressed. Hang your mirror/picture on the nail, supporting it as needed. Put it in place on the wall and push. Update: For those leaving comments and not quite getting it, here is a little step-by-step recap. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
How to Doodle on Photos Confession: I am a blogaholic. It all started three years ago in college when I first found a few fashion blogs after reading Teen Vogue. (Don't knock it. I love that magazine.) The best thing about my blog addiction (and my job) is that I have become a bit of a Google search ninja. This is all you need! and the little pen that goes with it. **UPDATE: I recently upgraded to this Bamboo tablet , I loved the cheap little doodle pad that I bought, but I decided to buy a better tablet because I used my other pad ALL the time. :) Although the Bamboo tablet is more expensive, I prefer it to the cheaper one. THIS PROGRAM IS AMAZING. So just to recap: ♥Pixelmator Mac only, unfortunately. :( ♥Graphic Tablet *Update-- you can use other programs for a PC to doodle on photos, I should have mentioned this. That's it! Doodle on NYC. Doodle on a globe. Doodle on your dog. I also use this for work. :) (Click if you actually want to know how to braid a scarf.) Good luck!
radical possibility: Zero-Effort Tie-Dye Pillows As you may remember, I'm a fan of going into Anthropologie, walking around looking at all the beautiful goods, and walking out crying. Every time one of the associates asks if I need any help, it takes everything to resist just blurting out - So I go home and rip them off. Its okay, they're a major corporation, and contrary to increasingly popular belief, corporations aren't people! Today, let's visit the Five Palms Pillow. Sophisticated, simple, and a real bargain at $228. Today, for our ~Anthropologie inspired housewares~, you will need: Sharpies - I used brown, blue, yellow and green Rubbing alcohol Q-tips After cutting the fabric down (I laid my old pillow down and cut around it, leaving about an inch around around the edges), I started mapping out the palm trees. Once thats done, take your q-tip and dip it in rubbing alcohol, enough so that you get little droplets coming off. xo,
21 Most Beautiful Nature Photos On Stumbleupon These are the 21 most beautiful nature photos on Stumbleupon. Stumbleupon is big society where you can spend all your day and all you life with smile on your face. On that site you can find lots of things, like photos, animals, home stuff and many more, nature photos like these one below. These nature photos are really beautiful and very amazing and that is the proof just how much our Earth is beautiful place. How to Paint Cabinets or Furniture What To Do: Step 1: Wipe cabinet surface with liquid sandpaper Step 2: Using 1/4-inch nap roller or paintbrush, apply primer. Let dry. Step 3: Sand with 220-grit sandpaper. Wipe with tack cloth. Step 4: Brush, roll, or spray cabinet surface with paint. More for You: Get ideas for new do-it-yourself projects and helpful how-tos delivered to your in-box every week. Sign up now.
A blog about pretty things: Spring Curiosities Class I am so excited to announce that I will be teaching a mini album class at Seattle Paper Zone this month. Here's the description from the PZ site:1pm-3:30pm Sunday, March 13Celebrate Spring with a mini scrapbook album! Create a playful mini album that focuses on the delights of every day life in the springtime. We'll cover quite a few techniques including: using transparencies to add dimension, adding texture with spray ink, learning to stretch your supplies by creating embellishments made from cardstock, design principles for small projects and tips for minibook photo management. Supplies Needed: Students should bring a journaling pen and about selection of about 20 spring themed wallet sized photographs (be prepared to crop to 2"x3") We'll provide all of the following supplies for you. The class sign up information is also posted here. I am also planning to offer this class in blog form, and any extra kits will also be placed in the Etsy shop, after all the classes are over.
