CRAFT: 02 + recycling = true love 4-ever

I recently got the second issue of CRAFT magazine… and wow, it’s gorgeous! Of course there are about a zillion projects I want to try (the first to catch my eye were the carved eraser stamps, repurposed house slippers, tin and paper earrings, and the linocut 101 tutorial). I love the columns, especially Jean Railla‘s…

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Portland’s new DIY Alert!

Sister Diane is one of my all-time favorite people: she’s a kick-ass wedding officiant, a tireless Church of Craft organizer, a maker of beautiful things, a killer zine writer, a gifted teacher of everything from blogging to button-making, a podcaster extraordinaire, and a lovely friend. And now the woman of a million cool community projects…

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Make it: vintage button kitchen curtains!

I’ve lived in this apartment for nearly two years, and somehow I’ve never actually made curtains for my bare and boring kitchen window during all this time. I guess I fell into the not-sure-how-long-we’ll-be-here trap, and hesitated to cut up any of my pretty vintage fabric for a relatively temporary living situation. But when we…

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Blue willow, for Jamie

I’ve always loved Blue Willow china and I have a few pieces of my own (though my all-time favorite, and our wedding pattern, is Temporama). My cousin Jamie collects it — she loves it because it was our grandmother MeeMee’s pattern, and I always think of both of them when I see it. Maybe it…

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Los Angeles Church of Craft

I was hoping to have photos and a little how-to for an apartment-beautification project I’ve been working on, but the pre-crafty cleaning and organizing marathon has dragged on longer than I expected, forcing me to postpone the fun part. I’m so ready to do some sewing and picture-hanging but it looks like I’ll have to…

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Crafty contests!

I just heard about two fun crafty contests going on, regarding two of my favorite things: cupcakes and design. First, Cupcake Bakeshop is partnering with Vanilla-Garlic for a Cupcake Round-up contest. You have ten days to make your most creative cupcakes, post photos on flickr or your own blog, and send links in. All the…

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Do you have a dream?

When Andrew and I were walking around downtown San Luis Obispo last Tuesday afternoon, a writer for the New Times weekly paper stopped us to ask a question for their opinion page: she explained that every week, they ask four people the same thing and then print the responses in the next issue. Well, I…

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ReForm School opening tonight

We’re back in Los Angeles just in time for Alyson Fox‘s opening at ReForm School tonight, which I’m really looking forward to — I’m meeting up with Cathy and Alexis there. And of course it’s always lovely to see Tootie and Billie, and check out their latest eco-stylish finds… ReForm School got a nice shout-out…

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Chronicle Books in San Francisco

When Andrew and I were at Yerba Buena yesterday he spotted the Chronicle Books shop… the perfect stop-over between the craft museum and SF MOMA. It was just like walking through their beautiful website but seeing everything in person, and getting to flip through the art books I’ve admired online, was so much better. I…

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cupcakes!

It’s my birthday today so I thought I should write about something dear to my heart — cupcakes! I’m in gorgeous, sunny San Francisco this week, and got to meet up with Jo, Natalie, Tricia, Nancy, and Nicole for dessert at Citizen Cake last night to celebrate early, which was so nice. And of course…

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