Do-It-Yourself Menu Bottle It's the holidays and what better way than to give your friends a home cooked feast for Christmas. Here is a very quick and simple tutorial on how you can use branches or twigs, some clay and a used glass bottle to create a special 'Menu Display' piece for the dining table. We will be needing:1. Dead branches or twigs2. White clay3. Used glass bottle (washed and cleaned dry)4. Wash the branches and twigs then let dry under the sun. Now that we've chosen the perfect twigs, paint the glass bottle with the acrylic paint. When the glass bottle is dry, put the twigs or branches back into the bottle. Delight your friends with a tantalizing menu written on a bottle. Here's what I've prepared for my friends. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all : ) --Contributors--AndyHui En
Kids Crafts: Gumnut Octopus If you're new here, you may want to join us on Facebook or Google +. Thanks for visiting! Hello! I reckon you can still make it with one of those “large bleach bottle lids” – you know, the ones that look like thimbles? The gumnuts I used were from my friend’s wedding. The Book Gentle Giant Octopus, by Karen Wallace. The craft I got the gumnut craft idea after making our conker pencil toppers a couple of weeks ago. Materials: a gumnut (or large lid), paint (though plain is nice too), 2 pipe cleaners, 2 googly eyes, glue 1) Paint your gumnut to match your pipe cleaners. 2) Take 2 pipecleaners and cut them in half. 3) Place over each other star shape and wrap one over the remaining 4 4) Place them around a pencil and add a blob of glue to the top (or use a hot glue gun) and then place the gumnut over the top 5) Add your googly eyes Ta-da!!! And use! For more Kid’s Craft ideas, click here for a full list. Did you like this?
Making New Wood Look Old Making New Wood Look Old As promised, here’s the more detailed scoop on how we got our pristine store-bought whitewood from Home Depot to look worn and aged on our completed console. This was our first time really going for a weathered look, so it was a kind of an exercise in “we’ve seen this done before, so let’s hope it works out for us.” The good news: it worked. The better news: it was pretty easy to do. It was sort of a one-two punch of distressing + staining that really did the trick. Knowing that I had some extras, I tried a bunch of things on a spare plank before really landing on a process (well, “process” is too strong of a word in this case, since it was pretty much a random exercise in let’s-see-what-happens). Oh and if you’re someone who likes all the details, I managed to capture a lot of my weathering “process” on video (so watch this if you want the “bonus stuff” that’s not all outlined below): Then I smacked it with a bag of screws.
Easy, cheap kids craft ideas Did you like this? Share it: vintage book travel-tech organizer As you may have figured out from my My Life Scoop posts, I’m a bit of a nut for tech accessories, especially pocket-sized ones. I can’t get over how awesomely small our entertainment devices are becoming; it makes traveling with them so much easier. But one issue I keep running into is how to neatly organize everything, especially the power cords and connector cables that accompany my favorite devices. Rather than spend another plane trip rummaging through my catch-all carry-on bag searching for my headphones, bumping my head on the seat in front of me every time, I decided to make a small tech-accessory organizer using elastic ribbon and an old vintage book cover. This project can be sized up or down and customized in many different ways — the best approach is to gather all the tiny tech things you travel with and see how much there is. After that, it’s just a bit of snipping, sewing and gluing, and you’re on your way to a clean, organized carry-on. Read the full how-to after the jump!
Wax Decorations Once again we are happy to host the talented Mitsy from Artmind this friday as she takes us through making these cute little wax decorations, (a fun little weekend project with the kids for Valentines). And you'll notice at the bottom of this post Mitsy is giving away some she made on her blog later today! Thanks Mitsy! (Also stay tuned as we post the winners of The Poppies later today)! Here is what you need: wax (you can use candles and melt them), metal cookie lid, cookie cutters, newspaper, nylon thread, ribbon, wooden sticks, needle, plier, crimp beads, beads & findings. Make sure that you work safe when working with hot wax. Fill the metal cookie lid with wax. Let the wax set for a while until it is stiff but still feels warm. You can then remove the wax around the cutted shapes. When you push lightly, the shape will come loose. If it's still warm, you can easily put a needle through the wax figure. Or put the wooden stick in the cut out wax figure but only halfway. Tada!